Blackwater State Park and Tarpon Springs, FL

We spent a night at Blackwater State Park, which was our 2nd stop as we began our journey back in May.  Back then a good portion of the area was flooded after huge rain storms, but this time it was high and dry.  From there we continued on Route 98 which takes you through the rural parts of Florida where you get a feel for the REAL Florida, as apposed to spending the whole trip on a freeway.  We stayed a night at Mannatee State Park, again another real FIND for a place to visit and see another unique part of Florida.
I've always wanted to see Tarpon Springs so we made a stop there and wandered the town.

St. Joseph Penninsula, FL

We've just spent 3 days on St. Joseph Penninsula, at the State Park.  What an incredible location.  I know that we have a beautiful beach on Sanibel, but this is really a lovely, lovely area.  The beach is gorgeous with deep sugar like sand, huge sand dunes and the water is clear and gentle.  It was nice to stay in one place for a couple of days and do  nothing....which is what we did.  We even, FINALLY, had a campfire after BBQing Buffalo burgers (meat purchased in Yellowstone and saved for a special occasion) and took a walk on the beach around 9:00 where the stars were incredibly bright and beautifful.  The peninsula sticks out so far in the water that we truly had "dark skies" so it was really spectacular.  If you get a chance you should google this place....truly worth a visit if you are in this area.
One more night out and then we should be home.  It's been such a wonderful adventure that I have to be honest and say I'm dragging my feet getting home.  We'll continue along the coastal route until we get close to Tampa and then we'll zip on to I-75 on Monday.

New Orleans photos part 2

Ummmm, Yummy Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

The Mighty Mississippi

Filming of NCIS New Orleans

Filming of NCIS New Orleans

Unbelievable crabcakes

Had dinner here our last night

Texas to New Orleans

We've left Texas, finally.  After San Antonio we spent a night on Padre Island, Corpus Christie after stopping at a walk-in clinic to get me a breathing treatment and some meds.  Three weeks of barking like a dog was just exhausting!  Another night at Surfside on the southern tip of Galveston Island and RIGHT on the beach!  Awesome location.   We finished off Texas by driving up the coast and being totally amazed at the refineries everywhere you look!  HUGE facilities too.
Finally we make it to Louisiana and spent the night in Duson, LA at another small campground called Froggie RV.  On Monday we made it to New Orleans French Quarter RV, right in the center of town.  We'd heard about it, but thought it would be an ugly parking lot.  Turns out it's a first class site with paved parking sites and lawns between very spacious sites.  We can walk to the Waterfront and Bourbon street in just minutes.  Of course it's THE MOST EXPENSIVE place we've stayed, but as they say....it's location, location, location!  We took the Hop-on Hop-off tour as well as a guided tour around the City so feel we got to see a lot.  The food has been outstanding!  We had beignets at Cafe Du Mond and Muffeletta's from Central Grocery, where they were invented.   After touring and walking all over the City we had fantastic dinner's, oyster's and local beers.  We've had two great nights here, but guess we hit the road tomorrow and most likely will shoot on home.  We wanted to see all we could up to this point because the next trip will be more up the center of the country and we might not make it back here for a while.

San Antonio, TX part 2