Next stop was Sarasota where we snuck in a visit to The Ringling Museums. A few hours was not enough time to take in all that this gem offers. The buildings and grounds are beautiful, unfortunately it was raining so we were mostly indoors. We quickly toured the fine art collection and one of the circus museums. That's only about a third of the estate! Definitely put this on your agenda if you are in Sarasota.
Fortunately, we caught my friend Judy Cox at home in Sarasota. Judy gave us a tour of their fabulous new home in St. Armand Circle. Judy did an absolutely beautiful job decorating. I'm sorry we were so busy catching up that I failed to take any photos. All the more reason to return and visit a bit longer with Judy in the future. Thanks Judy!
Heading further south that evening we camped at Myakka State Park. It was just a resting place for us so we did not explore the hundreds of acres within the park and refuge. There are hiking trails, primitive backpacking sites, quiet roads for biking, two lakes, alligators and a river that will take you all the way to the Gulf. Inland Florida is so different than the coastal regions most of us have experienced. Nothing like Disney World either. Lots of natural beauty to explore. We have Myakka on our return-to list.
After four nights of travel, we finally reached our destination in the Keys: Big Pine Key Fishing Lodge. Well...it's not a lodge. It's an RV park. We were attracted to this park because about half the sites are rustic (no hook-ups) so it has a camp feeling to it. The Lodge sits on the ocean side of the key with direct access to the water. We loved this park- great bathrooms, a lounge and patio area, camp store, laundry and lots of friendly people. It was sooo nice to settle in for an 18-day stay. Our longest stop yet.
Lodge store.
A view of a section of the marina.
Street view from our site. Almost everyone traveled through the park by bicycle, which is quite an adventure if you are holding a cup of hot coffee in the morning.
Home sweet home, number 224.
Some people just can't leave anything at home. What you can't see is their giant motorhome in addition to their outdoor kitchen.
Big Pine Key is a refuge for the Key Deer. They are related to whitetails, but only 40-60 pounds. The park is adjacent to a section of the refuge so the deer roamed throughout the sites. They are eager visitors. This one nearly jumped up to eat our salad. It's unfortunate that some people insist on feeding these wild animals. Over 100 were killed by vehicles last year.
Spike admiring my water bottle? So cute. One buck even let me pet him.
We hope to spend more time next winter at BPKFL. Because of the deer, they do not allow dogs, so we may have to look for another place if Mr. G vacations with us.
I'll write more about our Keys' adventure in my next post.
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