Back at Johnathan Dickinson State Park!

We moved to the Sebastion Inlet area near Melbourne Beach last week and spent time at Long Point County Campground. We were right on the water and had an opportunity to do some fishing and kayaking. We were about two miles from the inlet and the State Park, but didn't get a chance to see what their campground looked like. We decided that next time we are here we will try to get into the State Park.
 On Sunday we joined Becky and Dave at Animal Kingdom and had a great day with them and Ben, Kate and Trevor.

Some pictures from the past week...

Kayaking at Riverside Park near Jupiter, Fla., with Mike Walker, our neighbor from Cheney Road.

Turtles on the Luxahatchee River

Kayakers on the intercoastal waterway at Longpoint Campground.

A picture of the mangroves

My sweetie, Minnie Mouse.

My other sweetie going into Animal Kingdom at Disneyworld

Just hanging out.

Mt Everest at Disney. We had a great roller coaster ride.

Ben, Dave, Trevor, Kate and Beckymouse.

Hakuna Matatta

The Lion King Festival Show. This was a spectacular show to end our night.

More Pictures from this past weekend.

Johnathan Dickinson S.P. is on the Loxahatchee River. There is a concession in the park that rents kayaks, canoes and boats. Also river tours aboard the queen.

The river is being protected to keep it natural. This is one of the few access points along the upper river.

A hut at the park. I was amazed at the internal structure that supports this big shelter.

Incredible yachts at West Palm Beach. 

Millions of dollars in fiberglass floating at the docks.

A view looking back at the beach front condos and resorts.

After walking the fair at West Palm Beach we went to the art fair at Delray Beach. Mike and Carol Walker, our neighbors from Up north gave us a grand tour of the east central coast.

Nancy found a friend at the art fair.

A band plays at the shore in Stuart Florida just north of Jupiter.

An oyster catcher on the shoals at Stuart.

Catching up with some pictures - Johnathan Dickinson State Park, Hobe Sound, Florida

The live oaks around Amelia Island. We were fascinated with the size and abundance of these trees on the Island.

Our last sunset at Fort Clinch S.P. This vies was across the St Mary's river.

Farmer's market at St Augustine. Lots of vendors and people shopping. This is a popular activity in Florida on the weekends.

One of the oldest churches in the country. The parish dates back to the 1500's but was rebuilt twice since the early days.

The Blue Man Group trainees outside of the fort at St Augustine.

Castille Del San Marco.

A view into the fort. The fort was constructed by the Spanish Army in the 1670's.

Firing the canon. 

The three types of artillery were on display at the fort.

Beautiful engraving on these weapons of mass destruction.

Next stop was Flagler beach. We really enjoyed this camp since we had beautiful weather and were right on the beach.

Roger Gimbal memorial monument.

Silver Spring at Silver Springs State park. We drove over to visit Bev and Gary Clark.

Wetlands at Johnathan Dickinson State Park.

We were treated to some beautiful sunsets here in the past few days.

The state park was built on an old military installation. The land was turned over to Florida after World War II

A view from the observation tower at Hobe Mountain. We were at 86 feet above sea level ! The air was really thin at this altitude! The view is of the intercoastal waterway and further to the Atlantic.

A swamp buggy in the park

Red Bellied woodpecker.

Moving South St Augustine, Flagler Island and Hobe Sound at Jupiter

We've been to three different state parks since my last post and all three have been unique and definitely worth returning to.
St Augustine is one of our favorite places in northeast Florida. The oldest city in the country it dates back to the mid 1500's. We camped at Fayver Dykes state park about fifteen miles north of town. On Sunday we took a ride into town and explored the farmers market, old town and then the fort, Castillo De San Marco which was built in the 1600's.
Our next camp was at Roger Gamble Memorial Stae Park. We were camped right on the shore with a walkway over the dune down to the beach just across the street. I tried my hand at the surf fishing, but to no avail.
We moved again after a few nights at Flagler and are now at Johnathan Dickinson State Park just outside of Jupiter. We are on the Luxahatchee river and Hobe Sound. This use to be a military training center for communications since befor the civil war. Communication techniques included flags, lanterns, morse code and even pigeons. More modern was radar training and radio communication. The base was decommisioned after World War 2 and turned over to the state of Florida for a state park.

Fruit shop near St Augustine and Fayver Dykes State Park. The shop had some of the zaniest t-shirts I've seen since we got to Florida.