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DESTIN, AN RV DESTINATION?
By Jack
Kean
Destin,
Florida, has long been a favorite
vacation destination for families
throughout the South. My wife
and I have visited most every coast
in the United States, and Destin
truly provides the whitest sand
and most beautiful emerald green
water. So once again, we find ourselves
in Destin, but this time in our
trusty RV.
 If
you have a generous budget, there
is Camping on the Gulf, a resort
campground located right on the
Gulf of Mexico where on-the-beach
sites can go for over $100 a day
(877-226-7485; www.campgulf.com).
It gets high ratings in the various
campground directories. While I’m
sure it is a great place, given
the amount of travel we do, it just
isn’t in our budget.
For
those of you who would like to be
a short walk from the beach and
stay within a modest budget, I highly
recommend Henderson Beach State
Park. For $21 plus tax, you get
a level site with water, electricity
and clean, hot showers close by
(reservations: 800-326-3521). I
recommend that you have a satellite
dish if you want to watch any television.
For some reason, off-the-air reception
is rather iffy. A quick search on
the Internet (http://www.floridastateparks.org)
will provide lots more information
about Henderson Beach State Park,
as well as the many other Florida
State Parks.
Henderson
Beach State Park is located on highway
98 and close to most everything.
From Wal-Mart and FudPuckers
across the street, to Destin Commons
a couple of miles away, and it won’t
take you long to find something
to do. Destin Commons, located at
the corner of Highway 98 and the
Mid-Bay Bridge Road (Hwy. 293),
has a wide variety of stores and
restaurants, a great movie theater
and even free wi-fi at Panera Bread.
Walking through this shoppers’
dreamland is fun, whether or not
you make a significant purchase.
Our
favorite restaurants in the Destin
area include: Old Bay Steamer (102
Santa Rosa Blvd. on Okoloosa Island);
The Crab Trap, situated right on
the beach; Landry’s; and the Donut
Hole. Panera Bread is a great place
for coffee, muffins and sandwiches
while you are checking your e-mail.
Since Destin is a place for tourists,
you will find an almost endless
selection of restaurants.
One
final note: a trip east to Grayton
Beach and Santa Rosa Beach is well
worth the gas, and checking out
Seaside can make you want to move
in. It will be tough to leave Destin,
but we won’t be going far as our
next destination is St. Andrews
State Park in Panama City.
Moving
On To St. Andrews Park
 St.
Andrews State Park (4607 State Park
Lane, 850-233-5140) is located just
southwest of Panama City, Fla. After
staying in Destin for almost two
weeks, we finally left and took
the leisurely drive of about 60
miles to the Panama City area.
St.
Andrews State Park offers a slightly
rustic camping experience. With
the Grand Lagoon on one side and
the Gulf of Mexico on the other
side, you are never far from water.
Sites are pretty level and plenty
large enough for most rigs. The
showers are not the greatest, but
there is hot water and they are
clean. Good places to walk or ride
a bike. Check out Gator Lake,
though I didn’t see any gators myself.
 From
St. Andrews, we took highway 98
east to Saint George Island State
Park, which is located on the eastern
end of Lake George Island. Nine
miles of undeveloped and pristine
beaches provide a unique camping
experience. Reasonably large sites,
clean showers and restrooms, and
a five-minute walk to pristine beaches
make this a great place to be in
your RV.
Once
you cross the bridge to get on Lake
George Island, you go four miles
to the park entrance. From the entrance,
it is another four miles to camping
sites. A beautiful four- mile drive
along amazing sand dunes and beaches
makes you glad you came. There are
great places to put miles and miles
on your bike or walk along the beach
and check out the available shells.
St.
George Island State Park is like
a place lost in time, and it is
a Florida that almost no longer
exists.
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