Florida

The Space Coast

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Jetty Park Campground is THE place to stay when visiting Florida’s Space Coast. The park is run by Port Canaveral and is set right on the tip of the cape, with direct access to sweeping white sand beaches, views of the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and its launch pads, and the now quiet cruise ship terminal. We could have stayed for weeks but it’s tough to get in here. We’ve already booked for next year and could only get five days at that.

Jetty Park is a perfect jumping off point for exploring the Space Coast, named for the presence of NASA’s activities throughout the area. Our primary goal was to fully explore KSC and we are confident that we did it!

Over three days we strolled the theme park-like complex watching movies, viewing exhibits, and riding simulators. We learned about the history of the US space program, saw the Atlantis Space Shuttle, reviewed our progress on Mars exploration, and tried out various space capsules.

Due to the pandemic, the bus tours of the launch areas and vehicle assembly building were not available. We are already planning a return trip in late 2021 with hopes of experiencing these highlights at that time. 

While visiting the Space Coast we also explored the Canaveral National Seashore. The land was preserved shortly after NASA began launching rockets in the area. It provides a buffer for the Space Center activities, but creates a quiet, natural environment for birds, alligators, and nudists. Yes, two of the beach areas are designated as clothing-free, and no, we didn’t participate and no, there are no photos.

During our picnic stop Bob met his first armadillo. He was ready to take the little armored guy on, but the armadillo didn’t have any interest in taking on a toy poodle.  

Within the boundaries of the National Seashore there are also a few short hikes that feature the history of the area. In particular, we did the short Castle Windy Trail which led us across the peninsula to the Mosquito Lagoon where we found a couple fly fishing amidst curious dolphins. No good photos of this but it was cool.

Another trail led us to the top of ancient Indian midden, which is a huge pile of shells, seven stories tall, created by some of the original inhabitants of the area. We followed the boardwalk up, up, up which ended with sweeping views of the lagoon to the west and Atlantic ocean to the east. 

One thing we try to do as often as possible is give blood. It’s our way of giving to the community, and we also get helpful health information in the process. We visited the bloodmobile in Cape Canaveral and as a result learned we are both negative for the COVID-19 antibodies.

We are extra careful with masks and hand sanitizer, avoiding large crowds as much as possible. It’s reassuring, but sometimes surprising to know we’ve avoided infection with all of our travels. While we stayed very busy on the Space Coast, we barely scratched the surface and look forward to returning.

Visiting Florida’s Incredible Springs

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This week we visited two Florida State Parks that feature natural springs. Did you know Florida has over 700 springs, the largest collection on earth? Wekiwa Springs State Park and Blue Spring State Park both feature well-appointed campgrounds, which were a great base from which to explore Florida’s natural side.

Wekiwa Springs State Park, about 16 miles north of Orlando, features crystal clear water that stays a refreshing 72 degrees year-round. We were there on some cool days, so we skipped the dip.

However, we did enjoy the hiking trails, and I got in my longest hike since last year’s foot surgeries—almost 3.5 miles! 

One afternoon we rented a canoe and paddled down the Wekiwa River. Along the way we saw all kinds of birds, turtles, and a few alligators. 

Our destination was Wekiva Island, otherwise known as “Beer Island.” The riverside bar has seating right along the water where we relaxed and watched other paddlers float along. We could imagine that on a warm holiday weekend the place would be packed. On the day we visited, we had the place almost to ourselves as it was still a little chilly.

We are usually kayakers, but the canoe sounded like a good idea…until we had to get back into it after our stop. Well, there are no photos, but we did get wet and it wasn’t Steve’s fault. It was a wet paddle back up the river. Next time we’ll stick with the kayak.

From Wekiwa we travelled about 30 miles north to Blue Spring State Park for a two night stay. Blue Spring is the winter home of the manatee. These gentle giants come in from the St. Johns River when the temperature drops. Manatee are cold-sensitive and in the spring the temperature is a constant 72 degrees. The spring ensures their survival when the weather turns. 

In 1970 researchers tracked 14 manatees in the spring. After conservation efforts, wintering manatee numbers have increased substantially. We were lucky enough to be there on a record-breaking day. There were 624 manatee counted the day we were there!

