Cape St. George Lighthouse

Posted on December 21, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

We were up early for a morning walk on the beach to look for shells and were blessed with a very beautiful sunrise.  Strange to see the sun rise over the water here on the west side of the state but if you see where we are on the map it does make sense.

Sunrise of Gulf of Mexico

Sunrise at St. George State Park, FL

Then we went to see the Cape St. George Lighthouse.  This light has been through four re-constructions since its origin in 1833. The latest one no so long ago.

Cape St. George Lighthouse

Cape St. George Lighthouse

After Hurricane Opal in 1995 the lighthouse began to lean 7.5 degrees from vertical and then with more years of erosion the lighthouse collapsed in 2005. There is a small museum that shows all about the light’s history and how volunteers salvaged the original bricks, cleaned them up, and used them to line the inside walls of the new lighthouse that was built in 2008.

Cape St. George Lighthouse

Cape St. George Lighthouse

The light was rebuilt with plans for the 1852 lighthouse obtained from the National Archives in Washington DC and was completed in 2008.

Cape St. George Lighthouse

Cape St. George Lighthouse

For $5 each we were allowed inside.  It’s only 92 steps to the top, but then there’s a little ladder to climb up into the light room.

Cape St. George Lighthouse

Cape St. George Lighthouse

After lunch in town we returned to the campground and walked a nature trail over the swamps and through the woods.  It was a longer walk than we thought but we did manage to return to camp before it got dark.  Darn those short days!  Which reminds me, winter solstice is today so now the days will start getting longer again. Yay!

St. George State Park Nature Trail

St. George State Park Nature Trail

The temp rose to around 70 and it was very very humid..but no bugs, which is good.  The breeze from the Gulf helped to cool us.

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $26
  • Admission:               $10
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Florida’s Forgotten Coast

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Moving east and a little south along the Florida panhandle, last night we stayed at an RV park in Mexico Beach and tonight we are in St. George Island State Park.  This is in part of the area referred to as Florida’s Forgotten Coast. It was given this title because in the 1990’s state tourism promoters often forgot to include this undeveloped area south of Panama City on their maps.

St. George Island State Park is on one end of a 26 mile long narrow barrier island which is accessed by a very long bridge.  Portions of the old demolished bridge remain as fishing piers.

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Bridge to St. George Island

There is really only one road along the length of the island and it is accompanied by a very nice paved bicycle path.  There are some nice vacation homes here as well as residential housing.

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St. George Island

Towards the end of the island is the park entrance.  I doesn’t look like much at first but after a few miles the narrow drive brings you to a nice wooded campground with lots of shade.  There are nine miles of undeveloped beaches and dunes surrounded by the Gulf of Mexico and Apalachicola Bay.

St. George Island State Park Entrance

St. George Island State Park Entrance

St. George Island State Park, Florida. #30

St. George Island State Park, Florida. #30

After settling in we walked to the beach to see it.  We were alone there, just us and a few birds.  It’s cooler out here than it is on the mainland, and a little breezy.  The day started out nice and sunny, about 70 degrees, but is clouding over now, and quite humid.

Gulf of Mexico

Gulf of Mexico

St. George Island State Park, Florida

St. George Island State Park, Florida

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $26
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Topsail Hill Preserve State Park Gregory E. Moore RV Resort

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

It’s been a few years since we were here, but Topsail is one of our favorite RV parks.  For sure it is one of the prettiest ones we have been in. It has lots of shade, well-groomed paved sites with full hookups including cable TV and wi-fi.  This is a luxury stop for us.

Topsail, #112

Topsail, #112

Once we got settled in we walked down to the beach.  It’s a bit of walk from the RV park to the beach and the park does provide free transportation but we opted to walk it.  Then once you get to the dunes you have to take the boardwalk before you get to the sandy beach.  The dunes are protected by state law, so you cannot walk on them.

Boardwalk Over the Dunes

Boardwalk Over the Dunes

It was pretty quiet there, only a few other people around.  It was so nice and sunny, about 65 degrees and low humidity.  Sweet.

Santa Rosa Beach, Gulf of Mexico

Santa Rosa Beach, Gulf of Mexico

One couple was on the beach fishing.  Here you can set your pole in the sand, go sit down, have a beverage, and wait. I don’t think you can do that in Minnesota.

