Next stop Fort Stockton to see Ed & Bunny. So much fun to see them after 9 month. We laughed & caught up and had a great dinner at the café at the RV park. Hope to see them when we go through Wisconsin in the fall. West Texas is flat with not much going for it. Long days driving but not missing much.
Hill country and Austin are wonderful and we want to come back here. Our only sighseeing other than from the window of the coach was a quick stop at the LBJ Ranch. They have an audio cd driving route that was quite interesting. Everything was free. Would like to come back for a couple more hours. The towns in the Hill country are very cute and would be fun to poke around. Also Enchanted Rock would be worth a stop. Austin was fun because we met Alix, David, and Keileigh for dinner. Lots of catching up and great BBQ and the Green Mesquite. Another place to come back to, along with McKinney Falls State Park (site 26). Hiking and biking at the park and nice roomy spots. Next time!
Surprising drive through pine forest just outside of Austin. Very pretty. On to Louisianna. Another surprisingly pretty drive along I-10. Stayed just outside of Baton Rouge at Frenchmans Wilderness CG right in the middle of the swamp. Walked down to the boatramp in the evening for a pretty sunset.
We crossed the Mississippi River on Feb 12th and went through 4 states in 3 hours. TX, MS, AL and Florida. Very pretty along the gulf and FL panhandle. Loved St Andrews State Park just outside of Panama City. We faced the big lagoon and had a wonderful view from the big windows. Wish we could have stayed longer. The other side of the park was on the gulf with miles of beautiful clean white beach. Lots of lovely trees and paths to walk. Beach was rated Best Beach in 1995 and I agree. Could have stayed a couple of days here or at St Joseph SP or St George Island SP. Definitely want to go to St George Island. Looks picturesque. Gorgeous drive along the gulf coast from Panama City to Wakulla Springs SP. Doug at Desert Trails gave us wonderful advise on where to go in Florida.
Wakulla Spring is the highlight of the trip so far. Lovely peaceful setting along the springs pool and Wakulla River. Cool old lodge built by Edward Ball (Dupont family) in 1937 and made a state park in 1986. The wildlife here is incredible and all natural. The park is very careful not to feed or disturb the natural environment so that everything is as it is in the wild. They have been doing boat tours along the river for 100 years so the wildlife is used to the boat and go on about their normal behavior. This was my first time to see a manatee. It was so exciting! They are sweet creatures and very curious. They are hard to see in the picture but worth it. When we sat down in the boat one was just beside us. I looked down and there it was feeding on the grasses beside the boat. It even raised its bristly snout up to take a breath. Our hour long boat ride was so wonderful. A beautiful 60 degree sunny day through a jungle that looks like Tarzan might have lived here. And he did, at least in the movies. The springs are one of the largest in the world and is 180 feet deep, with 225 gallons per minute flow at 69 degrees. 100 years ago Mastadon Bones were found in the pool.
We sat behind a friendly woman on the boat trip. She said she has been a local for 9 years and done this trip many times. It was the best ever in her experience. We saw lots of manatees and gators, deer, swanee coot turtles and soft shell turles, gar (funny looking fish with a long snout), great blue and green heron, snowy egrets, vultures, ibis, inhingas, merganzers, kingfisher, candy corn beaked moorheads, cormerants, and even saw an osprey catch a fish and take it back to the nest. Every way you turned there was wildlife galore. Being from the NW we are used to nature and wildlife but this was an exceptional place and I will remember this place always. Thanks Doug!
The rest of the drive to St Augustine was just plan long. After 2200 miles in 6 days we were sooooo ready to park the coach and stay awhile. Arrived at Anastasia State Park about 6 pm. Just enough time to get set up before dark. We have a wonderful site (136) deep in the live oak and palmetto forest just a short walk from the Atlantic Ocean. Very private and spacious. We love our little cove in the wood. Dead tired after long days driving so we made dinner that was a gift from our friend Kirsten. Super fast and easy black beans, rice and tomatoes. YUM! It was perfect, tasty and filling and came together quicly. Thank you Kirsten!
So we have had an auspicious start to our year on the east coast. If every place is as nice as the Florida panhandle, we have a fun time ahead. Even if it isn’t as nice, it will be a terrific experience.
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