Camping in Relative Luxury

Camping in Relative Luxury

Coastline RV Resort in Eastpoint, Florida was certainly camping in relative luxury for us because of the amenities offered.  It was our third camping trip and we were there with friends for six nights in late February.  Coastline Resort is a small campground with 30 sites on Apalachicola Bay and they also have Coastline Campsite nearby with 14 sites and fewer amenities.

Our campsite is in the photo below.  We used an EZ Up tent because they do not allow a tent with a floor to protect the grass.  All sites have a patio,  grill, picnic table, Wi-Fi, cable television and  20/30/50 amp service.

Many owners of very large RVs book sites for a month or more.  However, we were the only teardrop and the photo below will give you an idea of how small we were relative to our neighbors.  Many were curious about our camper and very friendly.

Luxury Camping

Coastline offered some amenities that we lack in our Little Guy (LG).  There is a recreation building with a full kitchen, which we were encouraged to use.   We prepared several meals in the kitchen and watched movies on Netflix in the evenings.  Few of the other guests used the facility as they had large fully-equipped motorhomes or trailers.  It was a very nice place to hang out with our friends.

There is also an exercise room, laundry room, screened porch, and pool.   It was a little cold yet for the pool, but I did lay out in the sun once.  The real luxury for me, however, was the bathrooms.  They were just a few feet from our site and very, very nice.  In addition to the tiled men’s and women’s bathhouse, there were two ADA-Family bathrooms that were seldom used.  A photo is below.

The Surrounding Area

The area has been described as being similar to “old Florida” without the development found most places.  Also, it is fairly isolated and the view from the bay is beautiful.  I took the photo below from the campground.  Highway 98 is between the bay and the campsite and there is some traffic, but not like in more populated areas.  The towns of Carrabelle and Apalachicola are approximately 15 minutes away and St. George Island is about seven minutes away.

Things  we did on our trip:

• Saw a play in Apalachicola.  We saw “Oystertown Revisited” our first night in town at the Dixie Theatre.  You might not expect much from a small town play, but the story of the town and its history was very entertaining and included funny moments and great singing.   We thoroughly enjoyed it!
• Had delicious seafood and heavenly Apalachicola raw oysters.   We visited restaurants in Apalachicola, St. George Island and Carrabelle. (Blue Parrott, Paddy’s Raw Bar, Up the Creek Raw Bar, Fisherman’s Wife)
• Rode bikes.  We rented them on St. George Island and rode in the State park there and around our campsite at Coastline.  (We now have a solution to take our bikes next time we go camping.)
• Shopping.  There is interesting, but somewhat limited shopping in Apalachicola and St. George has a good selection of island wear.
• Visited Veteran’s Memorial Plaza.  It is dedicated to soldiers from the South who fought in the Vietnam War.  The statue that is in the park is below.

Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve

This was our rainy day activity.  There is a film about the Apalachicola estuary, which is a term I did not know.  It means where saltwater meets freshwater.  Estuaries are very important for marine life and the famous oysters in the area.  The Reserve also has exhibits, a beautiful nature walk and a walk to the bay.  All of this free; I have paid many dollars in other places to be entertained much less.

Bald Point State Park

This was about an hour away mostly along Highway 98.  It was a very small park, but had some beautiful views.  Had a delicious lunch on the way back in Carrabelle at “The Fisherman’s Wife.”

Our friends have an airstream and are so much fun.  They are pros at camping and have taught us so much!

This trip was probably be the easiest camping we will ever do, but we did have one rainy day.   Our friends have said, “what will you do when it rains” and I have always said, “we will go somewhere”.  This was our first rainy day camping and our longest trip so far and there were a few lessons learned.

Camping in Relative Luxury, Lessons Learned

• Plan the night before what you will do if you wake up to pouring rain.  My husband got up while I was sleeping with no umbrella and was working on making coffee.  He was drenched!   While he was in the recreation room, I located where we could have breakfast (amazingly, at the local Mexican restaurant).  We should have been prepared to just get up, get in our car, and go.
• More days camping requires more patience and effort than fewer days.  This was our longest trip in the LG and for that reason, it was a little more challenging than the previous 2 and 3 day trips.  It is definitely more work traveling in a teardrop than in hotels.
• It is really great to have your bikes on camping trips.   Our friends had their bikes, but we had to rent them.   This inspired us to really search for a good option to haul our bikes.  However, we plan to bring them on our next trip to Hillsborough River State Park near Tampa.  It will be five nights at Hillsborough and one night on the way at Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park.

If you would like to read about our camping adventures, see our page States Visited, a Campsite Resource.

This trip, camping in relative luxury, we had a great time!   So, we look forward to more adventures!