We finally left Georgia just before Christmas and have been enjoying Florida ever since. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure we would like Florida. I have heard a lot of conflicting reports. Some people say it’s too expensive, crowded, filled with old folks, and others say it’s the best place to spend the winter. So far, we are in the second camp. We have been able to find reasonably priced places to stay, the older folks are tolerable, and the weather can’t be beat. We have been outside and active much more than last winter. The birding is terrific and there are a lot of state parks, historic sites, wildlife refuges, etc. to explore.
The view from our trailer at Huegonot Memorial Park, FL. That is our kayak drying in the sun, and a large container ship coming down the St John River
Our first stop in Florida was one of the best campsites we have ever had. After 20 months on the road, that is saying a lot. Huegonot Memorial Park, outside Jacksonville, FL is amazing. For $15/night, we had a site that was 50 feet from the St John’s River and 1/4 mile from the Atlantic Ocean. Pelicans and terns skimmed up and down the river, dolphins passed by our trailer, large container ships escorted by tugboats went by, all viewable from the comfort of our trailer. We kayaked in the bay and up the river right to our site. A short walk down the river led to the ocean and miles of beaches. The weather was in the 70’s and it felt like summer. I could go on and on….we kept looking at each and saying “What a find!” We spent Christmas Day doing a 30 mile bike ride along the coast. Two weeks went way too fast.
We next headed to Faver-Dykes State Park, just south of St Augustine, FL. Faver-Dykes is nice and fairly quiet with kayaking and birding easily available. I made friends with the ranger and worked a few hours to earn us a free site for several nights. A little help for the budget. We rode our bikes into St Augustine and checked out the history. St Augustine is a strange town. Lots of history, unfortunately, it’s not all authentic. Too many buildings have been reconstructed with no thought to differentiating the old from the new. The tourists seem to like it, but my historic preservationist engineer/husband didn’t. I agreed, when you can’t tell what it real and what is fake, it all seems fake.
Jenn biking along the Florida Coast on Christmas Day, 2008
We heard from Dan’s aunt Joan recently. She is coming to Florida and we are going to meet up with her again. We last saw her when she joined us in Yellowstone in August. We’ll head over to Homosassa Springs on the west coast of Florida and check out the Manatees that winter in the area. After that, we’ll head back to Faver-Dykes as I’ve agreed to work as the temporary camp host for a couple weeks. Ten hours a week earns us a free site. This should help balance out the week in the keys we have planned for late February.
