Daytona Area

Moving day - - we’re always up early.  But we only had 40 some miles to go so we didn’t need to hurry - - but we did anyway. 

10:30am – Tomoka State Park, the rangers were not gonna let us get near our site.  We parked at the “Outpost” – the boat launch/kayak rental/camper store with the big deck overlooking the peaceful Tomoka River.   Looking farther downriver it reminded me of the Ausable River up in Michigan – just trade the palm trees for the red and gold maples from our October trip up there!  At noon, we moved to the large

overflow parking area in the campground to be ready to move to our assigned site and while we waited – H got the trailer wheels all cleaned and shiny once more.  Check out time was 1pm and the site residents took up every second of their available minutes.  H maneuvered the “train” thru the squooshy sand and jockeyed, and re-jockeyed until he wiggled the trailer back into the long but narrow site.  The site was not our very best but the hot showers in the very clean bathhouse sure were!!!

Tomoka State Park is 3 miles north of Ormand Beach (Daytona) on

Chief Tomoki

a peninsula bordered on one side by the calm Tomoka River and the other side - the faster moving Halifax River with the barrier islands

and their busy beaches to the east. This area was home to Native Americans who’s chief was Tomokie.  At the very end of the park, where the two rivers come together is his impressive but crumbling statue.  When the original residents were forced out – rich plantation owners took over and with the servitude of hundred of slaves, cleared more land and planted rice and sugarcane.  One of

those plantations is now part of another state park and we toured the 1821 ruins of the then largest sugar cane mill in east Florida at Bulowville Plantation.   Even part of Tomoka State Park was once the Oswald Plantation that grew indigo!  Across the road from the campground is a mile long cement bike path that weaves thru the

woods and across a canal that was dug by hand for the plantation.

Daytona Beach has its fishing pier and famous, wide expanse of boardwalk that is the perfect way to walk the beach without getting sand in your shoes!  This wide walkway is lined with shops, restaurants and view blocking mega motels. In one pass thru mall area, an empty Santa Beach Chair sat, waiting for someone to occupy it. While the day was sunny with a blue sky, and we have driven on the beaches before - on this day the driving beaches were closed to vehicle traffic because of the strong winds and high tides.  No, H would not have paid the $20 anyway!

 Daytona has the massive Speedway and the Volusia Mall – which was not very Christmas-y at all!  The huge flea market out near I95 and the airport was a great way to spend some time and get more exercise!  Tee shirts, socks and cell phone accessories took up most of the inside but we did finally find the real “flea” area!!   One booth should have been bulldozed under – but I did find a booth that had Gnomes!   

Then came the rain.   Noah had 40 days of it and I think Florida was working towards that.  All Saturday night, ALL Sunday and ALL Sunday night it rained – 40 hours at least!

 At Salt Springs Campground in the Ocala National Forest, there were plenty of  “walk-in” sites open and, even in the rain, H expertly backed up onto the long black topped parking pad in one fell swoop – no sand and no impending trees to worry about!   Parked and plugged in we were off again - to Ocala.  H's drone quit working a week and a half ago and his new one was already delivered to my sister’s home!  As you can see – it works well.  See how good we look when parked in the “forest”?!!   Obviously, the sun did come out to shine on Monday, just so H could fly his new drone.  We’ve made more new friends and have even found some of the friends from our last stay here!

Christmas Eve Day – it has rained again for most of last night and today.  For Christmas dinner tomorrow, I am in charge of the pork roast and green veggie (from our garden!).  I baked the pumpkin (from our garden, too!) pie this morning in our toaster oven!  Sharon                                                           has the potatoes and all the rest!

To our friends near and far, old and new – We wish you all the peace of Christ’s birth and a VERY Merry Christmas    HUGS and HELLO’s!

Hanna & Faver Dykes Parks

Not our first time to Hanna Park!  Not our first time to eat at Safe Harbor Seafood Market & Restaurant either!  YES the Shrimp and

Grits were EVERY bit as delicious as last year!  YES – the fishing boats were moored to the docks just off the dining porch but this time clear plastic “curtains/ windows” were dropped down and the tall, enclosed fire heater was keeping everyone toasty.    Downriver, a lone fisherman looked as tho he were competing with the big

commercial fishing boat, Mattie Fay, with her massive arms outstretched and greedy hungry pelicans swirling all around!

