Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Last Koreshan Days

Thursday, Friday & Saturday
April 12, 13, and 14, 2012
Koreshan State Historic Site

 

I spend my final three Koreshan days all at the beach.

I’ve combined all  the beach days for my last entry from Koreshan so as not to bore those who aren’t quite as much of an oceanoholic as I am. 
My nickname is Oceanannie for obvious reasons.

 

 

On Thursday it’s Lover’s Key State Park. 

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We get there and find that I’ve forgotten the camera.  Yesterday the bike keys, today the camera.  Hmmmm this is becoming disconcerting.

  So the only pictures I have are from my droid in full sun when I can’t begin see anything we were trying to photograph.   How do you guys without eye pieces do it with nothing but those LCD screens in bright sunlight??

Lover’s Key is 30 miles from Koreshan so the distance and the $8 admission fee mean I probably won’t be returning here for subsequent beach days.  BUT today this beach does have many more birds than DelNor and many more shells. 

 

I need Leather feet.

The beach is literally covered with shells.  Now don’t get totally excited, these are not big shells or unusual shells but still they are pretty shells and numerous shells.  Better have your sandals and water shoes if you want to walk on this beach or into the gulf.

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I guess I’m a big enough target for point and shoot as I try to walk down to the water on the shells in my bare feet.  I’m trying to tell David it’s rough going even with my tough feet.  He’s not listening.  Later, when I finally get  the pictures off the phone, I  find about a dozen shots of me going to and from the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUP practiced here.

I did manage to get a picture of what appears to be the latest kayak craze, Stand Up Paddle Boards, known of course in the 21st century as SUP.  I’ve never tried this, but imagine it is much more likely to be successful in the placid gulf waters than in the Atlantic.  Some might say less fun too I suppose.

 

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This was one of the best ‘birds at the beach day’ ever.

The waves picked up in the later afternoon and a pelican flotilla flew in to fish and ride them.   We saw SO many pelicans diving and eating fish.  We got so we could tell when they would dive and tried to point the phone and zoom in.  HA!   We have about 25 shots of nothing but the water trying to get them catching dinner.  There also was an osprey who was fishing successfully too.  No pictures of him either.  What a day to leave my REAL camera behind. 

 

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These 3 in particularly fished and flew around in circles swooping down to glide right above the waves.  All in front of us for some time. 

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Have you been wondering about those Flamingos who came to live with us?

You’ll remember that among the Easter chick basket gifts was not only the sparkly blue bunny but 4 pink flamingos.  I’m sure Carol and Roger knew that every “trailer” needs flamingos.  And we now have 4.  Here they are on duty.  This is also what happens when you can’t really see what you are taking a picture of.  No great loss, you can see 3 of the flamingos.

 

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Ok so Here’s the other part of that shot with the other  flamingos. All in pink of course

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This bird was easy to photograph even with a phone since it doesn’t move.

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If you are in the area, Lover’s Beach is a very nice beach to spend time on so do go. 

And when you do, here’s some advice.  If you are going to be in Florida doing the state park beaches buying an annual pass to the parks, $60 for one $120 for the family (don’t get me started on why the price for a family of 2 should be the same as a family of 7-one of my REAL rants), might be worth doing.  $8 and $6 daily entrance fees add up quickly.  Bring water shoes here if you want to go in the gulf without jumping sky high when you step on something sharp.  Come early in the day to see the max  birds and stay late to see the least people.  Everyone starts clearing out about 3pm.  There are beach side picnic tables along the paths back to the parking lot so bring lunch.  

AND HAVE FUN !   We did!!

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On Friday we go our separate ways.