Fishing

Fishing

Well, Hello There


Well, Hello There

  • Gasoline Expense:  $130 @$3.23
  • Lodging Expense:   $47
Posted in Daily Post, December, Florida | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

Pensacola Beach

Posted on December 17, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Another beautiful sunshine day.  It started out in the 40’s but quickly made it up to almost 70 degrees and not humid at all, in fact it was very comfortable.  A great day for a little hike.  There is a nature trail leading out of the campground so that was our mission for today.

Fort Pickens Nature Trail

Fort Pickens Nature Trail

We did not spot any wildlife on our little walk but it wasn’t a quiet walk.  There is a Naval Air Station just across the bay from here.  There were several jets flying around including the Blue Angels and we enjoyed seeing them.

A Dead Live Oak Tree

A Dead Live Oak Tree

After our little hike we just did some shopping and then went for a drive east along the coast just to see what we could see.  A UFO House got our attention.  A local landmark, it even has aliens in the windows and the front door.

UFO House

UFO House

Not too far from the UFO House is another interesting home, a dome house.  It has a rental sign out front.  I love it!

Rent this House

Rent this House

  • Gasoline Expense:  $49 @ $3.19
  • Lodging Expense:   $13
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Pensacola Sunshine

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Sunshine!!  All day today.  We didn’t see a single cloud.  It was cool, around 60F.  A perfect day for a walk in my opinion.

There are a few armadillos scampering around our campground.  This one didn’t seem to mind having its picture taken while it was scrounging around looking for goodies.

Armadillo

Armadillo

The sand here is so amazingly white.  It felt like home watching this plow remove the snow-white sand.  It was tempting to lay down and make snow angels.

Plowing

It’s Not Snow

We explored more of the area around Fort Pickens and the campground.  Along the shore on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island there are several batteries, remnants of large guns built around 1906 and used in WWI and WWII.

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Battery Cooper

Battery Cooper

Battery Cooper

Battery Cooper

Battery Cooper

Shoot and Duck

Shoot and Duck

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Battery Worth

Battery Worth

Battery Worth

Lookout at Battery Worth

Battery Worth

Battery Worth

While exploring the area we found this section of the Florida National Scenic Trail.  It’s a branch off the trail we found when we were in Stephen Foster State Park two weeks ago.

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Florida National Scenic Trail

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:  $13
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Pensacola, Day 2

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

The Pensacola Lighthouse is the oldest light station and the tallest lighthouse on the Gulf Coast.  Some say it’s haunted.  The lighthouse was featured on the Travel Channel’s Haunted Lighthouses of America and on SyFy Channel’s Ghost Hunters.  We made the climb, all 177 steps, to the top.  No evidence of a haunting.

Pensacola Lighthouse

Pensacola Lighthouse

Pensacola Lighthouse

Pensacola Lighthouse

From the top we could see Fort Pickens on the Santa Rosa barrier island.  Our campground is there too.  By the time we got back down our legs were a little wobbly.

View from Pensacola Lighthouse

View of Santa Rosa Island and Fort Pickens

Spectacular views from up there.

View From Pensacola Lighthouse

View From Pensacola Lighthouse

Near the lighthouse is the National Naval Aviation Museum.  This was awesome.  There are amazing displays and lots and lots of historic aircraft inside and outside.  We got there late in the afternoon and didn’t have time to see it all before closing time.  We will be back to see the rest.

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National Naval Aviation Museum

National Naval Aviationo Museum

National Naval Aviation Museum

We had to stop and enjoy the sunset through the palm trees on the Gulf of Mexico.

Sunset at Pensacola Beach

Sunset at Pensacola Beach

  • Gasoline Expense:            none
  • Lodging Expense:           $13
  • Lighthouse Admission:  $8
  • Aviation Museum:            free
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Pensacola, FL

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

We are at Fort Pickens Campground in the Gulf Islands National Seashore west of Pensacola Beach, Florida.  The drive out to the park is along Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island that changes naturally over time.  In order to protect the natural processes and the wildlife habitat the elevation of the road is very low.  This means the road floods periodically and deposits all this lovely white sand.  They plow it off just like the snow on the roads in Minnesota.  This also means we could be evacuated or possibly even stranded if it floods while we are here.

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Santa Rosa Island, Road to Fort Pickens

We were here a year ago.  To see that blog and more pictures [click here]

Fort Pickens State Park, #9

Fort Pickens Campground, #9

My niece, Lyndsey, lives in Pensacola now so we took her out for lunch and then for a walk on the beach and a nice visit.  The weather was kind of rough looking.  It was about 70F, breezy, and very humid.  It was supposed to rain, but it missed us.

