Goodbye, Fort DeSoto

cool tree at the front entrance of the park

We left at 9:00 this morning...it was an uneventful 7 hour ride to the keys except for the cloud of "love bugs" that hit our windshield on I-75 on Alligator Alley on our way to Miami and beyond. I thought a bunch of rocks hit our windshield or a rogue thundershower of rain splats....nope! It was a cloud of bugs...they left the entire front windshield covered with splats and tentacles from the splats spreading out over the whole front of it. It looked like a bunch of amoebas hit it...Ugh! We were ready to leave Fort DeSoto, but here are some photos of things we left behind....

gull at one of the piers in Fort DeSoto

Bay Pier at Fort DeSoto

We felt we had seen just about everything there was to see, but for next time, we'd like to explore Pass-a-Grille, a neighboring town close by....lots of cute stores, a great waterfront to sit and watch the pelicans, and some great restaurants.

Here the pelicans are roosting on the waterfront at Pass-a-Grille....

And, you know you are in Florida, when the garbage trucks look like this--PINK!!! And for a great reason, too!

This mermaid on a storefront at Pass-a-Grille caught my eye....one other thing we missed while at Fort DeSoto was a bald eagle site. Every time we headed towards St. Pete's Beach, we noticed bird watchers at a pond just outside the toll bridge. It turns out they were watching some bald eagles! We finally stopped one day to see what all the camera lenses were capturing, and we had the thrill of seeing a bald eagle take flight from the nest and return. Should have had the binoculars and the camera!

We got to the keys at about 4:00 this afternoon...we are staying at the Jolly Roger RV park..the sites are kinda close together, but there's an atmosphere of friendliness that was immediate upon arrival. Our neighbors asked if we needed any help, other neighbors offered advice on a local restaurants. At the Jolly Roger, we can't be on the waterfront, they are all taken, so we have an inside spot on an end site. It's not cheap for a week's stay, but one of the more reasonable ones in the area that we could find. We have full hookup, water, and it's 73 degrees...temps will remain about that for the next couple of days....there are two state parks nearby and we hope to explore them and go biking in them later this week...

Off we went to the Island Fish restaurant tonight, two weary travelers too tired to cook..It's a cool place that was built like a tiki hut, no glass or windows in the entire restaurant AND on the water. Eldy had a great grouper dinner...and WE had a great cheesecake dessert, my favorite! Time to go home and to bed, two weary travelers....we'll see what tomorrow brings...goodnite, Eldo...goodnite, Sparky!