November 2021

Daytona, Florida

On our way to Daytona, we spent one night at Anastasia State Park. With beach access, lots of places to hike and bike, and campsites stashed in the woods, it’s easy to see why it’s so popular. It’s also just outside charming St. Augustine. Our reason for going to Daytona this time around was to visit my Aunt Gayle Bolles.

It’s been ages since we visited in person. I’m so glad my cousin Linda encouraged us to stop by. Aunt Gayle will be 99 in early December. She still lives independently, plays bridge frequently, and is sharp as a tack. It was such fun to visit with her and Linda. Happy Birthday, Aunt Gayle!

Ocala, Florida

From Daytona, we started toward the west coast of Florida. We stayed at Santos Trailhead Campground. This campground is modest in size, but has a big reputation for its biking trails, especially mountain biking trails. Our bikes aren’t geared for that kind of punishment, and we probably aren’t either these days, but there were other trails that were perfect for our type of bikes. We rode the 16 mile trail that led to a land bridge over Interstate 75. This trail is part of the Cross Florida Greenway.

The Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway has an interesting history. The Cross Florida Barge Canal was planned to span from the St. Johns River to the Gulf of Mexico – sort of a Panama Canal for Florida. It was a boondoggle of a project that was started in 1935, stopped and restarted several times, but never completed.

Marjorie Harris Carr, scientist and environmental activist, is given credit for leading the charge that eventually ended the project in 1971. The Greenway crosses Florida in what would have been the canal. It’s a 110 mile protected greenbelt corridor that’s up to a mile wide in spots. Besides offering recreational opportunities, its environmental importance cannot be overstated.

From Santos, we hiked a trail that still has giant concrete stanchions for a bridge that would have spanned the canal.

Homosassa, Florida

We spent a few days with our friends Joann and Bob in Homosassa.

Together, we took a day trip to Tarpon Springs on the central Gulf Coast. In the late 1880s and early 1900s, this area was settled by Greek sponge divers.

At the peak of the industry, more than 200 sponge boats operated out of Tarpon Springs. Though the number of boats has diminished, the industry still flourishes. Instead of wearing tanks like scuba divers, sponge divers hookah dive. They breathe through long hoses connected to oxygen on the boat. The divers walk along the ocean floor and cut sponges free with knives. In the old days, boats would go out for weeks at a time and bring back a huge haul.

The sponge docks are home to a vibrant collection of sponge shops, craft and apparel shops, Greek eateries, and bakeries full of sugary delicacies. We had a wonderful lunch at Rusty Bellies Waterfront Grill.

We bought some sponges, window shopped, and did a little early Christmas shopping before heading back to Homosassa. (And a dessert of sweet Greek pastries)

It was great to be with good friends and fun to visit this historic seaside town.

Gulf National Seashore, Fort Pickens

Coming back to Fort Pickens is like coming home. We’ve stayed here more than at any other park during our travels. We’ve stayed on every camping loop; even the non-electric sites are fine for us.

The campground isn’t fancy. It has been around a long time and managed to come up for air after being swamped by numerous hurricanes. But the location is fabulous; in our travels, we’ve not found anything quite like it.

The Fort and campground are out near the tip of Santa Rosa Island. After you pass the entry booth for the park, there’s a six mile drive out to the campground, with dunes and the ocean on one side and Pensacola Bay on the other. It’s just gorgeous, and we never tire of the drive.

The beach sand, actually quartz crystals, is sugar white and cool underfoot.

The waters range in shades of color from clear when it’s calm to navy blue when the weather’s changing.

We see lots of shore birds and occasionally dolphins. From time to time, there are opportunities to see the Blue Angels practicing. They’re based in nearby Pensacola and seeing them zip through the sky is really kind of a thrill.

This is a National Park, and because we have America the Beautiful senior passes, camping here is very reasonable. With our passes, entry into the park itself is free and camping is discounted 50%. We have made excellent use of our passes. They’re one of the best purchases we’ve made. If you’re thinking of this sort of adventure, remember to get your National Park passes.

We hike the trails, walk the beach, ride our bikes, visit the Fort, and have a great time.

Our favorite restaurants are Peg Leg Pete’s, which has the most delicious oysters and grouper sandwiches, and Café Nola, which was new to us this year, and a fun place to have po-boys and fresh fish.

We made a day trip to Pensacola to visit its Saturday Outdoor Market. It runs on the median strip of Palafox Street, for three or four blocks.

Vendors were selling all sorts of wares: fresh vegetables, pottery and crafts, holiday decor, soaps, books, artwork. Chefs were making fresh crepes, tamales, coffees and smoothies. We bought some gorgeous fresh pink oyster mushrooms and made a special dinner back at camp.

One afternoon, we met a couple strolling through the campground. Steven and Susan live in Cantonment, near Pensacola. They’ve done a lot of camping over the years, and they, too, love Fort Pickens. They stopped by, and we chatted for a while.

A few days later, they texted and invited us to share Thanksgiving with them at their home. We accepted their invitation and had a lovely time. It was all so unexpected and such a treat to have all these dishes that you need an oven (and a much larger kitchen than we have!) to prepare.

I have always thought the side dishes were the best part of Thanksgiving, so I indulged in sweet potatoes, dressing, pistachio salad, green bean casserole, and pecan pie. (and admit that I went back for seconds…)

More delicious than the food was the fact that folks we’d barely met, extended a hand in friendship, and welcomed us into their home on this holiday.

This is one of the greatest things about being fulltime travelers. Meeting and connecting with terrific people. We hope to continue this new friendship and we look forward to having our paths cross again in the future.

Next up: December in Florida