Almost Back Home

As we headed north up Rt 19, we passed the area of the “prescribed burn” that I wrote about last time.  The charred black trunks of once green pine trees lined the roadway, their feet in a mangled mess of burned undergrowth.  On the east side of the road was another area of blackness where the intense fire jumped the highway but must have been quickly contained.  Thankfully, as in other areas of burn, the healthy trees are not killed and will return to being tall and stately – just with black trunks. In coming years the fern will return to the forest floor in welcoming shades of bright green!

Ocean Pond is a small campground in the middle of the Osceola National Forest and we were both looking forward to visiting a new campground, a new lake and a new forest.  That’s all we got – a drive thru visit.  The small, way back in the woods campground was full!  This campground has no phone other than the main National Forest phone number which was never answered so we had no way of knowing ahead of time.  All of the state parks in the area were full also.  It’s Spring break time in Florida!

 We had plenty of daytime left, so we headed for Georgia.  Northern Florida and southern Georgia look the same – especially in the spring when the azaleas and redbud are in full bloom!  Instead of the blackened roadways in the forests of Florida, these roads were dressed in light mauves with bright corals and pinks dotting yards and woods.  Sugar Mill RV Campground is located just north of the picturesque town of Thomasville and was our home for the night.  When I opened up the back blinds of the trailer, the view was of bright pink azalea blooms! 

F.D.R. Little White House

Our second stop on this trip north was Georgia’s biggest state park - FD Roosevelt State Park in the rugged hills and valleys of Pine Mountain. This 9000-acre park and surrounding area was a favorite spot for President FDR to visit and enjoy while being drawn to the health benefits of the nearby warm springs.  The large stone lodge at the park was built in 1938 by the CCC and sits atop the ridge with a commanding view of the world that lies at its feet.  Roosevelt was fond of Dowdells Knob on the other side of the ridge for his picnics and it rises 1400 ft above the valley below.

Roosevelt’s “Little White House” was built while he was still Governor of New York but was his retreat when he was the 33^rd President and suffering from the effects of polio.  The Museum houses artifacts of his life, including his original wheel chair and leg braces that he helped design.  There are two cars on display.  One is a custom built 1940 pale yellow Willys Roadster convertible built by the Willys Overland Co of Toledo Ohio for then President Franklin D Roosevelt for his 59^th birthday in 1940.  Its serial number is: 440-29021!  The other is his 1938 Ford convertible with hand controls!  Once thru the museum, the large round garden with its tall fountain, and walkways, shows the way to the cluster of small white buildings beyond.   On the right are the servant’s quarters, with the garage below and on the left side is the matching square guesthouse.  The small white cottage sits on the edge of the small wooded hill and inside we saw where FDR held his “fireside chats”.   On April 12, 1945, while sitting for his portrait, he suffered a massive stroke and passed away shortly thereafter.  That famous “Unfinished Portrait” is housed in a small building near the cottage.  Nearby the complex are the warm springs that drew him to the area. Georgia’s largest and most famous warm springs delivered 914 gallons of 88 degree water to a catch basin below the buildings.  Today the pools are empty and just one small cement incased area has the warm mineral water bubbling up out of it.

 Not too far from the town of Warm Springs we even found the Red Oak Creek Covered Bridge, built in 1840 by freed slave and noted bridge builder Horace King.  It is the oldest and longest wooden covered bridge in Georgia!

Cloudland State Park Ga.

Our last stop in Georgia was Cloudland Canyon State Park for 2 more nights on our voyage home.  This was our 2^nd visit to this mountain top park with its awesome cliff-side views of the waterfalls and vistas beyond.   A return trip to Battle of Chattanooga National Park was required and the same queasy feeling of being too close to the edge returned to the pit of my stomach as we dared walk along and read the markers that described the battle that took place on that high point above the Tennessee River.  Down at the rivers edge we explored downtown Chattanooga for the first time and followed the river along its 13-mile long Riverwalk Park.

I 75 across Tennessee included an extensive delay on Jellico Mountain followed by lunch at Golden Girls in Clinton with my oldest son and a stay at Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington, Kentucky filled our next day and night.  Our very last night on the road north was at Deer Creek State Park just SW of Columbus Ohio!  A visit with H’s daughter, husband and 2 of their 3 sons was the BEST part of that stop over!  Easter dinner at the lodge, overlooking the still partially empty lake, listening to the hopes and plans of our two almost grown grandsons was the highlight of the last leg of our long trip home!

Back at Salt Spring

Never did like it when we had to change the time on the clocks!  It’s not so bad in the spring – when we have more daylight in the evening so H and I can be outside longer – at HOME!  We’ve never had to change them when we were on the road until now.  And having to change clocks the night before moving day – is the worst-est!!!   After tossing and turning we finally gave in and got up and hit the road an hour earlier than usual.  The Sunday morning traffic up and around Orlando on RT 436 was not as heavy as it could have been if it were a Monday morning but it still took over an hour to leave Orlando in the rear view mirror.

