Hygge Adventures: 043: Decision Time and a Great State Park

We arrived at John Pennekamp State Park (“JPSP”) on January 31st with a plan to stay for two nights and then decide about the Bahamas. Note that we’d been waiting almost four weeks for a weather window to go to the Bahamas. Apparently, the El Niño has been upsetting the normal weather patterns. Friday February 2nd and Saturday February 3rd looked like good days to do the crossing, but the problem was a big weather front was projected to come through on February 4th and blow for a few days, so the issue became: what do you do there once you get there? Here is the weather front moving through as I type this on the 4th.

Our options became: a) wait around in the Key Largo to Biscayne Bay area for more settled weather, with the El Niño causing its mischief; or b) come up with a “Plan B.”

Our friends from The Willie Dawes made it over to the Bahamas a few weeks ago (bigger boat) and were not having that great of time. Weather too unsettled to snorkel or do much of anything. They also relayed the report of a charter boat that went aground in high winds when its anchor dragged. The winds and waves were too high for other boats to mount a rescue, but luckily the boat was a catamaran and pulled off the beach the next day with no one hurt. Another boater’s report: “Windiest that we have seen in eight years of coming to the Bahamas.” The final nail on the coffin for a trip to the Bahamas was the U.S. State Level 2 Travel Alert:

We decided that going to the Bahamas was not in the cards for this trip. Instead, we decided on Plan B which was to travel up the St. Johns River for all of its 160 navigable miles. The SJR is a recommended side trip, but it appears that few “Loopers” take the time to do it. With our Plan B decided, we stayed a third night in JPSP

JPSP is a great spot if you love a bit of nature. The tiny and “rustic” marina is located in a mangrove area. Showers/bathroom facilities are shared with the campers, but the water was hot, and the water pressure was very good.

Not much of a dock, but we managed:

Highlights of the stay were our dinghy ride through the mangrove “forest” and a visit from Nancy’s friend Conrad with whom she had volunteered to work on prairie restoration at Mayslake Forest Preserve in Oak Brook, IL. We had a very tasty meal at the Fishhouse restaurant. Got in some beach time. We also rode our bikes along with Kathy to do some shopping.

JPSP: