March 17, 2007 - 2,  Lovers Key State Park

Tom and Ann are some Foretravel friends of ours that we met in Nacogdoches, TX, while we were there for service.  Kept in touch via e-mail ever since.  Tom (the Tominator) and Ann had come to Bradenton, FL, to pick up a couple of Coton pups (soooo cute!) and, since they were within a day's drive, came on down to visit us.  We're at their place in the Pelican Lake Motorcoach Park which is south of us about 35 miles or so.  Great fun to see them again, and they promised to come visit the park.

The sunsets here are beautiful.  Some more so than others, and none quite as impressive as say, Arizona, but pretty neat anyway.  Neither of these has been "enhanced" either, for you Photoshop fans.

True to their word, Tom and Ann went to the trouble to come visit us and let us drag them around the park.  The pups (Sugar and Spice) are great travelers.  They're also great "chick" magnets!  Tom had mentioned that to me, and I was able to confirm it while they were here.  We'd gone up to the north beach area and since dogs are not allowed on the beach, Barb walked down with Tom and Ann, leaving Sugar and Spice with me in the Jeep.  By the time Barb, Tom, and Ann returned, I indeed had a few women (and one guy) oohhhing and aahhhing over the fuzzy little girls.  They're really cuddle dogs and sort of conform to the shape of your body when you put them on your lap.  Non-allergenic, minimal shedding, no "doggie" smell, and have hair rather than fur for a coat.  Very soft hair, I must say.  They've been paper trained, and will head to that disposable mat (held with some firewood because of the breeze) when the need arises, and they drink water from that bottle hanging on the side of the cage.  Pretty well trained for only being born on Christmas day last year.

In an earlier post, we had pictures and some chattering about our visit to Myakka River State Park.  Barb's camera had pictures that I was unaware of at the time, but didn't want to loose them, and there's really no place logical to post them, so I'll illogically post them here.  These are all from the observation tower that is connected to the swinging bridge.  I particularly enjoy that shot she took looking straight down, looking at the tops of the palm trees, with that blue-shirted person giving some perspective of how far up we actually are.

And since there's no logical sequence for these shell shots, I may as well include them here.  One crafty person at Barb's shell club.....well, it's not really "her" shell club.  It's called the Bonita Springs Shell Club.  Anyway, somebody built these raccoons, and Barb thought they were cute.  And I guess I do too.  Stuff like this amazes me.  You could give me all the ingredients for one of these things, and I could sit and stare at them for days and never in the world come up with a raccoon.

OK.  The rest of this page will be devoted to GOAD.  Or Great Outdoor Adventure Day.  An annual event here at the park.  Last year (because I like to fish) the management let Barb and me take care of the kids casting contest.  So, this year we were asked to do it again.  Minimal training required and all that.  Had an informational booth set up and other booths with various activities set up for the kids (mostly) to enjoy throughout the park.

So after messing around to find a good battery for the trolling motor (no engines allowed in the canals in the park - manatees, you know), we finally borrowed one from one of the gates and were off to put foam circles in the water for the kids to aim at.  And, of course, if Barb has her camera and there's a bird within range, we'll get another bird picture.  This poor cormorant would zigzag right in front of us, but not get out of the way.  We were going a little faster than it could paddle, and we kept getting closer.  I suspect that it if had gone straight, we'd never have caught up with it.

You can see it finally get ready to fly and then it takes off.  Poor bird gave the impression it really didn't want to fly.

Interesting how different things look from the water than they do from the shore.  We've trimmed the brush and used the string trimmer on the grass at this shelter, but it sure looks different from here. 

The circles are set, and we're heading back to the manager's place to put the boat away.  They're foam "noodles" used in swimming pools which we round out and tape into circles using a piece of PVC pipe at the joint, then sink a broken cinder block for an anchor with a string going up to the harness for the rings.  Takes a bit of juggling to get them spaced appropriately, and if the wind is blowing it's great fun.  Not much wind today, so it didn't take long.

Not sure this is the same bird we chased on the way out (but it is a cormorant).  If it is, we owe it an apology for disturbing it twice in one day.  See those webbed feet?  Well, these guys will perch on a wire and teeter back and forth there just like it was easy for them.

One of the office rangers, Catherine, pointing out something in the water we're supposed to see.  Haven't a clue what it was now.  That's what "home" looks like from the canal!  Chair leaning on the bench so it won't blow into the canal, the canoe, the lamp post (we hang the propane lantern there for parties), our little cargo trailer, the sunshields hanging from the awning, and the firewood pile against the palm trees.  See those big rocks?  Elmer, Ranger Randy, and I dropped them there so we could get up and down the bank when using the canoe.

