Torreya State Park

On Sunday, April 20th, we drove into the panhandle of Florida. We squeezed ourselves into a site at Torreya State Park. Tight as the maneuvering was - due to all the trees - we were glad to be there! Very pretty place, and there was hardly anyone there mid-week.

The day we drove to Torreya, it decided to rain, and rain hard! Bill got another driving workout, dealing with the sheets of rain that were making the little winding surface roads nearly invisible! I'm not posting a photo of that here, but here is a look at pretty, post-rain/wet entrance to the park.

Low clouds lifting off the surrounding forest the next morning.

Another foggy look at the entrance.

Our first visitor...

The kitties couldn't wait to get out and explore their new home turf...and right up the nearest tree they went!

The tree the campground is named after. Related to a California Torreya, it's not to be confused with the Torrey Pines! More on it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torreya

Some of the same types of trees that make parking such a challenge! And my favorite tree, on the left. Isn't it gorgeous?!

One of the neat perks - the Gregory House, a plantation house that was moved across the Apalachicola River to be placed and preserved in the park.

A short hike from the Gregory House, down to the river, and back. I found myself walking through very different vegetation - think Jurassic Park...! And I was constantly on the lookout for snakes...

And gee, speaking of which! But wait! For those of you who freak out at the mere mention of them, take a look at that Canon thing. That's my lens cap - about 3" in diameter. That poor little snake that I nearly stepped on but now am only mildly harrassing...? It makes a pencil look huge! C'mon, don't be scared of this little guy! He definitely has more to worry about from us than us from him!!!!!!!!!!!!

The weird-shaped rock that's otherwise blending into the river? Yup! Another frog! I just barefully got him before he croaked and leapt for deeper water!

A lot of foggy mornings here! Maybe it has something to do with the tropical jungle type thing...??? High heat and humidity...?? Hmmm...

The road out. Raining on the way in. Foggy on the way out. Humidity? Yeah... Well, that part was just beginning. Florida has it in spades!!!!!!!!!! Made me appreciate that good ol' dry San Diego air!

FLORIDA!!!!

Here we are, finally, to the east coast (well, almost - the western side of FL - does that count?)! Likely as not, the parts of FL I'm about to show you will be as new to many of you as they were to me. And many of them are on my trip favorites list! So buckle up! Here we go...

Eufaula - the Town

Eufaula surprised us with a whole slew of pretty historic homes in its nice little town! It also surprised me with horrific late afternoon traffic when I went to take these photos. I could hardly cross the road because of all the non-stop traffic in both lanes!!!!

It didn't hurt that the azaleas were mostly at peak bloom (a few were already past, but well, I didn't photograph those now, did I?!)

Beautiful sidewalks - and getting a little bit of use (besides from me!)

These certainly weren't past peak!!!

Nor these...

Eufaula - the Campground

Last stop in AL: Eufaula. We stayed a few nights at the Lakepoint Resort State Park. A bit confusing at first logistically. We were told to pick out our site, which turned out to be a few miles away. And then, to get the senior discount, I had to have Bill's driver's license (had never been asked for before!). So that meant multiple trips back and forth before we ever even got settled in! But it was worth all the rigamarole! What a beautiful campground!!!

Father and Son (Tracky) walk through forest to the lake.

Ouray shows the gators what he thinks of them - or maybe just of signs about them?!

Look up! It's a bird, it's a plane, it's dog and cat food!?! I have no idea, but it must've been something good!

Scratty and her daddy by the azaleas.

Twins, of a sort.

Neighbor camper cat. Great big ol' friendly cool guy!

Neato ferns near a swampy section of the park.

Pretty nice place to set for awhile, eh?!!

I just loved the lawn and trees and the shadows they cast.

Bill flies his RC helicopter down by the lake - tormenting alligators. Actually, we didn't see a single gator. I was so disappointed! I looked and looked, but nothing, no one!

A Canadian goose floating serenely - another sign of the lack of gators?!!

A cardinal at a neighbor camper's birdfeeder.

And the fairest of them all... Our golden boy. Prince Ouray.

Montgomery, AL

BAMA's capitol.

And: "The building also served as the Capitol of the Confederacy in 1861, and a commemorative brass marker in the shape of a six-pointed star is set at the precise location (on the top step, to the right of the door, between the middle columns) where Jefferson Davis stood on February 18, 1861, to take his oath of office as first (and only) President of the Confederate States of America." (ala wikipedia) It was amazing to be so close to history...

Details on the gorgeous wooden front doors.


Just one of the views/memorials as I walked around the outside.


A B&W view I liked.

It was late in the day when we went to visit the capitol - on purpose, so it would be cooler and less crowded. Of course, it also got just a wee bit darker too...!

The sunset glow dims, and the lights come on.

Stately in B&W.

Interesting display across the street. I can't remember now what this was about, but I do know it surprised me to read about it at the time - it wasn't at all what I'd expected (nothing to do with veterans or civil rights or anything like that).

Neat old buildings on the downtown main street.

The Gunter Hill COE

Still in Alabama, we moved closer to the capitol, Montgomery, and stayed at our first COE (Corp of Engineers campground). They typically have fewer hook-ups and only 30amps, but are also usually much cheaper and very nice. We loved this park! We just felt enveloped by swamp jungle!

The view from our site! Nice, eh? And because our site was part of a shared site that didn't look to be a shared spot, nobody driving by scoping things out, thought the other half was an actual site! So we essentially got TWO sites! Spoiled, I know. It was so private and spacious!

Senny and Tractor have found something interesting...

Sunset on the reservoir (COEs are usually found along bodies of water...lakes, rivers, reservoirs,...)

Pretty much the same view but mid-day.

Looking into our twice-the-size site!

Looking up into the trees right outside our motor home!

There were many beautiful homes and yards on the road to our campground.

Another one.

And yet another one!

And they use their old wagon in the front yard as a decorating platform - unfortunately they just taken the Easter decorations down right before I stopped for my photos!