The destination was St. Augustine, on the coldest weekend of the year!  It was down to almost freezing a couple of nights.  I left my tank heaters on just in case.  The good new was the furnaces in both Rockwoods worked great.  Doug borrowed my dual element ceramic heater that I carry just in case.  Kept his Airstream trailer toasty too.  The walk along the beach was nice.  The dunes protected us from the winds.  However, the walk down the dock to the river was painful.  I've been in FL too long.  That cold wind reminded me why I don't live up North.

The campground was the Beachcomber Outdoor Resort.  They are a privately owned campground.  Members get a discount rate (~$8/night), everyone else pays $40/night.  Not bad considering the location.  The campground has dirt roads, concrete pads/patios, clean bathrooms, swimming pool, etc.  Full hookups, but no cable.  No WiFi, but cell phone reception is excellent if you have a cellular based network card.

They take reservations, but require no prepayment.  They don't take credit cards, so be prepared to pay cash upon your arrival.  Check-in was a snap.  They had my "package" ready when I arrived.  It had a map, my entry tag, name tag for the window of the camper, etc.  Very efficient.  While they do reserve a section for you, they don't reserve a particular site.  That's on a first come, first served basis.  You get to pick one left available based on size.  They color code the site markers, so picking one is relatively easy.

Our campsite between two trees, and almost up against Sandy's camper.

A picture from Sandy & Janice's site.

Look, a 52' Rockwood.

Okay, they're not joined, but almost.  If either trailer was moved forward, it would have put the tow vehicle further in the road.

Doug & Cindy's setup.  About 5 years in the making, countless hours, they brought life back into an old Airstream.  New axles, A/C, and interior.  Certainly a labor of love.  Doug is now working on the final stage, buffing the outside.  It's looking great! 

They got a  less cramped site, with a view of wilderness rather than other campers.

Cindy came up with the idea of doing a progressive dinner.  I've only ever done this through a church.  We started in their recently remodeled Airstream (nice, eh?).  Salad, fresh Cuban bread, and wine.  Man, this was going to be a great night!

Round two... Janice serves up chicken cacciatore, cooked in her Crockpot.

The chicken was so moist and tender it cut with a fork.  Add to that some garlic bread and wine, you end up with another perfect course.

DOH!

Bellies full, time for a campfire.  But this campground didn't allow campfires.  No problem, Sandy got out his gas fired campfire.  Considered a grill, it's permissible when a fire isn't.  Ceramic logs on a bed of vermiculite.  Looked like the real thing.  He says it burns about a pound of propane/hr.

Within the campground is a boardwalk out to the river. At the beginning of the boardwalk is a nice place to enjoy the view.

Quite a walk to the end of it.

Right across the street from the campground is the beach.  Several people fishing, but don't think they were catching anything.  Too cold for swimming this time of year.

Nice day for a long walk on the beach.  Very few others here.

One of the many jellyfish on the beach.

Found a small sea urchin.

Sandy got a nice picture of this pelican.  We chased him around for a while until he finally posed for us.

Another nice picture from Sandy.

Doug & Cindy packing up for the trip home.

Hey Sandy, did you have a good time?

I've been camping since 1969, and I think this was my favorite trip to date.  Camping is fun, but camping with friends, is awesome!  I hope someday we can get our schedules to click once again.

Last updated 02/21/07    All rights reserved.