The back view of the RV park from a fishing dock. No emerald beach on this day!
Another one of our destinations this winter was to spend a week or so with my mom. She is splitting her year between one sister in Virginia and the other sister who lives in the Florida Panhandle. We had an easy drive, 150 miles and 2 1/2 hours, to our next destination, Emerald Beach RV Park, Navarre, Florida from Three Rivers State Park (post about it is here). We stayed here for 8 days. This was the perfect place for us to have our mattress shipped, as we discussed in our last post.
Mom is an amazing woman at 93 years young. I have great genes from her! So my smile is as big as my relatively new glasses. I have to learn to not be so happy!!! LOL
The day we arrived, January 31, my sister and mom were just two miles away being pampered! I texted them we had arrived and they said perfect timing, come get mom so she won’t have to sit and wait. It was great to see them both. I haven’t seen mom since August nor seen my oldest sister since September 2015. Penny snapped this picture of our reunion. I was with mom every day while in the area. We had her over for dinner every evening, except one night my sister cooked us a gourmet dinner our first Saturday night so we could meet her new beau.
At mom’s age, even though relatively healthy, it’s good to keep her active. So us three girls do keep mom on the go. And it was my turn to run her around! We did all kinds of errands and I took her to whatever appointments she needed. When I learned mom needed a sleep test where she had to be in Pensacola at 8:30 pm, then picked up the next morning at 6:00 am, we extended our stay so I could take her and pick her up. What a blessing it was to do this for mom. Over our 10 days together, we sure had some great laughs and enjoyed each other like we haven’t been able to in years. Mom is just so remarkable and a good sport.
Sassy at 93! She asked if I took a picture of how long the pier was…opps, I didn’t. She was proud of herself getting all the way out to the fishing pier.
My sister used to live in Navarre, so many of her contacts and appointments were near us, not to forget her church. We really enjoyed the service and it was a blessing seeing my sister participate in the service and listen as she also sings in the choir. She takes after mom and I got dad’s lack of a singing voice!
My oldest sister, Penny, mom and yours truly after church.
Part of Bill’s new health plan is his need for a workout nearly every day. Sadly, this RV resort didn’t have much to offer him. He could go to the local fitness center, but without a car, it was a bit sketchy to walk on Highway 98. No sidewalks and the cars love to speed. We did venture out to walk on the beach early twice. He discovered it was just five miles away, so one day, he walked over there.
It was a five-mile drive over to Navarre Beach. We drove over here twice, early before I went to be with mom. Once, Bill walked over on the bridge and back by himself. What a workout it was!
So sad we couldn’t actually be parked on this beach – but no RV parks are! Now this is really the Emerald Beach!
Pretty amazing! But doesn’t make for the best walk. We could only walk slightly over two miles on the very soft sand.
This is part of the 5 mile walk Bill did from the RV park to the beach and back.
We had to come up with a better solution for exercise. Bill HAS to do it now and I just need it! I use the “All Trails” app to find places to hike. Initially, we just didn’t see any close by. But then I dug in and found out the Florida Trail was nearby. So one day we had a great 5+ mile hike on it that borders Elgin Air Force Base. It was only a few miles drive from the RV park. Then the next day, I thought I found another one, but it was clearly marked we needed passes from the Base to walk in the forest. I guess since the other was an official Florida Trail, the sign wasn’t so obvious. So we drove over to Fort Walton to a sweet community park, Oak Tree Nature Park and got in a fast 2+ mile walk/run. It was nearly a 20 minute drive, or 40 minutes round trip – and that took away time with my mom.
Florida Trail around Elgin Air Force Beach.
Were we supposed to get passes to walk on this trail? We didn’t read this sign when we started. I snapped a picture at the end to see what it said….
Oak Tree Nature Trail. It was so beautiful but since so small, we decided to sprint then walk, sprint then walk for the two miles. That’s one way to get in a good work out if we can’t get in the miles.
Bill was getting antsy. He usually NEVER has a problem hanging out at the RV park. There is always something to do. Wash and wax the RV. Done. Wash the car (before I left for the day). Done. Tune up every thing. Done. Do odds and ends. Done. Order and install a mattress. Done. There was no challenge left. And now I wanted to extend our stay five days.
Bill and mom. See the shiny wash and wax job?
Nice pull through site with full hook ups. But the sites are a bit close. We didn’t have anyone on our right side for a few days, so it was spacious enough.
But then someone moved onto that site. It just seemed a bit close for us. But otherwise, this was a great park. Staff was EXCELLENT!
So what to do? We thought we had searched all the RV parks in the area. We just read a blog by one of our favorites bloggers, (several others wrote about it as well) who mentioned Fort Pickens in their blog about Florida. We checked it out and lo and behold, it was just as close to mom as Emerald Beach, just in the other direction….and it was an excellent place to get in some long hikes. We miraculously were able to get a reservation. So off we went…
Up next, Fort Pickens!
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12
Follow the Tumble Lees! 
You are blessed to still have your mom and healthy. My mother died at the age of 92 with Alzheimer’s disease for five years.
Blessings for your continued travels.
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Yes, so thankful and blessed! Alzheimer’s is a cruel disease. But I think it’s harder on the family. We were caretakers of Bill’s aunt in her last year of life, with Alzheimer’s.
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Three lovely ladies looking good. How wonderful to spend time together 😊
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Awww, you’re sweet. It was such a blessing for all of us!
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Your mom looks wonderful!! Good genes for sure:) You would never guess she was 93…beautiful woman! My mother is 85 and still walks everywhere in her small town and works out at the fitness center every day and attends yoga once a week (chair yoga now). Thank goodness she realizes the importance of staying active. Lot of memories being made with your mom and sister:)
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Wow, your mom sounds amazing! My parents were members of a health club but that fell by the wayside. Bill’s mom used to walk daily (and tend her garden) until she began to lose her balance, at about age 88. The beginning stages of Parkinson’s. She’ll be 95 in March. We’ve learned the need to keep working out as we age – and in fact, to do it more so now!
Sounds like you have good genes, too!
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[…] of wished this was where we originally came to stay during my time with my mom, the other location, Emerald Beach RV Park, served it’s purpose. We’re learning so much as we travel this winter, not so much […]
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