Canopener 2016, Topsail Hill Preserve State Park - Destin, Florida

We attended our first Canopener Airstream Rally in 2015. That was when we learned about the WBCCI's (Wally Byam Caravan Club International) Southeastern Camping Unit. This is a very active unit that loves to spend time camping in their Airstreams. That was a good match for us and we joined that unit.

Look at the Canopener through Rosie's window

One of our memories from the 2015 Canopener was the cold weather. Rosie, our 25 foot Airstream trailer kept us warm that weekend and we enjoyed our time at the rally.

Weather would play a role in the 2016 Canopener. Instead of being cold, we found ourselves dodging rain storms. This time Rosie kept us dry. Just as before, we found that the weather was inconvenient, but not a "show stopper." We were able to enjoy the rally with our growing circle of camping friends.
Topsail is not your typical state park. It was a resort style RV Park that the State of Florida purchased and continues to maintain in the same style. Topsail is famous for its manicured lawns and concrete pads.

The rain fell at the 2016 Canopener

We understand why the Canopener Rally is held in Topsail. It is a large park and able to support 100+ Airstream trailers. It has a good clubhouse and the sites are very nice. (More than 100 Airstream trailers and motorhomes were at the 2016 Canopener Rally!) These are things that rally planners love. It is also a nice park to walk around and visit fellow campers.

Nothing like seeing a park full of Airstream trailers

Rosie at the Canopener

Last year we camped in the outer loop and most of the Canopener events took place in the inner loop. We reserved our site early and were lucky enough to get the last available site in the inner loop this year. Somehow most of the events for the 2016 Canopener took place in the outer loop. I guess we will always be out-of-sync with the center of "action" at the Canopener.

Rosie's camping site at the 2016 Canopener

More Airstream trailers at the Canopener

One of the things we are starting to notice is that we are recognizing other Airstreamers when we attend rallys. There were more than half a dozen couples we knew from the Cajun Caravan or the WBCCI International Rally. That helps make attending Airstream rallys special.
Here are some specifics about this park:

• There are two main camping loops. We think the inner loop has the nicer sites.
• Our site had 50, 30 and 20 amp electrical service.
• Our site had water and sewer connections.
• There is a dump station in this park. It may be one of the least used dump stations in the Florida State Park system since the Topsail campsites come with sewer connections.
• Our site had a cable TV connection. Our track record with campground cable TV connections is not great, but it worked this time.
• AT&T placed a good 4G signal for both voice and data in this park.
• There was minimal Wi-Fi service near the laundry. For some reason, I only saw the Wi-Fi signal for a fleeting moment while we were in the park.
• There is a camp store and a coin-operated laundry in the park.
• There is no need to panic if you run out of milk and eggs. There is a Publix grocery store a few miles outside the park.
• We found that we needed to buy drinking water at the Publix grocery store because the park's water didn't taste too good.
• There is a tram that takes campers to the beach at Topsail. It ran every two hours during our visit. I imagine it runs more frequently during the summer months. This may be the only state park on the Gulf coast that we have never made it to the beach.

Will we return to Topsail Hill State Park? Probably, but not before the 2017 Canopener.

Topsail is close to Grayton Beach and its famous trees

Slipping away for lunch

Enjoying the 2016 Canopener