Little Manatee River State Park and a Visit with Uncle Norm

I arrived at Little Manatee River State Park. It was a nice short jaunt from Lake Griffin State park. The ranger got me checked in and I left the ranger station and started driving…and driving…and driving. It was almost two miles from the entrance to the campsites.

I found my campsite and it was right next to another Airstream – a brand, spanking new one. The lovely people there helped me get backed in. What a great welcome!

It was a peaceful campground and a great place to use a home base to explore the Tampa Bay area.

One of my main reasons for choosing this campground was to be able to visit my Uncle Norm, who is my father’s brother.

It was so great to see him! Our last visit was at Scott’s house in the fall of 2012.

I thought I’d include a shot with Barbara from that visit, too, as I didn’t get one during this visit.

Barb took a nap, but Uncle Norm took me to lunch at the American Legion. We sat out on the patio with a view of a body of water. We chatted over our meals and looked out at the water. We had hoped to see some dolphins, but they must have been between shifts.

We weren’t without animal entertainment, however. There was a flock of these small birds that swooped in under the monofilament lines strung to keep them out. The were looking for crumbs left behind, but one of them was exceptionally bold. He flew down and snatched a french fry out of the hand of a diner at the next table!

We chatted and got caught up on what was going on with everyone. When I left, I told him that I would be back in the area in few weeks as I headed north after my visit to Key West. We agreed to try to get together again.

On my way back to Little Manatee River, I crossed the Sunshine Skyway bridge for a second time.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge crosses Tampa Bay. The whole Skyway is about four miles long. The center span is a cable-stayed bridge that is a little more than a mile long. It is 430 feet high at the center. The bridge is supported by steel cables that are wrapped in steel tubes. Each pylon has 42 cables. According to the information I found, Bob Graham, who was Senator at the time, suggested this design based on the Brotonne Bridge which connects the French cities of Le Havre and Rouen. The Travel Channel ranked The Sunshine Skyway Bridge as number three in the special of “The Top 10” Bridges in the world.

This bridge opened in 1987, but it was the second span across Tampa Bay. The first collapsed in 1980 after a collision with the a cargo ship, the Summit Venture. It collided with a pier during a blinding thunderstorm, sending over 1200 feet of the bridge deck into the bay. The collision caused six cars, a truck and a Greyhound bus to fall into the bay. 35 people lost their lives in the accident.

Dismantling the old bridge was quite a feat. Part of the old bridge remains, though. The approaches on the north and south are used as fishing piers. There are also rest areas near the fishing piers, which is where I stopped to take the photo of the span.

I enjoyed watching these baby birds hunting for food on the rocks by the bay. At first I didn’t notice them, because their feathers provide such good camouflage. When I noticed that the “rocks” seemed to be moving, I looked more closely and saw that they were birds.

I had a lovely visit with Uncle Norm. It was time to head back to the trailer to prepare for another day.