Our View From The Road

Sharing where we've been and what we've seen

Tag: FL

Florida

  • Day 05: Onto N’awlins we go

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    DST kicked in this morning so it feels early, earlier than normal early. We’re leaving Pensacola today so I’ve got some time for a short walk and quick breakfast before we strike camp. The short walk turned into a medium walk and suddenly we were a little later leaving than maybe we wanted. All good though and still on the road before 10:00.

    We started the day heading across country on some State roads towards Fairhope, AL. Missed a few turns along the way which only adds to the adventure. The GPS knew where we wanted to be so simply corrected my mistakes.

    Fairhope is a very pretty town, with lots of old oak trees lining the streets in front of orderly clapboard houses. Picket fences, trimmed hedges, all very orderly. Clearly the town had not suffered the wrath of a hurricane head-on.

    Located on the East side of Mobile Bay the town has long sand and pebble beaches and a 1400’ long pier, this we walked out and back as you do on a pier. Local fishermen had taken up their favorite spots and locals out for a run also joined us on the pier. A popular spot.

    Fairhope, AL pier

    From Fairhope we traveled North where we joined I-10 West. This would take us into Mississippi and onto Louisiana where we would be staying a night at the Faubourg Brewing Co. in N’awlins (New Orleans), LA. The brewery is a member of Harvest Hosts, establishments that allow RVs to stay the night on their property. Cost? Visit their business and buy something. A brewery….. easily done.

    The drive out of AL and across MS was uneventful and easy. The interstate was fairly busy but was flat for the most part as it crosses the marshy southern lands of this part of the continent. There were a couple of impressively long bridges that seemingly suspended the interstate above the bayous and river deltas that we passed through.

    Arriving at Faubourg Brewery we were not alone. First, this ‘craft’ brewery is huge, easily as large as any commercial brewery I’ve seen. Second, because of this size, the parking lot can accommodate large numbers of RVs. Until tonight we had only visited Harvest Host establishments that could accommodate no more than 4 or 5 visitors, here we were among 20 or so rigs of all sizes and styles.

    Faubourg Brewing Co., New Orleans, LA

    However, getting past the number of people joining us tonight, the brewery is amazing. They have lots of styles of beers to try as well as a very good kitchen from which we purchased lunch that we enjoyed while sitting outdoors on the large patio in the sun. It was 29C and breezy, a far cry from the cold of the North.

    We took an Uber ride from the brewery into the French Quarter of the city to be like tourists for the remainder of the day. Having not been here before we really weren’t sure what to expect beyond what we’d seen in videos. Sensory overload would probably be a good place to start.

    Anyone for hot sauce?

    So, very busy, lots of tourists with cameras and lots of street vendors. There’s an amazing vibe and I can easily see getting caught up in that vibrancy and partying the night away. We made our way through the streets dodging the drunken hen parties and sidewalk bucket drummers looking for a place to get supper. Bourbon Street is the heart of the French Quarter, a jostling street party that appears to be going all the time. The noise is quite unbelievable, the aforementioned bucket drummers (5gal plastic pails) competing with bicycle/tricycle equipped rolling beatboxes turned to 11, all trying to outdo the street bands for your attention and donations. Ah, but not to be outdone, the eating/drinking establishments also were vying for your auditory attention by outdoing all of the street noise with noise of their own from massive sound systems clearly aimed out at the street. It was all bit numbing to be perfectly honest.

    We chose not to try an eat downtown, places wheee there were lineups for tables (probably the better establishments) were incredibly noisy, dark and we suspecting not very clean given the state of the clientele. Food? I think not. Drinks? Again, hard pass.

    French Quarter

    We did find a place for an ice cream and then we picked up an order of Beignets and took them with us in an Uber back to the brewery, they’d be tomorrows breakfast.

    We caught up on some YouTube viewing in the van before heading to bed. Our neighbors seemed intent on partying into the early hours, we were done. It had been quite a day. Good night.

  • Day 04: Ah! Sunshine…

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    We told ourselves that we would sleep in today as we are staying put at Big Lagoon State Park in Pensacola, FL… So, why am I awake at 6:30am? Most probable cause would be that we fell asleep before 9:00pm last evening. Sigh.

