The week we left Moonshine Creek morning temps were in the 20s and of course our furnace chose that week to quit working. We were able to get by with our electric fireplace and a small space heater. Knowing we were headed to warmer weather – we toughed it out. The furnace will be fixed before we come back next spring though.
The itinerary for our trip to our new workamping job in Avon Park included stop overs at a Vineyard in Alabama, a Florida State Park and a Florida Golf Course/ Country Club. We passed through Georgia and Alabama on our journey and added 2 new state stickers to our RV map. We only add the states that we spend the night in.
Our first stop after leaving North Carolina was at a Harvest Host –Whippoorwill Vineyards in Southeastern Alabama. It was well off the main highway which meant no loud traffic noises at night. The vineyard was very easy to find and the owner was friendly and showed us to the best spot to park for the night. We had access to the entire vineyard to walk, stretch our legs and explore.
Harvest Hosts have provided some great options for us as we travel from one point to another. In a nutshell, they offer boondocking locations at farms, museums and vineyards. Since we joined they have added many hosts and they now include golf courses. Their annual fee has increased but we think it’s well worth it to have so many wonderful, safe choices for boondocking along our way. Last year we stayed at a beautiful Blueberry Farm in Canada. If interested, you can click on this link: Harvest Host, and type in HHFRIENDS15 at checkout, to get 15% off an annual membership (normally $79.)
Our next stop was a state park on the Emerald Coast of Florida. Topsail Preserve Hill State Park is near Destin. The campground has a beautiful white sand beach that is easily accessible from the campsites via a 1 mile paved bike path. The park offers free tram rides to the beach throughout the day as well.
There were many Monarch butterflies near the beach, making their way south for the winter. We saw pelicans, small crabs, a deer along the path and of course seagulls.
Monarchs headed south 
Pelican prints 
While at Topsail, we stopped by Eglin Air Force Base to check out their FamCamp and commissary.
Our friends and fellow-workampers from Moonshine Creek, Robert and Peggy, were also staying at Topsail. We met for dinner at a beautiful beach-side restaurant called Whale’s Tail. While there we viewed an amazing sunset AND we were front row for a special, unscheduled “air show.”
We loved Topsail and hated to leave but we had to move along. Our next stop was Lake City, Florida where we stayed at a golf course, The Country Club at Lake City. This Harvest Host’s parking lot was a quiet place to rest and we ate dinner at their club that evening.
Finally, on November 7 we arrived at Avon Park Air Force Range. Immediately after entering the front gate, the “Volunteer Village” is on the right -where all the current volunteers live in their RVs. We are one of 6 couples who work 24 hours each week in exchange for our full hook up site, laundry and wifi.
We are getting settled in and learning about our responsibilities. Everyone is super friendly and the work is very interesting. It is going to be a fun and educational 4 months! Next week I’ll post more about what we do here…if you are at all squeamish you might want to skip next week’s post as it WILL involve guns and guts. Thanks for following along ; )
There just has to be a book in the making
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