April 3, 2016

Last year we saw the Blue Angels perform at the Pensacola Naval Base.   We were very excited when we found out that they were going to be at a show in Key West,  when we were going to be in the area.  This was a full blown Air Show featuring the Blue Angels.   It was our first Air Show and won’t be the last.  We had a great time.  It was an all day affair with Vendors,  Sponsors,  Advertisers … David and I enjoy Women’s Roller Derby.  A couple of Key West Derby Dames were at the show promoting an upcoming event.  Unfortunately, we won’t be in the area on the 23rd otherwise we would have gone.  But, I did get a photo with a couple of the Dames!   It’s in the slideshow below,  as well as,  only a few of the highlights of the show.    It was another hazy, hot, overcast day so the air photos aren’t anywhere near as representative of the spectacular maneuvers.  The wing walker is a female Police Sergent.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

March 30 – April 2,  2016

Days  49, 50, 51

We are in the “Keys” my number one vacation destination.   Yes,  there is traffic here.  Yes, it’s hot here.  BUT none of that matters.  We’re in the KEYS!

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (mile marker 102.5) is the premier tourist attraction in Key Largo.  The campground lives up to our Florida State Park expectations.  It  is not our first time camping here, but it’s been a couple of years.   Both of our campsites, 44 and 45 (we had to change sites for one day of our reservations) are huge and partially shaded (full hook up, 50 amp $38).   We have all the windows open and are breathing fresh Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico breezes.

The campground host and hostess are bigger and uglier than I remember!

Snorkeling and Diving are the big attractions here,  but the kayak trails are pretty “cool”!   We couldn’t have had better conditions with slight breezes and very calm water on the mangrove trails and on the ocean.  It was so nice there were quite a few paddleboarders out.  The water is crystal clear.  I wish I could have gotten photos of the dozens of  Parrot Fish that we saw.  They are the prettiest fish.

Of course we had to keep E T entertained.  The closest dog friendly beach to us is one of our favorites in Islamorada, Anne’s Beach.

Next Stop … Curry Hammock State Park in Marathon.

We have been extremely busy during our nine days in the area.  It was my first Easter,  that I remember, not being with my family.  My son, Richie, and his family were vacationing in Orlando and our plan was to meet them.  It’s According to the GPS it’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive from here.  I drove 4 hours  to meet them in New Orleans without a second thought.  The traffic,  starting in Destin, Florida  traveling south has progressively gotten more congested.   If you’ve been reading my blogs we have changed plans many times  because of the traffic.  My daughter-in-law told me the Orlando traffic was terrible.  I am flying home the first week of April. Grandaughter,  Emily Rose, is performing in her first play, Peter Pan and Grandson, Rowan is flying back to the Keys with me.  So, I let traffic change our plans, AGAIN!

Easter Sunday … more traffic!  This time we did NOT turn around. We were on our way to Church, 7 miles from the campground. It took us over a half hour to get close.  We parked on the side of the road and walked about 1/4 – 1/2 mile to Our Lady of Light Catholic Church.  There were two 10:30 a.m. Masses being said simultaneously, one in the Church, one in the Community  Center.  Standing room only in both.  I counted over 600 seats filled in the Community Center.   My guess, well over 1,000 people attended this one Mass.

Besides dodging traffic we did a lot both in the area and at Koreshan.

We attended a concert at the Koreshan Arts Building.  During the winter months they have a concert series featuring local talent.  Singer, Songwriter Sarah Hadeka put on a fabulous show.

We have been doing a lot of local shopping.  Every Sunday there is a Farmers Market at Koreshan.  One very nice aspect of being in the South this time of year is the fresh fruits and vegetables.  One of our purchases is  this beautiful Hibiscus Tree.  It’s traveling well in the shower 🙂

If you want to have a great meal and excellent service bring your dog to the Shrimp Shack!  The food was great and every waiter and waitress in the place stopped by our table.   Quite a few customers too.  David and I were laughing.  Wouldn’t it be funny if we could get E T to sit up in a chair.

Florida is loaded with biking/pedestrian trails.  The tough part is finding one with shade.  We found one of the three trail heads for the 10 mile John Yarbrough Linear Park on Six Mile Cypress in Fort Meyers.  David and I laughed at how much having ET has changed our choices in what we do.  Before ET we would have biked the 10 miles.  Now ET has us walking and she lets us now how far.  When she’s ready to turn around she stops and holds her ground until we turn around.  My guesstimate was a three mile walk.

Captive Island is adjacent to Sanibel.  It is VERY “Hi Brow”!  The “shabbier” residences that we could see from the road resembled “Governor’s Mansions”.  David wanted me to take him to lunch at one of the “fine dining” restaurants.  I was quick to remind him how much he enjoyed picnics.

