On the road again....

As much as we LOVE Cedar Key, we had been there for two months and were both ready to move on and see the rest of Florida!  Our first stop was in Tampa to have lunch and see Bill's mom one last time before settling into our campsite at Fort Desoto in St. Petersburg. Other nomads had raved about this state park and we were lucky to snag 2 nights here. On the weekends this place is supposed to be crazy busy with people but during the week it's very quiet and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We set up quickly and got on our bikes to do a little scouting before sunset. For sunset, our site right on the water was the perfect place to settle in with a cocktail and listen to the birds while waiting for the glorious show. The next morning we were itching for some exercise and went out for a 4 1/2 mile run to check out the beaches. We could definitely spend some more time here!

Nomadic friends Eric and Karla had told us about Sanibel Island and it was a must see on our tour. We had reserved 4 nights here and had no idea how magical this little rv park was. There was a bird sanctuary with the most beautiful cockatoos and parrots...they all loved to talk up a storm and one really enjoyed Bill's wine and one enjoyed his finger! They had a separate area with black swans, lemurs and ducks everywhere. I hear that during the season the Periwinkle Trailer Park is packed pretty tight but we had plenty of room to stretch out in. We went for 2 more long runs, one on purpose and one because we got VERY lost. Bill was so happy to be getting in the groove of running again. We found a fabulous gourmet market that had some yummy beers and the most amazing pastries.

We drove out to Captiva Island to see The Bubble Room - what a trip! This place has so much stuff crammed into every nook and cranny. We had heard the food wasn't that good (except for their Orange Crunch Cake) so we just got an umbrella drink and wandered around.

We ended up at The Mucky Duck, a restaurant with a huge outdoor bar on the beach and live music and settled into our Adirondack chairs to wait for the sunset...it's a tough life, all this waiting for sunsets!

The next day, Cinco de Mayo and the Super Moon collided and we found the only Mexican restaurant on Captiva Island. We ended up at an overflow table outside, in the front of the restaurant which was kind of cool. Ordered a pitcher of margaritas, some guac and enjoyed the action on the street. When Bill went to order a shot of tequila from the bar he was told they didn't have any and that the margaritas were from wine! We were flabbergasted - a Mexican restaurant without a liquor license! And, hello, could you have told us this BEFORE we ordered the pitcher!

Dining at Cantina Captiva

It was a crazy night on more than one count, but we got our Mexican fix and drove over to the Green Flash to wait for the Super Moon to rise.

I had no idea that the islands, Sanibel and Captiva were INFESTED with NoSeeums...a little tiny black blug that took an extreme liking to my flesh. So while we were spending all of this time out doors in the May humidity, i.e., wearing very little, I was getting eaten alive. I was not to discover this until several days later, just after I realized I had broken my toe on the dock while waiting for the moon to rise :(

Super Moon over Captiva Island, Florida, May 5, 2012