Our Third Snowbird Season is going strong, and do we have adventures to share on our travels thus far! Since we updated you last, we experienced a blizzard of historic proportion on the Gulf Coast, built a snowman on the beach, hiked and biked, made new friends, played music, learned to weave a pine needle basket, decided finally on a name for our new (to us) RV, and so much more! Read all about our adventures in this third travel blog installment detailing our life as Snowbirds living on the road in our RV.
On Saturday, we arrived at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park in Santa Rosa Beach, FL. Here’s where we are now on our Snowbird Season Three travel map:
The Blizzard of 2025 has to be at the top of our RV Snowbird Season Three Travel Adventures list. While we escaped the extended cold of our home in Southeast Pennsylvania, we weren’t lucky enough to escape Old Man Winter altogether. Gulf Shores, AL experienced overnight real feel temps of as low as 4 degrees (brrrr, but at least we weren’t tent camping!). We insulated wherever we could, augmented the RV heater with a radiator heater, and cranked up the dials on our heated mattress pad. Bandit turned a blanket into a little cave and lived there pretty much for three days straight, breaking only to eat and pee once a little stomach issue passed. Unfortunately, the timing of his little stomach issue was abysmal - smack dead in the middle of the blizzard when the snow was literally blowing sideways for hours on end and the temps were at their lowest. Poor Bandit (and poor Steve, who took him outside no less than six times in a 4-hour period)!
This is the view from my window as the sun rose after the storm passed:
Honestly, relentless winds blew the snow sideways for hours, so I don’t think we had more than 4” on the ground at our campsite, although the official snowfall in the area was about 9” total. Once the blizzard passed through, temps went up into the 40’s and the snow quickly melted. By mid-day, the ground was visible in most spots. But you’d never know that from the news coverage … it’s a whole other world being in the south for a major snowstorm. This area of the Gulf of Mexico hasn’t seen snow like this since 1895 (which may just be the year they started keeping records). Everything shut down for a couple of days - even the Walmarts closed, starting three hours before the storm arrived and continuing until 2PM two days later.
So what does a northerner do in the south when it snows? Do we hunker down inside? No, siree Bob! We didn’t bring winter coats, but we had enough layers to keep ourselves warm, and gloves, scarves, and hats, too. So we donned them all and headed to the beach to build a snowman. The snow had not yet turned into packing snow, so we sculpted this little guy and felt very accomplished!
When the weather warmed a bit, we hit the trails again with the dogs, tuckered them out, and then made use of the campground’s free bike share program to do a little exploration of the trails further away from the campground. There are so many beautiful spots at the campground, and we were on a mission to find as many as we could so I could share them with you. Here’s a slideshow with some of my favorites:
One particular trail was serenely beautiful: a paved path, slightly hilly in spots, running through the highest ridge of the campground. Spanish moss covered the trees overhanging the pathway, which was lined for a mile or two with memorial benches celebrating the lives of campers who had found solace on the same paths in years past. You could feel the love in the messages written to honor these individuals as you walked the path, and it was very moving. Here’s one of my favorite spots on that particular path.
I’ve been thinking about how I can better share these beautiful places with you all, because I’d love for you to experience them in some of the same ways that I do. A photo is great, but a video is better! So I’ve started videotaping segments of our walks and sharing them as reels on Instagram and Facebook. If you follow me there (@SusanOHanlonPottery), let me know how you like them in the comments, please. Honestly, I just wish you were all here walking beside me in these beautiful places; but since you’re not, I though this might be a better way for you to experience the beauty than just seeing a photo on our blog.
Tall pines grew up on the ridge, and we foraged for pine needles to make pine needle baskets, a new skill I’m working on thanks to the arts and crafts program sponsored by an active, friendly and incredibly welcoming group of snowbird campers. This is as far as I got, because (surprise, surprise) I spent a considerable amount of time gabbing and not so much time weaving. I’ve got plenty of pine needles to continue, but I’ve run out of sinew. The roll I ordered from Amazon is a different color, so I’ll need to wait a few weeks before our travels take us to a store where I can buy sinew to match what I have been using on this basket.
I’m thinking of making centers for these baskets out of my colored porcelain, incorporating my handmade beads into the designs, and even making some pots with holes at the rims so I can build add pine needles to them. You know me, always thinking!