Singleton’s Seafood was open for business this year but we could not tell what, if any, remodeling had been done!  The day we ate there was warmer so we sat out on the open deck area to watch the boat traffic.  The car ferry was busy and

there were tugboats going up and down the wide river.  One tug was pulling a large barge while another was behind, pushing the big black box up the river – against the outgoing tide.   Speaking of big black barges – check out the classic big boat convertible sitting outside the restaurant! 

  Out in the ocean there was yet another

bright colored foreign freighter waiting for its own tug to guide it into safe harbor!

Being right next to the Mayport Naval Air Station, there is always activity in the air above. Helicopters are either zipping up and around the curves in the river or, as the day we were going by, were practicing their hover maneuver while dropping a line with a weight on the bottom and seeing if they

could stay in one spot and hit a target area on the ground with the “bobber”.

Still heading south, our next campsite was just south of St Augustine, about 15 miles and just off of RT 1 at the junction of I95.  Faver Dykes State Park is down a one lane sand driveway that leads to a small campground in a palmetto and hardwood hammock (woods).  The park is outlined by the scenic Pellicer Creek, which then empties into the Matanzas River.  In the campground, each spacious site is carved out of the bushy palmetto and most often you cannot see your neighbor.  Clean facilities sit in the middle of the loop made by the narrow tree lined path that is called the road.  After setting up, our immediate visitors were a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers and later after the sun had set, but our door and windows were still open, an armadillo came by to see what treasure he could dig up in the dry oak leaves surrounding our site!

Always the need to explore, we ventured out and finally made it

over the bridge to the barrier islands and stopped at several parks to see if we’ve missed anything in our past travels.   One public beach park had several out croppings of coquina rocks jutting out of the multi colored sand.    Each day brought its own set of weather and you can see that yet another storm was attempting to interfere with our lovely afternoon tour.  

During the EARLY morning hours on Saturday, the weather radio started blasting its tornado warning.  It was 3 AM!  By 4 am we were in the truck and heading to the security of the cement block bathhouse!   It was Trimble Park all over once more and H was again concerned about sitting in a cardboard box on wheels during a tornado.   You meet the nicest folk in lady’s bathrooms during bad weather warnings!  In Trimble Park it was J&A and now it was Arlene who was camping in a tent!  The storm passed without much adieu but later we had heard an EF0 tornado touched down between Palatka and Hastings – less than 25 miles from here and an EF1 did flip a camper over in a state park just south of us!

The St Augustine Boat Parade was Saturday evening!  Last year we missed it by one day.  With the storm long gone, we made an afternoon of lunch out and some shopping and always more exploring with the intent of arriving in St Augustine in plenty of time to procure a parking spot in the lot near the river.   We even had time to revisit the waterfront by the famed lighthouse!

Everyone in Florida must have planned on attending the parade too since the streets were clogged with vehicles and horses pulling decorated buggies.  Pedestrians were swarming the town like hordes of angry ants escaping a disturbed nest!  Cars were stuck in line in the parking lot – waiting for a treasured parking spot.  We sat behind one such car – until he was forced to move when the trolley cars with their wagons trailing behind, beeped their wonky squeaky horns, forcing the stopped offender to move.  Then we were the stopped offender.  Cars were AGAIN backed up out of the lot and down the street.  H moved over to let some cars go by  - and the car that passed first - got the parking spot that WAS supposed to be ours.    Did that happen just once?  NOPE!  Was H angry and frustrated?  YUP!!  Did we finally give up and go home without ever seeing the parade?  Another really big YUP!!  The parade would have to be put off for another year.

Our big move was Sunday morning.  The sun was up early and so were we. Tomoka State Park was just 50 miles down RT 1 in Ormand Beach.

Winter 2019-2020

We DID take our October trip up and along the Lake Huron coastline in the eastern portion of Michigan!  A mix of gray, rainy, windy weather greeted us but soon gave way to bright, sunny, colorful few days of exploring the oft visited Scenic River Road that runs along side the even more scenic AuSable River that curves and winds thru the colorful northern woods.  Before heading back home to prepare our house for our annual winter jaunt to Florida, H chose to follow the 2-lane blacktop road that

encompasses the “thumb” of Michigan.  The eastern side of Michigan is much more relaxed than the rest!

