Day 12: Rainy day at Hillsborough River State Park

The weather forecast said rain for the whole day, and I awoke to the sound of light rain on the roof.  Ranger and I managed to get in a short walk between showers.  Then we had a quiet morning inside the RV, awaiting something from the "severe thunderstorm warning" that was posted until 5 pm.

I did manage to get sheets and towels washed, and I vacuumed the RV to remove the large amounts of sand that had built up in the carpet.  Around noon, a strong storm blew through with thunder, lightning, and pouring rain.

Here's the view from the RV doorway on a rainy day:

The afternoon remained cloudy with intermittent showers, but by around 4:00, it had cleared enough that we could get Ranger outside for a walk along the River Rapids trail.  Our neighbors, a couple from Connecticut, said they had seen an alligator along there earlier in the day, but no luck---we didn't see any.

Many of the campers had packed up and left this morning, but with this being a weekend, the campground is once again FULL.  A couple from Staten Island moved into the next site in a small trailer, and diagonally behind a group of young people---many college students?----put up several tents and are enjoying a campfire this evening.  We have a short drive tomorrow, so we don't need to leave early, again heading north on I-75.  Tomorrow is supposed to be very windy, behind today's storm, and much colder.  

Day 11: Honeymoon Island State Park

After a slow start to the day, we headed out in the car to Honeymoon Island State Park, a little over 40 miles west of where we are camping.  It was a bit warmer in the AM, upper 40's and partly cloudy.  

After a long drive (1 1/2 hours) to drive about 44 miles, we arrived at Honeymoon Island . One thing we learned in our exploration of this area:  all the major highways run north/south. If you are traveling east/west, you're on minor roads with lots of traffic lights!  

Once at the park, we walked the Osprey Trail on this barrier island and saw LOTS of ospreys!

It seemed that everywhere we looked there was another osprey or osprey nest!

From there we had lunch at the concession stand at the beach, then moved on to the dog beach:

Kelly, you would be surprised to hear that on this dog beach, one must keep dogs on their six-foot leashes.  But it was a pleasant place to view willets and pelicans.

We returned to Hillsborough River State Park as the almost-full moon came up.  We enjoyed another fine campfire in the high 50-degree temperatures.  Perfect for sitting outside in the evening!

It's supposed to be warmer tonight, but rain moving in tomorrow.  Better than the snow that is predicted for Montpelier VA!

Day 10: At Hillsborough River State Park

It was a chilly morning here.  Ranger woke me earlier than usual (about 6:45), ready to head out for his walk, and it was 37 degrees.  It got down to 57 inside the RV.  Once up and dressed, it was not too bad, though Dan chose to stay in bed, under the blankets until the sun warmed things up a bit.

We had a late, leisurely breakfast of scrambled eggs, Canadian bacon, and toast; then we headed out for a hike.  Ranger seemed happy to be on the trail, rather than sitting in the back seat of the car (or in the RV):

We hiked around the Florida Trail, about 3 1/2 miles.  Most of it was in mixed palm/palmetto/hardwood forest with a fair amount of mud, but the last mile or so was along the river:

We returned to the campsite for a late lunch and some relaxation in the by-then mid-60's temperatures.  Later in the afternoon, Ranger and I did one more short hike along the river.

Ranger is well-entertained by the large number of dogs near this campsite.  Two of our close-by neighbors pulled out this morning, and the couple from Connecticut who pulled into the site behind ours has a poodle mix that seems very eager to play with Ranger.  There are also two dogs across the road who need his attention (in his opinion).

We had a good campfire in late afternoon, then headed in and turned on the little heater for an evening of reading and relaxation.  

Day 9: Myakka River State Park to Hillsborough River State Park

We got up fairly early, packed up, and headed north on I-75, traveling about 80 miles to Hillsborough State Park, northeast of Tampa. Hillsborough is one of the oldest state parks, with many of the buildings having been built by CCC boys in the 30's.  I made an unfortunate choice of sites here; our site is very small and we have neighbors close by on three sides.  

Other than the site, this park seems quite nice.  Ranger and I took a walk along the river this afternoon.  We did see a few people canoeing, despite the cool temperatures; the park is known for good kayaking and canoeing.  There is a cafe and gift shop here, as well as a large swimming pool which, in this weather, is not open for business!  