We did a drive through of Lovers Key State Park.   When David and I first started going to the Keys we took a side trip here with our bicycles.  It is a great park for biking and kayaking.  This time we couldn’t  find a parking place.  We put it on our list of “get there earlier’s”.

David was very disappointed that we ran out of time before kayaking the Estero River,  AKA the Mosquito River.  I’m not kidding, the original name of this River was the Mosquito River.  My guess is someone involved in “tourist attracting” changed the name 🙂    We had actually been all “sprayed” with insect repellant and on the way to the boat launch one afternoon,  when a  thunderstorm came through and turned us around.   Oh Drats!

Next Stop … Key Largo!

March 24, 2016

Days 44, 45, 46, 47, 48

Bridge Traffic … the first day that we tried going to Sanibel Island we were coming from Fort Meyers in the early afternoon.  We waited in bumper to bumper traffic so long that we finally turned around.

The next time we left around 9:30 a.m.  We had planned to go earlier but  had waited for a thunder and heavy rain storm to pass.  Traffic was considerably lighter.  It might also have helped that the skies were overcast and they were forecasting more rain in the afternoon. Our first stop was the Visitors Center,  where we were pleasantly surprised to find the trail head for Shipley’s Trail to Pond Apple Park.   We didn’t make it to the Pond the tour guides were to slow (see slideshow below).  Next stop was Bowman’s Beach Park.  It was a good thing we got there early,  because parking was limited.   We picked up a late lunch at Jerry’s Foods which is tourist attraction in itself, as well as, Restaurant, Deli, Shops, Spa, etc.  The center courtyard is a beautiful tropical garden,  housing an exotic bird collection.  We had a delicious picnic at Causeway Island Park.   After lunch I gave E T her first swim lesson.  She loves the water,  but will only go in up to her belly.   I had this notion that if I was in the water, I could cox her.   What I’ve been waiting for,  is water that is warm enough and clear enough for my liking.  Today was the day.  I got more than my belly wet,  but not   E T.   Next Time 🙂

Sanibel Island gets Five Stars for Pet Friendly.  All the beaches,  many restaurants,  most hiking trails and the 20 plus miles of paved all purpose trails welcome well behaved dogs on an 8ft or less leash.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My main reason for wanting to tackle the traffic back to Sanibel was the JN “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  This is a totally awesome place for anyone with any amount of interest in wildlife viewing.   We were not able to enjoy the indoor Visitor/Education Center, because we had E T with us.  The only places in the park that she isn’t welcome are inside buildings, on the tram and by the water (alligators).  We totally enjoy the outdoor Education Center, as well as,  the 2 mile Indigo hiking trail and the 4 mile Wildlife Drive.  David and I both agree, we would love to come back again on a Friday,  when they close Wildlife Drive to motor vehicles and only  allow bicyclists and hikers.  also, the kayaking looked great.   Our time on the  Wildlife Education Boardwalk and Observation Tower was spectacular.  The kids would love all the Poop on the boardwalk railings (see slideshow).

I FINALLY got to see a Roseate Spoonbill!  A Ranger had told us that one had not been spotted in over two weeks.  She came out to see us!!! This slideshow is all about  JN “Ding” Darling … snakes included!!!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Lastly,  a few Hot Hazy Overcast quick stops.  David drove around the parking LOTS looking for spaces while I ran and got a couple of peeks of the Sanibel Lighthouse and Lighthouse Beach.  The weather did not keep the beach lovers away.  This is a lovely island, but while we were here there was too much traffic,  not enough parking and way too many people.  We tried to get lunch at a couple of pet friendly restaurants, Schapper’s Hots (we could not get into the parking lot) and Cip’s Place (the wait was over a half hour).   Next Time!  So we had another picnic 🙂

March 22, 2016

This is the closest dog friendly beach to Koreshan.   We got lucky and it was low tide when we arrived.   It is an off leash dog beach,  but  we are overly cautious and keep  E T on a leash.  She was not the only one.  E T is very timid and it seems overly aggressive dogs sense this.  Just like kids in a playground,  the timid ones often get bullied 🙁

I’m not sure who had more fun at the beach David or E T 🙂   Enjoy the slideshow.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

March 21 – March 30, 2016

Days 40, 41, 42, 43

Koreshan Campground is being closed April 15, 2016 for a much needed facelift.  The sites have been taken over by  vegetation.  It is so dense they need to do a controlled burn.  So we are living in a jungle, for nine days.   It’s no big deal, because there is so much to do in the park and nearby that we wouldn’t be spending much time at the site anyway.

The Historic part of the park is the Koreshan Unity Settlement.

A man named Dr. Cyrus Teed (Koresh is Hebrew for Cyrus) had an “illumination” to create a Utopia,  the “New Jerusalem”,  a life without crime, tobacco or drugs.  In 1894,  with a couple of hundred followers,  the community formed.   In 1961 the last few Koreshans donated 305 acres of their holdings to the State of Florida, as a “Gift to the People”.

