Bahia Honda State Park, Marathon Florida

We pulled into Bahia Honda on Thursday, the 19th.  Since then, we've been doing what we do best - laying on the beach, reading books, and just living the lazy life, as you can see below.

Bahia Honda has the best swimming beach in the Keys, and so we make sure to take advantage of it.  We did notice that the beach is eroding pretty badly, but it's still great.  The weather has been beautiful, although we had a full day of heavy rain on Saturday.   We may get more rain over the next few days, but hopefully it won't deter us from beaching out.

The campsites at Bahia Honda vary greatly as far as length and width.  Some are too narrow to put a screen tent up, but fortunately the one we got is just big enough.  We didn't even bother putting the canoe in the water, as it's been a little too windy and rough.

We leave here on May 2nd, and will start winding our way up the coast.  Our first stop is Jonathon Dickinson State Park, where I thought we'd stay for a couple of days just to check it out.  I'll be sorry to leave the Keys - it really is paradise.

Mirra Goes To Bonita Springs Dog Beach

Today we took Miracle to the Bonita Springs Dog Beach, located at 8800 Estero Boulevard in Fort Myers Beach.   What a great off-leash dog beach!  There were plenty of dogs for her to run with, all friendly and well behaved.  She had a great time, and pretty much wore herself out.  We had to give her a good bath when we got home.

If you're looking for a great dog beach, Bonita Springs Dog Beach is the place!

W.P. Franklin N. Campground

View from our campsite of the Caloosahatchee River

We arrived here on Thursday and are settled in now after some shopping and setting up. We're very pleased with this park.  It's the usual well-maintained, well-thought out campground that the Army Corps of Engineers offers.  Every campsite has a level concrete pad and a covered picnic table.

These campsites are great!

The campground is almost entirely surrounded by the Caloosahatchee River, so nearly every site has a waterfront view.  The Caloosahatchee River is part of the Lake Okeechobee waterway, and this park is part of the lock system running from Lake Okeechobee to the Gulf of Mexico.  There is good fishing here, although we aren't going to bother getting a license.  We will certainly put our canoe in the water though, since it should be really interesting traveling up the river towards Lake Okeechobee.  We got our canoe cart right before we left the Keys, and we're very anxious to try it out.

As you can see, the Caloosahatchee River  is right at our doorstep

We are only about 15 minutes to the Fort Myers beaches, and probably about 30 minutes from Sanibel Island.  I'm sure that we'll go to the beach a few times while we're here.  If it gets too hot there's a swimming beach on the South side of this park.  There's even a dog beach at Lovers Key that we thought we'd take Mirra to.  Today we took her to Barkingham Park, and she's really tired out as you can see from the photo.

Miracle chilling on the couch after a run at the Barkingham Dog Park

Looks like we'll have an enjoyable two weeks here before we head back to the Keys.   

Lock system at W.P. Franklin N. park

Another view from our campsite

Party Lights

We sat outside last night for quite awhile, since today we have to take our equipment down to prepare for our departure tomorrow.  The breeze was coming off of the water, the stars were out, and it was just a beautiful night here at Curry Hammock.  Our two weeks at the park have been outstanding, and we will miss the place.

I love our campsite at night - so festive!  Mirra gets a little bit rowdy though, as you can see.

Mirra getting rowdy under the party lights

On to W.P. Franklin North Recreation Area tomorrow.  We have a waterfront campsite right on the Caloosahatchee River.  We've never been there before, so I'm looking forward to seeing something new.

Curry Hammock State Park, Marathon FL

Campers Beach - Curry Hammock State Park

We arrived at Curry Hammock State Park on Thursday, March 22nd and will  be here for two weeks.  This is the smallest of the four Florida State Parks in the Keys, with only 28 campsites (two of which are occupied by campground hosts).  Because of the limited number of campsites, it's difficult to get in.  Fortunately we not only got in, but got one of the best sites in the park.  We are on campsite 23, which offers plenty of room for both the trailer and the First Up.  It may be one of the best sites we've ever had.

