Florida’s Forgotten Coast

While staying at Ho-Hum RV Park, we did a few drives along the Forgotten Coast, in the panhandle of Florida. Amongst other things, we saw all four of the lighthouses on the coast.

A pamphlet for the lighthouse driving tour, with information about each lighthouse:

Lighthouse driving tour pamphlet

Lighthouse driving tour pamphlet

The first drive was west of the RV park, with lunch at the Blue Parrot Ocean Front Cafe (they have a live cam you can view, too), then St George Island Lighthouse.

Here’s the route on an interactive map:

Bridge to St George Island:

Bridge to St George Island

Blue Parrot for lunch:

Blue Parrot

Blue Parrot

Blue Parrot

Blue Parrot

Blue Parrot

Blue Parrot

Blue Parrot

St George Island Lighthouse; unfortunately the museum was closed when we visited:

St George Island Lighthouse

St George Island Lighthouse

St George Island beach:

St George Island beach

Further west, the Cape San Blas Lighthouse in Port St Joe:

Cape San Blas Lighthouse


The second drive was east of the RV park, to St Marks National Wildlife Refuge, St Mark’s Lighthouse, and Publix groceries on the way back.

Here’s the route on an interactive map:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

The refuge visitor center, with info about the lighthouse too:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge visitor center

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge visitor center

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge visitor center

The wildlife refuge:

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St Marks National Wildlife Refuge

St Marks Lighthouse:

St Marks Lighthouse

St Marks Lighthouse

St Marks Lighthouse

St Marks Lighthouse

St Marks Lighthouse

St Marks Lighthouse


The third drive was to have lunch at The Fisherman’s Wife restaurant in Carrabelle, then visit the nearby Crooked River Lighthouse.

Here’s the route on an interactive map:

The Fisherman’s Wife; we wanted to eat here last year, but they were closed for the holidays. They were closed again most of the time we were at Ho-Hum this time too, but opened a few days before our departure:

The Fisherman's Wife

The Fisherman's Wife

The Fisherman's Wife

The Fisherman's Wife

The Fisherman's Wife

Crooked River Lighthouse, the tallest of the four:

Crooked River Lighthouse

The old lighthouse keeper’s house, now a small free museum:

Crooked River Lighthouse

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Crooked River Lighthouse museum

Fascinating stuff. We really enjoy this area of Florida; much more laid-back than the more touristy and populated parts.

Red Bay food and shopping

Some food and shopping around Red Bay, Alabama.

Casa Fiesta Mexican Grill, not bad Mexican food:

Casa Fiesta Mexican Grill

Casa Fiesta Mexican Grill

Piggly Wiggly grocery store, pretty basic:

Piggly Wiggly grocery store

Piggly Wiggly grocery store

Holiday lights:

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Holiday lights

Mia Marlie’s Hometown Pizza, fairly good and inexpensive:

Hometown Pizza

Hometown Pizza

Cardinal Drive-In, much like Sonic, but better:

Cardinal Drive-In

Cardinal Drive-In

Cardinal Drive In

Big Star grocery store, much nicer than Piggly Wiggly, and lots of super-tasty treats (of which we stocked up!):

Big Star grocery store

Big Star grocery store

Big Star grocery store

Big Star grocery store

Happy Hollow, home-goods and outdoors stuff, we always get some cat toys there:

Happy Hollow

Happy Hollow

Happy Hollow

Happy Hollow

Happy Hollow

Happy Hollow

Red Bay is a small town, but has some good food and shopping options.

Red Bay Acres RV Resort

We stayed at Red Bay Acres RV Resort in Red Bay, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our fourth stay here, and third in 2024.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-12-15
  • Check out: 2024-12-21
  • 6 nights

Weather:

  • Some cloudy days, and some rain and thunderstorms
  • High temps 51-65°F, lows 31-58°F
  • A bunch of wind, gusts to 21 MPH

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train horn noise
  • Hourly clock tower noise
  • Negligible neighbor and tech services noise, since the park was mostly empty

Site:

  • #32, back-in, concrete
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Level site; used hydraulic leveling
  • Concrete driveway about 60 feet long by 12 feet wide
  • Grass between sites, 15-25 feet wide on passenger side, 15 feet wide on driver side
  • Picnic table
  • No trees
  • Clean site
  • Elevation 660 feet, front facing NW

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 60 PSI water, conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, fairly conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 370-400 Mbps down, 45-55 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • AT&T: 110-125 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 75-95 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 125 ms ping
  • Campground Wi-Fi (in Yacht Club): 6-8 Mbps down, 4-6 Mbps up, 65 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage pickup from site
  • Package delivery to office
  • Onsite restaurant
  • Pond
  • Hometown of Tiffin; local RV repairs

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Still the best place to stay in Red Bay

We’ve stayed here several times while getting our coach serviced in the Red Bay area, and it’s still the only place I would choose to stay. The lake in the middle is pleasant and we love having the on-site cafe. It is a little disappointing that they seem to be cutting back on the menu there (pretty much only sandwiches now, when you used to get wings and other hot items). I also wish the concrete pads were a bit wider, as it rained nearly every day, and the infamous Red Bay mud was inescapable when hooking/unhooking for our service appointments. December is a bit of a mixed bag as the town closes the week before Christmas through the New Year. Having the campground to ourselves was nice, but services were harder to schedule. We camped at Red Bay Acres RV Resort in a Motorhome.