Pensacola Beach

Pensacola Beach Ball

Lyndsey

Lyndsey

We visited Fort Pickens last year when we were here, but we went for another look. It has not changed.

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens was completed in 1834 and used until 1947.  It was originally built to protect the coastline from foreign invasion but, ironically, the only real action it saw was when the country was at war with itself.  The Union army had control of it during the Civil War. And then in 1899 a fire reached a black powder magazine containing 8,000 pounds of powder creating an explosion that blew debris 1.5 miles away.  It blew out an entire corner of the fort.

Fort Pickens

Fort Pickens Explosion

With Bernie’s National Senior Pass the admission to the National Park was free and the campground was half price for us.

Click here to visit last year’s Fort Pickens blog.

  • Gasoline Expense:  $85 @ $3.299
  • Lodging Expense:   $13

 

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Still

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

After a nice lunch with our friends, Steve and Bonnie, we said goodbye as we will be going our separate ways tomorrow.

Bernie and I went back to the campground and then went for a walk.  It’s a cool day, the temp was 60F and the humidity of the last few days has dropped way down. As we were walking we happened across a large still.  No, not THAT kind of still.  This is a 100-year-old turpentine still that is being reconstructed here.

Still

The Old Cracker Turpentine Still

The Old Cracker Turpentine Still

The Old Cracker Turpentine Still

The Old Cracker Turpentine Still

The Old Cracker Turpentine Still

A nature trail leads away from the still and into the woods.  We walked the trail and then back along the shore of the bay to our camp site.  The days are getting so short!  By the time we got home there wasn’t much daylight left.

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $31
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Panama City Beach

Posted on December 11, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

The weather is changing.  The rest of the country is experiencing winter storms and some very cold weather.  But here, where we are in Florida, it’s way different.  Monday was rather steamy, with temps pushing 80F and humidity at 100%.

A Steamy Day

A Steamy Day in Florida

We drove north along the beach road to have a look around.  This is the off season here and several of the restaurants and attractions have closed for the season.  There is not much traffic.

Closed...See You in the Spring

Closed…See You in the Spring

Sunset

Sunset

Today was another exploring day with a long walk along the nice clean white sandy beach along the Gulf of Mexico.  It’s cooling off, very sunny, the high was 60F and not quite so humid.

A Walk on the Beach

A Walk on the Beach

Wouldn’t it be nice to live here?  I’m not sure if these houses are private homes or vaction rentals, but either way it’s a beautiful beach to be on.  The beach was very quiet today, hardly anyone around.

Florida Beach Houses

Florida Beach Houses

 

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:  $31
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Panama City Beach, Day 3

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Look at that blue sky!  The high temp was 78F.  What a beautiful day!  We found our friends and the four of us went to Pier Park, the premier shopping destination for the Panama City Beach area.  It’s a beautiful shopping center, great shopping, restaurants and entertainment including a movie theater, and IMAX.  Here are some pictures of our day:

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Pier Park

Bernie Fooling Around

Bernie Fooling Around

Train Rides for the Kids

Train Rides for Kids

Christmas Decorations

The Grinch

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Rides!

Panama City Beach

Panama City Beach

Walking the Beach

Walking the Beach

We did not walk out on the pier, being unwilling to spend the $3 each entrance fee for visitors. ($6 if you want to fish there.)

The Pier Entnrance

The Pier Entrance

After enjoying a very good meal at one of the seafood restaurants there we went back to Steve and Bonnie’s resort to hang out.  Bonnie and I beat the boys at a friendly game of horseshoe and then the boys played a game of chess.

A Game of Horseshoe

A Game of Horseshoe

A Friendly Game of Chess

A Friendly Game of Chess

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $31
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Panama City Beach, Day 2

Posted on December 7, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Our friends, Steve and Bonnie from Arkansas, are visiting Panama City too.  The four of us went exploring around St. Andrews State Park this morning.  We went to look at Alligator pond.  No alligators.  But there was a short hiking trail near the pond that we walked.  No alligators there either.  It’s probably too cold for them to be out.  The temperature kept changing all day.  Sometimes it was sunny and around 70+ but then it would cloud over and cool off.  But the humidity wasn’t bad at all.  Overall it was a beautiful day.

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St. Andrews State Park

There is a small fishing pier very near our campground.  From there we could see across the bay to the vacation rental complex where our friends are staying this week.

