Date: 3/20/15 – 3/22/15
Location: Ormond Beach, Florida
Somehow we were able to snag a camping site at Tomoka State Park when just about every state park in Florida are packed full. Someone must have cancelled and Julie just happened to check Reserve America at the right time and jumped on it. As always, we were hoping that Jim and Jo would be able to join us. The site was small and it would be tough getting us and all of our stuff squeezed into this site. It was listed as accommodating only RV’s up to 20 feet. Our is 22 and we’d also had a tent to fit in. It was a bit of a challenge, but we got all set up with room to spare!
Our nice cozy site #87 at Tomoka SP
We all arrived early afternoon on Friday and had time for some activities after setting up and before dinner. From our previous camping trip to this park, I knew of a nice paved trail going through the woods and heading south. So, Jim and I jumped on our bikes and had a nice ride through the park and continuing on through some of the neighborhoods that front the Halifax River (Intercostal Waterway).
| Our GPS for the Friday afternoon bike ride |
Tomoka State Park is sandwiched between the Halifax and Tomoka river. When we come this way again we’ll need to bring our kayaks as it looks like a great area to paddle.
The Tomoka River
One the way into the park, we noticed a sign that said there was live music at the fish camp/store within the park that evening. This would mainly be a woman singing and playing a ukulele. Now that’s not something that you get to hear every day and we were all up for checking it out. So, after dinner we hopped out our bikes and rode down to the store. We purchased an adult beverage and settled in for some entertainment. We didn’t hold out much hope that we’d enjoy this music, but we found that she we was actually very good. She played one mean ukulele and had a great voice. To end the evening she was joined on stage by her husband and they both jammed out and gave us a god show.
Not the best picture, but here is the lady who sang for most of the evening. Here she is playing guitar, but the ukulele was her main instrument of choice.
Saturday morning, after a hearty breakfast (we always seem to eat well when we camp), we planned a group bike ride at a nearby park. Bulow Creek State Park is about 10 miles north of Tomoka and has a series of hiking and biking trails. The biking trails are not paved and are a little rough in areas, but we decided we were up for the challenge and went on the ride. We had hoped to ride the entire 7 miles to the Bulow Plantation Ruins Historic State Park, but the trail got too rough for biking and we didn’t make it that far.
This park is well know for its’ stand of live oaks
Usually we don’t take our dog camping with us, but decided to take her along this time. She is generally pretty well behaved on our trips.
The little mutt ready for some off road biking
Several areas along the bike route open up to the rivers that wind their way around this area. Several overlooks with benches made for good stopping points.
I guess I need to get my picture in the blog every now and again!
There were lots of swamps and wetlands along the route
Stopping for a break and a few pictures
My brother trying to shimmy up the tree for a better view. He didn’t get too far!!
The GPS track of our bike adventure at Bulow Creek SP
After our ride was complete at Bulow Creek, we saw a few bikers at the park with their decked out motorcycles and sidecars. They were a little over the top in their decorations!!
A little box turtle on the side of the road at Tomoka SP
On Sunday, after one more bike ride through the park, it was time to pack up and head back home. Another fun and relaxing camping trip in the books!
One more picture of our spot before packing up and heading home
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