Anastasia State Park, St. Augustine FL... September 1 to December 1

For me it was a homecoming as I am a St. Augustine native, for Bill it was yet another visit to the oldest city and the opportunity to experience the playground of my youth.  In either case it was a delightful experience... but what is not to like about St. Augustine and the beach?

Sunrise at the beach

We arrived the August 31st to begin our volunteer jobs at Anastasia State Park.  This was our first resident volunteer job for a Florida State Park and we were looking forward to a two month stay in one of Florida's beautiful parks.  The park is over 1600 acres with a pristine beach, a tidal marsh (Salt Run), hammocks, nature paths, palms, scrub, and oaks.

The marsh in the fall

Dunes at Anastasia

And what did we do for three months other than fish, canoe, bicycle, 

St. Augustine Farmer's Market

play music,

Family

and visit friends and family? 

 Volunteer of course.  
- September and November we cleaned two camping loops and the associated bath house.  
On duty days we checked the bathhouse each morning and gave it a quick once-over for the campers.  Later in the morning, on each vacated campsite we cleaned the fire pit and table, collected trash, checked hookups and shrubs, and fluffed the soil to remove evidence of occupancy.  Our aim was "leave no trace".
- October we joined a crew to rebuild a bathhouse.  The park has four bathhouses and each year a different facility gets a face lift.  This year it was time to tackle the oldest bathhouse which is a bit more of a challenge.  First we removed the screens, sinks, some doors, some fixtures, repaired damaged tiles, and scrubbed tiles and grout.  At the same time the walls, inside and out, were prepped for painting.  Then we painted.  Lastly shower doors were rehung, new shower heads and fixtures were installed, sinks were replaced, outer doors were installed, new shower curtains hung, and new landscape installed.  What a transformation!  Yes, it was a successful face lift.

Was volunteering fun?  Yes, why else do it?  And we performed jobs that freed the rangers to attend to other tasks in the park.  So, volunteering is a win-win situation.