Jan 2 - 9, 2020 Happy New Year!
Leaving the Swamp, we made for sunny
Florida, our destination: Tomoka State Park in Ormond Beach. Yes,
definitely a bit of contrast; Sabal or Cabbage Palms all around,
mixed with Saw Palmetto. The Sabal Palm is the state tree of Florida.
Also found there, are Southern Live Oaks, those iconic trees of the
south, interesting for many reasons, one being while they are Oaks in
the deciduous family, they are evergreens. They also play host to
Spanish Moss and Resurrection Fern.
Interesting tidbit: The naval
vessel U.S.S. Constitution got its nickname “Old Ironsides” due
to surviving repeated cannon fire, the wood it was built from:
Southern Live Oak.
The park, rich in history, is atop what
is known as a prehistoric midden, a mound of shells and/or refuge
indicating the existence of humans in that area. Tomoka gets its name
from the Timucuan Indians, who lived in the village of Nocoroco
during the 14th century. The Tomoka Point has a large
statue of Chief Tomokie, who appears to be more legend than truth.
There have been discovered several burial mounds in areas of the park
and work has been and is being done to protect them.
The 1700's, found Richard Oswald,
notable for his participation in the peace negotiations during the
American Revolution residing there. Having been given the land by the
British government, he turned the area into an Indigo Plantation,
Mount Oswald. This was short lived and at the end of British rule the
plantation was abandoned. You can still find the plants though the
plantation, itself, long gone.
Another interesting feature of the
park, is Helicopter Island. This is a man made island that, yes, at
one time was used for landing helicopters.
And, of course there's a small cemetery
plot, seems everywhere we stay we find one. This one belongs to John
Addison. John Addison first acquired the land now known as the
Addison Blockhouse, in 1807 from John Moultrie and named the cotton
plantation “Carrickfergus” after his birthplace in Ireland. He
died in 1825 and was buried on his plantation by his brother, Thomas
Addison.
The campground is laid out well with
roomy, sandy sites. The area and the bathhouses were well maintained
with easy to navigate roadways. There were two sites occupied and
mark Camp Hosts but we saw hide nor hair of them. Funny, how
different our experiences with Camp Hosts, they have been either
friendly, outgoing, helpful people as at Fairy Stone and Cunningham
Falls: or as here and at Don Carter, well, seems the only way to
speak to them would be to go knock on their door and hope they
answer. Once or twice a day I did see someone walk around with a
clipboard but they certainly did not go out of they way to greet you.
I guess there's no set expectations for Camp Hosting, will have to
look into that more when we slow down our traveling and consider
giving it a try ourselves.
The Park Rangers were all very
friendly and helpful. I do want to give special mention to Ranger
Scott, he was a wealth of information and so willing to share. He
would answer our questions about the area and always give us more,
including where to see certain birds, the Indian Mounds, and
suggestions for exploring. Thank you sir, you are a credit to the
Park System.
Not a lot of amenities right at the
campground but the park contains several playground/picnic areas and
is a paradise for fishing, boating, and bird watching. It also has an
outside concession area that has canoe and kayak rentals at
ridiculously high rates (obviously, we didn't partake!) and runs the
Camp Store. Hard packed sand and several hiking/biking trails
certainly made us happy.
Next stop on our journey: Lake
Okeechobee
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