Florida's Corps of Engineer Campgrounds

There are only three COE campgrounds in Florida and we have now stayed each at least once. They are wonderful places, each on the water with lots to see. The intra coastal waterway in Florida as mentioned in past posts is busy with both commercial and lots of pleasure boats
There are lots of advantages to staying in these campgrounds that I have also mentioned before but just to remind anyone 62 years old or older you can use the Golden Age Pass when staying there to get the campsite at half price. Mind that you are only allowed to stay 14 days at a time and its important to get your reservations as soon as they open up (6 months previous to the start date). They are also some of the most well kept campgrounds you will see.One thing I haven't mentioned is that two of these not only have campsites, but docking facilities for the pleasure boats that travel the waterway.We are staying now at the Franklin Locks ....the picture below shows the view from our campsite there at dusk.
We move on Sunday to stay a private campground just down the river.

Saint Lucie Locks and Campground

A few years back, we were introduced to the COE parks here in Florida along the Caloosahatchee River that runs from the Gulf of Mexico to Lake Okeechobee and then on to the Atlantic Coast via the St Lucie Canal. There are at least 4 locks along the way to control the water levels, all under the control of the Army Corps of Engineers. Along with controlling the "intra" coastal waterway, the Corps has three wonderful campgrounds. We have now stayed at all three and they are the best!

The first two pictures below are from the locks and campground on the Saint Lucie Canal....the first looking towards the locks and east from our campsite. This spot is one of only 9 at the campground, but as you can see it provides everything you might need.

This West view from the campsite shows the canal with a sample of some of the beautiful pleasure boats that travel from coast to coast.The locks themselves are really quite interesting and our stay at this campground gave us some great views of the different pleasure boats while they traversed through the locks.

The seal on the lock gates are not exactly water tight, but that doesn't seem to present any problems. At all of the locks along the way they pay special attention to any passing Manatee's that pass through. There is even a volunteer that tries to keep track to protect the animals from boat traffic and injury from the locks.....Hmmm! Seems like a good job! Pay is a free camping site for the time period you volunteer.
Right now with the water level being high there is about a 13 foot drop in each cycle of the lock. It does take a considerable amount of time, but it seens to go quickly and it's fun to watch.The locks are not only for the many pleasure boats, but occasionally there are commercial pushboats and tugs with their working barges, like this one pictured below.
This one first pushed the barge through the locks on one trip, then left a smaller push boat with the first unit, and went back for a second barge, reconnected and then moved on towards the coast.The locks draw a lot of visitors and besides the obvious amenities like the campground and locks they have a park for children and nature trails to see.

Oh! did I mention how nice the weather is down here......

Last Night Time Shuttle Launch

This picture really says it all! We were fortunate enough to see the last shuttle launch at night and it was fantastic As you may or may not know, it went off flawlessly at 8:00 PM this past Friday evening.

If you look close you see everything...the launch...a beautiful full moon....and everyone on the beach trying to take a picture of an unbelievably awesome event. The picture below is with telephoto and brings the event somewhat closer, but we were quite some distance which was made really apparent as the sound was substantially delayed from the actual view we were seeing. When we did hear the sound it was loud!

We hadn't planned on being in the area as we had made our campground reservations some time ago. When we learned of the opportunity, we tried to make sure to see it. Our friends the Armstrong's called and we made arrangements to meet them for dinner at "Paul's Smokehouse". Its a great restaurant almost directly across from the launch site. The food was good and they allowed us to just sit and wait prior to the launch in a most comfortable atmosphere, with lots of food and drink. After sitting some time with all our treats and dinner, we went outside to the watch along with what appeared to be thousands of others who all were on the road home afterward.

Our selves with good friends the Armstrong's ..... a special night!

Sweet Potato Jam 2008

While planning our trip South this year I got kind of a wild hair and started checking to see what opportunities there might be to see some entertainment this year while in Florida. At any rate, I came across what was described as a blues, rock, rock-a-billie.......concert called the "Sweet Potato Jam 2008, with Delbert McClinton as the headliner followed by Teresa James, Big Joe and the Boys, and the Super Grit Cowboy Band. A Mr. Kendall Hill and entrepreneur was having a Birthday Party to which he invites a few people (500-600)to see his favorite entertainers. After being interviewed for 45 minutes (quite literally) with questions like ..."When you drink beer, are you a lover or a fighter?" we were invited to come to the concert. Mr. Hill owns this huge complex to store his crops and for some number of years has had this event as his "birthday party" in his potato storage area.

The warehouse itself is surprisingly clean and big

We were staying in Kinston at the Nature Park shown in the previous post and not being too sure what we gotten ourselves into we went out to explore where we were going to be for the concert.

The electrical and lighting was being done when we check the area out

You'll notice there was no specific seating and we had been told to bring chairs and treats, no glass, and an Hors d'oeuvre to pass and of course BYOB. The tables were bins used to store the potato's until shipment.

We had fun meeting new people and were surprised to some extent the age group of the crowd...I would guess the average age was 55 or more which was interesting because this party had no end time and we were told that it goes well past 2:00AM (doors opened at 6:00 PM)
There were of course the characters that always show at events and this guy below was really that. He dozed off about 11:30 and I hope he made it home in one piece. He really was a good and funny guy.
We did meet other couples that sort of took us under wing and taught us the proper use of the term barbecue in North Carolina
The couple below were from Virginia and the first in line to get in....we were second... and had a nice conversation while waiting to get in. They invited us to join them at their "table" which was very much appreciated.
The music was fantastic! People were at the stage front most of the night with people dancing everywhere. The entertainers mixed with the crowd and it was just a down home party.

If opportunity presents itself, we hope to be invited back next year!

Kinston, North Carolina

After changing a flat tire and the late start, we did not get as far as we had hoped on day, but we are now in Kinston, North Carolina where we plan to stay thru the weekend. Today we spent exploring the area, fixing the tire and looking over the campground were staying at since we arrived after dark. We are staying at the Neuseway Nature Park located right on the Neuse River in the middle of Kinston which surprisingly larger that we thought. There are only 14 campsites and all are full hookup. We are right on the bank of the river......This place is really quite nice! Next to us on the river and available for rental was a tipi on a platform which was really sizable although I'm not sure how you would transport the poles when going camping.Among other things there was the nature center with lots of stuffed and live animals on display for school groups even a climbing wall outside the center.Oh! did I mention they had a small train with a real caboose for a ticket office.We also looked around the city of Kinston to see what was interesting besides being an old southern town with lots of classic houses. One thing we we spotted was this replica of and ironclad ship that was built during the civil war in secret on the Neuse river that was later scuttled to prevent the yankees from capturing her. Of interest they dismantled an old locomotive steam for power. Now its on display right downtown Kinston.

Were off to the coast tomorrow hopefully we will see some of the wild horses.

Finally! On the road again!

Election day we finally put together all our doctors appointments behind us (seems to be more of them the older we get) tried to say our goodby's to friends and neighbors and left for the the warmer climates....although it has been warmer at home than some of the places we planned to stop. 10 miles down the road from home a driver pulled up next to me to tell me about the left rear of our pickup either flat or soon to be flat. I was able to pull over....in the middle of the I96 - I275 interchange and change the tire. Great Start!

The illustrations below show man hard at work! Note the traffic!

After the tire change we made reasonable time, but did not get as far as we had hoped but did stay at Rippling Waters Campground located in Romance, West Virginia which was quiet and nice. Its good to be in the coach again!

Headed for Kinston, North Carolina for a unique birthday party....hope to see Cape Hatteras while there. Will post again soon.