Next Stop - Koreshan State Park, Estero, FL

The drive west from Jonathan Dickinson to Koreshan was an interesting one, mostly off the interstates.  We drove through sugar cane fields, saw the Good Year Blimp, drove past Lake Okeechobee, and past many tree and plant nurseries. 

We are now in Estero, FL, just south of Fort Myers and north of Naples.  Koreshan State Park is located just off Route 41, between Route 41 and Estero Bay, on the Estero River.  The sites here are narrow like Pennekamp but they did upgrade the electric to 50 amp. 

There is a great walking path to get the steps in and get Gus out and about, and a kayak launch on the river front. 

On Sundays there is a farmers market and we will be sure to check that out.  The temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 70s and low 80s so we are hoping to get in some beach time for ourselves and for Gus.  Today we took him to the dog park nearby and that wore him out... us too!

Exploring Jupiter

Yesterday was a cloudy day, but NO RAIN!  It is still quite cool, but that is the case even in the Keys.  We needed to get out and do something, so we went to check out a few beaches, including Jupiter Beach and John D MacArthur Beach State Park.  Both have beautiful and expansive beaches along the coast.  The state park also has a large lagoon good for kayaking, and a long bridge taking visitors from the mainland over to the beach.  For those who cannot walk the distance, there is a trolley service to take them across the bridge, and even back to the parking lot.  We did not use it, although Jim's hips were bothering him considerably when we got back to the car.

These are photos from Jupiter Beach

MacArthur Beach State Park

Our last stop was Blowing Rock Park, where the waves crash over the rocks with quite a splash around high tide.  We were not disappointed. 

After a good day touring about, we decided to visit the South Florida Fair on Tuesday.  It was hard to resist the cost of $2 per person, plus lots of fair food to sample and SMELL.  We checked out several areas, saw a few Elvis impersonators (not bad!), and checked out the animals. 

Rainy Days

The past 2 days have been very rainy and cool.  Yesterday we spent some time playing Mexican Train with Kat & Neil.  Today we managed to run a few errands, do laundry, fix soup & salad for dinner and watch the movie FIRST MAN in Lamberts' "theater room".  Looking forward to clearer skies tomorrow and a chance to do some exploring. 

Search for New Campgrounds

Yesterday we drove up the coast to look at a county park called Savannas Recreation Area Campground.  The rates there are very good ($29 per night) but there is little to do there, many sites are along a stream that has alligators (not good for the dog), and there are some "slummy" sites with RVs that are run down, even falling apart.  They don't allow you to "pick" your site, and many sites are occupied up to 155 days of the year beginning in October or November.  So we will keep looking. We may have an opportunity to stay at a private park on Lake Okeechobee later in this trip. 

Windy Days at Dickinson

The past few days we have been relaxing, fixing the hitch, taking lots of walks through the park, and doing a little grocery shopping.  It has been very windy here, with gusts past 25 mph, and today is expected to be the same.  Yesterday we took Gus to a dog park nearby and got him to run a bit, even though there were no other dogs there.  There is a dog beach not too far away, but the winds need to die down before we go there, not wanting to be sand blasted. 

Gus likes to dig in the sand, then lay down in the "hole" of cooler wet sand. 

Views of the waterways around Jupiter...Saturday this area was filled with boats on the move in both directions.  

Blood Moon 2019

We got to see the lunar eclipse last night...from about 10:30 to 12:30...went to bed then.   The online photos of it looked much more like what we saw with our eyes than the photos my camera took...see if you can discern which photo is mine and which was downloaded off the internet. 

Off the Keys

We left the Keys today, headed to Jonathan Dickinson SP near Jupiter, FL.  It was said to say goodbye to everyone, but we will see Kat & Neil in 5 days, and hopefully we will be able to link up with Rick & Diane in February.  Don & RA are headed home in a few days to move from their condo in Portsmouth to a house in Chesapeake. 
I drove the Jeep separately because the hitch is not working properly, following behind Jim and Gus. We moved into site 43, a very large site compared with what we left at Pennekamp.  After settling in, Gus and I took a sunset walk and looked at the almost full moon in the sky.  Tomorrow there will be an eclipse that hopefully we will be able to stay up and see at close to midnight.

Last day at Pennekamp

It is a beautiful, clear day, with calm winds so the guys all went fishing.  Gus and I went for a long walk and will likely take another later.  I'm also getting laundry done and a little bit of cleaning as well.  Tomorrow we head to Jonathan Dickinson SP for 10 days before heading to the Gulf Coast.  Neil & Kat will join us later in the week.

Life at Pennekamp is good

When we can share time with friends it is always a good time.  Rick & Diane invited us all out on their boat for another sunset cruise on Monday.  Afterwards everyone came over to our site for dinner of shrimp, grits, fresh veggies, bread, wine, beer, and much laughter, topped off with chocolate dipped strawberries thanks to Diane R. It doesn't get any better than that!

Hanging out with Smiths

Yesterday was our last time visiting with Paul & Mary in Marathon.  We left Gus at their little place while we went to Havana Jack's for Happy Hour. We enjoyed TNT shrimp(tasty but too much breading), Peel & eat shrimp, wings, pork sliders, and one giant pretzel along with beer & wine.  Everyone was very full when it was gone but we ate it all!  Afterwards we enjoyed a game of Mexican Train that Jim won, then said our goodbyes about 9:30.  Gus was ready for bed at that time and slept all the way "home" in the car.  Paul & Mary head north on Friday, so they have a few more days to enjoy the sunshine and warm temps.  We were happy to have them down here with us, but wished we were closer instead of 55 miles away.  Maybe next year!

Fun day with Smiths

Yesterday we enjoyed a fun day with Paul & Mary, taking a ride in their skiff around the Key Largo waterways.  Afterwards we shared a steak dinner with key lime pie for dessert and some Mexican Train before sending them safely back to their Marathon "home".  We'll get together at least once more before they head north to Virginia. 

Sunset Cruise

Rick and Diane Rhoda were the most gracious of hosts, taking us on a sunset boat ride in Key Largo. 

Moving to new site at Pennekamp

Gus and I took an early morning walk along the boat docks before the sun was up this morning,. It was a peaceful start to a busy day moving from site 28 to site 10, getting set up again and doing some more laundry.  Gus injured his paw a few days ago but he hasn't let us look at it without howling like a banshee (sp?).  I just gave him a sedative so we'll see if that works enough that we can check out the paw. 

Fun days at Pennekamp.

Today we chilled out much of the day.  Gus hurt a paw or leg so we made him take it easy most of the day. This afternoon we went with Rick & Diane, and Kat (Neil is sick) to Happy Hour at Hobo's, a restaurant about a mile down the road. Peal & eat shrimp and wings were $.60 a piece so we all had our fill of both, along with wine & beer. 

Theater of Sea Part 2

Thursday was a great day to spend with Paul & Mary at Theater of the Sea with cooler temps.  Afterwards we enjoyed a late lunch at Hog Heaven restaurant nearby, then invited them back to our place afterwards.  Gus was happy to see them!  Fun day!