March 18, 2015     Breathtaking!  Simply Breathtaking!  We’re coming back!

This was ONLY a practice.  The Blue Angels came in to Pensacola this week and are only based here for a few months.   While here they practice on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Spectators are invited and on Wednesdays,  after practice,  the Blue Angel Pilots do an autograph session in the museum.

There were over 10,000 spectators today.  There was plenty of ooohhhing and aaahhhing going on.   I took some photos,  but most of my time was spent oooohhhing and aaahhhing!    Some of the maneuvers are so spectacular,  that it is hard to believe your eyes.    There are times that their wings are 18 inches apart.  I found it thrilling!

David told me that he took seeing them off his bucket list.  I said “I didn’t know they were on it”.  He said they weren’t until today,  but he was so glad he saw them that he put them on and took them off.  I’m taking that as his way of saying how much he enjoyed seeing the demonstration 🙂

March 17, 2015    Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!   The luck of the Irish was with us today.   #1 It’s an  “open window” day!   #2 After another “reservation glinch” in Big Lagoon (we only had one night there, not the three we thought), we were lucky enough to get into Gulf State Park,  for not one,  but two nights.

We camped here two years ago and loved it.  David had tried to get a reservation for us for this year but they were booked solid for the entire month of March.  They must have had a cancellation 🙂   This is the “crem de la crem” of campgrounds.  This makes the top of the line KOA campground look like an  amateur.  It is like a little community  …. swimming pool,  marina,  recreation complex,  nature center,  amphitheater,  education building, general store,  laundramat with 20 washers and dryers (I did laundry this morning) …  the list goes on and on.  There are 496 sites and size wise they average 75′ by 75′.    My favorite “amenities” are the bird condos scattered throughout the park.    All this for $33.58 a night (full hook up).

This is the home of the Hugh S. Branyon Backcountry Trail.  These are paved hiking/biking trails that cover miles in and around the park.   Today we rode our bikes on the Rosemary Dunes trail.   It takes you through an alligator habitat.  Yes, we saw an alligator.  It was only a couple feet long and not scary at all.   Check out the Rest Room on the trail,  pretty cushy!

Luck  #3  Since our last visit they have added an off leash  “Dog Park”.  This is not your typical dog park,  it is on Lake Shelby and has at least 300 ft of lake front.  If you’re wondering if E T  had fun, check out these photos.

When we arrived at the park, Warrior the Mastiff was there.  Then Magic, the lab/boxer came.  They were E T’s favorite friends.  A 19 year old husky came with his 1 1/2 year old sibling.  It was pretty neat how none of the dogs jumped or tried to get frisky with the 19 year old.  They just let him sniff.  It was “doggie respect” for the elderly.  Pretty neat!

David loves oysters and two years ago he had the “best oysters he’s ever eaten” at Bubbas in Orange Beach,  Alabama (next town over from Gulf Shores).  Bubba’s is not pet friendly.  Since we’d left E T alone all afternoon while we went biking,  we wanted to take her out with us.  I went online to www.Bringfido.com and found “pet friendly” Cosmos Restaurant on Canal Rd in Orange Beach.  David got his oysters,  E T got hugs and kisses from three adorable little boys and I got a wonderful surprise,  there was a fabulous musician playing Jazz on the patio.   Yes, we were able to sit outside and eat.  Hurray!

Notice the paw print over the restaurant name … it was named after the owners dog 🙂

Just a side note,  just a block or two away from Cosmos on Canal Rd there is a “pet on a leash” park, Orange Beach Waterfront Park at Wolf Bay. Our plan had been to go for a walk there after dinner.  We had driven by and it looked very nice.  It got dark before we finished dinner.  It’s on the list for next time 🙂

March 16, 2015    Up at 6:30 a.m.  Our site for the night was in a prime sunset/sunrise spot.  It’s not just birds that I like taking photos of 🙂

Big Lagoon State Park is small area wise,  but BIG when it comes to natural beauty.   I am going to humble myself and say I have been pretty tough on the gnats and mosquito.  We have chosen to hang out in marshes and lagoons on hot humid sticky icky days.   The gnats and mosquito,  have I mentioned some of these mosquito are the size of a quarter,  were here first.  I still think they are nasty,  but will stop dissing them on principle.   Besides we stopped at Walmart  yesterday and stocked up on bug spray 🙂

The sunrise was well worth getting up for early.

