Things I Still Didn't Know About Florida: Salt Springs Isn't Salty!

The Perkins boys got together again last weekend. This time we camped at a place I've never been before. In fact, I had little interest in going to another springs, but this trip contained some big surprises. The northerners and just about every kid in High School and college are on break and they had fun all around us. The "primitive" campsites were all that were left to us, and by primitive, the parks folks meant we were camping in a large field with few trees. I mean, I drove 1 1/2 hours into the land that time forgot (Ocala) only to find a campground that was as crowded as the Winter Park Art Show! (Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit). I arrived first and set up my tent in the blazing hot sun, close as I could get to the solitary tree near our site, all the while being watched closely by a group of 10 teenagers next door, who were probably sure I was some kind of creepy old guy. A sweet spot in all of this was the lone tree near me contained a bird's nest of a large hawk that made lots of noise and flew in and out of the nest all day long, so I got some of the best bird watching I could ask for.

My brothers, Steve and Paul, show up later and it looks like the other sites near us are no-shows, so perhaps we would have just the teen church group next door singing Kum By Yah, and we could settle down for allmeat-noveggie meals our trips are famous for. The food is good, and we clean everything up and stow the ice chests, because we have been warned about bears in the area...I mean, if bears are roaming through neighborhoods in Orlando, what the hell can we hope for in the woods of Ocala!? We have our campfire talk, settle that I need to find a job, that it is all Obama's fault, and basically, anybody that ever offends a woman in our family gets their asses kicked.
I finally come to the part of camping that I dread: sleeping. It's a little hot and sticky, and it's a long walk to the restroom and I don't want to freak the kids out right next to us by making like a bear in the woods. I make it through most of the night and then wake suddenly to the sound of a bunch of things being thrown around and then silence..and then, right next to the side of my tent I hear snoring so loud it could only be that a bear has arrived and decided to sleep it off right next to me. Now, I'm taking my life in my hands just to take a leak and finally get up in the twilight of the early morning only to see that our other neighbor has arrived...a huge man in an open tent...with a black Prius parked nearby...

The Trip Begins With Waves..

I headed out on the road for another adventure, but had to make a stop at the beach on the way. The waves looked very good, but it was semi-overcast, which made it look a little spooky out there. On top of that, the 6 second wave period pretty much made it a non-stop wave machine out there. I was wondering how in the world I would get out on the paddleboard. Being alone, I decided that this was a time to take pix instead. I ran out onto the Sunglow pier and snapped away. Someday I will learn to slow down, grab the tripod and take nice sharp photos, instead of cradling my 500mm lens and thinking "I don't need no stinking tripod!". Even standing on the pier was a bit of a rocking motion with all of the people there.

I noticed later, of the 10 guys in the water, most of my photos were of one guy. This was not on purpose, he was just the guy that was tearing it up. They don't look dangerous here in the pictures, but there was hell to pay if you messed up and had to get back out, so it seemed like most of the guys were being very picky about which waves they took.

My only regret now was that I didn't spend more time on that pier taking photos. If I had known what was waiting for me at the campground in Salt Springs...I would have....

Tomoka State Park in March

Camping in Florida this time of year is very interesting. We arrived at Tomoka State Park at the tail end of Bike Week and right in the middle of Spring Break. The weather is perfect and the campground is packed. Some are families, but most are older people with nice campers and their Harleys'. So, for the 2nd husband and wife camping trip in a row, we leave the city for the quiet of the woods and get the roar instead.
We spent the afternoon trying to get down to the beach and long before I could get near the water, I saw surfers and paddleboarders riding waves. First attempt failed when I found out the new high price for beach access and they would not accept a credit card. We then found a spot that required walking half a mile with our gear..but I did find a surf spot I was totally unaware of: The ramp at the far north bridge of Daytona. I didn't even know there was any kind of break here, but it is only minutes (normally) from Tomoka and I got some good waves and had friendly company in the water. I would like to note that the cool clear water was full of moon jellyfish. I'm pretty sure they don't sting, but I was trying my hardest not to find out.
Pam fixed a tremendous dinner of salad, baked beans, corn on the cob, and smoked/flashburned chicken....I'm am so glad that I was not the person in charge of the BBQ this time. We could not get the first going and kept adding wood until we suddenly had a bonfire.
It is early morning now and as soon as I can get Pam up, I'm in charge of breakfast...and then more surf..who could ask for more?

