Destin Army Infantry Recreation Campground (U.S. Military FamCamp) - Destin, Florida (November 2023)

We felt bad about arriving at this campground on Thanksgiving day. That meant the camp host had to interrupt her holiday to check us in since the office was closed. We learned that we were the first of seven check-ins that day and the camp host was very cordial, friendly and welcoming to us. Still, we felt bad that we arrived on a holiday. 

Destin Army Infantry Recreation Campground

The gate at Destin Army Campground

We mentioned before that the campsites in this park are tight. Three people in campers near our site volunteered to move their trucks to give us the space we needed to back into our site. Even then, it was difficult to back in and park Rosie, our Airstream trailer. 

We learned while officially checking in the next morning that the daily rate for this FamCamp was increased a whopping 70 percent. Since we made our reservations at the old rate, the park honored it and charged us the old rate. We couldn’t help think of Gulf State Park and its frequent price hikes. It seemed that we were always hit with a higher cost when we arrived than quoted when we made our reservations at that Alabama state park. 

The ant battle continued from our previous campground during the first couple of days in this park. Rosie was invaded while camping in Alabama and it appeared that we brought the ants with us from the other park. The ant bait seemed to work because we didn’t see ants a day after putting it out. 

Enjoying our Thanksgiving meal inside Rosie

The last time we stayed in this campground, it was Fort Benning's off-base FamCamp. The campground hasn’t changed, but the Fort's name is now Fort Moore. 

If you saw the movie "We Were Soldiers," you know something about Lieutenant General Hal Moore and how he led his 400 soldiers to repel an attack by more than 4,000 troops in Vietnam. I can see the Army's campaign to honor General Moore, but it will take me a while to feel comfortable with the new name.

Sunset from the pier area

There are rental cottages and a hotel adjacent to the RV Campground and the facility was using the winter lull in reservations to renovate the cottages. That meant that we heard the sounds of the workers during the day.

Probably the most interesting result from the renovations was that several of the larger RV sites were taken over by the workers to store new appliances for the cottages. We were amazed as we watched large delivery trucks navigate the tight turns in the campground to deliver new appliances for the renovations. 

They used several camp sites to change out appliances in the cottages

As with most campgrounds we visit, we enjoyed riding our bikes while there. Most of our bike rides were outside the park on the many bike paths around the area. We were amused by the number of rules posted on multiple signs in the Destin city parks.

One of the city's parks

This campground rates high on our list of favorite military FamCamps. While we prefer camping in Florida State Parks, it is almost impossible to get reservations in those parks. Thus, we are thankful for the military FamCamps in that state.

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There was a single loop in the campground
• Our site was a back in
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site had a sewer connection 
• The trash dumpster was in the middle of the campground. It was easy to walk there with your trash
• There was a bathhouse in the campground 
• The park provided WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Circle, Comet, Court-TV, Dabl, ION, LAFF, ME-TV, Retro, Stadium and TBD
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

A water tower near the FamCamp

Suzy enjoying the sunset

Near the campground's shore

All About Relaxing RV Park (Theodore, Alabama) - November 2023

This was our second time camping in this park and we were in the overflow area both times. We were not alone in the overflow area this time as two other RVs joined us there. 

The main difference between the regular sites in this campground and the overflow area was that the overflow area didn’t have sewer connections. That was OK with us since we were there for only three days and we knew how to conserve the amount out waste water going into Rosie’s tank. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.)

Rosie in the overflow area

This was a very nice and well maintained “mom-and-pop campground during our visit. The owners made good use of their property by adding extra pavilions and individual site decorations. But, we were not there to enjoy the park. We picked this park because it was near our son, daughter-in-law and grandson and gave us an opportunity to share Thanksgiving with them. 

Due to our grandson's dog allergies, Suzy, our Yorkie, had to stay in Rosie while we visited our family. We would go back to Rosie several times during the day to check on her and to take her for a walk. We both enjoyed these breaks. 

Since this campground was all about visiting family and not a true camping experience, we didn’t experience the many amenities of the park, which normally would be a shame because this is a very nice RV park. Again, we were there to visit family and we enjoyed being with them. 

It rained more than two inches the first night we were there. Water drainage was good and our site did not flood nor did it have standing water. What it did was encourage ants to invade Rosie. We had to to start full ant protocol while there. We found our unwanted and not invited ant invaders days later inside Rosie. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There was one loop in the campground plus the overflow area
• Our site was a back in
• Most sites had some shade. Our site didn't
• Sites in this park were closer than normal
• Our site was gravel and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean
• Our site had only 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection 
• Trash left outside your camper was picked up every morning 
• There was a bathhouse in the campground. It may qualify as the nicest and cleanest we have ever seen in a campground 
• The park provided WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We found more than 54 TV stations using Rosie’s antenna. This included network stations ABC, CBS, CW, FOX and PBS. Digital channels seen included Antenna-TV, Circle, Comet, Court-TV, Dabl, ION, ME-TV and Rewind
• There were restaurants and shopping nearby
• This was a pet friendly park 

R. Shaefer Heard COE Campground - West Point, Georgia (November 2023)

One of our goals is to never arrive at home after a Rosie adventure late in the day. (Rosie is the name of our Airstream trailer.) Since we cannot store Rosie at home, we have to empty and clean Rosie before taking it back to the storage facility.

Rosie parked while we were checking in

Having said that, this is the second time we camped there because it allowed us to reach home early the next morning, which is a shame because this should be a destination type park. It has great bike trails and many waterfront sites. 

Similar to the previous campground we stayed in, the lake levels here were very low. Some fingers of the lake were mostly dry. Our site backed up to the lake, but the water was about 50 feet farther away than normal. 

Rosie parked at our camping site

The temperature dropped below freezing two nights while we were in this campground. It was good that some fellow Airstreamers shared “cold weather protocols” with us a while back while camping during November in Ohio. Rosie’s heat pumps were able to keep us warm until the outside temperature reached about 35 degrees. When the heat pumps gave up, the furnace kicked in and kept everything cozy. 

Morning "haze" on the lake seen from Rosie's window

Morning sun shining on the lake

It is always interesting how most campgrounds change over the weekend. The campground appeared to be about half full during the week. Things changed Friday afternoon as the “weekenders” started showing up. According to the camp hosts, there were only three empty sites over the weekend and they were no-shows. Suddenly, our loop was noisy and smoky as all weekenders seemed to want a fire. As quickly as they arrived, the weekenders left Sunday morning and our loop returned to being a quiet place to camp. By Sunday evening, our loop was half full with new adventure seekers. 

View from Rosie's rear window

Sunset over the lake

We were the only people riding bicycles around the park during the week. As expected, the e-bikers were riding around during the weekend. For the first time, we had to dodge e-scooters. 

We saw several deer in the park before the weekenders showed up. We also saw a bald eagle fly over Rosie one afternoon. 

Here are some specifics about this campground:

• There were multiple loops in the campground
• Our site was a back in. It had a steep access slope, but the parking pad for Rosie was level 
• Our site had shade
• Most sites had some space on both sides
• Our site was paved with asphalt and we needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean in Rosie
• Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service 
• Our site had a water connection
• Our site did not have a sewer connection 
• There was a dump station in this park 
• There were several trash dumpsters in this campground. The one closest to our site was a long walk away
• There were multiple heated bathhouses in the campground 
• The park did not provide WiFi service 
• AT&T provided 3 bars of 5G voice and data service over our campsite 
• We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Circle, Comet, Dabl, H&I, ION, LAFF, ME-TV and Rewind 
• There were restaurants and shopping within 10 miles of the campground 
• This was a pet friendly park 

Water was low in the lake

Rosie in the campground

Suzy waiting to go on a walk

Part of the dry lakebed

Our site was on the lake

Inside Rosie