The fish cleaning station (with water from a hose) and me putting the battery back into the control box for the gate that we'd borrowed for the trolling motor.  What you can't see, is that lizard on the big post in front of me.

But Barb saw it and got a good picture of it.  These little guys are always surprising us when we open things up, pick something up, or even when we just bump something they're hiding in/around/under.

Ann is setting up her "Touch Table" with its sand box full of shells and other beach goodies for the event.  That motorhome in the background belongs to the musician who will be entertaining during the event.

Not sure what the scavenger hunt was all about, but do know that Ann was busy all day.  Ranger Robert's wife and two daughters are helping here with the table.

Ranger Randy all ready for his fishing clinic.  Randy is a true Florida Cracker.  His daddy, granddaddy, and great-granddaddy too were cattle drivers "back in the day."  The name "Cracker" comes from the sound of their long whips cracking that can be heard for quite a distance, much like a high-powered rifle shot.  Randy is our resident cook and has more great recipes for fish than you can imagine.

Ann's "sandbox" getting tested by one of Ranger Robert's daughters and me hard at work while Jerry and Sue borrow some baby oil to keep the no-see-ums from driving them nuts while they check out the bicycles for the bike tours.  Can't remember what Terry (on the right) was doing for the day.  The fishing rods we use for the contest have short pieces of PVC pipe as "lures"--you can see them at the rod tips against the end of the table.  Most of our setup is just getting the circles in the water.

Canoe & kayak tours were available and there's 20 kayaks in that picture.  All of which were out at the same time!  Wonderful red fox and bobcat on display, and that's a horseshoe crab shell in front of the fox.

Better shot of the bobcat, and a rack Barb and I built for displaying the raffle prize kayak.  This is the information booth manned by volunteers with all the info about what was where.  Different booths and tables were set up throughout the park, so visitors could get a feel for what the park offers, as well as what the vendors were sharing.

Assistant Park Manager Matt on the Segway, Ranger Amy in the background, and neighbor Ron on the right. 

This is a pretty good rendition of what the park looks like.  We're parked just right of the "concession" balloon.  That large whitish mark is the shop and its yard, and just below that on the darker canal is where we are.  The light colored stripes in the canals are sand bars that have built up over time and a couple of islands.  The large white diagonal stripe is the beach and at the lower right hand corner of the display is New Pass (with a boat in it) (Barb likes to shell in that area).  There are several sand bars around the Pass that have good shelling at low tide when you can get out there.

The "Brainmiders" was a bicycle safety program; they also sold helmets and the concession stand.

Roger (not in the picture) and Dawn (with the black shorts) are neighboring volunteers who helped the kayak tours stay organized.  The Outdoor Gear booth was a busy place all day with people learning about the different kinds of kayaks and other things.

I'm "testing" the rings (yes, I can hit them all.........sometimes!), and some of our friends from the Brooks Fishing Club helping some kids with casting.

The guys in white shirts are members of the Brooks Fishing Club and have helped out with GOAD for every one of the six years it's been held.  To join their club, you need to live in the compound (housing development), so they don't recruit any new members here.  They're just here to help us and we appreciate it a lot.

Is Ann accosting the Pirate or is it the other way around?  Looks to me like a hug is about to happen.

Captain Johnny O is the pirate and his shtick is to let the kids know that the true treasure is the environment and how we can enjoy it without destroying it.  A local fellow who visits schools, etc.  We sure have to work hard being volunteers, don't we........ :-).

The kayakers took a wrong turn, but soon learned the error of their ways as we had kids pitching PVC pipe at them!  Barb sure looks like she's working hard here, doesn't she.  Anything to help a visitor, eh?

What a great tool for surveying the action, eh?  Or checking out the beach, or patrolling the parking lots, or, or, WAAAAAAA!!! I want one!!

That tent on the far right was the stage where a variety of activities took place.  The musician is up there now, but later a bunch of women dressed up like different fish and mammals will come out and share information regarding the environment for the kids.  The tents to the left are for the people to sit in the shade if they'd like to listen to whatever is happening on stage.

Elmer is using a more traditional mode of transportation and is the local "gofer," and also pretty handy for giving rides to the restrooms!

The MOTE Maritime Museum came with their big trailer with its aquarium and tables of things pertaining to Florida.  Of course, Barb was keenly interested in the shells.  Those things in the big shells are egg casings.

MOTE is a major participant in our GOAD and never fails to bring something of interest for everybody.  That young lady with her hands in the water made Barb grin a lot.  She'd pick up a critter and let it go, and as soon as it had a grip on the bottom, she'd pick it up again.

Unless we sell the coach first, we're giving serious thought to staying in the park for the summer (if they'll have us), so we can watch the shorebirds and turtles nest and hatch.  And besides, the fishing really gets good during the summer.  We'll see.

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