After a pitstop at Rocky’s for fuel, food, and drinks; it was just a short 30-minute drive east to the town of St, Mark’s where we planned to spend the next three nights at the Shell Island Fish Camp. Equipped with a fully functioning marina, offering dry and wet boat storage, icehouse, general store, live bait and lodging it was a spot our son was looking forward to. Here, mom and dad stayed in the slide-in camper at spot #1 that offered covered picnic tables and waterfront complete with teenaged alligator. Whereas, Charlie got to stretch his legs finally as we booked him a two double bed "suite" with personal bathroom in the motel section of camp. Of course, in this glamping arrangement, being outside is part of the experience. So, we set up a small seating area under the covered patio in our rv spot. Afterwards, we put the boat in the water to park it at the marina for the duration of our stay. Dad parked the trailer on the other side of the dry boat storage and we setup for an afternoon of river roamin’ down the Wakulla River.
Jeff, the owner of the fish camp, encouraged us to stay in the center of the river during low tide while all the seagrasses parted and made a simple path to follow. After grabbing the last of the summer shrimp for bait, we set out and what a surprise this springfed river was... it was clear and beautiful! Though there were residences on either side of the waterway, it was not overpopulated. A two hour tool and the head of the springs unveiled a popular state park and rental facility that looked like a castle, super impressive! There were not a lot of public places to stop and frolic but we did find a nice place for Seger to play in the water and burn off extra energy on land. We heard later it was owned by a local manufacturer and that the land is there for the employees to use with family, friends, and for company outings; how cool!
Back at our campsite, we used our outdoor stove and cooked our newest favorite camping meal, cheesesteaks. Our son called it an early night and shortly thereafter we met a father with daughters looking to pull their boat in so they could leave at 4am to head back to Georgia. He shared that this was a first trip for him to scallop with his girls but that the dads and son trip is an annual thing at Shell Island, this kind stranger even shared his favorite scallop spot with us. Meanwhile, mom helped his teen daughter set free a trapped blue crab from a net and move a poisonous snake; what an interesting Monday night ya’ll!
Work around the marina begins early with giant boats being moved about with a large forklift type of machine. Many fishermen arrived too, filling up with bait and beer before setting out. The energy was great, and our dog seemed to be friendly with everyone while we waited for our boys to wake. With sliders prepped and snacks packed, we set out for the scallop spot via the St. Mark’s River, #71. The bays in this area are wide and shallow, you must really get out far before cutting over especially with the all the seagrasses throughout. A few hours later we found our spot and the boys put on their goggles and flippers, it was our first time, and it was so cool! We were not greedy and only caught enough to enjoy as an appetizer that night, I was impressed by how easy the guys made it look to dive down so deep and come up with such bounty. Seger of course did not like them leaving the boat and swimming without him so after a while, we doubled back despite a few spots along the way that yielded no fish.
Both Charlie and Seger needed naps so once they were settled and the scallops shucked, we got ice from the icehouse onsite and made fresh slushies for a parent only afternoon cruise getting in a much deeper tour of the St. Mark’s that showcased a Riverside Café (we have one in our hometown in the Treasure Coast too) along with some other interesting homes and businesses. It was a still evening and the water was like glass casting full, vivid reflections; it was awe-inspiring. Shortly thereafter, back at camp, we made scallop succotash with fresh apples, bacon, and onion then grilled some burgers before calling it a night and setting out to get a new tire trailer in route to Dunnellon for our final leg of this mother’s birthday trip.
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