Stinky's Fish Camp

As the t-shirt said, with a name like Stinky's the food has to be good - - and it was! It was actually great! I think our group tried about everything on the menu. Every bite was awesome.

We started with some oysters: Bienville; On the Half Shell; and Steamed. Then we enjoyed some crawfish tamales and crawfish hushpuppies. Our entrees included fried shrimp; grilled amberjack; shrimp po' boys; crab legs; seafood chowder; and of course Garrett ordered a burger. It was one of the best seafood meals we've ever eaten.

Ainsley ordered Kid's Crab Legs off the Kid's Menu. We couldn't believe the size of the order when it arrived. She was on cloud nine. There was enough to share with the whole group. It wasn't cheap - - - I think I liked it better when she'd only eat mac & cheese.

We finished off a near perfect meal with an unbelievable piece of KeyLime Pie. Our waiter told us it had been awarded a "Top 10 pie of the South East" by Southern Living Magazine. After one bite we could definitely understand why!

Anytime we are near Santa Rosa Beach, Stinky's will be on the agenda. I've been there, done that, and yes - - -I did get the T-shirt!!

Look . . . Dolphins!!

Garrett wanted to rent a waverunner so we could explore Santa Rosa Sound so we went a couple of blocks from the park and picked one up. We got a chance to ride by the RV park and wave at the crew. Ainsley decided she wasn't interested - AT ALL.

We had a blast and headed west in the direction of Okaloosa Island, but didn't have time to go too far. GT became a backseat driver and asked on several occasions, "are you tryin' to kill us?" I'm not sure he adventurous as he thought he was. We didn't even Catch Air!!

Catching some waves on the Waverunner.

Waving from the Waverunner at the crew at Emerald Beach RV Park.

Having a blast in Santa Rosa Sound!

The highlight of the Waverunner excursion was then a small pod of Dolphin came swimming through the sound. You can see a couple of them on the left side of the pic above. There were probably eight in the group and there weren't bothered by us at all. At one point, these two got within about five feet of the Waverunner.

The other big highlight was when I made a sharp left to turn around and look at the dolphin and Garrett and kept going straight. Our rears and the Waverunner seat quickly parted ways. GT and I both hit the water and I'm pretty sure he thought the dolphin had turned into sharks. I'm not saying GT was Christ-like, but he may have walked on water trying to get back onboard. It was hilarious! As we got back to the truck, he informed me that he wasn't speaking to me any longer. Ha! He got over it pretty quickly.

A Day at the Beach . . .

After a quick trip to the Donut Hole in Destin and a stop by Sexton's Seafood Market, we headed back to Navarre for some beach time. We rode to Gulf National Seashore at Opal Beach and grabbed a pavilion for the afternoon. The weather was perfect.

The kids spent a little time snorkeling and playing on body boards. Melanie and I hung out under the shade in the pavilion enjoying an awesome gulf breeze. The only thing that could have made it better would have been a hammock.

The view from our pavilion.

A Herron hanging out on the beach.

Garrett snorkeling at Opal Beach.

Ainsley hanging on the beach.

Navarre Vacation 2011

Let the RELAXATION begin . . .

We left NWA after work Friday night and made it to Vicksburg, MS about 1:00 a.m. We would have been there sooner, but Melanie couldn't pass up Taco Villa in Russellville on the way down. I think Mel and the Kids had it planned ahead of time. Oh well.

It was a long trip on Saturday to finally get to Navarre. It took over 2 1/2 hours to get through Mobile, AL. Traffic was terrible. We finally arrived at Emerald Beach RV Park just after 3:00 pm. Just after we arrived, my Mom told us they were planning a shrimp boil and it would be ready soon. Awesome!

We had some shrimp and then headed to the pool for some R&R. It was a great start to what we hope will be an awesome week.

This morning, we enjoyed some fresh brewed coffee from Mud Street Cafe in Eureka and a long walk in the beach. Mel and the Kids headed for the pool again and then I think we're beach. I thought I'd get the camera gear ready and head for the beach.

Pics to follow . . .

During Sunday's rains, I decided to make a run to Fallsville to see if I could make it in to Kings River Falls and Lichen Falls for a quick pic or two. The rain was heavy during the drive over and when I arrived at the trailhead for Kings River Falls, so I suited up in my rain gear and headed down the trail.

You could tell the water had been much higher because there was debris from the previous high water in the trees and in some areas the debris was higher than I could reach. The water had obviously gone down because the trail was very passable. The water was, however, much higher than it had been on Saturday afternoon because a friend had been over the previous day and took some pics where the flow was much more subdued.

Lucky for me, the rain stopped just as I reached the falls area. I was able to enjoy some time exploring the area and capturing some pics of Kings River Falls as well as some smaller falls on the creeks that feed into the river. There were even some other hikers who braved the rains to check out the falls.

After leaving Kings River Falls, I headed over to Lichen Falls just South of Hwy 16. The rain started pick back up, but I was lucky as it slowed down considerably as I reached Lichen Falls. The falls are along a well marked trail and are only about 1/4 mile from the parking area. A very easy hike, but the canyon and bluffs around the falls are very steep. During high water, this has to be one of the prettiest falls I've seen. It was difficult to shoot because it was so tall and there was a ton of vegetation so it was tough to get an unobstructed pic. It's definitely worth the hike over.

After heading back to the truck, the rain really came down. I was a little damp and cold but it was well worth it to see two very beautiful falls with such awesome water flow. I will make it back to both of these very soon.

A B&W of Kings River Falls

Another B&W of a feeder creek and its falls.

A B&W of Lichen Falls, South of Hwy 16

One of the falls on the feeder creek flowing into the Kings River

We made a trip to Glory Hole Falls on Saturday. The weather started out cold and nasty, but turned beautiful by noon. The hike down to the falls was about 2 miles (round trip) and the trail was very nice. There was a crowd of hikers at the falls when we arrived. After the prior days rains, the water was flowing very nicely and several of the hikers, who were regulars, told us it was the best they'd seen in a few years.

Once we climbed below the falls, I could definitely understand all the talk about the falls. It was absolutely beautiful. We were able to snap some quick pics of the falls, but the photos really don't do it justice. The natural beauty looked as if Heaven was shining down on Earth. It's truly a sight to see. Just remember, only schedule a trip shortly following a rain and you won't be disappointed.

Glory Hole Falls - South of Ponca

Glory Hole Falls - South of Ponca

Glory Hole Falls - South of Ponca

A little greenery popping through the forest floor.

Back to the Blog

I've taken a few months off from blogging, but now that it's time to get out and take some pics again. I thought I'd go ahead and start updating our blog now. The weather is setting up for a really nice phototrek early on Saturday morning near Boxley Valley. I'm thinking about trying a sunrise shot at Hawksbill Crag, but I'm not sure the family is up for a 5:00 a.m. road trip. If we make the trip, we'll get some pics posted over the weekend.