Thanksgiving was fast approaching and the push to remove the mega amount of leaves from our yard, to get the trailer winter ready and the bright blue truck road ready was upon H.  He WAS planning on pulling out on Sunday, December 1^st but our Good God had other plans for him.  On the Monday before Thanksgiving he was admitted to the hospital once again - with severe chest pains that after extensive testing, proved to be blood clots in his lung.  His pain relieved and meds secured, he was released after 5 days.  On this Thanksgiving Day we are thankful the attack happened when it did instead of Monday December 2^nd – when we were to be driving in the mountains of Kentucky and Virginia.   His doctors also released him to do ANYTHING he wanted!  Rush and stress ensued but the “train” pulled out only two days after the original departure date.  Yes, a whole bunch of things got forgot!!  But that’s why we have super neighbors at home and Harbor Freights along the way!!

Paintsville Lake State Park is always the intended 1^st night stopover and like our dear friends, B&C, who left Michigan several weeks before us, the bushy white bearded, Santa looking, host greeted us and we parked in the usual pull thru site nearest the clean, warm bathhouse!  The next morning as we were heading

south on our favorite US23 we saw a dusting of snow on the distant mountains.  As we approached the top of a 3500ft mountain crest a snowplow/salt truck was going north and spewing salt as he went.  Over the crest we saw flashing lights at the bottom.  Cautiously passing them and slowly going around the wide curve at the bottom, we saw the reason – the mangled car was being removed from the snowy ditch and drug up onto a flatbed truck.  All the way thru Kentucky and the top half of Virginia the mountains and roadsides were snow covered-but not the roads.  Starkly pretty but not without concern when you are pulling a “train” behind you!

I NEVER enjoy running the gauntlet thru Ashville NC but it is still way better than the treacherous north/south route of I75 – including the danger of truck filled Cincinnati.  Peaceful Georgia was on our minds!

Tallulah Falls State Park is perched on a knoll, high above a 300 ft deep gorge with its handful of rushing waterfalls. Hiking paths are a plenty for viewing them all -IF you have enough stamina!  The

campground is nestled deep in a pine and hardwood forest.  A great place for a 2^nd night out stay!   At the visitor center, the center court area is filled with wildlife dioramas that are surrounded with gently sloping ramps to exit and begin your hike to the falls.  We managed to view 3 of the prettiest falls! 

About 30 miles west of Tallulah Falls is the small Frankenmuth Michigan wannabe town of Helen Georgia.  Each Christmas season the Swiss style town is decorated with a multitude of white and twinkling lights and various other holiday displays.  Too bad we went to revisit them on a Wednesday evening and all the shops were closed!  But they still wanted $5 to park!  We took a chance and parked anyway (without paying) to walk the empty street and still enjoy the bright lights on the gazebo in the park on Main Street!

On Thursday we set out once more with high hopes of a good travel day with sunshine and blue skies.  We were hit with 2 near misses of what could have been tragic traffic accidents - neither of which would have been our fault.  The brakes on the truck and trailer got 2 heated up workouts that day. A lot of friends have been praying for our travel safety and believe me - the prayers (and H’s reflexes) have been working.

Little Ocmulgee State Park, just outside of McRae Georgia is weird to pronounce but is another good stopover place for the night!  The campground is hidden behind a pristine golf course and rustic lodge but the sites are generously sized and the magnitude of crunching brown oak leaves had been freshly blown off of the gravel parking pads.  Jim, the friendly camp host from Illinois came over quickly to see if we needed anything!  It quickly turned into “happy hour” because Jim smoked his cigar and H enjoyed the forbidden odor! (He’s not enjoyed his favorite bad habit since before his June surgery!)   He did enjoy his beverage of choice tho!

Friday noon we finally crossed over into Florida and we drove over the swamps and the St John’s River via 295, up and around Jacksonville proper to Kathryn Abby Hanna Park.  Now our days can relax a little!  We’re here!

Northeast

          Hello Dear Blog Friends.  I know it’s been several (okay – a lot!) months since we’ve last posted a travel blog on Havetrailerwilltravel and I do apologize.   If you are still looking for us – let me give you an explanation and then attempt to catch you up.

H was not feeling well last March in Florida and our usually more casual trip home was speeded up by his health.  In June he endured pancreatic surgery and all of our travel plans were put on hold during his recovery.  Our annual trip up to Northern Michigan and Petosega Campground was canceled outright. Yes – he has recovered completely and his restlessness to travel has returned!  So, let’s go – 

N East was the chosen direction and the vehicle selected was the Jeep Cherokee due to quickness of travel and gas mileage - 33 mpg vs. 10!

