Tampa

   We made our way down to the Tampa Bay area on the 6th and stayed for a week. Barbara has a sister living in Brandon that we wanted to spend some time visiting. I was glad Barbara had the chance to spend some quality time with her. We stayed in a typical Florida snow bird park where everyone is packed tight as sardines. Although the park was ok, I'm not a fan of these types of campgrounds. I like a place with more room in a rural location. I think I've said it before and I'll for sure say it again, the Tampa area has the worst drivers in the country in my opinion and I've driven  everywhere in the country. I won't elaborate but you name it, they do it down here. We drove over to Madeira Beach one day and stayed all day on the beach. The temperature was in the mid 70's with clear skies, a perfect day.
   We left Tampa today and moved about 50 miles north, just south of Bushnell, FL to an Escapees Park called Sumpter Oaks. We stayed here for a couple of weeks last year and really enjoyed the peaceful country setting. We'll probably stay for at least two weeks while we wait for it to start getting warmer up north. More to follow about Sumpter Oaks later....

The Tampa skyline and heavy traffic

 

Driving across Tampa Bay, headed to Madeira Beach

 

A perfect day at the beach

 

 

After a day of deep sea fishing, you can have your catch cleaned on the dock

 

There's a boardwalk at St. John's Pass with various shops and restaurants

 

 

In one of the gift shops, you could get this on a t-shirt. I thought it was pretty funny.

 

The RV park in Tampa

 

Do you see what I mean by RV's packed tight as sardines?

 

A true piece of art on the street

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Ocean Grove RV Resort

 Our stay here at Ocean Grove RV Resort is winding down but before we leave I want to take you around the park in case any of the readers are thinking about visiting the area. The park is located 7 miles south of St. Augustine on highway A1A about 400 yds. from the beach. There is a shopping center less than a mile away with a Publix grocery store. A Winn Dixie grocery store is even closer to the park. There are several restaurants within walking distance with our favorite, Salt Water Cowboy's" a very short drive south of us. More on Salt Water Cowboy's later....
  
   The park has 198 full hook up sites, many of them pull through patio sites. There are plenty of live oak trees however they are well trimmed and posed no problem maneuvering our 36' fifth wheel through. Even though our site was well shaded, we had no issue setting up or satellite dish. The sites are plenty wide enough for any type of rig. Cable TV is available but at $38 extra for the month, we opted to stay with our satellite only. A nice bonus is free Wi-Fi that is very fast and reliable. They have an on site propane station which was heavily used by everyone in the park due to some unseasonably cool, rainy weather. Other notable amenities are a boat and fishing dock directly on the Intracoastal Waterway and a well equipped fitness center. All in all, I would highly recommend this park to anyone visiting St. Augustine.

 

 

Pool and hot tub area

 

 

 

Laundry room with ample washers and dryers for the park

 

 

Time to change gears....we had dinner today at "Salt Water Cowboys", a restaurant about a mile from the RV park, on the Intracoastal Waterway. The food was great and we highly recommend this place. It has a great atmosphere along with decorations that reminded us of backwater, rural Florida cracker land.

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent food! I had the combination platter with fish, scallops, shrimp, and crab. Barbara had baby back ribs and shrimp.

 



More of St. Augustine & Nights of Lights

   One thing we wanted to do was go downtown at night to look at the holiday lights. From mid-November through January, St. Augustine sparkles with 3 million white lights, reflecting the cities 448 years of history. We had a very nice stroll beginning at the marina as we walked up and down the narrow streets.

 

 

 

 

The next photo is a little blurry but the blue lights are of a bicycle taxi that rode by as  was taking the photo

 

 

Many of the vessels are live aboards. I've often wandered what it would be like to live on a boat, sailing from port to port. I got a taste of it a few years ago, sailing the Florida Keys for a week. I loved it. Who knows, maybe sometime down the road...

 

 

 

 

 

Castillo de San Marcos

   While here in St. Augustine we decided to visit the fort that guarded St. Augustine for hundreds of years. For many years it was the northernmost outpost of Spain's vast New World empire. It was started in 1672 by the Spanish and was completed in 1695. It replaced nine successive wooden fortifications, the first one being built when St. Augustine was established in 1565. The fort is made from a rare local sedimentary rock called Coquina, found in only 7 locations worldwide. Coquina is a combination of shells and sand that have compacted together to form a very strong material for building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the fort we strolled down a few streets in town

 

 

I've got to come back to this place and get a Cuban Sandwich