We are 3.8 miles from the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola and have been told  “do not miss it”.    I am impressed!!!  If I lived closer I would be here OFTEN with the grands.  David and I had great fun climbing into the simulators and letting our imaginations go wild.    Some people will never grow up!  We went to the IMAX Theatre and saw “The Magic of Flight”  a documentary about how much scientists and engineers have learned about flight through the study of birds and how through these studies they were able to acclimate both the planes and aviators with such great success.  The documentary was narrated by Tom Selleck, who I think has a very “nice”  voice and  features  the Blue Angels who are mechanical genius’  both mentally and physically.

Included in your FREE admission are a Trolley ride out into the “restricted area” to see the planes that are being worked on and the hangers where the planes are prepped for flight.  There are also,  guided tours inside the museum,  which were awesome for people  like me that had no concept of the intensity of support,  influence and importance  that military branches,  outside the Air Force, had on air protection and security.  The Museum does honor,  to not only the Navy, but the Coast Guard and Marines.

There were flight training sessions going on while we were there and we got another sneak peek at the Blue Angels.  Wednesday morning we are going back for an “official” Blue Angels training session.

March 15, 2015     I am about to toot the horn and not have it blow too hard,  one more time for Florida State Parks.  How can such magnificently beautiful parks have such annoying bugs.  For crying out loud it’s only March.  The only time I can remember gnats and mosquito’s this bad,  in Connecticut,  is maybe on a hot,  humid August night.  Tonight is a gorgeous night.  There is a slight breeze and cool.  It would be the perfect night to keep the windows open,  but the darn no see ums,  seem to have a way of finding their way through even the finest  screens.   If you’re thinking of moving to Florida,  whatever you plan on saving in taxes you’ll spend on bug spray,  unless you plan on spending all your time in air conditioning and your money on the electric bill.

That being said … We arrived at Big Lagoon just in time to see the Blue Angels fly by.  The Ranger at check in told us to keep our eyes on the sky,  the Blue Angels were coming home today and might just do a fly by.   No photo,  I was walking E T at the time.  She had just spent seven hours in the RV with only one “pit” stop.

I hope to have some awesome photos tomorrow.   We are going to wake up for the sunrise and then  we are going over to the Air Force Base.   A different kind of bird!!!

We had a beautiful sunset tonight.   I think these are some of the best  “over land” sunset photos I’ve taken in awhile.

This is a small park,  but very pretty.   It has an awesome lookout,  that from the top,  you can see the whole park.  Most of the walkways here are boardwalks over the lagoons.   All are pet friendly.   We are all getting some great exercise 🙂

March 12 – 14, 2015   There are two camping areas within ST. Joseph Peninsula State Park, Shady Palms (aka the jungle) and Gulf Breeze, one step closer to the entrance/exit.  Today we moved from one to the other.  We had high hopes that the “no see ums”  and after the rain last night, mosquitos,  were going to stay at Shady Palms.  No Way!  I can’t figure out for the life of me why Mother Nature would keep these two species around.  They would be history if I had any say.

We have resigned ourselves to the fact that this is the least desirable area for  camping  where we have ever camped, the only reason being the “biters”.   It is not the least desirable area to visit and enjoy.  Today was a beach/kayaking  day.  Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!!!

How’s this for making a chore fun.  We have laundry to do and Scallop Cove has a laundramat.  You’re going to love this!   The Laundramat has two washers and two dryers.    Across the street from Scallop Cove are two of their rental units.  While you do your laundry you have beach access.  We take E T to the pet friendly beach where she plays with several other dogs.    David said this is the most fun he has ever had doing laundry.  I have to agree and I’m sure E T would too if she had any idea about  doing laundry.

After us,  two 60 plus year olds, tire  out our 10 month old puppy,  we leave her napping in the RV and go kayaking on the Bay.   Again, beautiful. beautiful, beautiful!

