Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Canaveral National Seashore

In my opinion, there are two types of beaches in this world:  the developed beach filled with hotels, bars, and gift shops, and the natural, untouched beaches.  Now, I enjoy aspects of both types of beaches, but if I had to choose, I would pick a natural, untouched beach over a crowded, over-developed beach any day.  The beach at Canaveral National Seashore is a natural, virtually untouched beach.


Canaveral National Seashore covers 57,000 acres and is the longest stretch (24 miles) of undeveloped beach on Florida's east coast.

The Kennedy Space Center owns the land that is managed by the National Park Service and Merritt Island National  Wildlife Refuge.  Over fourteen endangered species call this park home.


There are no picnic grounds, food services, or beach showers on this beach.  Just the blue ocean, sand, and dunes.  Lifeguards are present from May 30th through September 1st.


It only costs $5.00 to visit this beach.  A far lot cheaper than paying $15.00 to park your car at Cocoa Beach, and a lot less people to compete with for a spot on the sand.


My daughter and I absolutely loved having this pristine beach all to ourselves.  It was so peaceful and relaxing.


Peaceful and relaxing that is until this little bugger showed up.  He was trying to steal something from inside Ashley's bag.  We were constantly chasing him away, but as soon as our heads were turned, he was back!  What a scheister!  We eventually zipped and closed everything up tight so we could have peace of mind.  I have no idea what he was after.


I LOVE to watch the birds on the beach.  Sandpipers are my favorite, for I like to watch the way they move.  But I also love to watch the pelicans fly in the sky...especially if there is a large flock of them flying together.  And I really love seagulls...even though so many people consider them nuisance birds.


There is so much else to do in this park other than hang out on the beach.  There are hiking trails, horseback riding, camping, and a really nice visitor center.

Since we are such bird lovers, we decided to take the Black Point Wildlife Drive next.

Black Point Wildlife Drive is a one-way scenic drive inside the park where you can view exotic birds and wild animals in their natural habitat.  You can stop your car and get out at any point in the drive for a closer look.


We saw so many beautiful birds, but we also saw lots of alligators too!


The place reminded me very much of our previous visit to the Orlando Wetlands Park......except I saw a lot more birds there than here




The road was very narrow, so it was difficult at times passing another vehicle if they were stopped.


The animals are very used to the traffic so quite often you have to wait for a little critter to cross the road....like this little guy!   He was in no hurry to get out of our way either.  But that was fine with us. We got a nice close up of him!


I have such a fondness for the Florida wetlands.  The landscape is so different from anything I have ever seen in Wisconsin.


After we finished the Black Point Wildlife Drive, we then headed to see the manatees and found another fun bird!


We did see manatees too, but the water was not as clear as it was at Blue Springs State Park which we visited back in November, so I didn't take any pictures.  If I did, all you would see is snouts peeking out of brown water.

Canaveral National Seashore is located near Titusville, Florida and is open year round.

Ashley enjoyed the natural landscape of this park so much, she went back with her husband and created this awesome music video.  Watch and be blessed!




Have a Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE and Travel Tuesday!


7 comments:

  1. Gorgeous beach! SO nice that is it quieter. It's overwhelming when there are people all over.

    Amy Ann
    Straight A Style

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  2. Lovely pictures, made me wanna go to the beach!

    XoXo,

    Tamara - LoveofMode.com

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  3. It looks so nice and peaceful there. Gorgeous wildlife too! How funny that one of the birds tried to steal something!

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  4. I love listening to the waves on a quiet beach. Thanks for pointing out this beach.

    Lisa
    Daily Style Finds

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  5. It has been way too long since I've been to the beach! Darn it, it is a bummer to live in a land locked state! I was cracking up over that bird, I wonder what it wanted in her purse?!

    Carrie
    curlycraftymom.com

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  6. Wonderful photos, Amy. I agree with you about the choice of a natural beach over a developed one.
    Thank you for joining us at the Travel Tuesday meme. I look forward to your next contribution!

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