We were really looking forward to our next destination, Topsail Hill State Park in Santa Rosa Beach. Not only because it is one of our favorite State Parks but also because it would be a reunion of sorts – our friends, Betsy and Nancy (RV-A-Go-Go) were work camping there again this year as were friends, Jen and Deas (Nealys on Wheels) who had just started work camping there this year. Great seeing everybody! In addition we met Pat and Debbie, also Entegra owning work campers and friends of Betsy and Nancy. What a fun stay this was going to be!

Although we were really itching to walk to the beach and rub our feet in the squeaky sand, when we arrived the weather was kind of dismal, plus it was getting late in the day by the time we were settled in. It would just have to wait until the morning.

Of course, with morning came our hankering for breakfast at one of our favs – Another Broken Egg. Since Rob had a yearning for corned beef hash, we headed to the one on 30A in Santa Rosa Beach instead of the one in Miramar Beach which strangely does not offer hash on its menu. The Traditional Day Starter with Corned Beef Hash ($8.99) is of course what hubby ordered.

I ordered the Crabcake Cavallo ($13.99) which is similar to Crab Cake Benedict consisting of Jumbo lump crab cakes, two poached eggs, Andouille-infused hollandaise with diced red bell peppers & green onions served with seasoned home fries.

Everything was excellent! Note that as I was writing this, I tried to view the menu for the Santa Rosa Beach location of Another Broken Egg and found out the name has been changed to Crackings – “same owner, same staff, new journey”!

Since it was a beautiful day, to work off a few of those calories from breakfast, we walked down to the beach. Ah, yes, there’s nothing better than breathing in the salty air, listening to the crashing waves and watching the sanderlings running back and forth chasing the waves. How awesome it was to be back near the water!!! Walking to the beach quickly became a daily ritual!

While we were walking on the beach, the sound of the crashing waves was accompanied by the whine of military jets overhead. Off in the distance we could hear loud booming noises. Eglin Air Force Base is nearby and the jets were probably participating in target practice bombing runs. Ah yes, that triggered our memory from a few years back!

Tearing ourselves away from the beach one day, we took a ride to Destin and strolled along Destin Harborwalk Village which is always fun, great place to people watch, window shop and watch the harbor traffic float by including an occasional pirate ship tour. With it’s brilliant aqua green waters, it’s easy to understand why this area is called the “Emerald Coast”.

On the way back from Destin we stopped for a late lunch at Stinky’s Fish Camp, one of our favs, where we both had fish (blackened) tacos ($11.95) served with lime marinated cabbage, baja sauce, & pico de gallo. Delish!

One night we went to Fat Daddy’s Pizza (“where thin ain’t in and fatter don’t matter!”) with a group. Rob and I shared a huge Greek Salad ($6.95) and a small Meat Lover’s Pizza (Tomato Sauce, Pepperoni, Canadian Bacon, Bacon, Ground Beef, Italian Sausage, Cheddar and Mozzarella Cheese). Everything was really good!

On another day a visit to the Acme Oyster House in Miramar Beach for lunch with Betsy and Nancy, resulted in this restaurant making it to an upper tier on our favorites list. Rob and I shared the Fried Oyster Po’ Boy ($17.99). Usually I’m not a big fan of Po’ Boys because the bread tends to be hard and crusty but not so here! The bread was soft and delicious and the fried oysters were sweet, tender and oh so tasty!

Due to a full campground when booked, the last day of our Topsail stay left a gap in our string of reservations, so we had to find someplace to stay between here and our next stop. As luck would have it, a last minute cancellation came in and we were able to extend our stay for one additional night, but that required moving to another site (#11). That night, Betsy and Nancy hosted a supper for everyone. BBQ Pulled Pork, cole slaw, mac & cheese and other goodies. Fun night!

The next morning it was at last time to leave for our next destination, another favorite of ours, East Bank COE Campground (see our review) in Bainbridge, GA, just across the Florida/Georgia border. Rob still didn’t have all the necessary parts to fix the wiper so of course, we ran into showers along the way.

But by the time we arrived, thankfully the weather had cleared. From our site (A3) directly on the shore of Lake Seminole, it was a beautiful, quiet and very relaxing three night stay. Entertainment involved watching the wildlife, a few glorious sunsets and enjoying evening campfires! And luckily the wiper parts finally arrived so Rob spent one afternoon doing that repair.

From there, two quick overnight stays at Stephen Foster Culture Center campground (see our review) in White Springs, FL and another at Alafia River State Park (see this post about our previous stay there) in Lithia, FL.

Because the renters on our lot at Riverbend weren’t supposed to leave until April 2nd, we had made reservations to stay at Ortona South COE Campground, located about 30 minutes from Riverbend, from March 30th to April 2nd. But our neighbors at Riverbend, Bobbie and John, alerted us that the renters had left early, so we cancelled our Ortona reservation and headed directly to Riverbend from Alafia on Friday, March 30th.

Finally here at Riverbend! More about our stay here later…