How to make a bad day worse!

As often happens to me I come off a trip with a bout of depression....only this time it hit me 2 days beforehand!!  I had to head north and my  mood shifted I didn't see the Western  Spindalis, or the Smooth Billed Ani, and already I had to cut my entire trip short by 7 days so I started to really feel down... headed north with a dark cloud over my head or so it seemed... and it was a relocation day I called Tomoka State Park at Ormond Beach and he said Yes we have lots of open spots come on UP..So off we went.   Spent most of the day zooming along on I-95 with all tandem trailer gear jammers! IT was Wednesday I wanted to be back in SC by Friday. One wonderful thing: I saw 2 Sandhill cranes standing right by the side of the interstate.  No photos since photos in heavy traffic doing 80 is not the way to get a photo!!  I yelled out Sandhill Cranes  on the right and by the time the words left my lips I was a mile away from the birds!  I was talking to Wilma...even tho she calls cities like St Augustine, Street Augustine...I don't think she received a higher education either. 

I was so down I didnt take ONE single photo of the Tomoka SP.  It was nice-- lots of sites with electric , water, level with a picnic table, and fire ring....and each site has trees providing privacy on both sides, and the bathrooms have nice big showers...I would recommend it... There is a canal on one side.  The next morning I headed over the Halifax river and south  thru Daytona Beach, It was actually quiet no crowds and the traffic was easy!  I took one photo...

Not in the most glamorous spot either.  I did pass through the Main Tourist area,  they cater to Race Fans a lot, the main area had all kinds of shops movie theaters etc,,,and LOTS of swanky ocean side hotels. A Coney Island type amusement park, and all the usual frills of a city.  I was impressed with the cleanliness of the town --Thumbs UP.. ---I called my son and Wished him Happy Birthday..
 My reason for taking this little jaunt back south through Daytona was to get all the way down on the Ponce Inlet and to see the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse! 

It was not open yet so I walked Casey around in the area for about 1/2 an hour 

while beating myself up on allowing my mood to get so gloomy.  I tried to shift it to a better state by saying "look at these beautiful blue skies and this wonderful landmark in front of you"...IT helped!  I talk to myself a LOT....and I talk to my GPS Wilma as if she is my travel companion... I went in the VC when it opened got my passport stamp bought my son a very cool Hawaii Shirt in the gift shop, and then walked around on the LH grounds. 

It took 3 yrs to build this LH began in 1881 and finished in 1884, 175 ft tall.  It was met with adversity as the builder died in the middle of it then the brick supplier went out of business and they had to go all the way to NJ to get the brick, they had it shipped down to the port then hauled by mule train to the site... I did not walk up it, but met this guy outside who does it every single day! It is his physical fitness regime...I jetted off to find a post office to mail my son his late birthday gift...Found one and got if off in a flat rate box...better late than never? 

I made a reservation for Huntington Beach SP on the coast of SC.  I've seen good ducks there before in winter and it would mean an easy drive home on Friday.  So about 1 pm I headed back north again.  Put the address of Huntington Beach SP into Wilma and away we went ..this beautiful bridge is near Jacksonville...the Napoleon Bonaparte Bridge.

IT reminds me so much of the one in Charleston, and this is where Wilma and I had a good heart to heart...That silly gal sent me right thru the heart of Charleston and it was 5:08 pm....I threatened to toss her out the window into the Charleston Harbor!!  I had been in such a bad mood I was just letting her do the thinking and had not realized she was taking me right through the city till it was too late to do anything about it...

Here is the Arthur Ravenel Jr Bridge don't you think these bridges look similar?

It took me an hour to get over the Cooper river....if you look close you can see the bumper to bumper traffic...why in the world does anyone put a traffic light one block  from a bridge? 

So continued after asking his forgiveness for my current temper and my threatening to toss Wilma thru the window,  continued on my way up  the Kings Highway 17 and the coast of SC to Huntington Beach ...I had been told if I arrive after 6 pm the gate would be locked and he gave me the code...well this is what I found when I arrived at 7:30 pm 

I had never been to this park with an after hours entry so I was stumped....WHERE is the key pad to enter the code??? The gate was pad locked!! I walked around looking for a way around it I actually backed up and crossed over to the exit side hoping to see better since the light was on that side of the road..maybe I could pick the lock...well anything is possible....
that's when I saw the tumblers....right on the bottom of the padlock, I scrolled the 4 small dials to put in the code and BINGO it popped opened...would have been nice to know this beforehand,  the keypad is on the bottom of the padlock!!  Didn't help my mood that I had to eat PB&J for dinner

 I walked Casey by flashlight we scared the bejeeze out of 2 raccoons out prowling through the garbage, and  then we  huddled down for the night...we had electric again so I watched a DVD I had brought along and let the events of this day roll out of my mind then slept till 7 am. Opened up my window shade to thick fog and gloom...yuk

PEACE

Eleanor Roosevelt: You must do the thing you think you can not.