Post Christmas Camping Days 3&4

 So Day 3 was a lazy day.  We got up late, didn't really motivate at all.  I started to read my new book I got for Christmas, Minimalist Tiki .   It came highly recommended from a number of friends.  I'm less than halfway through, but if you are serious about tiki drinks, it's a great resource.  

Early morning trawler sliding by for the lock.  If I ever get a live aboard boat, this is the type I want.  Very seaworthy with a long range.

Post breakfast view using the morning shade.   Dishes from last night all washed and drying in our 'outdoor' kitchen (table, bucket, and hose) due to the plumbing issues.

I had become aware of a new state park called Atlantic Ridge Preserve State Park. That was nearby the campground.  It borders the south fork of the St. Lucie River.   On the west side is a Martin County Regional park called Halpatiokee Regional Park.   The short version is we went here instead as the other you had to call JDSP to get the gate code and this side was closer and had a bunch of Geocaches which the girls had gotten excited about.   

Sometime around 2:30-3 we finally motivated over to the park and set out for the first geocache down the trail.

This was a bend in the south fork of the river.

The girls located the first cache.  I didn't bother to climb through the bramble to check it out.  

The second cached was near this footbridge over a gully.

Treasure! in a Lightning McQueen lunch box.  

This spot was back in off the river a little in the pine flatwood.   It goes from swampy cypress to flatwoods pretty quick jus like a JDSP.  You can see the shadows are starting to get long.  It was around 4-4:15 at this point.

Another great sunset.  This time Lucy made the time lapse,  I just took this one still.

The new camera has a night shot feature.  It works pretty well!

Day 4, Breakfast!  Saw this little guy around 7:30AM munching,   We made some breakfast and slowly packed up, letting all the dew evaporate first.  The girls went geocaching again by the Lock.   I headed home and made it back by 1PM.   At lunch and lazily unloaded the coach and put it away.   

It's 3 days later and haven't looked at any of the issues I've been having.  Still need to figure out the power draw that is draining down the batteries.

Boxing Day Camping 2021 - Days 1&2

 Looking back over the past couple of years, we are making it a habit of going out around the holidays.  As you can see by the last post, we were out just 2 weeks earlier.   I think that may be the fastest turn around between trips yet!   

That said, with the holidays and me working every day from the last trip to the 23rd, aside from the airbag repair, nothing got done on the coach before we left.

I did have time to sneak one of the GMC hotwheels onto my wife's Christmas Village.  It's a tad out of scale, but then so are the people. 

As it was only about 50 miles away, my daughter suggested we take  a support car.   This sounded good as the campground we were staying at, has nothing to do really, as this is the 5th or 6th time we have stayed there and there aren't any amenities really.  You can walk over to the Locks, but with Covid that turned out to be not an option (back to that later). This gopher tortoise was out and about while I was setting up munching on greens.

There were hundreds of noisy black grackles.  The pic doesn't do it justice.  They were many and loud. 

I left the house around noon and got there around 1:15 and got set up.   I backed in and ate my lunch, and realized it would be better to turn the coach around and nose in so the door would be on the shady side and the table and firepit.   Whipped it around and pulled out all the chairs.

Set up the hose with a nozzle at the front bumper as the plumbing is still an issue.   The girls finally showed up hours later (I thought they were right behind me).

I tried my hand at a time lapse but had it set up wrong and was taking frames far to often (almost real time!).  So I deleted it.  I built a fire and we cooked steak-ka-bobs with couscous.  The mosquitos were pretty bad, so I let the fire die out pretty early and went inside.  Played a new card game with Naya called Idiot and she beat me every time....

The next morning we got up and were out of the campground by 10AM going to the Coastal Center of the FL Oceanographic Society  as there was a Stingray pet and feeding at 10:30.    I drive by the place fairly often when surfing and thought the girls would really dig it so immediately thought of it when the car idea was floated.

Naya petting a Cow Nosed ray.   We got to feed them a few minutes later.  It was pretty cool.

Next up was the pelagic fish feeding.   Nurse sharks, tarpon, snook, and several species of jack didn't disappoint when the food started flying.   The tank is direct connected via pipes to the ocean, so they have a steady flow of good water coming in. Two nurse sharks, a tarpon (middle), and a snook (on the right).

