Monday 9th January – Tyndall Air Force Base

Time to leave St George Island and head back to civilisation…. And planes!  Tyndall AFB was west-bound along the coast.  Despite only being an hour or so away, due to crossing a time zone back to Eastern time we had the hour back by the time we got there!  This meant that we could stop for lunch so that Simon could plane-spot to his heart’s content. He sought advice at the base’s reception where they tipped us off about a good location to watch the skies – a beach by the side of the main waterway that the planes would be crossing as they approached the base to land.  As soon as we arrived we could hear jets above and Simon started taking photographs and video: 

F5 freedom fighter coming into land

F22 Raptor stealth fighter

A raptor coming right at us from the distance

As is only fair, I also spied some wild birds and dolphins, so we both enjoyed the time we spent there:

New one on me - a killdeer

Yes, ANOTHER osprey!

We continued our journey west along the coast and through Pensacola, bagging a deal for cheap gas at a station that was being forced to close down by road development ($2.24 a gallon!).  Crossing Pensacola was very slow due to rush-hour traffic, so by the time we reached our plot for the night in Big Lagoon State Park it was dark.  Time for a quick dinner of fajitas – tasty!

Friday 6th January – Sunday 8th January – St George Island State Park

On my orientation bike ride on Friday morning I got a little carried away, doing extra mileage and discovering boardwalks and beaches all around us.  I also found that there was some surf in the Gulf of Mexico.  Having kept a close eye on the weather predictions, they were warning of an extreme drop in temperatures this weekend.  But Friday was sunny and warm.  This could be our last opportunity to hit the beach for a while!  So we did as much as possible, mostly because we had the entire beach to ourselves – boogie boarding, Frisbee, walking and relaxing.  It was bliss.

Saturday morning came and it was freeeeezing, as predicted.  So glad we hit the beach yesterday.  Simon’s parents have confirmed the dates that they are joining us between Toronto and Montreal in June and we have arranged to see our friends in Toronto at the same time.  Scary to be organising things for later this year when our time in America will be over.  We’re looking forward to seeing friends and family of course, but the realisation that the time will pass quickly to then reminds us to savour every moment.  To savour this afternoon, we dressed in several layers and went for a 5-mile round trip walk to Bay point on the West side of our campsite.  There wasn’t much wildlife to behold.  A couple of hawks that were too far away to identify and some woodpeckers.  Certainly not the numerous snakes promised in this poster:

The animals were all probably being sensible and hibernating, which is what we did for the rest of the evening having battened down the hatches from the cold!

One thing I had been worried about missing at home was the new series of Sherlock, I need my dose of Cumberbatch!  Simon had been very kind and purchased the three episodes for me as a surprise the day after the first one had aired.  To our surprise, on the island of St George, we had reception for PBS and on Saturday night they were showing the very same new episode that we had watched a couple of days previously!  Simon did not find this amusing.  But we watched it again, of course, because it was brilliant.

Sunday morning television informed us that we were experiencing the lowest temperatures in the panhandle for two years. Marvellous. A little admin today – as tomorrow, it would be three months ago exactly that we departed the British Isles and I had set a reminder that we needed to use our UK phone numbers.  Having done a quick SIM swap, Simon had no problem with his.  My account, on the other hand, was telling me it was closed and my number was inactive.  Hmmmmph.  A quick moaning email to EE and I was impressed that they sorted the issue out within the day and we had both successfully topped up our now pay as you go accounts to keep our UK numbers active.

Exercise for today was a hard-going 5 mile bike ride to the East end of the island.  Especially hard going on the way out into bitter headwinds.  But it was worth it to see the dolphins at the end of what is a totally isolated section of coastline.  No one is allowed on the sand dunes to ensure their preservation along with the flora and fauna that rely upon the habitat.  This meant finding a shipwreck right at the end of the island was a sad sight, as it had leaked oil leaving a polluted sheen across pools of seawater and dead fish grounded on the beach.  Even here where efforts to protect the wildlife are enforced, humans still manage to negatively impact the environment. 

The un-touched sands of the East end of the island

The oily 'sheen' on the water

That's an expensive mistake.....

 

The 5-mile return journey was slightly less painful with the wind behind us but we were exhausted when we got back to the RV.  An evening’s blogging whilst laughing at celebrities being all ‘political’ at the Golden Globe awards followed.

