Garden of the Gods was a privately owned 480-acre property that was donated to Colorado Springs in 1909.

Then on to Manitou Springs. What a fun little town! We spent half a day browsing shops and didn’t make a dent in all there was to see. Dinner was at the Border Burger Bar, followed by an evening at the Manitou Springs Penny Arcade.

Our prize for all of our arcade tickets.

This place was such a fun find! \240Over the years, the arcade has slowly acquired more and more shops within their half a block and filled them with vintage arcade games. If you had a fun carnival or arcade game in your childhood that you loved, they had it here. There were really vintage games from the 50’s to games in the 90’s. We found our favorite, Centipede :) Delaney and Henry liked Skeeball, and Greg loved the horse racing carnival game.

Delaney’s birthday wish was to see fall colors, and so, on Sunday, we headed to Mueller State Park. Our “small” hike ended up as a 3 mile mostly uphill loop, but the aspens didn’t disappoint.

It was so hard to say goodbye ❤️🎂❤️

Not much more than a spot in the road, the tourist attraction for miles around is a few miles down the road in Shamrock, TX.

The U Drop Inn Cafe and Conoco station along Route 66 was built in 1936 and was the inspiration for Ramone’s Body Shop in the Disney movie Cars.

The cafe is vintage and they have an original (yummy) soda fountain.

The state line between Arkansas and Indian territory.

Fort Smith was built to govern Indian relations and later to prosecute those white settlers that were illegally pushing into Indian territory and those selling whiskey to the Indians. \240Eventually they just focused on the rogue gangs and criminal element in general. For a time the US Confedrate army also occupied the Fort.

Fort Smith included a barracks, court house and jail.

One of two jail cells in the basement, it would hold up to 50 men at a time.

The courthouse presided over by Judge Parker who was sympathetic to the Native American cause and supported the idea of their own separate State.

During his time on the bench, Judge Parker sentenced 160 people, including 4 women to hang.

The gallows where 87 men were hanged including the notorious Rufus Buck gang. All young men, Rufus was only 18 when he was hanged.

Path along the Arkansas River leading to The Trail of Tears Memorial.

Fort Smith is a National Historic Site managed by the National Park System, but surrounding it is the town of Fort Smith itself. \240Full of historic buildings, we found ourselves in The Bakery District and discovered the eclectic coffee shop, The Fort Smith Coffee Co, inside the old Holsum bread factory that operated from 1920 to 2008.

Avocado toast, Monte Cristo and Chai Latte.

Discovering places like this that aren’t on our itinerary is the best part of traveling across the country. \240

One of the reasons we planned a stay in Hot Springs was to visit the famous Bathhouse Row. \240Inside the Hot Springs National Park, there are 8 remaining bathhouses ranging from built in 1892 to 1923. In addition to offering “medicinal” soaks in mineral baths, these spas offered different specialties such as hydrotherapy, massage, sauna, mercury rub and electro therapy. Really only the affluent of the time could use the bath houses. The poor dug their own pools in the mountain side creeks and African Americans had their own segregated bathhouse at the other end of town.

Bathhouse Row. Each bathhouse has their own architectural style and they are all side by side along the Grand Promenade.

Buckstaff Baths is one of two remaining operational baths. Their services are still traditional with separated sides for men and women (no co-mingling), individual soaking tubs and (we were warned) a lot of nudity in the common areas.

The Quapaw Baths is the other operational bath but soaking is in the more common community soaking style pools (swimming suits required :).

Ozark Baths closed in 1977.

Fordyce Baths has been converted to the visitor center and a free museum.

As would be expected for the times, the interiors are elegantly and decodantly appointed.

Lobby Fordyce Baths

Mens’s changing room Fordyce Baths

3rd floor lounge area Fordyce Baths

Ladies lounge area Fordyce Baths

Ladies lounge area Fordyce Baths

3rd floor men’s gymnasium Fordyce Baths.

The Superior Bathhouse, the smallest on the row, has since been converted to a brewery. \240After spending the afternoon learning about the 1920’s focus on health, we had very unhealthy burgers that were delicious.

