Trial Run

Summer Adventure On the Road 2011
For our trial run we got a campsite in at the Madeira Beach Koa in St. Pete.  On the way we made a side trip to Bill Jackson's Adventure Store, just our kind of place.  It was in the middle of St. Pete nestled between forest and pond where they teach kayaking and fly fishing.  The store itself was like a Mall full of everything a sports guru would like.  A whole section was devoted to triathletes with bike needs, swim wet suits, and running shoes. The other side of the store displayed camping, hiking, and climbing gear.  Walking through the back looking for our Rocket Box, we saw a wide array of kayaks and paddle boards. While I went back inside to collect camping gear, John assisted the sport techie, a retired Raymon James broker, assemble the Rocket Box. The Rocket Box was placed on top of Moby Dick looking like a nice beret.
Now fully equipped, we were now ready to find our trial campsite.

We new that the Madeira Beach Koa was near the inter-coastal and not far from the beach.  This was a great opportunity to use our new GPS system.  So I typed in the address and let it rip.  We drove along following the Garvin Girl's directions and soon we were lost.  She was talking us away from the beach to another adventure. So we turned her off and let our intuition guide us to where we had to go.  We had done the Madeira Beach Triathlon a few years back, and we began noticing points of interest that told us we were on the right path.  We passed Bally's Workout Center.  We were definitely on the right path.  Soon however, we had to drive up to a policeman sitting in his car in the middle of an abandoned gas station and asked him for directions. The very nice policeman.had us go to an old industrial road that also looked abandoned for years, but he said, "Do not  despair because at the dead end you will find your camp."

There it was, the familial Koa sign: Cross stakes on a yellow background.  We soon saw why Koa chose this sight.  It was a beautiful parcel of land along the mangroves and the inter-coastal waters on one side and the Pinnelas Trail on the other. Anyone with kayaks and bikes would love this site. We went into the office got out site and quickly set up out tent near the water with the reassurance that alligators have not been seen in the area.  We then hopped on our bikes and took to the trail for a beautiful ride over the water and onto the other side for a twenty mile hike.  Coming back we were treated by a lovely sunset that reflected a golden glow off the water.

After a dip in the pool and a quick shower, we went to a near by dinner.  We opted to go near by rather than going to a ritzy restaurant on the beach and take the chance of getting lost in the dark.  Everything was going great so far for our first trial.  So the bay side grill around the corner  was it. While we waited for our burgers we read the old signs hanging on the walls: Drink coffee-do stupid things faster with more energy!  If at once you don't succeed, do it like your mother told you.  There are three things about old age- loss of memory and I forgot the other two!

Happily nourished we went back to our campsite which was now pitch black.  We scrambled to find the lantern and flash lights and with some light manged to bounce into our bed rolls. We lay awake looking at the stars through the tent netting, locating Orion the mighty hunter and his trusty sword.  Listening to the cicadas chirping their night songs, we drifted asleep only to be awakened by a jet plane over head descending to Clearwater airport and an occasional police siren off in the distance.  This is what it is like camping in the woods in the middle of a city.  Well, it was fine for our trial run.  At least we had set up our tent and bedding and now we were cozy in our den...so far so good!