Clayton New York, just around the corner from Lake Ontario and on the edge of the St Lawrence River is home to the Clayton Antique Boat Museum.  Our 1^st mission on this trip was to revisit it.  It’s been at least 20 years since we were there last.  Man, has it changed and expanded!  This magnificent collection of shiny varnished beauties that once cruised the waters carrying the elite folks of their day are now artfully displayed in not just one crowded building but throughout several buildings on a well maintained campus.  Sleek racing boats have their own building and smaller canoes and runabouts are in another.  Outside, several restored large vessels are moored in long protected boat slips and even accompanied by informative plaques.

Following the river to the east, the next quaint town was

Alexandria Bay.  Heart Island and the romantic but sad story of George Boldt of the famed Waldorf Astoria in New York City fame is legendary here.

George bought the island, changed the name from “Hart” to “Heart Island” and proceeded to erect a castle in honor of his beloved wife.   The castle was to be dedicated to her on the holiday of hearts – Valentines Day.  She became ill and died that January.  George was heart broken and never returned to the island so the castle was never finished.   20 some years ago the castle was still a cold gray shell but is now being completed and furnished as tho George was still overseeing it.  From the sprawling marble

staircase, to the backlit stained glass dome (4 stories above!), to the ornately decorated bedrooms – it is magnificent!  The powerhouse, on it’s own little island, the groomed gardens, the small enclosed harbor and even the miniature castle for the children – all exude the love that George had for his family!  If it weren’t for all the tourists snapping pictures and the tour boats coming and going – we were in the wealthy past of the early 1900’s!

Up across northern Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine the weather changed from sunny to gray and cool.  Calais Maine is the cross over town to New Brunswick.   St Andrews was the first destination to revisit.  20 yrs has sure changed that quaint little town too!  Now there is a long cement fishing pier with lots of charter boats moored out in the bay.  It was low tide so there was alot of muddy ground now showing around the edges of the breakwalls and shorelines. Nearby Minister Island is only

accessible at low tide and we tentatively eased the Jeep out onto the wet, temporarily high gravel “road” and drove to the island and back!  Later, on our way back to Maine, the once visible roadway was now totally under the fast moving water of the returning tide.

St John New Brunswick sits on the edge of the Bay of Fundy.  Tides in the Bay and the nearby St John’s River raise and lower by 22 feet each time the tide changes.  The Reversing Falls is caused by the tide either coming in or going out.  We arrived at almost high tide but the water was still rushing in, causing swirls and lots of rushing white water.  In a few more hours the “falls” would be rushing the opposite direction.   We drove thru the growing

downtown area next to the moored floating cities that are modern cruise ships.  We even located and drove thru the hilltop campground that overlooks the city below it.

South, out of Calais Maine, the road took us along the rugged coast and its tiny towns to Desert Island, Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. All morning long it was gray, foggy and even a drizzle now and then but now it was getting worse.  A drive thru tourist filled Bar Harbor and finally into the National Park proved to be futile – fog, mist and clouds enveloped the top of the mountain so we didn’t even drive thru any more of the park and H took the exit road off the island.

New Hampshire and the White Mountains was much more scenic, although still hazy.  The clouds hung close on top of each

mountain.  A stop at Willey Pond gave us a good view and an opportunity for a few nice photos of the dark lake and the deep colors on the hillside.  Back in New York - Lake Placid’s colors were mostly bright yellow and shades of green.   The Olympic

venues are still there and signs of the past event are everywhere!   Lake Champaign was in our way so we drove the Jeep onto a trusty ferryboat and waited to cross the white-capped water of the still busy lake.  Moored sailboats of every size were still bobbing in the gusty wind as we waited for the other cars to be loaded.

South into Pennsylvania, the colors were just starting to pop but

unfortunately the rain had still not quit.  The colors may have been mostly green but Rt 6 was scenic and passed the time as we headed for Ohio and home.

Next is a short trip to eastern Michigan with the hopes of still catching some of the state’s famed fall colors!  Then it’s pack for Florida!

Florida Panhandle

Rocky Bayou – See Previous Florida Blog – for last March!  The home of the dainty pale green “deer moss” that dots the forest floor alongside the hiking paths!  Rocky Bayou - located north of the emerald green waters of the gulf and across the Choctawatchee Bay from the other two, way more popular state parks – Topsail and Henderson Beach.  Rocky Bayou Park sits along side the Boggy Bayou.  The town of Niceville also used to be called Boggy but the folks thought the name was not appropriate since it was such a

Rocky Bayou shoreline

NICE town and changed the name in 1910. The park is also the former home of the WWII gunnery and bombing practice range for Col James Doolittle’s B25 squadron!  It seemed like every night you could still hear bombs being dropped in the lake.  We knew better tho since the bombing practice was stopped before 1950 when neighboring Elgin Air Force Base turned the land over to the state.  But each day the roar of jets and the drone of helicopters were seen and felt as they flew low overhead after they took off or before they landed at the nearby bustling military base.

Something to learn – a “bayou” means a flat, low lying area, a slow moving stream, a marshy lake or a wetland where the current changes with the local tide.  It contains “brackish” water, which means part salt and part fresh water – the amounts depended on the direction of the tide. 

Fat Tuesday came and went.  Mardi Gras was being celebrated in a newly developed area of Destin and H felt we should make the

effort to locate and partake in the festivities.  This new area, built on the edge of another bayou was a village unto itself with homes, condos, shops, restaurants, a man made river with boardwalks and bridges and even a golf course.  Hours before the parade was to begin, the patios and walkways were being filled with party going revelers, bedecked with silly hats and mega strains of shiny beads, mimicking the gold, purple and green bejeweled strands that were strung across the narrow pedestrian streets.  Music blasted the area and the announcement was finally made that the parade had begun!  Soon, heavily decorated golf carts in various themes began dividing the already thick crowd.  They

were led by a ragtag group of musicians playing New Orleans style music. There were costumed dogs and their matching owners!  Each golf cart entourage included costumed characters flinging more strands of beads or tossing candy into the outstretched hands of all the excited children.  One KREWE group was decorated to the hilt in gaudy hot pink flamingo attire.  A “KREWE” is a social origination that puts on a ball or parade for the carnival season –aka Mardi Gras!  Another KREWE was drenched in green, purple and black metallic everything with skulls tucked in everywhere and a large stuffed gator, presided on top.  It pulled a 3wheeled trike being ridden by a tuxedo-wearing skeleton groom and his be-gowned skeleton bride!

From the coastal highway, there are 3 ways to reach Niceville and the/Rocky Bayou State Park – Rt 20 from the east, Rt 85 from the west or the two-lane Mid Bay Bridge that divides the lake in the

middle.  The 3.6 mile long bridge is a toll bridge but is the quickest and easiest way to reach the town of Destin or the stunning beaches along the coast.    At the southern end of the bridge is the Legendary Marina building - a huge blue structure that is painted all around with a Wyland Mural of whales.  The entire roof of this mammoth structure is the biggest painted American flag mural in the USA and was dedicated in 2016. 

Walton Beach is the tourist area to the west of Destin and the beaches there are also stunning - snow white sand and amazingly clear water on a sunny day.  It’s Spring Break in Florida and there were bikini-clad teens huddled up near the shelter house and restaurant areas, inspite of this cold and breezy day.  The boys were brave enough to attempt a fast moving (to keep warm?) game of volleyball!  The shoreline was peaceful and almost quiet - other than the howl of the wind and the squawk of

seagulls.   The volleyball courts near the water were void of any of those goose-bumpy skinned teen bodies!

Wow – it’s time to bid adieu to our new Michigan friends and their bouncy granddaughter M and energetic puppy Emma and hit the highway once more.  Like me – they also make an annual trip to Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan Hospital!   We are still heading west but we will be stopping before we reach Alabama.  We’d better stop - - this next campground is on an island.  The road dead-ends at Ft Pickens in the Gulf Islands National Seashore and on the other side of the watery passage IS Alabama!!  This “train” don’t float!

Central And North Gulf Coast

It’s time to go – time to move farther north, up the Gulf Coast to the tiny crossroads town of Inglis.   We were dreading dragging the “train” thru the hectic traffic of Brandon’s fast growing city sprawl and then fighting more heavy Tampa traffic on I 75.  So we didn’t!   Backtracking a few miles on St Rt 460 to NB St Rt 39 was a much quieter MUCH more peaceful way to bypass all the stress.  Breakfast was at the Roosters Café in Brooksville and then on to Village Pines Campground, RV Park and Mobile Home Village.  Spacious sites and friendly folks made up for all the sand and the very old bathhouse.  It was a good spot for a couple of nights stay – close enough to Ocala and a good place to get the laundry done!

