We are off to another RV adventure this week. We made reservations at Anastasia State Park on the beach at St. Augustine. The old bread truck has been in storage for three months already. How time flies. I don’t like to let it sit for so long as things always seem to seize up with lack of use.
After performing some routine maintenance operations, we loaded the RV with all the essentials and set off for St. Augustine. My brother, John and his wife, Linda are to meet us there. They drove down in their motor home from North Carolina.
The weather radar has been ablaze with red, yellow and green over the St. Augustine area. It is going to be a wet few days by the looks. My brother reported by email that the rain was pounding so hard on the roof of his motor home they had to use earplugs to sleep. We hope the weather breaks by the time we get there.
Our trip up was uneventful. That is a good thing. Some of the new squeaks and rattles I heard when we started out have worked themselves out. Had the motor home set much longer without use, those noises probably could have evolved into real problems.
We arrived at our campsite about 2:15 PM. There was light rain in the area. Things looked very soaked. Our campsite was partially flooded and very muddy. It will be fun keeping all that mud out of the RV. Buddy’s paws collect large amounts of the goo. I have not been successful in training her to wipe her feet.
Some might not like the idea of camping in a muddy flooded campsite. We have learned to take the good with the bad, as they say. Good and bad doesn’t adequately describe the RV lifestyle. You have awesome, jaw dropping, fantastic, inspirational good moments along with the bad which includes frustrating, worrisome, frightening and terrifying moments. It is the constant variety of stimulating experiences, good or bad, that make this so much fun. We have developed the saying, “It is all part of the experience” to refer to all these things. If you don’t enjoy all of it, you probably won’t enjoy an RV for long.
We stopped by John and Linda’s motor home to let them know we made it. After catching up on things we decided to ride into town to see the Christmas decorations.
We were glad they had their car with them. It would have been a soggy ride on the motorcycle had we brought it.
We parked downtown by a brightly lighted city park. We strolled along the streets remembering when we came here back in the 1950s with our parents. This city never loses its allure. There are beautiful old churches with steeples that stretch to the sky. Cannons, cannon balls and huge rusty anchors are placed in parks as a reminder of the great history of this city. It is the oldest city in the United States.
The streets are lined with interesting shops selling souvenirs and gifts ranging from conquistador helmets, swords, artwork, outlandish women’s clothing and novelties of every description. We also managed to find an ice cream shop. I never can resist good ice cream.
While looking at the tubs of ice cream, I noticed many of the flavors had names of places in Michigan. I inquired of the young man behind the counter why so many of the state’s cities were incorporated into the name of the flavors. He told me the parent company was located in Petosky, Michigan.
We visited Petosky State Park in Michigan last summer. We were camped right on the beach of Lake Michigan. We collected many Petosky Stones which are unique to the area. I suggested they might want to name a flavor Petosky Stone. I can imagine it with nuts and hard candy mixed in.
John and Linda recognized restaurants they had eaten at on previous trips here. We passed one pizzeria that my brother found tempting but he managed to pull himself away from the window where workers were working with pizza dough. The smell coming out the door was difficult to resist.
After our trip to town, we stopped back at our motor home to sit outside and gab for a few hours. It was fun sharing stories about grandchildren and RV adventures. We laughed and chatted until about 10:00 PM. It has been a great day. Both of us have missed our old bread truck. We feel like we are home. Buddy is enjoying it too. I can tell she is having a very good time also.
Tuesday morning we awoke to blustery weather. The wind in the treetops was very strong. We had a few drizzles of rain during the night. You feel so cozy snuggled down in your warm bed while raindrops pitter patter on the roof.
After breakfast, Buddy and I took a walk up to the dumpster. Exploring new sniffing territory is the whole trip to Buddy. I wish she could put into words what she is reading in all the “pee mail” she reads along the way. She writes a few pee mails of her own as she swats to leave her mark.
When we returned, Darlie was up and around. We decided to take a walk to the beach. Anastasia is a very picturesque park. The campground is separated from the beach by high sand dunes. A boardwalk takes you up and over the dunes to the beach.
The ocean looked very angry this morning. Red flags were flying at the beach access points indicating hazardous riptide conditions. Huge waves were thundering ashore. Each breaking wave left a large mound of foam that quickly blew away in the strong wind.
Shore birds stood facing into the wind observing us like beggars waiting for a morsel.