That Sinking Feeling

Ahhh...a beautiful beach day in the middle of the week in March. Everybody must be at work and we will have the place to ourselves!? Not so fast, Perkins...we now officially have the early springbreakers, the early bike-week folks, and anybody else that could afford to escape the winter up north. In all, the beach is packed, but hardly anybody is in the water. This Wednesday was supposed be a near record temperature day, almost 90, but it wasn't really like that on the beach. There are clouds, a cool breeze and occasional fog. There are some nice looking waves, but they are not breaking right on the outside, the water is freezing and only a couple of guys are out, and not getting any good rides.
So, I'm wearing my short wetsuit, freezing in the water and sweating when I've been out of the water for any length of time. I'm getting a few waves, but more frustrated by the waves that peak up but don't break. I spend a lot of time moving around, trying to find the spot where it really is breaking when I find myself in a fogbank. I can barely see shore, and off in the distance I can see a ghostly pier and a single paddleboarder. I start doing my best to head back his way, as this is about as spooky as a scary movie. I'm apparently going against the current as this is taking quite a bit longer than I thought it would, but distance judging in the fog is not my strong point. The fog finally clears and I realize that I can see both the paddle guy and the lone surfer getting out on the beach, leaving me the only guy in the water. Now I start to wonder, is it lunchtime? Or is it munchtime? Somehow, surfing is never quite as fun when you spend most of your time looking for dorsal fins....

The First Nice Sunday After the Last Freeze

Yesterday was a blast. I'm sore and limping, but the pix from the GoPro are a permanent reminder of the day. Coming right off of a couple of days of freezing weather and cabin fever, and we are on the beach! The wind had been cranking but both Hector and Carmen caught the forecast that predicted the wind would die on Sunday and they were right.
Was a paddleboard the right call for the day? We hit it at high tide, so the waves were a bit mushy, but the leftover chop in the water made it a serious core workout for paddleboarders. I can't remember the last time I fell off my board so often just from random bits of chop hitting me from behind. I'm getting so many good waves though, that I have to believe that the giant board and paddle are just my thing. If I can ever figure out how to handle the impact zone, I will have this thing wired. Right now, it is get out there fast, get some waves and get back out fast...but it doesn't always happen just like that and with yesterday's 5 second interval, I took some beatings on the inside.
Carmen, Sam, Miguel, and Hecti were a great bunch of friends to surf and go to lunch with...I don't have to relive the glory days...we have them now!

Florida Waves In February

Thursday, 2/12/2015 was a day that was well hyped in the local surfing predictions, so the water was full of surfers, even on a weekday. We have had lots of wind and swell and the prediction was that the wind would clock around offshore. It did and we had big, beautiful waves. This also meant an awesome day for the best surfers and lots of frustration for the rest of us. 15+ mph offshore wind meant the waves LOOKED like you could catch any of them, but most of the time you would get blown back off the face. It was more difficult than I thought it might be on the paddleboard, and that might be why I was the only paddleboarder out for a while. I probably caught more waves than I would have on my surfboard, but losing your board on a wave is way worse when you have to swim with a paddle in your hand. We surfed at Lori Wilson Park in Cocoa Beach, plenty of surfers and plenty of waves to get. I was able to time the sets and get right outside, but after riding a few I got stuck on the inside and had to take my beating. It was tough enough that I couldn't hang onto my board on the inside. Bottom line, not a wussy day...more of an adrenaline rush!
Short video of waves on Thursday

As Florida Continues To Amaze me

I just came back from a camping trip with 'da boyz' in my family and my brother introduced me to Princess Place Preserve. He had spoken of it before, and I had figured it was just a bit of sawgrass on the side of the Indian River up near Saint Augustine. Every place else we looked was booked solid (damn Yankees), but Princess Place was wide open. It turned out to be the exact right place for us guys. The downside? no electricity, and no potable water anywhere. The upside? Giant campsites with more privacy than you could ever hope to find in Florida. Being that we went in February, we knew it was possible to have wind and freezing cold. We did get enough of that, but it kept the mosquitoes away, and made the campfire circle a lot more fun. My sleeping bag proved it's worth and I gladly spent the two days without a shower. There was a shower, but between the cold and the sulfur water, I decided to pass. The ranger was a great guy, and he gave us firewood and a tour of the Princess Lodge. If you are a fan of Downton Abbey, then the Princess Lodge and it's history will intrigue you. This place has campsites that are very different, and one thing I noticed is that next trip, I will try a different one. We had Moody#3, beautiful and right on open water, with just enough trees to block the freezing cold wind. You can only tent camp here, but it is awesome for bicycles and kayaks. A really big deal is the horse section of the park, but I'm not a horse guy. If I ever did decide to try some horseback riding, this seems like the best place I've seen to do it. I will be back, and when I come, I will have gallons of water on board...oh yeah, Saturday night, I think my brothers and I were the only people around in the 1100 acre park! Try to do that somewhere else in Florida!