Punta Gorda

We "googled" an anticipated hour and a half drive from Palm Harbor to Punta Gorda but in actuality, it took about 2 1/2 hours due to crappy Hwy 19 through Clearwater/St. Petersberg, construction and stop lights every two blocks! No matter, we didn't have to rush and the Alligator RV Park was well worth any inconvenience. It is without a doubt, the nicest park we have stayed at. The permanent residences here are so nice, huge, well kept and beautifully landscaped. The recreation room and facilities are spotless and the pool....clean and warm. Our spot is huge and backing in was no problem for Jeff at all. The neighbors are very friendly and helpful but not obnoxiously so. All in all an ideal location and, if it were in Palm Harbor and not Punta Gorda, one I could live in.

The BP is happy....room to breath!

This morning it was HOT and MUGGY, like crazy hot and muggy. We were planning on just snooping around Punta Gorda and neighboring Port Charlotte. We made it to the Fisherman's Harbor, a collection of tourist shops and restaurants on the wharf, just in time for a serious black cloud to roll in from the Gulf. We did a quick in and out, but did have time to experience a minute or two of the entertainment in the courtyard...



 Old people with banjos singing "You Are My Sunshine". Oh Boy. I applaud their gusto and heart. I just don't want to be up there with them....ever. It started to sprinkle as we left and by the time we got in the car, downpour. So we drove around a bit but eventually gave up and returned to the BP for a quiet afternoon. Honestly, we are about 30 miles from the Gulf, there are no biking paths, not much for tourism and no close state parks so...this area is a nice, quiet stop but not to exciting.

Threatening Skies this afternoon!







Since there is not much action to report, I will do a decorators update. Though we have been pretty adamant that the only purchases we make can be either eaten or worn...we have found a few little things to pimp up the BP a bit and also remind us of our tour.

Needless to say, we have plenty of beads hanging around!



Our "Florida" potty paradise!

Our tribute to Door County and Wisconsin!



The 3 "S's" and One Big "B"

That would be Sun, Sand and Surf. And then there's the B for BIKING!!! That is the lump sum of our past couple days. Biking,biking,biking....this trail is the best. Not only safe and in great shape but great destinations as well. Thursday we biked to the Suncoast Primary Sanctuary to see some adorable monkeys, chimps, orangutans and other cute and cuddly fur-balls.

This non-profit organization rescues abused and neglected primates and also takes then when they retire from zoo's, circuses or showbiz. Recently the last "Cheeta" died at the facilities. All the volunteers there were so nice and so in love with their charges. They were very endearing....except for the one who pointed his weenie at me and peed! Little scamp!
Yesterday, I had a special treat. I got my hair did. Color and cut, long overdue! When I got home, we biked back to Dunedin and did a very short "Dunedin Beer Tour" (self-guided!). First we checked out the Dunedin Brewery. Jeff had a Stout that was smooth with a hint of coffee and I had a good old Irish Red. Also delicious.

 On the way out of town we went to the Dunedin House of Beer (more for the name). They had 40 beers on tap and a cooler full of micro-brewery bottles. We pedaled home then returned to Dunedin in the BB for our first night out in a long time. First was dinner at Flanagan's Pub, then we returned to the brewery for some music. The group was called Tribal Style and they were a Reggae Band from Tampa. The band was pretty good and the people watching was outstanding. Fun night out and as I texted to my friend, Lucy...I am in a Scottish town drinking Irish beer and listening to Jamaican music. Sweet combo!

Getting some color!

Jeff getting his after dinner cigar

Dunedin Marina at night

Today we did another ride, Pretty good one....all the way to Clearwater Beach (probably 26-30 miles round trip all told). Another stunningly beautiful day, 80+ and sunny, we also took a good walk on the beach. Picked a few pretty shells and watched the kids play in the sand, and some, in the water!

I also found the house I want, right on Clearwater Beach. Not asking for much...

The green one. Or the yellow one. I don't care. But a house on the way home had the best backyard bar I have ever seen so it will have to be reproduced at the new house...