Thursday 5th January -Drive to St George Island

We’re now quite adept at our ‘getting ready to go’ regime.  Between us, we ensure that we detached from all utilities and in shape for the off without even referring to the list anymore!  I am wary about putting my hand under the hatch for the electricity box having heard tales of spiders and bugs seeking shelter there.  But this morning I had a pleasant surprise, finding this little fella waiting in there for me.  I guess it must be warm in there!

The bridge over to St George Island

We drove North West to St George Island State Park which is on the ‘panhandle’ of Florida just South West of Tallahassee.  This park was recommended to us not only by Barbara but also a fellow camper I got into conversation with in the laundry area of a campsite - the fountain of much of my travel information! Having crossed the four-mile-long bridge to the island we reached the entrance lodge just before sunset.  It was another four miles to the campsite but this gave us an opportunity to snap some lovely sunset shots (yes MORE sunset shots!).

Wednesday 4th January – Rainbow Springs

Our arms were aching from our paddling yesterday, but my morning enquiries revealed that we were staying alongside some of the clearest and best freshwater snorkelling available in the land.  So it was back in the boat again!  And I am so glad that we did.  This is the most beautiful Spring with such a vast array of wildlife, especially waterfowl and turtles. 

Just from this picture you can see how clear the water was

A cormorant perching above the water

Like yesterday, the first part of the paddle was against the tide.  It was 1.5 miles up to the source of the spring.  Even above the water it was clear enough to see fish and turtles swimming below us.  When we turned around we took it in turns again to snorkel or paddle, both activities taking very little effort with a strong current carrying us back towards our launching point.  I had the joy of watching a cormorant hunting for fish amongst the river grass.  This bird was totally at ease with my presence, maybe even using me as a distraction technique for the fish that it was seeking. It kept following me along my route.

The water was cool but you only really felt it back in the open air of the boat.  It was late afternoon by the time we reached our starting point and despite having lost the sensation in the ends of my fingers I refused to get out of the water until the last minute.  What a beautiful place!

To warm ourselves back up it was time for hot drinks in front of a campfire with a steak BBQ dinner.

Tuesday 3rd January – the hunt for Manatees

Having done a little laundry we reluctantly left Cody’s RV park.  The hunt for manatees was on! First stop, the Crystal River where I’d heard that friends of ours had seen manatees before.  But the current was too strong and the lady at the park office said that the temperature out in the sea hasn’t dropped low enough for many off them to come inland to seek warmth.  This made me nervous, were we too early to see any?  We were advised to try Kings’ Bay, further down the crystal river.  The sky was somewhat overcast today and I started questioning if it was a sensible time to go kayaking.  We arrived at a car park next to a boat launch ramp in Kings’ Bay and luckily bumped into some rangers who were there.  They gave us a very specific area to head to where people had seen manatees today.  All we had to do was paddle across the bay in some very choppy water against the current to three-sisters spring, which may take about an hour…. Not sure if Simon was very keen we set up the kayak and set off.  The current wasn’t as bad as feared and it was less than an hour when we reached a calmer section of river containing some ‘cordoned off’ areas which are safe areas for the manatees to rest without human presence.  We had brought our mask and snorkel kit with us so I claimed first go, jumping overboard from the Kayak.  The problem, the water by these safe areas was so murky I couldn’t see into them! However, there were some tour groups of snorkelers about who were disappearing along a small stream into the spring, so I followed them.  These areas were patrolled by the manatee police!  Seriously, there were rangers on every corner watching swimmers like hawks to ensure that nobody over-stepped the line with the manatees.  It was great to see that their protection is taken so seriously. The spring was still quite murky but this made it even more impressive when, out of the gloom appeared not one but TWO manatees, almost swimming right into me! I have done my best to trim a couple of videos but the files are still too large to share with you sadly. 

I was not prepared for the size of these graceful animals! That is my excuse for the shoddy camera work and I’m sticking to it. It was great to achieve my aim of getting to swim with them. I returned to find Simon paddling around the river and we swapped places.  He had more luck by the cordoned off zone, spotting our biggest manatee yet (see video hopefully)...

The paddle back to dry land was less painful, partly due to a successful mission, partly as we were with the tide this time.  We dried the boat down and packed it away before hitting the road towards Rainbow Springs State Park.  We arrived just before dusk and discovered we had a really secluded site for a couple of nights.  Whilst we were setting up a bald eagle soared past, which was an impressive welcome.

