Our first month of 2020 was sort of a roller coaster. We got to witness an awesome rocket launch on our 4th anniversary and visited some gorgeous beaches, but we also got some bad news this month that set us back for a few weeks.
January began at Babcock/Webb WMA with a bird feeding frenzy! We were sitting inside the camper having our morning coffee when we heard a loud fluttering sound and opened the door to see hundreds of swallows swooping down over us to feed on a nearby wax myrtle bush. Waves of birds came to feed at the bush until it was stripped clean of berries. It was cool to see that many birds flying together so closely, and to watch the flock form interesting shapes as they moved in unison.
We'd watched the fireworks over the water in Punta Gorda on NYE, and the main show was put on by a place called "fisherman's village". It's an outdoor shopping area with restaurants and cute beachy souvineer shops. They're dog friendly, so we decided to take Khaleesi and check it out. There was a local wildlife rescue there with a few owls in the open area between the shops. Shoppers were gathered around the owls listening to the volunteers talk about how smart they are, why the ones they brought are not able to be in the wild anymore, and how they each have their own preferences and personalities. I always get excited seeing wildlife education in unexpected places and think even a small unexpected interaction like that can inspire big change. We shopped around and grabbed lunch at Village Fish Market and Restaurant. We sat at a table right by the water with Khaleesi, enjoying fresh seafood and live music from a man playing guitar near their bar.
After lunch we went for a walk along the water.
Our second campsite this month was Herky Huffman/Bull Creek WMA where we stayed for 6 nights. This was another free spot that required applying for a permit online but it was quick and easy. It was a hunting camp and not very pretty (just a flat field with a bunch of older trailers) but it was quiet most of the time. We explored around camp by bike, and kayaked at nearby Billy Lake.
Kyle caught a huge bowfin near camp, and Khaleesi loved kayaking around the pond.
We'd planned to see a SpaceX launch on the 11th, but it was postponed due to high winds. We decided to go down to the beach anyway and explore. We drove down the coast and stopped at a few beaches along the way. First was the Indiatlantic, where we saw a guy "parachute surfing" among the waves. They weren't wrong about the high winds which were pushing us around just standing on the beach. We watched the man battle the wind and waves for a long time before heading to the next beach.
Just outside of Patrick AFB we stopped again and watched a Blackhawk helicopter fly in and touch down. We stopped near downtown Cocoa Beach for a smoothie before heading to Barrier Island Sanctuary where we went for a beautiful hike.
We checked out their visitors center where I saw my first Florida Glass Lizard. It has a lizard face but no legs on it's snake-like body! It's also one of the main loggerhead sea turtle nesting sites!
Speaking of turtles... Have you ever seen someone run barefoot across 4 lanes of honking traffic to hand-deliver a crossing turtle to safety? Well... now you have.
To wrap up our beach exploration trip, we got dinner at a place called Squid Lips. It's surrounded by water which gives an awesome view from any table. You can actually get to the restaurant by boat, and there were a few tied up at their dock out back. There was also a very friendly/hungry bird who hung out with us while we ate.
While back in the Orlando area, we visited Algis & Claudia again. We were able to park in their yard under this beautiful old tree covered in spanish moss!
When we arrived, we realized it'd been so long since we were able to plug anything in that we had no clue where our phone chargers were. We'd been very limited on power and only able to charge our phones in the truck as we drove. Thankfully, that was about to change. Kyle ordered a solar panel delivered to their house (it wouldn't fit in the amazon locker) and started gathering the needed materials and preparing to install it!
During our visit, Algis took us to explore the beautiful St. Augustine which claims to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in the US (founded in 1565). We sat on the old sea wall to eat lunch, then drove by the Castillo de San Marcos - a Spanish fort built around 1672. We were stunned at the detail and design of the Ponce De Leon Hotel/Flagler College which was designed in 1885 in the Spanish Renaissance style.
and even took the dogs to Flagler Beach for some exercise!
Algis also took us to check out the beautiful Central FL Zoo & Botanical gardens. They have a great layout that really incorporates the natural flora into the experience, and a wide variety of animals including many big cats!
and of course the dogs loved our daily walks at Secret Lake Park.
I love seeing so many people turn out for rocket launches, but wasn't happy that some were standing on protected dunes to get better views. We pulled up the SpaceX live stream and listened in as the launch got closer. It was amazing to look at the rocket on the screen and to hear them count down, then watch the white tower with bright orange flames below pushing up into the sky. The sound takes a few seconds to hit, and is LOUD and crackly. We had such a great view of the abort, despite the cloudy skies, and watched in awe as the capsule separated from the booster, speeding away to safety. There were a few clouds blocking the view for a moment, then it cleared and we got to witness the bright orange fireball of spontaneous disassembly of booster # 1046. The test went perfectly and we were so excited to be able to witness such a major step toward a manned launch from US soil (which is now planned for May of this year)!
The end of January was also the end of our time with our Chevy Silverado. We were planning on upgrading to a diesel at some point down the road, but when some expensive issues came up on our '07, we knew that time had come. We put our other adventures on hold and spent the last two weeks of January doing almost nothing other than research and truck shopping.
Check out next month's post to see our new truck and read about our close encounter with a black bear!
No comments:
Post a Comment