Disney World: Hollywood Studios

We also visited Hollywood Studios in Disney World a couple of times.

Entrance:

Entrance

Main street:

Main street

Us in front of the Millennium Falcon in Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge:

Millennium Falcon

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Smugglers Run ride:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Drinks and snacks at Oga’s Cantina:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Uh oh:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Lunch:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

 

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Rise of the Resistance ride:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Muppets:

Muppets

Muppets

Runaway Railway:

Runaway Railway

Signatures

Runaway Railway

Runaway Railway

Runaway Railway

Runaway Railway

Runaway Railway

Runaway Railway

Runaway Railway

Runaway Railway

Hollywood Tower of Terror:

Hollywood Tower of Terror

Hollywood Tower of Terror

Hollywood Tower of Terror

Hollywood Tower of Terror

Hollywood Tower of Terror

Hollywood Tower of Terror

Video:

Mickey ice cream:

Mickey ice cream

Toy Story Mania:

Toy Story Mania

Toy Story Mania

Alien Swirling Saucers:

Alien Swirling Saucers

Alien Swirling Saucers

Alien Swirling Saucers

Toy Story characters

We went to the Brown Derby restaurant for dinner:

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Brown Derby restaurant

Neon:

Neon

Neon

Neon

Another day:

Entrance

Pond

Back to our favorite part, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge:

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Galaxy's Edge

Transition from Galaxy’s Edge:

Transition from Galaxy's Edge

… to freeway tunnel:

... to freeway tunnel

We had dinner at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant:

Sci Fi Dine In

Sci-Fi Dine-In reastaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater restaurant

Neon:

Neon

The Fantasmic! show, better than in Disneyland as they have actual seating:

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

Fantasmic!

More neon:

Neon

Neon

Entrance

Disney World: Epcot

We visited Epcot within Disney World a couple of times.

Epcot’s Spaceship Earth globe:

Epcot globe

Epcot globe

We dropped off our backpacks at a locker, and marveled at the advanced futuristic technology nearby:

Phones

Spaceship Earth:

Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth

Spaceship Earth

A customized video created at the end of the ride.

Spaceship Earth

Topiary:

Topiary

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ride:

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Topiary

Monorail:

Monorail

Topiary

Lake

Lake

Epcot is arranged in several sections called pavilions, around a central lake. We first visited the Mexico Pavilion:

Mexico area

Mexico Pavilion

Mexico Pavilion

Mexico Pavilion

Mexico Pavilion

Frozen ride:

Frozen ride

Frozen ride

Frozen ride

Frozen ride

United Kingdom Pavilion:

United Kingdom Pavilion

Fish & chips for lunch:

Fish & Chips

United Kingdom Pavilion

United Kingdom Pavilion

United Kingdom Pavilion

United Kingdom Pavilion

France Pavilion:

France Pavilion

Pavilion

France Pavilion

France Pavilion

France Pavilion

France Pavilion

France Pavilion

France Pavilion

France Pavilion

Morocco Pavilion:

Morocco Pavilion

Morocco Pavilion

Morocco Pavilion

Japan Pavilion:

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

Japan Pavilion

USA Pavilion:

USA Pavilion

Germany Pavilion:

Germany Pavilion

Germany Pavilion

Globe

Flowers

Topiary

Topiary

Topiary

Topiary

Monorail

We had dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant:

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Coral Reef Restaurant

Seas exhibits:

Seas

Seas

Seas

Seas

Seas

Seas

Seas

Seas

Seas

Globe in lights

Globe in lights

Topiary

Mission: Space ride:

Mission: Space

Mission: Space

Mission: Space

Minnie

During our second visit the Flower and Garden Food Festival was underway, so we sampled several of the options:

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flower and Garden Food Festival

Flowers and dragon

Journey of Water:

Journey of Water

Journey of Water

Journey of Water

Journey of Water

Journey of Water

Journey of Water

The second day, we had dinner at the Space 220 Restaurant, which simulates a restaurant on a space elevator 220 miles above the Earth:

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 Restaurant

Space 220 RestaurantSpace 220 Restaurant

Spaceship Earth globe:

Spaceship Earth globe

Spaceship Earth globe

Spaceship Earth globe

Spaceship Earth globe

We did the Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind ride again:

Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind again

Monorail:

Monorail

Monorail

Monorail

Disney World: Magic Kingdom

We spent eight days at the four Walt Disney World theme parks. We took over 3,000 photos during that time… so a bit of a challenge to filter them down to a reasonable number for the blog. (Where “reasonable” is rather subjective.)

