Little Surfer Dude

Flagler Beach, Florida

It was raining when we left home this morning, but we still managed to head out the door by about 7:15  am for sunrise at the beach.  It is becoming a very nice habit.  It will be more difficult once the time changes on November 6th.

We didn’t expect to see the sun since it was cloudy, and we were right.   It was still a wonderful way to start the day.   The rain was light and would stop and start.  It never rained hard enough that I had to put my camera away.

We went to our usual spot on Flagler Beach by the pier.  We never saw the sun, but there was a man and his young child getting ready to go surfing.  This was a very little kid.

We’re actually not sure if it boy or girl, but we assumed it was a boy.  He/she had shoulder length hair, but then so did the dad.

Anyway, it was quite cute to watch how the dad was helping his child surf.   After watching awhile, it was apparent the kid had been surfing before.  He was pretty good.

The water is very shallow as far as the end of the pier.  Dad would stand up and help the kid catch a wave.  The kid would surf into shore and dad would body surf in and go help the kid paddle back out.  He never let him get too far away for very long.  He was a good dad. 

He looks bigger on the surfboard, but it is the same little kid.

We took a long walk on the beach and picked up our share of trash.  Balloons are a real problem for marine life and we picked up a dozen deflated balloons with strings.  They were wrapped up with the Sargasso grass which was washing up on the beach. 

Afterwards we  took a drive down highway A1A.  Flagler County sure does it right.  You can actually drive by the beach and see the ocean. 

There are no high rise buildings. We didn’t see any buildings higher than 2 floors.  The shops are mostly just little mom and pop places.  A very nice change from the high rise  condo’s and hotels along the Gulf coast of Florida…and for that matter, most of Florida.  There is really a lot of undeveloped beach property in this area.  It’s a great part of Florida.

We did a little sightseeing along the way.  I thought this old tree looked like a scary Halloween  scene.

We visited Washington Oaks State Park.  No camping or kayak launch but there was a real nice kayaking place on the inter-coastal waterway side of the park.  We saw tons of dolphin swimming there.  On the other side of the road, was the beach, with high dunes and a nice beach access.

Miles of deserted beaches.

Lots of nice vacant ocean front property…and all owned by the state of Florida!

I thought the next picture turned out very pretty.

Notice the cinnamon colored sand?  It’s quite a contrast from the sugar white sand in the panhandle and the southern gulf coast. 

I promised to post some pictures of the other beach campground we found the other day.  Here they are.

Gamble Rogers State Park  is in Flagler Beach, between the Atlantic and the inter-coastal waterway…on both sides of Highway A1A.

They have 34 campsites on the beach.  The ranger said there were only 3 sites that would accommodate a 40 footer.  Maybe you could squeeze into a few other sites, but getting in and out could be a bit tricky for a large rig. 

The ocean front sites are showing on the left and ocean view on the right.  The price is the same.  The first site on the left is the camphost.  They have a 40 foot motorhome.  You can see it fit just fine.

Many of the campsites on the water had vegetation in front blocking some view of the ocean.

The sites were plenty wide.

 

This is what your view from your window might look like.

Campsites are $28 a night, plus tax.  No sewer hook-ups.  There were a few 40 footers in there, but per the ranger only 3 sites would accommodate a 40 footer.  I think you could get into a few others as well.  It was difficult to check the sites out because most were occupied.

On the other side of the highway was the recreational part of the park.  It had a nice boat launch and kayak and canoe rental.

This area is on the inter-coastal waterway.  It’s much calmer and better for kayaking.

The beach side has a nice access ramp (down the dunes) to the beach.

During the winter months from November through March you might see a migrating Right Whale.

They can be up to 55 feet long and weigh 55 tons.  Think of seeing a large motorhome swimming in the water!  They are even larger!  They are extremely endangered and it’s there are only between 350-500 left in the world.  Very sad.  We’ve been watching for them, even though they normally don’t get to this area until December.  You never know.

 

 

Here is a picture I took while we were kayaking yesterday.  That guy on the right is Al.

 

 

Just kidding

I borrowed this from the internet.  Those are humpback whales.  Amazing, huh?