Topsail Hill Presreve

[Dave Nowlin]

We'll be at Topsail from October 15th thru 29th We will be in site #146 We'll be catching fish and eating them. Yum, yum!!!

[bncinwv]

Wishing it was November!! We are so looking forward to our return there for Thanksgiving. We opted for Myrtle last year due to the oil well fiasco (delayed reservations because of not knowing and then couldn't get them). I am thinking we will be in site 123 then. Enjoy the park and enjoy the fish.
Bingo

[Annem]

We will be going to Top Sail after Christmas and will be spending New Years there, sorry we will miss you this year, we are going to Daytona and Orlando for Thanksgiving ths year, watch for the new entrance to Top Sail, they have changed it a bit since you were last there. Have a great time!

[indy roadrunner]

We work aa volunteers there in July and August. You might ask when you check-in but when we left in August they were in the process of installing Wi-Fi. They had it up in the front section by the camp store and was installing antenna's and boosters in other parts of the CG. They also have a new Walmart just across the street from the Donut Hole - how convenient.

[bncinwv]

Phil,
Do you know if the wifi is going to be free or provided through a pay carrier?? Gotta agree the Wal-Mart will be convenient, even though we liked the Publixx and particularly like the local seafood markets when we are there. Don't forget to train our Armadillo!!! Cathy is expecting to see it this year for sure!!
Bingo

[indy roadrunner]

I'm thinking the Wi-Fi is going to be free. It is being provided by "Friends of TopSail" a non-profit organization that sells Ice, Firewood and rents bicycles there in the park. They in turn provide things for the park outside of state revenue, like the tram equipment, outdoor theatre and some other things.
I worked with an armadillo I named Jack while I was there, so when you get there have her go between site 137 and 138 and call his name and he may come to her. Let me know if he doesn't and I will work with him some more next summer.

[bncinwv]

You sure that was an armadillo and not a snipe?? Hee Hee!! Wifi will sure be nice if they get it in!
Bingo

[indy roadrunner]

Hmmm, think that could have been a snipe? I may have been confused. I would be a little careful about straying too far from the CG after dark. They have a couple of black bears hanging out down there, they ran one out of the dumpster at the Donut hole and one of the rangers who lives on site over there by the cabins chased one out of the dumpters over by the maintenance garage. And they are not snipes. So far as of my last communication with some volunteers down there they have not ventured into the CG proper area. But I would be careful on some late night strolls down the tram path to the beach. As info, my picture on post is site 143.

[RRman]

Was there last week and loved it!
Donut Hole was great.
Free Wi-Fi signal was picked up very strong in Site 29 by the Pool and near the Camp store where the main router antenna is.
I think the main wildlife concern when we there were snakes. I saw possibly a rattler on the road to the beach while biking there.
Eden State Park is a beautiful nearby destination with a short hiking trail and informative tour.
Hope Lutheran Church has 8AM worship on the beach (Grayton, by Watercolor on the way to Seaside- ad in the campground handout). We enjoyed seeing Dolphins at play and DW kept an eye on the Lifeguard workout session also occuring then.
The Best Hushpuppies I ever had and great seafood were in Destin at Deweys on the water. Very rustic, but great food.
Diesel was almost 30 cents higher/gallon than back home in AL.

[HOOK]

[quote]Originally posted by bncinwv

Wishing it was November!! We are so looking forward to our return there for Thanksgiving. We opted for Myrtle last year due to the oil well fiasco (delayed reservations because of not knowing and then couldn't get them). I am thinking we will be in site 123 then. Enjoy the park and enjoy the fish.
Bingo
[/quote

Hey Bingo! Which campground do you guys use at Topsail? Larry

[bncinwv]

Larry,
This is Topsail Hill Preserve near Destin Florida, not the one in North Carolina if that is where you are referring to. Topsail Hill Preserve State Park has their own campground associated with the park. Look it up online for the details, tropical foilage, large relatively private sites, a fantastic facility (absolutely the best campground we have ever stayed in).
Bingo

[indy roadrunner]

Larry, Topsail Hill Preserve formerly known as Gregory E Moore RV resort has won awards of being in the top 10 state parks in the U.S. and couple years ago won the state of Florida number one park. It was built as an RV Resort and not like typical State Parks. It has 3 rare fresh water dune lakes on the property. And one of the few state parks with a swimming pool. They also have a bunch of cabins now that are very popular in the summer time and they have added some tent sites separate from the RV Sites.
Here's the thing and I don't like to broadcast this but seems like every time Bingo goes down there they have to bring in extra volunteers to clean up the place. Now I'm not saying Bingo trashes it or any thing like that it seems like extra help is needed after thanksgiving.
How can a person go down there without a visit to Donut Hole, Dewey Destins, Back Porch and Watercolor village and SeaSide.