I’m doing a separate post for each park, starting with Magic Kingdom.

Us in front of the railway station:

Jenn and David in front of railway station

Main Street USA:

Main street

Cinderella’s Castle:

Castle

Jenn and David in front of castle

Adventureland:

Adventureland

Pirates of the Caribbean:

Pirates of the Caribbean

Something we don’t see in California’s Disneyland: alligators and snakes:

Alligators and snakes

It’s a small world:

It's a small world

The line was inside, vs outside in Disneyland:

Line inside

It's a small world

New Zealand representation:

New Zealand representation

It's a small world

Teacups:

Teacups

Teacups

The new Tron lightcycle ride:

Jenn and David in front of Tron ride

Tron ride

A video:

Lightcycle

Tron ride

Speedway:

Speedway

Carousel of Progress:

Carousel of Progress

Carousel of Progress

Carousel of Progress

Carousel of Progress

Carousel of Progress

Train:

Train

Train

Liberty Belle Riverboat:

Riverboat

Riverboat

Haunted Mansion:

Haunted Mansion

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad:

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Alligator Swamp

Indian village

The Dapper Dans:

The Dapper Dans

Haunted Mansion:

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Haunted Mansion

Parade:

Parade

Parade

Parade

Skipper Canteen restaurant:

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Skipper Canteen restaurant

Castle

Main street

Main street

Monorail

Back to the campground:

Back to campground

Boat from campground:

Boat from campground

Ferry boats

Monorail:

Monrail

Train station:

Train station

Castle

Castle

Band

Jungle Cruise:

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Jungle Cruise

Castle

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

A video:

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Castle

Fantasyland

Dragon

Dragon

Parade

Rain:

Rain

Rain

Castle

Castle

Tomorrowland:

Tomorrowland

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor:

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor

Monsters Inc Laugh Floor

Peoplemover:

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Peoplemover

Space Mountain:

Space Mountain

Space Mountain

Space Mountain

Space Mountain

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Castle

Main street

Main street

Band

Castle

Castle

Castle

Peter Pan’s Flight:

Peter Pan's Flight

Peter Pan's Flight

Journey of the Little Mermaid:

Journey of the Little Mermaid

Journey of the Little Mermaid

Journey of the Little Mermaid

Journey of the Little Mermaid

Journey of the Little Mermaid

Gaston’s Tavern:

Gaston's Tavern

Gaston's Tavern

Gaston's Tavern

Gaston's Tavern

Castle

Castle

Performance

Performance

Performance

Monorail:

Monorail

Ferry boat:

Ferry boat

Ferry boat

Ferry boat

Parade:

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Parade

Train station

Castle

Island ‘Ting with Sebago Watersports

We’ve previously done a few small sailing cruises, with about six guests. This time we did a larger one, “Island ‘Ting with Sebago Watersports”.

We wanted to do a sailing catamaran excursion. This one had snorkeling, kayaking, and a couple of meals and drinks:

Catamaran

Catamaran

A small breakfast:

Breakfast

Dolphin:

Dolphin

Pelican:

Pelican

Main sail:

Main sail

Ladder:

Ladder

Sitting up front:

Sitting up front

Catamaran:

Catamaran

People sitting up front:

People sitting up front

We wanted to do a sailing excursion, but the wind wasn’t conducive to sailing, so they motored all of the way, with a little token lazy sailing:

Token sailing

Underwater pics from the snorkeling stop; these photos from the 360 camera, which didn’t do a great job:

Underwater

Underwater

Underwater

Boat

These photos from my iPhone, which did a better job:

Underwater

Underwater

Underwater

Underwater

Underwater

Underwater

Underwater

A small lunch; they really didn’t have enough food:

Lunch

Ladder to kayaks:

Ladder to kayaks

Kayak

Kayaks

They had enough kayaks for half of the people, so they split everyone up into two groups. We were in the second group, 45 minutes later. But we were right about the weight limit for the two-person kayaks, and moments after we got in, it capsized, dumping us in the water. So we bailed on that part of the experience. Disappointing. (It wasn’t just us, either; another couple also capsized when getting out.)