We ended our afternoon with a stroll down the Grand Promenande to the Arlington Lawn and the Hot Water Cascade, an outdoor Spring.

It’s hard to see the steam that is rising off of this hot springs pool.

The entrance to the trail is directly behind the bath houses and up 3 cascaded sets of stairs.

The original wood structure tower was built in 1878 and was 80’ tall. In the 1890’s it was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The rebuilt tower now stands 216’ tall, and fortunately had an elevator to get to the top. The views were pretty spectacular.

The Arlington Hotel is said to be the largest hotel in Arkansas.

Bathhouse Row

Back in town, on the opposite side of the Grande Promenade are shops and restaurants. We learned that in the 1920’s, Hot Springs was the hot bed for illegal gambling and speakeasy’s as a result of prohibition. \240

The Ohio Club, a popular casino built in 1905. Al Capone, “Lucky” Luciano, “Bugsy” Siegel, Frank Costello and other mobsters often frequented this and the Southern Club a few doors down.

Although we didn’t go in, the gangster museum looks like a fun visit to get a history on mobsters in Arkansas.

Lunch today was at Grateful Head Pizza and Beer Garden. There is a cool outdoor terrace over looking Main Street.

Fairy Garden

Lake Hamilton which surrounds the gardens.

Anthony’s Chapel. We weren’t able to tour inside because they were preparing for a wedding.

May look like Fall, but it feels like summer!

We walked 6 miles and spent a good 4 hours in the gardens, so we headed to the shoreline of Lake Hamilton for lunch. \240We probably eat Mexican once or twice a week at home, and we’ve decided it will be fun to try Mexican restaurants across the country to see how they compare. \240Trejo’s Del Lago had great patio seating with a view of the lake and very good Chimi’s.

While walking along the river, we were suddenly surrounded by anxious policeman scouting along the banks, quickly followed by a good number of firemen and a search boat sped by. They were looking for a body floating down the river. \240Apparently bodies floating in the Arkansas is a common occurrence.

President Bill Clinton’s Presidential Library is also walking distance from downtown. \240While we didn’t go in because we had the dogs, we did stroll through the Presidential Park Wetlands.

The William J Clinton Presidential library.

Courtyard for the Clinton School of Public Service, University of Arkansas.

Presidential Park Wetlands

Presidential Park Wetlands

Downtown Little Rock is small but they had a few neat historical buildings.

Capitol Hotel

Old State House which is now a museum.

We did a quick math with our step counter, and over the past 4 days in Arkansas we have walked 25 miles!!

I can’t possibly post all of the pictures we took, but these are a few of my favorites!

Front entrance to Graceland. Visitors can only arrive via shuttle. No one is allowed to directly walk up the drive to the mansion.

The Living Room

The TV Room.

This room had 3 TVs because Elvis learned that’s what Walter Cronkite did in his home.

The Pool Room

Expand this picture. You’ll see that every inch of the wall and ceiling is covered in folded fabric.

The Jungle Room

Floor, ceiling, walls and stairwell covered in green shag carpet.

The famous pink Cadillac. There were 20+ cars and motorcycles on display.

The infamous ‘68 comeback special.

There were multiple rooms with Elvis suits. These 4 white suits were interesting because each is just slightly different.

There were walls and walls of outfits.

We spent half a day at Graceland and could have stayed longer but wanted to explore Beale Street— the birthplace of the Blues and Rock and Roll. It is also a \240key part of the civil rights movement.

The Beale Street Blues Trio was fantastic!

Beale Street, Memphis, TN

Tupelo and Baldcypress trees can live in deep water for long periods. After taking root in the summer, when the swamp is nearly dry, the seedlings can stay alive in water deep enough to kill other plants.

Not far from our campground was an access point to the Natchez Trace trail. A “Trace” is the French word for Trek or Track. The Trace was originally a game trail used by the Choctaw, Natchez and Chickasaw. In the late 18th Century, boatman who floated down the Mississippi River, used the trace as an overland route back to the Ohio Valley. It extends 440 miles across 3 states from Tennessee to Mississippi.

