Tri-circle-D
<font color=peach>Throwing some love to TCD<br><fo
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2004
Im back.
I didnt intend to be gone so long.
Little by little, the changes at the Fort have bothered me. I got tired of the constantly raising prices, and the increasing hassles of making reservations, checking in, renting golf carts, etc. I decided that the TCD gang needed to take a break from Disney.
And, I also decided to take a break from the Disboards. I was spending way too much time in cyberspace, and not enough time on more important things.
So, the TCD gang has not visited the Fort in 2010 (except for the tail-end of our New Years Eve visit). And I kept away from the Disboards.
We typically go for MLK weekend and Presidents Day weekend, and Spring Break, too.
But, the greedy Fort management has made all of those times Premium. I am not going to pay $100+ a night to camp.
So, for Spring Break, 2010, the TCD gang tried something new.
I am going to share our experience here, because where we went is closer to a lot of you than WDW. And, if people stop paying the outrageous charges at the Fort, the prices will have to come down.
So, for Spring Break 2010, the TCD gang hitched up, and headed north instead of east.
We turned left at Tallahassee, and at about 400 miles from home, we made it to our destination for the week: Grayton Beach State Park.
Yes, I said 400 miles. All in the State of Florida. Folks often fail to realize how big this state is. Grayton Beach is closer to New Orleans than it is to where we live (Tampa Bay area). Heck, it's even in a different time zone!
Was it as nice as the Fort?
No.
But, we paid less than $20 a night for our campsite.
Yes, I said less than $20 a night.
And, we had a blast.
So, lets get on with the trip report, right?
Here we are at a rest stop on I-10, just to the West of Tallahassee. You can see that we brought our bikes. They were essential on this trip, and I highly recommend that you either bring bikes, or arrange to rent some if you visit this part of Florida:
Here is our set up in our campsite. As you can see, the sites are not paved, and they have just water and electric, at least on this loop of the campground. There is a new loop, which opened late last year, with sewer. Ill have some photos from that loop later in the report:
This is the boardwalk to the beach:
And our first sunset:
For our first night, we headed over to the town of Seaside (about a mile and a half to the East of the Park entrance), where we ate at the Pizza Bar. The food here is fabulous! Much better that the cardboard and spaghetti sauce served at the Fort:
In Seaside, there is also an establishment called Taco Bar. Another excellent place. And, they even provide a photo op:
Note that one of the TCD DDs refused to participate. But, TCD still had to be the dog.
The campsites at Grayton Beach State Park are situated along the banks of Western Lake. Western Lake is a coastal lake. Apparently, this is rare. The lake and the beach here are beautiful! See for yourself:
Here is one of the lakeside campsites:
The campsites are pretty basic. Here are some shots of the electric and water connections, for those of you interested in such things:
They also supply a clothesline:
And picnic table, and fire ring/grill:
TCD
(Plenty more to come) . . .
I didnt intend to be gone so long.
Little by little, the changes at the Fort have bothered me. I got tired of the constantly raising prices, and the increasing hassles of making reservations, checking in, renting golf carts, etc. I decided that the TCD gang needed to take a break from Disney.
And, I also decided to take a break from the Disboards. I was spending way too much time in cyberspace, and not enough time on more important things.
So, the TCD gang has not visited the Fort in 2010 (except for the tail-end of our New Years Eve visit). And I kept away from the Disboards.
We typically go for MLK weekend and Presidents Day weekend, and Spring Break, too.
But, the greedy Fort management has made all of those times Premium. I am not going to pay $100+ a night to camp.
So, for Spring Break, 2010, the TCD gang tried something new.
I am going to share our experience here, because where we went is closer to a lot of you than WDW. And, if people stop paying the outrageous charges at the Fort, the prices will have to come down.
So, for Spring Break 2010, the TCD gang hitched up, and headed north instead of east.
We turned left at Tallahassee, and at about 400 miles from home, we made it to our destination for the week: Grayton Beach State Park.
Yes, I said 400 miles. All in the State of Florida. Folks often fail to realize how big this state is. Grayton Beach is closer to New Orleans than it is to where we live (Tampa Bay area). Heck, it's even in a different time zone!
Was it as nice as the Fort?
No.
But, we paid less than $20 a night for our campsite.
Yes, I said less than $20 a night.
And, we had a blast.
So, lets get on with the trip report, right?
Here we are at a rest stop on I-10, just to the West of Tallahassee. You can see that we brought our bikes. They were essential on this trip, and I highly recommend that you either bring bikes, or arrange to rent some if you visit this part of Florida:
Here is our set up in our campsite. As you can see, the sites are not paved, and they have just water and electric, at least on this loop of the campground. There is a new loop, which opened late last year, with sewer. Ill have some photos from that loop later in the report:
This is the boardwalk to the beach:
And our first sunset:
For our first night, we headed over to the town of Seaside (about a mile and a half to the East of the Park entrance), where we ate at the Pizza Bar. The food here is fabulous! Much better that the cardboard and spaghetti sauce served at the Fort:
In Seaside, there is also an establishment called Taco Bar. Another excellent place. And, they even provide a photo op:
Note that one of the TCD DDs refused to participate. But, TCD still had to be the dog.
The campsites at Grayton Beach State Park are situated along the banks of Western Lake. Western Lake is a coastal lake. Apparently, this is rare. The lake and the beach here are beautiful! See for yourself:
Here is one of the lakeside campsites:
The campsites are pretty basic. Here are some shots of the electric and water connections, for those of you interested in such things:
They also supply a clothesline:
And picnic table, and fire ring/grill:
TCD
(Plenty more to come) . . .
TCD is back!!!
Glad your back 