Spending a month at one place was not something we were confident we would enjoy, but the snowbird community at Gulf State Park Campground was wonderful and welcomed us in so many ways! If you’re going to park your RV somewhere for a long period of time and are looking for community (as we do), then Gulf State Park should be on your short list. We submitted applications to serve as Camp Hosts there next year for several months; we’ll see if that pans out so we can return sooner than later. If it doesn’t, I’ve got a Plan B mapped out and waiting for reservation windows to open, and I’m sure wherever we travel to next year will be amazing!
Steve joined fellow musicians at Gulf State Park for Friday afternoon jam sessions and Tuesday evening music programs, and had several impromptu practice sessions in between with fellow musician Lisa Diemler so they could work out harmonies to perform a few duets together. Snippets of some of Steve and Lisa’s performances are included here for posterity and for your listening pleasure.
While rather cold for wildlife in the area, we did see a wide variety of birds during our walks, as well as hawks, a pair of eagles. and an egret.
From our campsite near the lake, we had a magnificent nighttime view of the hotel at the border of the state park boundary, its light reflecting in the calm waters of Middle Lake.
Evenings often found me at the beach for sunset, one of my favorite times of day. I love to sit on the beach at any time of day, honestly. With each wave that washes ashore, I feel a wave of clean, calming energy entering my body; as each wave is pulled back to the sea, I feel negativity, anxiety and stress leave me. It’s a magical place where one can truly appreciate how infinitesimal one is relative to all that is, and it helps me to put the worries of living in a world full of tumult at bay. For a time, anyway, I can just sit and let these waves wash through me to cleanse my soul of worry and fatigue.
I spent several evenings at the beach listening to the waves and watching the sun put on a show to end one of many perfect days. Here’s my favorite shot:
I went on excursions with my DSLR to find the perfect sunset on the beach, but I think I took the best beach sunset photos with my iPhone. Here are a few of them:
The DSLR trick from the photographer I met at Fontainebleau State Park last year didn’t work so well on the beach, but it did work well for this sunset photo over the canal that runs between two of the park’s four lakes. As I stood here and the sun set, the flow of water shifted quite suddenly. At first, I thought it was an alligator swimming upstream, but I soon realized it was just a natural cycle of ebb and flow, an exchange of water between the canal and the ocean beyond, sort of like a soft breath in and out. It was incredibly peaceful to stand in this spot at sunset.
Facing the other direction another night from the same spot, I captured a moonrise over the same canal with my iPhone.
This became one of my favorite spots in the park from which to watch the sunset, in part because it was closer to camp than the beach, but also because there were two magnificent views - one of the sun setting, and one of the sky softening in the opposite direction. Turning 180 degrees yielded these two amazing pictures. Don’t they just ooze serenity?
We took one excursion to town during our stay, aided by a friendly (and very knowledgeable) tram driver who, coincidentally, was named Steve. He shared local lore, history and ecology of the park, and more as we made our way around the 6,000+ acre park en route to the WalMart. He even dropped us off there and delivered us to our site on our return trip so we wouldn’t have to carry our bags from the tram stop in the campground. Thanks, Steve!
Before stocking up on groceries for the remainder of our stay, we strolled over to a local favorite, The Cove Street Bar & Grille, for lunch out on the town. Steve enjoyed his burger and fresh cut fries, and I reveled in a grilled avocado stuffed with shrimp and pico de gallo, served alongside fresh nachos.
I’ll be attempting to copycat this recipe with some fresh Gulf shrimp we just picked up, perhaps for the Super Bowl (Go Eagles!). This area has some of the most amazing fresh fish and seafood, and I’ve been outdoing myself in the cooking department. Be on the lookout for an upcoming blog post all about the wonderful (and wholesome) food we cook up while camping.
On our final day at Gulf State Park, I asked two of Steve’s new musician friends to draw the winning name for the earrings giveaway mentioned in our last Snowbird Season Three blog post. The lucky winner is …. Sheila! (Sheila, I have no information other than your first name, and the name you recommended - Ivy - so please reach out to me with your shipping address so I can send you your earrings!)
I’m so grateful to everyone who offered new ideas or voted to help us name our new (to us) RV. Thank you! As it turns out, we settled on a different name altogether, but one that Sheila’s recommendation led me to.
