Georgia
One of our favorite Georgia state parks is Fort McAllister Historic Park in Richmond Hill. It’s a nice park, on the Ogeechee River. And not far from Savannah, which is great for day trips.
We didn’t stay at our other favorite GA park this trip. That’s Virginia Bryant State Park, closer to Atlanta.
Florida
Want to treat yourself? Try Topsail Hill State Park in Santa Rosa. Large park, large sites, right on the beach. Each site has water, electric, sewer, and cable. Expensive for a state park, though--$42/night this year. We were here a week, and for New Year’s Eve, had dinner out at a great local restaurant, Stinky’s Fish Camp. And while you’re here, take a ride to SR 293 to the Mid-Bay Bridge. It’s a toll ($2.50), but you don’t have to cross. Just watch for the signs for the whaling wall parking. It’s a huge marina building with a whale landscape painted on all four walls. Worth the trip!
The federal campground at Fort Pickens has just re-opened. We took a day trip to see the Fort; didn’t stay at the campground. The road to the Fort had been washed out in 2004 by Hurricane Ivan, and just re-opened this spring.
Louisiana
Visiting New Orleans? Try Bayou Segnette State Park, in Westwego. It's just west of New Orleans, on SR90. Go around the city, and come in from the west, it’s easier. There's a ferry service nearby; you are charged to park for the ferry, but passengers are free, and it drops you 2 blocks from the French Quarter; runs from very early to after midnight. And all the Louisiana state parks accept the Golden Age pass for a full 50% discount, so Bayou Segnette is $10.50/night for water and electric, and it's a nice park, free laundry.
Missouri
If you get as far as Vicksburg, MS, look for Magnolia RV Park. It's just off SR 60, and the office will tell you the short cut from the back of the park into town. It’s easy from there to get to the National Park, or the Coke Museum.
Texas
We wanted to see Galveston, TX, and maybe stay at the state park there, but it was closed. Found a private campground, for one night. Next morning, we did visit the USS Stewart, a destroyer escort and the USS Cavalla, a sub. Both are permanently berthed at Seawolf Park. And we visited the Ocean Star, an oil rig museum.
Next stop, Corpus Christi, where we stayed at the Padre Balli Park, part of the Nueces County Park system on Padre Island. We’ve stayed at Mustand Island (the state park) and at the National Seashore on previous trips. Our favorite would be the National Seashore. It’s dry camping, but you can’t beat the scenery.
And we visited the USS Lexington while we were there. We missed the USS Alabama in Mobile, because it was cold and raining when we drove by, but two ships and a boat should be our nautical fix for this trip.
On to San Antonio, where we stayed at the Alamo KOA. We try to stay at state parks and places where we can use our Golden Age Pass, but the KOA membership came in handy here. They’re on the city bus route, and for $1.10/pp, it was worth it to get into the city and not have to look for RV parking. And we got to see the San Antonio River without water! It was drained for the annual cleaning.
Home after 5 weeks, and guess what? It's still cold!