This guy, I believe is a small black drum, but not sure.  He was swimming like this constantly, so I think he's got buoyancy issues.  Many of the animals here are injured and can't be returned to the wild.  

We took a walk on the trail through the mangrove tidal swamp.  Mostly boardwalk and squishy soil.. Tide was up so half of the loop was closed.  I didn't notice the boat wake when I snapped the pic.

Nothing crazy here, but I like the pic of the heron stepping and his reflection.

Back at the nature center Naya checking out the resident Octopus.   I didn't get his story why he is in there.

Naya practicing to be a filter feeder. I showed here how tube worms act in the wild and she did a good impression.

Back at the campground, you wouldn't know that we have more chairs than people available!  Nice couple from St. Pete had the trailer across the way.

Second try at the time lapse worked out well.  About 90 min into 38 seconds.  You can see Venus become visible and then start to set.

More fire, Shrimp on the grille, the Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes as a movie on the side of the coach.

Pre Holiday Day 3 wrap up. With Excitement!

 Sunday AM was a near repeat of Saturday, with us sleeping in.  I was up around 7 to the sound of drip drip of water falling on the top of the coach from the trees.  I got up and used the bathroom and when I opened the door under the sink to get toilet paper realized that everything was wet.   I used my flashlight and saw water fast dripping everywhere.   UGH!   Ran outside and turned off the water.   The extra roll of TP was dripping and about 5 pounds.  I cleaned out the cabinet and dried it off as much as possible but the shelf is pressboard and I think its done.

The floor is dirty with pressboard flakes in case you are wondering.  Notice the bottom of the Pledge can is rusty.   I think it started on the last trip as a can wouldn't rust that fast in 2 days.   Not sure where the leak is, but will mess with it this weekend while camping.  I suspect it is the faucet as it's from 1976 and has been hard to turn on or off lately.   May be time for a bathroom renovation, I already need a new toilet.

Well I figured I'd deal with it when I got home and set off to make coffee.   Ernie got up around 8:30 and we made the same breakfast.  

There was a hawk in the tree just next to us.   I think it's a Red Shouldered Hawk.  He hung out for a good long time and had great color.   After breakfast we headed back over and walked the Kitching Creek Trail, which is 1.1 mile loop through the pine land area.

To the bottom right you can see the concession area parking lot.  We basically followed this trail to a lookout over the creek.  You can see where we paddled too, and that there was a good bit more of creek that we missed.  Just have to go back!!

I had noticed a similar structure on the main park road.  As you can see it's pretty new as the concrete is still light.  I realized that these have been put in to keep the freshwater in the park to preserve the natural ecosystem and prevent the saltwater intrusion.  It was about  two feet high.

The pine flatland area west of the coastal dunes in the park.  Lots of Southern Pine and when near the water bald cypress.

We saw these tracks and decided they probably were a coyote (have seen them in the park not far from here).  A couple minutes later a couple came by with there dog and we realized we'd been had ha ha.

Looking up the creek from the lookout deck.

Looking down stream, you can see the tide is out.

This little guy, wasn't so little at about 5 inches long.  The Eastern Lubber, I used to see these ALL the time as a kid even in eastern Ft. Lauderdale.   Habitat destruction has pushed them far away now.  I hadn't seen one in at least 5 years.    Reading the linked article, I realize it was pretty late in the season for this one to still be out and about.   It wasn't the biggest one I've seen but it was an adult.

So back to camp and break it down, I wished my buddy goodbyes and we parted ways near the entrance as I had to dump my tank.  I got on the road and drove down Alt A1A.  They were setting up for a Christmas parade and I got alot of waves.

Easy drive all the way down to Lake Worth and then BANG!! Really load and the coach was listing badly.  I knew right away the airbag went.  I had just gotten it installed about 6 months ago.

I had heard that when this happens on the factory set up, the wheels hit body and you you are stuck on the side of the road.  As I changed lanes as I was coasting down I heard no rubbing so was happy about that.   I drove to the next exit and pulled off on a side street as soon as possible.

The first thing I noticed was that my fender skirt was gone.  I didn't even attempt to go look for it as I was in the middle lane and I doubt it blew all the way over to the inside shoulder.  Even then stopping on I95 for a hunk of fiberglass isn't worth the risk.  

I immediately called my friend Dave who lives about a mile from where I was and good news, he's home.  I'm there in 5 minutes and he is late and has to go.   We get it in the side yard, it's about as tight as my side yard but then opens up.