Blue Spring State Park is so popular it reaches capacity most days. We felt lucky to be able to be on the inside and able to walk down to the viewing platform at any time, even before the public was allowed to enter. Having the boardwalk to ourselves early in the morning and watching 100s of manatee wake up and begin their day was beyond special. 

We took the socially distanced cruise along the St. Johns River to learn more about the area and its wildlife. The St. Johns is Florida’s longest river at 310 miles and is one of the few rivers in the U.S. that flows northward. Both fishing boats and pleasure boats ply along throughout the day.

Along our two hour journey we saw manatee feeding on the vegetation alongside alligators and birds galore. It was a pleasant way to learn about the area and spend a cloudy afternoon. Luckily the rain held off until we were off the river and back home.

Both parks are filled with wildlife. From our campsites we saw wild turkey, brightly colored birds, tons of squirrels, and deer. Steve even met an armadillo on one of his trail runs.

If you ever have a chance to visit one of Florida’s springs, we highly recommend it!

Taking Care of Business in St. Pete’s

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Our last two weeks have been spent on the Florida Gulf Coast in Madiera Beach, adjacent to St. Petersburg. The St Petersburg/Madiera Beach KOA was a great basecamp for exploring this area and for taking care of business. After three months on the road it was time to stay put for just a little while.

During our time here we saw the dentist for cleanings and six fillings between the two of us. I saw a great physical therapist three times a week to address some lingering issues with October’s foot surgery. We also took Bob to the vet to have his Addison’s Disease checked out, and he is in great shape! Three of the four of us got haircuts and one of us got a massage. It was a fruitful two weeks!

Our site at the KOA backed up to a mangrove and we had a nice “backyard” where we could enjoy a fire, games of Scrabble, and dinner at the picnic table.

The campground is located along the Pinellas Trail, a paved, multi-use trail that runs from before Clearwater to downtown St Petersburg. Steve did his daily runs on the trail and Bob and I worked on increasing our walking distance, per the orders of the physical therapist. We are now up to about 2.5 miles on most days! We took the bikes out a few times too.

On many days we spent a few hours exploring the nearby beach towns. Treasure Island had a nice beach boardwalk, and Madiera Beach had kitschy shopping area with restaurants, bars, t-shirt shops, and ice cream shops.  Both communities have a weekly market, so we hit those as well.

Clearwater Beach also has a great boardwalk along the water. Steve was scheduled to do a marathon here but the race has been postponed, so we just explored. Brightly painted dolphins, as many as 120 of them, are scattered throughout the Dolphin Trail. We tried to capture a few of our favorites along our walk.

The Dalí Museum in St. Petersburg is world-renowned, and it’s hard to walk away from it without being in awe of the Spanish artist’s abilities. While often weird and distorted, his works are filled with meaning, and learning about each works’ interpretation was fascinating.

In particular we both loved The Hallucinogenic Toreador, a multi-level painting that combines symbolism, optical illusion, and visual language to tell Dalí’s story. I won’t go into the full meaning of the painting (Google it) but it’s really cool. 

On another day we took the drive across the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which links St. Petersburg to Bradenton and Sarasota over Tampa Bay. 

Driving the bridge itself was exciting, but our destination was even more of a circus. No really, we visited the Ringling Museum and learned about the history of the circus and in particular, the Ringling Bros. circus. As a child, I was enthralled every July when the circus visited Phoenix.  I poured over the circus programs for months after attending each year.

The Ringling Circus Museum is just one part of a very large museum complex which also includes the Ringling’s large mansion, Ca’ d’Zan, and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. We focused on the circus museum and strolled the bayfront gardens. 

Steve went fishing one morning with Hubbard’s Marina and had some little success. Luckily a few other fishermen on the boat didn’t want their catch, so Steve brought home a big bag of fresh fish for the grill that night. 

The Tampa area is in a frenzy for the Super Bowl which will be held in just a few days. It’s the first time in ages since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers have been in the big game and the first time ever a team has played the Super Bowl in their home stadium. And of course, there’s Tom Brady. We stayed away from the festivities in Tampa but couldn’t avoid the hype! It’s everywhere and even Bob was getting into it!

We continue to enjoy our RV lifestyle. We’re heading inland to a few of Florida’s state parks now and then on to the other coast. Stay tuned for more fun!