Maritime Hammock Nature Trail, St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

Today was just a lovely and lazy day of shelling on the beach in the morning and taking an easy hike on the Maritime Hammock Nature Trail located in St. Joseph Peninsula State Park in the afternoon (note: this is not the same as the Maritime Hammock Sanctuary, also in FL).  The Nature Trail winds through swamp, salt marsh, thick wooded areas rich with a mixture of live oak, magnolia, palms, sand pine, longleaf pine, and other plants indigenous to this area. Large areas of open sand are covered with blankets of lichen, live oak play host to resurrection fern, Spanish moss hangs from magnolias, and palms reach skyward both in sunny areas and in the darker forested sections.  The hike meanders along the bayside beach for a while, which hosts horseshoe crabs, jellyfish, and sea urchins, many washed ashore by the tides, and live oak tree roots washed bare showing just as much curved and unusually shaped growth as do their tops, next to palm roots washed bare and leaving us wondering how so little root can hold up large palm trees in this sand.

Wind, Waves, Rain, Oyster Cookoff

In my last blog I posted some beach and sky photos and mentioned the storm predicted for that evening. Although the storm did not reach the intensity that was threatened, it was a humdinger; about 2 inches of rain and pretty incredible winds that knocked branches off the longleaf pines around and over our camper, bounced their huge pinecones off our aluminum roof, sounding as though we were being pelted with baseballs, and scattered palm fronds shelter-skelter in the road and in campsites.  The wind knocked down 5 power poles, cutting off electricity to the campground and the nearest city for the entire day, well into the evening. (I know, you hardcore campers are sobbing in your beer, thinking: "those poor Greenfields, having to do without electricity for 20 hours").  The scene the following morning was almost unrecognizable, 10-15 ft. waves crashing onto the beach, wiping it clean of all the shells and other detritus that I mentioned in the earlier post, diminishing the formerly 30' wide beach to about a 3-5' stretch of wet sand covered with rolling sandy foam generated by the extreme wave action.    Fun tho'!   Isn't Nature grand?

Yesterday we attended the Apalachicola Oyster cookoff, which reminded us both of Rib Fest at home in Kalamazoo, with oysters and shrimp replacing the pork.  Live music (pretty good band), BEAUTIFUL day weather-wise, long lines of experienced shuckers and cooks preparing the oysters and shrimp, and based on the dishes we tasted - great, simple food! We sat on a dock with our feet dangling over the edge to enjoy our raw oysters (SO good) and good local beer (Oyster City summer beer Mill Pond Dirty Blonde), later oyster stew (heavy on the artichokes, but good broth tho' short on oysters).  Fishing/shrimping/oyster boats bobbing in the water by the dock....people having a good time....amazing array of well-behaved dogs enjoying the outing with their owners, interesting little "tourist" shops in town living side by jowl with rough and ready fishing shacks, fishing boats, and a funky little seafood shop called 13 Mile Seafood, where we picked up what will be tonight's dinner, a lovely red snapper. Altogether a lovely outing.  Would do it again in a heartbeat!

That evening's sunset at the campground beach was beautiful, and due to the MLK long weekend the campground was full, so people were lined up on the beach watching this sunset as tho' it was a recent-release movie.

St. Joseph Peninsula State Park

We're in St. Joseph Peninsula State Park for the next two weeks, and are pleased with the campsite we were able to get. Site #75 is deep and angled in a way that offers wonderful privacy and view to the area thick with various palms and longleaf pines between us and the ocean.   (To you gardeners who are chuckling at my use of the term "leaf" in relation to a pine tree, I was surprised to find that IS the common name for Pinus palustris).  When we were here last year, it was shortly after a prescribed burn in this campground, and vegetation was still pretty black and unappealing looking, though the beach was wonderful, as always. A year later the burned area is covered with lush new growth, the only evidence of last year's burn the charred lower portions of the trunks of larger pines and palms.

