Tampa, Florida (79 degrees, blue skies)
 |
| Screech Owl - J.N. Ding Darling NWR |
It sure is great to be back on the road again. Our first stop is Tampa Florida to spend a
few days with John's daughter (Jen) and to meet up with the Caloosa Bird Club at Ft. De Soto. This beautiful county park and campground is located in St. Petersburg and if
you haven't been there we'd recommend adding it to your "to do" list. It does require advance planning to reserve a campsite due to it's popularity. The beaches are spectacular and it's a
birding "hot spot"
It was great to spend some time with Jen. She has such a nice apartment and it's cool to see some of our things
interspersed in her place. When we
started full timing let's just say she inherited early. She
moved to St. Petersburg almost a year ago and she is very happy
with her decision.
Fort De Soto is near
her apartment and we decided to take the ferry over to Egmont Key for a day of
shelling and sightseeing. It's a pretty
island managed as a State Park and by Fish and Wildlife. Half of the island is a protected bird sanctuary (off limits) where thousands of birds nest and hang out this time of year. Over 300 hundred loggerhead
turtles also nested here last year and the ranger told us they are hoping for more
this season since a large area area of the beach was reclaimed.
 |
| Gopher Tortoise |
Jen and I spent most of the time enjoying the beach and shelling. She really enjoys this hobby and is quite lucky at finding some really cool ones. John explored the fort area which was built in 1898 during the Spanish American War. The island was also a camp for captured Seminole Indians during the Third Seminole War.
 |
| Lighthouse (est. 1858) |
 |
| Remnants of Fort Dade (built 1898) |
 |
| MacDill Fam Camp |
We are staying out at the MacDill Air Force Base campground.
The sites are very good size, well spaced, and nicely maintained. It's only $20/night which is a great bargain
in Florida and it's available to active duty and retired military folks. There is an excellent beach and really is a
city within a city. It takes almost a half an hour to get from the gate to the
campground.
Right now it is only partially full but during peak season there is a rotation schedule which involves changing your site every two weeks. During peak times the office told us you might be in a boondocking site. Last season the longest time in this area was eight days before rotating to a hook up site. There are some full hook up sites where you do not have to rotate at all, however, these sites must be reserved a year in advance and there is a long waiting list.
 |
| Caloosa Bird Club |
On Monday we met up with the Caloosa Bird Club for the last
trip of the season. Fort De Soto is a
large park and our leader Vince took us to many areas. There were a few warblers and
lots of shorebirds looking really fine in their breeding plumage. There has been
a Grooved Billed Ani hanging out in the area for awhile. It's unusual to see this bird in Florida and
we had tried without success to find it in February while in the area for the Tampa RV show. Today with the help of our guide we were successful! Thanks so much Vince. Our photo is not the best but we were thrilled to finally see it.
 |
| Laughing Gulls |
 |
| A huge flock of Marbled Godwits |
 |
| Grooved-billed Ani hiding in the brush |
 |
| Two Royal Terns and a Common Tern |
We also saw a Great Horned Owl and later it's nest with two baby owlets. Life is good!
 |
| Great Horned Owl |
 |
| Two Great Horned Owlets |
Last night we drove over to Anna Marie Island to visit some friends we workamped with in Watkins Glen New York. In the winter they live in a cute community of "vintage" trailers. They purchased it last year and have fixed it up so nicely. In this friendly community you own the home but rent the property. It's in a great location near the beach and quaint downtown. We had a nice dinner together and caught up with each others travels. They will be workamping this summer at a KOA in Bar Harbor Maine. We hope to visit them there on our way out of Canada this fall.
 |
| John, me, Thomas, and Fidencia |
 |
| Cute property nearby |
 |
| Thomas and Fidencia's home |
Today we are stocking up on groceries at the commissary and getting ready to head to northern Florida for a little kayaking. Stop back soon! We are going to visit some mermaids. Do you know where we are going?