Our second discovery was the Mississippi Petrified Forest.

The Petrified Forest is a log jam swept down a river 36 million years ago.

We learned that conditions have to be just right for wood to petrify vs decompose. \240This is the largest petrified forest in the Eastern U.S. \240

The Biloxi Bay RV Resort and Marina has an awesome pool and hot tub next to the bay.

Drinks and music in the outdoor bar and pavilion

1980s cover rock band

Point to point, we have driven 1,645 miles.

Our stay was at the New Orleans RV Resort and Marina. \240We were backed up on the other side of the yacht repair yard and watched boats coming and going all week.

Our full week of activities is here on my public travel blog 👉 http://sunningbytheseatravelagency.travel.blog

This was our first campfire since we started our journey a month ago.

Getting to the shoreline required a hike over the Succession Staircase. It is just under a mile and has over 270 steps. \240It’s been cold and rainy in Indiana but that didn’t stop us from exploring.

The staircase is the way up and over the dunes to the beach.

Once at the top it’s back down through the woods.

Lake Michigan off in the distance. We are getting closer.

Then a trek through the thick, deep sand.

Up this final rise…

And there is Lake Michigan!

One of the steel mills in the distance.

The beach is really active here in the summertime but we had it all to ourselves today.

Interestingly, there are three groups that have split off from the original AnaBaptist movement which began in Zürich Switzerland in 1525. The Hutterites were the first group, followed by the Mennonites in 1536, and finally the Amish in 1693. On our tour, most of the focus was on the differences between the Mennonites and the Amish. They have the same fundamental religious beliefs. The primary difference is the Mennonites have embraced modern technology and look like anyone else if you were to pass them on the street, whereas the Amish are the group that felt that the Mennonites were losing their spiritual discipline and becoming too much like the world around them. It’s the Amish group that maintains the simple attire, has no electronics in their home and refuses the use of cars and therefore drives the horse and buggy. there are 350,000 Amish in the United States and they live primarily in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana.

Shipshewana is a very cute little town with many tourists.

We headed back to Middlebury for dinner at the Das Dutchman Essenhaus Amish Country Kitchen. Our dinner was served in an Amish buggy. They are already in the Christmas spirit.

The St James Fountain, unveiled in 1905, was designed by by French sculptor Henri Gréber.

At the end of St James Court is Belgravia Court that caps the area as the top of the “T”.

The homes in this area and on Millionaires row were part of the Gilded Age of the 1920s. The wealth here was attributed to Tobacco, Bourbon and Horse Racing.

We had the opportunity to tour inside one of the most opulent mansions of the time. Started in 1893, it took two years to build. The Conrad-Caldwell house is built of Bedford limestone shipped from Indiana. It was known for its elaborate archways, stone designs, woodwork and parquet floors. The house also featured many innovations of its day, including interior plumbing and electric Lightning.

If you look carefully, you can see a small 4th floor under the turret roof on the right This was the “disappointment room” and all the affluent mansions had one. \240It’s the room where the child with disabilities was hidden when any guests were visiting or parties were held.

The parlor just off the main entry. This is where the ladies gathered.

Every room has a fireplace to warm the room. In total there are 17 fireplaces.

Mrs Caldwell.

The study where the men gathered.

The study

The study

Main entry stairs. Our tour guide is the great, great granddaughter of the Caldwell’s \240who lived here.

Grand staircase

Mrs Caldwell’s room

Mr Caldwell’s adjoining bedroom

The Billiards Room

The mansion sits at the corner of Central Park. A quick walk across the park brought us to the witches tree.

The witches tree.

The story goes that a coven of witches celebrated at the original tree. When the city elders decided to cut their tree down for that years Maypole celebration, the witches put a curse on the town hexing that 11 months later there would be a disaster that would wipe out the town. Exactly 11 months later, in 1890 a devastating tornado swept through the town leveling it and killing 118 people. \240This gnarled tree then grew in the place of the one cut down.

There are over 400 known caves in the ecosystem of Mammoth Caves.

The entry. Down, down we go.