I asked David,   “After almost two months on the road,  how are you feeling?”   His answer was simply  “happy”.   If it wasn’t for missing my family and friends my answer would have been the same.   We are enjoying the adventure. 

March 13, 2015      We bugged out on our gnat nemesis today.   I’m just about beached, hiked and biked out.   I’m craving civilization.   We left “the jungle” and head into the “big city” of Port St. Joe.   This is exciting,  they have a Piggly Wiggly there!

If you’re looking for Pet Friendly,  Port ST Joe actually advertises their dog friendliness.   First stop was the Welcome Center where all “three” of us were welcome inside and out on a fabulous deck.   It was within walking distance to everything we wanted to do and offered free parking.

We walked E T on two fabulous,  yet very different trails.  The Baywalk Trail is a 0.7 mile trail that goes from Frank Pate Park past the Port ST. Joe Marina to Jetty Park.  The entire walk you have water views.

Then we headed over to the Port City Trail.  This is a 4 1/2 mile paved multi use trail.  The trail is a 10 ft wide.  We started on a portion called Sandpiper Run. I couldn’t figure out why,  it was mostly residential on one side and a canal on the other.  I didn’t see any sandpipers but there were beautiful flowers.

Then we enter Forrest Park.  This is an awesome neighborhood park.  The ball fields are manicured. The playscapes, benches, pavilions, etc …  are spotless.  AAAhhhhaaa!  What do I see up ahead???   A corrections officer,  in full uniform including his gun, and eight prisoners.   Guess who does the park and field maintenance???   I wondered what the officer would have done if one of the prisoners tried to escape.  Then I thought why would a prisoner want to escape.  It was a beautiful day in the park.

David points out one of the fields to me.  It is a t-ball field, to scale.   Everything from the dugouts to the distances between home plate and the bases.  It was adorable.   I couldn’t get up high enough to take a photo that showed the size.   I bet the kids love playing there.

The trail heads out of the park and over a few bridges to the Cormorant Loop and “Buck” Griffin Lake.  Now mind you the entire trail is in the center of town in a residential area.  What do you think I see?   A Warning!  Beware of the ALLIGATORS sign!  Enough is enough with the alligators!

We head over to the Dockside Seafood and Raw Bar Restaurant at the Port ST. Joe Marina for a late lunch early dinner.  We sit out on the deck in the Pet Friendly section overlooking the marina.  Everyday from 3:00 – 6:00 p.m.  they have all you can eat Fried Chicken and Pop Corn Shrimp for $9.99.   Delicious!!!

Other than my left foot and right ankle being swollen and itchy,  from gnat bites I got when we got back to the “jungle”,  it was another fun day.

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March 12, 2015    T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park,  Port  St. Joe, Florida … How’s that for a name?  We have heard nothing but rave reviews about this park.  Like most other Florida State Parks it’s difficult to get reservations unless your on your game and  booking 11 months to the day in advance.  David makes all the reservations for our trips and he works some magic.  It gets complicated and takes a lot of effort,  but we usually  can get a site.  At St. George Island we stayed for three nights and had to change sites 3 times.   It’s a pain,  but it’s not bad when you’re traveling in an RV.  I would not want to do it if I was tent camping.   We are staying 4 nights at St Joseph Peninsula  and only have to change sites 3 times.  Hooray!

It was hot and humid when we arrived.  First thing we did was turn on the air conditioning.  Next we took E T for a walk on this awesome 1/2 mile boardwalk that parallels the beach.  Then David and I headed out for a walk on the beach (Florida State Park, No Dogs Allowed on the Beach).   Did I say the beaches at St George Island were beautiful?  The beach at St Joe is like what I imagine a beach in heaven would look like.    Miles and miles (9 1/2) of aqua blue water,  sparkling clean white sand and how about this one … When was the last time you were at a beach that didn’t have any sea weed?   The waves are huge and frothy.   No jellyfish, Portugese Man O War or sea creatures in the water or on the shore.  There aren’t even many sea shells,  just enough to make looking fun.   This is one of the “purest” beaches I’ve ever been to.

