Powerful Words^™

I was trying to think of a way to cram a report of the last three days into one blog post, since I’ve been too busy or too tired to write. I thought, what have the last three days had in common–other than the beach, that is. ;) The answer came to me in a flash of palm trees, dirty sand and shower stalls: camping.

I’ve stayed in three different campgrounds the last three nights, and each time I took a little time to work, eat and nose around. Yes, for those of you who seem to love my red Jeep as much as me, I slept in the back all three nights. Tonight they made me pitch my tent, even though I won’t sleep in it, because there is a law in Panama City that you can’t sleep in your vehicle, even if it’s a Jeep. What?

I was originally going to stay in truck stops, hotel parking lots and Walmarts to save money, but the first and third are few and far between out here along the coast, and the hotel parking lots are just too conspicuous. So I’m biting the bullet and paying for campgrounds. I had the opportunity to stay in a quaint little inn at Port St. Joe, but I opted for a fancy dinner at the Seaside Coastal Inn instead–pecan encrusted mahi mahi with snap peas and sweet potato soufflé. It was really, really good, and the staff was amazing. I promised to say hello from Vicki the hostess, and Sandy “the GORGEOUS bartender.” My waiter–forgot to ask his name–engaged in a terrific conservative rant on politics that would make any Nebraskan proud.

When I told hm about my travels, he laughed and asked if I was having fun being a beach bum…then changed his mind and said I was more like a gypsy. I love it! I’ve always thought of myself as a gypsy for some reason, and when I was in New Orleans once a past life reader at a voodoo shop said I had been a gypsy in a previous life. (That would explain a lot.)

So…here are quick descriptions of the past three campgrounds I’ve stayed in, plus the previous two, to give you a good range.

1. Four nights ago: Homosassa River RV Park. This was a very well run, but obviously private, business. They were organized, extremely clean and friendly, but they enforced the rules. Once they saw I was willing to follow the rules, they were very accommodating. They apparently have a lot of people sneak in and out without paying. LOL…I slept in until ten or so, and J.R. figured I was planning to pay. He hollered at me from his golf cart to make sure everything was okay, and then felt bad he woke me up. How would he have known I stayed up until 2:30 working?

This campground had a recreation room where the guys playing pool told me how to find the list of open spots, an immaculate shower house that was cleaned every day, a pool and lots of other things to do. The campground looked almost full, and RVs were all crammed in next to each other, with little vegetation or screening between spots. Whether a good thing or a bad thing, this campground was in the middle of nowhere! You had to go quite a way off the main road to get to it, but there were lots of neat businesses to support the area. This is near where I picked up the smoked mullet and corn salad I mentioned in one of the other blog posts.

2. Three nights ago: St. George State Park on St. George Island. By far the best campground I’ve stayed in on this trip…maybe EVER! It was well laid out, so campers had quite a bit of vegetation screening them from each other. It was gorgeous. The island has protected dunes, so it’s not overused. There are boardwalks to get around and well-spaced access paths to the beach. The shower house was immaculate, too, and looked almost new. There were two huge parking lots to accommodate the crowds during more popular times of year.

The ranger was helpful and well-organized…very professional, but friendly. I asked if it was very busy, and he said it was surprisingly slow. He thought people may have decided to stay up north for Christmas since it was a mild winter, or the ones going further south might have decided not to stop this year. This is where I saw my first beach sunset. It took my breath away. Again, i was the only one on the beach to experience it. It’s as if God is going along with my plan to spend time alone on this trip.

3. Two nights ago: Indian Pass campground near Port St. Joe. Surrounded on three sides by water, some of it in the Gulf and some of it in St. Joseph Bay, this private campground is surrounded by paradise, and it was packed with campers and RVs. The tent spaces were all open, because no one wants to stay in tents this time of year. It wasn’t that cold: 40 degrees or so that night and in the lower 70s the next day.

