The first thing we did once we arrived was get out of the car and take a hike. It was needed after the long ride. The trail led us through a sandy area of wild Florida, with a marshy zone to the right and many types of trees and shrubs. By the time we got back to the car, we were pretty hot.
After the hike, we were planning on going kayaking by renting kayaks from the park. I didn't call them to get the price ahead of time, and the rental prices they wanted were more than we were willing to pay (they wanted $80 minimum for us to use them for the afternoon). Although we were a little bummed that we weren't going to kayak, instead we found a place on the beach for our picnic lunch.
The clouds were forboding, but the sky above us was bright blue, so the majority of the storm stayed over the mainland.
We had a pleasant lunch on the beach (sandwiches, pasta salad, grapes, vegis), watching the clouds, the waves, and the sea birds. The bird below is the one who hopped nearby and got rewarded by Brian with a bit of his sandwich. Immediately afterwards, a couple more birds hopped hopefully in our direction.
Brian and Vincent spent a lot of time sitting on the beach, talking and watching the water.
Meanwhile, I was swimming and looking for seashells. I even saw a tiny fish, who swam up to me when I was standing in shoulder-deep water and seemed curious about what I was doing there.
The clouds slowly drifted out to sea a little as the afternoon progressed, and it rained a little while I was in the water. But the main part of the storm blew eastwards. Here you can see some of the contrast between the clouds over the water (lighter) and the clouds back towards the mainland (darker).
After a while, I convinced the boys to get in the water too. We swam for a while and got tossed around by the waves. (Here again you can see the clouds over the land, contrasted with the clouds over the water.)
To finish off the day, we rented a four-person bike vehicle (called a surrey) and rode around the island for an hour. We looked at all of the vacation houses and enjoyed the cool sea breeze.
After grabbing a bite to eat at a local restaurant (I got the catch of the day, which was snapper), we headed for home, covered in sand and a little burnt, but happy.
After a while, I convinced the boys to get in the water too. We swam for a while and got tossed around by the waves. (Here again you can see the clouds over the land, contrasted with the clouds over the water.)
To finish off the day, we rented a four-person bike vehicle (called a surrey) and rode around the island for an hour. We looked at all of the vacation houses and enjoyed the cool sea breeze.
After grabbing a bite to eat at a local restaurant (I got the catch of the day, which was snapper), we headed for home, covered in sand and a little burnt, but happy.
3 comments:
A little burnt? Nice try! Hanneke was red like a lobster! I had some burns on my shoulders too.
How long was the drive? I'm surprised at how deserted the beach is, can you explain the reason?
One of the photos appears to show thunderheads in the distance, raining close to shore.
Rick
The drive was about 1 hr 45 minutes. The beach is not too busy because there are miles and miles available and people tend to spread out. In the state park, there are 9 miles of beach. The island itself is about 3 times that length and there are many public access points.
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