Return to Mayport

We left the Keys and headed back to the Jacksonville area, stopping overnight at the Fort Pierce KOA. 

When I was in the US Navy I served on two different ships which were homeported in Mayport Naval Base. I was on the USS McInerney (FFG-8) which was transferred to the Pakistan Navy in November 2008. I was stationed on USS Leyte Gulf (CG-55) twice.

We were lucky enough to get reservations at the Mayport Family Campground, and our site faced the St. Johns River where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Daily we watched some of the shipping traffic from the comfort of our front seats.  Here are a few highlights:

EVERGREEN STATE (IMO: 9408138) is a Oil/Chemical Tanker

Vessel LIBERTY PASSION (IMO: 9777888) is a Vehicles Carrier 

USS Sioux City (LCS 11) heading out to sea

And here is a US Coast Guard Cutter heading out to sea.  Note it has the Mark 92 Fire Control System  installed on her.  This is the same system that I operated and maintained when stationed in USS McInereny.

USCGC Spencer (WMEC-905) 

And you wonder what sailors do to break the boredom of life at sea? The photo below shows how soon boredom can set in as they just left the pier in Mayport basin which is less than a nautical mile away...

These two tugboat captains were playing a game of reverse tug o' war

The highlight of the trip was we were able to meet up with Terry, one of my shipmates from my second tour on USS Leyte Gulf.  We were able to get a tour of his motorhome, and we also met at restaurants for a few good meals.  TC, It was GREAT to see you!!!!!!!

TC and HAL 2000

One of the things I love about full time RVing is we get to see friends and family that we would not be able to see if we lived in a "bricks and sticks" home. We can bring our home to see you.

Where Are We Going Next?

Dry Tortugas National Park and Florida Keys

We stayed at Sugarloaf Key KOA at mile marker 20. Hands down the most expensive campground at which we have stayed and one of the nicest. Hurricane Irma completely destroyed it, and they have done a remarkable job rebuilding. It would have been nice to have had an extra day just to relax from the travel and take advantage of the amenities. 

We had one full day and one goal - Dry Tortugas National Park. We had purchased tickets for the ferry about three months in advance. So glad we did because they were booking two to three months out when we were there. Naturally the day we were scheduled to go, the weather was less than desirable. It was go or no go for us. We decided to go, but it was a rough day weatherwise. Dramamine was our friend.

Uh oh...

Ft. Jefferson

Oh, and that famous mile 0 marker in Key West of which everyone has cool photos, we opted out. 

Do I really need my photo there? 

Where Are We Going Next?

Biscayne National Park

Sometimes you realize that you probably could have planned a little better. Our short visit to Biscayne National Park was one of those times. We were in the visitor center when I noticed the flyer for the FREE trolley from Homestead, Florida, to both Biscayne and Everglades. It's a seasonal, weekend option provided by the city. Wow, not only was the public transportation free, they paid the entrance fee to Everglades (no fee to Biscayne - at least the visitor center).  So, instead of dry camping with the mosquitos 38 miles within the Everglades at Flamingo campground, we could have been enjoying cell phone reception, all the air conditioning we could stand and other amenities and still have been able to see the parks. 

Granted, our visit to Everglades would have been substantially lessened and any campground near Homestead would have been pricey, assuming you could even find a place, I would have liked to have at least known about that option. 

The other thing I noticed was that we had just missed an opportunity to give back. Biscayne National Park was running a beach cleanup weekdays from December through April in preparation for sea turtle nesting season. They provided the work-related gear for groups of 4 - 12, ages 16 and up. How cool would that have been to participate in something like that? 

Most of you know that I'm not a strong swimmer or kayaker or just about anything related to water. Unless there's a boat tour of some sort, I'm probably not going to see much in or under the water. Biscayne is 95% water.  The day we were there, even the short hike around the visitor center area was blocked off for construction.  Even so, we caught a tiny glimpse of the mangroves at the water's edge - beautiful!

Something to see out of the water

Mangrove roots

 Where Are We Going Next?

Everglades National Park

We stopped at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center in EvergladesNational Park. Our first realization was that by failing to read up on Everglades before our arrival, we had driven past the Tamiami Trail and the Shark Valley Visitor Center. About an hour and half back, it was an area that we’d probably miss on this trip, along with the Big Cypress National Preserve.

