Cocoa Beach to Siesta Key

Track 'Home' Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros.
"The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever." Jac Cousteau.

Day 52

The plan for the day was a somewhat last minute decision to head to Kennedy Space Centre to soak up some of what NASA has achieved in space exploration over the last 40 years. Our space exploration however only lasted 40 mins as we found that it had been made into an Musement park and every school field trip from Florida was in attendance. We also disocovered that Dylan and Sol were too young to see a lot of the attractions. After a manic 10 mins in the angry birds experience where we were nearly demolished by the hoards of bussling kids, we called it a day and headed to customer services to see if we could get a refund. A really lovely lady there agreed we would better off getting our 150 dollars back and gave us a refund despite the loss of our tickets and receipt!

We happily left for Cocoa Beach the home of Kelly Slater. After doing some shopping at Ron Jons (worlds biggest surf shop) we had a lovely afternoon on the beach, cooling off occasionally in the warm crystal clear water. We drove just about 30 mins to a county park to spend the night.

  Day 53

Awoke to a vast array of sand fly bites from the previous night so decided to ease the itching by heading straight to the beach. We were the only people on the beach for miles surprisingly, although it was still before 9. After all taking a quick dip we set off for the west coast of Florida and arrived at Myakka State Park afternoon.

 It was a fantastic park with lots to do and we went for a walk through the forest and up the canopy walk and lookout tower. We drove out to the lake in the evening to try to see if there was any internet signal and watched the aligators floating around as the sunset.

Day 54.

 

We went out on a Gentle Ben style airboat for a guided tour of the lake. The wildlife was incredible. We saw some pretty large aligators very close tothe boat, wild boars on the shore and lots of birds including ospreys diving for fish. Incredible. Later on after a cold drink in the cafe we went out on another tour in a wagon through some of the off the beaten track parts of the park. The driver/ narrator had a voice that would make a menu seem interesting. We listened to him tell tales of what life was like here 100yrs ago on the farmsteads when the prairie still existed in florida. We had a really good lunch in the cafe and a bit of a shop before heading on tover Scherer state park near Sarasota.

It was amazing how quickly the glitz of the east coast disappeared and the country clubs were soon replaced by fields of orange trees and laborers huts.

When we arrived on the west coast it was so hot that the only thing for it was to go straight to the nearest beach so it was the lovely Nokomis Beach where we spent the next few hours. We made the decision that as this is the last coastline that we would see for a while that we d spend the next morning at Siesta Key, voted the best beach in the US.

 Day 54.

Dumping was overseen by the rangers as they had a back-up! Talk about airing your dirty laundry in public. Becs stayed in the air con breastfeeding, one of the perks, whilst pete fussed about with buckets and gloves! After checking out of the state park we took a leisurely 30mins drive to Siesta Key to see what all the fuss is about.

 It WAS lovely, fine pure white sand and perfect clear blue water. We all spent a while in the water snorkling,  Dylan is turning part fish the amount of time he is spending in water these days!

We dragged ourselves away mid afternoon and set off to Lake Panasofkee where we would spend the night before one of our early starts to get some mileage under our belts before the kids wake up. We again noted a very different Florida to that seen around the coast with lots of agriculture and small drive through towns. The KOA campsite was perfect for our needs and our early getaway.

Orlando, holiday within a holiday.

Track. When you wish upon a star. Cliff Edwards Disney Studio Chorus.
"Laughter is timeless. Imagination has no age . And dreams are forever" Walt Disney.

Day 43.

 Had a lovely swim in the springs in the morning and then made our way into Orlando excited to meet up with Nain and Taid. Got some admin done, laundry and shopping and then made good use of the hotel internet and free services including popcorn before they even landed. As both Mari and Tim were pretty tired, we allowed them a fairly early night, but planned on throwing them straight in at the deep end with Epcot the following day.  

Day 44.

After a comfortable night spent in the Marriott carpark we got straight onto a buffet breakfast and were in Epcot before you could say jiminey cricket. We spent the morning in the world showcase, sneaking in some smuggled sandwiches in the USA section, and then went on the rides in the afternoon. They had the added bonus of a flower festival on and recreations of some of the charactors in floral form. We enjoyed a lovely Mexican meal, complete with erupting volcano and a birthday song for nain from the waiters, in the evening and it was good to get out of the heat for a bit.

We ambishiously stayed on for the fireworks and lasers at the end of the night which were brilliant too.  

Day 45.

 Nain and Taid came out to Wakiva Springs to visit us and we joined what seemed like the rest of Florida around the springs. Whilst becs and Tim went to get some bbq food the heavens opened and there was a mass exodus from the park.  We had a really lovely evening around the campfire.

