Into Florida

We continued on I-10 into our native Florida, planning to see a bit of the Panhandle beaches, then swing up to Tallahassee, where we were undergraduates, and then down to Bushnell, in the center of the state, to rest and gear-up for the big gathering. The beaches were beautiful, as advertised, somewhat marred by hurricane damage and by the massive rebuilding and upscaling. We lived the better part of three years in Tallahassee and, impoverished students that we were, never saw those sugar white sands and crystal clear waters; back in the days when it was just the north Florida beaches and not even the Redneck Riviera. The highlight of our Florida incursion so far was three days spent with Susan and Ken, friends from college days with whom we have kept up these 50-some years. It was great fun reminiscing, catching up again, and seeing Tallahassee through experienced eyes. The place has changed, as every place has, but there was still plenty to see that we actually remembered. After Tallahassee, we drove south on uncrowded state and county highways to the Sumter Oaks SKP RV park, near Bushnell, in deepest, darkest central Florida. We will break camp again on February 26th, to head to WDW, Le Monde d'Isgny, aka Mousetopia. 

Our first night's stop was up the river in Milton, FL, which dates
from Florida's earliest days as a state; and where you can still see
some charming old Florida architecture; linguistic change is always
interesting..."blackwater" means something entirely different to us

Pensacola Beach, on the national seashore there

Not the wild west

We wanted to go to the end of the island and see Fort Pickens, a
former star fort, dating back to the Jacksonian era, and known
mainly for being one of the few southern coastal fortresses never
captured by the secessionists

Most photographed item at Fort Pickens

When you go to a fort, you expect to see walls and cannons

Thus

And excellent National Park Service interpretive signage

Spare parts...actually, 18th century cannons from Florida's earlier
Spanish and briefly British periods

Says "GR"...George Rex, George III, I would think

Distant view of walls and cannons

Battery Langdon, an outlying bunker housing a WWI 12" gun,
capable of firing some 17 miles out to sea; reminded us of some
of the German art deco we saw in Pas de Calais

Moving right along...back east along Pensacola Beach; about every
five blocks is an Alvin's Island...beach attire, fashion, sports, etc.

Now walking the beautiful beach at Destin

Water as clear as we've ever seen it

White sand and little birds

Us, there, then

With Ken and Susan in Tallahassee...not our first visit...nor,
hopefully, our last...thanks for the great food, drink, hospitality
and conviviality...all boosted and tested

Among several old sites still standing

"Smoking" a glass of bourbon after dinner; seriously

Gotta' get me one of these to try out on scotch; also a portable
sous vide for the camper

Us, there

At the SKP park near Bushnell; pastoral squalor in darkest
central Florida

Sort of says it all

Except just outside our window, this forbidding swamp...with
benches for brave birders

Interim Update #1,261

On February 7th we decamped and, after re-provisioning a bit, set our course east, on Interstates 8, 10, and 12, mostly 10, headed for Florida, for les rendezvous with friends, family, and a reunion at Mousetopia. It is our 8th cross-country trip since retirement, our fifth in Le Sport. We are both native Floridians, so the trip is just bursting with meaning. 

Presently, February 13th, we are Wally-docked in Spanish Fort, Alabama, alongside fellow travelers Kathy and Rick (Travelin'Tortuga.com), whom we have known since 2010, meeting up on various continents over the years. After a stint hereabouts, they are headed back west, then north, for a summer traversing Canada. We had a pleasant dinner and evening together talking about--what else?--travel, past and future. 

Today, we will dip down into Florida, with stops eventually along the Redneck Riviera, Pensacola, Tallahassee, Bushnell, Orlando/Kissimmee, and then Ft. Lauderdale. By the end of March, we will have worked our way back north, visiting some of the coastal cities of the southeast, before returning to our eastern base in Knoxville. And whither then? Europe! Stay tuned.

One of the most significant commercial marvels in the South is
Buc-ees, the largest of all convenience stores; Vicki had learned of
them through her voluminous reading and contacts; from the highway
they look like enormous truck stops: but, no! no trucks! seriously;
above, me, with Buc-ee; we did not go inside; diesel was $3.39/gal,
which explains most of it

Baytown, TX: alpenglow on a refinery stack

Rick and Kathy, fellow travelers, with Travelin' Tortuga

Designing personal apparel for Mousetopia...

Mission Bay Scenes, 2022

We were six weeks this year on Mission Bay, in San Diego, at Campland on the Bay, a large privately-owned campground on the Bay. We were busy most of the time, planning future travels, maintaining the camper, and getting upwards of 15,000 steps a day in preparation for future adventures. We confined ourselves entirely to foot travel, in support of the exercise regimen, but also because we did not want to go in anywhere with Omicron surging most of January. We were thus lousy tourists, and someday we'll have to come back to San Diego and visit some of its worthy attractions and cultural treasures. Someday. In the meantime, we have arrangements and reservations for visits to Rome, Florence, London, Paris, and assorted points thereabouts for the summer....for Berlin, Prague and Vienna for the fall...and for New Zealand in the winter. As usual nowadays, everything is conditional, and refundable, to a point. But we're hopeful.

We enjoyed our time on Mission Bay again and certainly can recommend it, for the weather mostly, but also for the laid back and easy going culture. 

Our campsite, N21, at Campland on the Bay

One of my favorite trees is the Pohutukawa...the New Zealand
Christmas tree...native to the North Island, but nowadays 
spread all over the world, especially California; memo to self:
do not park under Pohutukawas when blooming

Our favorite walk, 2-3 times a week, was to the ocean at Pacific
Beach, a bit over a mile away, along Pacific Beach Boulevard;
a beautifully landscaped island on the boulevard held this secluded
bench, where we stopped to rest coming and going

Contemporary architecture on the boardwalk; rents for $8k a
night, each floor

Pacific Beach, looking toward the pier, on a week day in January

Back on the Bay, Sail Bay, a beach artist/architect at work

Para-sailing on Sail Bay

On the east side of the bay, at Mission Bay Park...strummin',
pluckin', and fiddlin'...

On Pacific Beach Boulevard, a real Woody

Everything's up to date in Pacific Beach (ATM inside)

Everywhere you look, flora of interest

Thai peanut curry, with locally-sourced cilantro

Thus

Jade plants thrive in this climate and are used for all kinds of
landscaping; this one had trunks nearly a foot in diameter

Alas, we did not get to Mexico this trip

But we did get to the top of one of the eastern hills one day, with
this view of part of Mission Bay and the sea beyond

More weird plants

Back on the beach, looking at the regatta

Woody's on the board walk, where we often had lunch

Most ubiquitous of the flora

Precious little is left of the wetlands--they're now the bay and
its assorted landforms; but many in San Diego yearn for their
return and celebrate what little is left

Thus, one Saturday

From the campground across to the celebration, encompassing
most of what is left of the wetlands

Us, there, then