Footloose

We finished the Great River Road, we attended the wedding, and we visited with Jean’s family. All the things we wanted to do are done. We are footloose and fancy-free; we only need to get back home before the money runs out. But the weather here is much better than back in Virginia, so we are in no rush.

Before we left Palm City, Gene made reservations at the Collier-Seminole State Park, so that is where we headed. Sandy and Anna gave us a routing that avoided all interstates and turnpikes, so off we headed into the hinterlands of Florida (yes, Virginia, there are hinterlands in Florida). First, we stopped at Publix to restock food; but then we decided we needed some other things as well. We figured that we could get everything we wanted at a Walmart. They are everywhere, so surely we would pass one on the way. As it turned out, we saw very few stores of any kind, much less a Walmart, the whole way.

What we did see was lots of rural Florida. At first it was mostly cattle with no crops. Eventually, as we approached Lake Okeechobee, we saw fields of sugar cane. The route they had given us seemed simple, Just three roads to the Tamiami Trail across the state. What they overlooked was that the three roads didn’t always intersect. We had to find our way from one to the other. So there was a little frantic map searching.

We stopped for lunch at the southern end of the lake. When we went to get out, Jean couldn’t find her purse. We both did a thorough search of the motorhome. She called back to the house, but she hadn’t left it there. Finally, on another search, she spotted it on the floor. It was a small, black purse, laying on a black rug. Both of us had missed it several times. Who says camouflage doesn’t work?

The Tamiami Trail (US-41) cuts straight across Florida through the Big Cypress Swamp. We saw more wildlife on a two-hour drive than the rest of the time in Florida until then. We saw alligators, cormorants, anhingas, ibis, and turtles among other things. We got to the park and squirreled ourselves into a spot and settled in for the night.

There are some interesting displays at the park. The first thing you come to is a walking dredge. This machine was designed to walk through the swamp, and was used in the construction of the Tamiami Trail.

This area is part of a huge (900,000 acres) block of land bought by Barron Collier to preserve the environment and especially the royal palms, which are native to this area. He became a millionaire selling streetcar advertising. It’s amazing what humble products can produce large amounts of income.

Royal palms and Collier memorial

We were in the park when some of the air plants bloom. They can be colorful.

Cardinal Air Plant

The park information center is in a reproduction of the kind of blockhouses used during the third (and last) Seminole War.

The park is next to the road leading to Marco Island. Jean’s brother worked there one summer while he was in college, clearing mangroves, etc. by hand. We drove down there to see what they made of it. As we crossed the high bridge we saw high-rises in the distance. The island has become a high-priced area with condos, McMansions, and gated communities. The land has been cut into numberless canals so that every house is on waterfront and you can park your boat in your back yard. We were looking for a public beach, but the only one we found charged $12 to park, so we passed it up.

After leaving Marco, we finally found a Walmart and got the things we needed. We were hungry by then, so we took a chance on a place called Bob’s Burgers. We try to eat at local places rather than chains as often as we can. We had no idea what to expect but we soon found out it was not your basic burger joint. My hamburger came as two patties on the halves of an English muffin. They were topped with onion rings stuffed with mushrooms. There was a bowl of au jus and thick French fries. Jean had a standard cheeseburger with a side of really good cole slaw with cranberries and pecans. Everything was done right.

Next day, Saturday, we just hung out at the campground. It was too hot and muggy to think of trying out a hiking trail. Gene did some more work on the latch to the armoire, which wasn’t catching again. Jean did some reading and Gene did some writing. In other words, a quiet day. Mostly sitting in the air conditioning, listening to Preservation Hall jazz and Cajun music from our new CDs.

After the relaxation, Sunday was busy. We left the park early and drove down the road to the Walmart. We both needed to get prescriptions refilled and we needed groceries. The prescriptions took longer than we hoped, but by afternoon we were on our way again. Our first stop was Koreshan History State Park, where Gene had secured a reservation. After checking in, we turned around and headed back down the way we came.

Our destination was Sanibel Island, but we decided to go by way of a long, narrow peninsula and some islands rather than attack the traffic in Ft. Meyers. In retrospect, that was not the smartest way to do it. We had visions of a pleasant drive with water on either side. In fact, it was very much like A1A, driving mere yards from the beach but not able to see it for the houses and condos crowded together. As we approached Ft. Meyers, the beachgoer traffic got quite heavy, and it was a relief to get back on the mainland and Ft. Meyers itself.

