Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 34

 16 February 2026

Myakka River State Park 

Sarasota, Florida    

It's my birthday wish.

Marc-  All I wanted today was a sundae and Sarasota (actually a Dairy Queen in Bradenton) delivered.  Another sunny day in Florida in the 70's.  We spent much of the morning moving to another site in the campground.  On the plus side was time to explore the visitors center, a few trails and our next campground in the largest state park in Florida.  We discovered one camping area made up of log cabins made with palm tree logs complete with fireplaces.  

Our drive around Sarasota brought us to the Spring Training ballpark for the Baltimore Orioles.  It is quite an impressive place.  We even visited a section of town were the Amish come for a winter break.

The best part of the day was getting together with Fred and Em for dinner in Venice.  It is a beautiful town with many shops and restaurants (including three ice cream shops).

Ed Smith Stadium Home of the Baltimore Orioles.

Maybe we can find something for Will Patten who is a big Orioles fan.

Amish on bikes at the Home Depot.

Myakka River State Park residents.

Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 33

15 February 2026

Myakka River State Park 

Sarasota, Florida    

Roseate spoonbill at Myakka River State Park.

Marc-  This was a travel day so the entry will be rather brief.  Half of the day was spent on the highway and fortunately it was uneventful.  We arrived at Myakka River State Park to find a 45 square mile park  made up of grasslands, a river and two lakes.  The trees are a combination of live oaks and tall palms.  There are four campgrounds with plenty of shade.  There is a man made Canopy walkway and towers.   Fred and Emily Lewis met us for lunch and then we visited this walkway.  It's a suspension bridge, about 30 feet in the air near the tops of most trees, connecting two wooden towers.  The tallest tower is about 60 feet in the air and it was swaying a bit in the 30 knot winds.  

This is a sign right next to our camper.  It's the first time we have seen one of these in a campsite.

These two gators were about 500 feet from the campsite (they tend to stay near the water).

Canopy walkway.

Fred and Em.

Ann and George Kyriacou (Fred's sister) invited us over to their beautiful home in nearby Venice for dinner.  A good time was had by all.

This cat quilt was nice find in Naples.

Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 32

14 February 2026

Collier Seminole State Park 

Naples, Florida    

An impressive quilt shop in Naples.

Marc-  Our first stop today was a quilt shop.  This place has a huge inventory of quality fabrics, quilt patterns, sewing machines, classes and quilting services.  

We went to the Clambake in Ft. Lauderdale for a Valentine's lunch of fried clams.  The people who own this place are from Rhode Island, and there is a maritime and Boston sports theme to go with the seafood.

Classy display.

What a great idea to use these big old spools to hold bolts of fabric.

Thread galore.

                           Sue has finished her birdhouse quilt.  The reverse side is also beautiful.

                                                                (this is the back side)

Sue - When we first went to this quilt shop 2 years ago we were put off because the people working there were not friendly or helpful.  The place was gorgeous but the attitude was unlike anything we'd ever encountered in a quilt store.  As a result it did not get a high rating.  Today was the total opposite.  There were 2 friendly, nice, helpful ladies working there, one was young (pretty much an anomaly in a quilt store) and was from Dover, NH.  I didn't need anything, but that didn't stop me from buying a total of 5 yards of 3 different fabrics.  We spent a long time in there because it is so big.  

If you are getting the idea that nice people, quilters and quilt stores go together, you would be correct.

Safari Mini Golf.

Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 31

13 February 2026

Collier Seminole State Park 

Naples, Florida    

A day visiting the local National Preserve and National Park.

Marc-  We spent the day with our friends who live in Bonita Springs: Donna, Frank and Donna's brother, Steve.  Our main visit concerned the Islands of Everglades City and Chokoloskee in the Florida Everglades.  Both islands are primarily privately owned and were mainly developed by Barron Collier when he was building the Tamiami Cross Florida highway.  Everglades City was turned into a seaport for the highway project.  Both Islands are subject to extensive damage when hurricanes pass through the area.  

We visited the Everglades City Welcome Center and the Everglades City Museum.  Both contained a treasure trove of local history and artifacts.  We had lunch at a local cafe.  The annual Seafood Festival Weekend was due to start this evening and really livened up the town with many booths and a carnival right in the center of town, but we did not get in on that.  Finally we visited the new National Park Visitors' Center.  This is a marina and a fantastic two story structure designed to withstand major hurricanes.  It was wiped out by Hurricane Ian in September 2022 and just reopened 2 days ago. 

Chokoloskee Island is a fisherman's paradise.  There are several very nice campgrounds as well as several hotels.  We visited the famed Smallwood Store and Trading Post established in 1906.  It is as much a Museum of this island's traditions as a store.  Lastly, we signed up for a guide to take us out for a tour of the 10,000 islands that surround the store.  Our guide told us that there are really about 40,000 islands if you count them all the way down to the Florida Keys.

Will, our guide, pulled up on the beach beside the store with an 18 foot Carolina Skiff with a 60 horsepower Yamaha outboard.  He backed off the beach without tilting the engine and off we went at about 20 knots down the channel.  He asked what we wanted to see and we answered dolphins and birds.  He delivered in spades.  He knew where the birds gathered and he knew where the dolphins fished.  He knew how to get the dolphins to come near the boat (no he did not feed them).

Our group of travelers.

Smallwood Store & Trading Post.

Traditional Seminole Indian design work boat.

Night heron among the red mangrove trees.

An island shared by brown pelicans and cormorants.

Pelican above "Bird Island".

A pelican taking flight.

Dolphin following us.

The dolphins can swim faster than this boat but they seemed to be enjoying the boat wakes, so they stayed with us.  There were three and four near us at times.

Large Osprey nest on one island.  Captain Will thought there were eggs and at least one Osprey in the nest.

Southern Camping Trip 2026 (aboard "Elsie" the land yacht). cont. 30

12 February 2026

Collier Seminole State Park 

Naples, Florida   

Dormant cypress trees at Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve in Fort Myers.

Marc- We spent our last day in Fort Myers visiting a forest swamp preserve and two quilt shops.  Roberta also made sure we were well fed on delicious pizza from Uncle Rico's.  We also walked a lot.  

The area is in a drought but the cypress trees are normally dormant this time of year (the dry season) and regain their leaves in March.  The Preserve we visited has a lake and a swamp that you can visit care of an extensive boardwalk.  There is ample wild life if you take the time to look.

Turtles enjoying the sun.

Great egret hunting.

Muddy ibis looking for food among the cypress knees.

Squirrels sleeping in the trees.

Alligator lurking in the swamp.

Portion of a colorful quilt at PJ's quilt shop in North Fort Myers.

Another interesting quilt design.