Sunday, September 27, 2015

Alive An' Kickin'

 Yes, we are all still here and with the living!  We just got back from a week long vacation down in St. Andrew's State Park, in the sunny state of Florida, where we had a fabulous time!  As you can see, I finally got to try paddle boarding, which I had wanted to do for some time now, and it was great!  I enjoyed the hell out of that.

 It is a little harder to stay upright that some might think; I was just mildly surprised.  But it's not terribly hard.  It is a great workout on your legs and stomach though. I did fall off one time, in shallow water, and my big butt went straight to the bottom and hit pretty hard!  That didn't do a whole lot of good for my hips and tailbone but it didn't seem to bother me too much later.

 The waters are beautiful and so clear at St. Andrew's so I could see all sorts of sealife below me.  Fortunately, no sharks but I did have 2 dolphins swim right under me!!  and several large schools of fish and a stingray.  The dolphins were feeding on the fish so we all went back and forth and round in circles.  It was great!

 Since we were camping in the park we had time to do all sorts of other things, like hiking.  Their trails are very short but it was interesting and we saw lots of stuff.  I was trying to photograph a squirrel here and just almost got an unintended shot of said squirrel being snatched up by a hawk.  Me and the squirrel were both very surprised!
 Tons of dragonflies but I was not able to get a good shot of any really.

 The beaches here are some of the prettiest I've seen anywhere in the U.S. and I've been to both seas and all around the Gulf.  I also did a fair amount of snorkeling and swimming and had a little group of my own fishes that followed me around anytime I did.  They apparently liked for me to stir up the sand for them because there was something there they liked to eat I guess.  At any rate, they stayed with me every step of the way.

There are tons of various wildlife at SA, as you can see in the following photos.  Most of the creatures are fairly used to humans too, so you can get some good pics.





Did I mention we had a great time? lol!

Our mattresses stayed blown up, we had a nice, shady, quiet camping spot, the amenities here are great; nice showers etc.  The weather was outstanding.  Warm in the day and just cool enough at night to sleep good.  I cooked a nice breakfast each morning but we had dinner out each night so I got lots of great seafood!

And to top it all off, we saw this bald eagle on our last day there!  Almost everyone else on the beach was too busy checking their phones or taking selfies to notice it,


One thing I really enjoyed about being there was actually....no internet, no electronics of any kind.  I'll tell you I did not miss it one bit.

I'll be back soon with another post I think with what little has been going on around here..  Honestly, I have not had a lot of interest in posting this past month, for various reasons I guess, but I think I have a couple of updates for ya'll.  Just lots of busy work getting out of clay and cleaning up, checking out new work leads etc. and the regular yard, garden and chicken work.

9 comments:

JO said...

Oh wonderful for You n Jack to get away and really enjoy yourselves. The water looks so inviting.

ErinFromIowa said...

Fantastic photos of y'all having a great time on your trip. Beautiful eagle!

Ed said...

I love that neck of the woods and it sounds like I will be going back there perhaps one more time at the end of this year. The beaches are beautiful and when we go, almost deserted which is always a plus in my book. Great pictures!

Island Rider said...

A new place to add to my destination bucket list! Thanks! Glad you had a great time!

Unknown said...

Enjoyed this blog. I'm packing my bags!

Hermit's Baby Sis said...

Great to hear from you, Annie, and look at you! Paddle boarding!! Must be feeling pretty durn good, or looks like it, anyway. I was not to far from your vacation spot myself last week, We were in Hilton Head, SC, and our water was not nearly as pretty as yours - the storm must have rifled it up, 'cause it was muddy and brown. But, I'm delighted that you and Jack had some good times - you deserved it! And yeah - no electronics works for me, too. Except for the GPS to get us where we want to be - some places just aren't on the map -, so that's why I'm just now catching up on last weeks blog postings. Right on time to catch yours - and ready for more updates. How did the craft show go?

pamit said...

Wow, what awesome photos of you Annie...you look strong and healthy! Beautiful place, it reminds me of Seashore State Park in Virginia, where I camped most summers I lived in the east. Salt water is so relaxing for some reason...

MamaHen said...

Hey Jo! Oh it was!! The water was warm and delightful; just cool enough to be refreshing.

Hey Erin! thanks! yeah, was so happy to see the eagle.

Hey Ed! thanks! Yeah, Jack was so taken with it he's already talking about us maybe going back in early November.

Hey IR! Wha? Can't believe you have not been to this place already! But yeah, GO! you and hubs will love it.

Hey Ken! Good to hear from you! Go it you get the chance! it is beautiful here.

Hey sis! Thanks! Yes, I felt pretty good while we were there! I'm kinda paying for it now but it was well worth it. We had a blast. Well, I have been to Hilton Head when there was no storm and the water is still not very clear. St. Andrews and Grayton Beach a little north has got everybody beat on that.

Hey Pam! thanks! I felt pretty strong too! Yeah, salt water is wonderful and I think the waves release a ton of negative ions to help with that relaxation also!

HermitJim said...

Looks like a wonderful camping trip to me. I'm glad that you and Jack had the chance to go and enjoy it!

Take care, my friend!