GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE
We kind of decided last minute to do an overnight camping trip for Spring Break. We were lucky to come upon Gulf Islands National Seashore during our search, and we are so glad that we did. We love National Seashores. They offer a completely different beach experience than the regular tourist option, and they are all around the coasts of the United States!
Fort Pickens campground is about 7.5 hours south of Nashville. We started the morning early on a Tuesday and left around 5am. We made a couple of stops along the way, so we ended up arriving to the campground office around 1pm, which is perfect because that is the check-in time. If you go, be sure to stop at the National Park Service sign as you come in! The campground office is located in an old beach house - it is seriously so cute!
After checking in, we made our way to finding our campsite in the D Loop. D Loop is where it’s at! There were many campers already set up the day, or week. We were super excited to use our new Venture 4th Inflatable Sleeping Pad. In my opinion, it’s much more comfortable than the more dense sleeping pads. It’s easy to inflate and folds up tiny, making it a good option for backpacking or longer trips. I also have to add, it is much longer than any of the other sleeping pads we’ve every used. We went ahead and set up our space, then headed straight to the beach.
This beach.. you guys.. it is so beautiful. Not only that, but we had the beach to ourselves for THREE hours. Literally to ourselves - there was no one in sight. It was definitely one of the best beach days I’ve ever had. We spent the afternoon exploring the shore, the ocean, eating a home-made taco salad, and waiting for the sun to set.
We hadn't heard about the benefits of using microfiber towels until we looked into Venture 4th. Their microfiber towel is seriously awesome - we’re planning to buy many more before our next trip. It resists the sand and water. I even accidentally put it too close to the waves, getting it completely soaked, and it still dried before we left the beach. They come in multiple sizes and colors. I’m excited to get more and use them for camping trips or even just pool days!
As we waited for the sunset, Vinay played the ukulele, and we just took in the peacefulness of the ocean. The sunset was a showstopper - for real! The sky looked marble-y. It was amazing.
Be sure to check out our Fort Pickens post, up next!