The Withalacoochee River flows 141 miles north and northwest

from central Florida and then opens up to the Gulf a few miles west of the Inglis intersection of St Rt 40 and St Rt 19/98.  Rt 40 passes thru the also tiny but interesting fishing village of Yankeetown and dead ends at a rough and rugged boat launch.  Yankeetown was settled by a gentleman from Indiana and the local mail deliveryman started calling the settlement “that Yankee town” – and it stuck!  Looking west, out over the salt marshes and islands that border the bay, the sky was various shades of threatening gray.  Looking back inland, the sky was blue and boats were navigating the river with ease!  

Manatee Springs State Park just west of Chiefland was our home

for two more nights of our hop-skip and jump week of moving.  Site 67 was open and easy to back into but was surrounded on 2 sides by fallen trees, and scrub, covered in fresh, green, spring growth.   Each evening a group of beautiful young does strolled thru the back yard, munching as they went.  When they heard the whine or bark from a distant dog, their tiny black noses would raise up and their long white tails would do the same!  When the supposed possible danger passed, down their noses went – back to the business of grazing!

With all the rain this area has had this winter, the springs were full and up over their banks.   The boardwalk that meandered along the

spring run that led to the Suwannee River was now surrounded by dark water and covered with reflections mimicking the tall Cypress trees growing in their depths.  The abundance of rings in shades of yellow, white and brown marked the different levels of where the invasive tannic water had risen to and then receded.   The railings that enclose the actual spring were slung with a mossy mess of slime.  Workers were busy power washing the railings and walkways  -

throwing a mist of water out across the deep turquoise depths.

Newport Campground is good place for an overnight stop that is out and around the curve of the Big Bend of the Gulf of Mexico on the scenic Gulf Coast Highway – Rt 98.   The only thing exciting about this old wayside park was the wild azaleas that were in full bloom!  While there we revisited the St Marks National Wildlife Reserve and finally saw a bear!  We had been “hunting” and searching all winter long and there he was –

stuffed and in the Nature Museum at the Visitor Center!  And he looked so life like too!  

At the end of the 11-mile long road, stood the tall and proud St Marks Lighthouse.  The original one was built in the early 1800’s.  This time the lighthouse was open and we paid our $2 each and stepped inside.  Outside, several uniformed re-enactors were learning marching maneuvers.

Following the scenic Gulf Road we quickly passed thru the pretty little town of Carrabelle and Apalachicola the touristy fishing town.  Apprehension grew as we drove farther west and approached the destroyed town of Mexico Beach where Hurricane Michael ravaged the coastline just 6 months ago.  The roadway became dotted with orange barrels and splotches of gravely blacktop where the washed out roadbed had once been.  Our mood was as dark as the sky and the downpour of rain we drove thru. Where once a happy bright coastal town once sat was now a desert filled with just

skeletons of pylons where homes used to be.  Rows of pastel townhouses and cottages were now rags of their once fun loving spirit.  Empty lots that once held rentals and small mom and pop businesses were now parking lots for tired looking RV’s and motorhomes.  If a building did survive – most were still covered in bright blue shrouds.   Everywhere you looked were mountains of broken cement, shattered wood and shredded trees.   The beautiful white sand on the shore was now in plain site from the road, but

was dotted with earthmoving equipment trying to remove the remains of the houses that had once called the beach home.  Tyndall Air Force Base to the west also suffered loss.  The huge tract of pine trees that camouflaged the airstrip was now

gone.  Roofs were missing off of mammoth quonset huts and other buildings.   On one side of the road, all the snapped off trees were lying towards the west looking like a cemetery of toppled grave markers.  Across the road, they were lying to the east.  We had to keep moving.

We finally arrived at our next destination – Rocky Bayou State Park – our home for the next 6 nights.  New places to explore and old places to re-visit once more!

Tampa Area

Lithia Springs  - we’ve camped here NUMEROUS times, so there shouldn’t be much to say about the park – it’s an old county park just south and east of Brandon and has a spring fed swimming area.  The park used to have a limit of 2 weeks camping – now, just the 4 sites that are next to the Alafia River are limited to the 2-week stay.  The rest of the other 40 sites are with a 3-month limit of stay – and some units look like they’ve been here even longer.  On the Sunday morning when we arrived, we were first in line for one of two sites that were going to open up.  The fella next in line wanted site 45.  We took the prized site 45 and he had to crowd into site 10! 

