Okefenokee Swamp Park, Georgia

Time stands still for no man (or woman!), so it is goodbye Florida, and hello Georgia. I had seen a comment that a road trip of the USA should include a visit to the Okefenokee Swamp Park in Georgia. Okefenokee - try saying that after a few wines! I did some research and learnt that the swamp forms the headwaters of the Suwannee and St Mary Rivers. It is the largest 'blackwater' swamp in North America: a 438,000-acre (1,770 km²), peat-filled wetland that straddles the Georgia/Florida border (wikipedia). The term 'blackwater' comes from the release of tannins in plant mulch that turn the water the colour of tea. 

To our dismay as we turned into the park, the road was blocked off. We straddled the highway while I rang the office - we were directed to drive back a few miles until we saw a dirt road leading up and over a railway line. Murray was upset as he had washed the RV from top to bottom in the days beforehand. Thankfully no vehicles were coming in the opposite direction as the dirt road was only just wide enough for our RV, and there was no room on either side of the road for any vehicle to pass. 

As well as the usual critters of birds, snakes, spiders, turtles and alligators (yes, we saw them all), the swamp is also a critical habitat for the Florida Black Bear (a smaller breed than their northern relatives). Our guide said a Florida panther had been sighted - they are a tawny brown colour, and are a subspecies of cougar that roam the Everglades in Florida. Some panthers were believed to have been released to the wild many years ago. We did not see any bears or panthers!

Boat ride through the swamp - the water was like a mirror

Pretty water lilies and sleeping alligators abounded

I climbed a 90' tower to get this photo of the boardwalk and stream below

The critter that did make its presence felt most was the nasty yellow fly (also known as the Yellow Deer fly). The shady leaf canopy in the swamp is an ideal habitat for this fly, and I was fair game. During our one-hour guided boat tour, I got numerous bites, despite actively swatting them. Apparently insect repellent doesn't deter them much. That evening I was happy to have some apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil on hand to relieve the itching.

After the boat ride we took a 45 minute steam train ride

In previous centuries the swamp was home to American Indians and early European settlers. We saw remnants of Indian burial mounds, moonshine stills, a Turpentine processing plant, log carts and primitive cabins. The yellow weed you can see in the photo here is St John's Wort - used today for depression. We also saw lots of wild blackberry bushes and many other wild herbaceous plants - too many to recall. 

The swamp experience was nothing to write home about. I think we were spoilt with our special swamp adventure with Cindy and Mike staying in their cabin on a bayou off Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans. See blog entry for May 2012 http://warwarekrvusa.blogspot.com/2012/05/new-orleans-2012.html. That was spooky! 

St Augustine, Florida

We have been to Florida many times, but had never stopped to explore "the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States." (Wikipedia), the city of St Augustine. Timucuan Indians lived here before the Spanish arrived in 1565. It was a 4.5 hour drive (see map) from our friends' Rainie and Tom in Plant City - as you would have seen in a previous blog entry, we dropped into the Daytona Speedway en route. We also visited Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach on the way - sadly, 50 people were pulled from the surf and 2 people drowned that same day. Rip tides sure are dangerous. There were red flags cautioning the rip tides, but it wasn't enough to deter all the swimmers. 

Ormond Beach - see the red flag. A swimmer died here a few hours after this photo was taken

St Augustine, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, was founded by Spanish explorer Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles on St Augustine's feast day in 1565, hence the name of the city. My brother Peter's middle name was Augustine, named after the same saint. I thought of Peter often during this visit. He was only 2.5 years older than me, but we lost him to Melanoma 30 years ago at age 35 years. 

Aviles Street - named after the city's founder

We started with a hop-on, hop-off trolley tour of the city, and were thrilled that the company picked us up from our RV park about 5 miles north of the city. After switching from the trolley to a free 'beach bus', we paid a visit to the Alligator Farm, expecting to mainly see alligators. The highlight of the visit for me was the Native Bird Rookery there.  