Tip for Other Campers: After several trips to Red Bay the big question is, why did it take me so long to discover the majesty of Big Star’s bakery? I’m still dreaming of their chocolate chip cookies….

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

On a frosty morning, you can see the framing of the coach:

Frosty

Our site

A thunderstorm rolling through:

Thunderstorm

Red Bay Yacht Club:

Red Bay Yacht Club

Red Bay Yacht Club

Red Bay Yacht Club

Red Bay Yacht Club

Pond:

Pond

Pond

Other sites, mostly empty throughout our stay:

Other sites

Other sites

The week before Christmas was a good time to visit, other than being rather cold. We don’t have any current plans to go back to Red Bay, but it seems inevitable that we will in due course, and will stay here again when we do.

Travel from Springfield, Louisiana to Lena, Mississippi

We drove our coach 186 miles, about three hours of driving, from Springfield, Louisiana to Lena, Mississippi.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading north:

Route map

An interactive map:

Convertible Beetle:

Convertible Beetle

Flooded road in front of our first site:

Flooded road

Our first site was a little damp:

Our first site

An interesting sign near the entrance of the park:

Sign near the entrance of the park

A closer look:

Sign near the entrance of the park

Narrow road from the park:

Narrow road from the park

Petro fuel stop:

Petro fuel stop

We had lunch while driving, with me feeding crackers with salami and cheese to Jenn:

Lunch

Welcome to Mississippi:

Welcome to Mississippi

A sign for the Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument… so of course we had to play Free Bird and songs seeded from that:

Lynyrd Skynyrd Monument

Roadworks on I-55 North:

Roadworks on I-55 North

Watching a Sinclair Trails timelapse travel video while traveling is always a little disconcerting:

Watching Sinclair Trails travel video while traveling

Paladin asleep, touching my foot:

Paladin asleep, touching my foot

Rest area:

Rest area

Exit from I-55 to route 25:

Exit from I-55 to route 25

Paladin asleep:

Paladin asleep

Late foliage:

Late foliage

A narrow road to our destination:

Narrow road to park

Leake County Water Park:

Leake County Water Park

Our site:

Our site

2024 food

A summary of food- and restaurant-related posts in 2024.

Again, you can also see the attractions from 2023, from 2022, and from 2021. And you can see all of the attraction-related blog posts via the exploring category, with the earliest posts at the top, or the latest posts at the top, or more specifically the food category (with earliest or latest posts at the top)

Robert is Here fruit stand in Homestead, Florida:

Robert is Here

Our first Buc-ee’s in Smiths Grove, Kentucky:

Buc-ee's

Custer Battlefield Trading Post & Cafe on the Crow Indian reservation in Montana:

Tipis

Oregon Cabaret Theatre: Legally Blonde, the Musical in Ashland, Oregon:

Dinner

Ashland wineries: Quady North & Belle Fiore in Ashland, Oregon:

Belle Fiore

Ashland food in Oregon:

Mains

Shields Date Garden in Indio, California:

Food

Red Bay food and shopping in Red Bay, Alabama:

Cardinal Drive In

Tasty stuff.

San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday

We stayed at San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday in San Antonio, Texas. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A one-night stay on our way east, but a nice campground; we’d be happy to stay here longer.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-11-30
  • Check out: 2024-12-01
  • 1 night

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy
  • High temp 65°F, low 44°F
  • No wind, gusts to 7 MPH

Noise:

  • Negligible road noise
  • Faint distant train horn noise
  • A little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #E5, pull-through, gravel
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad, and didn’t, since only one night
  • Completely level site; used air leveling, since only one night
  • Gravel driveway about 73 feet long by 15 feet wide
  • 12 feet to neighbors on both sides
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Some tall trees
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, conveniently located
  • 60 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, very inconveniently located (for a motorhome) at the back of the site (3 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 85-105 Mbps down, 5-10 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
  • AT&T: 470-550 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 15 Mbps up, 30-100 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters and pickup from site
  • Pool
  • Onsite cafe with breakfast and Hunt Brothers pizza/wings for dinner

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice and convenient

We stayed here only one night on our way through San Antonio, and it was quite pleasant. There is easy access to freeways and anything you could want to do in the city. Since it was a short stay, we enjoyed having the on-site cafe available for dinner and breakfast. The staff were all friendly and helpful. We would stay here again and for longer. We camped at San Antonio / Alamo KOA Holiday in a Motorhome. 

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Goose:

Goose

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Pool:

Pool

Camp store:

Camp store

Patio area:

Patio area

The Patio Cafe, which serves Hunt Brothers pizza and wings for dinner, and cooked breakfasts:

The Patio Cafe

The Patio Cafe

We got pizza from the cafe for dinner (and leftovers for subsequent lunches):

Hunt Brothers Pizza for dinner

And breakfasts the next day:

Breakfasts

Event hall:

Event hall

Event hall

Playground:

Playground

KOA sign and concrete cornhole:

Sign and concrete cornhole

We’d be happy to stay here again in the future.

