We left home on a mid-March Monday morning, the van packed with warm-weather clothes and all the essentials. But the first few nights were still chilly. The heat in the van, set at fifty-nine degrees, blessedly kicked on during those nights.

Monday night we spent at a KOA (Kampground of America) in New Jersey. The next morning I took a walk along the road in front of the KOA, while my husband, Mark, ran.

Tuesday night we stayed in Emporia, Virginia, and headed for the Santee Lakes region of South Carolina on Wednesday. We were pleasantly surprised to find a Buc-ee’s along the way! We first came across the Buc-ee’s chain in Texas, but didn’t know they were so far east.

The Santee National Wildlife Refuge was the perfect spot for a walk/run Wednesday afternoon— even though the thought of alligators crossing my path kept me on high alert. 🙂 It was also the site of Fort Watson, a key stronghold taken from the British during the Revolutionary War.

After trekking through the Wildlife Refuge for the afternoon, we checked in at the Santee Lakes KOA in plenty of time for a beautiful sunset.

We returned to the Wildlife Refuge early the next morning before heading off to St. Augustine.

On Friday morning, we walked the grounds around the St. Augustine Lighthouse, then climbed to the top—all two hundred nineteen steps of its metal spiral staircase. I could feel my stomach flipping out and my legs getting shaky, but all was good as long as Mark stayed behind me on the way up and in front of me on the way back down. 🙂

At the top of the lighthouse—surprise! surprise!—Mark found a fellow lover of Treehouse beer. They talked for several minutes while I took in the view.

I spied a tree down below full of birds and asked the guide what I was looking at. He told us there was a rookery nearby at The Alligator Farm. So, we headed back down the spiral staircase in search of birds.

We drove around the block and found the St. Augustine Alligator Farm. But it didn’t seem worth the $35 apiece to enter. So, we walked down the sidewalk to find that the trees we’d seen from atop the lighthouse. They were just on the other side of a fence. We had a much less expensive, but very satisfactory view from the sidewalk. We saw plenty of wood storks, roseate spoonbills, and egrets coming and going.

Mark still needed to get a run in that day, so after the rookery we drove to the St. Augustine State Trail at the Vermont Heights Trailhead. He ran in one direction while I walked in another. A peaceful spot for exercise with the added bonus of restrooms on site.

Friday night, we stayed at a KOA near Kennedy Space Center. Little did we know, a Spacex rocket was scheduled to launch that night. We joined a small crowd gathered at the right spot (according to those in the know) and, sure enough, a fireball shot into the sky just after 8:20 p.m. Too far away for decent pictures, but we all took them anyway.

In the morning we stopped at Brevard Zoo Linear Park in Melbourne, Florida. Mark went for a run while I attended my monthly Poetry Circle via Zoom. After my Zoom meeting, I squeezed in a short walk before we hit the road again.

We spent the weekend with friends in Boca Raton, arriving late Saturday afternoon in time for dinner. Cliff and Susan were gracious hosts and we enjoyed walking/running in their neighborhood, relaxing by their pool, and eating out in Delray Beach on St. Patrick’s Day.

We said goodbye on Monday morning and travelled Alligator Alley (I-75) through The Everglades to Naples where we spent a few days with my dad.

My dad’s condo is right on the water, so I took my morning walks along a 1.25-mile paved path at the edge of the sand. Mark used the path, but ran along Gulf Shore Boulevard, as well. We also walked down the street to the Village Shops on Venetian Bay, went out for dinner at Mr. Big Fish one night, saw Cabrini at a brand-new fancy cinema nearby, and watched the sunset on our last night in Naples. Mark was able to visit with a couple of old friends who were staying in Naples, too.

All in all, we enjoyed the people and places we visited and the wildlife we encountered. We left Naples on a Thursday morning and headed back north, stopping at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary on the way. But that’s a story for another day… 🙂