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

Henry David Thoreau

Gorgeous day at Nokomis Beach, short trip to Bonita Springs & on to Myakka

Sunday January 5 – Tuesday January 7, 2014
Myakka River State Park

 

 

 

SUNDAY

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This was just a glorious day at Nokomis Beach.  No doubt trying to perk us up for the planned freeze in our very near future.

We got to the packed beach about noon and went right in the water as did many other people.

I got some shots of David enjoying himself. 

 

 

The waves were very gentle and it was possible to just lay back and float which is just what he did.

 

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It was so warm and sunny that we actually set up the umbrella.  Today’s high was SEVENTY NINE degrees!   Wow!!  In January!!

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These young men seemed to be demonstrating all the ways to move a paddle board along.  You can stand up like most folks or you can sit down and paddle or you can paddle surfboard style with your hands.  It was fun watching them negotiate.

 

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The gulls and skimmers were claiming their section of the beach too.  Just beyond them at the very top of the picture you can see the density of people out to enjoy this gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

 

 

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I’m wondering about this black skimmer and royal tern with their mouths open.  Lots of the birds were doing this.  Do they pant like dogs do if they get hot?  Help me out Judy.

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And of course every beach has to have a beach bunny!  
I particularly like this kind of bunny at the beach.

 

 

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As the sun fell lower in the sky we realized we’d been out here nearly 5 hours and if we’d just stay another 45 minutes we could see the sun set.  But when the sun dips, so does the temperature so we took down the umbrella and I put on my sun shield/keep warm white uniform.  Reading in my chair on the beach is pretty high up on my list of ways I love to spend an afternoon.

 

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The sky began to color as the sun neared the horizon.  What a magnificent spot to be in at this very moment.

 

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We tried to take a selfie just as it went down but neither we nor the sun came out correctly.  Oh well!   Nice try anyway!

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The after color was so pretty that I went back in wading in the warm water knowing that it was probably the last time for a while given the weather forecast.

 

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This panorama was my last shot from Nokomis beach as we walked up the boardwalk to the car.  I thought it was just beautiful.   I do love the beach!

 

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MONDAY

 

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Today turned out to be chilly and breezy.  The temperatures were in the low 60’s, not too bad, but 20 mph winds made the wind chill factor feel much much colder.  Not a good day for much of anything outside.  On the spur of the moment we decided to take a trip south to check out Bonita Springs as a possible place to stay put next winter for a longer period of time than the state parks will allow. I had read about Heyduke and his Bride enjoying this area and Imperial Estates RV Park. I tried to contact them so we might drop in to say hi but I had the wrong email and we missed them. We were sorry about that since we won’t get back this way before they start heading North.

 

 

 

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We checked in at the office and were given a map and told to just look around all we wanted. So we walked around the park which is divided into 3 loose sections. One is the village which is permanent homes, not sure exactly how that differs from the co-op section but the latter folks own the park. And finally there is the RV section which is amazingly right on the river. Well some sites are right on the river which looks like a great place to put in your kayak.

 

 

 

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We found, as Heyduke had described, that it was a very friendly park. Every single person we passed smiled and spoke to us. It also has a lot of activities as this board standing in the “center of town will attest to.   I particularly like the first activity on the board.  We also got an activity calendar from the office and it was full up every day of January.  You sure won’t want for things to do here.

 

 

 

 

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From there we wanted to check out the beaches so we drove down to Bonita Bay Beach. It was a cold and blustery day but even so several wind surfers were out. Sure hope they had on full wet suits for this day. We took a quick look around noting that they charge $2 an hour for parking here. Perhaps the folks at the RV park would know of some free parking within walking but for a beach-o-phile like me, that would be a killer. If we’d spent yesterday here, the parking alone would have cost over $12.

 

 

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We’d seen a sign on our way to Bonita Bay Beach for something called Barefoot Beach so as our last stop we turned down the road and drove through a very upscale community to a county “preserve”. Here the charge is $8 per car. Both Bonita and Barefoot beaches were small but lovely. Isn’t every beach really?

 

 

 

 

These are only a couple of shots of the really BIG homes and condominiums on the broad brick road to Barefoot Beach.

 

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Notice my attire standing here in the wind beside the waves of the gulf in South Florida.  It is COLD!   I know, nothing like the 4 degrees poor Carrie woke up to but still feels cold to me.

 

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TUESDAY

 

Today is the day of the big 24 mile move north to Myakka River State Park.  We’ve been here before and it is a wonderful park with amazing birds and three campgrounds.  Our friends Nancy and Bill are currently camped Big Flats, the original campground located closest to all the action.  

Our site is in the newest campground Palmetto Ridge. The site is simply huge and has Full Hook Ups which really surprised me as this is not something we normally find in a state park.

 

 

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The duckie view from this site includes an interesting collection on display at the end of our neighbor’s site.

 

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He has two portable trellis displays all lit up at night.  Not sure what the “theme” is if there is one as he wasn’t there to talk to.

 

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Good Grief is right, you just never know what you might see in a Florida State Park!