The site today,  is a place of beauty,  peace and tranquility.   Walking onto the property,  the first thing I noticed was how good it smelled good.

Pathways made of shells, trails along the Estero River and bridges invite you to enjoy the beautiful grounds,  buildings, gardens and wildlife.  The settlement represents  the hopes and dreams of people that were not afraid of hard work and had a great appreciation for theater,  art,  music and education.  Their beliefs were a little weird in my opinion,  but to each his own.

There are guided tours everyday and scheduled events like,  garden tours,  music series, demonstrations,  a baking program at the Cast Iron Cafe and a Farmers Market on different days.  The grounds are open 8:00 a.m. til sunset everyday and pets on a leash are welcome, but not in the buildings.   It’s an easy bicycle ride from the campground.  I’ve taken to walking E T there at least once a day,  sometimes twice.

March 18 – 20, 2016
DAYS 38 & 39

Oscar Scherer  is one of the campgrounds where we have tried,  for a few years,  to get a reservation.   We finally got “lucky”  for two nights.  Right from the start it was a “lemon”.   Site #95 is not a “pet friendly” site.  It is on an alligator creek.  There are no other sites available,  so the Park Ranger allowed us to stay,  with the promise to keep E T inside the RV when at the site.  Other than that she was welcome, on a six foot or less leash,  everywhere else in the park, except the Osprey Lake Beach.   The problem is her scent.  It attracts alligators.  She is big enough where the alligators should not bother her.  The problem is if a small child plays in the area of her scent,  it could get attacked.

David had to do some fancy finagling to get our RV into the site.   It  is huge,  but the road in front  is loaded with trees and low hanging branches. From the road, the ground is all downhill,  straight on down to the alligator creek.  David pulled forward as close to the road as possible from the creek.  E T may not be a desirable size for an alligator, but we know how sweet she is!

Oscar Scherer is a beautiful park with lots to offer.   We got lucky  the night we arrived, there was a Ranger talk on Things To Do in the Park,  including seeing an American Bald Eagles Family nesting.  A birding expert  would be setting up a scope the next day from 9:00 a.m. – 11:00 at the nesting area.   This was thrilling.  There is a female, a male and one known fledgling in the nest.  We were actually watching when the adults switched places from guarding the nest to foraging for food.

There are biking and hiking trails from 1/4 mile to 10 plus miles.  There is a handicap accessible  kayak launch and even a butterfly garden.

E T’s Favorite Spot!

Another good time had by all!

Next Stop … Koreshan Historic State Park in Estero, Florida

March 13 – 17, 2016
DAYS 36 and 37

Cedar Key offers the best of the best of places to kayak.  There are twelve 5 star kayak trails to choose from .. . freshwater,  tidal salt marsh,  hammock,  canal,  riverine swamp,  inside and outside coastal islands,  palm island,  freshwater river,  gulf,  tidal creek and tidal estuary,  all  accessible within a few miles of Sunset Isle Campground.

Our first kayaking experience here was in a tidal salt marsh,  protected from the wind by the mangroves.  The biggest challenge was avoiding getting stuck in oyster beds.   It was great fun.  I was even confident enough to take my good camera in the kayak.

Our second kayaking choice was to paddle from Cedar Key out into the Gulf of Mexico to Atsena Otis Key.  Depending on the direction you take from the Kayak launch at City Beach we’re talking a 3/4 to 1 mile paddle from shore to shore.  It is approximately 3 1/2 miles around the Key.   We could not have picked better weather conditions or time of day to go,  high tide,  gentle breeze,  overcast.

Atsena Otis Key has a lot of history.  There is a well marked trail that takes you past remains of the Old Faber Pencil Factory, the observation deck and The Atsena Otis Key Cemetery.  Pets are welcome on the Island, but the only way to get there is by boat.  E T has not learned to paddle yet 🙂  Photos taken from my phone … not bad.

Who’s buried here

Atsena Otis is home to over 350 bottle nose dolphin.   At the observation dock,  we met some kayak fisherman that told us they had seen dolphin earlier on the back side.   It’s about a 3 1/2 mile paddle around the Island.   We made it about 1/3 of the way around when fog started rolling in,  so we headed back.  No dolphin sightings this time 🙁

Cedar Key is a seafood meca.   It’s clam-based aquaculture is a multimillion-dollar industry.

There are dozens of restaurants boasting fresh and the best seafood and clam chowders.   David and I chose Robinson Seafood for our  night out on the town.

Robinson Seafood is not fancy.  It’s a one stop shopping place for everything seafood.  You can book a fishing charter,  purchase from the fresh seafood market or do take out or sit down in the restaurant.  They have  “All you can eat seafood specials $13.95” everyday.   David surprised me and passed on the special,  all you can eat  jumbo shrimp, grouper,  crab cakes and choice of two sides.   He chose the oyster dinner and was not disappointed. He said they were the sweetest he’d ever tasted.  Every table gets a basket of hush puppies for starters.  Every order comes with homemade baked beans.