Panama City Beach, FL

Panama City Beach, FL

Pellican

Pelican

After enjoying a nice lunch at a local seafood restaurant we stopped by a nearby Farmers Market. They were just getting ready to shut down for the day, but we had time to check out the arts and craft vendors and the farmers produce before they closed.  Bonnie bought a loaf of peach upside down cake and I bought a package of home-made pasta.

Farmers Market

Farmers Market

More walking was in order so we made our way to a long pier on the bay and walked out to see what we could see.  This is the off season, so not so many boats around, and not many people either. There was a man fishing for mullet with a net, not a scoop net but rather a cast net.  I’ve never seen anyone do that before so thought that was interesting.

Pier

Pier

Panama City Beach, FL

Panama City Beach, FL

The view from Steve & Bonnie’s vacation rental was pretty awesome.  Nobody was around the pool, I guess it was too cool for a swim.

Panama City Beach, FL

Panama City Beach, FL

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $31

 

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Panama City Beach, FL

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Our home for the next seven nights will be at St. Andrews State Park in Panama City Beach, FL.  This has been rated one of the nation’s top ten beaches and is a very popular spot for the surfing crowd.

We arrived at the campground early and our reserved space was not available yet so while we waited for the previous occupants to leave we went to see the beach.  St. Andrews State Park includes 1.5 miles of Panama City Beach’s 27 miles of white sandy beach on the Gulf of Mexico. About 30 surfers were in the water trying to catch the right wave and a string of new arrivals with their boards were heading towards the water. It was about 79 degrees, mostly sunny, and pretty humid, a good day for being at the beach.

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St. Andrews State Park

During World War II some cannons were placed on this beach as a temporary harbor defense.  The cannons were never fired and after a few years the site was inactivated.  One of the concrete gun mounts now serves as the foundation for an observation pavilion.

Observation Pavilion

Observation Pavilion

Eventually our reserved site opened up and we were able to move in.  And then it got dark so we just settled in.  These winter days sure are getting short!

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St. Andrews State Park, #38

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $31

Posted in Daily Post, December, Florida | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Torreya State Park, Day 2

Posted on December 5, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

The Gregory House at Torreya State Park is a beautiful old plantation house that used to sit on the other side of the river but was moved over here when the park was being developed.  It’s now a focal point of the park.

The Gregory House

The Gregory House

The house overlooks the Apalachicola River.  There is a hiking trail that leads down the hill to what remains of a Confederate artillery battery that had been constructed to protect the river during the Civil War.  The trail was wet from the little rain we had overnight and the humidity and warm 82F temp stopped us from hiking it today.

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Apalachicola River

The park ranger had warned us to watch out for Copperhead snakes that could be around and posted signs gave information about that.

Torreya park is named for a very rare species of Torreya tree that only grows on the bluffs along the Apalachicola River and may be on the brink of extinction.

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Torreya Taxifolia

Because it was warm and humid we spent the rest of the day at home with the air conditioner on.  Sorry, friends and family in Minnesota, I know what you’ve been going through.

snowstorm

Minnesota

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $17

 

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Torreya State Park, FL

Posted on December 4, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Check-in time is 3:00 at Torreya State Park campground, but we arrived way before that. State prisoners were hard at work raking and making the place look spiffy. The campground was empty except for one other RV and that was the Campground Host and the office would not open until 3:00.  We selected a good space, set up camp, and waited for the office to open.

Prisoners Working

Prisoners Working

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Torreya State Park, #20

At one edge of the campground is a small observation deck.  Florida is mostly flat but Torreya has some high bluffs that overlook the Apalachicola River that make it one of the state’s most scenic places.  It was foggy this morning, then remained cloudy with occasional bits of rain.

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Overlooking the Apalachicola River

This campground has one YURT (Year-round Universal Recreational Tent).  As we were nosing around the YURT a park ranger stopped by to check on it and he unlocked the door and let us check it out.  It looked very comfortable, double layer insulated canvas walls, an air conditioner, ceiling fan, wood floor and furniture.

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YURT (Year-round Universal Recreational Tent)

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Inside the YURT

We found a short hiking trail and decided to walk it while it was still daylight.  It was so quiet, no other people around, the only wildlife we saw was a few birds and squirrels. No mosquitoes.

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Weeping Ridge Trail

At the end of the .29 mile trail is a very small waterfall (weeping ridge) where the trail ended.  A sign mentioned that water falls here during the rainy season, and there was a small trickle of water when we saw it.

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Weeping Ridge

By the time we got home we were pretty uncomfortable.  The high today was only 76F but the dew point was 67. The walk got us pretty sweaty. Time to turn on the air conditioner!  Crazy, since we have been running the heater every night.