The campground itself was charming, and little store was set up to look like a teepee. It was obviously off-season, because the swimming pool was looking a little rough, and the staff seemed relaxed and maybe relieved not to have the crowds of spring and summer? The shower house was in a converted trailer, and although a little rough around the edges was clean and well set up. This shower was arranged the best, with actual shower curtains partitioning off the shower stall and the dressing area for each shower.

The scenery off the tip of this peninsula was thrilling and peaceful. I met a great guy from Canada and his friend from New York. The Canadian asked if I had seen him gawking at me the previous night through the window of his RV. They had been waiting for friends who were supposed to have reserved the spot I pulled into. I had suspected I was in the wrong spot, but it had been so dark, I couldn’t see the numbers well. He apologized for gawking and said it was no big deal that I pulled into the wrong spot. People come and go there in a very relaxed way and no one minds.

3. Last night: St. Andrews State Park near Panama City. Again, the camping spots are well-laid-out, with delightful greenery screens between spots. I had a guy park right next to me later in the night, and I could barely see his car in the morning. I might have liked to see it better…I was curious about the kayak on the roof. Again, the shower house was clean and almost new. The ranger was friendly and professional.

I saw deer on the road twice, and as I walked up to the shower house late at night I could hear them clomping away just behind a bush near the sidewalk. Wow! One of the deer in my headlights earlier had looked like a five-point buck–only about three feet tall! It was cute!

4. Tonight: Camper’s Inn, Panama City. I didn’t get far today, because I slept in (of course…but I worked late last night…of course). Then I worked three hours in my camping spot, which was sheltered by funny-looking towering pine trees. Nothing like in the Rockies, but just as beautiful. It was chilly, but I still wore my flip flops most of the day. I is a tough Nebraska chick. I finally had to give up and put on my boots and camo jacket. I thought maybe it would make me blend in, and I might be lucky enough to have a deer walk into my clearing…but didn’t happen.

Finally, when I came up for air, I packed the truck, went over to take a shower, then visited one of the swimming beaches to see what the beach was like. When I pulled into the parking lot, it was full of cars. What? It was too cold to swim. I was wildly curious, and as I got closer I had my answer: surfing. (In wet suits.) I practically ran up the steps and over the dune to see. Another amazing site for this backwoods Nebraskan. (I’m really a city girl, but this is about as foreign to me as a skyscraper to a hillbilly.)

There were about 20 or 30 surfers catching waves, and I stood to watch for a long time. I also saw people digging for seashells in the side of a cliff made of nothing but sand. The waves had carved it from the beach apparently. In some places, it had to have been five or six feet down to the wet sand. Standing on the cliff of sand and looking down made it feel like I was floating, and I had visions of the sand avalanching down to the water with me on it. It was interesting to me that none of the surfers seemed to be female. There were two girls sitting on the beach looking miserable in the cold, watching their guys hanging with the waves.

So, five nights and five different campgrounds, three of them private and two state parks. What were the differences? Honestly, the government-run campgrounds were definitely cleaner, better organized and felt safer. There were gates at the entrance that you had to open with a code if you came back in after dark. If you didn’t make a reservation before sundown, you were out of luck for that night.

The private campgrounds were more relaxed, and the guests were friendlier. Attendants or owners were more willing to bend the rules. At Homosassa, they gave me an outrageously good rate, which was very helpful since I hadn’t planned on spending so much for camping. Don’t go there and expect to get an outrageously good rate for yourself (I’m special), but you will not be disappointed in the rate or the quality of the campground.

It makes me wonder about other businesses and similar government operations. Take gift shops, for example. Gift shops at national parks are really nice and usually very well run, because they follow a set of standards. It’s easy to relax and enjoy the safe, clean experience. On the other hand, private gift shops are often a little rougher around the edges…but more interesting.

Government businesses can seem like cookie-cutter enterprises, because they are. Private businesses can seem as though they are slipping on some standards, such as cleanliness, upkeep, organization and such, but they make up for it in delightful surprises, like dishes you’ve never tasted in chain restaurants or one-of-a-kind jewelry made by the owner’s daughter.

They are both good. I’ve loved every campground I’ve been in, but there are tricks to learn–and mistakes to avoid–in both.