Sunday, January 11, 2015

Apopka and Winter Garden

Rock Spring  Kelly Park
Apopka is a growing and expanding town.  It is still surrounded by all the various greenhouses that advertise orchids or other exotic foliage or plants. Where there are no greenhouses is Wekiwa Springs State Park and her adjoining county park – Kelly Springs 

Rock spring run under water
(Yep – SPFB!).  According
 to the staff at Kelly Park, the mosquitoes were especially bad this winter because there has been no killing frost.  The campground is in the middle of the woods and the bugs were thriving!  There was no sitting outside without bug spray on the warm sunny days.  Thankfully down at the spring area it was wide open with a great cooling breeze, hence no biting bugs.  The turkeys were still wandering thru the park – just not thru our campsite – and the gopher tortoise had dug her burrow under a palmetto palm about 20 feet behind our condo.  Some days it was just easier to climb in the truck and use the excuse of “exploring” to escape the hungry bugs and go revisit our favorite areas - Sanford, Winter Garden with her still beautifully decorated downtown boulevard and Christmas tree and Mt Dora with her quaint shops and sprawling old flea market.  We even bravely ventured down to Orlando!  And of course we made our annual trek to The Catfish Place in downtown Apopka for scallops!
Winter Garden
Last year my nephew Rich from Indiana, wife Susan and son Brady drove from Lakeland to Ocala to visit with us while we were at Ross Prairie.  Last time we took them to Rainbow Springs.  This year we were happy to show them another one of Florida’s hidden treasure – the crystal clear waters of Rock Springs.  H took the first float down the run with R&B while Susan and I manned the stash of shoes, shirts and glasses!  She just had more surgery in October and was still wearing a bulky air cast on her right foot and calf so she was confined to a wheelchair.  While the boys were out playing “salmon”, I wheeled her along the wide cement sidewalks that lined the swimming areas and over the arched steel bridges that allowed a great view of the entire area including any bobbing bodies floating down the winding clear stream.  My camera was still laying on the table in the condo so I was depending on S to snap some good shots with her cell phone!   Next it was my turn to jump in the cold refreshing water with R&B and “bob” on down the run along with all the others trying to cool off on a hot Sunday afternoon.  We chatted the entire way down and then chatted some more while we stood in the waist deep waters of the open area.  H even came over to the edge to see if we were all right!  It was decided that we should “bob” further down the stream and then walk back up – against the currant.  That job was easier said than done – but we did it and it was an excellent workout for my flabby old thighs!  Of course R & B made it look like a walk in the park instead of a push uphill in a swift currant!   Back in the air-conditioned condo, we visited until way after dark.  They climbed into their SUV and left our campsite, heading for the exit.  Then returned  - - they had seen a bear in the campground!  All these years that we’ve camped here and THEY see the bear?!   Go figure.

Monday was moving day once more.  Down thru Winter Garden for breakfast and on to Lake Louisa State Park for more of this winter’s adventure.