We then drove the additional 38 miles to the Flamingo Visitor Center and our campground – “miles and miles of nothing,” per a review quoted in Subpar Parks.  Granted, the park was established, not so much for its grandeur, but for the protection of its ecosystem. So maybe the visitor, used to spectacular scenery, had a point.

The campground itself was very good with paved, pull-through sites in the trailer loop. Alas, we had not booked soon enough for the limited electric sites and were dry camping. Thankfully we could use generators from 8am to 8pm.

The first thing we noticed as we unhooked the Jeep was the mosquitos. Yikes! We quickly drove to the visitor center and bought the last can of insect repellant, a best seller for a reason. I’m starting to wonder about our someday trips to Alaska and Voyageurs National Park. I hate mosquitos.

The Everglades redeemed itself though. We spotted a crocodile swimming along in the canal by the marina. Did you know that the Everglades is the only place where you can find both crocodiles and alligators? Then there were plenty of manatees in the marina basin and all kinds of waterbirds to watch.

..in awhile crocodile

Manatee

For those interested in Cold War history, there is a Nike Missile Site within the park boundaries. We took the guided tour and were glad we did as they opened up a building that those touring on their own don't get to see.

Artwork intact

Collect all Four!

Nike exhibit

Back near the Coe Visitor Center was the Anhinga Trail. Walking along the boardwalk over the swampy areas, there were plenty of opportunities to spot wildlife, from alligators to anhingas and a few assorted fish and turtles for good measure. If you only spend a couple of hours in the lower Everglades, I'd say this trail would be the place to spend it. Might want to bring your own tarp though. The park's supply is limited.

See you later, alligator

Warming up

I see you

Along the Anhinga trail

Hmm...mosquitos and vultures

Where Are We Going Next?

Sugar and Fruit

Leaving Highlands Hammock State Park, we noticed the orange groves. Who hasn’t seen the advertisements for Florida orange juice? We stopped at Moore Haven KOA overnight. It was laundry day and full hook ups were needed before continuing to dry camping at Flamingo Campground in Everglades National Park.

At Moore Haven KOA, I was a bit surprised to hear French spoken at the pool and to see a bookshelf of books written in French. Then as I walked past a campsite, I spotted the Quebec license plates. Then it clicked – the Canadian snowbirds made it south this year.

Continuing on from Moore Haven, we spotted smoke from several fires. Then we came across the sugar cane fields next to the road and realized that the smoke was from the cane field fires. We hadn’t associated sugarcane with Florida, but Dominos Sugar had.

Our last stop before arriving at the Everglades was the Robert Is Here fruit stand. First we had a lunch of a cuban sandwich and a key lime milkshake. Yum. After walking around the courtyard a bit, we tried two fruits that we had never had. First we tried the sapodillo, which was described as a pear with brown sugar. That’s pretty accurate, especially for the texture. Then we tried the canistel, which was like an egg custard. Both were pretty good. You could even have them as your milkshake flavor if you wanted to try them that way. 

Sugar cane fires

Harvesting

Yum!

Where Are We Going Next?

Highlands Hammock

Most of us think of hammocks as some fabric slung between two trees that you while the day away dozing and relaxing. Florida hammocks can be a different thing. A somewhat local term, hammocks are hardwood, canopied, slightly elevated forests surrounded by swampy land.

We stayed at Highlands Hammock State Park for almost a week. While the campground itself was not a favorite, we did enjoy the park. We rode bikes and walked most of the short hikes through the hammocks. Lush, green foliage, ferns, wild orange trees, cypress and oak trees filled with Spanish moss, made for a quiet, restful place. Though there were signs everywhere warning of alligators, we only saw one. We saw more wild pigs than we did alligators!

The state park is home to a Florida culinary experience – the sour orange pie. Good luck finding it outside the park. It’s like a key lime pie, only made with oranges and orange zest and every bit as tart. We certainly liked the change up. Yum!

Up the road in Avon Park, you’ll find Maxwell’s Grove. There you can find sour orange ice cream, excuse me, sour orange non-dairy frozen dessert. No matter, it’s still a nice, tart flavor on a warm day. 

Wild Oranges

Biking down the trail

Swampy Reflection

Don't lose your balance

Geocache

Continued life

I spy...

Cypress Swamp Trail

Where Are We Going Next?