 Day 46.  

We had an amazing day in Discovery Cove. It is a theme park owned by Seaworld but made to feel like an all-inclusive resort for the day. Almost unbelievably, we were able to snorkle with rays and tropical fish on a man made reef and feed birds from our hands and float through waterfalls. Even Solomon managed the waterfalls and Mari did some really good swimming until the free Margaritas and cooing over sol became the more appealing option. Had a pizza in the hotel that night and then made our way to the disney RV park. Sat up in total disbelief at the piped music coming off the river parade sound and light display. A chorus of bullfrogs joined in and it was the noisiest the wilderness has ever been.

  Day 47.

 Got the boat over to the Magic Kingdom and met Nain and Taid nice and early, keen and raring to go. A fantastic day again in the park jam-packed with charector encounters and rides.

Taid and becs had paid a visit to all of the big 3 rollercosters by nightfall and dylan even went on splash mountain too with a bit of encouragement.  Its all he has talked about since. It got pretty busy by the afternoon but we pushed on through enjoying some of the lesser known attractions such as the country bears jamboree "the ones that turn me on all turn me down..." and we found a total haven of an upstairs spot to escape for some food.

We finished off with the electric light parade and the fireworks which were incredible but all got a bit too much for dylan. Only Pete was still awake by the time the boat pulled back into the RV park.  

Day 48.

We took further advantage of the babysitting and taxi service on offer and hit Aquatica a new waterpark. It was a lovely day filled with lazy rivers and slides. One of the tubes even passed through a dolphin tank but it was difficult to appreciate them fully whilst moving so fast downhill with water going up your nose. Nain did a cracking job with solomon whilst Pete spent hours on the water playground and becs beat her dad, twice, down the water race track.

In the evening, we again benefitted from the babysitting and went to an cracking restaurant for a meal. Pete had swordfish and becs had buffalo. It was a real treat. Dylan watched fireworks with nain and taid and played on the playpark till late.

 Day 49

We spent the day in Seaworld which has changed beyond recognition since the 1990s with new areas and less emphasis on making the animals jump through hoops and more on multi media displays. Shamu now had an extended family and the dolphin display was topped off with astounding dives and acrobatics from humans. It was great. The mime artist dressed as a pirate at the beginning of the sea-lion and walrus show was also very entertaining as he generally mocked people whilst we waited for the show to start.

We went for a dennys meal afterwards with the worlds slowest waitress and then headed back to the RV park for a really enjoyable evening hosted by Chip n Dale, singing around the campfire. Those sneaky squirrels! Dale took a real shine to nain and there were some particularly funny moments when a real squirrel was stuck in the bin and they were trying to get him out. Marshmallows around the campfire, songs from a cowboy on a guitar and finally more fireworks and we were well and truly disneyed.  

Day 50.

  We had a lovely last day with nain and taid around the pool. Got some more laundry done, had the first mini jog since the calf pull, and nain got Sol to have quite a bit of milk from the bottle so very productive too. Taid was particularly enthralled when a girl got a nose bleed and the evidently very bored first aid team jumped into action.

There were at one stage no less than 9 people in attendance some of whom arrived by fire engine. Classic. We were really sad to say goodbye to nain and taid as they went off to the airport after what had been a totally fantastic week

. We left Orlando for the east coast and found a lovely County campground called Manatee Hammocks for the night.

Breaux Bridge to Wakiva Springs FLORIDA

Track - Free falling- Tom Petty.
"The good man is the friend of all living things" Mahatma Gandhi.

Day 39.

Started drive at 4am, partly to make up for the wasted hours the day before retracing our steps past New Orleans, and partly to put some miles between us and the wierd RV park in Breaux Bridge! By lunch time we had crossed through Mississippi AND Alabama and were in the Florida tourist information centre having a complimentary o.j!

We did have a waffle house stop off in Mississippi which was a good break but again a bit small-town-strange. The scenary changed again arriving in Florida and our first night was spent in Pensacola at Big Lagoon State Park.

The office had been vandalised the night before so were waved straight through and had a picnic lunch amongst Pelicans on a very windswept beach followed by a lovely walk through the boardwalks to the beach. Dylan had a swim and made a tiger out of palm leaves. We had a little campfire and then quite an early night.

Day 40.

Drove further along highway 98 to another state park. The road was initially pretty dull. Lined with touristy towns and lots of traffic lights, the road made for slow progress, but it improved as the day went on. We had a stop off for a supermarket shop and family hair cut, and arrived in St Josephs Peninsula State Park late afternoon. We had a great spot. The Gulf of Mexico 50 yrds on one side of us and the bay 50 yrds the other side, right on the point of the long arm.