Full on Tiki Bar



We are going to have one last quiet night at Caladesi RV Park then head out in the morning for Punta Gorda and new beach's. I could completely live in this area. Great bike path, water nearby, beautiful beaches, big city close but small towns in abundance, and jobs. There has to be jobs for nurses here, especially in home care or elder care. The only thing is....everyone is so tan! It's not even all that satisfying getting some color since everyone else is so much tanner.

More Florida Sun and Sand

It has been a wild and wacky couple of days. We left Carrabelle on Sunday about 9 a.m. knowing we would have a 5 hour drive ahead of us before reaching our next destination (which was to be Ja-Mar RV Park in Port Richey. We made good time and the sun was shining so the drive went pretty quickly. But when we got to the RV park they directed us to a spot that in NO WAY would fit the BP much less allow for backing in with narrow streets further congested with other residents cars and crap. We returned to the office and were redirected to a new spot. Doable size wise but...no water or power! Third spot (and you can only imagine how testy I am by now), again, micro-mini. At this point we got a refund and left, thinking we'd have no problem finding a spot down the road. We drove by a few (crappy), called a few (full) and finally at about 5 p.m. pulled into a park that had a spot (one left!!!) we could fit into. Problem seems to be, as stated by many parks, a lot of these were built before RV's got to be jumbo size. And the BP is no little mini-winni, that is for sure. At any rate, took this spot despite the fact that it is a complete mess of a park, bitching every second of the set up about this "crappy place" and how "I can't wait to get the hell out of here". May have even shed a few tears of self pity for being stuck in "the ghetto". What a spoiled brat.... this park is fine. It may not be of the caliber of our place in Carrabelle, but few RV parks could compete with that. On the PLUS side, neighbors are wonderful, park is quiet, and it is approximately 2 blocks from a bike path we didn't even know existed (and wouldn't have known if we hadn't ended up here).  The Pinellas Trail is a rail-to-trail that starts in Tarpon Springs and ends in downtown St. Petersburg. Some 35 miles long, flat as a pancake and running through some of the cutest little beach towns you'll ever see. How lucky were we???
First thing Monday, we hit the trail and took a southern route that leads to a spur going off to Honeymoon Island and State Park. GORGEOUS... We even hiked a trail and saw one Eagle and too many Osprey to count. Beautiful beaches, of course, as well.

Osprey eating a fish

After completing our tour of this little Island we continued down the trail to a town called Dunedin. A Scottish town that was in the midst of quite the shindig when we pulled in....Mitt Romney was speaking (it was the day before the Florida primary). Big f'in deal as far as we were concerned. Just meant everyone was downtown so we got a seat on the deck of a Marina-side restaurant and had a great lunch basking in the sun , looking at big boats and watching the birds play and beg! We returned home after our late lunch for some down-time at the Caladesi RV Park.

Dunedin Marina

Yesterday we used the gas powered transportation (ie...the BB) and drove the entire length of the "island" from Clearwater Beach to Indian Rocks Beach to Madeira Beach (and John's Pass) to Fort Desoto (which also has a lovely beach) at the most southern tip of this particular barrier island. Anyway,you can certainly tell...it was "beach day". And what a great day it was. 80+ degrees and that gorgeous sunshine made for the perfect day to hop beach to beach with a stop in John's Pass to eat lunch (again, outside, harbor-side) and watch the birds AND dolphins in the bay.

 We also stopped at the Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary and saw a lot of rescued and mating seabirds. Some there rehabbing and some there by choice. These birds are smart, they know where to get free fish!

Baby seabird (???)

Freeloaders

We ended the drive at Fort Desoto State Park which was set up as a defense for Tampa Bay around the time of the Spanish-American War. The had huge bunkers and cannons that remain on site. The park also features beautiful beaches and bike trails (we wished we had our bikes there). They also have a beautiful view of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which connects St. Pete to the gulf shore around Bradenton.

We left about 9 a.m. and didn't get home until about 8. Lots of beach to see around here! Also stopped at our first Publix Grocery Store for much needed food supply.

Jeff at lunch

Today we got back on the bikes and headed north to Tarpon Springs. At the other end of the cultural spectrum, this is a VERY Greek Village. Back in the 1800's when the Greeks immigrated here, it made sense to do what they did back in the homeland. Sponge dive. Today, Tarpon Springs still supplies 90% of the worlds sea sponge's. Personally, I think they stink.

