Wonderful! If I could use only one word to describe them that would be it. They are clean, quiet, picturesque and welcoming. What more can you say.
While we had not intended it, this vacation has been spent at Florida State Parks. Our first night, we stayed at Lake Griffin. This had not been planned. We just decided how far we thought we could travel and decided that it was a reasonable destination. They had a site that night and we made the reservation. The rest is, as they say, history. IT was small, comfortable, clean and a pleasant surprise for that first night.
The bulk of our trip - 9 days - was spent at Koreshan State Park in Estero, FL. While this one was planned, it was an unknown. It,too, was wonderful. Clean. Quiet. Picturesque. A wonderful stay. The only regret that we have is that we did not rent a canoe and travel the Estero River. We walked about a bit and visited the historical settlement, but the river looked inviting. But, as in all vacations, there just wasn't enough time.
While is Estero, we decided to go to the beach on two days. Both days we decided to stop at Lover's Key State Park. There is no camping here, but there is a large, long beach, full of shells. This park, too, is clean and welcoming and picturesque. The beach is just a long white sandy (with lots of shells) beach - almost as far as the eye can see. And it is never crowded. You can seem to be alone on the beach.
As we start our way back to the "spring" (really winter) weather of New England, we have stopped at another state park, Anastasia, in St.Augustine. It is perhaps the nicest of them all. The site its large and wooded; quiet and comfortable. The beach is spectacular - a long, wide white-sand beach that stretches forever. Here, you can really be alone on the beach. It is quiet, not crowded and the shore birds are ever-present.
Florida State Parks deserve a kudos for their appeal. And we will be back!!
