Leaving East Bank COE Campground and Lake Seminole behind on December 15, 2023, we would make our way to another favorite campground, Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa on the panhandle of Florida. We’ve been here a number of times since 2012, even work camping here for two months in 2018 after Hurricane Michael hit Florida.

On this visit, we would stay here for 14 nights but on three different sites, all in the 103 Loop (Palm Circle). When we arrived at the Ranger Station to check in, we were told that the previous occupants on our first site #119 were dilly dallying and not adhering to the 1:00 p.m. check out time so our site wasn’t ready. Not a big deal especially since our friends, Betsy and Nancy, who were once again work camping at the park for the winter, greeted us in the parking lot. Last time we had seen them was in 2020 so we had a lot of catching up to do. Since Betsy was scheduled to make a tram run to the beach, we hopped aboard so we could not only continue our conversation but to also kill some time waiting for our site to be ready. Fortunately by the time we returned, our site was ready.

Out of all the sites we have occupied since 2012, this site (#119) definitely would not be at the top of our favorite site list. It was okay but they had pruned some of the shrubs in the front of the site so when sitting at the picnic table, there was no privacy from people walking by or from vehicles driving by on the road. The other issue was that this site once had a lot of woods behind it, providing a buffer between the park and the heavily travelled 30A. We were heartbroken to see that that heavily wooded lot adjacent to the park and directly behind our site had been mowed down apparently for the development of some type of housing development (apartments or condos?). Bummer! Too bad that the usual peace and serenity of the park had been replaced with the sounds of heavy construction equipment starting in the early hours of the morning until late afternoon. Particularly annoying was listening to the beeping as they backed up the equipment.

But even our disappointment in the development next to the park couldn’t squelch our love of the campground and the surrounding area. In addition to the full hook up and mostly spacious sites here, the choices of things to do are endless! Walk, bike or catch a tram ride along the paved trail to the pristine quartz squeaky white sand beach where fishing, swimming, building sand castles, watching the sanderlings chasing the receding waves and listening to the waves crashing along the shore are popular activities for any visitor.

It’s here where amateur photographers can enhance their skills and add to their albums by capturing photos of the glorious sunrises and majestic sunsets.

Dine out at the many nearby restaurants, then burn off those calories by walking the beach or hiking the many trails along the freshwater dune lakes or in the old growth pine forests. Or maybe by playing a round of golf at a nearby course would be more desirable. Those who enjoy shopping or want to board a pirate ship for a boat tour should drive to the emerald green shores of Destin and explore the Harborwalk with its many shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.

Yearning for a decent breakfast (there are no restaurants near our last stop at East Bank COE Campground), the next morning we headed towards Destin where we stopped at Crackings. Rob enjoyed Country Fried Steak ($13.99) and I had the Classic Breakfast ($9.99). Although it was good, it didn’t seem as good as we remembered on previous visits. Afterwards, we drove the very scenic route along the coast back to the campground. Similar to other recent destinations, there was a lot of construction in the area.

Another restaurant we had enjoyed in the past and wanted to revisit was The Perfect Pig. With three locations, we were a little confused about which one we had visited back in 2018 which we later realized was the Gulf Place location.

This time we ended up at the Seagrove location which is a lot smaller than the Gulf Place location. Not a big deal! We both had the Parmesan Crusted Grilled Cheese with tomato and mozzarella ($14) served with baked potato salad. Yummy!

The weather during our 14 day stay was on the chilly side with highs in the mid 50’s during the day and lows in the 40’s, sprinkled with a few days of rain. Because of the weather we didn’t make a lot of trips to the beach but when we did it was pretty deserted. Such fun watching the sanderlings chasing the waves!

Continuing on with our “let’s see how many restaurants we can visit during our 14 day stay” philosophy, we drove to the Ruby Slipper Restaurant in Destin. We had eaten at one of their restaurants in Gulf Shores, AL on a very busy St. Patrick’s Day several years ago so we thought we would try it again.

Rob had the Peacemaker ($16.75) which allows customers to mix and match two of their benedicts – the Bayou Shrimp (Gulf shrimp sautéed with pork tasso and Creole tomato sauce topped with a poached egg, fried green tomatoes and buttermilk biscuit) and the Chicken Saint Charles (Fried chicken breast served over a buttermilk biscuit, topped with a poached egg, finished with a pork tasso cream sauce) were Rob’s choices. I had the Hot Smoked Salmon Omelet ($15.00), hot-smoked salmon and goat cheese, topped with hollandaise, red onions, and flash-fried capers. Although it sounded good, I wasn’t totally thrilled with my choice.

Another one of our favorite restaurants in the area was Stinky’s Fish Camp where we stopped for lunch (served from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) one day. We have several favorites here including the crawfish pie, the brie burger, their fish specials and their baked oysters but this time, since we weren’t super hungry, we split a fried oyster basket ($18.95) and a loaf of New Orleans garlic bread ($3.95). Very good! Oops,sorry, no pics!

After lunch we drove a short distance to the South Walton Beach parking lot and took a short walk along the beach.

Our original plans were to leave Topsail on the 23rd so in celebration of our departure, Betsy and Nancy asked us to join them for dinner at Pazzo Italiano Santa Rosa Beach. Here we shared a Calamari Fritti ($16) and a pepperoni pizza ($18). Lovely ambiance, good food and great company!

Boy, did we surprise them the next morning when we told them that we had snagged another site #158 for four more days. Guess we’ll have to celebrate our departure again!

Fortunately the second site was located further away from the construction site so our lives were somewhat more peaceful. To celebrate our extended stay, Betsy and Nancy invited us over to their site that evening to enjoy Nancy’s infamous ribs! Nancy’s culinary skills always shine no matter what she prepares!

Home cooked meals were on the menu for us in celebration of Christmas Eve and on a stormy Christmas Day!

On December 27th, we moved to our third site #140 which we had reserved for two nights. And once again that night to celebrate our departure on the 29th (Betsy was working on the 28th), the four of us went to the Outcast Bar and Grill.

It was more calamari followed by a Grilled Cheese Sandwich ($11) which we split for Rob and I. The sandwich was made with parmesan crusted Texas toast grilled with American and Provolone cheese and finished with creamy peanut butter. Yes, it sounds weird but it was delish!

Our last and final meal in the area was the morning of the 28th at Don Pedro’s Mexican Restaurant where we both had their Local’s Special ($11) – two eggs with a choice of bacon, sausage patties, smoked link sausage, ham, or chorizo and served with a choice of grits, cheese grits, home fries, sliced tomatoes, or chilaquiles. Excellent!

Sadly on the 29th of December, our time at Topsail was finally up, time to say goodbye to our friends and move on to our next destination (and maybe the start of a diet)!