Tomoka State Park, Florida

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 14^th 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