Reflections

Yesterday was our last full day at Gamble Rogers SP in Flagler Beach. Gus and I took a long walk through the park early in the morning, as we have done nearly every morning we have been here, It is very peaceful at 7 AM, with few people stirring. We can hear the birds singing, the ocean waves crashing against the shore, and occasionally a small plane flying overhead.  One of the rangers can be seen making his rounds, checking on everything from the campgrounds to the boat launch area, to the dump station.
Gus and I have walked all of the trails in the park multiple times, to the point that he now leads the way. I hope our next stop has some good walking trails.  We have been walking at least 3 miles a day, but often 5 miles or more from 3 long walks a day.

This morning we took our last long walk before we leave here. The water on the river was so calm we could see the reflection of the cloudy skies in the water.  There is some blue sky that will give way to clouds and rain this afternoon as another front moves through.  We also took our last walk to the beach across the road. The only people on the beach were a few early morning fishermen.

Gus goes to the Beach

After a few days of rain and high winds, we have had a few days of lighter breezes and sunshine. I took Gus for a long walk down to the beach just outside of the park, since he is not allowed on the state park beach.  The tide was going out but was still fairly high so it came up to the steps leading onto the beach.  There was no avoiding the water for Gus and he got caught in an oncoming wave right away. After that he ran from the water every time it got too close...fun to watch. He also enjoyed digging in the sand and chasing the birds.

The sand here is very orange -brown in color, unlike the Gulf sands which are very white. Along the roads here the sand is much whiter, so clearly some sand is imported from elsewhere.  

Dog Park Days

The weather has been great the past week, with a mix of sun and clouds, nice breezes and temps in the 70s. Last night a front blew in, dropping the temperatures into the 50s for a day or so, with winds gusting to 35 mph. By Sunday it will be back up near 70 and then into the 70s to low 80s as the week progresses.   It's a little too cold and wind to go for a walk on the beach, but Gus may get to go to the dog park. We found a nice one in Flagler Beach, at a park across from the Publix.  Gus likes it because he doesn't have to be connected to a leash, and he can run or dig in the sand.  HAPPY DOG! Jim is content to sit on the bench with his phone.

Matanzas & Halifax Rivers

These two rivers come together just north of the campground at Gamble Roger's, so it's hard to tell which river we are on when we kayak north from the kayak launch.  Yesterday was a calm day so we went for a 2-hour kayak upriver.  As we headed out, we encountered 2 motorboats and 3 sailboats headed in the opposite direction, all moving slowly except for one motorboat that felt the need for speed.  It left a big wake that we had to maneuver....thank you idiots for being inconsiderate.  Otherwise our kayaking was quite peaceful. 

Exploring

Walking on the beach is one of my favorite things to do, even when it's not very flat and one leg needs to be shorter than the other. The only problem is when you reverse direction  and the other leg needs to be shorter.  There are not many shells on the beach here at Flagler Beach.  It is still very peaceful watching the waves roll in and seeing the birds dance near the water's edge or huddling on the sand away from the waves. 

We found a large farmers market out on Rt 100, about 5 miles from the Campground. They had an abundance of vegetables as well as grapefruit,  oranges, and various types of apples. They also had baked goods, and fresh eggs. We picked up lettuce, tomatoes,  grapefruit for Jim, and apples, along with some lemons and limes....all for about $15.

Out of the Keys

Thursday we left Pennekamp  and the Keys behind as we headed north through Miami and lots of road construction.  We stopped at Jonathan Dickinson for one night. Instead of cooking dinner we went out for an early Valentine's dinner at Scooter's just a few miles up the road in Hobe Sound. It's a local pub that is always packed because the food and atmosphere are great.

Friday morning, as we were packing up to drive to our next stop, Jim noticed that one of the new tires on the RV was flat. He tried to put air in the tire and began calling tire centers to get the tire checked out. After several calls, he found one that would help us, located about 15 miles south of us in West Palm Beach. We drove there and after a short wait, they looked at the tire and found it had a bad valve stem. They replaced the valve stem, reinstated the tire and remounted both tires. $50 later we were on our way to Gamble Roger's State Park in Flagler Beach.

One More Kayak Adventure in the Keys

We took advantage of sunshine and light winds to go kayaking today for 3 hours through mangroves and among lots of waterfront homes. At one location we saw at least 10 iguanas, big and small.  We also saw some houses that still need repair after the hurricane more than 2 years ago, and some empty lots where a house was completely wiped out by that hurricane.   Most of the homes have been restored or rebuilt, and we saw a lot of very new boats, guessing that the hurricane also destroyed many boats in the area.  It was an interesting trip for us, but we probably got too much time in the sun.  Thankfully we went out to eat at Jimmy Johnson's Big Chill bar, where we enjoyed shrimp and wings  with half price drinks.  At the bar, we met up with Robin and Ron, a couple from Michigan who are full time RVers and based out of Pensacola now.  It was fun chatting with them.

Sunrise in Key Largo

Gus and I took an early morning walk through the park, out to the beach. It was very peaceful and we were graced with a beautiful sunrise. 

Rain, then Clouds, and Lots of Wind

When it is windy or rainy or both, there is not much to do here that We haven't already done. I am managing to get at least 3 miles of walking in every day, but no kayaking when the weather is not cooperative.   Jim and I have had enough of the Keys, at least enough at the state parks. The best place was Bahia Honda SP where we had a waterfront site. Here we are in the wooded area away from the waterfront, and in very close proximity to a couple camping in a trailer with LOTS of stuff laying everywhere, right up to our site.  They have not been friendly either.  Yesterday morning we got to hear him yelling on the phone to someone about not being able to land a reservation for next year.  It was not a pleasant conversation to hear, but hard to avoid without leaving our RV.  We have always felt lucky to get a Keys site for just a few weeks, while some of these folks think they have to get sites for 6-10 weeks, bouncing between three parks in 2-week intervals.
Gus is doing well. He gets 4 walks a day and occasionally gets to play in the water when no one is around on the beach, as was the case yesterday.  Dogs are not allowed on the beaches here. 
There are two nature trails in the park, one well marked with information about the trees growing along the path. There is one tree we stay clear of called the Poisonwood tree, and there are other interesting trees along the trail. Sadly one type of tree is "abused" by folks carving things into the tree. 

We have 4 more days here before We move up the Florida Coast on the Atlantic side. We are looking forward to the change in scenery and a chance to actually walk along the water's edge for miles rather than feet!