Florida Winter Vacation

On March 2, 2019 we departed Dallas and headed to Florida for a winter getaway.  Our plan was to meet our dear friends the Graves in Pensacola and spend the next 3 weeks exploring various parts of Florida.  We arrived in Pensacola on March 4th and met the Graves at the Fort Pickens campground.  This is a place we visited back in the spring of 2016 and we loved it.  Fort Pickens was a military fortress built in the 1850s on a barrier island near Pensacola to protect the coast from invasion.  It is now part of Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Gulf Islands National Seashore at Pensacola

Robert & Lee...not a warm day

We spent the morning of March 5th exploring the fort and the beautiful seashore (unfortunately it was windy and quite cold so no swimming).  In the afternoon we went into Pensacola and visited the National Aviation Museum.  The museum houses military aircraft from WWII through the 20th century.  It is also the home of the Blue Angles fighter squadron and some of the jets they use are on display.

Blue Angles Fighters displayed
at the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola

On March 6 we drove to Tallahassee.  This drive took us through the area that was hit by hurricane Michael in Oct 2018.  We drove through miles of devastation where entire forests of trees were broken off half way up....a very sad reminder of the power of mother nature.

Next day we drove to Alexander Springs Recreation Area which was to serve as our base camp for the next four days.  We got a nice campsite for the RV and made day trips in "Little Red" (the Graves new red 4Runner).  On March 8 we drove to Blue Spring State Park which is the winter home of some manatees.  The park has viewing platforms that provide the ability to see the manatees in their natural habitat.

Manatees hanging out in the water at Blue Spring state Park

Robert, Lani, Manatee, and Elizabeth

From there we drove to St Augustine, the oldest European settlement in the U.S.  This town was founded by the Spanish in 1565.  It also boasts a military fort (Castillo de San Marcos) that you can tour.  We got to see the firing of the cannon, a ritual they perform periodically.  We also walked through the old town which includes vintage shops and restaurants.

Castillo de San Marcos in St Augustine

Firing the cannon

City gate at St Augustine

Oldest schoolhouse in the city

On March 9th we drove to Gatorland, a wildlife park with an alligator focus.  We enjoyed the shows that included wrestling alligators and getting them to jump out of the water to catch food.  On the return trip we stopped at Harry Leu Gardens, an arboretum located in Orlando...very nice.

Welcome to Gatorland!

Alligator wrestling

Gators just hanging out

Next day we chose to stay in camp and explore Alexander Springs near the campground.  This is a fresh water spring that has been turned into a nice swimming hole.  Liz and I rented a canoe and paddled down the river that originates at the spring.  Robert and I also did some biking on trails near the campground.

On March 11th we went to Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter park (Hogwarts).  We had a great time but the rides were a little intense for Liz and I and we ended up being nauseous for the rest of the day (next time we'll take dramamine ahead of time).  We tried the butter beer and it was better than regular beer.

Hogwarts village at Universal Studios

Hogwarts school of magical arts

The next day we began our trek to south Florida spending the night in Melbourne.  On Wednesday we arrived at the Long Pine Campground in the Everglades.  This would be our base camp for the next 5 days as we explored southern Florida.  On our way to the Everglades we passed through Fort Lauderdale and drove by the former Graves condo there.....it still looks inviting.  We also stopped for lunch at Casablanca Cafe next to the beach...delicious food and wonderful view.

Long Pine Campsite - base camp for Southern Florida

On March 14th we began at the Coe visitor center and took a guided walking tour through the everglades.  Our guide was remarkable for both his knowledge and his enthusiasm for the park and its wildlife.  Next we drove to Flamingo at the southern tip of the park. We took a boat tour of the inlets and marshes of the area to see the beautiful mangrove forests and birds.  This area also has salt water crocodiles.

Aboard the tour boat near Flamingo in the Everglades

Crocodile sighting

Blue Heron

Next day we drove to Biscayne National Park and walked along the dike going into the bay where we could see sea rays, crabs and starfish.  We then went up the coast toward Miami to see Vizcaya Museum and Gardens.  This is a mansion that was built by James Deering between 1914 and 1922.  It is beautifully decorated and is surrounded by amazing gardens.

Walk by the bay in Biscayne National Park

Visitor Center at Biscayne NP

Vizcaya Mansion near Miami

Grounds around the mansion

Dining room in the mansion

On March 16th we visited John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Park on Key Largo.  This park has a coral reef that enables observation of ocean wildlife from a glass bottomed boat.  Lani and Robert took the tour on the boat while Liz and I found ourselves a beach on the bay and did some swimming.

Beach at John Pennenkamp Coral Reef State Park

The next day we got an early start and headed down the island chain to Key West where we had reservations in a hotel for the night.  We spent the day touring Key West on a bus with a guide that explained the sights as we drove around the island.  We went around several times!  We ate dinner at El Meson De Pepe's Restaurant and went to Mallory Square to watch the sun set.  At the restaurant we had several roosters join us for dinner and at Mallory Square we got to see all sorts of performers providing entertainment for the crowd.

Lani with her new boyfriend at Mallory Square in Key West

Liz enjoying dinner with a friendly rooster

One for the popular bars in downtown Key West
(it had 3 levels, the top level is clothing optional)

Mallory Square Entertainer

Sunset at Mallory Square

On March 18th we again got up early, checked out of our hotel in Key West, and went down to the dock to catch our boat for Dry Tortugas National Park.  This is a charter boat run by the NPS to ferry visitors to the island and Fort Jefferson which was built between 1846 and 1876 to help protect the southern coastline of the U.S.  Dry Tortugas NP is also know for its coral reefs and bird watching.  The boat trip is over 2 hours each way and can be  rough, so Liz and I took our Dramamine to avoid problems with sea sickness.  It worked and we had a great time exploring the island.

The boat that brought us to the island (not)

The boat that brought us to the island

After returning to Key West we hopped in Little Red (Graves car) and headed back to our campsite in Long Pine Key.  The following day we left our base camp for good and headed toward Tampa Bay.  We had reservations for two nights in Lake Manatee State Park.  Our last day together was March 20th.  Liz has a sister named Anna Maria so she wanted to go see Anna Maria Island which is in the area.  It is a beautiful little barrier island on the gulf coast that has some very nice white sand beaches.  In the afternoon we planned to go to a Phillies spring training game near Tampa but it was sold out when we got there, so we had lunch at Cracker Barrel and then we went into St Petersburg to look at the Chihuly Collection of glass works.  Liz and I strolled around the downtown area while the Graves went through the museum.

Relaxing at the campsite in Lake Manatee State Park

Liz at Anna Maria Elementary School

On the beach at Anna Maria Island (a little chilly)

Chihuly Collection of Glass Art

On March 21st we had come to the end of our time together with the Graves and it was time to say goodbye.  They headed to visit Robert's sister in Alabama and we headed home with overnight stops near Pensacola, FL and Monroe, LA.  We arrived home on March 23rd.  We decided that going to Florida for three weeks in Feb/March is a great way to spend the winter and I think we should do it every year!