You can see here the new bag system keeps the frame off the ground a couple inches and the wheel off the body.   I was happy all I lost was an airbag and the fender skirt.

Damage to the bag when I jacked it up.  What I noticed when I stopped was the compressor was running still and had been the whole 30 minutes I had been driving.  There is supposed to be a safety cutoff but I need to find out why it didn't work.

I got a new bag and it was almost exactly a week (I had to work everyday) before I got back over there.  It took me about 2 hours but would go quicker next time (hope there isn't one!).

So more projects!   Troubleshoot the air ride and fix the plumbing.....     Merry Christmas!!

Pre Holiday Day 2

 So Day 2 we were up early as the girls had to leave by 8:15 for the Circus gig in Palm Beach Gardens.

Naya and one of the other students were hired as stilt walkers for the event.

I think it was called Santa's Circus or something like that.  Looks fun.

Tommy working it for his Instagram page....

So that left Ernie and I to our own devices all day.  We got a lazy start and made some eggs and stuff for breakfast.  We then rolled over to the boat rental/concession stand and they said, nope can't launch off our dock, so down the riverbank a hundred yards and put it in there.   I pumped up the SUP which is 15' long and set it up for kayaking..

Upon launching, Ernie ( a Florida native) noticed how many red mangroves were growing along the river.   As population has increased and need for fresh water goes up, the  water table drops and saltwater goes further inland.  It is a problem plaguing all of South Florida on both coasts.   Here is an article from last year talking about the Loxahatchee River.    As we paddled up the river we noticed the old cypress trees that were either dead or barely hanging on.  Apologies as I didn't bring a camera (big mistake).  

So after about a 15-20 min paddle we got to the entrance of Kitching Creek and headed up it.  It is a natural freshwater shed off of the park.   Withing 100 yards, the banks changed.   On one side was the now pervasive red mangrove and the other bank was pine woodland.  Ernie was amazed at the dichotomy of the river banks. 

We paddled up for a few minutes and rounded a curve and there was Wally Gator.  

(this is the part where I REALLY wished I had a camera).  Wally was about 9-10 ft long and sunning himself on the bank.   He must of left his cufflinks and cigar at home as he was naked. We were only a few feet away as we rounded the bend.  We both immediately shut up and slowly drifted by.  He watched but wasn't too threatened.  Our gaze soon shifted to a fallen cypress tree across the creek.  On the felled tree, was a baby gator about 3 feet long and 3 turtles all sunning.  It was a fantastic photo op, with glass smooth water and the reflection of the tree and animals in the water was stunning.  Back near Wally, the creek forked and we thought that the other fork was the way, so we slowly turned around and headed for it.

Wally took notice as we were slowly moving directly toward him.  He raised his head and was ready for action. We slowly slid by about a dozen feet away and he didn't give us any ground and was on full alert.  We headed by and went upstream........too many low hanging branches.  Luckily the tide was out but after a couple of trees, we turned around and headed back.

As you can see from the map, the creek went quite a bit further had we gone around the felled tree.  The animals were enjoying the sun so much we didn't want to disturb them and headed back out to the river.  We realized the next day that we should have kept going.

We headed back to the river and continued upstream for 4 or 5 more corners, then realized we had a headwind and headed back to the launch point.

We were out for about 2.5 hours and were getting ready for lunch.  Beached it and broke down the rig and carried it out back to the car.  

A bonus was a big Gopher Tortoise, powering through the grassy area by the bathroom. Back at camp, we ate lunch and showered. We then headed to the store for more firewood (we ripped through several bags the night before).

On the way in we had both seen a sign on Federal Highway for a ''tiki bar".  We stopped by on the way back.  It was not a real tiki bar, but a Chickee hut with beers and people partying.   We walked out on the docks and this boat kind of sums up the kind of place it was.  A garage for your runabout...  Everyone was nice and we had drink and then headed back with our now ample supply of wood.

Dinner was NY Strip steaks over the open fire and potatoes baked in the flame, followed by.....more rum and Girl Scout cookies...

Good Times!!!!!!!!

Pre Holiday Adventures

 You may have noticed that the last couple of years, we have gone camping in November and December.   We enjoy it as it gets out away from all the running around that goes with the holidays.

