Ft. Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Gulf Breeze, FL
What a day! Starting before sunrise, we hiked to the north side of the island (it slightly faces east) to catch it coming up through wispy clouds for a dramatic sunrise. In the thin light of dawn there were lots of gulls and pelicans, a heron, and sandpipers were scurrying about. Penny asked if brought my Nikon, which I did, thankfully. She predicted a field day of bird watching.
And, she was right again! In the short walk home I was able to get good photos of red winged blackbirds, mourning doves, mockingbirds, cardinals, as well as a few landscapes tinted by the sun, both swamp grasses and live oaks. Back at the camper, I got two osprey brooding in their nest.
Then, it was time to move to a different campsite. This new one is between two small live oaks and has a longer apron on which to place the truck and trailer. Our breakdown/setup skills are polished; it only took about 35 minutes.
In the early afternoon, we hiked to the Gulf side beach. Leaving our flip-flops at the end of the boardwalk, we went a mile west and back along and sometimes through the surf. The sun and reflection off the water was pretty intense so we limited our exposure to a little more than an hour. But in the meantime, we got photos of laughing gulls, willets, and sandpipers. And, got a little color as well!
Hoping for a romantic sunset, we returned to the Gulf beach but found the western skies densely covered in clouds. Added to that was a stiff breeze blowing off the water. In spite of the adversity, we stood out there hugging for warmth (and love) enjoying the end of a beautiful day.