Geocaching at Myakka River State Park

Mary signs the log at a gadget cache

As in previous nights here, we slept very well last night. We turned in at 9 pm and were asleep before our heads hit the pillows. We awoke at 6 am and had the predicted raisin bran and yogurt breakfast then left for Myakka River State Park about 20 minutes away. We had been to Myakka on Thursday but didn’t come close to seeing everything that we wanted to see. This is a huge park with many miles of trails, so we decided to visit some hiking trails that we hadn’t been to before. We also thought that we might try to find a few of the many geocaches that are hidden in the park. The first cache that we found was a “gadget cache,” which is a container that may be easy to find but requires some problem solving to open. Mary had not been much of a geocaching enthusiast before, but the Myakka geocaches from Perez8, the cache owner really won her over. We spent most of the day finding geocaches on several trails. Before we knew it, we had found about two dozen geocaches and walked over seven miles in the park.

Cool gadget cache

We took a break for our standard Ritz cracker and peanut butter lunch then walked on a power line trail for a few last geocaches. Just as we started on the trail, we saw five huge turtles basking beside an alligator. We continued to the end of the trail where we found the cache and saw a red shouldered hawk sitting on a branch just a few feet above us.  As we noticed before, there was a lot of damage in the park from the feral hogs.  It is clear that the state park system is trying to eradicate the hogs, but their reproductive rate gives the pigs an advantage.  The ground in some areas appeared to have been tilled by a giant tractor.  

Wild hog trap

We left the park at 2 pm and drove back to the apartment where we showered and packed for our departure on Wednesday morning. At 6 pm we left for Walt’s Fish Market in Sarasota. Several people recommended it to us as the best seafood in this part of the state. Since Walt’s has been in business as a fish market and restaurant since 1918, we supposed that they must be doing something right. We arrived at 6:30 but learned that we would have about an hour wait for an outside table. That was fine with us since we were not in a hurry and we preferred to stay outside so we could remain socially distanced. We were seated at an outside table that was about 20 feet from another table. We both had the “choose two” basket options. Mary had local grouper and coconut shrimp with coleslaw and fries. I had the local oysters and clams with onion rings and fries. Neither of us finished our meals but split a slice of their key lime pie. Because the computers were out, we paid with cash to make things easier for our waitress. We both enjoyed our meals especially since it was our last Florida meal for at least a year.

Alligator basking in the afternoon sun

As always, our time in Florida was fantastic. Spending a week here each year in midwinter is just right for us. We always leave wishing we had just a few more days to spend here and planning for next year. Although we try to come to a different part of the state each year, we prefer the Gulf Coast over the Atlantic Coast since the weather tends to be warmer and more predictable in winter. We are hopeful that the COVID vaccines are effective and we can take more trips. We aren’t certain that we will be back to Florida next January since we may go out west or elsewhere. However, we certainly enjoy our time here.

We were very happy with our AirBnB apartment. The hosts parents who lived in the house on the property were pleasant and helpful. The apartment was clean and convenient to the things that we visited. The rental car, our 2021 Corolla, was just right for our needs and gave us great 41 mile per gallon fuel economy for our time here. Because most of our travel was confined to the Tampa Bay area, we didn’t drive nearly as much as in some years.

We were happy that we came when we did because the Tampa Bay Buccaneers made it to Super Bowl LV which, coincidentally, would be played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Although attendance will be much lower due to COVID restrictions, it is certain that the area will be a much different scene in two weeks.

All in all, this was one of the better Florida vacations that we have taken. Part of the reason is the perfect weather we had this week, part was visiting dear friends that we seldom see and part was that we confined our travels to a limited area and spent less time driving. However, we were much more liberated on this trip. We didn’t have anything hanging over us at work or home when we returned. We were much more flexible in our scheduling and took time to enjoy each day. We would be leaving the state in the morning returning to snow and forecast temperatures in the teens. However, we can eagerly look forward to coming back and exploring other areas of the state.