Morty took us North up US1 through Stuart and on to Vero Beach. I well remember Stuart as a one stoplight town in the 70s. Now US1 is eight lanes through one shopping center after another. We only drove about 72 miles, but it was tiring. Might have been wiser to take the turnpike and cruise control.
I was looking forward to Sebastian Inlet because of the favorables from other blogs. It is a nice park, but probably not worth $31 per night unless you are a serious fisherman.
Showing posts with label Florida state parks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Florida state parks. Show all posts
Monday, May 03, 2010
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Anastasia State Park, Florida
Just a little further south along the turtle path A1A, Morty found another delightful Florida State Park -- this one fetchingly named Anastasia. A little more expensive but also a little more expansive -- nearly triple the number of sites. There are more than five miles of unspoiled ocean beach with requisite nature paths and even a lighthouse nearby. Morty got another ferry ride in the deal, this one a $5 trip across the St Johns River in Jacksonville. Riding down A1A for the duration of today's trip, there was going to be little chance of finding a Walmart, so we opted to try a Publix. We went in to replenish our supply of milk and cookies and the prices made sure that no impulse buys were even contemplated. Banannas were $.69 per pound, nearly double the going rate.
Camped at Anastasia, we are at the end furthest from the beach, so there is hardly anyone around. Biking through the beach end gives the state park version of high-density living. Unlike Little Talbot the roads are paved but the sites are mostly just as separated in the dense mangrove forest. Our site was a little bumpy and rocky at the entrance, but was so deep that we just backed into til nearly level and then finished the job with blocks under the rear wheels. I went off to bike the beach while Lynne nursed a nasty tummy. In the interim the parksies came by and dumped a couple of loads of sand on top of the bumps and rocks making it slightly less bumpy but now unstable as well. Lynne said after the first half load they left, apparently looking for other worthy recipients but soon returned with the balance and returned yet again with a third dump. I guess we'll be able to rock & roll on out on Friday, but I have to wonder about the planning here.
Sadly, this will be the southern extent of this trip. So on Friday, Morty turns it back North. There's a turkey date, and maybe even a flu shot opportunity awaiting us back in Buckeye Country. There's some thought of making another stop at Huntington Beach unless a better opportunity arises. In any event, the Adventures will continue...
Camped at Anastasia, we are at the end furthest from the beach, so there is hardly anyone around. Biking through the beach end gives the state park version of high-density living. Unlike Little Talbot the roads are paved but the sites are mostly just as separated in the dense mangrove forest. Our site was a little bumpy and rocky at the entrance, but was so deep that we just backed into til nearly level and then finished the job with blocks under the rear wheels. I went off to bike the beach while Lynne nursed a nasty tummy. In the interim the parksies came by and dumped a couple of loads of sand on top of the bumps and rocks making it slightly less bumpy but now unstable as well. Lynne said after the first half load they left, apparently looking for other worthy recipients but soon returned with the balance and returned yet again with a third dump. I guess we'll be able to rock & roll on out on Friday, but I have to wonder about the planning here.
Sadly, this will be the southern extent of this trip. So on Friday, Morty turns it back North. There's a turkey date, and maybe even a flu shot opportunity awaiting us back in Buckeye Country. There's some thought of making another stop at Huntington Beach unless a better opportunity arises. In any event, the Adventures will continue...
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Little Talbot Island State Park, FL & Leonid Meteor Shower
Less than 10 miles out of Crooked River, we crossed the border into Florida and it seemed like it was worth at least ten degrees. Morty meandered the short distance through Amelia Island and became breathless at all the fancy real estate.
We shopped Target for a new SD card reader with great success. Likewise Walmart for hose hardware and appetizers. McDonalds provided the $5 lunch for the travel party thereby proving that retirement can be cheaper than working.
Finding Little Talbot Island State Park was easy once we were under way but identifying it as meeting our modest criteria was hugely frustrating -- thanks to what may be one of the worst designed websites I have ever encountered. It is all but impossible for someone to use this site to identify a park with camping and beach access within a certain driving range -- too much info presented, too little organization. And when you try to make an online reservation with the ReserveAmerica site, the tunes just keep on comin'. The only positive thing I can say is that mercifully, there is no separate on-line reservation fee.
The friendly park ranger told us about two big events: the shuttle launch in less than an hour, and the early morning Leonid meteor shower. I asked her if she was collecting comments about the magicical website, and she knowingly rolled her eyes, and told us submitting them online was the only option. There's a key causal factor right there. How much gullibility is required to believe that the web guys will be eager to read and pass on all the negativity they're generating?
We got to the beach just in time to get some photos of the shuttle blasting off to the space station. The meteor shower did provide a couple of great streaks of light, but capturing them with the camera was a big bust. The first meteor was just after dark, and I was on a trip to the restroom when a huge fireball with streaming red tail blasted right overhead. Set the camera up and take several hundred pics in the same area and we see only two or three more little ones, all out of camera frame. Getting a good meteor picture is proving to be a lot more difficult than I ever imagined. We were out on the campground road from about 9 until 2 AM, sitting in our camp chairs. A couple of times we thought we heard wild boars grunting near us. When we woke up around 9 in the morning we were surprised to find that area under water from the high tide.
At low tide this beach is perfect for riding bikes. Five miles of park beach. Hundreds of feet of wet sand. No construction in sight.
The campground is carved out around the marsh with no paved roads. The sites are modest, but so thick with vegetation that nowhere in the park can you see more than two sites at once. The capacity of the camp is only 40 sites so it does provide a very cozy atmosphere.
We shopped Target for a new SD card reader with great success. Likewise Walmart for hose hardware and appetizers. McDonalds provided the $5 lunch for the travel party thereby proving that retirement can be cheaper than working.
Finding Little Talbot Island State Park was easy once we were under way but identifying it as meeting our modest criteria was hugely frustrating -- thanks to what may be one of the worst designed websites I have ever encountered. It is all but impossible for someone to use this site to identify a park with camping and beach access within a certain driving range -- too much info presented, too little organization. And when you try to make an online reservation with the ReserveAmerica site, the tunes just keep on comin'. The only positive thing I can say is that mercifully, there is no separate on-line reservation fee.
The friendly park ranger told us about two big events: the shuttle launch in less than an hour, and the early morning Leonid meteor shower. I asked her if she was collecting comments about the magicical website, and she knowingly rolled her eyes, and told us submitting them online was the only option. There's a key causal factor right there. How much gullibility is required to believe that the web guys will be eager to read and pass on all the negativity they're generating?
We got to the beach just in time to get some photos of the shuttle blasting off to the space station. The meteor shower did provide a couple of great streaks of light, but capturing them with the camera was a big bust. The first meteor was just after dark, and I was on a trip to the restroom when a huge fireball with streaming red tail blasted right overhead. Set the camera up and take several hundred pics in the same area and we see only two or three more little ones, all out of camera frame. Getting a good meteor picture is proving to be a lot more difficult than I ever imagined. We were out on the campground road from about 9 until 2 AM, sitting in our camp chairs. A couple of times we thought we heard wild boars grunting near us. When we woke up around 9 in the morning we were surprised to find that area under water from the high tide.
At low tide this beach is perfect for riding bikes. Five miles of park beach. Hundreds of feet of wet sand. No construction in sight.
The campground is carved out around the marsh with no paved roads. The sites are modest, but so thick with vegetation that nowhere in the park can you see more than two sites at once. The capacity of the camp is only 40 sites so it does provide a very cozy atmosphere.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)