Home Again, While on the Road

We are spending a week at one of our favorite campgrounds in Florida - one that feels like home whenever we are here: Blackwater River State Park.  We first stayed here in February, 2016.  At the time it was a "default" campground because the campgrounds along the coastal beaches where we had hoped to stay were full.  During that stay, it became one of our favorite places, so we were thrilled to find that we could stay for a week now, without having made prior reservations. 

Based on what we've seen on the news, we had thought that the Florida Panhandle and areas inland from that were severely affected by the last round of hurricanes, so our initial plan for this winter was to head to campgrounds in South Carolina.  Since a "weather window" opened sooner than we had expected, we left Michigan a week earlier than planned and as luck would have it wound up here at Blackwater.  The link above from our first stay here in 2016 describes our first impressions of this park.  Our stay here this year just reinforces our earlier perceptions.

Because of the limited number of campground sites (30 compared to over a hundred at other state parks) it is a quiet place, conducive to reflection and relaxation. 

 Despite the signs warning of alligator presence, at this time of year and at these temperatures, not only the alligators but also the turtles and other water creatures are either hibernating or hiding - at least we have not spotted any.

We have made the 1-hour drive into Pensacola twice from here, so that we could feast on fresh seafood, prepared by us in our Airstream, served on paper plates rather than fine china - delicious - well worth the drive. 

"Royal Red" shrimp from Joe Patti's in Pensacola

Seared sesame Ahi tuna - served on a paper plate in our Airstream still tastes as elegant as if prepared at a restaurant

We have spent hours reading, hours walking on the well-maintained paths and boardwalks or over rough wooden bridges through the swampy areas; we have stopped numerous times to watch the reflections of the cypress and other water-loving trees in the low-lying swampy areas; we have been amazed yet again at the incredible white-sand beaches along this river, and have talked about how much our grandson Jack would enjoy playing in that beautiful, soft sand. We have relaxed in the evenings by a campfire, talking quietly or not at all, sipping wine, savoring the evening air.

Natural tree-root stairs on a walking path at Blackwater River SP

This is a park that appears to draw visitors of all ages, with one thing in common - appreciation of the natural beauty and quiet of this place - a place to which we hope to return, again and again, as somewhere that feeds our souls.