Huntington Beach State Park, Murrells Inlet SC

We completed our 2012 winter trip with a 9 day stay in Huntington Beach State Park.  The park is in Murrells Inlet, which is right next to Myrtle Beach.  However, Murrells Inlet is much quieter and has far less traffic than Myrtle Beach does.

Huntington Beach has 125 sites altogether - 20 sites with sewer, and 105 with electric.  The sites are spacious, and fortunately are built to shed the rain.  We caught a stalled front of rain halfway through our stay there that just wouldn't move, and gave us 7 inches of rain in four days.  Our site remained high and dry even after that.

Campsite 98 at Huntington Beach State Park

In spite of the rain, we managed to get in some good beach time.  There are two paths from the campground that lead down to the beach, and you can even take your dog to the beach as long as it's on a leash.  The water was 78 degrees, great for swimming!

Beautiful uncrowded beach - Huntington Beach State Park

78 degree water in May

Huntington State Park is home to alligators that reside in the causeway coming into the park.  We had some excitement when we went to take pictures of the gators.  Two alligators were going through a courtship ritual, and I got video of the male alligator letting out a mating call.  It was incredible - sounded like a motor cycle.  When he reared his head up he looked like a dinosaur.  Check out the video!

I am home now as I write this, and as usual I have mixed emotions - glad to be home, but sorry that the trip has ended.  I'm already planning our excursion for 2013, which will include the Florida panhandle, Alabama's Gulf State Park, Vicksburg and Chattanooga.  Bob and I have three grandchildren graduating from college next year, so I made sure that we will be home in time for the ceremonies.  For now, we have lots of unpacking and cleaning to do.

Anastasia State Park, Saint Augustine FL

The Super Moon over Anastasia State Park Beach

We arrived in Anastasia on Saturday, and will be leaving tomorrow.  On Saturday night we ran down to the beach to get a shot of the Super Moon.  It was a crystal clear night, and the moon looked enormous.

Campsite 41 - Anastasia State Park, Saint Augustine Florida

This park has large well spaced sites nestled in a beautiful woods of Thatched Palms and Live Oaks.  A short distance away is an outstanding white sandy beach on the Atlantic.   We spent two wonderful days on the beach and in the ocean, which was warm with a very gentle surf, making it great for swimming.

Beach at Anastasia State Park, Saint Augustine Florida

This morning we took Miracle to the Joe Pomar Dog Park in Saint Augustine.  Unfortunately, there weren't any other dogs there.  She still got a good workout playing with her ball, and left tired and happy.  Saint Augustine has about four dog parks, so it's a very dog-friendly place.

Miracle at Joe Pomar Dog Park

I would definitely like to visit Anastasia State Park again, and stay for at least a week.  There's plenty to see and do here.  The old town of Saint Augustine is fun to explore.  We toured it a few years ago and loved it.

Well, on to Hilton Head Island tomorrow.  We're looking forward to the hot tub and swimming pool there. 

Cactus Flower - Anastasia State Park

I told you - we have RV insurance!

Jonathon Dickenson State Park, Jupiter FL

Campsite 51 at Jonathon Dickinson State Park

We arrived at Jonathon Dickinson State Park yesterday, and we are leaving tomorrow.  This is a very nice park offering full hookups with sewer.  We are staying in the newer section.  There is another older campground closer to the river, but that area  doesn't have sewer, and the sites are not as large nor as level as the new ones.  The only problem with these newer sites is that there is no shade - you're really out in the open.

This land originally contained Camp Murphy, a top secret radar training base during World War II.  In 1944 it was handed over to the state, and Jonathon Dickinson Park was opened in 1950.

The Loxahatchee river runs through the park, and I wish we had more time to explore it.  It would be a great place to put our canoe in.  In 1985 the Loxahatchee was named Florida's first National Wild and Scenic river.  The park runs a guided boat tour of the river for $20/person, but we really didn't have the time since we're only here for a day.

There is also a swimming beach, but I don't think I would go in.   There are plenty of gators in the area, although we didn't see any just touring through.

Swimming beach at Jonathon Dickinson State Park

 We did, however, see this neat tortoise.

We took a quick drive to Hobe Sound national wildlife preserve which is right down the road.  There is a nice swimming beach there, and they allow dogs on the beach.  Hobe Sound and Jupiter Island are lined with absolutely gorgeous homes - definitely a place where the one percent lives (Tiger Woods has a $60 million mansion on Jupiter Island).

One of the beautiful homes on Hobe Sound, Jupiter Florida

Beach on Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge

Tomorrow it's off to Anastasia State Park in Saint Augustine for three nights.  Hopefully, we'll be able to get to the beach.

Mirra Goes Out to Dinner

Boondockers Restaurant in Big Pine Key allows you to bring your dog.  In fact, they even have dog menus.  So we put Mirra's best scarf on her and took her out to dinner.  Bob had a pulled pork sandwich, I had a Mahi Mahi sandwich, and Mirra had grilled chicken with a bowl of ice water.

Dinner is served

It was good to get out.  It's been raining pretty steadily now for three days, and so we've been cooped up in the trailer.  It finally stopped tonight, and should be clear tomorrow.  Good thing since we have to pack up in preparation for our Thursday travel day.

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