Florida, Carrabelle January 16 - 23

This stop is at Ho-Hum RV Resort, 4 miles east of Carrabelle, FL.  It is a very small campground about 50 sites, but we got one of the best in the park.  We are backed right up to the waters of St. George Sound, and the Gulf of Mexico.  Kay and I and the dogs have spent many hours just sitting outside of the camper looking for the dolphins that travel up and down the sound.  We have seen them several times.  It has been a very relaxing week here.  Did not do a lot of kayaking, but that is OK sometimes.  We will come back to this campground again someday.

Carrabelle, Florida

 A view of the campground from the dock out in the gulf.  Our camper is in the center of the picture.

Close up of our camper from the dock.

 Looking west along the shore.

 The setting sun shining on the dock.

 This is the dock where I took the pictures.

 Horseshoe Crab

 Kay took this one out of the back window of the camper of me and dogs looking for dolphins.

 We have really enjoyed this camp site.

 Another look at the campsite.

 My long pole on the back of the camper with a whirly-gig on it.

The following are some of the many birds we saw here.

 Laughing Gull

 Bufflehead Duck

 Turnstone

Willet

Ring-Neck Duck

Florida, St. George Island State Park Jan 9 - 16

 To get to St George Island you have to drive over this 4 mile bridge with Apalachicola Bay to the west and St,. George Sound to the east.  The island is not very wide but is several miles long.  From the bridge it's 8 miles east out to the state park campground.  You can imagine how quiet and peaceful it was out here.  A good week to just regenerate.

St. George Island State Park, Florida


Our campsite in the State Park.

One of the shelters along the beach boardwalk.

There are lots of shells on the beach.

Walking back to the truck on one of the many boardwalks.  They use these boardwalks to keep people from destroying the dunes as they walk down to the beach.  Dogs weren't allowed on the state park beaches but the county or city beaches in town they were allowed as long as they were leashed.

This is one of the walkways to the beach. 

Great blue heron in flight along the beach.

Kay and I saw a lot of blue heron along this stretch of beach.

Typical summer homes along the beach.

Now we really liked this house.  It is built on stilts so when the hurricanes come they don't get water on the main floor.

St George Island Light House

Kay - Maxwell - Zoe walking along one of the many city beaches.  The dogs love the beach.  Zoe has to chase every bird she sees on the beach.  Too bad we can't let her loose to run after them.

This cardinal was a frequent visitor to the bird feeder.

Here is his female friend.

The cardinal sat on the edge of the feeder one morning when it was a bit chilly.  I liked the way he puffed his feathers out to keep him warm.

Zoe and Maxwell looking out the back window at the bird feeder.  The back window has a mirrored glass so in daylight you can not see in the window.  The feeder was only about 4 feet away from them.

Kayaking in the bay at low tide, I came across a lot of the crab traps.  This one did not have any in it yet.  The water is about 3 feet higher at high tide in this area.

Maxwell watching me come back to shore in the kayak.  He wanted to go with me so bad he was whining.

Kay walking the dogs along the trail from the campground. 

A look at the gulf near the campground on the island.

One of the birds Zoe wanted to chase on the beach.

We drove over to St. Joseph Peninsula which was about 50 miles west of the campground one day.  We found out that the monarch butterflies use this place as a resting stop on their way to Mexico.

We really liked our stay on St George Island.  It was very relaxing, even if it got a bit cool a few of the days.  We wish we had another week to spend here.   We would stop at St George Island again some day when we travel to Florida. 

Florida, Crystal River Jan 2 - 9

Crystal Isle RV Park,  Crystal River, FL  About two years ago Kay and I visited this park.  At that time we decided we wanted to come back and spend some time here.  The park is located on one of the channels that lead to the river.  We met Bob and Connie from Oregon they were into kayaking and fishing also.  Was great to have someone to go with.

Crystal River, Florida

Now this sign tells it like it really is.

We had to drive to the end of the road just to see the Gulf and walk the dogs.

One of the many boardwalks along the gulf.

The water looked too good to pass up a quick kayak trip.

It was pretty chilly so Kay did not want to go with me.  I did about an hour by my self.

The dogs wanted to go me so bad.

After I finished kayaking, we stopped to have a pizza.  Afterward we went to the grocery store to pick up a few things.  This is what we found when we got back to the truck.  There were two big pieces missing.  I know it was Maxwell that opened up the box but I'm sure Zoe got her share of the pizza.

Bob and Marty carrying Bob's kayak down to the channel.  They have a very different kayak.  It has pedals that operates a flipper type of propulsion.  It worked very good for Bob to fish with.

Bob and Connie at Three Sisters Springs looking at the manatees.

There were many of them at the springs.  The water is a constant 72 deg.  The manatees come up to keep warm when the river gets cold.

The manatee are such gentle creatures.

This is my hand getting up close and personal with this one.  It let me scratch his nose for a while before it went back under water.  Many of the manatees have very bad scarring on their backs from motor boat props hitting them.

Bob and Connie on the way back from the springs.

Kay looking at the manatees.

Blue heron along the shore on our way out of the springs.

The day we went kayaking in the gulf among the mangrove islands, the water was as smooth as a piece of glass.  The water was so clear you could see all the way down to at least 15 feet.  It was such a pleasure kayaking under these conditions.  I love kayaking.

Connie getting ready to hit the water.

Bob got the first fish.  It is a nice Red Fish.

I got the second fish.  Sea Trout.

Now this is one fish you do not want to stick your fingers into it's mouth.  You can see the long needlelike tooth.  I did not know it had teeth like that.

One of the many mangrove islands in this area.

Am still looking for my next fish.

Kay took this picture of the Ring-Billed Gull.   She has such a good eye for fine photos.

These birds are non breeding double-crested cormorants

This is an oyster bed shell build-up.  They are very sharp.  They are also covered up at high tide.

One of the nuclear power plants in the area.

Another look at the calm water here.

Bob and Connie getting ready to launch from the campground boat ramp.

This is the channel that leads to the Crystal River from the campground.

A Great Egret doing a little fishing of his own.

This is the end of the channel from the campground. I am now in the Crystal River.

Bob and I doing a bit of fishing in the river.

Just relaxing as I ride the tide back up the channel to the campground.

Bob and Connie in their truck with the kayaks on top
.

Full Moon.