Day 10 - 14: Up around the gulf coast
After leaving the keys we made or way (slowly) up around the gulf coast stopping to see family, beaches, state parks, and wildlife areas. Some great spots along this route that we highly recommend.
Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge - South Florida
As we drove out we stopped at a number of national wildlife areas. The one that stood out the most was Ten Thousand Islands, which lives up to its name as literally thousands of small mangrove islands dot the horizon filled with birds of every kind: Green herons, an island of sleeping white pelicans, ROSEATE SPOONBILLS, white ibises , glossy ibis, moorhens, blue winged teals, great egrets, little egrets, great blue herons, little blue herons, and tricolored herons. This place had them ALL.
St. Andrews State Park - Panama City, FL
We took the long route through the panhandle so we could see more of the gulf. Not a bad decision if you have some time to burn and would rather see miles and miles of beachfront instead of miles and miles of Hwy 10. We stopped at a state park south of Panama City called St. Andrews. Solid hiking trails and a great place to see a sunset.
Fontainebleau State Park - Louisiana
One of the downsides of traveling the country in a 24-foot campervan is that driving in big cities is pretty much a non-starter, especially if you want to park. This meant that despite passing within a couple miles of New Orleans we had to settle for waving at it from afar.
The upside is that by passing north of NOLA we discovered Fontainebleau State Park. Located at the north end of Lake Pontchartrain, this park provided stunning views at sunset and some great little hiking trails. The highlight is a pier that stretches out into the lake and creates a great backdrop for sunset photos.