Portuguese Man of War jellyfish (GIF):

Portuguese Man of War jellyfish

The sister boat of ours at least bothered to raise the main sail:

Other sailboat

Back at the dock:

Back at the dock

Overall, a disappointing experience. We’ll probably stick with smaller tours in the future.

Dry Tortugas National Park

We visited Dry Tortugas National Park, one of the most difficult national parks to get to, requiring a ferry, seaplane, or private boat to reach it.

Dry Tortugas map.

An interactive map:

We opted for the seaplane, since it was much faster than the ferry, and we’d never been in one before. It was a great experience.

The seaplane is offered by Key West Seaplane Charters, flying out of Key West International Airport (a rather small airport).

An info sheet:

Info document

Info document

Our seaplane:

Our seaplane

Jenn got to ride up front, since she said it was her birthday when they asked if anyone was celebrating (we did go on her birthday in February):

Jenn got to ride up front

Just 10 passengers:

Just 10 passengers

Flying fairly low over the keys:

Flying fairly low

Keys

Keys

Sunken ship:

Sunk ship

Approaching Dry Tortugas:

Approaching Dry Tortugas

Approaching Dry Tortugas

A close pass by a nice catamaran when preparing to land; sailing here on your own boat would be amazing:

Catamaran

Our pilot, who flies in Alaska in summer, and the Keys in winter:

Our pilot

Approaching Dry Tortugas

Landing on water:

Landing

Approaching Dry Tortugas

Approaching Dry Tortugas

Handing gear to shore:

Handing gear to shore

Us in front of the plane:

Us in front of the plane

The other seaplane and the fort:

Seaplane and fort

Fort Jefferson, the largest brick structure in the Americas, started in 1846, but never finished:

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Old dock and the beach where we left our stuff:

Old dock and beach

Moat:

Moat

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Cannonball furnace, where they heated cannonballs to slice through wooden ships like butter, and set them on fire:

Canonball furnace

Canonball furnace

Canonball furnace

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dr Mudd was imprisoned for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth concerning the assassination of Abraham Lincoln:

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Mariners Beware! I was wearing a Seattle Mariners shirt, so found that sign amusing:

Mariners Beware

Dry Tortugas fort

Birds; Dry Tortugas is an important habitat for some seabirds. the adjacent Bush Key was closed for nesting season:

Birds

Birds

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Dry Tortugas fort

Pelicans:

Pelicans

The ferry arriving. Another nice thing about the full-day seaplane option was that we got to enjoy exploring the island for a couple of hours before most people arrived; just the 20 people from the two seaplanes, and a few overnight campers:

Ferry

Once the ferry arrived, we headed back to the beach where we had left our stuff:

Beach

A hermit crab:

Hermit crab

Bricks on the beach:

Bricks on the beach

We went for a swim. Here’s the fort from the water:

Fort from the water

We brought our snorkel gear, but the water was too murky to see much at the time.

Another pelican watching us:

Pelican

We went back into the fort to kill some time:

Dry Tortugas fort

Then back to the seaplane for the return journey:

Back to the seaplane

Departing Dry Tortugas:

Departing Dry Tortugas

Departing Dry Tortugas

Flying

A private island:

Private island

Key West and Fort Zachary Taylor:

Key West and Fort Zachary Taylor

The “Southernmost” Point:

Southernmost Point

Marina:

Marina

Disembarking our seaplane:

Our seaplane

A fun bucket-list experience.