 Site 45 has been called the Honeymoon Suite by some of the

campers because it is right on the river, is down and around a curving driveway and is VERY secluded!   This photo was taken from halfway down the crushed shell/gravel drive!  Someone (we won’t mention who) has since removed the palmetto frond in the foreground!  While the two trees that are opposite each other and close to the edge of the drive

seem far enough apart, when you’re backing a train down and around (already having smacked into that aforementioned palmetto frond) – they are not! There is another hefty tree just to the left of the truck that is blocked from view but was also a bit of frustration when trying to bend a 35 ft billboard around it and also miss that tall sturdy fence AND electrical post on the other side!  The river is just below that fence!  The site is HUGE and so is the ancient (leaning) live oak tree that is securely anchored near the middle of the site!  Luckily, but with some maneuvering, we managed to get the awning out and wedged between the two knarly fat limbs!   The greenery that is growing

lushly on its limbs is called Resurrection Plant.  When it rains – the tiny fern like plant is healthy looking and green.   Several days later, if there is no more rain – the plants shrivel up and turn brown – waiting for the next reviving shower!  In our two weeks stay – they have been green twice!    And wildlife – from fish in the river, to the chattering gray squirrels, the squawking hawks, the always noisy woodpeckers and the echo of owls before sunup, the most unusual creature turned out to be THE frog!  One night after coming back down the driveway from the bathhouse, I saw a frog climbing the side of the trailer, up past the kitchen window.  H came to look and it quickly tried to take refuge in the vent cover!   Several days later, thanks to a Florida website, we learned that our little hitchhiker was a Cuban Tree Frog – an invasive specie in America!  It’ll eat anything it can get in its

mouth – even other frogs!  We have to make sure that when we leave, we don’t take him with us!

 We are always adding new friends to our list of favorite friends!  This year at Lithia Springs we’ve gotten to know our campground hosts/volunteers - P&A.  These ladies have done a wonderful job of keeping everything in order and clean and making us all feel welcomed!   We will miss them!

 We have visited friends B&N and went to the Red Barn Flea Market and finished up the day with our annual trip to Anna Marie’s Oyster Bar in Ellenton.  We met our Michigan friends, G&D from Petosega, in Brandon for lunch another day!  Yet another dear friend from Swanton and her daughter met us in Tarpon Springs for lunch there!  H and I strolled along the sponge

docks and watched the boat traffic in the river before we fought all the auto traffic on our way back to quiet Lithia Springs.  We met J&A (H’s drone buddy from Illinois) in Brandon for our forth lunch outing!   If you must know - neither H nor I am losing ANY weight this winter!  To walk off that lunch we drove east on Rt 60 and visited the “Metals & Nature” Garden.  The owners work with wrought iron so the 2 acres are full of fancy gates, fences, benches and other bric-a-brac including cement statues and such.  Wandering thru the flower filled gardens is a couple of beautiful, long tailed, turquoise

peacocks!  In various cages and pens are various other colorful birds, an iguana and Boinky the Potbellied Pig!  And if that’s not enough – we’ve also enjoyed our annual strawberry shortcake lunch at the Brandon Farms Strawberry Barn!!  NO weight loss at all!

 A trip to this area would not be complete without checking out the Manatee Viewing area in Apollo Beach but the day was warm and sunny so the giant sea creatures were all out in Tampa Bay.  While we were that close we drove thru EG Simmons, one of the other Hillsborough County Parks in Ruskin.  We parked and walked out to the beach area where I used to find Horseshoe Crab shells and ended up watching several young men throwing and dragging long ropes with chicken legs tied to the end, thru the calm water. They were hoping to catch some blue crabs, we were told.  This area

used to be a peninsula but thanks to one of the previous storms, it is now an island!

 Our little bikes are folded back up and put away.  The awning has been swept clear of all the tiny brown live oak tree leaves that have been accumulating on it for the last 2 weeks.  It’s once again time to move – we’re heading north – little by little.  But not with any amphibian hitchhikers!