Others darted around in the beds of seagrass that had washed ashore snapping up bugs. Darlie was doing some snapping of her own. She took some beautiful photos of bubbles on the beach that were reflecting a rainbow. My brother had joined us. He pointed out a cross in the sand made from little roots or branches of some kind.
We explored the camp store, the picnic area and I posed for photos by an old anchor from a gallon lost long ago on the sea floor. As I touched it, I thought of those who had put it over the side the last time. Who were they? What did they look like? Did they have families back home? Were they peg legged pirates? I love this history of this area.
On our return to the campground, Linda came out to join us. We chatted for a couple of hours. The sun was trying to break through. It was still blowing hard and the air was cool. We parted with plans to do something later.
After we made lunch, Darlie went in for a nap. I sat with Buddy and read for a while. Soon a knock came on the door. John had looked online for a bicycle shop nearby. When I unloaded my bike, I discovered a flat tire. It wouldn’t hold air so a new tube was in order.
John and I went for a new tube. We replaced the old one and discovered it has two huge blowouts in it. I can’t imagine what caused that. Grandchildren jumping ramps, possibly?
Darlie was up from her nap when we finished. She showed John the photos she took of the rainbow bubbles. John is a very experienced photographer, so she valued his opinion of them.
For the next hour or so, John helped Darlie understand some of the settings on the new camera I had bought her. She will be able to put some of the tips to good use during her next photo excursion. As Buddy thinks sniffing is the whole trip, Darlie thinks taking photos is the whole trip. I just tag along with two females trying to keep both of them happy,
When John left it was nearly dark. Time flies by. We were tired and I think he was too. We just decided to stay in for the night instead of going out somewhere. Tomorrow is another day. Hopefully, it will be one with more sunshine.
We were greeted by bright sunshine Wednesday morning. It finally looks like it is going to dry out. After reading for an hour or so and downing three cups of coffee, Buddy gave me the look. It was time for her to take her morning walk to do her duty. This is also a good time for me to take the trash up to the dumpster.
When I returned, Darlie was up. We decided to take a bicycle ride around the park. We headed up the road that goes to the other end of the campground. We climbed a long hill that was formed by old sand dunes. The sand dunes that once stood here bare now are home to palm trees and oaks. Squirrels were scampering about everywhere. I almost ran over one that ran right under my bike.
Later in the morning Linda came by to borrow one of the bikes so she could ride up to the park office to see if they could get one more night here. We decided to have her get us one more night also.
John stopped by with some photos he had printed out. They were photos he had taken last winter in Death Valley and along the Rio Grande River in Texas. He was giving Darlie some more pointers on how to take better photos.
The ever present roar of the surf and the bright sunshine lured us into taking a walk to the beach. We walked along the wet edge of the sand where the waves turn back to the sea. Darlie found many interesting little things in the sand to photograph. Sea birds of various kinds were strutting or scooting about looking for an afternoon snack.
We had walked quite a way down the beach when I decided I needed to find a restroom. There is a rule of thumb when walking the beach. Don’t wait until you have to pee before you turn around to go back. I had to abandon Darlie and go on ahead to the beach access where there is a restroom.
We really over did. Both of us were sore. We stopped at John and Linda’s to visit for a while and enjoy a hot cup of tea. We gabbed until it was dark. Once back to the motor home, I fired up the grill and cooked a couple of steaks for dinner. Buddy and I took one more walk under a brightly lit star filled sky. We will all sleep well tonight.
Thursday I was up and out on the beach with my bike. The damp hard sand was easy to ride on. There were few people on the beach today though the weather was beautiful.
After lunch we went into town with John and Linda. We walked around town taking in the sights. We stopped by Flagler College. It was built by Flagler, the railroad magnate, and was known as the Ponce De Leon Hotel back in the day.
Darlie took many photos around the grounds and inside the college. It is a very beautiful peaceful place.
We embarked on a quest to find a good restaurant for dinner. Each establishment had their menu displayed outside. When you are hungry, everything sounds good. We love seafood. We decided on Harry’s, a New Orleans style restaurant. Dinner was very good.
After dinner we spent a time poking around in the park and looking at various displays.
By the time we got back to the motor home both of us were ready for bed. All the walking and biking has us worn out.
We will pack up and leave in the morning. This is a very beautiful place to spend a vacation. Anastasia State Park of one of Florida’s finest. The campsites are very private. The beach is wide without development. We will visit here again.
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| Santa Claus St. Augustine style |