Long Pine Key Campground, Everglades National Park

We stayed at Long Pine Key Campground within Everglades National Park, in Homestead, Florida. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A basic no-hookups campground within the national park. A little short for our coach, but we made it work.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2024-01-21
  • Check out: 2024-02-02
  • 12 nights
  • We were going to stay 14 nights, but left early to avoid some nasty travel day weather

Weather:

  • Mostly cloudy
  • High temps ranging between 69-84°F, lows around 48-70°F
  • Little wind, gusts to 23 MPH, fairly sheltered by trees

Noise:

  • No road noise
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise
  • Generators during the day

Site:

  • #6, back in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • A little unlevel, high on right and front; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 36 feet long by about 10 feet wide; had to back into shrubs
  • Passenger side grass to hedge of trees between site about 30 feet
  • Driver side grass to road wedge-shaped, maximum about 30 feet
  • Picnic table
  • Fire pit
  • Clean site

Utilities:

  • No hookups
  • Used generator and solar for power
  • Used water bladder and pump to refill fresh water tank
  • Used dump tote and macerator to empty gray and black tanks

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • Starlink: 45-60 Mbps down, 16-22 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • AT&T: 145 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • Verizon: 25-41 Mbps down, 20-27 Mbps up, 30 ms ping
  • T-Mobile: 3 Mbps down, 35 Mbps up, 37-437 ms ping
  • Campground Wi-Fi: none

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpsters
  • In Everglades National Park

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Basic campground in the heart of Everglades NP

Pros: Beautiful, large, private sites within the national park.

Cons: Most sites much shorter than listed and facing the wrong way depending on your configuration (motorhome or trailer) so you have to think creatively to get orientated.

Neutral: No hookups of any kind, so be prepared. We camped at Long Pine Key Campground in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Campground map

An interactive map:

Our site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Not really long enough for our coach:

Our site

I got my bike out, for the first time in months (we sold Jenn’s a while ago):

Our site

Our site

Our site

A path to the nearby bathroom block:

Bathroom

Dish washing sink:

Bathroom

Inside the men’s bathroom:

Bathroom

We were staying inside Everglades National Park, and did a sailing trip in Biscayne National Park (posts coming on those in the next couple of days), so we added those stickers to our coach:

National Park stickers

A snake on the road:

Snake

Snake

Entrance and dumpsters:

Entrance and dumpsters

Info sign:

Info sign

There were some solar-heated showers:

Solar showers

Solar shower

An interesting way to park a coach; perhaps a bit against the rules, but a good solution to cope with the sites being too short for big motorhomes:

Other sites

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Tent sites:

Tent sites

The campground had a path to an amphitheater, where they did ranger talks (with my bike in the foreground):

Amphitheater

The Long Pine Key lake:

Lake

Lake

Lake

Lake

A nice campground, despite the lack of hookups. We’d be happy to stay here again.

Universal Studios Florida Theme Park

On the other two days, we visited the Universal Studios Florida Theme Park.

Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando

Universal Orlando

The Simpsons characters:

Simpsons

Characters

Spongebob Storepants:

Spongebob Storepants

Jenn in a pineapple under the sea:

Jenn in a pineapple under the sea

Coming soon:

Coming soon

Shrek

Springfield:

Springfield

Springfield

Springfield

Springfield

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter:

Harry Potter area

Knight Bus:

Knight Bus

Diagon Alley:

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley

San Francisco:

San Francisco

New York:

New York

On another day, we started at Starbucks for some coffee:

Starbucks

The Brown Derby Hat Shop:

The Brown Derby Hat Shop

Beverly Hills:

Beverly Hills

Cars

Kings Cross Station:

Kings Cross Station

Diagon Alley:

Diagon Alley

We did the Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts ride:

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts

Frozen butterbeer:

Butterbeer

Butterbeer

Diagon Alley dragon:

Diagon Alley dragon

Diagon Alley dragon

Selfie

Back to the Future:

Back to the Future

Back to the Future

Finally, we got some Voodoo Doughnuts on the way out:

Voodoo Doughnut

More fun stuff. We’re not so interested in Universal properties, other than Harry Potter, so we basically went to the parks just for that, but enjoyed exploring the other areas too.

