Through the Deep South

I know it has been a while since an update - we have had a very busy couple weeks recently but are now camping more and staying busy less, meaning a little more time to devote to writing.

Jenna, Brett and I left Nashville and camped down through Alabama for 3 days, staying once at the Tuskegee National Forest and then two nights at the Conecuh National Forest. At Conecuh, we stayed in a newly renovated campsite called the Open Pond Rec Area, complete with gravel driveways, a myriad of running water, and even showers! These more developed sites, we've learned, are good to stay at at least every other night or so - it keeps us fresh and our gear cleaner and nicer.

The campsites and forests were radically different in Alabama than we dealt with up North - here, everything was sandy and almost every tree was a pine. I took some time and explored Tuskegee during the evening we were there to take in these regional differences.

Our first day at Open Pond was rainy all day, so we retreated to a McDonalds to get some computer work and planning done. The next day, however, we took a short drive down to Destin, FL to both check Florida off the state list and get in a beach day!

The beach was beautiful - I have never been to a beach with such white, fine sand, clear water, and great weather. It really is the "Emerald Coast" - we had a great time there in the warm water and sun, and I will not forget my first 'real' beach experience.

The early evening took a turn for the worst though; a line of thunderstorms came through and blew away the tent. Jenna and Brett were in the shower cleaning up after our beach day; fortunately, I had just finished my shower and was there to witness it. The following scene probably looked ridiculous enough to be Hollywood-worthy: I, alone, was fighting the tent the 50 ft. back to our site while trying to pull the poles out to shove it in the van. 50-mph wind gusts persisted the whole time. I was eventually successful and somehow did not damage the tent in the process, but it was a memory and lesson for sure.

(Re?)setting up our site at Open Pond

After a good but wet few days on the road in the South, we finally made it to Ocean Springs, MS to stay with Matt and Katie!