Camping with My Wife and Kids: Salty Water

For the kids, the ocean is known as "salty water." They like to visit it for the waves and to collect sea shells (Parker in particular). Being in the mood for some meandering type driving and sight-seeing, we planned a two-lane-road, scenic route from New Orleans to Disney World which included two overnight stops along the Gulf of Mexico that would allow the kids to get some salty water time.

Our first stop was Gulf Shores, AL. It was the off-season, so there really wasn't anyone around except locals and snowbirds. Perfect! The water was still warm enough to swim in, at least for the kids and I. We stayed at the Gulf Shores State Park which has a top-notch campground. And with your stay there, you get free access to the park's beach access area. The park was a bike riding haven. Parker did awesome riding almost through every loop looking for other Airstreams. There were two, one of which we had met back at the Bayou Segnette State Park in New Orleans. As much as the park had to offer, this would be an example of a poor playground. The "playground" was not much more than a bank of 6 swings. But, if we would have been staying more than just overnight, we would have partaken of many of the other features of the campground that most other campgrounds, let alone state parks, have to offer. But, the main attraction for us was the beach.

Searching for shells

Parker's collection from the day

Not a great haul, but there would be more to come.

The next beach stop was one that I specifically picked out due to it's location. It was St Joseph Peninsula Park in the Florida panhandle. The park is as it's name implies. It's at the end of a peninsula in the gulf. It was nice because all sites (in the one camping area) are within walking distance of the beach. The sites were all sand and although close together, offered good privacy and seclusion due to the dense growth between each site.