Meaher State Park

We stayed at Meaher State Park in Spanish Fort, Alabama. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A delightful state park with spacious sites and lots of wildlife. The I-10 freeway across the water isn’t ideal, but not too bad.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-12-03
  • Check out: 2023-12-17
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, some rain
  • High temps ranging between 57-72°F, lows around 39-59°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 28 MPH

Noise:

  • Freeway noise across the bay
  • No train noise
  • Negligible neighbor noise, other than kids on weekends

Site:

  • #54, back in, asphalt
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked in front of coach
  • Fairly level; used hydraulic leveling
  • Asphalt driveway about 55 feet long by about 12 feet wide
  • Grass between sites about 52 feet wide
  • Picnic table on asphalt patio about 18 by 14 feet
  • No fire pit
  • Clean site
  • Waterfront, though with the back of our coach facing the water

Utilities:

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

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 20 Mbps down, 4-9 Mbps up, 45 ms ping
  • AT&T: 180-395 Mbps down, 4 Mbps up, 22 ms ping
  • Verizon: 5 Mbps down, 9-12 Mbps up, 120 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage dumpster
  • Waterfront (bay)
  • Walking paths

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Gorgeous sunsets, distant hum of I-10

This is a lovely state park along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Gorgeous views of the water, and various shorebirds. I-10 is visible, but the hum is distant and pretty much just background white noise. There are many nice walking trails in the park, including a boardwalk through the wetlands. Sites were large and nicely spread out. We’d definitely stay here again. We camped at Meaher State Park in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our site, backing onto the water:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Utilities:

Utilities

Shortly before we left, I got out my telescoping ladder to clear off a bunch of large pinecones that had fallen on our coach:

Ladder on our coach

Pinecones

Not too bad, though (a rare look at our roof; I’ve still never been on it, and this was only the second time I’ve used the ladder to clear stuff off it):

Roof

Behind our site:

Behind our site

Behind our site

“Do not feed or harass the alligators” — we didn’t see any, but they’re probably all brumating by this time:

Behind our site

We were warned that there were invasive ants in the area, and advised to sprinkle borax around the coach (which we did). We saw some ants, but none near our coach:

Ants

Ants

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabins

Tents:

Tents

The entrance station:

Entrance

Baby turtle crossing:

Baby turtle crossing

Fungus:

Mushrooms

Fungus

Bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Other bathrooms:

Bathrooms

Bathrooms

Picnic shelter:

Picnic shelter

Boat ramp area:

Boat ramp area

Kayaks etc:

Kayaks etc

Boat ramps and dock:

Boat ramps and dock

Dock

Kayak dock:

Kayak dock

Kayak dock

There were lots of birds in the area:

Bird

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Birds

Some bees:

Bees

Bees

A small beach, popular for fishing:

Beach

Beach

A nice delta boardwalk:

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

Delta boardwalk

A fishing pier:

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

Fishing pier

One evening I went for a walk to the fishing pier shortly before the sun set, and enjoyed watching the sunset and hundreds of birds:

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Sunset from fishing pier

Back to our coach:

Sunset from fishing pier

Another day, another sunset behind our site:

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

Sunset behind our site

A very nice state park. We’d definitely stay here again.

New Orleans Steamboat Natchez Sunday Brunch Jazz Cruise

We did a brunch cruise on the Natchez, the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River.

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Live steam calliope playing:

Live calliope playing

A video:

Lunch boarding info:

Lunch boarding info

Dining room:

Dining room

Dining room

Our table:

Our table

Gumbo and salad:

Soup and salad

Buffet:

Buffet

Brunch:

Brunch

Dining room

Dessert:

Dessert

Bow:

Bow

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Gift shop:

Gift shop

Steamboat Natchez

Paddle wheel:

Paddlewheel

Paddlewheel

A video:

Selfie

Paddlewheel

Paddlewheel

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Steamboat Natchez

Life vests in the ceiling:

Life vests in the ceiling

Boiler room:

Boiler room

Boiler room

Boiler room

Boiler room

Engine room:

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Engine room

Three short video clips:

Paddlewheel

Engine room louver

Info

Bar:

Bar

Ship

Near the waterline:

Near the waterline

Bow

New Orleans:

New Orleans

Bridge

Bridge

Church

City

Sister ship City of New Orleans:

City of New Orleans

City of New Orleans

Ferry:

Ferry

Creole Queen:

Creole Queen

Cruise ship:

Cruise ship

Bridge

Bridge

Lines

Throwing a leader line:

Throwing a line

Pulling the line:

Pulling line

On the winch:

Line

Disembarking:

Disembarking

Steamboat Natchez

Posed photo (I really need to learn how to smile in a way that’s visible behind my mustache in such photos):

Posed photo

Natchez info:

Natchez info

Steamboat Natchez

A fun brunch cruise.