The area is well known for turtles nesting and the other commonly seen species include sharks and jellyfish. The weather had been unseasonably cool and the wind had stirred up the waters to a murky colour. There were signs up saying to beware of the strong rip currents and it was dusk so we decided on balence, swimming was not a good idea! We were the only people on the beach however snd had a lovely walk. Back at the campsite we found lots of cotton rats so had supper inside the van. Fresh tuna steak and scallops...Mmmm.  

Day 41.  

Started with a double breakfast for dylan and more rat spotting. We then made our way to the beach to relax after A long day on the road yesterday. A few clouds in the sky so it was beautiful one minute and then a bit cold the next but a beautiful quiet place. We dipped in and out of the bay and made some sand sculptures.

After lunch we drove on again through some stunning coastal scenary to Manatee Springs State Park. Having crossed another time zone we arrived quite late in the day but there was stilltime for a dip in the waters of the spring. An unbelievably beautiful place where manatee come to the warmer waters during the winter. A mother and her calf had been spotted here last week. It was possible to see to the bottom of the 25ft pool and there were lots of fish including quite large carp. It amazes us that these places are so accessible. For 20 bucks we can just rock up here and sleep in a stunning part of the forest surrounded by flora and fauna and have fantastically maintained facilities.

After a little walk down to the river we settled in for a lovely campfire surrounded by racoons, armadillos and deer.  Listening to the cracking branches we even thought we had bears nearby.....

Day 42.

Started the day with a swim and snorkel down at the spring and amazingly manatee springs did actually deliver a manatee! It was a juvenile feeding in the river and was very late in the season to be still be present. Lucky us.

After packing up the van we set off towards Orlando to meet Becs folks for a week's holiday Disney style.

We booked ourselves into a state park outside Orlando called Wekiva springs and although not quite as rustic as previous state parks, was still beautiful.  Feeling very pleased with ourselves after orginising the week ahead we enjoy some red wine around the campfire.

New Orleans to Baton Rouge

Track. Basin Street Blues- Glen David Andrews.
" One chord is fine, two chords are pushing it and three chords, and you're into jazz" Lou Reed.

Day 36.

It was a little overcast and rainy in the morning so after we had parked the RV at our really smart New Orleans campsite, we got a taxi to the festival site at the showground. It was very similar to a festival at home in many ways, mud, unusual clothing, beers being drunk before midday...but the music was really different. There were 3 large tents each with seating for around 500, jazz, blues and gospel.  We checked all of them out and totally loved some of the acts they had. Some great blues and amazingly talented musicians.

There were a couple of heavy downpours, one of which soaked us through to our underpants, but the boys were snug in the pushchair under the raincover, dylan with sol on his knees. A real highlight was Glen David Andrews' set in the blues tent. He was a trombone player and blues singer with a full orchestra including the coolest and largest piano player on the planet. We danced till we were sweaty, especially dylan who was incorporating moves from all dance genres with great energy.

 Topped the day off with Roy Ayers.....everybody loves the sunshine, then stumbled across the cajun stage on our way out to listen to a couple of tracks by lil Nathan and his zydecco band. Brilliant.

 The party continued back at the restaurant at the Pontchartrain RV park we had amazing meals. Pete had a pound of grilled shrimp and Becs had a half rack of ribs, both making use of the incredible choice of bbq sauces. The best was called 'gators breath' which was sweet to start with and hot to finish- the waiter read them out like a wine list -BBQ heaven.

   Day 37.

Heavy rain again in the morning so we did a bit of sorting out and laundry whilst checking out the playground. We were allowed to leave the RV parked up for the day, so got a taxi into the French Quarter.

After a little walk around we had lunch near the waterfront. Pete had the best shrimp po'boy ever and becs had half a dozen oysters and some fresh gumbo. We found a small tour operator called Frank, a really lovely and informative bloke. He walked us around and told us the amazing history of New Orleans and pointed out things of interest and different architectural styles.

It appears that N.O had previously been under French, Spanish and Dutch control and had then defended itself as American against British advances with the help of pirates. There is still the feel of a city full of scoundrels and eccentrics. It has real excitment and diversity, in fact during the tour we passed one of the locals, affectionately known as the naked transvestite cowboy. Sol slept the whole time and dylan was really well behaved so we had a visit to a coffee shop and celebratory cake afterwards.

