Chassawahowizka River Campground, Brookville, Florida

 After breakfast in St. Mark's, we headed to the lighthouse at S. Mark's National Wildlife Refuge. We stopped along the way and took the Tower Trail hike. We loved spotting the roseate spoonbills sleeping on the edge of the swamp. We stopped for a late lunch at Deal's Oyster House in Perry before continuing on to our campsite at Chassawhowizka River Campground. We got in after dark and quickly set up before catching up with Connie, Raelyn and Lilly at their site and then Teresa and James camping in our previous teardrop trailer with a new tent addition.

St. Mark's Lighthouse on Apalachee Bay

Great blue heron and white heron

Old turpentine forest

Kestrel perched high up

Osprey hunting

Flock of wading birds

Photo blind

Fire tower

As close as we could get to roseate spoonbills

Along the road

Wading

Cutie Too birdwatching

We cooked corn beef hash and eggs for breakfast before joining up with Jackie and Steve to tour their new house in Brooksville. Afterward, we toured the historic part of Brooksville and hiked the bike path before returning to the campground. The camp hosts cooked a fantastic Thanksgiving luncheon for about 100 campers. Afterward, we walked to the river to watch the girls kayak and then enjoyed playing games and then settling down around the campfire.

On Little Gull Road

Home to Floyd, a red shouldered hawk

Brooksville Park and historic section with grand oaks

Along the bike path

Old train depot

Mermaid in the park

Mermaid downtown

Our camp hosts

Our great nieces kayaking

Campfire and fairy lights in the trees

Manatees in the morning mist

Vultures roosting across the river

Breakfast at Florida Cracker's kitchen across from Monkey Island bar

We packed up Friday night so we could get an early start to drive to Lake Apopka Wildlife Drive. We dropped Cutie off at Magnolia River Park since the road is so narrow they don't allow trailers. It was a gorgeous day and we saw lots of birds and alligators and enjoyed the beauty of the marsh for several hours. We said goodbye to family and found a late lunch at a Mexican restaurant in Apopka before heading to Ormond Beach for the night.