Turning a corner, literally!

The next morning, less frazzled, we decided to go ahead and try getting into Pelican Bay.  Some places you visit and are glad you went but once is enough.  Other places are great and you try to get there again someday.  And then there are those rare gems that are simply good for your soul and you get to whenever possible, Pelican Bay is that for us.  We bumped initially but managed to back off and try just a few feet farther over and more carefully followed our previous waypoints and dropped the hook.  What an amazing difference in a boat that was constantly corkscrewing around for the past several days to almost complete calm.  All I wanted to do for the first few hours was enjoy the stillness and let my equilibrium return.  Rough seas don't really bother David, the lucky dog, so he went out to explore the depths in the area around us looking for deeper water.  Once all was right with the world again, we went to shore at the Cayo Costa State Park and walked some of the trails.  We went back to next day and spent most of the time ashore until the afternoon.  Then something amazing happened, we went over to say "hi" to a boat near us flying the "Come and take it" flag and I wanted to meet folks who must be fellow Texans.  (check out the flag is you're not familiar with the story)  Turns out he had worked there for a few months and liked the flag and the story behind it and so flew it from his boat.  Turned out he was originally from Ft. Walton Beach and went to school with people we knew.  We invited them over for drinks and turned into dinner and then it got even more amazing.  Turns out he was friends with our Martha's beau Dylan and he actually had a picture of Dylan and his siblings on his camera!  He remembered their folks well too.  So Jeff says "Hi" to the family.  With another cold front bearing down on us with promises of high winds and thunderstorms, we have elected to stay put in our little hidey hole and ride it out.  The wind should keep our batteries topped off with our wind generator. The following pictures are in no particular order for the past 2 days.

We walked over to the gulf side of the island and there was this stark bit of nature
blocking the path along the beach.

These flags are to notify swimmers of conditions in the gulf.  Green means the water is nice
but purple means dangerous sealife has been spotted.  So I guess the water is fine until
the sharks bite.

This seemed an ingenious way to raise funds for needed park amenities.
You donate the funds to purchase a picnic table, bench etc and you have your
personalized plaque attached.

 

The dock  on the bay side of the park.  The only way to reach the park is by water and
there are quite a few day trippers coming every day.  Several large boats bring loads in
from all over the Charlotte Harbor/Pine Island area.

The trails in the park are extensive and well maintained.

One of the classier looking tourist boats.

These clouds let us know that the weather is changing.  We're actually looking
forward to rain since we could use a good fresh water rinse.

What a great idea for any park!

We explored some of the more remote park areas by dinghy.  We thought we were at the
end of the area showing on the map but came upon this almost hidden opening.

And found this serene, almost perfectly round pond.  It was easily a mile in diameter.

Horseshoe crabs are all over the shore.  This was was a recent washup and the
crabs hadn't started their feasting.

Mama Osprey is home and on alert.  Dad was nearby hunting fish.

The camping is very nice here with both rudimentary cabins and tent sites.  The cabins all
seemed to be full but the tent sites only about half way.  This is a new bathroom/shower facility.

Cayo Costa was once a thriving (as much as a barrier island can thrive) and this
was the community cemetery  Most of the graves dated back to the early 20th century..

Apparently one of the duties of the community was to handle those quarantined with illnesses
such as yellow fever, etc.  This was the remains of the old dock.

The plants in the park are so varied and covered in another post but I thought
I'd add the handsome captain in this stand of palms.

Some of the cabins.

The more traditional head boat.  Head boat is a common term since they
determine profitability by the number of heads paying for the ride.

This is a popular anchorage for sure.  I'm sure it will fill before the storm arrives Saturday evening.

White pelicans didn't seem to care how close we came.  There are a rare sight
in our part of Florida but more common here.

One of the many trails.  I imagine the overhead canopy is welcome in the heat of the summer.

This was from the beach side of the park almost at the end of the island.

This heron was beautifully silhouetted in the calm water.  They are tremendously patient hunters. 

One of the empty tent sites.

You leave a densely vegetated path to this wide open savanna leading to the gulf.

I've seen a lot of mangrove bushes but never one that was an island unto itself.  This
bush was well away from any shore in the pond but was doing well.

A white pelican wanted to check us out since we were checking him out.