Washington Oaks State Park, Marineland,
Florida. Well, just south of Marineland - One
of my favorite parks in North Florida - The
park runs from the ocean to the intercoastal
waterway. On the intercoastal side of the park,
there are lush gardens and huge oak trees
draped in spanish moss. On the ocean side is a
coquina beach - Home to sea turtle nests and a
great place to search for sea glass (sorry I
gave away your secret sea glass mecca, Mom)
Coquina outcroppings make for fascinating
shapes in the tidal areas. I happened to be
walking out to the beach when this crazy front
blew in from the intercoastal side - I had
experienced a similar front a year earlier just
up the road at Matanzas Inlet, and knew just
how hard it was going to rain. Creepy thing
about these fronts is the lightning strikes -
You know there's potential, but if it hasn't
begun to thunder, you're safe, right? Maybe. I
stood on the boardwalk and watched the front
blowing in - the wind was starting to get
really strong and the cloud just kept getting
blacker and larger. I had time to get three
shots before the lightning struck - really
close - Yikes! I ran back to the car and got in
just as the clouds opened up - It rained so
hard A1A was flooded.