We had been torn between going to Robinson’s or Steamers on Dock St.

Neighbors of ours went to Steamers.  They  said the food was O.K., but the entertainment was excellent.   Next Time!

Sadly,  it was time to move on.  Our next reservation was one night at Lake Manatee State Park in Bradenton, Fl.   We have stayed here before,  big private sites ($31.23 water and electric).

This friendly neighborhood cardinal entertained us while we ate breakfast.

There is a very pretty,  small  park on the big lake.

I guess it could be exciting if you went swimming with the alligators.

This is the first place (Bradenton) since we’ve arrived in Florida that we’ve experienced horrendous traffic.  We went out to the grocery store and we’re so frustrated by the traffic that we turned around.

It is also the first place we had rain during the day.  It’s still hazy,  hot,  humid and buggy.

Next Stop, a bit  further south  … Oscar Scherer State Park  Osprey, Florida

March 13, 2016
Days 33, 34, 35,
Sunset Isle RV Park and Motel, Cedar Key, FL

This is sardine can camping.  What is sardine can camping?  Camp sites so small that if you put your awning out all the way,  it touches your neighbor’s camper.  On top of that you’re paying ” mucho dinero”  to camp there ($54.50 per night (premium site/water view or waterfront)  full hook up).

  After our first day, David is ready to book for a week next year. Why?
This is our view from inside the RV.

View from the dock.

The Location,  1.3 miles from PET FRIENDLY City Beach, shops and restaurants.  There is a bicycle/pedestrian trail that starts about 1/4 mile from the campground and goes all the way into town.
There are two kayak launches right in front of our site (D).
I am ready to book after we go down to City Beach and it’s horseshoe crab mating season!  There are events that I consider phenomena.  Exceptional things that happen totally by chance.  These experiences are pure luck! Who ever expects to just look down on a beach and see dozens of horseshoe crabs mating?  This was very exciting!!!  At one point several flipped over and got caught upside down in the surf.  This lady totally panicked that they were going to drown.  She raced down onto the beach and hopped over and between them.  When she got to the “horseshoe crabs in distress” she paused for a split second.  I wish I had gotten a photo of her face when she realized she was going to have to touch them to “save” them.  But she reached right in and “saved them”!  I hope you like this awesome slideshow!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Cedar Key has lots of Old Florida  character and natural charisma.

Cemetery  Point Park  is a must visit.  There is an awesome boardwalk,  terrific views, a pet friendly beach and lots of chameleons !!!

This is a kayaking paradise.

I am in my Birding Glory!  Enjoy the slideshow!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

We went to the Archeological Shell Mound and Fishing Pier in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge 5 1/2 miles from the campground.

E T’s new  non-canine friends slideshow.    We ALL thoroughly enjoyed our stay here.  It is on our list of must come back.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

I’ve been trying to limit my posting to one for each different  stop we make, but we are just having such a good time here and there is so much to see and do, I’m going to make this a two parter 🙂

March 9 – 12, 2016
Days 29, 30, 31, 32

All  of my photos look grayish.  It is not the camera.  The weather here our entire stay has been hazy and overcast.  The wind has been blowing 15 to 25 knots with lots of sand gusts.  The beaches have been “red flagged” for swimming because of strong  rip currents.

There are a few Florida State Parks that offer resort style camping.   Topsail Hill comprises with The Gregory E. Moore RV Resort offering amenities like a camp store, swimming pool, shuffleboard and horseshoe courts, full hook up,  spacious, level,  landscaped  sites,  some overlooking small lakes ($42 a night).

Tram service to the beach,  rental cabins,  paved pedestrian and biking trails,  amphitheater with free concerts on Thursday nights, the list goes on and on.  We biked 3 miles to Campbell Lake and then hiked a portion of the 1.5 mile Deer Track Trail.  There are over 10 miles of hiking and biking trails.

There is a  .3 mile boardwalk over the dunes to the beach.  What is different about this beach than any other we have been too?  No seashells, No seaweed, Salt and Pepper Sand.

Look what happens after a morning at the beach!

The closest dog friendly  beach is a half hour drive at Pier Park in Panama City Beach.

We went out to dinner one night at a restaurant that David’s cousin’s John and Nancy recommended in nearby Miramar.   Unfortunately,  the wind forced us to sit indoors.  The food is very good,  the drinks even better and the atmosphere over the top.   Funky Monkey’s for me and Fish Fingers for  David!   The Whale’s Tail gets five stars for atmosphere.  Well behaved dogs are welcome on a special area of the deck.  They are not allowed on the beach.

Next Stop … Cedar Key, Florida