Looking to regroup a little, we arrived in Carrabelle Beach Florida in mid October. This area of the panhandle is called the “Forgotten Coast”, sighting “it’s the last remaining stretch of unspoiled pristine Gulf Coast beaches that haven’t been overrun by high rises and strip malls”. It’s part of the Big Bend region that includes over 200 miles of coastline from Mexico Beach, east through Apalachicola, to St. Marks on Apalachee Bay.

Carrabelle Beach RV Resort is located on Highway 98 directly across from the Gulf of Mexico, about 60 miles southwest of Tallahassee. A great place to enjoy a slower pace and nice weather this time of year, until we leave here just before Thanksgiving.

Prior to dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Ian and arriving in Carrabelle Beach, we enjoyed our trip to Letchworth State Park in western New York, as well as a stop in Hershey, PA, after leaving Michigan in early September.

Letchworth State Park is advertised as the “Grand Canyon of the East”. I was a little skeptical, but admit is was very impressive. Formed by the Genesee River, there are three major waterfalls, cliffs up to 600′ in the gorge, and 66 miles of hiking trails. The State Park campground was also very nice.

From there we made stops in Maryland/DC, Virginia, and North Carolina to see family. It had been a while, so we took a Monuments by Moonlight tour in Washington DC.

The hurricane hit while we were in North Carolina, but the timing worked out for us to still make our planned stops in Charleston, SC and St. Augustine, FL.

These two parks are worth noting: James Island County Park near Charleston, SC – a county park with full hookups; and North Beach Camp Resort in St. Augustine, FL. Both very nice parks in good locations. Unfortunately during this time, we were both a little under the weather with what turned out to be one of the COVID strains. Nothing serious, but lots of rest required.

Following our Thanksgiving trip to North Carolina, we will spend the winter months in a new location, Emerald Pointe RV Resort near Zephyrhills, after Hurricane Ian closed Siesta Bay for the season. We will be working on 2023 plans during this time.