As you first enter the cave, you encounter these remnemts from bygone days. From 1812 to 1815 slaves mined the cave for nitrates used for gunpowder for the War of 1812.

The oldest parts of the cave are 10 million years old.

Down, down we go.

The Bottomless Pit

Fat Man’s Misery passage required many ducking and side shuffling passages.

Fat Man’s Misery

Fat Man’s Misery

The original tour guides were enslaved people who lead 12 to 16 hour tours in the dark with only oil lamps.

270 stairs up to climb out.

Mammoth Cave National Park contains more than just caves—diverse forest habitats and the unique flora and fauna live there as well. The surrounding forest supports over 1,300 flowering plant species and a wide range of bird species such as bald eaglesand wood warblers. On the whole, the park encompasses 52,830 acres of wilderness, including 60 miles of backcountry hiking trails and 30 miles of rivers.

It took 3 years to build the bridge from 1974 to 1977.

We took a scenic loop drive and found a beautiful trail, Kaymore Mine trail, that had stunning waterfalls.

We haven’t seen the sun in 12 days!

Just 20 minutes over the state line is Mount Airy, NC. For a certain age, this is a nostalgic stop, as it is the birthplace of Andy Griffith and the inspiration for Mayberry. \240

Lunch at Welker’s Soda Fountain

Throwback to 1960’s Main Street

Bentley enjoying the view.

Roasting hot dogs and S’mores on a Saturday night.

There are several leaf covered trails that meander through the forest and we’ve walked the half-mile to swim beach a few times. Since there are very few people here, we let the dogs off leash and they go crazy chasing squirrels. \240The forests are so unique here compared to the pine and aspen forests we are used to in Colorado.

Over the weekend, we spent the afternoon in the little town of Cary. Their centerpiece is the Downtown Cary Park on seven acres.

Emma hosted her first Thanksgiving in their new home and Delaney participated with us in spirit via FaceTime.

We finished our two weeks in search of Christmas Lights. Downtown Cary was alight. And, because it has been so cold here at night, Emma found a drive through display where we could stay cozy in the car and listen to Christmas music. The Fieldstream Farm Christmas Lights Show \240in Raleigh is 15 minute drive through themed displays.

Downtown Cary

The Fieldstream Farm Christmas display.

It was sad saying goodbye, but we will see each other again soon ❤️

The Congaree National Patk is the largest intact expanse of old growth bottomland hardwood forest remaining in the Southeast US just two hours outside of Charleston.

We arrived in the morning. It’s been so cold here, we were able to experience the forest in its brief frozen state.

The forest floor is covered in a thin layer of water that was frozen.

The two mile boardwalk covers an amazing amount of biodiversity in a small area. Many escaped slaves made their home in these forests because the dense woods and marshy bottom made it difficult to track and recapture them. The \240unique Gullah Geechee culture traces their past back to these remote areas.

Cyprus forests

One area that was taken over by Saw Palmettos

Wild hollyberry

Isle of Palms is one of the Charleston / MT Pleasant barrier islands. It’s just 15 min from the city center. We saw many, many vacation rental signs but our favorite was the Cabana Banana and The Flamingo.

We took a 30 minute ferry ride over to Fort Sumter. As a National Historic Park, you must buy tickets and they limit the number of guests per tour. Upon arrival, the park ranger provides a walking tour and you are given one hour to explore.

Our history lesson for today? Charleston was the flash point for the civil war (we had no idea!) and the first shot was fired at Fort Sumter by the Confederate Army to win the fort from the Union troops. After the initial capture in 3 days, the Union proceeded to bombard the Confederates at the Fort and across the bay to the City of Charleston itself for over a year and a half.

The Fort used to be 3 stories high with barracks and officers quarters. But with 1 1/2 years of a constant cannon barrage, most of the Fort crumbled and only one level remains.

The yellow string draws your attention to a cannon shot fired \240by the enemy that lodged into the wall.

We started at the Charleston City Market, it was established in 1790 and stretches for 4 city blocks. I bought my basket from a lovely lady who told us the story of how her grandma taught her and now she is teaching her granddaughter to make the baskets.

