We were popping with excitement when we arrived at Bahia Honda (pronounced "buy a honda") and I bet you can see why! We were so happy to have reservations for two weeks! This is Florida's number one sought after state park and there is not a bad seat in the house, meaning every campsite is great!
This is just one of the beautiful eye popping campsites to call home!
We had a water view site with shade and about a 30 second walk to the water! Home remarkable home!!
BooBoo quickly made friends hoping to find his friend "Foxy" among the smaller dogs.
The park has lots of trails for walking/bicycling so we were able to get lots of daily exercise.
We fell in love with the beach and its shallow crystal clear water!
We sat for hours under the trees enjoying being "fanned" by their continuous and gentle breeze! Two weeks here was just not long enough!
Absolutely breathtakingly gorgeous! There is not an adjective strong enough to describe her beauty!
If it is possible to "miss" a tree, I miss this tree!
We would ride our bicycles and find a new place to fall in love with each day inside of the park!
Ricky ended every day catching our dinner from this bridge which was about a two minute walk from our campsite! The water was smooth as glass at times!
Note the mirror on the motorhome - what an unforgettable view!
There is Ricky doing his favorite thing at his favorite place!
And I hope he keeps doing his favorite thing!
Sunset at one of the most beautiful places on the planet and this is why we travel! Don't miss out - go - run don't walk!
It was love at first sight when we pulled into Long Key State Park! We were surrounded by water, sky and everything beautiful! Ricky quickly disconnected the car while I went inside to register. We were so excited to get to our site, set up and enjoy three days of rest and relaxation!
We pulled into site #51 rather than backing in so we could see and enjoy this beautiful view! Look at that sky and water!
The campsite pictures speak for themselves! The site was sandy, level and large enough for our 13x13 canopy. We had a nice border of trees and vegetation on each side for privacy and a gentle refreshing nonstop breeze! Ahhh.....
Can you believe this panoramic water view!? All campsites are waterfront here at Long Key! If you can't be happy here, you can't be happy!
We loved waking up and being surrounded by this as we drank our morning coffee!
We were able to bicycle everywhere throughout the park and trails.
This was left behind by Cuban refugees who had entered the park illegally, showered in the bath house and disappeared.
Ricky took these pictures of the inside of the boat. They were very resourceful and obviously very desperate to flee their country. Sad.
Long Key is beautiful during the day, night or even low tide! We loved and enjoyed this lovely place so much! It's a real jewel!
Off we go to our next stop - Bahia Honda State Park for fourteen more days in paradise!
Our first stop in the Keys was in Key Largo at John Pennekamp State Park! We stayed in a full hook up site including sewer for four nights. It was nice and shady and we were able to get satellite TV reception by parking the motorhome all the way forward on our site #39 at the suggestion of our very friendly and helpful neighbor, David, who immediately came over and introduced himself. More about David later.
So here we are all set up and ready to go explore on our bikes!
Before we could get on our bikes to leave, we see this car with a lady perched up on the seat holding a beach umbrella passing through the campground. I guess there is more than one way to avoid the sun and help beat the heat!
Pennekamp has a large concession area serving grilled burgers, hotdogs and sandwiches with a shaded outdoor eating area complete with tables, chairs and free wifi! This was also the place for renting kayaks, paddle boards and booking glass bottom boat tours. Pennekamp attracts a lot of day visitors so there was always a steady stream of customers in and out of this area. This is also a great area to just kick back, relax and people watch! Pennekamp is a great place to have fun while being active!
We love trees and we could never have too many and Pennekamp did not disappoint us at all! To sit and linger for an hour or two beneath a tree with a shade can renew one's spirit and energy. God gave us trees for many different reasons!
Pennekamp has so much to offer day visitors and campers including a fabulous beach with clear water and a nice breeze!
We had the pleasure of seeing "Shy Hamlet" at the aquarium/museum here at Pennekamp. So much to do and see here!
Pennekamp is so beautiful by day or night and is home to a wonderful RV park. We walked or biked everywhere in the park. We could usually be found late afternoons on one of these two benches as the sun was waving goodbye to another day. We have had so much fun but how can you go to Florida and not have fun!
Okay back to our friendly and helpful neighbor, David. On our last full day here, David called 911 for his wife who had a sudden and severe headache with nausea. David followed the ambulance to the hospital and returned several hours later telling us that they were transferring his wife to a hospital in Miami for surgery. His plan was to go to Miami in the very early AM. He gave us a key to his camper along with instructions to walk and care for his dog. David felt like he would be back before our scheduled checkout time tomorrow. We were awakened by a knock on our door about 4 AM. It was David crying uncontrollably and saying that the doctor had called and said she didn't make it. He said "She died. I came here with my wife and I am leaving without her." Oh to witness someone experience that kind of sudden and unexpected tragic pain was almost unbearable until we realized we were the only two people he had that early morning of September. Changes can be so "sudden" and life really is as a vapor.
We are leaving Pennekamp today so heavy hearted and almost in disbelief at times. It is going to be a very quiet drive to our next stop, Long Key. David has our telephone number. I hope he calls....
