We are pleasantly surprised by our first KOA campground. It is so peaceful and quiet. We have barely heard anyone make a sound at all, and the only people we have come across have been so kind and polite. From our lakeside campsite we have seen so many cool water birds: herons, egrets, osprey, ibis, and of course the aforementioned anhingas. We love watching the mallards waddle determinedly to gobble up laurel oak acorns from our campsite (they are so cute, and we assume the diet of acorns also would make them absolutely delicious). Adorably tiny lizards are everywhere. We were even able to sit back and watch Melina and Diane take a paddle boat through the alligator- and snake- infested waters. Ahhh, peaceful bliss.
We have taken Zellie on the 20 minute walk to the beach a few times, and boy does she love the beach! She bounded like a puppy and inhaled the wind, in Zach’s words, “like she is freebasing smells.” The nearby beach was also great for kite flying, and for getting some bonus time in the sand and waves. Diane still loves to kick, punch, and smack the water in the game she calls “ninja waves.”
Yesterday, my main focus was to try not to let the fact that it was election day make me too anxious (Zach and I voted weeks ago), and I’d say we were very successful. We biked a few miles to Anastasia State Park, where the wide beaches and the marshy inlet are covered in water birds. We saw more herons and egrets, but also wood storks. They sure are weird looking!
We had a picnic lunch on the beach and though the water was too rough for swimming, Diane played at the edge of the surf in the sand while Zach photographed sandpipers and plovers as they skittered along the sand. I checked out shells and dug for clams, and sat with Melina who munched on snacks and enjoyed the sun.
We also took a hike at the park, which was a very different type of woods than we are used to. We learned about laurel oaks and beauty berries and lots of different palm trees. But the only wildlife we saw were the tiny lizards that are everywhere around here. The walk was easy and shaded and beautiful, but for some reason Melina kept thinking we were lost, despite being on a very clearly marked trail. I don’t know why this has been bothering her lately- she thought the same thing on our Santee hike. It didn’t bother Diane at all, though. She delighted in pointing out edible plants and great materials for making a shelter. She may have actually been disappointed when we made it back to our bikes that we wouldn’t have to survive off of the land for a few days.
On our way out of the park I mentioned that I was sad we didn’t see a gopher tortoise, when only a few minutes later one appeared right by us! We watched him for a bit to make sure he didn’t venture onto the road, but eventually he scrambled back into the brush.
Today we biked a bit farther to the historic town of St Augustine. Melina started out the day cranky and annoyed about the ride. She said using the bike lane alongside traffic made her very nervous. Fortunately, by the time we got to the Bridge of Lions that took us over the causeway and into St Augustine, her mood took a 180. I don’t know if it was the views or the gorgeous weather or just the fresh air and exercise, but she was happy and pleasant for the rest of the day.
We walked around the old fort and took in the views. We even saw two small (1 ½ foot diameter) sea turtles swimming alongside the walls of the fort!
The girls adored the touristy St. George Street. Thankfully we were there early enough on a weekday morning that we could easily window shop while staying distanced. We admired the beautiful architecture of Flagler College before grabbing a delicious lunch on the patio at the Floridian.
The last item of business in St Augustine was gourmet popsicles from The Hyppo. The depth and breadth of flavors was staggering. Diane opted for Blueberry Cinnamon while Melina chose Pumpkin Cheesecake. Neither was disappointed.
The only bad experience we had during our stay here had nothing to do with St Augustine or the KOA campground at all. It was…the black water. Uggghh. Dumping the “black water tank” from the RV (yes, it means what you think it means) has been something we’ve been dreading. But last night our grey water tank (the tank that holds water that drains from the sink and shower) filled up, and so we decided to use the sewer hookup at our campsite and dump our black water and flush the tube with our grey water, just as we’d been instructed to do. Unfortunately, at this point we realized that we had parked the RV about 2 feet short of where our sewer hose would reach. This meant we had to retract the slide, unhook the power, raise the jacks, move the RV, level the RV, re-hook the power, and expand the slide again, now just 2 feet from where we had started. Very time consuming and frustrating, but we did it. Then we hooked up the sewer hose exactly as we were shown on the video I took when James showed us what to do. We both crossed our fingers, and Zach pulled the black handle. We were horrified to see something wet spray out, so Zach quickly pushed the handle back in, but the damage was done. About two full cups of literal shit sat in a messy puddle under our RV. We were so completely floored and disgusted, I think we crouched there staring at it for a full minute before we could do anything at all.
As it turns out, a piece of the tube had jiggled loose and was out of place, leaving a gap in the hose. Neither James nor any of the 5+ youtube videos we watched on this subject mentioned this as a possibility. We managed to fix the part of the tube, finish the dump from both tanks, and spray the ground clean, but it was truly horrific. I’m pretty sure we are both scarred for life. Strangely enough, the ducks seemed even more excited about the acorns around that part of the campsite after this happened. Consequently, Zach and I are now somewhat less inclined to grill up an acorn-stuffed duck for dinner.
Traveling Together 
Fun! I have that same photo of Pete at the Greek Orthodox shrine! It is the black water thing that has always kept me from seriously considering renting an RV. You guys are brave! I love you! ❤️
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Have you seen the movie ‘RV?’ There is a hilarious scene involving emptying the RV tank… sounds a bit similar to your experience!
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We DEFINITELY need to watch this when we get back!!
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Such an adventure for such a cooped up era! ❤️
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