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $17
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Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park, Day 2

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Stephen Foster is one of America’s most influential composers.  He was not a Southerner; he was from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  One of his songs, “Old Folks at Home” made the Suwannee River known all over the world.  This park on the Suwannee River was created as a memorial to Foster for that reason.

Alligators, No Swimming

Alligators, No Swimming

Suwannee River

Suwannee River

The Florida National Scenic Trail runs through this park too.  This official state trail, designated as one of 11 National Scenic Trails in the US, runs more than 1,400 miles from Miami in the south to Pensacola on the west end of the panhandle.  So, of course, we hiked it for a while, so now we have bragging rights that we hiked The Florida National Scenic Trail, right?

The Florida Trail

The Florida National Scenic Trail

Also inside the park there is The Stephen Foster Memorial Carillon, Florida’s tribute to Stephen Foster.  Inside this tower is one of the largest musical instruments ever produced in the Western Hemisphere and the world’s largest tubular carillon in number of bells (97), installed in 1958. (Built by J.C. Deagan, Inc., of Chicago.)

Carillon Tower

The Stephen Foster Memorial Carillon

Inside the tower a huge wood rack supports 27 tons of 97 tubular bells and measures 21 feet high, 15 feet long, and 11 feet wide.  The carillon is being restored and currently only 32 of the bells are done.  During the day the bells will ring on the quarter and half hour, and on the top of the hour they ring out one of Stephen Foster’s songs.

97-Bell Carillon

97-Bell Carillon

Just outside the park entrance, in the little town of White River, on the banks of the Suwannee River, is what is left of a health resort from the mid 1800’s.  Only the original concrete wall and gate remain.  This was built over a white sulfur spring believed to hold curative powers.

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Spring House

The park is getting ready for its Festival of Lights, which begins December 6.  Park workers are busy setting up the light displays and getting things ready for the opening day celebration on Friday.  The park closes to the public after dark right now but the lights have been turned on already so us campers have the place to ourselves.  Nice!

dfhgj

Stephen Foster Museum

“Beautiful Dreamer”, “Camptown Races”, “Jeanie with the Light Brown Hair”, “My Old Kentucky Home”, “Oh! Susanna”, and “Old Folks at Home” are some of Stephen Foster’s more well known of the 200 songs he wrote.

“Old Folks at Home” is Florida’s state song, and “My Old Kentucky Home” is the Kentucky state song.

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:  $22
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Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Our week at St. Augustine was fun, but we have a hard time staying put very long.  We left early this morning to get around Jacksonville before the church crowd and the holiday shoppers filled up the highways and then headed west on I-10.  Our destination: Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park near White Springs, Florida.

Behind a rest stop along I-10 we found a trail and a boardwalk leading into a swamp. Signs indicated alligators and snakes could be found there, and we looked and looked and didn’t see any wildlife at all other than a few birds.  It was a lovely walk, temps around 65F, sunny, no wind, and no bugs.

gum cyprus swamp

A Cyprus Gum Swamp

And now here we are at the campground.  We have reserved two nights here.  Tomorrow we will explore the park.

Steven Foster Folk Culture Center State Park Campground, #23

Steven Foster Folk Culture Center State Park Campground, #23

Up until now we have been blessed with good fortune.  Our motorhome has been working fine, no leaks, no repairs needed other than a windshield replacement for a little crack that mysteriously appeared one day last year.  It has stood up to the test of the Alaskan Highway, survived boondocking in the desert southwest, mountain passes and prairies from the east coast to the west coast, made it through Hurricane Sandy, and has served us well for 37,000 miles over the two years we have owned it.

But tonight we have our first boo-boo.

As Bernie was pulling out the awning so it could dry out after having been rained on a few times during the last week the strap broke so he couldn’t pull the awning out….and us without a much-needed ladder to fix it. (You thought it was something big, didn’t you.) Our RV neighbors didn’t have ladders either.  So, on the Jeep he goes, rigged up a McGuyver fix for the strap, and we’re good to go again.

Fixing

Fixing the Awning Strap

The Loop Brook Off the Strap.

The Loop Broke Off the Strap

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $22

 

 

 

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Turkey Run

Posted on November 29, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, was a quiet one for us.  Rather than cook the meal we went to Cracker Barrel Restaurant for our traditional turkey dinner.  For sure this was a popular place, lots of people waiting outside.