Sheila suggested Ivy because it made her think of Irving, and also because my colored porcelain ceramic work is mostly botanical in nature. I loved Ivy, and tried it out for a couple of days, but it just didn’t feel quite right. So I started thinking about other plants and flowers that I love. When I stumbled across Magnolia, my mind immediately went to the Grateful Dead’s song Sugar Magnolia - a song that speaks of endless summers (which is sort of what we chase as Snowbirds, even if it doesn’t always work out as we hope), loyal companions (as Steve and I definitely are to each other), and the mysteries of nature (which we love exploring together). Although the song is thought to be inspired by band member Bob Weir’s girlfriend, Frankie - who he later married - these qualities felt right for our RV, and so, with the tunes and words of these songs playing in my head, we christened Maggie and it just felt right in every way. Thank you, Sheila, for leading me in the right direction!
Here are some of the words to Sugar Magnolia that really seemed to fit:
Sugar Magnolia blossom’s blooming (I love to create flower patterns in colored porcelain)
Head’s all empty and I don’t care (which is how I often feel as I’m working in clay - or as I get pulled into the seductively simplistic routine of living in a tiny space for months on end with the great outdoors as my kitchen, office, playground, and lounge)
Sweet blossom come on under the willow (references to flowers and trees, two of my favorite things)
We can have high times if you’ll abide (Steve and I have the best of times while we’re traveling in our RV)
We can discover the wonders of nature (it’s what we’re all about!)
Rolling in the rushes down by the riverside (OK, that last part was probably written by Bob Weir’s for Frankie, but - and this may be a stretch - we often find ourselves camped near water)
She’s got everything delightful (she is so, so delightful!)
She’s got everything I need (she really, really does, and all packed so well into 31 feet!)
A breeze in the pines in the summer night moonlight (I’m sitting here now with a gentle breeze blowing through the pines that surround our campsite)
Crazy in the sunlight, yes indeed! (she looks mighty fine at a campsite, under the pines, on the road, or in our driveway!)
So Maggie she is, and if I had any doubts (which I didn’t) they would have been quickly doused when we backed into our current campsite and discovered a huge Southern Magnolia tree just behind our site. During the day, we sit outside under its shade and I just smile, knowing that everything is as it should be and that all matter of things shall be well. Interestingly, this is also the feeling I get from listening to the Grateful Dead, so I’m making a mental note to do that more often.
We will be at our current campground, Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, for another week before moving on into Georgia. The weather has been beautiful - warm (mid-sixties) and full of sunshine. There’s a little pond behind our site, right next to the magnolia tree. This morning it was shrouded in mist and looked ethereal.
Tonight, as I write this post, I’m sitting outside and all the little pond critters are coming to life. Behind me I hear the bullfrogs, and beyond that the tree frogs. It sounds like my very own endless summer, and I feel so, so blessed to be here to experience these gifts!
Yesterday Steve and I took a walk to the beach, about a mile from the campground. I didn’t realize why this particular area was called the Emerald Coast until I topped the 25’ sand dunes that border the beach. It is MAGNIFICENT! I’m hoping to wander to the beach for sunset tomorrow evening.
The pups aren’t allowed on the beach, but they’ve had their fair share of walks, too! On our first full day here, we walked a path that led us through tall pines, with moss cushioning our steps and pine needles wafting up their sweet scent as we were pulled along by the pups. (Yep, we like to think we take them for a walk, but they know differently!)
The next day, we took another long walk, this time to Campbell Lake.
There are plenty of additional trails to explore, and all four of us are looking forward to the adventures we know await us. We’ll be sure to take photos and share them with you all in our next blog post, which you can expect to land in your inbox in about three or four weeks. I’ll put a few trail walk videos up on social in the interim, too!
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be moving to Eastbank Campground and Reed Bingham Campgrounds, both in Georgia, so I’ll be posting campground reviews before you see the next trip update. If you enjoy the travel blog issues or just want to read more of my campground reviews, be sure to subscribe!
Until then, we wish you all well. For those of you back home in the cold, we hope the groundhog was wrong. As always, thanks for coming along with us for the journey…we love sharing our adventures with you!
Steve & Susan
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