Holly Beach, Louisiana

     After much debate on which route to travel from Texas to Pennsylvania, we chose the longer and completely impractical one. But, we had the time and our map has most of the southeastern states missing so...... 

     I began searching for boondocking along the way and was excited when Holly Beach popped up. It sounded too good to be true but was definitely worth checking out. As we neared the Gulf of Mexico our eyes were astounded by the massive ships in port and the incredible engineering of the bridges. Eventually our gps led us straight to Holly Beach. Eldon was cautious about pulling in the sand and got out and walked to several locations. We soon found a spot that worked great and he backed down a street to get situated perfectly. Several people got stuck while we were there but we had no problems, thanks to his scouting.

    "The Gulf is not dirty. The water is very sanitary, it's just brown from all the silt. If a north wind blows for a few days, cold water moves in and it becomes much more clear, because cold water can't hold silt." -A very friendly fisherman who was thrilled to chat with us and answer our many questions

Running from the waves because it was to cold to get wet (it didn't work)

     This ended up being a perfect spot. Our plan was to stay 1 night we ended up there for 5. Until the last (and only sunny-all-day) day, it was basically deserted. Some of our other plans further in our trip fell through so we had some extra time. Eldon and I were dealing with sinus/allergy issues yet so a few days to simply rest was welcomed.

     There is several places it's very possible to park with a big rig. Obviously you will want to be wary of the sand and stay as close to the streets as possible. We backed in so that we wouldn't need to turn around.

Shells by the millions!

Blowing bubbles

     Sand. It's a beach, so it's everywhere. And it's not the dry sand of Arizona, but the damp kind that sticks to everything. However, we were very particular about going out and staying out for a long time then rinsing in the shower and changing into our "clean clothes". By doing this we managed to keep the sand in our rig to a bare minimum, which is fairly necessary in order for me to relax 😂.

     Speaking of damp, did I mention how everything was just wet?! I hung clothes out to dry and they stayed wet until the sun came out 3 days later! The floor felt sticky, the dishes didn't dry themselves, ect. After being in Arizona, this was an odd feeling!

A wall of shells.

     Shells. Literally millions. I only remember being at 2 other beaches and they were nothing like this. Our fisherman friend said this is one best beaches in the US for having a huge variety of shells. The sheer number was amazing but all the different kinds made it awesome!

The town of Cameron is mostly vacation homes.

Totally typical. The 3 youngest in bare feet and in the water while Makayla and Eldon stay back - in boots.

Our camper having a great time on the beach.

There was lots of pelicans to watch.

It is SO satisfying to watch the waves break!

     Mosquitos. Most days were fairly breezy and 50-60 but there was still boatloads of these pests! I cannot imagine how it would be in the summer. 

Fun with shells

     So this was a new state to add to our map and what a great experience! I should add too, that another reason we chose to stay was how much the children loved it. The air was to chilly to ever really swim but collecting shells and playing in the sand kept them busy for hours. We've decided that beaches should be higher on our list of places to go!