City Market

Our next infamous Charleston tourist must was a carriage ride through the old city of Charleston. We love taking these tours because we learn so much history.

Our carriage horse was “Butch”

Historic Charleston is narrow enough that you can walk from one side on the river to the other side on the harbor. Charleston was founded in 1670 and survived both the Revolutionary and Civil wars, but not without suffering significant damage and fires many times. It was the largest slave trading port. Over one-half of all enslaved people brought into the US arrived through the port of Charleston.

After our carriage ride, we spent the rest of the afternoon on foot visiting rainbow row, the Battery, Philadelphia Alley and King Street.

Rainbow Row

Mansion along the Battery.

Across from Battery Park

The Battery is a seawall on Charleston’s southern peninsula that overlooks Charleston Harbor.

Philadelphia Alley

There are several plantations in the Charleston / Mt Pleasant area open to the public, but Boone Hall is the most interactive with several tours to educate visitors.

In 1681, Major John Boone founded the plantation using land grants from Carolina’s Lords Proprietors. It has passed through 5 different owners over the past 343 years, but it has always remained a working farm and is one of America’s oldest active crop producing farms.

The famous old oak lines the drive. The trees were planted in 1743 by the owners son.

The most recent house was built in 1936 by the Stone family.

This back courtyard.

They do provide a free tour of the house, but do not allow any pictures inside out of respect and privacy for the current owner. \240The guides encourage you to take interior pictures from their Facebook page. We were fortunate enough to tour during Christmas season. There are 4 main rooms on the ground floor, the library/parlor, \240the dining room, kitchen (which was off limits) and a breezeway. They did not allow a tour in the bedrooms upstairs.

The library / parlor room.

Dining room

Breezeway room. A favorite in the summer because it was cool.

Slaves quarters

There 13 brick slaves quarters on the property made of brick were lived in by the enslaved people that serviced the house. Often 2 families lived in one house. The field workers lived in a wooden slave encampment near the fields. Those no longer exist.

The primary crop was initially indigo and rice, later followed by cotton and pecans. Today the farm is known for strawberries and peaches.

The plantation provides a tour around their 738 acres on a tractor pulled cart. We saw our firsst gator of the trip sunning in one of their ponds.

Gator hanging out with a wood stork.

Consistent in our approach, we took the hop-on, hop-off trolley car to gain our bearings so that we could strategically plan our exploration.

The history of Savannah runs deep. While there is civil war history as expected, the roots run deeper where Savannah played a key role in the Revolutionary War in 1775. Savannah was a key port city and the site of several key battles. \240Much of the \240the architecture and homes date back to the 1700’s.

We started on River Street, which runs alongside the Savannah River. \240It requires a trek down uneven, narrow stone historic stairs to cobblestone streets. In the 1700s it was the main port in Savannah, and by the 1800s was the largest cotton exporting port in the US. Now it is filled with shops, restaurants and the wonderful Christmas market.

Savannah is a very walkable City, and our next destination was to City Market. About 8 blocks from the river, the walk is enchanting because of the thoughtful layout of the city. Every block or so, you enter a square, a lovely park, usually with a monument of some kind, lush vegitation and beautiful houses built all around it. \240Each block is a wonderful new surprise as to what square you will encounter and begs you to sit and relax (although we couldn’t because we had a lot of ground to cover!)

The development of Savannah urban planning was based on the Parisian model which centered on the development of residential neighborhoods radiating out from a central green space.

City Market, or “market street” as the locals referred to it, is the site of the original city market of the 1700s, but was revitalized in the early 2000s to a more modern tourist destination with shops, restaurants and carriage rides. The prohibition museum is here, which seemed to be very popular, although we didn’t have time for it today.

Day 1 in Savannah, and it has captured our hearts.

What we are finding is that many (most) beaches do not allow dogs, so we are able to take a quick peak from the edge but not venture out to the water.

Tybee Island is a very popular summer destination and it has cute shops and a large public pier.

The Sugar Shack.

The best ice cream on Tybee Island at The Sugar Shack.