Mirra admiring our sheepdog flag

We're really loving sitting out and enjoying the view from our site - last night we even saw dolphins playing!  The weather has been spectacular, about 83 degrees with a cooling breeze blowing all the time.

The beach off of the campground is beautiful, but the water is so shallow that you really can't swim.  However, I found an excellent little sandy beach in a secluded area on the adjacent public swimming beach.  I think we'll head on over there tomorrow and try it out.

We would like to put our canoe in the water, but can't find a good place to put it in easily.  We ordered a canoe cart from Bass Pro Shops, and they should get it in about a week.  Once we get the cart we can roll the canoe down the road to the beach and launch it there.  There's a small key not too far from the beach that we would like to explore.

Bob and Mirra enjoying the breezes

No dogs on the beach!

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

We arrived at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park on March 10th, and will be here until March 22nd.  I like this park much better than I had in the past because they improved the sites.  They added sewer to the sites two years ago, and it is the only park that offers full hookups.  The other parks offer electric and water only.  Also, they filled all of their sites in with gravel.  Although the sites are still a bit tight, they are just fine, and we have been enjoying our stay so far.

John Pennekamp is probably the biggest snorkeling and scuba park in the Keys.  They have daily snorkeling trips as well as a glass bottom boat that takes you out to the reef.  You can also see plenty of fish by just snorkeling in the water off of the beaches. The park has two nice swimming beaches as well as a convenient place right down the street from the campsites to launch our canoe.  We enjoyed a canoe ride on Monday, although it got a bit wild because a whole school of prep school kids were kayaking with us.  We were using our electric motor, so it was a little more difficult to navigate than if we had been simply paddling.  I think we'll take at least one more canoe trip before we leave.

Kayakers on Mangrove Trail, John Pennekamp State Park

Fortunately for Mirra, there is a dog park in Islamorada (in Founders Park) which is only 11 miles from our campsite.  We have taken her down there three times so far, and will probably go at least another 2 times before we leave.  The dog park is right across from a beautiful swimming beach, and has a great atmosphere. It even has a place to wash your dog if you so desire.

Dog Park at Founders Park, Islamorada

Founders Park is a wonderful place to go if you're looking for a good place to swim and hang out for the day.  They charge a $5.00 fee for non-residents, but you get to use their pool, tennis courts, swimming beach and dog park for that fee.  We use the dog park after hours, and you can get in for free at that point.

Founders Park Beach, Islamorada

Today is Saint Patricks Day, and Bob is cooking up corned beef with cabbage.  Happy Saint Patty's day from the Keys!

Salt Springs Feels Like Home

We've been in Salt Springs for a month now, and have gotten into a good routine here.  It's a lazy life style, where we get up somewhere between 7:30 and 9:00, get on the internet (on our very weak on again-off again connection), walk the dog at 11:00, read a book in the afternoon, take the dog for another walk in the late afternoon, and settle in for dinner around 5:30.  In the evening we have Direct TV and network TV off of our antenna - all except for NBC which we can't seem to pull in.  On Saturdays there is the flea market up in the local shopping center where you can get a paperback book for $1.00.   There is a restaurant up the road that offers an early bird meal for $4.00 if you get there by 4 O'clock, $5.00 if you get there by 5 and so on.. (the beat the clock special).

We found a great dog park in Ocala - Millenium Dog Park.  We took Mirra for a visit there on Sunday, which was a good day to do it because there were plenty of dogs there.  She loved it, and we will go back again next week.  It's at least a 50 mile drive, so we try to do some shopping when we're in Ocala.

We will be going for a boat ride this week now that the weather is warm again.  We will also finally get into the Springs.  It went down into the 20's for the last couple of nights and highs in the 50's.  Today is starting another heat wave, going up to 77 today, and 80's by tomorrow.  There certainly has been some crazy extreme weather this year.

All in all, we are used to the area, and love it.  Except for missing our family and friends,  life in Salt Springs feels like home.