Internet too slow

No posts until we get to next location, or I go to town.

Last Walk on Atlantic Beach

Monday was our last day at Jonathan Dickinson State Park so we decided to take a drive over to the beach area next to the Jupiter River inlet. It is our last contact with the Atlantic Ocean on this trip. The sky was overcast and there was a bit of wind, but the temperature was quite mild. We walked south down the beach for some distance enjoying the brisk air. The walk back north was harder because the wind was blasting the sand into our faces. For some reason, I thought this was what the air on an Atlantic Ocean beach should be like, compared to the gentle air of the Keys!

Most of the beach sand was clean  with an assortment of small shells. 

On one section of the beach there was a scattering of large sandstone rocks. I thought they looked like the water-worn skeleton of some ancient beached beast. In this image you can see a large berm of sand. This may be the original land level, with the beach eroding to its present level over the years. 

It seems they are rebuilding the beach, by trucking sand into the area and dumping it onto the beach. At first I said something about it being "restored", but then I realized that the erosion of the beach was a natural process, and man is simply replacing the sand how he wants it. Nothing wrong with that. Don't want that big building to fall into the sea.

On the North end of the beach there is a rock jetty that edges the Jupiter inlet. The dark, quieter water in the foreground of the image above, is the water flowing out of the river. We can clearly see where it met the ocean waves. Aqua dynamics.

As we walked back to the Jeep in a light spray of warm rain, I had a bit of fun walking behind this fat fellow. He is an immature seagull, still sporting his baby feathers. He was twice the width of the grownups, and didn't know what to do when I came up to him.  The other seagulls flew, but he tried to run away and looked back at me as if to say: "Why are you doing this to me?"

From a TV cartoon 35 years ago: "I'm the baby, gotta love me!"

I wouldn't hurt him, but it was a bit of childish mischief that prompted me to chase him. Maybe I'm part dog.

It's been at least 25 years since I've done this!

When I was a kid, I always loved horses. Actually, when I was very small I wanted to be a horse, and would pretend I was galloping across the West when I ran around the back yard. 

I remember making what I thought was a splendid horse out of a large box. Much like this picture I found on the Internet. 

Mine probably didn't look as nice as this because I had made it without adult help. 

BigStock From Web

But in my imagination it was a magnificent stallion and I would gallop at a breakneck speed around the neighborhood.  My heart was broken when I discovered that after leaving it at my friends house one afternoon, her dad had put it out with the trash, and it was gone the next morning.  Looking back I realize he did not see what I did, and was just picking up after the kids. 

As a teenager I would save my baby-sitting money and go to the riding stable as often as I could.  That pretty much ended when I met Craig.  He said if I could get him one with wheels, he would ride.  I did go without him once as an adult, but life led me in many other directions.

When we were checking out the activities here at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, we saw that they had guided trail rides, and they only charged $25 per hour.  Sign me up!

I was glad to see they had stairs! Just about the only way a fat old lady like me could get onto a horse these days.

Craig did not ride. He stayed at the stable so he could take pictures.

My horse's name was King. I think he was the biggest one they had. He was a sweet fellow. When I first got mounted up my hips screamed out in pain, but I quickly got comfortable and was ready to go. King had an easy gait, and I remembered to post a bit when we trotted. 

The ride was about three miles and took an hour. The sun was shining and the temperatures were no more than the high 70's. 

As I looked at my shadow I let my mind play with thoughts of crossing the country in a wagon train. Would it have been more comfortable to be on a horse all day, or in a bumpy wagon sitting on a hard bench seat?  I felt I understood why cowboys are depicted as bow legged. I wasn't sure I would be able to walk later in the day.

Craig took this picture of the second half of our group. The wrangler and several children had already passed where he was standing.

Craig said I looked like the horse and I had come to terms by the time we got back. At this point I was waiting to dismount and wondering just how I was going to be able to do that.

The answer, was with some help! Once again I was very grateful for the raised platform and the helpful wrangler. It was either that or a crane. 