New Orleans RV Resort & Marina

We stayed at New Orleans RV Resort & Marina in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Campground Reviews listing.)

A canal-front site close to the attractions of NOLA.

Dates:

  • Check in: 2023-11-19
  • Check out: 2023-12-03
  • 14 nights

Weather:

  • Partly cloudy, some rain
  • High temps ranging between 54-77°F, lows around 50-62°F
  • A little wind, gusts to 24 MPH

Noise:

  • Some road noise
  • Distant train noise
  • Plane noise from local airport
  • Occasional boat and jetski noise in the canal
  • Little neighbor noise

Site:

  • #7, front in, gravel
  • Needed to disconnect toad, parked behind coach
  • Fairly level; used hydraulic leveling
  • Gravel driveway about 50 feet long by about 20 feet wide
  • Bark between sites about 6 feet wide
  • Picnic table on grass
  • No fire pit
  • A bunch of small garbage and dog poop
  • Waterfront!

Utilities:

  • 50 amp power, very conveniently located
  • 35 PSI water, very conveniently located
  • Very loose sewer connection (the screw part wasn’t connected to the pipe), conveniently located (1 10-foot pipe needed)

Internet (in usage priority order):

  • T-Mobile: 55 Mbps down, 32 Mbps up, 54 ms ping
  • AT&T: 7 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up, 52 ms ping
  • Verizon: 9-13 Mbps down, 7 Mbps up, 135 ms ping
  • Starlink: not used
  • Campground Wi-Fi: not used

Amenities:

  • Garbage pickup from site
  • Package delivery to office
  • Onsite restaurant
  • Waterfront (canal)

Our review on Campground Reviews:

Industrial shipyards and pelicans

Don’t let the sketchy-looking area fool you as you drive in. This is a very nice resort close to everything you’d want to do in NOLA. We had a waterfront site and loved watching the birds skimming over the water and the parade of fishing boats going between the lake and the river. Our site was pretty short, just long enough for our 40′ motorhome, with barely enough space to park our tow vehicle alongside, but being able to face over the water was very nice.

The resort has a nice restaurant and bar onsite for when you don’t feel like going into the city itself. All the touristy stuff you’d want to do is conveniently close and parking in the French Quarter was not as scary as I thought it would be. We camped at New Orleans RV Resort & Marina in a Motorhome.

Campground map:

Map

An interactive map:

Our canal-front site:

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Our site

Views from our site:

View

View

View

View

View

A rail drawbridge, sticking up in the open state:

View

And closed:

View

A barge waiting for the drawbridge to open:

View

View

View

Lots of pelicans:

View

View

View

View

View

Moon

The City of New Orleans arriving for servicing:

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

View

Some rainy days:

Rain

Rain

And thunderstorms:

Thunderstorms

The sewer connection was super loose:

Loose sewer

The site wasn’t very clean; this is the trash I picked up on arrival:

Trash

We could fill a gap in our states map (but yes, by the time you read this, Florida will also be there):

States map

We were sandwiched between two “Presidential” sites, with covered kitchens and hot tubs. We wouldn’t have preferred such a site, though, as the roof would have impeded our view:

Other sites

The neighboring hot tub kept blowing open in the wind:

Hot tub

Other sites:

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Other sites

Cabins:

Cabin

Cabin

The office:

Office

Office

Office

They allowed package delivery for guests, with a large pile in the front of the office (not very secure; people just come grab their packages; I prefer it when they have a mail room to keep packages more secure, though of course that is more staff burden):

Packages

There is a shuttle to downtown, though we didn’t use it, preferring to drive and park; plenty of paid parking available:

Shuttle info

Pool:

Pool

Pool

Pool

Dog park:

Dog park

There are two marinas; this is the smaller one behind the office:

Marina

The larger one opposite a boat repair yard:

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

Marina

A nice thing about this resort is an onsite restaurant, The LightHouse Bar:

The LightHouse Bar

Menu:

Menu

Menu

Specials

The LightHouse Bar

The LightHouse Bar

We went there several evenings; here are a sampling of our food and beverages:

Drinks

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

Food

A nice resort; we’d be happy to stay here again.