Marathon, Marfa, and more

An assortment of pictures of Marathon and Marfa, Texas and surrounding areas.

In Marathon, we had lunch at the V6 Coffee Bar:

V6 Coffee Bar

V6 Coffee Bar

V6 Coffee Bar

V6 Coffee Bar

The only (very small) grocery store in Marathon, The French Co Grocer:

The French Co Grocer

The French Co Grocer

The French Co Grocer

We got some BBQ from Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue:

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

Brick Vault Brewery & Barbecue

An interactive map of a drive to Keesey Canyon Hoodoos for a picnic lunch, then Fort Davis National Historic Site (as seen in the previous post), and Marfa:

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area:

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Keesey Canyon Hoodoos picnic area

Welcome to Marfa sign:

Welcome to Marfa sign

Marfa

Marfa

The Giant Marfa mural, a tribute to the 1956 James Dean/Liz Taylor film “Giant“:

Giant Marfa mural

Giant Marfa mural

Giant Marfa mural

We enjoy quirky roadside attractions.

Las Cruces KOA Journey

We stayed at Las Cruces KOA Journey in Las Cruces, New Mexico. (Campground Reviews listing.)

Our third visit to this RV park with a nice view.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-11-10
  • Check out: 2024-11-17
  • 7 nights

Weather:

  • Mostly sunny
  • High temps ranging between 68-74°F, lows around 36-45°F
  • Some windy days, gusts to 27 MPH

Noise:

  • Negligible road noise (distant freeway noise, only audible outside)
  • No train noise

Site:

  • #53, pull-through, gravel (with some concrete strips that are only useful for trailers)
  • Didn’t need to disconnect toad; parked behind coach
  • Fairly level; high on passenger side; used hydraulic leveling
  • Site about 90 feet long by about 18 feet wide
  • Picnic table on gravel; no fire pit
  • Limited mountain view

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, a little inconveniently located
  • 60 PSI water, somewhat conveniently located
  • Good sewer connection, inconveniently located (3 10-foot pipes needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 100-135 Mbps down, 18-21 Mbps up, 25 ms ping
  • AT&T: 29 Mbps down, 9 Mbps up, 150 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 5 Mbps up, 100 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Seasonally closed pool
  • Garbage pickup from site (they didn’t used to offer this, so yay)
  • Package delivery to office

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Nice place to stop in Las Cruces

This was our third time staying here and our first time not staying in one of the “view” sites, although we still had a decent view of both mountain ranges. This campground is conveniently off I-10 and has easy access to anything in Las Cruces. We camped at Las Cruces KOA Journey in a Motorhome.

An interactive map of the park:

RV park map:

Map

Our site (with empty sites on either side, making it look more spacious than it was):

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities weren’t super convenient; having to use three 10-foot sewer hoses wasn’t ideal (the concrete pad and utilities were clearly set up with trailers in mind):

Utilities

Utilities

We enjoyed a local pizza delivery on our last night; tasty, fast, and inexpensive:

Pizza

A neighbor fiver pulling out, with an unusual hitch:

Fiver

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Community room:

Community room

Playground:

Playground

Nice view:

Nice view

Sun rays through dust on the way back to the campground from a day trip:

Sun rays through dust

Dust obscuring Las Cruces:

Dust obscuring Las Cruces

Still a nice RV park. No doubt we’ll stay here yet again in the future. (See our previous two stays for more photos.)

Travel from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico

We drove our coach 258 miles, about four hours of driving, from Tucson, Arizona to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

Here’s a map showing our route, heading east:

Map route

An interactive map:

An example of why we don’t use picnic tables at campsites, at least without a tablecloth (but usually not even then): our neighbor was working on his sewer pipe connectors on the table:

Sewer pipes on picnic table

Joining I-10 East:

Joining I-10 East

Mountains:

Mountains

Interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Interesting rocks

The Thing? travel center (post about the attraction later this week):

The Thing?

We had DQ there for lunch:

DQ for lunch

The Thing? and other swag:

The Thing? swag

More interesting rocks:

Interesting rocks

Rest area:

Rest area

Paladin sprawled on the dash as we got underway again:

Paladin on dash

Paladin on dash

Welcome to New Mexico:

Welcome to New Mexico

“Zero visibility possible”… yes, anything’s possible:

Zero visibility possible

“Gusty winds may exist”… indeed:

Gusty winds may exist

Fun with zoom:

Fun with zoom

Instructions on what to do if caught in a dust storm (not very readable in this pic, but basically pull onto shoulder, turn off engine, foot off brake, lights off… presumably to save battery power):

Fun with zoom

Welcome to Las Cruces:

Welcome to Las Cruces

We really enjoy the mountains behind Las Cruces:

Interesting rocks

Our destination, the Las Cruces KOA Journey:

KOA

All decked out for the holidays (in early November):

KOA