Location: Radford, Virginia
We tire of being cold, so the day
before Valentine's, we decide to take a month or two and travel south
to warmer climes in our camper.
Things down here are a far cry from the
frozen tundra up north in Virginia. Here we are able to wear shorts
and tee shirts while we hike, visit with several old cruising
friends, and generally spend our time exploring, relaxing, and being
"not cold". And we are, once again, amazed at the sheer
abundance of wildlife down here.
One evening early in the trip, at dusk
at our camp in the Georgia woods, we are surprised by a plethora of
strange bird calls. Mostly what sounds like hoots, we guess it's owls
and do a quick owl call search on the Internet. Turns out the trees
above and around us are filled with barred owls – it must be spring
and mating season has begun. Unfortunately, we have forgotten to
bring our binoculars – a.k.a "bins" (doh!), so we don't
see any, but are happy to hear them.
Our first day in Florida we go hiking
on the beach at Ft. Clinch State Park in Fernandina and see a sand
covered turtle who has come ashore, we suppose, to lay eggs. Another
harbinger of spring? Luckily, we are fast enough (and, thankfully,
the turtle is slow enough) that we are able to capture a photo.
As we travel we become used to seeing
bald eagles, osprey, and sandhill cranes. Egrets, wood storks and
many other shore birds are also frequently observed. Unfortunately,
we are unable to see them as close as we'd like since we don't have
our bins...
At Silver Glen Springs we find crystal clear water and puthering sand springs – very cool and, like our camp fire, easy to watch and get lost in.
After breaking ourselves
free from the puthering, we chat up a young man with a couple of
kids, all in wet suits. They've been snorkeling with the manatees
for the last hour or so and have really enjoyed themselves.
Apparently, one manatee is very friendly and keeps sneaking up behind
and nudging them – they tell us it's quite a startling proposition the
first time it happens. Hopefully, this is not also a sign of spring
mating season...
At St. Augustine on the walls of the
old Spanish fort we see pigeons cooing and wooing, grabbing each
other's beaks and doing their strange pigeon mating dance. Yep,
spring is definitely arriving.
We also get to see some gators! One
about 10' long across a river from where we are walking with friends,
then on another day with other friends, a little four footer from
about 8 feet away, followed by a huge 12 footer from only about 25'
away! Needless to say, we continue on without trying to get closer,
make friends, or visit. Don't want to risk wearing out our welcome!
It would be cool to have our bins, though.
At Mayaca State Park we get to
participate in one of our favorite wildlife viewing activities –
watching and listening to bird watchers watching birds. There are so
many varieties of shore bird here, all looking for fish and
shellfish, that our new friends are very animated, talking excitedly
among themselves and snap-snap-snapping pictures. As always, this
makes them even more enjoyable to watch, and we spend a while
observing them. Unfortunately, we can't see much of what they're
discussing without our bins...
On one of our last days, we are taken
fishing by old cruising buddies. Julie catches a sheepshead –
excellent eating, according to one of our hosts. He then goes on to
catch a second one, then cleans them both and gives us all the
fillets. We pan fry them the following night and, as promised, they
are delicious. Yum!
Then, like everyone else we know, our
plans are suddenly short-circuited by Covid-19. We'd hoped to stay
south until early April , but with state governments closing
facilities and what looks like a looming country-wide shutdown, we
scurry back home.
Here we are greeted by a lawn that
needs mowing, happily blooming daffodils that Mark gave Julie for her
birthday last November, and – wait for it - stores with no toilet
paper!?!? We don't get it - hoarding toilet paper? Go figure.
At any rate, we have just stocked up
the camper (4 rolls), so we're good for "bog roll" for the
time being. A quick trip to the grocery for some fresh veggies,
dried beans, seeds to sprout and a quick perusal to see what else we
can find to supplement our stores and tide us over for the next few
weeks, and we're good to go for our next phase - voluntary
self-isolation.
Our isolation reminds us to be grateful
for the all-too-short vacation we just had. Now the only wildlife we
get to see is local birds, the odd squirrel, and our neighbors. At
least we have our bins!
Best wishes to you all, stay safe and
be healthy.
