Category: Trip Reports

Bayou Segnette State Park

Bayou Sengette State Park
Westwego, LA

Bayou Segnette State Park is unusual as it is surrounded by the industrial city of Westwego. Driving here we were thinking, “Are we going to right way?” We chose to come here because of it’s convenient location to New Orleans. The campground is standard but offers some nice amenities like free laundry and a wave pool that is open after Memorial Day. Each site has water and electric hookups for $20/night. The sites are all back in onto a paved driveway. Some sites have a nice wooden patio area with a picnic table. There is plenty of space between you and your neighbor but there are no trees dividing the sites.

Tim and I had one objective – to ingest as much Cajun food as possible. Our first night the ranger at the park recommended Perinos boiling pot as I told her I wanted to try crawfish. The food there seemed to be a little overpriced but it certainly was delicious. The crawfish must have been in season as they were only $13 for 3 lbs but everything else was a little high. We ordered 3 lbs of crawfish and a fried shrimp basket. Both were prepared perfectly. I’m ok with paying a little more for food but it better be worth it!

To get to the French Quarter we drove 20 min to the Ferry in Algiers to take a five minute cruise across the Mighty Mississippi. The prices to park at the marina were inflated (a steep $20, usually only $5) due to the annual French Quarter Festival. Yet we were pleasantly surprised as we hadn’t planned attending the free festival. We enjoyed strolling around and drinking our 32 ounce 190 proof daquari for $13. We ate a Muffaletta at the Central Grocery, who claims to have had invented the delicacy. With a 12 inch diameter, the circular sandwich can feed four people and goes for $18 bucks a pop. It contains salami, ham, Swiss cheese, and the signature olive salad. You can order half a sandwich for $8 which Tim and I fully enjoyed with a bag of Cajun Onion Zapps chips. The French Quarter is beautiful. Three story residential apartments lined with flower beds atop iron ivy gates provide picturesque allies. Bourbon street is alive. Live musicians compete for partiers hooting and hollering while carrying their over-sized daquari “grenades”. You don’t have to go into the bars, street performers are there to entertain for tips. It’s a happy place. People from all over flock here to have a great time. My only qualm is that they allow smoking inside the bars.

We also enjoyed the Taste of New Orleans, a convenient trio of Cajun delicacies – crawfish etoufee, jambalaya, and shrimp creole. This is offered at many restaurants but we choose Cafe Soule for it’s historic charm and moderate priced entrees. Of course we couldn’t leave without having a beignet. A beignet is basically a flat, airy doughnut with a mound of confectioners sugar on top.

I wish we had time to stay a couple more days. I would of liked to have gone out at night when all the wild ones come out. Will definitely return, but when we do we will not take I-10. RV-ers beware of the horrendous road conditions. At times it seemed as though our trailer was about to fly off the hitch into the swamp.

Five Star Rating Scale
Scenery – **
Campground – ****
Campsite – ***
Recreation – **

Torreya State Park

Torreya State Park
Bristol, Florida

Five star scale rating
Scenery – ****
Campground – ****
Campsite – ***
Recreation – ***

Torreya State Park is named after the Torreya tree, an endangered pine species. Only 200 are remaining, some of which you can find, barely holding onto life, roped off at the park. However, most people don’t come to Torreya State Park for the Torreya trees, they come to hike. Being at the highest elevation in the state at 300 feet, you feel like you are in NC at times while hiking the trail. A mixture of Oak, Pine, and Cyprus trees fill the forest. Total amount of trail mileage is about 14 miles. The hike is pretty challenging with all the ups and downs all the while scanning the land for copperheads. We were forewarned about the prevalence of the high land moccasins. Considering we saw two dead and one alive, I also recommend keeping a constant vigilance for them. After all, we are in their house. Don’t fret, the bite is poisonous but won’t kill you or your dog. In fact the ranger told us his cat has survived being bitten twice!

The campground itself if one of the most quiet and serene I’ve visited. Originally built and maintained by the CCC, the park has a rustic feel to it with an awing overlook of the Apalachicola River. There are 18 campsites with water and electric hookups for $17.20/night. The sites are narrow but there is a thin section of trees dividing the sites, providing a little privacy. Tim’s first time backing up the RV was successful, twice… Since the camp host gave Tim the wrong spot the first time he had to do it twice. If rving isn’t your thing and you don’t have a tent then try to get a reservation for the Yurt! It looked really cool but unfortunately we didn’t get to see the inside. I highly recommend bringing mosquito repellent and tick repellent for hiking. Also make sure you bring all the food and supplies you need as the nearest store is twenty minutes away. The only other thing to do at Torreya State Park is touring the Gregory house, a colonial mansion. The tours are daily at 10 am EST for $3.

Time flies when you are Torreya State Park, literally. Don’t rely on your cellular device for accurate time. Because the park is located close to the division of the EST and CST zones, the hour will switch back and forth depending on where you are standing.

 

 

First night camping with the RV

Cooking our first dinner: Chicken Enchiladas
Cooking our first dinner:
Chicken Enchiladas

Location: Hanna Park Jacksonville, FL

Tim and I have tent camped at Hanna Park before, however this is the first time we have come here with a 31 foot behemoth in tow. In fact, as many of you already know this is our first of many nights we will be living, breathing, cooking, showering, number one-ing and two-ing in the RV. Which is why we decided to camp a couple nights in Jacksonville- to test out all the systems before leaving town.

It didn’t take long for us to make our first mistake. Driving down the shaded forest road to park at our site we quickly realized we had drove down the wrong row. It was geometrically impossible for us to maneuver our rig into the diagonal site. When we backed the rig up to correct, her ass went right into the bushes. I felt a slight panic come over me as I had no clue how to instruct Tim. It was at that moment two friendly neighbors came to our rescue. The veteran rv-er knew exactly how Tim needed to turn to get us out of the bushes, the other held the foliage away from the RV. I was impressed, hoping that we would one day acquire such sagacity. After getting out of the bush we repeated the process down the correct row with success. Instant relief. Next time, we will ask the park ranger the best way to approach the site.

So far everything is functional. Nothing broke on the drive here (knock on wood). Everything inside is clean and organized. The AC is blowing nicely and not too loud. I highly recommend the juice for the toilet (will post more on this in the future). Wish us luck, as we embark for Blackwater State Forest on Monday!

Click on picture below to load gallery! Inside and outside shots of the RV!