Although I love kayaking, I haven’t overdosed on beach yet so I head back to DelNor where the admission for one is only $4.  David goes out with his kayak on the Estero River.  Sadly, he still has no camera so there are no pictures of his paddle. But he reports that the park has a very nice easy entry boat launch.  Only a short walk from the campground if you have a cart.  Otherwise there is a parking lot there.  He describes his trip as a “mixed paddle” between beautiful stretches of what looked like “original Florida” and development - marinas, private communities etc.  He does see one manatee.  He sees big fish.  One he says is 30” although he “didn’t get his name or model number”.  He paddles as far up river as is possible given how narrow it becomes and then a ways down river but not all the way to Estero Bay.  He is out a little over 2 hours.

 

Hooray, today I forget NOTHING!

I am at the beach WITH the camera for 7 hours. LOL.   I stay to watch the sun set.

DelNor, just like the other day when I was here,  has a beautiful SOFT white sand beach.  Very walkable without shoes.  :-)

 

My spot is right between these next two pictures.

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Great clouds today!

 

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The bird watching wasn’t as good as at Lover’s Beach, but the people watching was great.

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Especially the posing.  Tell me how is he seeing her in his cell phone?  There’s just as much sun here today.  Maybe that’s why they take SO many pictures.  It really was a riot watching her pose.  This went on and on in various locations around their beach chairs for about 20 minutes.

 

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For me, this is as good as it gets.

Here’s my spot in the later afternoon when the winds picked up and I closed the umbrella.

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The waves picked up and the gulf began to look more like the Atlantic.


Fun playing in the waves. Fun taking pictures of the waves.

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By about 4:00, only we diehards are left waiting for the sundown which isn’t until 7:55 pm tonight.  I’m the furthest one down the beach.  There is no one beyond me just the open sand.

 

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This is the beach look I like!

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The sun is right on time and doesn’t disappoint.

 

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The end of another wonderful day.

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Saturday is it, my last day at the beach.  Well until next time that is.

We again go to DelNor-Wiggins State Park.  Today they are having some sort of festival so the entrance fee is $7 rather than $6 for two people.  By the time we walk down the beach to check out the festival, they have packed it up because of the dark clouds in the sky.  It never does rain here but unfortunately I can’t report on what was at the festival everyone was supporting with their extra entrance fee dollar.

 

Today seems to be couples day at the beach.  

It’s interesting what you can speculate about a relationship from the way people walk down the beach together.

 

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I’ll admit, the sky does look sketchy at times.

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But it never rains at DelNor Wiggins although it is clearly raining across the water somewhere.  See it coming down from the clouds to the water in narrow sheets?

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It was enough to scare of the festival folks with their booths but not enough to scare off we serious beach lovers.

 

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This fellow was today’s joy!

He paraded up and down in front of our beach chairs, preened himself thoroughly and in general just put on a long long show for us.  Captivating to watch.

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Another great day at the beach.   Never too many for me.  

We’re headed back to Treatmentville tomorrow.   Other than back pain, the patient is currently feeling pretty good all things considered.

16 comments:

  1. Sherry, I enjoyed your days at the beach!! I like the beach, too, but not in the heat. I don't care if I have to wear a ski jacket to keep warm, I'd rather be there in cool weather and when there are no crowds.

    Your blog describes the beach so well, I swear I could smell salt water.

    You did fine with your phone pictures. I have a small point and shoot that I keep in my purse--gave my Nikon SLR to my son when I realized I probably won't go west, again--figured he'd use it more than me. I can slip my little Panasonic into my pocket and I'm set to go.

    Any kind of water fascinates me and will move me to take out my camera quicker than anything--except Jack, of course! LOL I think I have a picture of any water we passed from east coast to west coast and back! Of course I could take more pictures when I wasn't the driver. Rich used to shake his head when we'd be climbing to a waterfall because he'd have the dogs and I'd be clanging along with cameras, binoculars, first aid supplies--you name it, I had it! I had most of it in a back pack, but the camera and binoculars were around my neck. He could not understand why I wanted to bring so much stuff with me. I probably could have fixed a snake bite-certainly any kind of bug bite. I used my first aid stuff only once, when I came across a man who had a terribly infected hand from getting a fish hook stuck in it a few days before. Rich took him to the hospital the next day after much persuading. Oops, I'm taking over your blog--enough gabbing!