    Previous evening upon arrival

    I thought I’d start the day by walking the longest trail in the park, a 3.5 mile loop that should allow me to really see what the park is about. The walk started well along the trail is pure white sand so it was similar to walking in several inches of fresh snow (something I am quite familiar with). Two steps forward and half-step back. At about 2km into the walk after passing several examples of alligator crossings on the trail I came upon a drainage channel that I could not cross(without getting wet), the bridge had apparently washed away (hurricane Sally in 2021?). This caused me to reverse my route and improvise the remainder of my walk. I ended up at the boat launch as the remainder of the park (day use area) was still closed as a result of the afore mentioned hurricane. After sitting and taking a few photos I returned to our campsite with stories of my adventure. Yay, 4.92km.

    About the park from the walking trails

    Eggs & bacon for breakfast cooked on our 18” Blackstone griddle (not too heavy or bulky Mr. Milddogs.com) 😆. There’s something about breakfast cooked outdoors… it always tastes so much better.

    Views about our campsite

    Most of the day was reserved for relaxing and reading. Of which we both did quite a lot. We both also tried the park showers which we rated a solid 7 out of 10. Room for improvement but satisfying nonetheless.

    I also checked and adjusted tyre pressures of the van as I had inflated correctly for -9C which proved a little too much when checked at an air temperature of 21C. All tyres needed some air to be removed. I feel a little better about our upcoming drives now.

    Before long the day had slipped us by and dinner needed preparing. Tonight the menu was steak, along with fried vegetables and potatoes all prepared on the Blackstone. A glass or two of Cabernet Sauvignon was also enjoyed. Followed by Little Debbie snacking cakes. Mmmmm.

    Campsite selfie (usie?)

    As the evening sky turned that hazy bluish yellow color, Barb and I walked back to the boat launch at sunset. The remainder of the evening saw us prepare a few items ahead of tomorrows departure and then more reading ahead of sleep.

    Sunset from the boat launch.

    Tomorrow we head to NOLA. Be sure to check back to see what we get up to!

    Oh, and if your interested be sure to check out our ‘merch’ store for our latest wearables and accessories… Oh right, we don’t have any merchandise to sell. Maybe we should?

  • Day 03: Are we there yet?

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    Having listened to several train horns at various times in the night, 6:30 arrived and I was up for my morning walk. Lightly showering but 11C so lighter clothing under the rain jacket.

    Collegedale is a very car-centric community, or at least the area we stayed in is. Walking was a challenge as sidewalks were far and few between, the inclusion of them clearly being left to the developers should they have felt like it, most didn’t. This meant that I walked in the narrow shoulder facing traffic that was going well over the posted limit in damp conditions. Needless to say, I didn’t last long & hope to put in the remaining distance when we arrive at the state park this afternoon.

    After breakfast in the van, we headed out at about 8:30 and travelled through Chattanooga on I-75 before picking up the I-59 towards the Georgia border, a few minutes later we crossed into Alabama where we entered the Central timezone, so it was 8:30 again. But we didn’t get too excited as we’ll lose that hour this coming weekend when the clocks change to daylight savings time.

    Eastern Redbud in bloom

    Onto Birmingham, AL where we followed the I-465 around the city before heading South on the I-65 towards Montgomery, AL and then towards Pensacola, FL.

    The driving today has been easy, lots of construction zones with reduced speeds and few to no workers to warrant the slowdowns, but stress free driving is always nice. The landscape changed a lot, from the mountains of Tennessee to the rolling hills of Northern Alabama to the mostly flat sandy pine tree covered dunes of Florida. Most of the hardwood trees were replaced with softwood varieties and the wild wisteria that hung blooming in many trees in Northern Alabama is not suited to the heat and humidity of the gulf coast.

    Wild Wisteria

    As I write this it is overcast and showering in Pensacola but warm at 24C. We’re booked in to spend two nights at the Big Lagoon State Park here in Pensacola, FL and so will provide a review of our site, the park and what we get up to in the next couple of posts.

    Sneak peek at our destination

    Stay tuned, be happy! Spring really is on the way.