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.