Hold onto your hat for this one … There are LOTS of birds here too  🙂

Back at the campsite,  as evening began to roll in,  so did the fog.  Then as we were just about to enjoy “happy hour” sitting out by the fire pit.   We are swarmed by these little black bugs that bite.  David calls them “no see ums”.    I saw them,  felt them bite and called them bad words.

All night long I woke on and off,  thinking I heard rain.  In the morning the fog was so dense that moisture made it seem like it was raining.  Dew drops the size of dimes were falling from the trees.   David says the weather here reminds him of Vietnam.

We wake early for a Bird Watching walk with a visiting expert (Tom Flagg),  at 8:30 a.m.  Despite the fog,  no see ums and humidity …   WE are there!   Nobody else is …hmmmmm!   Us, RETIRED people don’t always know what day it is, the walk was yesterday.  We are also totally screwed up, because of the time change from Eastern to Central.   We had rode our bikes to the Bird Watching meeting place,  about a mile.  We were now soaked with dew and perspiration.   As we meandered back in the fog,  we did a quick switch from bird watching to deer watching 🙂  This was fun.   Unfortunately, I had taken my glasses off, because the were steaming up and put them in my pocket.  They somehow fell out of my pocket and I ran them over.  This wasn’t fun.

David commented that the weather and bugs here remind him of Vietnam.       More than half the campers here are Tent Camping.  I feel sooo bad for them.  They have no air conditioning and these nasty little bugs know how to sneak through screens.

When we were trying to figure out why no one was showing up for bird watching a Ranger had stopped. That’s how we found out what day and time it was.   As we were standing talking to him and I was swatting these nasty little bugs off my hat, he assured me that the “Sand Gnats”  would go away when the fog burned off.

It was almost noon by the time we got back to the campsite and the “sand gnats were still waiting.  Our plan for the afternoon was to “bug out” and check out the kayak launch and pet friendly beach in town.  Funny,  but just down the road a few miles the beach is nice, but not as spectacular as at St. Joe.   There were a few awesome “friendly dogs”  that scored a few points for the beach.   We met a very nice, very elderly gentleman and his elderly (12 year old) dog.    The gentleman seemed VERY happy to meet us.  He kept smiling at me.  As we walked away I noticed that several buttons on my very old,  long sleeve,  denim shirt had come undone.  I was flashing the very nice, elderly gentleman the whole time we were talking.  Good thing I hadn’t done any laundry in awhile and was wearing one of my “special occasion” bras 🙂

So today, I was eaten alive by sand gnats,  saw some awesome deer,  birds, dogs  and beach,   ran over my eye glasses and flashed an elderly gentleman.  I’ll leave it up to you if I had a good day or not 🙂

March 11, 2015     I did not want to leave St George Island.  The past couple of days were beautiful.   We did not get to do everything we wanted to do.   This is an awesome place for biking and we didn’t get to do much at all.   This morning David and I opted for a stroll on the beach before packing up.  Today is another travel day.  We are off to St Joseph Peninsula State Park  in Port St Joe,  Florida.

Of course, my buddy The Great Blue Heron is on the beach bidding us a fond farewell, until next time.   He was actually watching some fisherman hoping for a handout, but he took time out to pose for me  🙂

This is such a peaceful place.  The sound of the waves is mesmerizing.   Suddenly, David says “Look! Out about 11:00!”  For the next 30 – 40 minutes we are entertained by a pod of dolphin.   I swear they were body surfing off the waves.  I tried to get a decent photo,  but I needed a much bigger lens.  My photos  make them  look more like shark fins sticking out of the water.  There must have been a dozen of them.  They were rolling and diving.  It seemed like they were staying in pairs.  It was just so delightful to watch.

It was hard to leave,  but over the bridge we go!   We have never been to St Joseph Peninsula before.  Another new adventure 🙂

March 10, 2015   It was another  “windows open” day, here on St George Island.    A bit warmer than yesterday, but it was the perfect day for kayaking.  There was a slight breeze and overcast skies.