[bncinwv]

Good One Phil,
We believe in supporting the local economy when and after we visit!!! Oh, and don't forget to add Fudpucker's to the list as well. Definitely try the alligator appetizers!! Even my daughter's like it (Cathy won't try it, go figure).
Bingo

[indy roadrunner]

Bingo, I wouldn't pick on you if I didn't luv ya. Yeah I have had the allegator and tasted like chicken white meat to me. There are just so many good places to go down there. We really enjoyed the Pier Park over at Panama City. They have really turned that place into an attraction. It is worth the trip over there.

[Dave Nowlin]

Actually we have been going to Destin since the mid-eighties. I had an uncle who had two condos at Sandestin and we stayed there back then. To be honest we have found more bad places to eat seafood in Destin than good. I usually catch our fish or we buy it fresh from Shrimpers and prepare it ourselves. That's the best way to avoid surprises. When we were at Topsail in May you could buy a box containing 12 frozen deviled crabs for ten dollars and they had fresh shrimp every day. You can buy jumbo shrimp and dip them in a cup of olive oil and sprinkle them with Tony Chacere's and put them on a charcoal grill with cover and cook on one side as the other side will cook without turning the shrimp. Cook them for seven minutes and not a bit more as they will become rubbery if cooked too long. Eat some of these shrimp along with deviled crab with tartar sauce and some rice on the side with a fresh salad. This is a better meal then you will find downtown. Amberjack fillets cooked 5 minutes on each side after basting with olive oil and sprinkling on Tony Chacere's is also very good. We also eat Tuna nad grouper when we are down there. There is a very good mexican restaurant near Topsail by the name of Don Pedro's. They have many seafood based mexican dishes. We eat mostly seafood while in Destin. We try to spend two weeks in May and two weeks in October at Topsail. We have been hooked into going for two weeks in June next year so my oldest son and his family can take their fifth wheel and camp withus while the kids are out of school. We will also fish together. I once heard that when keeping tally, the Lord doesn't count the days we are fishing. I was told this by a Methodist minister, surely he wouldn't have fibbed to me.

[Recumbent]

OK Dave, you will be moving into our site as we will be leaving Oct. 15th from Site 146 at Topsail Hill. This is our second week hear and we have done the beach every day but one. We bike the entire paved areas and over to Lake Campbell and to the beach. So far today we have biked 5.5 miles in the park and walked about 1.5 miles on the beach. Our kids with their kids came and pitched a tent nearby this past week and the single kids are coming today for the upcoming week. You will have a good site at #146.

[Dave Nowlin]

Remember to leave the light on for us. Did the new Wi-Fi work while you are at the site?

[Recumbent]

Dave, The lights, they come on for you at dusk. Don't know about Wi-Fi as we always use our mobile-hot-spot. We will be leaving early on Friday morning, so site will be empty early. We have enjoyed the beaches 13 out of 14 days. There were bitting flys some of the time at the preserve, so we moved to the public beach 1.5 miles away about half the time as it did not have flys most of the time. We enjoyed riding our bikies/trikies to the beach, and if you spin your way on all of the paved driveways out-and-back within the park you can go about 5 miles before repeating. The public bike path reaches at least 30 miles to the east along County Road 30A and Front Beach Road and I don't know how far to the west.

[Dave Nowlin]

We had a very pleasant surprise on this trip. Our satellite worked on that site and we were able to watch the same channels we do at home. It was neat to watch news from back home each day. It got a bit chilly during part of our stay but I was in or on the water fishing almost every day. We did find a new restaurant that I will recommend. It is High Tide and is on the west end of Okaloosa Island just before the bridge to Ft. Walton. If you eat a fish dinner the portions are very generous. I tried an item there that was new to me. You can order rice as a side dish and it has onion and bell pepper and a very small portion of some kind of oil in it. It is very good. The twice baked potatoes are also excellent as are the hush puppies. It is one of those places that is frequented by locals.

[indy roadrunner]

In times past we have had many meals at High Tide. Use to be local favorite but last couple of trips that way we think the prices are a little steep. We were there this past summer and decided to turn around and go back to Dewey Destins.