In the Jungle...Florida Home!

We are back at Sanlan RV Park in Lakeland Florida.  It has been summer in March so far!  Everything is lush and green even though Florida is still considered to be in a drought.  It seems like a jungle after the desert of Tucson.  Sanlan is very different from Voyager but we love both.  One thing we like about this is it has a lot more elbow room.  We have a huge site and have been enjoying the tent space and drying clothes outside.  Most of all it is wonderful connecting again with friends.  We have been busy!

It didn't take long for us to bike to Bartow, golf with friends, walk the trails and visit Circle Bar Reserve.  Circle Bar was  originally wetlands but was drained to become a cattle ranch and in 2000 was bought back by the county and converted to wetlands again.  It is one of our favourite spots to view the amazing bird and wild life of the area and we can bike to it from here.  I'm going to let the pictures do the talking for now.  

Magnificent live oak canopy at Circle B

Cherry Pocket with friends.  This is a restaurant/bar on Lake Pearce.  Local colour and music abound.  Fun spot!

You can take sea plane rides on this lake. 

Hmmmmm...what am I thinking?

I love the spanish moss.

Great Blue Heron on Lake Hancock at Circle B

These logs on the water of Lake Hancock are alligators!  Hundreds of them!  Click once to enlarge.

Little Gator

Still as a statue until he spots some food. 

Green Heron?

Great White Heron

Odd couple...Common Moorhen, some kind of turtle

American Coots

A walk through the marsh

Limpkins

Love seeing these again

A nest of baby gators

Beautiful sandhill cranes...the big ones! 

In transition.

Homosassa

From Carabelle we followed U.S. 98 along the coast all the way to Homosassa.  It was a great drive with nice coastal views.  We had a booking at Turtle Creek RV Park which has been bought by a corporation called Carefree Resorts so it going to be renamed Homosassa RV Park.  I like the old name much better.  

Our sight was a bit difficult to get into and the ground was uneven but we only paid $14 for the night since we had a coupon.  We wouldn't stay there again unless they make some improvements but it was okay for 1 night.  

It was an ugly little campsite. 

This is Turtle Creek.  I feel like I have arrived in the jungle.  The flora and fauna is so different from the desert and it is hot and humid.  No moisturizer needed! Feels good. 

The real reason we stopped here was to go to "The Freezer" a local restaurant that is very unique and has the best shrimp ever!!  It is quite a place and the local culture of Florida oozes from every dive-y inch of it.

The view from our perch at the Freezer. 

Line up to order your shrimp.  

Goes at it with gusto! 

Now that we had our Freezer fix we only had a 2 hour drive to Sanlan RV Park in Lakeland where we spent 3 seasons before going out to Arizona.  It feels like coming home!!

It is warm and lush...spring is early.  Our campsite is huge and we are excited about catching up with friends and enjoying this environment which is so different from the desert.  I can't wait to see an alligator.  Check out the Sanlan blog.  Randi is doing a great job keeping track of birds and other wild life.  She is an avid birder and knows her stuff!  There are some cool pictures of the wildlife within this park, especially Ann's bobcat.  I hope we see him while we are here.

blog.sanlan.com

Sand and water! To Carrabelle

Water everywhere!  We headed East from Gulf State Park in fairly high winds early this morning.  The coastal road seemed like a good idea rather than going inland to I-10.  We just wanted to see the coast of the Panhandle of Florida...and who knows?  Maybe we will spend more time here at some point.  Carrabelle is a small town on the Gulf south west  of Tallahassee.  We have never heard of it but looking at our maps and RV campground books it looked like a good place to stop.  

We crossed several bridges and causeways today reminding a bit of the keys or the intra-coastal waterways of Georgia and Eastern Florida.  

This looks like snow!!  And the white sand was blowing making it even more reminiscent of Bruce County! 

There was quite a bit of wind today, mostly right into us.  When we were really close to the shore, at Perdido Key in particular, the sand was blowing and maybe the surf.  John put the wipers on and I realized it was not that hazy out...we had a film of sea salt on the windows!