Our secluded campsite

Monday 2nd January – Mermaids!

As usual, we used up every single minute of our hotel room time!  Simon’s parents are planning to join us to enjoy some of Canada later in the year so we had a planning conference call via skype this morning.  Hopefully they will find a good deal to be able to experience life on the road with us.

Returning to Harvey again feels like going home and back to reality again now - but in a good way.  Is that bizarre? 

You may recall us receiving a recommendation whilst we were in Dallas to see the ‘Wishy washy springs’?  Well, today we made our way an hour north of Tampa to the correctly named ‘Weeki Wachee Springs State Park’!  For $13 a piece we gained entry to the mermaid show and the river tour.  I think I’m right in saying that this is the only place in the world where you can see performing mermaids, but please correct me if I’m wrong!  What is 100% accurate is that this is the deepest springs in the USA and the water is some of the clearest.  Whilst the show itself is undoubtedly aimed at the younger ones amongst us, as far as bizarre spectacles go it was well-worth a watch.  I was amazed at the skill of the performers.  The audience sit in an amphitheatre behind a wall of glass, looking into the spring.

The mermaids (and the odd prince, evil witch or frog in a terrible costume) perform several metres down using air hoses to assist with breathing and ‘mime’ along to a Little mermaid soundtrack.  How they manage to orientate themselves correctly whilst dealing with the pressure differences, timing their breathing, dancing AND ‘singing’ is a wonder…. It must take months of practise.  I remember Barbara telling us that in this area of Florida it is most little girls’ dreams to be a mermaid at Weeki Wachee springs when they grow up!

Public swimming area of Weeki Wachee springs from the surface

I don't know what caption to put for this....?!

After the main event we walked around the park and took our boat ride of the springs, though we agreed that it’s much more fun in our own inflatable boat when available! 

Grey heron

We had no plans for where to stay tonight but found a gem of a Passport America site only 2 miles from the spring called ‘Cody’s RV Park’ for only $17.50.  The owner was extremely eccentric.  He had constructed a hurricane shelter in the form of a castle and the sites were scattered with random models of dinosaurs.  There was a TV and socialising room and free use of kayaks on the lake.  An example of a site we would have gladly stayed at much longer if we hadn’t already made bookings elsewhere.

The lake at Cody's RV park

Sunday 1st January – New Year’s Day in Tampa

New Year is a time of reflection for everybody, including for us.  The last month had been planned far more than we had imagined this trip ever would be, out of necessity.  Now the New Year was here we would be heading North and out of Florida I was looking forward to returning to the ‘winging it’ ethos that I had wished for during our adventures. I took stock of where our journey had taken us since we left Boston over two months ago:

There was so much still to look forward to.  I told Simon that we were not leaving Florida until I had seen a manatee in the wild.  That needed to happen!  But maybe the uncertainty of not knowing where we’d be from now was too much too suddenly? So I booked us a couple of State parks for our journey North through Florida that were in the regions where manatees can be spotted , just in case we couldn't find anything when needed. 

Ybor City's main street full of restaurants and bars

We did some internet Happy New Year wishing to family and friends before heading into an area of Tampa called Ybor City for the afternoon.  We were not as fragile as expected after our NYE festivities but we had agreed that today would be an ideal opportunity to find a cinema and watch the new Star Wars: Rogue one movie.  The cinema in Ybor even came with ‘D-box’ seating.  This is where your seat moves and vibrates in synchronisation with the action as well as having your 3D screen and surround sound audio.  The ‘complete movie experience’!  The showing we booked for gave us time to enjoy a meal, a couple of drinks and even some games of pool first.  2017 is looking good for me – I beat Simon at pool 2-0!  Then the film was immense!  I don’t think I’d worry about the d-box seating for anything other than an action film but I did feel that it added something.  Having said that, the film was so good I think I’d enjoy it on a phone screen in any case, so I’d thoroughly recommend viewing it if you’re a fan of anything sci-fi even if you’re not a die-hard Star Wars fan.

It may look like outside, but this was the inside of the cinema!

We totally lucked out after the film, sprinting to catch our hotel’s shuttle bus that was waiting outside for another couple who didn’t show.  This would be our last night in a hotel for who knows how long.  Despite Tampa not being a place that not many seem to rave about, we had really enjoyed our stay and met some lovely people.