Fall is such a transient season for me.  By the end of a southern summer, the heat has turned me into an air-conditioned recluse and the first cool day of autumn has me itching to enjoy the outside before Old Man Winter steals my sunshine.

Such is our tradition, to vacation to Florida just as the rest of civilization has packed away the sunscreen and jumped head first into piles of leaves, football season and fall festivals.

This year we chose Fort de Soto Park near St. Petersburg Florida as our destination.  Everything I was told indicated this is a beautiful natural place – and it did not disappoint.

The drive for us is possible in one long day (about 600 miles).  On the journey there, I kept thinking about high palm trees and warm sunshine.   South Carolina had just endured a 1000 year flood, and at the park we were blessed with a week’s worth of sunshine.  We had some very warm days (in fact the area was seeing some record highs)!

Why not stick with tradition.  Quick stop at the Florida welcome center for some orange juice!  We realized that while each Florida welcome center we had visited greeted you with a dolphin, each one was painted with a different theme.  On our way to Topsail Hill State Park last year, the dolphin was triathlon themed (welcome center on US 231).  This one on I-95 was a music theme.

The drive was rather uneventful but sunset crept up on me by surprise.  We arrived at the campground with light fading fast.  Months ago I reserved taking a guess at what would be a good site for us.  I wanted waterfront (it was worth it) but it meant backing into my blind side, at night nonetheless, with many low tree branches and a narrow campground road.

Somehow threaded our 35′ fifth wheel through the needle!

That night I wasn’t too happy with all the work, but seeing the view the next morning changed all that.

One of the reasons we chose Fort de Soto over many other destinations in this area of Florida was the extensive dog beach.  Rocket, our Boykin Spaniel, is non-stop energy in the water and he is full of entertaining moves!  He is still susceptible to “crate eating” (anxiety) so being able to bring him along is much better for all of us.

We did have to stay vigilant for the jellyfish that would pop up here and there.  Not so much to completely keep you out of the water, but enough to be careful.

No “homeschooling” family trip is complete without an educational aspect – so the Fort itself was rather convenient for a multifaceted history lesson.   Had this area not been used by the military during the days of sea defense, the land would not have been preserved – and this park could have been developments instead.  The history of this place and how it relates to “global” conflict at the time is an interesting journey, and I recommend taking the time to walk through the small “quartermaster” museum to learn more.  I thought our kids would be bored stiff, but it’s a well done museum for the size, with exhibits to grab the attention of youth and adult.

One of the most endearing aspects of this campground is how nature appears at your doorstep.  Many mornings or late afternoons we observed the different wildlife.  Many birds (plenty of which would shadow anyone fishing) and we even spotted a shark in the shallows!  Glorious sunsets marked the end to each day.

Another major attraction for us were the miles of bike trails, just within the park.  We brought our cyclocross bikes which were perfect for the different terrain.  The main paths were paved, but you could manage the dirt/sand side roads and many parts of the beach on knobby 32cm tires.  Road bikes would work fine on the paved paths, and mountain bikes will do it all – but a CX bike or a good hybrid is the “goldilocks” blend for this park.

My daughter and I also enjoyed plenty of tandem time together and ventured out of the park in the separated path as well.  Florida does a great job with bicycle infrastructure – other states should take note!

Along with the Quartermaster museum, the park also has exhibits at the visitor center, and an information center about birds in the park and in Florida in general.

The beach was the main attraction for us and we wore it out (and ourselves – and the dog) on this trip.

We searched for the elusive “perfect shell” and picked this guy up from the surf.  About to take it home, my wife observed that there may be something moving!  Dropping it into a bucket of water, we watched the little barnacles reach out and in – time to throw this one back.

It came as no surprise that this park is popular for many events.  While we were there, there was at least one running race and a number of cycling events.  The Wounded Warrior Ride was the most notable.

We wound down our last day enjoying one more warm Florida day, as we were blessed with a beautiful sunset light show.  This turned out to be our last trip with our fifth wheel, as our next adventure would be with our “new” motorhome!