I LOVE FOOD TRUCKS! DON'T YOU?

Are you enjoying the national food truck phenomenon as much as we do?  We have seen creative chefs and their food trucks all over the United States and the good thing about it is that it brings people together to do one of their favorite activities.....EAT.   Getting to know each other better is usually a side benefit.

MONSTA LOBSTA
This is a favorite truck for New Englanders! 

A lot of people who enjoy the food trucks say it reminds them of their backgrounds and where they came from.  Or they may just crave particular food because of its freshness and flavor.  One example is the popular Monsta Lobsta which offers lobster rolls and genuine New England clam chowder as well as another favorite, lobster bisque.   This truck always has crowds in the central Florida area.  Monsta Lobster is invited to Florida Grande Motor Coach in Webster, FL, frequently during the winter season and everyone always enjoys them.

POPPY'S MEXICAN 7 AMERICAN FAVORITES

Poppy's Mexican and American Favorites food truck is another favorite that usually appears in the central Florida areas.  During the busy snowbird season this truck comes often to Florida Grande Motor Coach Resort in Webster, FL

GOOD EATS - a South Florida Food Truck
This food truck is always popular because it offers fresh seafood dishes.

If you enjoy fresh regional seafood you can find it on a food truck.  Sometimes when we are visiting other cities we are able to enjoy food trucks like Good Eats.  This food truck was recently at RiverBend Motor Coach Resort in LaBelle, FL.

GEORGIE BOY and ETHEL'S FAMOUS WINGS
"Spirit Food that feeds the SOUL"

Soul food on a food truck is a natural and usually where there are long lines.  Georgie Boy and Ethel's Famous Wings, however, the collard greens and spicy cornbread were some of the best we've had anywhere!  Many food trucks offer such a selection you take your time making a decision and you end up having to order a little bit of everything.

UP IN SMOKE

We learned several things about dining with food trucks and that is when you read the menu/sign on the side of the truck you have to take a few minutes thinking about what it is they prepare that you want more than anything else.   Then you have to study the pricing which could surprise you when you go to pay for your order.  So I guess you have to practice patience.

URBAN GRILL - Cincinnati, OH

Urban Grill of Cincinnati, OH, started out as a food truck and in time the people of Cincinnati adored the food so much the owners have built an amazing restaurant which offers delicious  and amazing food.  The food truck is still popular and as it says on the truck "Bacon Built This City".

HOG WILD

HOG WILD food truck was part of a bar-b-que cookoff near Galax, VA.  The BBQ was delicious! No wonder.....these people are professionals!

TRACY'S TASTIES
MINI Cheesecakes

Tracy's Tasties is a treat machine in Atlanta, GA.  How many times have you just wanted a taste of cheesecake, not the whole slice?!  This food truck will supply the perfect size and flavor!

THE ATLANTA BURGER TRUCK

We're all about the search for the perfect burger and the Atlanta Burger food truck promises to deliver.  The ingredients are a secret but this the one of the freshest burgers you'll find int Atlanta.
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WILD BILL'S BEACH DOGS - Seaside, FL

Doesn't food taste great at the beach?  How about one of Wild Bill's Beach Dogs in the Land Yacht District in a converted Airstream Trailer in Seaside, FL.  You will definitely be back because Wild Bill's is a permanently based food truck in the middle of Seaside on Highway 30A....doesn't get much better than that!

RAW AND JUICY - an Airstream Food Truck in Seaside, FL

You can't go wrong at the RAW and JUICY food truck in the middle of Seaside, FL on Highway 30A.  Always fresh and delicious and their menu is amazing!

FROST BITES - Seaside, FL

Another converted Airstream food truck in the Land Yacht district of popular Highway 30A is Frost Bites.  An important part of going to the beach is staying very hydrated and the Frost Bites food truck can help you with that.  Not only do they have delicious ice cream, drinks, but awesome lemonade freezes.  Be careful or you'll get "brain freeze"

BAREFOOT BAR-B-QUE in Seaside, FL
Make it a perfect day at the beach in the Panhandle of Florida

BREATHE IN, BREATHE OUT

We arrived at the Gulf of Mexico and the white sand beaches of South Walton County, Florida, to eat oysters from Appalachicola.  Be.still.my.heart!  Locals steered us to great seafood, good deals, early bird specials and where not to go.  We were provided very reliable information most of the time.

