Florida Spring Training 2018 - Day 38

After a mocha at Starbucks, we traveled up to Honeymoon Island State Park for a scheduled nature walk on the Osprey Trail with a park docent.  We have taken this walk several times in the past but we always try to do it every year we are down here.

Honeymoon Island is a a barrier island located near the top of Florida's barrier island chain and is an important location for resting and foraging shorebirds.  There are numerous hiking trails and picnic areas as well as white, sandy beaches extending to the northern tip of the island.

The island received its name in 1939 when a developer from NY purchased the island and, together with LIFE magazine held a contest for newly married couples. The winners of the contest would stay in thatched bungalows on the island for a two-week "honeymoon" giving the island its name.  The intent by the developer was to attract people to the area and sell property for development.  WW II intervened however, and the state eventually purchased the island and developed it into a state park.

The docent was was very knowledgeable about the area and the various types of wildlife that live here.  There are lots of ospreys, eagles, horned owls and lots of critters including gopher tortoises, rattlesnakes, armadillos and other things that only come out at night that are best avoided.

The Osprey Trail where we walked is very popular and is essentially a two-mile loop trail to the northern tip of the island and back.  We saw lots of ospreys, a nesting horned owl with two baby chicks and two nesting bald eagles who for some reason did not have any chicks this year. We didn't see any rattlesnakes this year as the weather was still cool and breezy and I guess they were all staying warm in the underbrush. One of the snakes here is the  Eastern Diamondback rattlesnake, very venomous but shy and avoids humans unless provoked.

Pictures - Honeymoon Island

After the hike we traveled back across the causeway and had lunch at Frenchy's Outpost one of the several Frenchy's in the area. It was another great lunch in a nice setting.

 -  We then traveled up to Crystal River for a surprise birthday party - my sister Eileen was celebrating her 75th birthday.  Amy, one of her daughters, flew in from Philadelphia and made arrangements for a birthday dinner at a nice resort in the area.  We had an excellent dinner and visit then drove back to the RV park, arriving around 9:30 pm.  It was a long day but very enjoyable.

No baseball tomorrow, and it looks like an R&R day in the RV park.