Native Bird Rookery - birds in the trees, alligators in the water

It was fabulous - there were birds with eggs in the nest and some with young fledglings. The sky was busy with herons, egrets, ibis, spoonbills and other species flitting about. I could have stayed there for ages. As well as the rookery, there were other birds in large cages - that is where the parrots, toucans etc were housed. 

First photo in the top row has fledglings, and the third photo has eggs in the nest

Vulture - huge

I have seen an albino bison, but I had never even heard of albino alligators! We saw the adult (not a pretty sight) and then in a nearby enclosure we saw 5 babies. Ughh.

Ugly albino alligator

Can you see all 5. 3 are under the red heat lamp, the other 2 are in the water

This crocodile comes from Australia!

First Catholic Mass held here in 1565. St Patrick (I was born on his feast day) gets his own altar!

Some historic homes

We finished off our day with a visit to a local beach. It was packed - well, it was a public holiday (Memorial Day). Lots to see and do in St Augustine - without even spending money at the Outlet Mall!

Beach just south of the city - it is a panorama, so click on the photo to optimise it

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Daytona International Speedway

After being spoilt with Tom's cooking (ribs one night, fish fry another) and having our automatic steps repaired at Lazydays, we headed east from Tampa towards the Atlantic Ocean - our destination was St Augustine, Florida. Murray was keen to drive past the Daytona International Speedway, so I adjusted the GPS and off we drove. 

As we approached the speedway, we noticed a huge, empty parking lot, so decided to pull in and have a walk around. As it turned out, the first 30 minute tour of the day was to start in 20 mins, so we decided to take advantage of it. I only went along to take photos for Murray, but I enjoyed seeing the track - Murray often calls me in to watch the last lap or two of the biggest NASCAR race of the year, so now I will be able to orientate what I see on TV to what we saw in person. 

Walking towards Victory Lane

Victory Lane - Murray couldn't get the smile off his face

The track has a 31 degree banking in turns, compared to 9 - 12 degree banking at Indianapolis. See photo below:

Some cars out practicing

This TV screen image is from the 2015 NASCAR race here at Daytona. Joey Logano won, reaching a speed of 260 KPH/ 161 MPH. In the photo below, Murray is standing beside the actual yellow car shown in the lead on the TV.

Danica Patrick - Murray favourite female driver

Key Largo, Florida

Rainie, along with her sister April and I, had gone snorkelling in Key Largo in 2010, and it was such an enjoyable experience, that we wanted to do it all over again. Early on Friday we drove across the Everglades Parkway (aka Alligator Alley) to Key Largo - the start of the Florida Keys, and about an hour south of Miami. Our friend Jan was meant to join us as well, but sadly she had a death in the family, and had to cancel her flight. Next time Jan!

Beach at John Pennekamp SP - we ate lunch there

Rainie, Trish, April

After a brief stop to pick up some lunch, we headed to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. The weather was ideal for snorkelling- fine (no clouds) and hot, seas were calm, the wind was 5 MPH easterly, and the sea water temperature was a balmy 27 C/ 81 F. The sun shone through the pristine waters of the Largo sound and brought the fish and coral colours alive. It was a magical day.

April swimming down to touch the Jesus statue 

Heading back to our snorkel boat 

We got back to our hotel around 4.30pm to find that our room had been upgraded to one with an outdoor patio overlooking the pool. The pool looked so inviting that we popped in for a quick dip before showering and walking to a nearby restaurant for dinner. After dinner we had a game of rummikub but we were so tired that we were in bed very early. Next morning it was off to breakfast, then took snaps of some hijinks in this adirondack chair before driving back home. Thanks for a fabulous snorkel escape Rainie and April. I'm ready to do it again...

Destin, Beautiful Destin - Florida

RV park has great pool and pier/jetty

We have thoroughly enjoyed our 4 week stay in Destin, Florida. The weather has been great for a beach holiday, our RV park has been a gem of a find, and the timing of our visit couldn't be better. Chatting to staff at cafes and stores has revealed how busy this area is during winter with all the snow birds here, then during spring break it gets busy again, and come next Friday, the place will be booming with all the Memorial Holiday people then the summer break holiday makers. June, July and August are the main school holiday months in America, equal to our big Australian school break over November, December, January. Anyone planning on a visit to this area should consider visiting between the 20th April - 20th May!