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Cracker Barrel

Friday we drove down to the Daytona International Speedway, about an hour south of St.Augustine.  The Daytona Turkey Run is the largest classic car show in the United States, with over 6,000 show cars and over 1,000 swap meet vendors.  Parking was free, but we paid $15 each for admission.  And it was such a beautiful day, around 65-70F, and partly cloudy. Besides the cars there was a swap meet with vendors selling car parts and “stuff”. And there was a craft show “for the ladies” Here are some of the pictures of the day:

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All This Food and Not One Deep Fried Cheese Curd

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2013 Daytona Turkey Run. This is not even 1/4 of it.

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Get Your Doggie Strollers Here

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I love this. Travel Trailer mounted on a flatbed truck.

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  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $20
  • Admission:               $30
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Flagler Beach

Posted on November 26, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Once the rain stopped this morning we decided to take a drive and explore a bit before the next round arrived. Flagler Beach is a small community on the Atlantic Ocean about a half-hour’s drive south of here.  The wind was blowing and the mist from the ocean made it look foggy and coated the windows with a salty film. The temp was around 70F and quite humid.

Flagler Beach

Flagler Beach

On the way home we stopped at The Nut House and picked up some oranges and pecans. The “Fruit $1.00 a Bag” was two oranges in baggie, and the “Pecans $3.99/lb” were tiny ground up pieces.  Regular fresh unbroken shelled pecans were more like $16.00/lb.

The Nut House

The Nut House

You know you are in Florida when you can buy Alligator parts in bulk.

Alligators

Alligators

The rain returned and it’s hot and humid and thunderstorms predicted for the area.  It could be a bumpy night.

  • Gasoline Expense:  $48 @ $3.45/gallon
  • Lodging Expense:   $20
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St. Augustine

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

On our way out to St.Augustine Beach we passed this flock of Wood Storks.  They looked cold, all tucked in like that.

Wood Stork

Wood Stork

Hardly any people were on the beach when we got there, just a few people walking their dogs.  It was cold and windy and began to rain just a sprinkle when we were there.  We wanted to see the beach, and it didn’t take long to accomplish that!

Atlantic Ocean

Atlantic Ocean

Anastasia State Park was very near there so we went to check it out and found some trails to hike.

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Anastasia State Park

Then back to St. Augustine for a few hours.  The Bridge of Lions connects St. Augustine to Anastasia Island.  Two large lion statues line the entrance to the bridge.  The lions are the symbol for the Spanish royal family.

Lion on the Bridge of Lions

Lion on the Bridge of Lions

This is a draw bridge.  While we were there it opened up to let some sailboats pass through.

Bridge of Lions, St. Augustine, FL

Bridge of Lions, St. Augustine, FL

We spent some more time walking around the historic old town and along the water’s edge.

St. Augustine, FL

St. Augustine, FL

After sunset we went on the Holly Jolly Trolley Tour of Lights. This took us around the historic old town while playing Christmas music and stopping for cider and cookies.

Holly Jolly Trolley Tour of Lights

Holly Jolly Trolley Tour of Lights

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:   $20
  • Parking & Tour:      $16
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Strawberries

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Marsha Brecht

Along side the St.Augustine Flea Market is BerryStacks Hydroponic U-Pick Farm.  We had stopped in there yesterday but it was too hot and humid and we decided to stop in today instead.  But then today the weather is cold and windy.  Can’t win.  But we were on a mission to get some of those strawberries so we pulled on our stocking caps and coats and each grabbed a basket and began hunting for the good ones.

The owner talked with us for a while and was saying the berries were not at their best right now because of the recent heat and humidity.  And he gave us a bad time for bringing all this cold weather down from Minnesota!  For sure it was a challenge to find good berries but we made our way up and down the aisles and managed to get enough to satisfy our craving.  And how nice it was to pick strawberries while standing up!

BerryStacks Hydroponic U-Pick Farm

BerryStacks Hydroponic U-Pick Farm

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Strawberries

Delicious!  So fresh, sweet, and full of that wonderful strawberry flavor.  They were a little more expensive than grocery store berries, but worth every penny.

The weather is nuts.  Yesterday was sunny and warm and we ran the air conditioner in the RV and when we were in the car, but today is cold and windy and we’re wearing hats and coats and running the heaters.  It may rain tomorrow.

We extended our stay here at St. Johns RV Park until Saturday morning.   The weather may get rainy or stormy so if there’s no daily blog from me that will be why.

  • Gasoline Expense:  none
  • Lodging Expense:  $20
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