Road Trip 2009: Milton / Gulf Pines KOA

Even though I didn’t get to sleep until very late I woke up early, excited to see Florida in the daylight. I had never been there before. I broke camp immediately, wanting to take down my tent and pack away my gear before it got too hot. Then I jumped on my mountain bike, ready to hit the trails. The rear brakes didn’t work. My bike had been sitting idle for a few months and now the cable was sticking. I couldn't ride with just the front brakes unless I didn’t mind flying over the handlebars a time or two. Okay, so maybe a little bit of planning would have been good. I picked a couple of must-see destinations, threw my tent, camping gear and clothes in the car then took off. The only reservations I made were for the 4^th of July weekend. Everything else was supposed to be played by ear, stopping when I got tired, leaving when I got bored. Next time I will do a little more planning at least in what I pack. A tune-up on the bike would not have been a bad idea.

I had to abandon Plan A until I could either figure out how to fix the brake myself or find a bike shop. I would not have been able to ride on most of the trails anyway. Bikes are not allowed on the boardwalks and even mountain bikes don’t work well on soft sand. I parked the bike and walked. I followed the boardwalk through fields of grass, across marshes, and to the beach. There is a nice little picnic area and a swimming beach. This would be a good place to camp if you’re traveling to or through the Pensacola area.

After hiking an hour or so I left the park and headed for the Milton / Gulf Pines KOA. I have an online friend who drove down from Alabama to spend the weekend camping with me. I meet a lot of people online and have yet to meet a psycho. For the most part I’ve met friendly, interesting people. No long distance romances so far, but several good friends.

I like to camp when I’m taking road trips because I can get great views for an excellent price and stay on budget. I like the state parks if I want to spend less and have a little more privacy. I like the KOA’s if I want to meet more people and have more amenities. The KOA’s are not the cheapest places to camp but they are reasonable, clean, safe, friendly, have showers and laundry facilities, usually have free internet access and pools, and are nationwide. They also have Kamping Kabins that you can reserve if you are not a tent camping person. This one also has free putt putt golf, an air-conditioned game room, and a camp kitchen with a sink for dish washing and countertop burners for cooking.

I was able to check in early and received an escort to my camping site which had a large tent pad, water, and electricity. It did not have shade, but several of the tent sites do. I decided to create my own shade and proceeded to set up my screened shelter over the picnic table. That’s when I noticed the ants. There were not just a few ants; they were swarming in large numbers over my entire site. I also notice something sticky on the picnic table. Apparently the previous tenant did not keep a clean camp. Once again, I got to clean it up. The KOA sent maintenance to spread poison to get rid of the ants. I finished setting up the shelter, but did not want to set up my tent until I was sure the ants would not be a problem and until it was cooler.

My friend was still a couple of hours away and it was too hot to hang out at my campsite, so I headed to the swimming pool. It was there that I met Lutz, who was on a road trip with his daughter. They were crossing the country in one of those old Volkswagen vans with the pop-up tents, pulling motorcycles behind on a trailer, using the campgrounds as a home base and touring the country on their bikes. He gave me his number in case we ended up in the same city at the same time somewhere down the road. I never did use that number. The times I thought about it I was in an area where there was no signal. I’m sorry, Lutz. I would like to have seen you again.

My friend finally arrived in time to grill steaks, set up his own tent next to mine, and talk for a few hours before calling it a night.