Fort Myers Area

All summer long we anxiously await the chance to land a site in the beautiful WP Franklin Corp of Engineer Campground.  SPFB!!   IF we secure one of the extremely difficult to get campsites, then we book the rest of our winter trip around those 2 weeks.  We

anticipated!  We secured!  We arrived!   Now, we’ve used up our allotted two weeks on site #2 and sadly, it’s time to move on.   Most things have comfortably remained the same – wonderful camp sites, the dark tannic waters of the Caloosahatchee River, favorite restaurants, and favorite neighbors - the eagle that roosts across the way, the grazing cattle and horses along Rt 78, and always the shorebirds that stalk and search for a morsel along the banks of the river just below us.  (The little Tri-colored heron is still one of my favorites!)  In the early morning light, on our little niche of this island, the smooth surface of the liquid glass that is water still amazes me with the calm reflections of the trees and rocks and docks across the way, in such a clear mirror of the real things.  Then the sun comes up fully and the breezes begin.  The image is gone and the expanse of still water turns to dancing ripples!

The bustling downtown Ft Myers is still the same as is the Oasis Restaurant.  Flea Markets have been dissected as usual and a few items have even been procured!  B&C made the trip from Lake

Placid to visit and the day was topped off with BBQ pork dinner at the Log Cabin Inn over in Labelle! YUMMM!   And while the best way to get to Ft Myers Beach is still taking the trolley, all of its beach going passengers are now deposited at the busy Times Square area of the island, just off the causeway.  There is a FREE, much smaller open tram system that runs from one end of the

island to the other.  As always we indulged in our annual mile or so walk from Bowditch Park at the north end of the island, back up to the crowded Fishing Pier.  We finished the day’s sandy hike with our ice cream at DQ!

New for this trip, and checking it off my “to do” list was to finally see a burrowing owl, the highly protected symbol of Cape Coral!   Once you know how to locate a burrow in one of the many vacant lots in the 100 sq miles of the

city, the chances of actually seeing one of the 8-10 inch, well camouflaged little birds is a bit easier!  To protect the burrows, the city has placed 4 white PVC pipes in the corners of a 10ft square space.  In the center of each outlined square is most often a rough perch made of slats of wood – near the hole dug by the birds in the dry dirt.  On our way to one of the beaches, we saw a BUNCH of such setups in a BUNCH of unmowed vacant lots.  These little birds are most active during the day and we gratefully saw a pair sitting on the edge of their burrow!  Mission accomplished!

 Another “new to do” activity was to visit the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve and walk the 1.2 mile boardwalk trail.   A “slew” is a type of forested wetland with slow moving freshwater that

sometimes gathers into small ponds.  The Slough got its unusual name in the early 1900’s when travelers in wagons would get stuck in the swampy area on their way to Ft Myers. From experience they knew it was SIX MORE MILES to town!!  Talk about “Are we there yet?”!   Back in the 1970’s, land development began to encroach on the area and a group of teens started the effort to save the slough.  The boardwalk was opened to the public in 1991. The wooden boardwalk is dotted with signs and matching descriptions for visitors to learn about the trail.  We saw gators warming themselves on floating platforms, darting little warblers in the trees, noisy woodpeckers, snow white egrets and even a tall blue heron meticulously building her nest of twigs in a low tree.  Then there was the Cottonmouth snake – nestled all coiled up on a dead palmetto frond.  It looks big in the picture but actually it was only a baby – thankfully!

 One weekend morning, we made the mistake of finding the “free” Home and Garden Show at the Hertz Arena – the home of the Everglades Hockey team!  The “show” was a waste of good time but we did hesitate long enough to watch some young men in the

middle of a fast paced hockey game on one of the smaller rinks in the building.  Across the parking lot and a rather large retention pond, we noticed a gathering of classic cars - growing in numbers and lining up in several very long lines.  We could hear the music and the announcer on a loud speaker.  We were drawn in and HAD to investigate!  Rows and rows of hot rods, trucks, muscle cars (a RED 65’ GTO!), and a plethora of marvelous Chevy’s – all years, all colors, all styles and ALWAYS – Corvettes!  This fabulous blue one is just one of the many! H had to stop and drool over a low slung Lamborghini that
he knew he’d never be able to fold up and slide down to even get into!

 And MORE new friends!!  J&B from Ohio, R&C from Michigan, C&J from Wisconsin!   We ladies shared and the guys swapped advice and hard to believe stories!  AND – H is now without his drone.  Just like last year – sold before we even finished up our trip!   Our email addresses have been exchanged and promises made to keep in touch but now it’s time to shake out the rug and hook up the “train” – it’s time to head north!  But not too far!  Our adventure is not over yet!  It’s time for Tampa!