This year, the schedule was way tighter as everyone was busy and frankly campsite availability is fleeting on weekend nights (Fri & Sat) as it seems camping has gotten quite popular during the pandemic.

About 2 or 3 weeks ago I checked for openings and found a Friday and Saturday night at Johnathan Dickenson SP close by in Jupiter, FL.    I checked my work schedule to make sure I didn't have to work, and booked it.   Later we realized that Lucy had a gig so she wouldn't be able to go and Naya had things going on as well.  As it turned out the gig was pretty close to the park, so they came up Friday night.

I took the day off Friday and loaded up and was at the park by about 2PM.   I ate my lunch and my buddy Ernie showed up about an hour later.   We headed up to Hobe Mountain for sunset.  We timed it well as the clouds to the west made it disappear a few minutes early, so by the time we got to the top of the observation tower, everyone else had left already.      Above is the view looking west.  The sky had great color although this shot doesn't do it justice.

We drove back to the campsite and started a fire to build out a bed of coals.   Called Lucy for an ETA so we could plan when the food would be done, and made cocktails.

I just got a new phone, so was playing with the camera trying to be artsy fartsy and stuff...    The girls showed up and we ate and then sat around the fire generally just BSing until bedtime.  Not real exciting, except for the humidity.  When we were up on the mountain you could see it settling into the tree tops.  We had a plastic table cloth on the picnic table and it had puddles on it by the time we ate!

Ernie was in his tent and said it rained on him from the ceiling of the tent all night.   It was sooooooo thick, we hit the dewpoint before it was fully dark.

Bahia Honda Day 3 & Epilogue

 I didn't set any alarms, but Lucy did.  The day before she left her GoPro in the gift shop, so she was right over there when they opened at 8AM.   As they were some of the last customers the day before, they found it and she had to go retrieve it from the Ranger Station up front.

I got moving and took out the wet fly for the pop up and put it back up to dry out.   She rolled back a few minutes later, and we got all our gear for the SUP together.  Naya was still in teenager sleepy land, so off we went before breakfast.

We had to be off the site by 1, but I wanted to be well into the drive home by then, as the traffic on a Sunday leaving the keys is hectic at best.

We hit the water by 8:45 and off we went.  It was still and SUPER glassy.  Lucy had reported as much from her morning bike ride.  It was the first time Lucy and I tried to stand up paddle in tandem so glassy was a good thing.   Neither of us fell of, but.....

When we pushed off the dock Lucy dug in with her paddle and I wasn't prepped for it.  The sudden movement under my feet, almost took me off the back but I quickly adjusted.  From then on, she set the pace and I was matching her strokes so we were both pulling at the same time.

This made me really have to adjust to meet the length and power of her strokes.  We headed straight out in between to the two bridges as I saw a ball out there.   We got to it and realized the current was running into the bay like the day before.  We did a lap around the buoy and it said NO MOORING, on it.  We then headed to the new bridge as pictured below.

We farted around under the bridge in the shade and it was weird as there would be just a single car going over the bridge about every 30 seconds or so (early Sunday morning), and it would get REALLY quiet in-between.

You can see on some of the pilings that they have been reinforced. The new bridge was the first of the replacement bridges built.  It was built in 1972, so it is showing her age.  You could see some spalling going on, but nothing major.  I'm sure they check it all the time.

We watched a guy fish and just floated around a little.  We weren't real motivated and we knew we had to head in, cook breakfast and break camp.   The RR bridge is still pretty impressive to me as it is over 100 years old.

We got back to the campsite (carried it all in one trip this time!) about 9:45 and started breakfast.   Good thing I put the fly back up as it was nice and dry when we got back.

Rainy Pancake day!

30 minutes later we were eating pancakes in the rain.  Nothing is as delicious as a steaming hot pancake with rainwater dripping right onto it!

It rained for about 10-15 minutes and moved out again.  We packed everything up and were on the road by 11 something.

Traffic was good and when we got to Tavenier, I had Lucy check traffic and it said to take Card Sound Road as there was a 45 minute backup on the 18 mile stretch.   Some jerk probably had a bike fall of the back of his RV or something,  ha ha ha,    

We headed up Card Sound and it was clear sailing.  I remembered the big bump this time and slowed down so that was good!.   

We hit the turnpike and traffic was busy and people were driving like morons, but we made it home just fine around 3:30 PM.