 

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Tomorrow is David’s Birthday so we’ll have to find out what he wants to do on HIS day. 
Those who know him can probably guess at least some of it.  Smile

 

22 comments:

  1. A non-vegan breakfast? :) I've seen birds with their beaks open in very hot weather before, but don't know if its their way of panting.

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  2. I wished David a happy birthday on FB. Hope he had a great day today! Those beaches look marvelous when they are sunny, not so much in the cold temps. We are looking forward to warmer temps this weekend!

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  3. I'm totally shocked that you would post a picture of a naked beach bunny on your blog!!! :cD

    Happy Birthday to David, many great men have January birthdays... ;c)

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  4. Great day on the beach! No chance of that here in the panhandle:( Happy Birthday to David!!

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  5. I loved the selfie and the sunsets .... great pictures ... 79 degrees? have mercy. I hope you find out from the Good Grief display .. just what they meeeeean. maybe they pick up lights in each place they stay.. yeah, I bet that's it...

    Happy Birthday to David ;)

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  6. Happy Birthday David! Winnona almost looks small on that huge site. Enjoy Myakka!
    Syl

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  7. Happy, Happy Birthday David!!!!
    Glad you love the beach Sherri as then we get to live it vicariously thru you!!!! what a lovely day it seemed to spend by the beach/sea and be WARM!!!

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  8. David, happy, happy birthday! So pleased and thankful that it is a happy and healthy one. Here's to another year of good health and great travels.

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  9. Your goodbye beach looks inviting though crowded. Yes, birds pant to cool. Love the funny beach bunny, it's the real deal. I can feel your joy wading in warm sunset. That RV park would have to be friendly parked so close to each other. Palmetto Ridge looks nice, big site and private. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and deserts somewheres for David. Happy Birthday!

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  10. Happy birthday, David. May you have many more.

    Virtual hugs,

    Judie and Gary

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  11. My parents will be in Englewood from middle of next week through end of February. They've been going to the same place for years and when I've visited, we've always spent a day at Myakka State Park. Wonderful place. Bill's birthday is the 17th so being a January baby is one more thing he and David share in common!

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  12. Happy Birthday, David. I hope your day is filled with love and laughter!

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  13. Happy Birthday David!! We say, let him eat cake and pastries and eggs and bacon and homefries and of course...BEER:o))

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  14. Love the beach bunny and the sunset and the try at the selfie. 60 with a wind chill! Ha! I can't wait for even 50 again :) Ice cream social..mmmm! Parking...no good at all :( I love myakka! You'd better kayak and see a roseate spoonbill for me!

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  15. Happy Birthday David!! While visiting my folks in Englewood one year we enjoyed a day at Myakka State Park, hope to get there with the rv one of these winters. The weatherman says it suppose to get warmer today and be nice for the next week or so, lets hope he's right.

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  16. Oh my, your sunny and warm day at Nokomis Beach looks amazing! And it looks like you scored a beautiful site at Myakka. We enjoyed our visit there a couple of weeks ago (it's next on my list as I get caught up on our blog posts) ;-)
    Most importantly, Happy Birthday, David! Wishing you a year filled with many more wonderful adventures!

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  17. Happy Birthday David.

    Glad you got one last nice beach day before the deep freeze here in Florida. Our temps have warmed back up, and now if the sun would just come back!

    Here at Quail Run, the people that are here this winter get first crack on keeping their site for next winter, and many of them book again before they leave this year. If you decide to spend some time in an RV park, then you might consider booking now. I know, it's terrible to have to book so far in advance, but in Florida by the water, the best sites get taken first.

    Your site at Myakka looks perfect. Full hook-ups too. My kind of site. Rainbow Springs has FHU's too. Much nicer!

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  18. Robinkwalton@gmail.comJanuary 9, 2014 at 12:25 PM

    What a great RV site,love it..and ofcousre love seeing you both,David,enjoying the water. My favorite is the beach bunny . I hope you all will be able to reserve the long time stays for next year. You all make the best of each situation as is, but it would be better to have a longer stay at some places I'm sure.
    Happy Birthday Bro...your the best and enjoy each day!!!!!!!! Love you both

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  19. Yes Happy Birthday David what a place to spend it. Too bad I'm 70 miles from you guys and head to Key Largo on Monday for a week and then up to Big Cypress RV Park for a week before hitting the gulf. Hope to see you and share a dozen or so Donut's with Ya....

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  20. Oh you toads...at the beach.... I was wearing 2 coats yesterday when Beek and I went to the shelter. Reading on the beach is one of my very favorite pastimes as well. I love the picture of the sun setting- the clouds are really cool- they look like someone combed them with a gigantic comb. Let's see- David's birthday should have some excellent food and some good beer and cake, of course! Have a great day, David!

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  21. Happy Birthday, David. Hope you found a good IPA!

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  22. Oh my goodness! Does that last sign say that Ron and Connie Melville are from Freeport, IL? That's our home town! I can certainly see why they've escaped to Florida!

    Hmmmm. . . did Barefoot Beach get its name because those people can't afford to buy shoes after they sunk all their money into those mansions?

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