Monarch Butterflies

They are in migration...going south of the border.  Monarch butterflies.  They stopped by the pretty beaches and the beautiful lakes and wild flowers.  Some were tired of the trip and fell on the way.  Most will make it.  If they see a nice person, they'll land on him or her.

Watch the video. 

Videos of camping at Grayton Beach SP

This 1st video shows how we set up camp.  It may be a bit boring but I just want you to see how simple and fun it is to camp. And cheap too!

This 2nd video shows you the area around the camping site. This includes the Dune Lake, the Nature Trail, and the beach area.  Very nice. Believe me, we enjoyed it.
So sorry about the sounds on the video.  I first recorded comments while recording. The sound came way too low, so I recorded a new narration but I couldn't get rid of the old one.  Don't know how. lol

Camping at Grayton Beach SP

It's been a while since we've done a State Park camping. We've been enjoying our primitive camping trips. It's hard to beat the quiet and serenity of those settings.

This time we went back to a State Park. Oh yes, it was nice to have electricity and water at the site. The bathrooms with hot showers were nice too...but you have neighbors. These neighbors were not the owls and the singing birds. I shouldn't complain.

The weather was perfect. The beach with its white Florida sand was beautiful. The nature walk was peaceful and pleasant. And we saw 16 new birds out of about 34 different birds seen on the weekend, not counting the ones we couldn't identify.


We've extended our camping weekend by one extra day because it was so nice. Beside the birds, we got the chance to see a lot of Monarch Butterflies hanging out for a while on their migratory path to Mexico or further south.

A side benefit of camping at the beach in a State Park is that you get to enjoy a beautiful beach that is not crowded at all. And Grayton Beach SP has a Dune Lake as well. One of the only two dune lakes in the world. The other one is in South Africa.

On our way home, we were really having a hard time deciding which type of camping we like best; primitive camping or State Park camping. I guess we like them both.

So...they want to learn Judo

I just got back from the Tae Kwon Do school where I taught...Judo!!! Full circle.  I started martial arts with Judo.  After a little more than 10 years, I took a break, then started learning Tae Kwon Do.  I'm preparing to take my test for my black belt 3rd Dan this month.

I was happy to be officially promoted "Assistant Instructor" two months ago even though I've been assisting for about a year now.  My promotion came with a little surprise.  I'm assigned a group of teenage black belt kids with the mission of teaching them Judo takedown techniques.  Boy! was I happy!!!  I love Judo...and these kids remind me of myself learning Judo as a teenager.  We're having fun.

Aikido, Judo, or Jiu Jitsu are a very nice complement to a Korean style martial art like TaeKwonDo.  Like Karate or Kung Fu, TaeKwonDo is excellent for an attack or defense with an opponent by striking versus a grappling.  Your legs are longer and stronger than your arms for kicking.  The judo moves come in handy when a person tries to grab you.  That could put the karate or tae kwon do practitioner at a slight disadvantage (being grabbed).  That's the reason it's excellent to combine both styles of martial arts.  That's also why you now see "mixed martial arts" schools today.  Of course, you instinctively mix it yourself when you know both formats (striking arts and grappling arts). 

Just for your information, Karate, Judo, Jujutsu and Aikido are of Japanese origins, while Taekwondo is of Korean origin and Kun fu is of China. 

Well, I don't expect to ever be in a fight outside of martial arts tournaments, but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.  I practice as a sport so I can stay in decent shape and also to compete in tournaments.  But who knows, maybe I will just help a "lil' ol' lady" being attacked by some bullies one day. 

P.S. Unlike my usual posts, I talked a lot about myself in this one.  As you may have noticed if you read my blog, I usually don't do that .  So, you'll forgive me this time.