We headed to North Beach and had lunch at the laid back North Beach Bar. \240

After, we explored the famous lighthouse but decided against the extra fee to climb the stairs to the top.

On our drive home, we spontaneously turned at the sign marked Fort Pulaski. Having just explored Fort Sumter a few days before, we decided to check it out because Greg really enjoys the history of the old forts. What an unexpected, cool afternoon we spent exploring the Fort. \240While Fort Sumter had a very compelling history attached to it, t had basically been destroyed by a constant barrage of cannon fire. \240Not so for Fort Pulaski. It is the most intact of any remaining civil war fort and gives you a strong sense of what fort life was like.

The entire fort is surrounded by a giant moat. It took 18 years from 1829 to 1847 to build the fort.

Main entrance to the fort

Captain’s quarters

The enclosed yard of the fort. The fort was two stories with the upper deck reached via spiral staircases.

The spiral staircases were situated along each corner.

Using rifled cannons, the US Army compelled the confederates inside to surrender.

Hilton Head Island in the distance

Surrounding the fort were large bunkers covered in grass mounds that held munitions. This National Monument was dog friendly and the boys enjoyed the day with us learning a bit more about this county’s history.

The Forsyth Park Fountain was based on a Parisian design.

Originally the walkway was developed as the military parade grounds.

Our next stop was off to Lafayette Square to tour The Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.

Gothic Revival Architecture is focused on height to be closer to God.

The painted murals were just stunning.

French Catholic immigrants fleeing the French Revolution started the church in 1789. It is the oldest continuous parish in Georgia.

Our two activities for our time here are lots of mountain biking and floating the river. Both were awesome. \240Today was our mountain biking day. \240They are my kind of trails, flat and easy, meandering \240through the trees. \240Lots of curves and some sandy bottom add just enough challenge to make it a fun day. \240This was the first opportunity we had to get our bikes out and we really enjoyed it.

We rode our bikes to Silver Springs State Park to scope out our float plans for tomorrow. \240The park offers flat bottom boat tours and they are very dog friendly.

Glass bottom boat tour

The water is crystal clear. Blue Talapia fish.

We launched around 10:30 am. It was a perfect weather day, as we’ve had rain most days here in Ocala. \240The float is slow with the current and it’s really a very chill experience viewing nature.

Crystal clear waters and wildlife everywhere. It is one of our favorite excursions on the trip. \240

The first of 11 alligators that Greg counted. I’m sure there were dozens more underwater that we didn’t see!

We’ve never seen so many turtles in one spot!

This was gator #4. He was the biggest on the trip at about 8’. We were told alligators grow one foot per year.

The highlight of the trip was the manatee. This was a mom and her calf.

The manatee like the warm water of the springs and the grass on the bottom.

The water was crystal clear.

A stroll up the boardwalk to view the manatee.

We then took a 2 hour boat ride up the St Johns River to view the wildlife.

Greg gets giddy over the giant gators.

When folks go on an airboat, I think it’s to see gators and go fast. \240This trip did not disappoint. The private ranch Seth took us on has not allowed gator hunting since the 1960’s and so the gators are numerous (almost too many) and huge! \240Seth told us about a gator that bit off the front leg of one of his cows but they managed to save it. It was a too few many gators for me! As far as the going fast part, we did, but it was really cold. Probably not the thing most people are doing on Christmas Eve.

Our itinerary today called for a visit to the beach and so, although it was blustery and cold we drove the 40 min to New Smyrna Beach. In the summer months you can tell this is a busy little beach town. \240On Christmas Eve, we had much of the town to ourselves and stopped for coffees at a little outdoor cafe. \240

New Smyrna Beach

New Smyrna

The Leaky Cauldron

We then meandered through the shops at Diagon Alley where Emma and Delaney adopted a Pygmy puff. \240

We experienced Harry Potter through all of the rides. Caught the train at platform 9 3/4 and rode it to Hogwarts. \240

Greg had to drag us out of Harry Potter to visit other areas of the park. \240We finished the evening with dinner at The Three Broomsticks. \240It was the prefect Harry Potter day.