It’s the last official weekend of Bike Week and the first official weekend of Spring Break in the 3 surrounding counties of Salt Springs including Marion County.  H was concerned about getting a site in our favorite park so he had made a reservation for one night.  Luckily, several folks had already left and we selected a better site with afternoon shade where we would stay for the week.  Unfortunately – the site was near the bottom of the slope in the road and as usual the TV reception was sometimes here and sometimes not.  Cell service was nonexistent but – hey – we are in the middle of a FOREST!

Salt Spring Park

Our days have passed quickly in spite of the iffy TV selection.  Some evenings we got a LOT of knitting and reading done or even went to bed early – hoping to catch up on the time change loss of sleep. (It’s almost a week later and we are still tossing and turning)   Monday was laundry day – the last time we’ll have to deposit quarters in a machine to get clean clothes back!  Tuesday we drove to Ocala and enjoyed another fun meal with D&S at our favorite Logan’s Steakhouse.  My dear sister has shingles –AGAIN.  Luckily it was caught early and is being contained to one small area.

Wednesday was skeet shooting day in Palatka!  My email to the “gang” had a delayed response back so our connection at the club was missed by a few hours.  H did get to shoot with a fella from Massachusetts tho, before the day got too hot and muggy!  Anytime we are in Palatka it is mandatory for us to have lunch at Corky Bells – Deviled Crab and Shrimp again!  SO good!  A ride thru downtown to see the new murals came next.   On the way back south to the campground, we noticed smoke in the forest. It’s the season for “prescribed burns” to control the dead undergrowth and help prevent even worse forest fires.  As we approached and were waved thru by a patrolman, fire trucks and more help were arriving.  Then the road was closed!  Right after we went thru!!  Heavy, dark, rolling clouds of thick smoke began rolling across the road.  H pulled off the side of the roadway a safe distance away and we watched the waves of choking smoke clog the land behind us.  At times you could see the bright orange fire and at other times the smoke was so dark and so thick that you could not see the flashing lights of the emergency vehicles that were blocking the intersection!

Thursday was St Pat’s Day!  Our Amaryllis sat on the BBQ grill and displayed her 3 Irish flags.  A green shamrock hung from the arm of the awning!   I wore green and even got to bake a brisket in the toaster oven on the picnic table. Drove the neighbors crazy!   Cooked it low and slow – it was SO yummy!  “Top O the Morning to yah!” was the greeting!

The springs have been peaceful all week and we’ve taken advantage of the warm weather and the cool water on several days.  Our bikes have been up and down the roads and on paths that pass under a 200 yr old sprawling live oak! The weekend is here now so the younger folks have taken over!  As Friday progressed the campsites filled in – all kinds of trailers have unloaded their bikes and grills and all shapes of tents have gone up.   Then, what we first thought was a big diesel rig that had pulled in the park after dark turned out to be the biggest, bad-est tow truck that we have ever seen!  H soon learned that a huge pickup truck camper (with a slide and full back awning) had been unloaded from its truck and one of the front jack stands had collapsed causing the camper to fall forward across the bed of the truck – trapping it underneath!  He grabbed my hand and dragged me out of our trailer and up the dark road to inspect the commotion.  As we went around the curve of our camp road – we saw THE brightest light! (Were we crossing over?)  The tow truck had backed up at an angle to the camper in distress and had a huge crane hoisted up over and several very bright lights shining on it.  There was strong sling under and around the damaged fiber glassed white box that still had 2 skinny support sticks attached to its lower backside.  When the box was slowly lifted, the truck was removed. Raised a bit higher, the truck was gently backed in under it again, however, the angle of the parking pad was too steep.  Finally, after several attempts, the air in the back tires was let out!  H was satisfied that the outcome was going to be ok then, so we headed back to our site.  It was well after the 11 o’clock news when we heard the tow truck rumble past our site on his way out

The weather had cooled and has gotten “damp”.  Spring has been in Florida for the last few weeks but the calendar is officially announcing it in the morning.  It’s time for us to move farther north.  Ocean Pond in the Osceola National Forest is next.

Orlando Area

Camping at Moss Park is like having one big scavenger hunt!   Deer? Check!   Turkey? Check!  Sherman Squirrels? Check!  Armadillo? Check! Big Black Snake? Check!  Songbirds? Check!  Sandhill Cranes? Check!  Sandhill Babies?  CHECK!!   Last year the babies arrived as scheduled but sadly, they only made it thru that first night.  This year the parents brought their new chicks by as soon as we were parked for us to admire and take too many pictures.   Both chicks peeped and eagerly accepted food delivered to them by the long powerful beaks of both parents.  The two babies survived life in the park for almost a full week – until one morning Mom and a very disheveled Dad showed up for their morning stroll with only one child.   In its one week of life the oversized golden chick grew to twice its original size.  It’s neck and legs also doubled in length, which now made it look more like a Sandhill.