From the boat launch we have two choices,   Apalachicola Bay or Rattlesnake Cove.  The bay side is  a maze of oyster beds.   We have been warned by the Rangers,  if you disrupt the oyster beds you will be naming your next born,  Pearl.   We do an awesome job of zig zagging back forth through the oyster beds until we start focusing on the fish jumping in front of the kayak.  Some fish are jumping 4 – 5 inches out of the water 3 or 4 times in a row.  It’s like instead of watching skipping rocks you’re watching skipping fish.   We find this very entertaining,  until we are sitting in our inflatable kayak on the edge of an oyster bed.  Oh Man!   We very gently back out and are on our way.     Phew!

When we tired of dodging oyster beds we paddled on to Rattlesnake Cove.   It is a lot deeper and gives us views of the marshes and boardwalk overlooks from the water vs the hiking trails.

I’m going to be fickle here and switch favorite birds.   The Great Blue Heron is now my favorite.  It fascinates me the way they can change their appearance depending on their stance.   It seemed everywhere we went today we saw one.

After kayaking,  I ask David if he minded if I walked back to the campsite along the beach.   Boy was I in for some surprises!  It was over a  four mile walk,  it was high tide and a very thick fog had rolled in.   At high tide there is practically no beach,  the water is almost up to the dunes.  There was “nobody” on the beach.  If we were in Silver Springs I would have been afraid,  “The Creature from the Black Lagoon”,   was going to pop out of the fog  at any moment.  It was spooky, but fun.   I was joined on my walk by several of my favorite Great Blue Heron friends  and a few other pretty cool birds.

It was a Bird-acious Day!

March 9, 2015    I know,  you all want me to skip to the chase and tell you about the POOP,  but your going to have to read the story.   The grandchildren, who I know skip the words and go straight to the photos are now yelling  “Hey Mom, Gramma sent photos of POOP!”

Today is the nicest day that we have had since leaving the north.  We have either lived in air conditioning or had the heat on.  Today we opened the windows. Ahhhhh fresh air!   Last year when we were here it was so cold that we wore hats, coats and gloves the whole time.

I woke up early this morning and headed right out to the beach.    The State Park alone,  has nine miles of pure white sandy beach and sand dunes.  I challenge anyone to come here and find a cigarette butt or piece of trash anywhere on the entire nine miles.  Last year I got some great photos of a Great Blue Heron,  strutting his stuff,  wearing his full winter regalia.  I had hopes of seeing him this morning.

I not only saw him, but I saw so much more that I lost track of time and how far I had walked.  I was in my glory collecting the biggest shells I’ve ever seen.  Last year we rode our bikes to the most northern beach in the park and I named it “Teeny Tiny Sea Shell Beach”.  I gathered hundreds of those shells.  Of course I had no bag so I filled all my pockets.  This time I was juggling a dozen jumbo shells when I looked down at my camera strap and notice one of E T’s poop pick up bags tied to the strap.  Don’t be disappointed this is not the POOP reference.  Keep reading 🙂

I saw several dozen of the strangest Jelly Fish on the beach.  They were crystal clear and this one in particular seemed to have picked up a hitchhiker.   Very interesting.  Then I spotted these curious creatures that I studied for the longest time and then started photographing them.  All of a sudden I burst out laughing.  They looked like POOP!  Oh my!  Was I fascinated by POOP? Did I just take a dozen plus photos of POOP?  No, they have to be some kind of sea creatures.  Tomorrow I’ll take my camera up to the Ranger Station (four miles away) and see if they know what they are.  Until then, I guess I might have posted some POOP photos  🙂  To be continued …

There are fabulous hiking trails here with lots of boardwalks.  Some take you over the marsh areas and others out to lookouts over the bay. Dogs are allowed on all the trails. but must be on a maximum 6 ft leash.  Some of the boardwalks are fully screened.  They are great for letting E T get some exercise.

Dogs are not allowed on any of the State Park beaches.  Yesterday we found out that there is an Island beach where dogs are welcome. We took a ride into town and let E T play in the waves.  She loves the water.

Oh, I can’t forget the little green tree frog David found living in our electric box.  How the heck did he get all the way up there?  It’s at least 3 ft off the ground!