    Glad you and David are enjoying doing what you're doing.

    I sure hope David's back gets to feeling better. Has to be awful not to be able to get rest. I don't recall if you said it was a result of his treatments or not related. Keep on keeping' on, kiddo. Thanks for taking me to the beach!

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  2. Great Days at the beach!!

    Thanks for taking us along...we don't have state park passes;o))

    Probably will get them if we are spending significant time in Florida.

    Hope treatment is not too bad this week and David gets some treatment for that back pain.

    Take care and keep taking us to fun places!!!!

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  3. Another beautiful beach blog! Except perhaps for the odd bird in the red shirt. I think he was just watching birds in the sky when his cap bill slid down and blocked the view. Then one thing leads to another & ...

    Sorry no pictures of the paddle. I've had camera problems again.

    David

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  4. Be still my heart...SHELLS.. saw them.. beautiful bird pictures. Here in the NW we can't be choosy about rain at the beach. Altho ONE memorable day in Navarre i got soaked, thru and thru :) still a good day getting shells tho :)
    Take Care. Love your beach days!!

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  5. And you are using sunscreen, right? My favorite photo is the last bird. Great shot!

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  6. For a country girl, you sure have turned into a beach baby!

    Nice of you to share the beaches with all those strange people. Even the phone photographer.

    Always something interesting at the beach.

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  7. A day at the beach is better than just about anything! Thanks for taking us along.

    BTW, we all take pictures just like you in the sun, point and hope you actually captured something! Take more just in case :) You did great!

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  8. I'm one to enjoy the sand, and maybe the surf, but the deeper water only sees me when the water temp is equal to the outside temp :-) I like your 'odd couple' picture :-))) And that last egret picture is great. Viewfinders on cameras make for better composition I think, and I'm sorry to see them go the way of the dodo bird on the P&S cameras. MY G12's LCD screen does really well in bright sunlight ... whatever technology they applied to it, cuts down greatly on the glare.

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  9. Very nice visual and mental picture of the beach. My favorite venue as well. Nothing like hearing the gulls, the waves, the laughter of children playing in the sand.

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  10. I was having beach withdrawls so your blog update hit the spot. Thanks from one beach lover to another!!

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  11. Great days at the beach. Glad David is feeling pretty well.

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  12. Even though I am not a bird watcher... the last bird you posted.. the big white one.. was magnificent. That photo should be on a wall somewhere for long-term enjoyment! Love the beach scenes... nice to see the Gulf kicking up a bit. Hope those flamingoes don't cause family strife with the duckies. Things are greening up in Maryland.. but I am still awaiting the return of my little hummingbirds. Good to hear the "patient" is doing well under the circumstances..except for the annoying back problem.

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  13. We bit the bullet and bought a Florida state parks pass..I agree...why was it $120 for the two of us and the same for a large family.

    Nice pictures, it looks like you've been really enjoying your beach time.

    Have you tried Gasparilla Island SP. It's nice too.

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  14. In response to Paul and Marti, I think you've always been a beach baby ;) Great shots - especially of the threatening sky - makes me want to be there too!!! Soon :)

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  15. Love the last bird photo. Those long, tan legs at the beach look nice.
    I'm like you about the camera and the need for a viewfinder. Nice time spent at the beach.
    Syl

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  16. Hi There, My name is Sharon, I am a a follower of rvsue and the crew. I saw your blogg on hers. I loved reading your blog and seeing your pictures. I have lived in North Port, Fl, about 1 1/2 hr South of Tampa. I also love the beaches. We have beautiful beaches here, expecially Siesta Keys Beach near Sarasota. I am looking for a rv at the moment and plan on solo full time travel. Just have to find the right one. When I was married we have 3 different Class A's and we loved to travel, so I am addicted to the lifestyle. I am ready to start rving again. Hope things go well for your husband. Will enjoy reading your blogs. I plan on starting one myself when I get my rv. Sharon from Fl.

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