We had seen damage from Hurricane Michael around Eastpoint, FL although most of it had been repaired and rebuilt. There were no road issues and only a few buildings still under reconstruction. There were a few that likely never will be rebuilt. The trip from Eastpoint to Navarre was different. Mexico Beach, about 50 miles from Eastpoint was where Michael came ashore. US-98 through town was still being detoured for several blocks due to damage. Probably 50% or more of the buildings were still being rebuilt. From there to Panama City about 50 miles away showed the destructive power of a category 5 storm even a year later. Pine trees and Palms seem to weather the storms well but other types of trees, some a foot or more in diameter were broken off about 30 feet in the air. After seeing all this, we were glad we made the decision to flee the Orlando area because of Hurricane Dorian even though it ended up staying offshore.
The Eastpoint area was just on the edge of the area heavily affected by Hurricane Michael about a year before we visited. I would say that things have been restored to about 80-90% of what they were before the hurricane but there is still visible destruction. We should have more information at our next stop West after we go through the area where Michael came ashore.
We planned to stay in Cedar Key for a full week but had to reduce that to 5 days after a quick airplane trip to Oklahoma City. Even on that trip we couldn’t escape tropical weather as we were supposed to return through Houston on the day tropical storm Imelda came ashore nearby. By the time it was done almost 40″ of rain had fallen in places around Houston. Our plane had started to taxi out on our way there when they stopped air traffic into the Houston area. While we sat on the tarmac waiting for it to open up again (which it likely never did that day), a problem came up with the airplane and so we taxied back to the gate. Before we could even get off the plane, Southwest had re-booked us on another flight through Dallas leaving within the hour. We were thrilled it worked out that well.
We stayed here a total of 12 nights upon returning to the orlando area after escaping Hurricane Dorian. Luckily Orlando and the original place we were staying in Christmas, Florida were spared by Dorian but with it reaching category 5 status we weren’t willing to chance that. The place in Christmas where we stayed before Dorian was subject to flooding even with the daily rain showers so it would have been really bad had we gotten 10 or more inches of rain from Dorian.
We stayed at the Jennings KOA for a week to escape hurricane Dorian. Luckily, Dorian turned and stayed off the coast of Florida but we were glad to be on asphalt pads rather than dirt like we were at Christmas, FL. We got very little wind and no rain here from Dorian but I don’t think it ever got that bad in Christmas either. We do know they got a fair amount of rain and it really didn’t take much to turn the park into a swamp. For peace of mind it was worth adding a few hundred extra miles to our trip.
Watching the sunset from our siteBeautiful sunset as hurricane Dorian passes by 200 miles awayLooking east toward hurricane Dorian
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ Site Quality: Asphalt roads and pads. Barely long enough for our rig and truck, we had to back the truck up under the trailer as far as we could. Sites are somewhat narrow and only have broken concrete patios with a picnic table. Luckily they have electrical limitations supporting 50A trailers so they generally only fill every other site which makes it feel less cramped. Type: Commercial Park Access: Just off Interstate 75 on Hamilton Ave in Jennings. Staff: The staff were friendly and accommodating as we lengthened our stay twice as we tried to figure out where hurricane Dorian was going to go. The owner moved other reservations around so we wouldn’t need to change sites part way through. Amenities: Laundry facilities, Restrooms/showers, Volleyball, Shuffleboard, horseshoes, Bocce, Basketball, Cornhole, Gaga Ball, Tic Tac Toe, community fire pits. Playground and picnic area along with a small lake. Swimming pool. Recreation room. Free cable TV and WiFi. Cellular/WiFi: Verizon and AT&T were both decent at about 4 Mbps. Their WiFi was also usable at about 3.5 Mbps. What we liked: Full hookup sites on pavement (important during the rainy season). Although within site of I-75, there wasn’t much road noise. What we didn’t like: KOAs are always expensive for what you get. Sites are narrow and the site we were on (#50) was difficult to get the truck parked in front of the trailer. You either had to back up a long way or go through an empty site. There isn’t much around Jennings, however, Valdosta Georgia is only about 20 miles away and has pretty much everything you would want including a Walmart and Sam’s Club. Verdict: This is not a destination park but for us it was exactly what we needed. It was about 100 miles from the coast which helped distance us from the expected path of hurricane Dorian. It also had paved roads, few trees above the sites (nothing to fall on our rig in high winds and satellite TV access) and it had cable TV which included the weather channel and several locals for us to get weather information. Overall, it was one of the nicest and best maintained KOAs we have stayed at.
