Palmetto Island State Park - Abbeville, Louisiana

Our first week of living a nomadic lifestyle ...

    Our brand-new RV living adventure began at the beautiful homestead of a dear couple whom we've known for a very long time.  They live a mile from the home that we sold, which made it convenient for us to finish hauling the last of our items from the house to the camper.

    This precious couple used to own a camper, so they already had a covered concrete pad as well as all the hook-ups needed to live in our RV there.  This was the perfect place for us to get our feet wet.  They were able to give us great advice and some hands-on training on how to properly hook up and level the RV. We were able to stay at their place for a week, which was a tremendous blessing to us.

Our first experience of staying at a campground ...

    Palmetto Island State Park is one of Louisiana's top-rated state parks, located only a few miles outside of Abbeville's city limits.  We had visited it quite a few times for special events, and there were a few occasions when we brought some of our younger grandchildren for a day of playing in its large splashpad. 

    After checking in and arriving at our designated site, we were pleasantly surprised at how quickly we were able to set up and have the RV ready for a two-week stay! We laid out and staked down the big outdoor rug that someone blessed us with, opened up the awning, set out the folding rocking chairs, plugged in our big fan, and sat down to enjoy our new surroundings.  Within fifteen minutes, the weather started looking bad, so we hurried up and put it all back up ... except for the rug!  Those fifteen minutes were actually the longest time we sat outside during our two-week stay here.  We did go for walks around the park nearly every day to get some exercise and, of course, wave at all our fellow campers!

Palmetto's provisions ...

    There are 95 RV lots to choose from, some of which have tent pads connected to them, and most of them have some level of privacy along with plenty of shade to protect you from Louisiana's scorching summer heat.  They also have several cabins you can rent, as well as a few private pavilions to rent for the day, and a good-sized meeting room that's also available to rent.

    In the RV camping area, there are two comfort stations with very clean, air-conditioned bathrooms that are equipped with showers.  There's also a laundry room in each comfort station, which we have used on several occasions during our stay, as well as the showers.

    You can fish in one of the three small lakes, which we did, or you can launch your boat and head down the Vermilion River that leads out to the Gulf. The campground has canoes and kayaks to rent by the hour or for the whole day, or you can hang out at the splash pad, or you can take a hike down one of their several nature trails. This entire campground is well kept, has lots of palmettos, and you may even see an alligator or two, just as we did!

    

    For us, the best part is that, because we're "Aging" Cajuns, if you're sixty-two years old or older, camping is half price! We highly recommend this park if anyone is looking for a nice campground to get away and enjoy the outdoors. It was very quiet during the weekdays, with the weekend being full of campers who were cooking outdoors, playing Cajun music, and making wonderful memories with family and friends.

    Yes, there are mosquitoes and deer flies that will make you slap yourself crazy, but just come prepared to combat them! We can't wait to stay here in the cooler climate when we can make a fire, roast some marshmallows, and stay outside a lot longer!

What's next?

    Tomorrow, June 20th, we will be taking our first road trip since moving into the RV. We will be heading to an RV park in Theodore, Alabama, to be near our son and his family for nine days ... that's the longest that we've been able to visit with them since they moved away from our area over six years ago.  It will actually be his youngest daughter's 14th birthday, Mallorie Joy, so we're excited to be there on her special day.  Even though it's not a trip that will be very newsworthy, as far as big adventures go, it will still be a great adventure for us!

Until next time...blessings from our neck of the woods to yours!

Isaiah 61:1-3

David & I caught two decent-sized
ones at the same time!