At first light we let loose of the mooring ball and headed into Marina Jacks for fuel, water and a pump out and then we were good to go south. We had one swing bridge and one drawbridge we were too tall to go under so we had to request an opening but otherwise we breezed through. The boat traffic picked up considerably after 11 am and we were grateful to enter the anchorage at Pelican Bay at Cayo Costa State Park. This park you can only access by boat and there is a huge ferry that comes into the State Park dock. We are looking forward to walking the beach and hiking the trails and staying through the weekend.
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| Swing bridge where bridgetender goes out to operate it |
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| Colorful sailing dinghies near Venice |
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| Along the land cut with bike paths on both sides |
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| A recumbent tricycle |
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| Two ferries crossing our course |
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| Swing bridge with two lane boat traffic |
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| Old railroad trestle bridge with trees growing |
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| Happy sea turtle near the pass |
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| Happy captain that we dodged all the traffic and now with anchors down beer |
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| Ferry to State Park dock |
We got an early start to exploring the island as we were the second dinghy at the state park dock. We paid our $2 dollar admission fee per person and followed the signs to the campground and beach across the island. We followed the beach toward the Boca Grande Pass and then found a trail that brought us to the anchorage side of the island and by the Pioneer Cemetery before returning to the closed visitor center. We had our picnic lunch after the ferry landed and all the tourists boarded the tram to the beach. Good timing on our part to depart in the dinghy and circumnavigate the anchorage. We turned into the Manatee Hole which surprisingly had a private dock and house and we spotted two manatees. We turned off the engine and floated towards them and then spooked one as he took a mad dive to the bottom and then out of the pond. We spotted some fishy spots to return to. About half the boats have departed and we imagine they will be replaced as the Friday crowd moves in to this huge anchorage. There's a dozen boats around the point we can't see except on our dinghy ride.
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| A spectacular island park |
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| Bench overlooking the gulf beach |
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| Miles of shelling |
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| Startled great blue heron |
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| Critter tracks |
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| Hiking trails across the island |
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| Shady and lush vegetation |
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| Prickly pear cactus beware |
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| Flowering vine |
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| View of Boca Grande Pass |
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| Shore birds feeding in the surf |
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| Wildlife preserve |
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| Pioneer cemetery |
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| Peaceful rest stop |
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| Old water tower |
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| Heading towards Manatee Hole |
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| Spotted manatee snouts |
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| Floated up close |
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| Nesting birds with their chicks |
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| Beautiful mangrove bird sanctuary |
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| Barnacles on the mangroves |
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| Roosting pelican trio |
Our second day of exploring the trails on the island we had the advantage of the posted trail map. Yesterday we took the Cabin Trail to the Gulf Beach Trail to the Cemetery Trail and back to the dock. This morning we took the Quarantine Trail to the Osprey Trail to the Dolphin Trail to the Padilla Trail to the Gulf Beach Trail and past the cabins and campground. We ate our picnic lunch on one of the cabin picnic tables. The new restrooms were open and on our return we stopped at Camp Store for a Klondike ice cream. We saw no one on our travels except when we came across the tram carting folks from the ferry landing to the beach. This is a little bit of paradise.
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| Posted trail map |
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| Cabin Trail is the road used by the tram |
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| Caught the scurrying critter by surprise |
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| The Quarantine Trail |
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| Slithering snake rustled into the leaves |
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| Knickernut bush with sea pearls |
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| Near old quarantine dock |
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| Strangler fig |
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| Early blooms on cactus |
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| Another snake scooting across the trail |
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| Cabins with bunkbeds but no water or electricity |
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| Camper chickee pavilion with music advertised Saturday night |
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| Beach stingray warning |
Our third day of exploring took us through the campgrounds to find the trail around the lake. Others reported seeing alligators around the lake but we did not see any wildlife today. We walked the distance of the island in the opposite direction of previous days and ended up walking the beach around the point and ending up back at the campground for a picnic lunch. We saw one women fishing on the beach who had just landed a snook. Other than that it was just us out and about.
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| Dinghy dock |
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| Dock out to ferry landing |
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| Kayak rental |
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| Tram to campground and beach |
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| Camp site |
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| View of the lake |
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| Miles of beach |
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| Beautiful day at the beach |
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| Bird heaven |
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| Up, up and away |
All the beach treasures left behind...
