Orlando to the West Coast of Florida

Sunday, April 12 – I was as ready as ever waking up at Theresa and Greg's' that morning. My trip had taken it's first turn. Tyne was ready to ride with me, and we were headed a new direction – west! Traffic was slow as usual in Orlando, but before long, we were on state routes passing orange groves and through Ocala National Forest again. A couple hours driving on Rt. 27 northwest and we were close to the coast again.

Our plan for the night was drive along the coast and find a nice place to camp on the beach. Eying the long panhandle ahead, we opted to try to find something on the inside curve of Florida before it leveled off east/west so we could watch the sun set. The problem was, this part of Florida is unbelievably undeveloped. There was miles and miles of coastline without a single summer camp, and absolutely no access roads or anywhere to park.

Dekle Beach was our last option. After that beach, the road curved back in easterly and we wouldn't be able to camp and see the sun setting over the water. We drove to the dead end of the road and it ended in two summer camps. One was gated and said no trespassing. The other was open, no signs or mailbox. We pulled in, figuring we could turn around.

We pulled up to one of the most beautiful beaches I'd ever seen. There weren't miles of sand, but instead secluded sandbars, grasses, crabs and more shells than we could collect. We set up a blanket on the grass and collected shells and crabs as the tide went out.

Sitting on the dock an hour later drinking a Red Dog, we decided to camp here under the stilts of the building, cook and have a fire on the grill, and leave right after sunrise. Dazey was pretty psyched at this, and she ran up and down the beach sniffing fish, teasing crabs, chasing birds, and tasting whatever treats the sea washed up for her. She even went into the calm water and really seemed at home where the day before she acted scared of the water at Coco beach.

The fire was perfect. The crabs and stuffing for dinner was light but just right. The sun set felt like it was a movie and night crept in. We started the night in her tent, but the surf, high wind, lack of padding, droning mosquitoes and paranoia of someone driving in kept me awake til after midnight.

---

Hotmail® has a new way to see what's up with your friends. Check it out.