Quiet Time on the Bay

It’s quiet in the campground with all the little eggs gone.  Some monster sized rigs have come in to take their place but it’s been so cold, everyone is holed up inside.

We went to bed early last night after spending all day inside.  Fixed an indoor meal of spaghetti and leftover chicken, splurged on a chocolate pudding cup and hot chocolate and jumped under the covers by 9PM.

Woke up hot this morning, threw off a layer of blankets and reached for my phone.  36 degrees outside according to the Weather Channel, how can I be hot?  Checked the temp inside and the gauge said 48 ⁰ .  I guess it’s the JC Penne’ comforter because the only place that’s warm is buried under the covers!

This is our last full day at Fort Pickens Campground and the weather station promised abundant sunshine!  Not sure if it will be warm enough to kayak before we leave….and the bikes remain packed in the back of the truck.  I’m thinking maybe a long hike to the fort and back?

Tomorrow we’re heading east along the panhandle to join friends from home who are camping (for the month) at Mexico Beach.  Not sure what to expect but they’re fishermen, well, she’s a fisherwoman!  Hope to learn a little about Florida surf fishing.

This has been a great place to camp, just wish it had been a little warmer.  Noticed that next weeks temps are all in the 60’s!

 

 Notice the big grins!  A frequent sight among our Casita group.

 

Unidentified orange flower… thought it might be Florida rosemary but the petals are not right.                                                                        

         

 

                                              

                                            Sunset over the gulf

 

                                                                                                  More unidentified flowers.    

Some locals showed me a path close to the nature trail that led out to the bay.  Although I was not too far from the campground, it felt like I was in my own private world. 

The rest of the pictures are from that walk.

                                                                   

                                                                      Jellyfish

   Dead Octopus

 

 Little black balls with a tar-like feeling.  Wondered if it was from the oil spill?

 More sea creatures???

Pensacola Bay front

 

                                                              Sand Pipers (?)

Don’t know if we will see much more of the beach after this week as most of our plans are for the interior of FL.  I have loved this ocean time.

Gulf Islands/Fort Pickens

December 29th, 9 PM, 42 degrees with an expected low of 30.....not the way I planned to start the first post from sunny Florida.
But we can't change the weather, so I might as well embrace what we have.

Packing was finally finished and we got on the road heading south by noon on Thursday.  It was cloudy, cold and we were exhausted by the time the bikes, cooler, food box and kayaks were loaded.  By dusk we had found a wonderful COE park, Gunter Hill Campground, just west of Montgomery.  Recently remodeled, it had lovely wooded level sites, very nice, warm bathhouse and a sewer on site....all for $11 with the senior pass.  Sorry that I did not think to take a picture, we were too involved with trying to dewinterize the camper.

Debating back and forth about whether to keep the antifreeze or go ahead and dewinterize, we decided to go ahead because of the convenience of the sewer hookup.  (I was envisioning us trying to do it at a dump station with campers lined up behind us.)

We made it to Fort Pickens by midafternoon, finding lots of little white fiberglass trailers sitting under a gloomy overcast sky.  We headed for the beach, could not remember when I'd seen the ocean, but rain drove us back to camp within minutes of our arrival.

Last night the wind howled all night...I could have been out west with the way it carried on!  Just knew that my little ten dollar TV antenna would be out in the bay; surprised when I found it right where it was left, sitting on the spare.

Today has been one of survival....it may have gotten up to 50 degrees but the wind chill must have been around zero.... I am exaggerating, of course, but that's how it felt!  We drove over to the fort, looked around, and into town to buy canned chili for tonight's chili dump.  I did take a hike while David napped and managed to get a little lost winding up in the wrong campground!  Probably walked twice what I planned but it was good exercise.

It was great to see JerryC and Wanda again!  We both do love to take pictures...after reading his blog tonight, I'm amused that we are drawn to the same subject matter.  I do believe that this must be the same heron.

This is my expensive digital TV antenna....incredible that it stayed put!

It was too cold to stay long and explore the old fort...plan to see more of it on a warmer day.

This is our site and some of our neighbors.

After the sun came out, the water took on a special glow and my spirits lifted.

I have a few more pictures but Blogger will not cooperate and it is getting late, so they will get saved, for now.

Happy New Year to everyone!