So what's next?  

            Zip Line? 

            Sky Diving?

            Para-sailing?

            Rock Wall Climbing? 

                          

Answer: 

None of the above, at least not in this life. 

[From Craig] We'll see what the next park specializes in...  :-)

A Wet Start to 2015

The Florida State Park motto is "The Real Florida". We are now in our fourth Florida State Park, and each has been different in special ways. Everyone has their own RV style and preferences. We find State Parks to be a good balance between the more natural environment of boondocking and the comforts of full service commercial RV resorts. We like the parks more. 

Jonathan Dickinson State Park, north of Palm Beach, is one of the last areas of coastal scrub and was saved from development after WWII. The Loxahatchee River runs through it and provides a variety of recreational activities.

We enjoyed a nice campfire Tuesday evening

 We arrived early on Tuesday and had to wait for a while to get into our site, so we drove down to the Visitor Center and around the park for a bit of an overview. 

There are two campgrounds, one down by the river and one closer to the entrance (where we are) that is in a wide open area. The sites are some of the largest we have seen.  Not much foliage, but privacy is provided by the distance between rigs. 

Wednesday dawned wet from overnight rain. We had planned on taking the pontoon boat tour up river, but changed our minds when it started to rain as we were on our way.

Instead we took a short side trip to the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower. Hobe Mountain is actually an old, land locked sand dune. It is all of 86 feet above sea level, but is the highest point in Southern Florida.

If you look closely you can see a woodpecker working on a branch of this dead tree.

By afternoon it had cleared enough to take the last boat ride of the year. Only one other couple came aboard.

The river was like a mirror. We did not see much wildlife because it had been a bit of a stormy day. But that was OK. It was a beautiful ride.

We did spot one very small alligator,
a few heron, osprey, and their nests, and at least one manatee.

I did not get a decent picture of him, but the water disturbance in this picture was caused by a manatee swimming just under the surface. When we did see him, he was grazing along the edge.  Under water, like everything manatees do.




On New Year's Eve we declared 8 PM to be the new midnight, and shared a bottle of bubbly and some snacks.

Craig watched football on New Year's day, and I did one of the last steps of a craft project I have been working on "here and there" for months. 

Some chair covers I'm making.

I had designed and stitched the backs and sides using plastic canvas and yarns that matched  those in the Pendleton blanket we keep on the couch. By using the same colors, I was able to play with the patterns. 

I did part of the seat in the same way, but discovered the edges and corners were sharp and unpleasant to sit on, so I sewed the seat  portion using a new, large, brown, bath towel. It can be easily removed and washed if necessary.  It's nice to sit on with shorts or a bare bum.










Friday morning found us trying yet another new activity!

Canoeing!

New to me, and something Craig hasn't done in many years. 

This is a rent-a-canoe and I was a bit concerned about the large crack in the front end, but was assured it would be no problem. 

Besides, alligators are mostly nocturnal.

We went on a three mile, volunteer led, group paddle. It was harder than I expected, but my back held out with only moderate discomfort. We tried kayaking in the past, but I just can't sit with my legs in front of me.  In that way, the canoe was better.  

However, because we were:

• trying to work as a team,
• trying to keep up with the group,
• trying to not tip over,
• trying to stay out of the mangroves along the banks, and
• trying to go in the same direction as the group,

I didn't have the time nor the inclination to take many pictures. 

 Just one... 

Paddling was tiring, and getting out of the boat was very hard, but I DID IT, and I think it is something I might be interested in doing again. 

Maybe...

Best of 2014 - Part C

[From Craig]  This "best of the year" thing is so much fun, I couldn't resist making of a page of my favorites.  Happy New Year!

Best of 2014 - Part II

Too many images make for big files to download.  This is a continuation of my favorite images from 2014:

If you enjoyed these, check out Part I. And this was just a small fraction of the great memories we made.

On to 2015 and beyond!