Reeves, Louisiana, thru Mississippi and Alabama into Florida

After leaving our friends' place near Reeves, Louisiana, we headed northeast on Highway 165 to Alexandria. We stopped at the south edge of Alexandria to refresh our tanks at the Alexander Forest WMA. They had a very nice camping area there, but since we were not camping, they let us refresh our holding tanks at no charge. Then we continued northeast on Highway 28, which connected with Highway 84 just before we got to Jonesville.

Eastward to Natchez, Mississippi

The bridge in the photos below is where we crossed the Mississippi River to enter Natchez.

Bridge over Mississippi River to Natchez, Mississippi

Crossing the Mississippi River at Natchez, MS

Welcome to Mississippi

Our overnight stop was at the Brookhaven, Mississippi, Walmart. As usual, this gave us an opportunity to get a few needed supplies while we were there.

Sunset photo from Walmart parking lot at Brookhaven, Mississippi

Our drive through Mississippi was mostly on good divided highway through areas with trees on both sides. It was a pleasant drive with minimal traffic.
 

Typical scene on our drive through Mississippi

Alabama State Line

Within 25 miles after crossing the Alabama State Line, traveling east on Highway 84, near Coffeeville, we came upon a big bridge. Turns out, it was the Jim Folsom Bridge which was named for a man who was twice Governor of the State of Alabama. This big bridge is over the Tombigbee River on the Choctaw-Clark County Line near Coffeeville. It was built in 1958 as a part of the Alabama Bureau of Bridges Big Bridge Building Program, and is steel Warren thru-Truss.

Map view of Hwy 84 and Tombigbee River near Coffeeville, AL

Approach to the Jim Folsom Bridge

View exiting Jim Folsom Bridge

The Walmart in Andalusia, Alabama, was our overnight stop. The next day, we continued on to the east side of the loop around Opp, AL, and took Highway 52 to Samson, AL. We then headed south on Highway 87 into Florida.

Florida at last!

The last time we were in Florida was November of 1993! Soon after entering Florida, we headed east on Highway 2 over to Highway 231 to the Florida Welcome Center.

Our RV and trailer in the parking lot behind the Florida Welcome Center.

Florida Highway 231 Welcome Center

The Florida Welcome Center offered a fresh glass of orange or grapefruit juice, which was very refreshing. We then looked around and gathered a limited amount of brochures of things to see and do while in Florida. From there we continued south on Highway 231 to the east side of Panama City, where we  stayed overnight in the Walmart parking lot.

Sightseeing

Our priority the next morning was to do some sightseeing before we got to our eastern destination in the Ocala area. We got on Highway 98 and followed the coast past Port St. Joe. This was also the first time in many years that we had seen the Gulf of Mexico.

Before getting to Appalachiacola, we turned off on State Road 30A. We just wanted to see where it went! It took us to Cape San Blas and the end of the road, past St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. The area was mostly residential set among beautiful Southern Pine forest and beaches with many expensive homes and resorts.

A St. Vincent Island NWR map at Cape San Blas, FL.

Just a reminder that you can click on any photo to enlarge it, and escape to return to the blog.

Signs at end of road, Cape San Blas, FL.

Boat landing and ferry dock to St. Vincent NWR

Causeway approach, highway 98, Eastpoint, FL

Crossing the causeway toward Eastpoint, FL

Highway 98 along the shoreline afforded a beautiful view of the Gulf. Highway 98 parallels the Gulf and makes a beautiful drive from Panama City to the little town of Medart at the eastern edge of the Appalachiacola National Forest.

Highway 98 and a beautiful view of the Gulf

This took us to Carabelle, Florida, with great views of the beach. 

The above photos are looking left, straight ahead, and right at the Gulf. It felt really nice after 24 years to set foot on the soft, warm sand of a gulf beach. Below, I panned around to the right along the street to the picnic areas with overhead shade.

Still panning to the right, this is the picnic area along the street

Still panning, a little further to the right, I found Angel sitting in the driver's seat of our RV looking out the front window. On the other side of the street is a view of an RV Park at Carabelle. 

Angel in the driver's seat of the RV

 After Carabelle, we took a little detour through Appalachiacola National Forest on Highway 319 and then back to Highway 98 again.  The Perry, Florida, Walmart was the site of our overnight stop. We continued south on Alternate 27 the next day to Ocala.

We were going to stay overnight at either a Walmart or a Sam's Club. As we got closer, traffic was horrible. When we got there, we discovered they had changed their rules and did not allow overnight parking. Designated spaces for RVs to park while shopping were at the far end of their parking lot, which had a lot of curbs and made the spaces way too tight for comfort. I did make us a quick sandwich while John checked parking information on his Smartphone. Our best option was to head for Ocala National Forest and hope they had a camping spot available. 

Thank you for following this RV Full-Time Living and Traveling adventure. Feel free to make comments in the section below. 

In the next post I will show you our next camping spot and talk about differences we experienced in National Forests as we traveled across the land.

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