ATLANTIC COAST PARKS December 12-18, 2013

As we drove north to the top of the Keys, the view was stunning and the warm beautiful days stayed with us.  Our destination was the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park located in Key Largo. It felt exciting just thinking about being in Key Largo; we've always been fans of the movie with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. But I'm sure the city has grown since the movie was filmed there in 1948. We were pretty surprised to find mostly strip malls and businesses, no longer the open waters along the roadway. 

It was hard to believe that amidst all this commercial development there would be such a beautiful park, but that's just how it happens. We found our "brown sign" which tells us a park is ahead and with one right turn we drove into a beautiful wooded state park so removed from the busy life outside.  The park is now 50 years old and was the first undersea park in the US. It is adjacent to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary with 178 nautical mile roof coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove swamps. The park extends 3 miles into the Atlantic and is 25 miles in length preserving a portion of the only living coral reef in the continental United State. Pretty amazing! I was delighted that 'Id been able to get us two nights in the campground.  It wouldn't be enough but at least we'd get to see some of the area. 

We had taken our time driving from Long Key so it was almost 5 PM before we arrived. We set up the motorhome and hopped on our bikes to check out the park.  The campground is small and doesn't provide much privacy between campsites but the air chilled down quickly so we made dinner inside (too many bugs outside at sunset) and had a nice evening planning our day in the park. 

We were up early to ride over to the Visitor Center for tickets on the glassbottom boat going out at 9AM. Though the boat can hold about 130 passengers we were a small group of only 25, I guess December is not the favored month for tourists there. Plus, the seas were rough. We decided not to do the snorkeling this time, and just enjoyed the 2 1/2 hour tour. I was so glad we had chosen the morning trip by afternoon the boats were cancelled due to the rough seas. The park also rents kayaks, canoes, snorkeling and scuba gear. 

As we left the dock we rode through the mangrove swamps and the tropical hammocks. Such a beautiful, peaceful ride. 

Then the captain increased the speed and off we went to the reef. With a Naturalist on board we spent about 45 minutes watching the sea life and coral from above. A wonderful morning. We also spent time in the Visitor Center which features a 30,000 gallon saltwater aquarium along with other natural history exhibits and a theater for nature videos.

The earlier winds brought in an afternoon rain shower just as we were sitting down for sunset and Happy Hour at Snooks. A pretty place with a sunset view if only the downpour hadn't hit. I am slowly getting how the weather in Florida works: expect rain most any day even if the morning starts with blue sky and it comes in quickly, so unlike California.

 Saturday morning we were up and on the road by 7AM for our long travel day, 325 miles towards St. Augustine.  We tried not using the toll roads which slowed us down a bit getting up to Miami, but it also got us to a new Trader Joe's that had just opened. Nice chance to stock up on more of our favorite supplies. Not sure I'd take this same route up to Miami next time, just too time consuming with stoplights rather than freeways. Being a 4 axle vehicle makes tolls pretty pricey and Florida has major toll roads from the Keys to Orlando.


We had just gotten past Ft. Lauderdale and all was good when Paul heard a loud sound near him. I looked up and the entire cabinet above his head was falling off the roof. Pretty scary since he sits directly underneath it!!! We were able to get off the freeway easily and into a parking lot where he worked on it for the next hour. He added several more screws to attach it to the ceiling, we propped up a piece of wood for extra safety and once we had lunch we hit the road again.

The rest of the afternoon was smooth and easy and we arrived at our next park just at sunset. We had five nights reserved at Gamble Rogers State Park south of St. Augustine with another beautiful ocean view campsite. 

I set up our one Christmas decoration, made dinner and enjoyed a beautiful sunset view.

 Monday we spent the afternoon at Washington Oaks Gardens a historic park along the Matanzas River also known as the Intercoastal Waterway about 10 miles north of our campground.

 There are walking paths through both formal gardens and wooded areas but I'll have to come back another tome to see the azaleas and camellias in bloom. The property was the winter retirement home for Louise Powis Clark and Owen Young. Her story was amazing...she was a designer and self made millionaire by the age of 19 having built a lingerie import business.  She donated the house and gardens to the state of Florida in 1964.

The next few days we just relaxed and enjoyed the beach and some wonderful bike rides up to the little town of Flagler Beach. Paul was still finishing up some things on the motorhome so we also made the drive over to Palm Coast to find supplies. The town of Palm Coast is only 10 years old so its more of a community of shops and homes than a real town. One night we went to see the lights at their City Center Park getting there just as they were turning them off, so a fast walk to stay ahead of the two boys on a golf cart unplugging every display.

 The state park is set on a small cliff overlooking the Atlantic right along highway A1A. It is named for Florida singer Gamble Rogers, a folk artist musician and storyteller known for his songs and stories about characters and places in a fictional Florida county.  In 1991 he died a heroic death right at this beach, trying to rescue a man who was in trouble in the rough surf. Sadly both men died that afternoon. In honor of his heroism, the park was renamed Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area.

Though not as warm as the sunny days of the Keys, the park was a beautiful stay, very quiet and peaceful.