Topsail Hill Preserve SP (Oct 16-22)

Friday - It was an easy drive today, mostly thru Alabama, that was about 169 miles. We got in, set up and took a walk around a couple of the many loops here. This is a very nice campground with many fishing ponds, access to the gulf, and extensive bicycle trails. We are in the oldest section, yet the sites are quite nice. Sites in the newer sections are even nicer. We went to Stinky's Fish Camp for a very nice fried fish/shrimp salad for dinner. John had to call to change his supplement medical, which is like a root canal, so no fishing this evening.

Saturday - We took our coffee and walked the final loops and marked down sites we like. The new loop is wonderful. We then did a load of clothes at the really nice laundry and hung them on our First-Up. Next we rode our bikes on a paved bike path to Campbell lake hoping to fish, but the shoreline is too shallow. We can put the kayaks on the shuttle. Finally, we rode over to the beach, but didn't stay. It is very nice and about a mile from the campground. 

Sunday - Since it was cool today, John took the opportunity to replace a roof vent that had gotten brittle and cracked. We have had the part for awhile. Joan also cut John's hair. There have been many units leave and others come in to replace them. It is really pleasant here today. 

Monday - We drove to Destin and fished at a park by the bridge. It was very windy and difficult to cast a fly rod. There were several others there using natural bait, but we only saw a few pinfish caught. We consoled ourselves by stopping at Crust Pizzaria for thin crispy pizza, which John likes better than Joan. We needed to restock our supplies, so we stopped at Walmart. When we got back to the campground, John felt a need to fish some more, so he tried a couple of the local ponds. He talked to someone who had caught a bass yesterday, so felt challenged. After going almost all the way around the first lake, he landed a nice bass. Soon after he caught another smaller one. 

Tuesday - We drove over to Grayton Beach State Park and first tried to cast on the beach. Joan had a small one on that she lost, but since that was the only action after an hour, we decided to launch the kayaks on West Lake. We saw some mullet jumping, so we figured there might be some saltwater fish to catch. Wrong! We enjoyed our paddle despite the wind, but no hits. This is a beautify area and the campground is nice too. We think we still like where we are better, but this will make a good 

backup. 

Wednesday - We fished the stingy ponds and had little action. John had a nice bass take, but not hooked. John talked to a ranger and found out that you can only launch kayaks from the park at Campbell Lake and not our own, because of their fear of invasive species being introduced. We always clean ours, but understand that not everyone does. 

Thursday - We made a run to a very nice local Publix and stocked up for our next stop that had nothing nearby. Joan fixed some chicken salad and cleaned up the inside while John worked outside.

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