We followed 98 along the coast from Gulf Shores to Panama City.  The highway was busy and the area quite built up with big hotels, shopping malls and outlets and too many lights.  But it was interesting.  After Panama City,  98 became a 2 lane simple highway and less densely populated with many State Parks, trees and beautiful vistas.  Along this road we looked forward to Carrabelle where we were hoping to spend the night.  It looked packed in the RV park.  Many people spend the winter here and we got one of the last transient sites left.  We should have called ahead but were early enough to get a spot.  If we didn't we would have trucked on to Perry, an inland town where we knew we could stay at a KOA.

Carrabelle Harbour

Cedar Creek has landed at a beautiful campground.

We got one of the last spots here!  I am glad we didn't miss this lovely beach walk!

Beach walk...sights, sounds and scents of the ocean...wonderful! 

Little Wally in a contemplative moment. 

The path from the beach to the RV Park.

The office of the RV Park.

This looks roomy but CC CEO (Cedar Creek CEO) had to do some tight turns to get to this position!  

Golf in the Gulf

This campground was hit by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 and last year had a devastating fire.  You can easily see the damage once you know about it.  Also the effects of the oil spill are still causing suffering to the people of the area, and I am sure the eco-system will feel it for a long time.  Just talking to people, listening to the news and seeing billboards makes us aware of the situation.  The beach is pristine but the lack of people may have more to do with adversity than we thought.

We enjoyed a game of golf at the Gulf State Park course today.  We played with a lovely couple from Quebec who have been retired and travelling for 25 years!!  Inspiring!

Large grassy site

Hurricane and fire damage apparent

Spacious! 

Lovely golf course reminds of Georgia

Good old spanish moss! 

She ran through the bushes and she ran through the brambles....Gulf of Mexico to boot! 

No words needed! 

To the Ocean...Baton Rouge La, Mississippi, Gulf State Park Alabama

At least it is getting light now at 6:30 when we have been getting up to hit the road!  This morning we were on the road from Baton Rouge by 7:30.  It didn't take long to get to Mississippi and we crossed at the narrowest part...only 77 miles!  We stopped at the Welcome Centre and it was beautiful.  Azaleas in bloom (a month early)  and the gorgeous southern architecture and hospitality were evident immediately.  "Welcome to Mississippi and would you like a coffee?" were the first words we heard in that syrupy southern drawl.  We collected some brochures thinking we should come back here to golf and enjoy more than the Welcome Centre.

Driving along the Gulf Coast through Alabama we enjoyed views of tidal marshes.  I could smell them too.  It made me think of Georgia and Jekyll Island especially...so looking forward to that in April.

Luckily we were able to get a camp site in this State Park in between Gulf Shores and Orange, towns on the gulf of Mexico here in Southern Alabama.  You can get a site on a first come, first serve basis and it is very popular.  Some people stay here for the entire winter using some kind of reservation system that also has a waiting list.  It has full hook ups including wi-fi and a golf course that we are going to play tomorrow.  We were surprised at the lack of trees but soon found out that this area is still recovering from severe hurricane damage (Ivan) and then a fire last year in June.  Still, it is nice to be on a large sight with the ocean so close and a natural environment.

Three nights in one place are going to be much appreciated after 5 days on the road!  Laundry is done and tomorrow we golf.  We also booked a tee time for Tuesday but will make time to walk the beach.  The sand is white and the water actually felt quite warm and is clear.  But I won't be swimming.  The flags are up for "dangerous marine life".  It's not quite warm enough to swim anyway.  

Mississippi Welcome Centre

Tidal Marsh

At the beach...going for a ride...slowly! 

What a beautiful stretch of beach to explore.

A few hotels mar the landscape. 

Gulf State Park Fishing pier...rebuilt in 2009 after being destroyed by Hurricane Ivan.

Here's where I plan on doing my next walk!