When we finally crossed the causeway onto Sanibel, we decided to go all the way to Captiva. We had never been to Captiva and the map showed a public beach all the way out on the end.  We drove to the end of the line and sure enough, there was a beach with parking. There was also a sign warning that there was not enough room to turn around for any vehicle bigger than a pick-up. That sign was just past the last place where we could turn around. So we just continued on into the small parking area. We found a parking place for our 22-foot motorhome right next to a sign that said “no vehicles over 20’.” Again too little, too late.

We bought an hour’s worth of parking, unloaded beach chairs, etc., and headed to the beach. We made good use of the time we had. Jean found several nice shells. Sanibel and Captiva are known for their shelling. Here on Captiva we were finding shells on the whole beach, not just the tide line.

The beach was not crowded, except for one space filled with umbrellas and lounges. We figured that area was in front of a hotel or similar facility.

Ponytail Palm

We had arrived at this motorhome trap late in the day. By the time we needed to leave, enough cars (in the right places) had left so that there was no problem turning around to leave. The day had been hot, so we sought out some ice cream. It tasted so good! At the ice cream place is where we saw a ponytail palm, which we had never heard of before.

Back at the campground, we were parked in a handicap space, so it was paved and handy to the bathrooms. The natural growth in this area is a dense mix of pine, hardwoods, and palm trees, with a thick understory including saw palmetto. The sites in the state parks are carved out of the jungle, so that even though the parking pads are close together, you can barely see your neighbor.

The park we were in includes the site of the Koreshan Unity village. Koreshan is one of the utopian communities that sprang up in the nineteenth century. This one lasted for about 70 years, though it only had about 100 or so members. They built a village and an economy in the wilds of Florida at the end of the 19^th and beginning of the 20^th centuries (yes, it was pretty wild then). The park contains what is left of the town, about fifteen surviving buildings, one of which is still used for performances. We spent about an hour there before getting back on the road. It is one of those interesting places you never hear about until you run onto them in your travels.

Leaving Koreshan in the early afternoon, we spent the next several hours traveling up the coast. We stopped in the late afternoon in another state park (Oscar Schrerer — don’t ask me who he was). Here again, we are in a slot carved out of the jungle. There is a short path at the back of the site that leads to a small river. We really like the Florida State Parks, though it is hard to get a campsite during the season. Thanks to Hannah’s wedding, we are on the shoulder of the season and getting a spot for the night is easier. It is also hotter, so that is the downside.

View from the motorhome

Our next point of interest was Anna Maria Island, off Bradenton. But first we had to go through Sarasota. That is the town the Ringling Circus eventually settled on for their winter quarters, and eventually the Ringling’s home. Gene always notices the references to Ringling since their home town was originally Baraboo, Wisconsin, where he is from. He grew up seeing movies in the Al Ringling Theater.

We drove up a long string of islands, some of them very busy and some of them very tony. We finally came to Coquina Beach (part of Bradenton Beach). This is one of the best beaches we have been to (and we have been to a lot). There is extensive free parking (including an area for RVs), much of which is in the shade. One of the nice features is a broad, tree-shaded area between the parking and the beach. There are picnic tables there, and even cabanas.

The beach has fine, white sand, good to walk on. There are concrete groins to control erosion, with piles of shells next to them. A treasure-trove for Jean. There were not the usual sandpipers, but we did watch a busy willet working the water’s edge.

 We stayed until we started getting red, then went on to Anna Maria for lunch. Back on the mainland, Jean found a campground in Palm Harbor. We just had to endure miles of heavy traffic in the St. Petersburg, Clearwater area. Once there, we had a layover day. Time for laundry again.

Mostly laundry (one of the dryers was very slow) and relaxing. Next day, Wednesday, we were back on the road, heading north. We had one more stop we wanted to make, Tarpon Springs. This town is best known as a center of Greek sponge fishing. We headed down to the Sponge Docks.

This area is non-stop tourist traps, crowded and hard to find (free) parking. We drove around a little, checking it out. We found on-street parking a couple of blocks away, and headed for the strip. We ended up talking for a while with a gift shop clerk whose family (now the shop owners) had lived for a number of years in Williamsburg.

On our walk around, we saw this restored old sail-powered sponge boat. There is still a lot of sponge fishing, but much more modern now.

One of Jean’s goals in this very Greek area, was to get some more mastiki, a spice she uses when she makes tsourekia, a Greek Easter bread (which she likes so much she also makes it at Christmas). We had been here before, and she found it in the same Greek grocery she got it the last time. All told a successful visit.

That finishes the stops we wanted to make in Florida. From here on we are basically heading home. However, there is a wrinkle. Jean’s brother is now suffering a second bout with “the crud” (so called by his doctor). Jean had a long-lasting bout of it last winter, and all are urging us to hold off getting home until he is better. We don’t know how that will work out, and what other adventures await us on the way home. Stay tuned, same time, same station.