We arrived at Topsail Hill Preserve, a 1,640 acre state park, 10 miles east of Destin, in Santa Rosa Beach, Florida, and immediately understood why Topsail has received Reserve America's awards for Top Ten Spots for "Amazing Locations", "Fishing Spots", "Hiking Trails", "Tours and Events", and "Unique Cabins".  This region of Northwest Florida is known throughout the world for beautifully pristine emerald green waters framed by unspoiled coastal sand dunes. Lying among the dunes are five natural fresh water lakes which occur no where else in the United States but in Florida's panhandle.  Topsail's three mile beach edges up to the Gulf in undulating waves and twenty foot dunes heaped like spoonfuls of sugar beside the emerald waters.  To get to Topsail, you must turn off Highway 98 onto Highway 30A, recognized correctly as a Scenic Highway.  Ooops, almost forgot to tell you, this is our first visit since we joined the Medicare Country Club set - half off for Florida seniors - see, there are benefits to reaching this wonderful age!

As far as a campground (and RV resort) Topsail has top-rated sites which have most of the comforts of home including cable television, full 50 amp service, and sewer.  The facility is rated in the top 1% for cleanliness and maintenance.  Visitors seem to be interested in swimming, walking and dozing in the sun.  Of course there are many little critters around, i.e., the endangered Chocktawhatchee field mouse, is one, which is scampering all around our site and we hope we don't take any of them with us when we leave!

One of the nice things about our trip to Topsail has been meeting old friends and spending time getting to know and explore the area together.   Upon arriving, our friends, Jim and B.J. Chancey, invited us over for Jim's world renowned babyback ribs, which may be on the Top Ten of our list of best ribs we've ever put in our mouth!  Also, our neighbors from Florida Grande, David and Diane Drinkwater were with us for several meals at a highly recognized local seafood restaurant, "Stinky's".  Once you get past the name, the food was delicious!

If you like oysters then you would have enjoyed our first local place, Buster's, which features a great special from 5 to 6 every night - $4.00 for 2 dozen oysters.  Nothing special, and you get what you pay for is all I'll say.  A couple of days later we enjoyed a very authentic shepherd's pie at McGuire's, a famous and award winning Irish Pub.  We then drove over the Destin Bridge to Okaloosa Island, another beautiful beach.  Crossing the Bridge on the Bayside is Crab Island, where numerous boats enjoy the clear water on a sand bar in the Chocktawhatchee Bay.  Also in this area is Harbor Walk in Destin, an area where the Wyndham Emerald Pointe Hotel is located, but also the location of many shops, a large marina, and where the Annual Seafood Festival was held this past weekend which brought in about 30,000 seafood lovers.  The weather was perfect and so were all the delicious varieties of local seafood.

We enjoyed side trips on Scenic Highway 30A as you travel parallel with Highway 98, but most of the drive you see beaches full of the "WOW" factor.  The unincorporated master-planned communities of Watercolor, Seaside, Grayton Beach, Rosemary Beach, Alys  and other beaches along this road appear to be just like the photos you saw in last month's issue of Coastal Living Magazine.  We attended Seaside's Annual Community Yard Sale, held in their Outdoor Amphitheatre on a Saturday morning.  What a treat - I was completely astounded at the huge turnout.  A side note - Seaside hosted the Hollywood filming of "The Truman Show" starring Jim Carrey.  Along "30A" we loved the classic Airstream Travel Trailer lineup of sidewalk restaurants. Barefoot BBQ, Wild Bill's Beach Dogs, Raw & Juicy Organic Juice Bar and Cafe, The Meltdown Cafe and Frost Bites.  In the middle of all this was the beautiful and historic Seaside Post Office.  The beach is very accessible to the public and these successful developments are recognized with the other above-mentioned locations as part of the new Urbanization plan.
  

We definitely will be returning to Topsail and the Destin area in the future.  It's difficult to describe the natural beauty of this area, the coastline, and the beautiful the beaches in Florida's Panhandle.

All this running around hasn't given me much of an opportunity to organize my thoughts for our Halloween decorations for the coach but here's one I'll show you just to see what you think; and no, this isn't RV!

Halloween decorations 2011