Siesta Key

We have been on the move from Ochlockonee River to Manatee Springs state park and are now back at Oscar Scherer State Park at Osprey near Sarasota. We set up camp this morning and this afternoon we met up with Becky, Jenny and the kids at Siesta Key.
We had a fun beach day and then went back to the beach at sunset and watched the drum circle. This is a local phenomenon that takes place every Sunday evening. A meeting of drummers happens on the beach and they perform drum beating ceremonies for as long as the audience keeps them going. It is like a tribal ceremony straight out of Africa! Very entertaining too!
We have had a string of beautiful 80 degree weather this week and have been enjoying it. Yesterday we rented a canoe and explored the Dead River and the back bays of Lake Griffin. We saw half a dozen alligators as we rowed around the shoreline.
We are spending a few days here with the kids and then start moving back north.

The shore at Pensacola Bay at Naval Live Oaks State Park

Nesting Ospreys at Fort Pickens

The fishing pier at Pensacola Beach. Sheepshead were biting and lots of people fishing.

A Fort Pickens sunset. 

Self Portrait on the beach

The same sunset a little later.

Ochlockonee River

A white squirrel at Ochlockonee State Park. We saw several of these as well as a deer that was half white!

Canoeing on Lake Griffin near Leesburg

The bandshell at one of the city squares at the Villages.

Trevor at Siesta Key Beach

Ben was here too!

Kate with her Grandma

Becky and Jenny at Siesta Key at sunset.

The drum circle on the beach.

Ochlockonee River State Park

We are moving back to the southeast now and are south of Tallahassee in the panhandle. We moved from Fort Pickens on Monday. We are getting some really nice weather with highs in the seventies and clear skies after the huge rain we had last Thursday and Friday. We had four inches of rain that flooded a good portion of the campground (again).
This campground is on the river and we have a great campsite right along the bank. Lots of trails here and they have white squirrels! We were told by the ranger when checking in that we would see the white squirrels, and sure enough we have had one in our campsite. Last night we went for a walk and saw a mostly white deer! It was white up to its shoulders, and the neck and head were brown. This is the first time I have seen a piebald deer in the wild.
We can't believe it's April now. We are so grateful that we have this opportunity to be in a mild climate where we can be outdoors every day and not be cooped up looking at all the snow!
I will post some pictures when we have a better internet signal.
Hope all is well with everyone.

Pensicola Beach for a Week

We landed at Fort Pickens National Campground at Gulf Islands National Seashore. We are here for seven days. The weather has cooled, but we are enjoying the beaches and doing a lot of exploring. We have been to this campground in the past, and enjoy it for the old fort and all the hiking and biking trails.
Henderson Beach State Park was our last camp, and the beach and the campsites there were awesome. This is the "Emerald Coast" area of the Florida Panhandle, and with the white sands and shallow crystal clear gulf waters the name applies perfectly. The beaches are clean and clear and stretch forever. We have noticed a lot of coastal development and the hi-rise condo's and resorts are springing up everywhere. It is a good thing some areas have been set aside, or nothing would remain natural.

The shore at Henderson beach was accessible by a long boardwalk back to the campground. The highway use to go through these dunes, but was moved about 1000 yards inland in the 1990's. 

Henderson Beach

This is the barrier island at Fort Pickens.

The bayside shore at Naval Live Oaks National Seashore east of Pensicola.

Last Day at St Andrews State Park

We've had a string of warm sun shiny days and everything is drying out from last weekend's rain. We have been relaxing and enjoying the park and tomorrow we are moving on. We are going to Henderson Beach State Park near Fort Walton, Florida. Another park we haven't been to before. We are looking forward to exploring.
We are amazed to see that the calendar is moving along and we now have only four weeks until we are back in Michigan. We are watching the weather and hoping the snow will melt off fast in the next few weeks so we don't have much when we return. We are acclimated to this warm weather now and we will be a couple of wusses if it's too cold back in the north country!

There are several cruises that go past the beach here every day. This pirate boat is one of them. There is also a catamaran excursion and the "Sea Screamer" which is a large speed boat that carries about thirty people for a party cruise.

The gulf looking towards Panama City Beach.

The St Andrews Pier.

St Andrews State Park

Yesterday we moved from St Joseph Peninsula to Panama City Beach and set up camp at St Andrews State Park for a week. This park is on the Gulf and has a lot going for it. It has a pier, a jetty area, beaches, and lots of room for biking. We had to drive through Panama City Beach to get here and it took us almost two hours in a traffic jam with all the spring breakers cruising the streets and clogging up the city. We were amazed at the crowd of college kids that come here for their spring fling! The police were set up at all the intersections trying to keep the traffic flowing and avoid gridlock with all of the cars in town. They even had to close the Walmart parking lot because cars were lining up in the street to get in and the lot was completely full!!
The park is a couple of miles past the congested area of town, and once we got here all was quiet and calm. Thank God!
Our campsite is right on the bay side of the peninsula and we have a small beach right behind the camper. We look forward to doing a lot of exploring during the week that we are here.
We see that Maple City has posted 244 inches of snowfall this winter. Hurray it is a new all time record! Gee, we really miss the fluffy white stuff!
Hope everyone is well.

A sunset at St Joseph Penninsula

We had a visit from a local resident at our campsite. Did someone say possum-on-the-half-shell?

The fluffy white stuff at our beach is sand, not snow!

Another gorgeous sunset at the beach.

And on the other side was the rising moon!

Taking pictures of the pelicans at St Joe

Look closely and there are about six jellyfish along the edge of the water.

Our camp at St Andrews

The view from our back porch.

Another visitor to our campsite.

This is looking out of the state park from the pier.

This is the shoreline of the park from the same spot looking the other way.

Kite boarders near the jetty playing in the surf.

St Joseph Penninsula

We are at St Joseph peninsula State Park near Port St Joe. (This is the northern Gulf in the panhandle). We are enjoying ten days here at this park and have been relaxing and just hanging out tat the beach. We continue to bike and hike to stay active and take advantage of the sunny afternoons to be on the Gulf.
Our weather stays a bit below normal, but the rain has stopped and we have had a string of sunny afternoons. Today was the best with temps in the seventies and sunshine and clear blue sky all day.
I see that Michigan's weather is finally starting to moderate and am hoping some of the snow starts to melt off before we get home in mid April.

Riding bikes on the beach at Anastasia State Park on the Atlantic coast at St Augustine.

The bay side coast of St George Island on the Gulf of Mexico

We may have found a piece of Ponce De Leon's ship on the beach!

St George Island

We left St Augustine on Sunday and had a nice sunny drive to the Florida panhandle. We arrived at St George Island in the afternoon and set up yet another camp. We are here for three days and then we move further west along the Gulf to St Joseph peninsula.
The weather continues to struggle to get warm, but we have had some sunshine and are able to do a lot of walking and biking. We even sat on the beach for a couple of hours yesterday, but we had to wear our hooded sweatshirts and stay out of the wind. We were entertained by the flocks of sea gulls sitting along the shoreline waiting for some food to come washing in on the tide (or for some tourist to toss popcorn into the air, I'm not sure which). One kept a close eye on us and wouldn't let any of his comrades come too close.
W rode our bikes to the eastern end of the Island on Monday and were surprised that there were not nearly as many shells as there were last time we were here. It might have something to do with the winter storms or lack of hurricanes. The park has been much improved since last time we were here, so maybe they are recovering from hurricanes of prior years.
We have been watching the temperatures in Michigan and it makes it bearable to be in the sixties down here.
Hope everyone is well and is coping with the tough winter in the north country.