We had a mix of kayaks and paddle boards and launched from Kings Landing. Along the way we saw many little gators, but the airboat ride a few days before had everyone desensitized to the fear of gators and we just floated by. \240This particular river did not have any manatee but did have plenty of other wildlife and scenery.

We climbed out of our boats 5 hours later all pretty tired.

Lunch at a pub in New Smyrna

Spontaneously coloring puzzle pieces for a community puzzle in an art gallery in New Smyrna.

We were so excited to go on our swim with the manatees adventure. We had a real character named Rod for our guide.

Gearing up in our wetsuits.

As we were heading out in our boat to Three Sisters Spring, the blackest clouds rolled in and we headed straight into a horrific storm.

But manatees are under the water so a little rain on top never hurt anyone. \240We were fortunate enough that Three Sisters Springs was open this day. It is only opened selectively by the park service. \240It was simply amazing. These gentle giants were resting at the bottom. Many moms with calves.

The only thing that was disturbing is that, unlike Blue Springs where we had visited earlier in the week, this area doesn’t close off the Springs or control crowds. The small area we were in was packed with people. Many harassing the manatee- swimming down to try to touch them, take selfies or kick sand. \240It was very stressful for the animals and we felt sorry for them. \240Emma got into an altercation with one group who were especially egregious and she later reported them to the police.

This one will go in the book of stories we tell for years.

Over the South Causway bridge are the barrier islands North and South Hutchinson. South Hutchinson definitely had more activity and beautiful beaches. \240The public beach access was numerous and not many people on any one.

We stopped for lunch at the Island Beach Bar & Restaurant and then journeyed down the island in search of a beach the dogs could get out and play.

We went to the end of the island to Jensen Beach and let the dogs go. This was their first true time playing in the ocean. They weren’t sure what to make of the salt water and Bentley would run shaking his head spitting it out. \240They quickly learned to run ahead and stay out of the strong waves.

Little hatchlings

Nurse shark exhibit

Jellyfish

While it still had the diner atmosphere, the menu and prices definelty were not diner with some pretty fancy dishes and some even higher prices. \240Worth a visit but not a repeat stop.

The dog beach is just a couple of blocks from our RV resort and dogs are allowed off leash to run and play. \240Our boys don’t like playing in the water as much as we thought they would. They don’t like the saltwater, poor Louie keeps trying to drink it. \240But the wide open sandy beach is another matter. \240It’s a perfect frisbee park.

In the afternoon we rode our bikes about 5 miles to Guanabana. What a cool place! We had drinks and enjoyed the atmosphere and live music. Dinner was along a tributary of the ICW and we enjoyed watching all of the small boats come and go. \240If there weren’t so many new places to see, this place would be worth a second visit.

Dinner was at U-Tiki restaurant and bar. It was definetly more marina formal than last night but was very nice.

We took our bikes down a not frequently used trail and, after struggling to peddle through deep, white powdery sand, found ourselves suddenly popping out onto the most pristine, deserted beach. \240It was a slightly overcast day which contributed to the feeling of isolation. It was just us and the birds.

We decided to attempt to ride our bikes along the beach. \240We thought that the packed sand would make it a fairly easy ride. But oh we were wrong. While possible, we had to put our bikes in the lowest gear with the highest pedal assist and pedal like hell. We stayed as close to the water as possible since it was the most packed while avoiding waves, so as not to get salt water on the bikes. \240

It was only a two mile ride, but so hard we felt wiped by the end when we reached the main beach entry near the campground. \240It felt great to sit on the bench, relax and enjoy the ocean views.

We stopped for chocolate shakes at Pickles before turning around to head back. \240

On the ride home we stopped at Grayton Beach and found this bright blue clear inlet.

The Havana Beach Club restaurant is tucked in the corner of this magnificent hotel.

We had dinner at the Havana Beach club and planned to watch the sunset on the beach, but in this exclusive neighborhood, the beaches are private with no access.

The water front at our campground. They do not have a beach.

There are no waves here and the waters are calm because this is a protected bay. You can see the barrier island in the distance.