Compare a weekend view of Crab Island with...

We crossed the bridge between Destin and Fort Walton Beach numerous times, but each time we crossed it, we were amazed at how the area of Crab Island (photo above) was used by the locals. There always seemed to be at least a few inches of water covering the island - we have never actually seen it fully exposed. On summer evenings and weekends it was packed with marine craft - people meeting for picnics and gatherings. They swam, floated, kayaked, jet skied, ate, drank and generally enjoyed a beautiful sunset or a sunny day. If you click on the photo above, it should open to fill your screen. You should be able to see people in the boats and in the water in the photo above, , but not much happening in the photo below that was taken mid-week!

...the same place during the work week

What really made this place so enjoyable was discovering on Facebook that friends Pat and Billy were also holidaying in the vicinity. This is the second time that Facebook has bought about a very serendipitous chance meeting with friends. We had met Pat and Billy in Natchez, Mississippi 5 years ago - we were checking out the Mississippi River, got chatting, realised we were staying at the same RV Park across the river and ended up having a meal together. They spend half their time lakeside in Hartwell, Georgia and the other half running their Green Rose of Raus Bed and Breakfast in Tullahoma, Tennessee. Since we met them back in 2010, we have tried to link up, but when we have been close to the Bed and Breakfast, they have been back at the lake, and vice versa. Fate intervened this time, and not only did we catch up with Pat and Billy, but we got to meet several of their friends who meet them here to spend time together each year. We can understand why they keep coming back to this area! They stay at Topsail Preserve Campground which has its own private beach. They kindly invited us to join them one day...Pat and Billy had to leave to attend to a family function, so we were left in the capable hands of Cyndi, Bill, Pami and Frank. 

Topsail Preserve campground provides a shuttle (top left photo in collage) that runs from the campground to the beach every hour until 7pm. Where the shuttle drops you off there is a boardwalk (top right of collage) that takes you right to the beach. Very convenient. We thoroughly enjoyed our beach time. 

Murray helping to secure the beach umbrella - check out the emerald water!

Twice we met at a cafe and were joined by Pat and Billy, Cyndi and Bill, Pami and Frank, Marty and Gary, and Renae and Glenn. Always fun to make new friends. No wonder I didn't get a chance to do any stitching (Gemma) or even open up the book I am writing. 

Another Beach

And another beach...

We have spent more time at the beach in our 4 weeks here than in the preceding 25 years back home! Our beaches at home are very nice too, but we are conscious of the melanoma risks from sun exposure, and usually use the beach for pre-dinner/sunset fitness walks (Gemma and Bill) and the occasional swim (Rose). Here is a photo of one of our Australian beaches, taken in 2008. My eldest son might not be thrilled that I am posting his photo here, but you get that! This is Coogee Beach in Sydney. My American friends Joe Bill, Sandy, Dick, Jan and Rainie will recognise it! Our Sacramento friends Eric and Marie will hopefully get to see it in October during their visit.

My Florida friend Rainie mentioned that her brother Dan lived not far north of our campground. We enjoy meeting our friend's relatives so we arranged to meet up with Dan and his wife Dusty. We met for lunch in a delightful Tea House in their hometown of Crestview, and had a very pleasant interlude with them. Sorry we missed you on your visit to Australia Dusty. Come again...

Murray, Dan, Dusty, Trish

I apologise for those who may have seen some of these photos first on Facebook, but I can't wait to post sometimes, and Facebook is so instant! Anyway, here is a little critter who joined us while we had lunch the other day. We had a bird's eye view of the Gulf and of the squirrel eating the pecans right in front of our table. 

Last but not least, the sunsets here have been so beautiful, that this blog would not be complete without mentioning them. My photos just cannot possibly do them justice. But here are three sunset photos to leave you with... Meanwhile, I need to go and make a lobster mornay with the fresh lobster we bought at a fish market this morning. Then tomorrow we are en route to Tampa (Plant City actually).  

Murray and I sipped on a margarita while we enjoyed this sunset

Sunset from our RV park pool area