We’ve had this park on our radar for a while. Fun pictures flood our feeds during the winter each year.
This was our year. The spring FRVA rally was in Perry, Georgia and Pensacola is kind of on the way. In a long, round about way. We lucked out and they had one spot open, not a beachfront spot, but that didn’t matter. We had a spot.
The park was filled with cold weather out of state plates. Our Arizona plate was the odd one in a mix of Illinois, New Hampshire, Iowa, Michigan and more.
There are 72 total spaces, 17 of which are beachfront. One couple from Ohio said they make next year’s reservation before they leave this year. I think that’s probably the norm for spots in Florida. I know it is at some places in Arizona as well.
We were in site 60, a pull-in spot that used to face the greenbelt area. I say used to because there are now two mobile homes used as camping cabins at our end of the greenbelt. Not ideal but, we didn’t mind for our two-night stay.
The sites are a mostly back-in with our row being pull-in. Most sites can easily accommodate larger RVs. There is a pool behind the check in building adjacent to the greenbelt.
We’d love to stay in one of the back-in sites along the beach. You can watch the parasail boats in the bay. The real star to see in the water are the dolphins. I could watch them all day.
The park is laid out well as a large rectangle. Our morning walk was 8 laps which equated to two miles.
Mark had big plans for us. We recently got electric bikes and he found a restaurant with a dog friendly patio we could ride to. As soon as we got the RV plugged in, we set off for our ride.
This adventure will be talked about at the campfire for years. “There’s a path along the beach; it’ll be a beautiful ride.” I am always up for a bike ride. He totally lied. It was part path, part bike lane with scarce water views from behind huge sand berms and wicked 18+mph crosswinds both ways. The saving grace was the giant sand berms protected us from getting pelted with sand.
800 miles later we arrived at Andy D’s Beachside Restaurant & Deck Bar was great. I kid, it was only 18.5 miles. The staff was so friendly and Daisy got spoiled by all the people petting her. We’ll definitely be back.
The ride back was interesting. The wind howled. Mark’s battery died with about 8 miles remaining on the ride. Riding into a headwind is challenging but a crosswind is worse with each new gust. I still had plenty of battery because I wasn’t pulling a 32-pound dog in a bike trailer. I jumped out to the front so he could draft behind me which hilariously failed.
Back at our campsite we put the batteries on the charger, walked Daisy then headed to the Sneaky Tiki bar for a drink. We earned it, Mark certainly did. We told the bartender of our adventure and she remarked that if we’d gone the other direction towards Fort Pickens, we would have had several dog friendly patios within a mile or two. I’ll say it again; this will be talked about for a long time!
Every RV Resort on the beach needs a Sneaky Tiki bar. It should be a requirement. They served food and beverages, had lots of Adirondack chairs to relax in and tables with umbrellas. There were several cornhole boards ready to play and volleyball nets. It was a campground gathering place and we met people from all over.
Our second day was spent doing laundry after walking around historic downtown Pensacola. While the loads dried, we relaxed in a beachside Adirondack chair watching boats and dolphins, a perfect way to conquer a tedious chore. Too bad we don’t have dolphins to watch while doing laundry in the desert southwest.
Until next time because we will return.