We popped into the Voodoo museum, a mixture of african mysticism and Catholicism. Really interesting and full of misperception to the outsider. Voodoo dolls were in fact medical notes where the healer would remind themselves which bit had been treated by sticking a pin in. How useful for the more complex patient becs thought. We hit Bourbon street just as things wereheating up on a Friday night. Dylan insisted that he and sol both shook hands with a giant handgrenade outside the bar where they had been first invented. It all looked slightly inappropriate.  We watched some incredible street performers, including a guy who slid about 8ft on the top of his head.

For dinner we pushed the boat out and went to an amazing club based on a British gentleman's club. Becs had fillet steak and a martini, and pete had a shrimp caesar. Dylan went for pasta and did us proud again. When we got back to the RV park Pete drove off into the night, sad to be leaving New Orleans behind us. We arrived in Baton Rouge late.




Day 38.

We were ready and waiting for the pool and hot tub to open in the morning. It was a lovely pool but the water was cold so Pete and dylan weren't in for long and Becs stuck to the hot tub. We headed off to find the baseball game, Louisiana State University (LSU) Tigers, versus Florida Gators. It had sold out of seats and we had n't fancied standing room, but decided to go along anyway and try our luck.

Managed to park the RV and then walked along a railway line with a few others towards the stadium just after the game had started. The lovely lady at the gate let us in for free and found us some cracking seats. It turned out to be an epic game and all the locals took pleasure in us being there to witness a score line not seen before and enjoyed explaining all the tactics to us. Sorry about having to take photos from the camera viewing screen on the tablet to include! Keep forgetting to use the right media!

Dylan got fully kitted out in LSU baseball cap, foam claw hand and tiger tail. It was hot but in true USA style they had thought of everything and got a covered playground inside the playground for the children once they were getting bored of the action. The ball nearly hit us several times. Afterwards we decided to backtrack further into Louisiana to visit the Crawfish festival in Breaux Bridge. It took a couple of hours to get there and then another couple of hours were spent firstly trying to park, then giving up as the festival looked rubbish, and then finally getting chucked out of our RV park and spending the night in a tourist information centre car park- not a brilliant end to an otherwise lovely day!!

Abbeville LOUISIANA to Bayou Segnette.

Track. Go hard or home-  Lil Nat and the zydeco big timers.
"I often quote myself, it adds spice to my conversation." George Bernard Shaw

Day 34.

Had a free texan breakfast in the RV park. No sign of the FBI at breakfast, we had seen a surveillance van on the wifi list the night before. Turned down 'biscuits and gravy' - which looked like stale scones and a white pepper sauce, Mmmmm, but did go for the DIY waffles that came oue in the shape of texas.

 Half an hour down the road we reached the Louisiana State line and called in on the Tourist Information Centre. These, we now find, provide free coffee and maps and are very useful. Shame we only just discovered them 5 states in. We left overwhelmed and laiden with too much information and caffiene. We got flustered and hot back in the RV trying to come up with a plan, so opted for no plan, like usual.

 Drove over bayous and past swamps and then down into the parishes. The scenary now rice paddies and crawfish farms. Lots of porches and swinging chairs. More churches than seemed sustainable. We made it to Gueydan by lunch and had a welcome break. There were hundreds of mating black flies around.

The town prides itself on its claim to be duck capital of the USA and the Creole Cafe we went to for lunch had duck quesadillas on the menu which becs went for and they were delicious. Dylan went for a Shrimp Po'boy, essentially a prawn sandwich, and Pete grilled shrimp. The whole town seemed interested that we had turned up in our California plates.

We drove on Abbeville in the afternnon, the sky was black, and we went around and around indecisively. Eventually we found the towns RV Park which was stunning.

Minimal facilites, a cajun style hut and nature trails, very peaceful. Had a lovely bbq and campfire.

Day 35

 The early start didnt transpire as planned but we still managed to make good time in leaving the amazing rv park and set off towards Avery Island, birthplace of Tabasco sauce.

We started the visit with a quick tour of the factory and history of how it all started. Amazing really, the guy had married a plantation owners daughter, was chased off during the civil war only to return to their home after the war had ended. During this time he grew chillies and invented pepper sauce. They now make 750, 000 bottles a day and it is the only place in the world where it is made. They have loads of different varieties and we hogged the tasting table for quite some time.

 There were extraordinary gardens with a notable tranquililty.  The spanish moss hung from the ancient live oaks and there were alligators, turtles and snowy egrets lazing in the sunshine. Pete and Becs thought about asking them if they needed anymore workers.

The peace was momentarily shattered when R2D2 dropped over a fence and was temporarily missing in action. For lunch we sampled traditional cajun cuisine, shrimp etoufee, boudin sausage and tabasco chicken. It was great. We very sadly moved on and drove to Bayou Segnette State Park, another cracking spot just outside New Orleans.