Peacock Encounter

As tired as I was Monday morning I woke up just as it started getting light out.

The Island King, his brother and the Youngest were all still asleep so I tiptoed out of the camper and went out to watch the day arrive.

We were facing the East so I knew the sunrise would be incredible and I wasn't disappointed.

I settled into a chair with a cup of coffee and before long the sun rose directly in front of me over St Vincent Sound.

I thought about getting the camera but it was inside the camper and I was perfectly content sitting in my chair so you'll just have to trust me when I tell you it was a beautiful sunrise.

After the sun rose I went for a walk along the beach towards the public boat ramp that sits next to the campground.

The ramp was busy with fishermen and a few boat loads of BP workers headed out to check the booms.

I love boat ramps and almost always see something interesting happen when I'm around one.

This day was no exception because as I walked around the front of a truck I came face to face with a peacock!

I know a lot of people see them all of the time but I've never seen one just out and about in the world and was shocked when I saw him.

I turned to the guy in the truck and said "Hey there's a peacock!"

He gave me a "You're not from around here are ya?" chuckle and told me that the peacock lives in the campground and that he wanders all over the point.

I hurried back to the camper and ran inside telling the sleeping people to wake up that there was a peacock wandering around and they had to come see it.

The Island King opened one eye and said "Yeah, he lives here. I took some pictures of him by the pool the other day."

"You knew about this and didn't mention it to me?"

I'd have been in serious peacock hunting mode if I'd known there was one to find.

The Youngest has never seen a peacock wandering around a campground either so he jumped up and off we went to see him.




I wish I had one of these wandering around my neighborhood.

St Vincent National Wildlife Refuge

While we were in Indian Pass I developed an immediate fascination with
St Vincent National Wildlife Refuge.


Named in 1633 by Franciscan Friars who were visiting the Apalachee tribes, St Vincent is an uninhabited barrier island between Apalachicola and the Gulf.

At about 9 miles long and 4 miles wide the island has approximately 12,000 acres which have been designated as a National Wildlife Refuge.


The idea of a completely uninhabited island of that size really appeals to me and the first thing I wanted to do was go exploring.

Our first destination was the island's western point.


We were on a seashell collecting mission and knew there would be some interesting stuff on the beach.

We saw this when we landed which meant there would be no walking up into the trees from here.



Not a problem. We were on a seashelling mission and we didn't have the bug spray you need to venture off the beach.

Immediately I realized we'd landed in shell lover's heaven.

Everywhere we looked were shells of all shapes, sizes and colors. Big ones, little ones, whole ones, broken ones - it was incredible.






Beautiful.


After spending quite a bit of time walking along the Gulf we were ready to venture to the north side of the island.


A dock on the western end of the island allows access to the interior so that's where we went.



This side of the island is dense, wild Florida and we knew it was going to be brutal in there but we plowed on, determined to see what we could see.

But not before we sprayed enough bug spray on ourselves to drown a horse.

We made it to just inside the tree line and got a good look at how beautiful it is in there.



And were swarmed by MILLIONS of Volkswagon sized mosquitoes.

The bugs were bad over at the campground but that was nothing compared to this.
These mosquitoes laughed at our DEET and laughed at my BIL's long sleeved shirt and if we hadn't started moving they would have killed us in under 10 minutes.

Killer, man-eating mosquitoes.

We hightailed it back down to the water and decided we'd walk along the Bay, looking at driftwood instead.



The mosquitoes were bad but managable along the water so we walked for about a mile marvelling at the wood and shells along the way.

And we'd stop from time to time to look into the interior and decided that the Indians who lived here must have been some seriously tough folks.


But we couldn't stand still for too long because as long as you're moving the mosquitoes aren't quite as bad.

We did manage a few quick family portraits. Pose, snap, move along.





Coming back to the dock we ran into a US Wildlife Officer who'd come over to make his rounds.

Really nice man who gladly stood in the heat and answered our questions.

We knew the island was home to a Red Wolf breeding program and he told us the project has gone well and there are a lot of wolves on the island.

There are also Sambar deer which are natives of Southern Asia. The deer were imported in the 1940s by the then owners of the island along with zebras, elands, and several other kinds of exotic animals.

The Sambar are the only surviving exotic with the exception of a type of Brazilian bat.

The cool thing about the Sambar is their size. Standing 40 to 60 inches tall and weighing between 300 and 600 pounds these deer are huge. The Wildlife officer told us they look much more like elk than deer and that it's really cool to see them running along the beach.

