Fort Pickens Campground - Gulf Shores National Seashore

We stayed at Fort Pickens Campground from March 22nd to April 5th.  As you can see from the above picture, we had some storms come through that temporarily flooded the campground.  Our campsite was one of the better ones.  Some of the sites across the street were really under water.

Fort Pickens is a wonderful campground, but often times the road coming into the park floods over, so whenever there is a storm you need to check with the park office to see if the road has flooded or if it's still open.  They evacuate the island if the flooding is going to get too bad.  In fact, they were talking about evacuating before this storm came through.  I'm sure glad that they didn't have to.

I took this picture from the truck as we were going off of the island.  Normally the water from the Gulf comes up pretty close to the road, so it's doesn't take much to flood the road out.

We got to explore the Fort while we were at the park.  Fort Pickens is the largest of four forts that were built to defend Pensacola Bay.  Completed in 1834, it was one of the only forts never occupied by Confederate troops.  It was abandoned by the army at the end of World War II.

There were an abundance of osprey at Fort Pickens.  Hurricane Ivan pretty much devastated this area, and the saltwater killed many trees.  The osprey love to nest in these trees, though!

One of the biggest treats of our stay at Fort Pickens was that we got to watch the Blue Angels practicing. They took off from the Pensacola Naval Air Station and flew right over Fort Pickens.  We had also seen them practicing when we visited the National Naval Aviation Museum.  It was more exciting though watching them from Fort Pickens - they came so close!

We didn't get into the water at all.  It was really too cool and windy, and there weren't many good beach days.  Still, we enjoyed our stay here and would love to come back some day.

Suwannee River State Park

On our way to Fort Pickens campground in Gulf Island National Seashore, we stayed at Suwannee River State Park for one night (on March 21st).  I was pleasantly surprised at how pretty this lovely little state park is.  Bob and I got a chance to walk down by the river in the evening.  The Suwannee River was running very fast because there has been some flooding and the river is very high.  In fact, rangers were telling people not to put canoes or kayaks in the river.

There are 30  campsites in the park, all of which have electric, water and sewer.  Our campsite was large and fairly easy to get into.  It was a great place for a one night stay.  We'll be staying here again on the way back home.

We really enjoyed our visit with my son Jim and his family while we were at Hillsborough State Park.  I'm sure that Mirra misses Jim - as you can see, he has a special way with her.

I'm being very careful with my Internet usage since we used almost 10 GB last month.  I use my Verizon phone's hot spot, and the data usage can really add up!  We've been at Fort Pickens since March 22nd,  but I'll catch up with that blog another day.

Hillsborough River State Park

We said goodbye to Salt Springs on Friday, March 14th, and headed out to Hillsborough River State Park.  My son Jim lives about 20 minutes away from the park, so it's a good place to stay while we visit with Jim and his family. 

We reserved campsite #18, which is conveniently located right across from the bathroom.  We have electric and water, but no sewer.  It was nice to be able to put out our solar lights.  Salt Springs has a new ranger managing the area, and he has forbidden putting anything in the ground there except stakes for your tent.  Nothing else is allowed in the ground, not even our small sheepdog flag.  He has even made campers take their American flags out of the ground.  This angered some people to the point that they actually left the park.  We still love Salt Springs, but it certainly had a much nicer atmosphere before the rules became so restrictive.  Anyhow, it's nice to be able to put our stuff out without being hassled.

Hillsborough has lots of nice nature trails and a bike path that circles the park, so we have plenty to do while we're here.  We took a hike down the River Rapid Trail on Sunday.

The rapids weren't the roaring rapids type, but fairly mild.  We stopped for awhile and enjoyed the view.

The Hillsborough River is perfect for kayaking.  The water is really calm once you get past the rapids.

We had lots of rain come through here all day yesterday and through the night.  Fortunately it should clear today, so if it looks OK we'll inflate the Sea Eagle and go for a ride.  There are plenty of alligators in the river, but I'm told that they won't bother us.  Let's hope that the people that told us that know what they're talking about.

A Great Day at Blue Springs State Park

Bob and I spent an absolutely terrific day at Blue Springs State Park last Saturday.  We figured we better get over there before the bulk of the manatees made there way further up the Saint Johns River.  I guess lots of people were thinking the same thing, because when we got there, there were plenty of people waiting to get in.  The line was about 12 cars long, and we had to wait for about 20 minutes, but it was well worth it.

When we got out of the car, we heard some pretty nice jazz coming out of the pavilion.  Three young guys were giving a performance, so we sat down and listened for awhile.  We love good jazz, so it was quite a treat, and a nice way to start our day.  Blue Skies, 80 degree temperatures, good music - who could ask for more?

Luckily, there were plenty of manatees to see.  Many of them looked like mothers with babies.

We saw an alligator that was a pretty good size.  It might have been the same one we saw last year, just about in the same spot.

As we were leaving, we also saw an armadillo.

We checked out the campground again, and it sure is nice.  I'd like to stay there sometime when we get a chance.   Blue Springs is a great place to visit.

