The Jewel

Since we left home on November 8th, we have had one goal in mind: We need to be in St. Petersburg by November 25th. The reason being that we have a hard fought reservation here at Fort DeSoto State Park on the tip of the St. Pete peninsula. We will be here for a week and it is clear we have made the right choice! This is just about the nicest park we have ever been in. I will be posting many "fight eyes" of our adventures here.
But lets start with Sunday evening. We were relaxing and I was reading a great Wilbur Smith book, when suddenly we heard not one, but two great horned owls calling outside our motorhome.

 I decided to head for a look-see even though it was dark. They were clearly on my campsite in the live oaks. I didn't have a high beam flashlight but a neighbor did and lo and behold... a giant female was perched on a lofty branch hooting to her smaller mate. He remained out of site as he answered and what a treat! We got to spend 5 minutes with this splendid animal before she spread giant wings and moved on. Great horned owls mate for life and can live up to 28 years!! While doing a little fun research I discovered that I can attract owls to Woodlawn by building my own owls nest. Cant wait! Say goodbye to all those chipmunks in my yard at home!

i'll just have to remember not to let Teddy and Scamper outside! Here is our campsite:

It is quite secluded for a park and surrounded by towering oaks.

Here are a few local sites. Many of the campsites are right on the water. 

 Hibiscus!