We wanted to squeeze one more camping trip in before having to winterize Rosie, our Airstream trailer. Once again, Becky wanted to head south to the Gulf coast.
We first tried to get reservations in Big Lagoon State Park and were surprised to learn their campground closed nearly a year ago for renovations. We camped there after Hurricane Sally hit in 2020. Both the park and the campground suffered major damage from that storm. We are glad the State of Florida is working to improve the park.
I called a military FamCamp in Pensacola next. We were able to reserve two weeks on Battleship Row at the Blue Angels Naval Recreation Area. We always enjoy being at this campground.
In the past, we had to search for an open site once we arrived at the park. This time was different in that we were assigned a site when we arrived. I asked the person who assigned our site how the new system was working. She said it was fifty-fifty between those who disliked it and those who really disliked it.
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| Road sign for the Blue Angels Naval Recreation Area |
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| Sign directing visitors to Battleship Row or Anchor Cove |
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| Battleship Row |
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| Rosie in our site on Battleship Row |
We watched several RVs back into their assigned spaces that appeared to be too small for their oversized rigs. One across from Rosie missed hitting a light post by what appeared to be a few inches. The new assigned parking system seems to be giving arriving campers something to talk about.
Mobile (Alabama) was 90 minutes away from Battleship Row. That allowed us to travel there for our grandson’s birthday and for Thanksgiving. The FamCamp sponsored a “pot luck” Thanksgiving meal for the campers in the park, which we heard was great.
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| Thanksgiving with our grandson |
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| Traveling through the I-10 Mobile Bay Tunnel while heading back to Pensacola |
Many campsites in the park were decorated for Thanksgiving with lights and blow-up turkeys. That quickly changed over to Christmas decorations, lights and Santas the day after Thanksgiving.
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| Turkey decorations for Thanksgiving |
We made it to Big Lagoon State Park to talk to a Ranger about their campground renovations. I was disappointed to learn they were not adding sewer connections to their campsites. The changes were focused on upgrades to the electrical and water systems.
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| Selfie from the tower at Big Lagoon State Park |
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| Boardwalk at Big Lagoon State Park |
We ate breakfast at Johnson Beach two mornings while camping in Pensacola. Johnson Beach is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore. We enjoyed walking on the beach.
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| Enjoying the view at Johnson Beach as we ate breakfast there |
The temperatures dropped below freezing two nights while we were there. The heat pumps kept Rosie very cozy inside.
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| Cold weather camping in Rosie |
We noticed an abnormal number of "boat ramps" in this U.S. Navy FamCamp. I asked the camp host if this had been used to train pilots for boat planes. The camp host confirmed that most Navy flying boat pilots during World War II received their flight training here. He added that John Wayne starred in a movie filmed at that base called "The Wings of Eagles." I was able to find the trailer for that movie and was surprised at the number of buildings that used to be in what is now the campground.
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| The large concrete pad with airplane tie-downs in front or Battleship Row |
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| One of the many "boat launches: in this campground |
We did notice a potential electrical problem one cold night. Rosie's batteries were down to a 30 percent charge. Normally, I look for a Navy Chief when facing a problem with our Airstream while in a military FamCamp. Past experience has shown that they can diagnose and fix anything. I could not find a Navy Chief, but a retired Navy pilot was about four spaces from us and he was willing to help. He also had an Airstream trailer and loved talking about how he did most maintenance on his trailer.
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| Suzy ignoring the sign |
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| Suzy in the playground area |
We were able to determine that we had a "real" electrical problem with Rosie's batteries and that we couldn't ignore it. We called Foley RV in Gulfport, Mississippi and they said they would be able to work on Rosie the next morning.
We left about 6:30 the next morning headed to Foley RV. We hoped their service department could fix Rosie before noon.
This was our fourth camping trip of the year since getting the "go ahead" from my physicians after the bike accident. It was wonderful to be out camping again.
Here are some specifics about this campground:
- There were two campgrounds (Battleship Row and Anchor Cove) and multiple loops in each 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 with a concrete pad. We needed to use leveling tools to correct a side-to-side lean
- Our site had 20, 30 and 50 amp electrical service
- Our site had a water connection
- Our site had a sewer connection
- The trash dumpsters were near the two laundry buildings in both campgrounds
- There was a bathhouse in the campground
- The park did not provide WiFi service
- AT&T provided 1 bar of 5G voice and data service over our campsite
- We were able to watch ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC and PBS using Rosie’s TV antenna. Digital channels seen were Antenna-TV, Bounce, Charge, Comet, Court-TV, Cozi, Dabl, Grit, ION, LAFF, ME-TV, Outlaw and Rewind
- There were restaurants and shopping nearby
- This was a pet friendly park
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