We had a lazy morning getting caught up on some emails and other business. We packed up our beach gear and left around noon to head to the beach. Just down the road is beach access with a parking lot so that was our destination. The park offers a free tram to take campers to the beach from the campground. We thought driving ourselves would provide us with more flexibility to leave when we want. The parking lot at the beach access was pretty full, but we got one of the last of 2 open spaces that were left. The first thing we noticed upon walking on the beach was the color of the water against the white sand beach.
There were quite a few people enjoying their day at the beach. A nice onshore breeze was blowing so we were kept cool under our umbrella.
We pulled up stakes around 2:30 and drove the road that ran parallel to the coast back to the Red Bar. We were hoping our visit today would provide us with a better view inside the bar minus all the people . The road took us past summer beach homes, large and small, which were reminiscent of the homes on the shoreline of the Outer Banks. We finally arrived at the unusual and eclectic Red Bar. The front door says it all.
The parking lot was mostly empty, so we knew today was a better day. The Red Bar is owned by a Belgian man for the past 21 years who used to vacation in the area. Inside the bar, it is STUFFED with all kinds of memorabilia.
The ceiling is covered with posters of old movies, music billboards, and lots of other sports stuff.
It is called the Red Bar because all around the perimeter of the ceiling are red Christmas lights which cast a red glow on everything.
We sat at the bar and had a beer.
In chatting with the bartender, we found out he is a Packer fan and that there is a Packer bar just down the street. Who would’ve thought? Too bad we didn’t know that on Sunday for the game. Once we took a good look around, we noticed that almost everything in the bar was repaired and covered in silver duct tape–the bar stools, the booth benches, wooden railings, etc. Every bit of wall space was covered with graffiti or some relic of days gone by. The floor under the booths slopes too. Bob said he didn’t think the health inspector had been in the place in years. It wasn’t as busy as Sunday by any means, but according to the locals, the “high” season is summertime and things are winding down now. There were only about 20 people in the place today. It is really a unique and “must-see” kind of place. From there, we went back to camp and relaxed before dinner. Auggie and I relaxed outside while Bob watched the news.
Tomorrow we move on to Pensacola. We’ll spend 4 days there and there will be lots to see and do. The weather is forecast to cool off with highs in the mid 80’s and lows in the 60’s. That will be a pleasant change!