There are also wild boar, white tail deer, foxes, coyotes, bald eagles, alligators, several types of snakes, lizards, frogs and all kinds of birds.

The island was initially established as a refuge for birds and waterfowl but has since expanded to include everything there.

What an amazing place!

There are fresh water lakes, several sand roads, one old house, the grave of the first owner of the island and obviously all kinds of wildlife in there and I want to see it.

But July isn't the right time to do that.

Not without a beekeeper's suit.

So we'll be back in the fall when it's not 100 degrees out and the mosquitoes aren't quite so thick.

Looking at the island that night from our camp made me think of the Island of Dr. Moreau.


It's beautiful and I want to explore all of it but I wouldn't want to spend the night there.

Indian Pass

What do you do when your husband calls from his boy's only weekend fishing trip and tells you that he and the other boy, his brother, want you and the kids to come join them?

Obviously, you get in the car and drive to Indian Pass knowing that you are going to spend the next 24 hours having a LOT of fun.

The Island Girl and the Oldest Island Boy had other things going on so it was just the Youngest Island Boy and I hitting the road.

Indian Pass is a little spec between Port St Joe and Apalachicola.


It's a narrow peninsula between the end of St Vincent Sound and the Gulf and it is truly old Florida.

There are no stores, just a few beach rental houses, a boat launch and the Indian Pass Campground.


It's hard core primitive Florida panhandle and one of the most beautiful areas you can imagine.

My BIL had the best spot in the campground.


The view was spectacular.



It was cloudy and overcast but the forecast called for that to move on pretty quick so we plowed ahead with the plans for the day.

Our first stop was the island across from us.

St Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. Which is such an amazing place that it will get it's own post soon.

We wanted to walk the beach on the Gulf side looking for seashells so we put the boat in the water and rode over.

My BIL wanted to fish so he put us out on the beach and off he went in search of the elusive tripletail.

The Youngest thought it was cool to be left on a deserted island and even though we were watching the clouds we thought it was cool too.

Not another human being on the whole island.

Nice.

We walked around the point and I can't even find the words to describe the shells on the beach. Millions of them everywhere you looked.

A shell lover's heaven.

Not bad for bird lovers either.



We found this out on the point.



After looking at this I'm thinking that this is a dolphin skeleton.

Sad that he's gone but very cool the way the skeleton was still so intact.

By mid day the sun was shining and as I walked along the beach in front of our campsite I couldn't believe that a short few hours ago I'd been knee deep in laundry and that one phone call brought me from that to this.


Very nice.

After the sun set we were sitting around the camp and got to see an amazing moonrise.


We grilled steaks for a tasty dinner and then the Youngest Island Boy couldn't hold his eyes open any longer so off to bed he went.

My BIL wasn't far behind him but the Island King and I sat out on the beach fishing until late.

We didn't catch anything but it was so beautiful out there that we didn't care.

The bugs and heat are brutal in Indian Pass but it is truly one of Florida's hidden treasures.

And we were blessed to be there.

Wordless Wednesday

Shark Tale

Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun...

Is it possible to see one of these and not hear the shark music from Jaws?

Not for me.


My parents were out on the Pensacola Beach Fishing Pier a while back and got to see a man hook one of these.



The man fought him for a while, got him close to the pier and my Dad snapped this picture.


And then the line broke and the shark swam away.

Free to live another day.

Sunset Cruising

I've always enjoyed riding in the boat around sunset.


I especially love riding up and down the canals on Holiday Isle.


This house is known as the castle house.

The front has turrets and a big castle looking front door and the inside is round and centered around a giant open fire pit.

Not my style but still really cool.

It's a good thing that I don't have a deck like this one.


I'd wander out first thing in the morning with my coffee and I'd still be sitting there as the sun was setting in the evening.

It's hard for me to get everything that needs doing done now - with a deck like that one the battle would be lost.

I would love one of these though.


I can see myself sliding down that slide daily.


The Island King's mother built this house when there were only 3 other houses over here.



The new owners built the deck over the dock but other than that it's the same as it was when the Island King and his brother lived there as kids.

According to my MIL they spent all of their time swimming in the canal and running naked through the sand dunes.

Not a bad childhood if you ask me.

And one of the best things about sunset boat rides is stopping at Harbor Docks for boiled shrimp.


We send the guys up to collect the food while we relax in the boat.


Then we ride off into the sunset to swim, eat and soak up paradise.

Now, if I could just find someone to pay me to do this. It would be better than winning the lottery!