 But we did have a great ride to town and Gyro and Spankopita  at an authentic Greek,  marine-side cafe. After which we furthered our ride by going out to Fred Howard Park, which is also on an island (over a causeway) of the coast. Once again, beautiful day, gorgeous beach (this one actually pretty full of people). Had a perfect ride home (20 miles today!) and came across this garage sign. Just another "sign", that Jeff and I did the right thing by doing this tour...

(In the last two days we have also seen a Lisa's Cafe and Jeff's Jeweler. The "signs" just keep coming)

Truly Paradise Found

We had yet another perfect day on the north coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Today we drove the 20 miles or so to Bald Point State Park. Truthfully, we never even "officially" entered the park. Before even getting to the Ranger Station entrance, we stopped at the first beach we came to and walked a good mile down (and back!).

From there, we walked across the street and did a hike into a heavily forested area looking for Florida's Black Bear and other elusive creatures.

On the return trip home we stopped at Crooked Creek Golf Course for a bite and also got to drive through Carrabelle...

Carrabelle Marina

All very lovely! This afternoon the beach, once again, beckoned me to cross the road while Jeff toiled away on the computer. It was sunny, warm, and smelled so good of ocean air and fish (love that combo).

I stopped to talk to some fellow RVers who were fishing (and getting their supper for the night too...ocean trout) and who should show up again...the dolphins. Large group this time, probably 8-10 and they were frolicking and having a good time fishing as well.

Personally, I have had a very reflective day today. It started with the realization that for about the last month or so I have woken up every night so disoriented...."Where am I?"...and it takes me a good long while to figure out where I am exactly, what city, what park, etc. Having worked nights for many years I am use to not always knowing what day it is, but not knowing WHERE I am has been weird, sometimes even scary. This adventure has been awesome but I can not see doing this indefinitely. I would probably go insane. On the other side of my reflection, I have figured out this much about our future home. We were grown and born in water. I NEED water like I need air. I have to live by water. Like, a lot of water. As much as I loved the Palm Desert, Arizona, Louisiana....The places were I felt I could actually breath has been San Luis Obispo, Aransas Pass and here. Common thread....on the water. Water=Happy. Nothing wrong with knowing what makes you happy (other than my husband, of course). Now we just have to figure out a way to make that happiness full time!
Tomorrow we leave for Port Richey. It will be a long drive day, probably 5+ hours. But we get to be there for a week. Port Richey is just north enough of Tampa/St. Pete to be out of the city. Might be very nice....I would just love to stay right were I am.

Tates Hell and Our Heaven

Lazy day today...kind of. Last nights storm made everything crystal clear and sparkling blue today. We could see the islands off our coast so clearly today that you could even make out the buildings and trees from 3 miles away. I had to get out on the beach this morning for a 2 mile beach hike. The tide was low, there were no "dangerous marine animals" to be seen and the sun was shining. We were in no rush this morning and didn't head out until 11 a.m. We went to Tate's Hell State Forest just down the road and did a four-mile trek through the "palms and pines". Very pretty...if not for the palms we would have thought we were in Northern Minnesota.

After our hike we drove into the actual town of Carrabelle to get some groceries. I had read about a bar called "Harrys" that sounded very cool, very "local" so we stopped in for a beer. The crusty, and 70 year old, bartender wasn't exactly the warmest person in the world but the environment was all small town Florida.

And the best part...they even had a "Rusty Shit" wall. Just like at home!

We got our groceries and went back to the BP. Jeff wanted to take the truck to get a wash so I took a book and a beach towel and went back to, you know....the beach! It was cooler today but still a pleasant 70 degrees and the sun felt wonderful. I was not the only one with that idea as I think half the RV park was at the beach.

Awwww...Sunshine!

I couldn't sit long so I took another walk along the shore. Barefooted this time (no Jellyfish!) and saw what I had been hoping for....Dolphins. Feeding on the Mullet but quite a ways out in the bay. Still, a pod of about 6 that surfaced and dove as they swam along.

Hard to get a picture, but there they are! When Jeff got home he said he had seen them down the road on his way home. So we both got to experience that treat. What is it about these creatures that are so endearing and awesome? Beautiful evening at home with steaks on the grill and plans for tomorrow.

The BP in the center.