Beaches, beaches, beaches!

Our next beach stop was Sebastain Inlet on the Atlantic Coast. When we got there we went for a walk down on the beach and Ruckus found a new ball. It really put a smile on his face!

We finally got the paddle board out. It was a bit choppy so learning a new balance sport was not in the cards. We asked Ruckus if he wanted to try. He jumped right on and sat down. If only I knew what a monster we were creating.

For our 2 day stay here, I got to paddle Ruckus around as much as I would. Every time you push the board away from shore, he shows up ready to go.

Our next stop was Jonathan Dickinson State Park. We were there for 8 nights in 4 different campsites. It has the highest natural point in South Florida, Hobe Mountain, at 86 feet above sea level.

The sunsets here were pretty spectacular. This was our first site. we only had it for 1 night in this round of the “Florida State park Shuffle”.

In the visitors center they had an aquarium with is SH-2F helicopter wreck in it. Funny, I may have spent some time in one of those many, many years ago.

This park is full of hiking and biking trails. We even saw some wildlife on our hikes!

This tree looked like burning did not feel good and it wanted to leave a reminder.

We learned one day that a 6.5 mile hike on a soft sand trail feels like 20. We had to talk Ruckus into finishing up the last 2 miles. We did not do that hike again.

We had plenty of company in each of our sites. This lizard was very colorful. They must be easy for the birds to see as most of the ones we saw were missing their tails.

Our favorite one was the squirrel condo made in a dead palm tree. A very active squirrel couple lived in there.

This was a deluxe condo! it had multiple levels with windows on each floor. He or she liked to play peekaboo!

Just floating around waiting for someone to want to take a dip.

This was a very picturesque spot. Even though it was not right on the water, it had plenty to do and look at.

Our next destination was John Pennkamp park in Key Largo. The Florida Keys are one of Michael’s favorite places on earth. We were lucky enough to pick up a 7 night stay here.

There are only about 50 sites here and they pack them in tight! It is nice to have your neighbors trailer make shade for you since there was not enough room to set up the awning. But hey, you’re in the keys, you don’t want to sit around your camp all day.

Hey look who let me take him paddling EVERY day! I am waiting for him to learn how to bark a cadence.

The open water was pretty rough due to high. winds, but there was plenty of protected areas in the mangroves to play.

Martha and I rented a tandem kayak one day and went paddling through the mangroves for a couple of hours. It was more fun with her than Ruckus.

You can go for miles through these trails. Unlike Ruckus, Martha even helps paddle.

You can go through some tunnels as well. I liked that part, it was shady and cooler. I Gould hear the theme from the Jungle Cruise playing in my head.

The worm fell out the tree and landed next to me, in a flash the bird was there to claim his feast.

The wind died down and I got to work on the Stand Up part of SUP. I managed to take a lap around this basin and even survived a couple of boat wakes. This is harder than it looks for me and I look forward to mastering it.

The park ranger caught this guy hiding under someones camper. He asked if I wanted to pet it or hold it…. NOPE!

We came up on this guy out in the middle of the Everglades on our way to the Gulf Coast. He wouldn't move over so we could pass and even MZDAZY is way faster than him. I have to say, I kinda wanted to punt him into the ditch full of Alligators.

We stopped over for the night on our way to our next destination at a Cracker Barrel in Ft Meyers. I have been avoiding Walmart, Cracker Barrel, Bass Pro, and the like as overnight stays for 10 months. Something about it just has not been what I wanted to do. Well I wanted to not drive 350 miles in one day more! We will probably do this again. You stay overnight for free. We went in and had dinner, Chicken Fried Chicken and a beer each for less than the cost of a State Park campsite. We even had leftovers for the next day. Now I am not looking to spend the afternoon sunning in the back lot, but for a late afternoon evening arrival, it works.

That is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that spans the mouth of Tampa Bay. When we got to Florida I set Google Maps to avoid Toll roads. They have a ton of them here and they often run parallel to the Interstate. They are quicker due to less traffic so Google will most always put you on them. Well this $1 toll bridge saves you a 50 mile drive around Tampa Bay. The view from the top is pretty good too!

The last stop on our tour of the Florida coast is Fort DeSoto park.Very nice campground but they isolate all of us folks with pets to one side of the campground, and don’t dare cross the line! Our site has a swamp behind it that we are either waiting for a gator or swamp person to crawl out. Luckily we have had neither yet!

Took Ruckus on the 1.7 miles walk to the dog beach for a swim. Man he could do this all day! We only did 2 hours so he could make the 1.7 mile walk back to camp.

Martha loves the beach as much as Ruckus! Next trip a bathing suit is a must!

Walking from the beach back to camp. Ruckus trying to stay in the shade.

We rode our Electric bikes to the Fort to check it out. Big gun they had to fire mortar projectiles in case of an invasion. They shot many in testing but never in anger. Whew!

Martha’s best look is behind bars! Hahahaha. Really they stored ammunition in this room.

Walked up top of the Fort for a beautiful view of the Ocean. It was really windy!

This little guy passed through our camp site then through our neighbors. I hear he is harmless but still, no thank you!

Well, tomorrow we are to do a couple of local Harvest Host locations before we head to Sun N Fun Fly in and air show. It will good to see friends and get my airplane fix!