The campground is unusually quiet for this time of year, only about half occupied, so very quiet and peaceful, despite the rowdiness you would expect from the 'mostly over-60' crowd of current inhabitants.  Some of our neighbors do appear to have a quirky sense of humor, judging from their vehicles and/or campers.  It's lovely seeing people display their individuality!

Note the old heater next to the old suitcases, etc. Beautifully refurbished.

Do you think this one might be from TEXAS?!?!? 

The beach here has that lovely white sand that looks like snow from a distance...and somewhat, even close up, so we're getting the visual benefit of the white stuff that Michigan is currently experiencing, without the drawbacks of the shoveling.

This area has been experiencing a red tide, so mixed with the shells on the beach are a great many starfish of differing shapes and sizes, often washed up in groups of 10 or more - like nothing we have seen here before.

A severe storm is predicted for this evening and night, with winds of 20-40 mph and 2-3" of rain.
Tonight's view over the ocean makes it clear that this weather warning is not a false one.

WBCCI Campground Near Pensacola FL

We are spending a couple of days and nights at the WBCCI Airstream Campground, Mystic Springs Cove, while waiting for the beginning of our St. Joseph Peninsula State Park reservation.  This Airstream campground is located on the banks of the Escambia River, and borders on the Mystic Springs Recreation Area.  Compared to the two other Airstream campgrounds we have stayed in (one in Georgia, and one in Washington State), this one is pretty special.  The unit here is to be admired for owning and maintaining this size of property, which also includes a large and well-provisioned clubhouse (meeting room, kitchen, restrooms) all impeccably maintained.  All the sites are full-service, and folks, $11/night for 30-amp service, water, electric, and sewer in pretty, wooded sites is nothing to sneeze at!  If you own an Airstream and are in the Florida panhandle or plan to be in this area at some time, consider spending a day or two here because it's nice, but also to support the WBCCI Airstreamers who own and operate this facility.

Winter, 2016, the beginning.....

I have been remiss in not blogging about all our travels, not so much because of our huge following (heh-heh) but rather because we rely on these notes to help ourselves remember some of these highlights.  John has an incredible memory for our travel detail, me not so much....so I rely on the blog to trigger more detailed memories.

First and foremost, Silver Spirit, the 2006 23' Airstream that we have been traveling in since 2007, and had intended to own FOREVER, has been traded in (sob, sniffle, cry some more!) for a 2011 25' Airstream, which allows us (1) the luxury of a walk-around bed (unless you have had to make an Airstream corner bed for 8 years, please don't judge!); (2) an extra foot of counter space in the kitchen area (SUCH luxury!); (3) a couch as well as a dinette area (which I didn't think necessary, and now LOVE); and (4) MANY more windows, so we are even more surrounded by nature's beauty, even on rainy and stormy days when we spend more time inside than outside the camper.
Meet Silver Spirit II!

It's amazing to me how quickly she has come to feel like home, but I guess once we move our own pillows and quilts, pots and pans, dog bed and other misc. stuff in, it IS home.

This winter's trip will be in the Florida Panhandle area, visiting some state or national park campgrounds we have already visited in the past, and exploring some new ones in this park-rich area of Florida, some on the Gulf, others on rivers, but always with water within reach.  There is something about water that draws us, always, not just when traveling.  

The places we have stayed on our way south are definitely not "destination" campgrounds for us, but rather places we don't mind spending a night, because they offer electricity, water, and a generally clean campground.  It has been sobering, while visiting these "pass-thru" campgrounds to see how many people call these places home.  An increasing number of these campsites are occupied by permanent residents, who live in campers (a significant step below mobile homes in terms of comfort, size, permanence), either because they are living a life that is dictated by transient work opportunities, or because it is all they are able to afford at this time.  It is often clear, based on how well people maintain the immediate area around their camper (flowers, fences, children's play sets, vegetable gardens in planters), the pride people take in these temporary or permanent residences.

We feel fortunate that we are winter gypsies by choice, and not by necessity.