So the weather.....the radio-announcer said that they are expecting the coldest night of the season tonight, going into the 30's.  Indeed, it was a very cool afternoon here, in the 50's, enough so that we were back in jackets and jeans.  (I did have an opportunity this afternoon to do some laundry, so at least we have clean jeans and warm shirts for the upcoming days.)

We're here for four days, and we hope to explore the coast near Tampa.

Day 8: Exploring the Sarasota area

Ah...we awoke to sunshine and no more rain!  But behind the storm came a mass of cold air, so that it was a COLD 48 degrees this morning for Ranger's walk.

Once the sun was up and the air was warming, we headed out in the car to explore the area.  First stop: Oscar Scherer State Park.  We walked around the campground to check it out: good sites in a good location but bad showers!  We will consider this park for the future.  It is supposed to be a great place to spot Florida scrub jays, but no luck in seeing any.

From there, we headed to the Celery Fields, a park run by Sarasota Audubon Society and well-known as a good place for bird-watchers.  Ranger enjoyed a long walk along the trails there, where we saw scaups, palm warblers, and a loggerhead shrike.  We then did a little grocery-shopping, stopped at the campground to put away food, and then did some bird-watching up at the Birdwalk in Myakka River.

This evening the temperature is dropping, with lows expected in the 40's.  BRRRR!  Pretty cold for Florida!  We had a campfire and Dan cooked hot dogs over the coals.  (It seems that we only eat hot dogs while camping.)   Tomorrow we'll be heading up to the next park for four days.

I've been taking photos, but the internet here is quite weak, so I'll need to catch up on pictures at the next location.....perhaps.

Day 7: Stormy night, and a visit to Englewood FL

Wow, what a night!  A light rain started in the evening, but during the night several major storms came through.  The one at 2:00 am woke me, and it continued with thunder, lightning, and pouring rain until about 4:00.  At that time, the campground host knocked on the door of the RV and recommended that we move into the bathhouse, as there was a tornado on its way.  So we dressed, packed up some essentials (including the dog) and headed to the bathroom, where we hung out (in the men's room) for 30-40 minutes.  No tornado, thank goodness, but lots of wind and rain----and a chance to chat with fellow campers in the wee hours.

By 5 am we were back in bed, with high winds continuing.  There was a nice break around 9, when Ranger and I were able to get outside before the next line of rain came through.  Poor Ranger----he panted and trembled through most of the night, as he is very disturbed by thunder, though he did relax a  bit while in the men's room!

And the results:  lots of downed limbs and much standing water.

After sleeping late, we headed out for a previously- planned visit with Dan's cousin Mike Collins, his wife Mary, plus cousin Judy and aunt Ruth.  Mike and Mary have a trailer in Englewood, about 30 miles from our campsite, and they escape the Wisconsin winter each year, staying 3-4 months in Florida.  

We had a lovely lunch with them.  Their trailer park is quite nice, very neat and clean, with friendly neighbors and access to a stream for kayaking.

Back at Myakka River State Park, there had been some clean-up of the main road. I took off on my bike while Dan did some sweeping of the RV roof and Ranger kept an eye on all who ventured out around the campground.

While the rain had stopped, the strong winds continued, making an evening campfire an unwise move.  With the front moving through, the temperatures have been dropping (80 yesterday afternoon, 56 as I write this).  It's supposed to be "cold" (ie. 60 degrees) for the next few days, but clear.  

Day 6: Myakka River...and Fort Myers

It was warm overnight with morning mist after all that rain.

After breakfast, we left the RV behind and took the car south on I-75, getting off the interstate at Fort Myers.  From there, we worked our way northward along Route 41, Tamiami Trail.  Our plan was simply to explore the area a bit more.  

That area of the state is overly-built up, with strip mall after strip mall.  We tried exploring on some other roads, but there was lots of traffic and not much scenery.  We checked out one RV Park just south of Ft. Myers, but couldn't imagine ourselves staying there (very crowded and a bit run-down).  

So we checked out Ft. Myers and Cape Coral, had a late lunch at Subway, and looked into one more RV Park, which we could not even get into, as there was a security gate with no one manning it.  Not our kind of place, I guess.  

Ranger had a boring day, riding around in the back seat of the car, but he had a good walk when we returned to the campsite.  After such a late lunch, we're just relaxing inside this evening.  

A side-note:  As far as bird-watching goes at Myakka River State Park, the most prevalent bird here seems to be the black vulture.  They are everywhere, and Ranger seems to really dislike them.  They hang out in the parking lot not far from our site.  Here's an example of the view on this morning's walk with Ranger: