Holt, Florida
We moved back into Ivan at Eagle's Landing RV Park in Holt, FL on March 7th, 2020. We had to stay there because Penny was going to have jury duty in that county on the 15th. However, it got canceled due to this Pandemic (Covid-19) panic. This might be the ONE good thing that came out of the pandemic. No jury duty!!!
Holt is a very small town so if you need to shop for ANYTHING you will need to drive into Crestview. Luckily it is only 9 miles away. Or you can drive back down toward the beach area of Fort Walton / Destin which is 45 minutes. For most of our shopping during the two weeks we were there, we went into Crestview.
During our two weeks in Holt, we revisited Blackwater River State Park. The original name was Oka-lusa: meaning water black. The park is considered to be one of the purest sand-bottom rivers in the world. The river's sand-bottom, dark tannin water, and contrasting large white sandbars have drawn worldwide attention and provide the perfect setting for this 590-acre park. It also boasts of having one of the largest, contiguous, longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem left in the world which is described as being rarer than a tropical rainforest.
When we had came down last February in order to establish our Florida residency, we had visited the park then. We had found the river deserted and very peaceful, so we decided to go back. This time, we found loads of folks hanging out by the river, kayaking and hiking all along the trails. Little did we know that they would soon close all state and national parks!
Arriving in New Orleans in the Nick of Time
On March 22nd, we moved to Pontchartrain Landing in New Orleans for a week's stay. Lucky for us, the park was light and we got a free upgrade to a waterfront site!
It was cool to watch the boats coming and going. We also made socially-distant friends with Doug, Cassandra & Ginger - from Canada, eh! Very cool people and I have the feeling that we will be long time friends with them.
I had found out on the websites that there were a few cemeteries still open, so after D got off work we all four - and the big dog too - headed to downtown. Unfortunately, when we arrived at Metairie and St Patrick Cemeteries we found out they had closed early. So instead we had to settle at looking at the beautiful headstones and statues through barred gates. Our purpose for stopping in NOLA was to visit the cemeteries so it looks like we will just have to return when all the virus scare is over!
We moved back into Ivan at Eagle's Landing RV Park in Holt, FL on March 7th, 2020. We had to stay there because Penny was going to have jury duty in that county on the 15th. However, it got canceled due to this Pandemic (Covid-19) panic. This might be the ONE good thing that came out of the pandemic. No jury duty!!!
Holt is a very small town so if you need to shop for ANYTHING you will need to drive into Crestview. Luckily it is only 9 miles away. Or you can drive back down toward the beach area of Fort Walton / Destin which is 45 minutes. For most of our shopping during the two weeks we were there, we went into Crestview.
Blackwater River State Park
During our two weeks in Holt, we revisited Blackwater River State Park. The original name was Oka-lusa: meaning water black. The park is considered to be one of the purest sand-bottom rivers in the world. The river's sand-bottom, dark tannin water, and contrasting large white sandbars have drawn worldwide attention and provide the perfect setting for this 590-acre park. It also boasts of having one of the largest, contiguous, longleaf pine/wiregrass ecosystem left in the world which is described as being rarer than a tropical rainforest.
When we had came down last February in order to establish our Florida residency, we had visited the park then. We had found the river deserted and very peaceful, so we decided to go back. This time, we found loads of folks hanging out by the river, kayaking and hiking all along the trails. Little did we know that they would soon close all state and national parks!
Arriving in New Orleans in the Nick of Time
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| Sunrise over Lake Pontchartrain |
On March 22nd, we moved to Pontchartrain Landing in New Orleans for a week's stay. Lucky for us, the park was light and we got a free upgrade to a waterfront site!
It was cool to watch the boats coming and going. We also made socially-distant friends with Doug, Cassandra & Ginger - from Canada, eh! Very cool people and I have the feeling that we will be long time friends with them.
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| St Patrick's Cemeteries |
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| Metairie Cemetery |
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| Metairie Cemetery |
While eventually started looking lost after we took a few pictures of the tombstones and a nice homeless man told use that the Hurricane Katrina Memorial was just down the street and was never locked. Sweet! Thanks, fella!
The City of New Orleans was under severe quarantine as the residence are not doing so well with the virus. Still, we risked things a little bit by driving down to Bourbon Street in the city. We walked several blocks. It was a ghost town! We saw one working woman and a few dog walkers. Eerie!
Well, the end of our week had came and it was time to move on. Our next stop is Texas! See ya on the flip side!
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| A crow spying on us for breaking quarantine |
The City of New Orleans was under severe quarantine as the residence are not doing so well with the virus. Still, we risked things a little bit by driving down to Bourbon Street in the city. We walked several blocks. It was a ghost town! We saw one working woman and a few dog walkers. Eerie!
Well, the end of our week had came and it was time to move on. Our next stop is Texas! See ya on the flip side!
