One of our favorite stops of the summer was in the Destin, Florida area. We stayed at Geronimo RV Park which was about 3 blocks from the Gulf Coast.
The RV park was a very nice place to stay. The bathrooms/showers were very clean and up to date. The sites were on a concrete pad and nice and level. The best part, this Florida RV camping park was only a very short drive to the many beaches the Emerald Coast has to offer.
We spent a lot of time on the beach building sand castles and the kids spent a lot of time on their boogie boards.
We visited several beaches including Miramar and Destin beaches. We did try to go to Henderson State Park which is one of the Florida State Parks but their beach was closed due to rip currents in the area.
Snorkeling
One of the highlights of our trip was the snorkeling tour we took with Flippers. They took us out into the Gulf to snorkel and also to look for dolphins along the way. The boat captain Joey and the snorkel guide Amber were very knowledgable and friendly and we loved our time on the water.
One of the stops on the boat trip was a place called Crab Island. Crab Island is basically a very large sand bar (that used to be an island before a hurricane wiped it out). The kids found some shells in this area and the water was very shallow.
Getting Locked Out of Your RV
So, while getting ready to head to the beach one of the days we were in Destin, our son (who was trying to help) locked the door to the RV as we were loading things up to head to the beach. The problem was, neither myself or my husband had grabbed the RV keys or our remote keyless entry to unlock the RV door.
So, we were locked out with no way to get back in as all the windows were also closed and locked. Breaking a window was NOT my first choice so we called a local locksmith. After about a hour, they arrived (traffic/weekend, etc. in Destin is pretty nuts). The locksmith tried his usual ways to get the door open, picking the lock with his tools, etc. After he had worked on it for about a half hour, he told us that because the door latches on RV doors are basically upside down from the way a car door is, he wasn’t going to be able to get us back in. (I didn’t want him to destroy the lock by drilling it).
We did have one very small rear window with a broken latch. When we had the windows fixed in Texas, the tech at RV Pros wedged some wood pieces in the window to hold it in place. We moved the wood piece to lift the window and put our daughter through the window! I am still surprised she fit, but thank God she did! She was able to get us back in our rig and lesson learned – we will be putting a duplicate key somewhere accessible so we don’t have this problem ever again! Our daughter also gained a new nickname (self-dubbed) The Midget Hero.
Fresh Fish In Florida
After our snorkel cruise, we ate lunch at Boshamps. This was a restaurant recommended by the boating staff and it was the BEST fish I’ve ever eaten, hands down. We were very impressed by the top-notch staff, the food quality, and the atmosphere. We sat overlooking the bay and boat docks. It was the BEST place we’ve been to (and we’ve been to a TON of restaurants). The staff was very attentive, the food came out fast and we loved sitting out on the patio with a view of the bay.
Gulf Coast Beaches
We loved the beaches! The water was very warm and also very pretty (clear). The white sand and waves made for some nice days and evenings spent at the beach. There were quite a bit of people, but we had no problem finding a spot to set up for the day and it didn’t feel crowded. Parking could be a little bit of a challenge, but we were able to find parking fairly well at the places we went to. The beach by the Crab Trap Restaurant was our favorite because of the bathhouse that is available to rinse off before jumping in your car!
The Destin, Florida area is beautiful and we would love to visit again. Here’s a Video of our entire experience in Destin Florida.