A Very Cold January and February So Far at Salt Springs

Our campsite at Salt Springs Recreational Area

We arrived for our 21/2 month stay at Salt Springs Recreation Area on January 3rd this year.  When we first arrived we were lucky and got a couple of really nice 75-80 degree days, but since then the weather pattern has been exceptionally cold and rainy for this area. Whereas last year we were able to wear shorts and tee shirts for most of January and February, this year has been mostly jeans, long sleeved shirts, and sweaters or sweat shirts.  Still, it's so much better than the weather that's been going on in New Jersey.  Today there's a winter storm warning in my home town of Pennsauken, and they're expecting another 8 to possibly as much as 14 inches of snow along with some ice.  This is on top of the 40+ inches they've already gotten this year.  Needless to say, whenever I get grumpy about the weather I just look at what's going on at home, and feel extremely thankful that we're here.  Out of the six weeks that we've been here, we've had about 7 really great days in the 70's-80's, so we were able to get out twice on our new Sea Eagle Kayak.

We bought the Sea Eagle while we were down here and had it shipped to our campsite.  It's a great alternative to the fishing canoe that we previously hauled with us.  In December, Bob got a pacemaker/defibrillator because his heart wasn't pumping as hard as it should be (low ejection fraction).  Since he acquired the device, he's unable to lift anything heavy, especially over his head, so it looks as if the canoe is no longer an option for us since it weights about 120 pounds.  The kayak is perfect at only about 34 pounds and it packs up neatly when we're ready to travel.  We love it so far and look forward to taking it out at least a couple of times a week.  We need some practice on synchronizing our paddle strokes, but we're getting there.

On our last trip out the manatees were surrounding us, and were so close that I was slightly worried that they'd come up underneath us, but fortunately no such catastrophe occurred.  Bob and I floundering around it the water and trying to get back into the kayak is an ugly thought.

We'll be enjoying the beauty of Salt Springs for another month before moving on to Hillsborough River State Park on March 14th.  We plan on spending most of our time reading, taking walks, kayaking, and building up Bob's strength with some bike riding.  I'm hoping the weather cooperates, but if it doesn't, I'll just look at the weather back home and smile!

Delaware Seashore State Park

Delaware Seashore State Park

We just spent two weeks in Delaware Seashore State Park, and had a great time.  I was at this state park many years ago, but this was my first visit with Bob.

Our Campsite at Delaware Seashore State Park

There's nothing special about the campground.  It's basically just a huge parking lot - no trees or anything - but all in all it's fine.  The park has full hookups, and is in a wonderful location - in between Bethany Beach and Dewey Beach.  The campground borders the Indian River Inlet, and it's a short walk to the beach.  We got really lucky, and hit a span of five days of summertime weather in October.  The daytime temperatures were in the 80s, and the water was warm enough to swim in - about 69-70 degrees.  Although the water was a little chilly, Bob and I were determined to get a few last swims in before the real fall weather hits.  They let dogs on the beach on October 1st, so Mirra got to go on the beach with us.  She seemed to enjoy  the whole experience!

Bob and Mirra at Delaware Seashore State Park

Mirra and me at the Indian River Inlet

This bridge is beautiful at night - it's all lit up with blue lights.

Bridge at Indian River Inlet at Delaware Seashore State Park

Fishing seems to be a big thing here, especially on the Indian River Inlet.  They were catching rockfish, blues and togs.  I was told that the togs are really good fish to eat.

Tog caught at Delaware Seashore State Park - not a keeper!

It's a good thing that we enjoyed the magnificent summer weather, because on October 9th, a wicked Nor'easter blew in, and rocked the trailer for three days solid.  Our last few days down here were filled with howling wind and buckets of rain.  Take a look at the video - it was pretty wild!

Carlisle Chrysler Nationals

1968 Road Runner just like the one Bob owned (and misses to this day)

Bob and I spent last weekend at the Chrysler Nationals Car Show in Carlisle, and it was great.  Bob owned a maroon 1968 Roadrunner back in the day.  He used to race it as well as drive it on the street.  His love of Chrysler cars has continued to this day, so one of the things on his "bucket list" was to go to the Chrysler Nationals.

Here are a few of the many excellent cars that we saw.

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T Hemi in Vitamin C

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T rag top - Plum Crazy

1970 Dodge Challenger in Panther Pink - I want it - it matches my top!

1970 Panther Pink Plymouth Barracuda AAR - I want this too!

1950 Chrysler New Yorker

1970 Plymouth Superbird

A whole row of Dodge Charger General Lees - Yee Hah!

1948 Chrysler

Beautiful Chrysler 300 - one of many in the show

1957 Plymouth Fury with every option - even a record player!

1952 Chrysler Imperial 331 Hemi

Two Sheepdogs were at the show - Mirra would have like them.  We left her back at the trailer.

1963 Dodge 426 Max Wedge factory race car

Plum Crazy 1970 Plymouth GTX

1968 Plymouth Road Runner - every option and the premium interior - just gorgeous!

1964 Dodge factory 426 Max Wed judged best in the world 

1969 Dodge Charger - one of 500 made for NASCAR racing

1967 GTX - Best car of the show in Bob's opinion - perfect!

1970 Dodge Challenger R/T 383 convertible

We really enjoyed the show, and may go back again some other year.  Bob and I both love old cars, as you can see from our restoration project - a 1993 Cadillac Coupe DeVille - the last year they were made.