We don’t normally “move” on a Friday and when we arrived, the campground was filling up.  We managed to secure the last site on the outside of the campground loop.   Moss Park is on a lake but most campsites are in fairly dense cover and the lake is hard to see thru the trees.  Each sunset, the deer crept across the back of our site on their evening search for food. 

Every day there were myriads of songbirds flitting from branch to branch as they sang their sweet songs.  H was reclining in his chair with his book in hand when one even landed on his extended foot before hopping down to explore the rug for some tiny, tasty morsel.

And we finally got to see the launch of the SpaceX rocket!  We rode our bikes down to the long fishing pier that stretches out into Lake Mary Jane just a few minutes before the launch was to take place.  At first it was just a bright ball of light that rose above the tree lined shoreline to the east, but as it went up across the rose colored sunset sky you could easily see the jet trails extending back to earth.   Then the satellite and rocket separated and you could see each go it’s own way.   As the darkness seeped in, we rode our trusty little bikes back to our site and reminisced about the NASA Space Shuttle launch we had seen at this same park when we were still camping in the pick up truck camper!!   Now, that was a long time ago!

The only thing our Moss Park scavenger hunt was missing was George – our dear friend from upstate NY who used to be the campground host/wildlife photographer here in Moss Park.  He retired and had moved to another campground.  He endured a massive heart attack while up in NY last summer.  We drove to our favorite St Cloud restaurant, The Catfish Place, and met him for lunch.  His recovery is coming along a little at a time but as it is with most men – slowly is frustrating.

There is always something new in Orlando to go find and explore.   Last year we found the Orlando Eye – the 400 ft tall Ferris wheel.  This year it is open and the large passenger capsules were going up and around very, VERY slowly to afford the best views of Orlando and surrounding landscape.  Also open were the Wax Museum and Orlando Aquarium.  The sides and the back of the main building were covered with oversized murals of various Disney characters including Shriek and Fiona!  Besides the mandatory fast food restaurants and sweet shops there were bright flower gardens and tall dancing fountains.

The main reason for our venture out that day was to find the “new” Disney Spring.   From the Orlando Eye location, the GPS led us south and we ended up at the “old” Downtown Disney!   Go figure!   A massive new multi leveled parking garage came complete with LED lights that directed us to available parking spots. The lights turned from green to red once we were securely parked!   This new and improved shopping and dining complex had greatly increased the space of the old Disney Downtown!  Besides new bridges that crossed over the small lake, one high-end restaurant called The Boathouse even had a dockside bar with a dozen or so beautifully restored Chris Craft boats and other exotic 1940 runabouts sitting in individual lifts along side the docks.  Nearby, there was even a new “boat” ride, which featured at least 6 restored 1961 to 1968 Triumph Amphicars!   These brightly colored fun vehicles were lined up behind each other as they were driven up out of the water.  As needed, the “captain” would fetch the next vehicle and drive it up the ramp to a big cement turntable.   Once turned around and facing the ramp that led back to the water, the “captain” would allow his life jacketed passengers to enter the open topped car and they would proceed down the ramp and into the water, where it became a boat!  A trip around the lake and the procedure would be repeated again with new passengers.

Now it is Saturday night.  The awning is rolled up and the rug is folded up!   Sunday morning is once again time to move.   Our next site where we’ll put the jacks down is back in our favorite Salt Springs!   YES!   Our clocks have                                                                                already been changed –                                                                                  SpringUp!

Long Point & Manatee Hammock

The truck is pointed north.   Are we going home?   Not today!  Our next destination was just up the road about 80 miles to the outer barrier island that protects the mainland and the city of Sebastian.  Long Point County Campground is on the opposite side of the channel from Sebastian Inlet State Park.  We were here last year- just a few weeks earlier in February when the temps were much lower and the wind much stronger.  This time we parked on the western side of the island facing Sebastian and only 6 feet from the waters edge! (H said to be sure to mention that the last 4 out of 5 campsites have been “waterfront” and 3 of those have been on an island!) Due to the recent rains, several campsites needed attention since RV’s were getting stuck in the mud and digging deep ruts trying to get themselves out.  Our site was one of them so we patiently waited while our site was turned into a beach due to all the sand that was dumped and then leveled out!

Our first visitor was a bright white Great Egret that didn’t say much but the look in his eye said he was looking for a handout!  Each day he strolled slowly past our little spot by the water – just in case we changed our minds. Out on the tiny island across the way pelicans rested before they went out fishing again.  And the sunsets were gorgeous from our little beach, too!

Last year we attempted to walk the sandy shores at Wabasso Beach Park (where the seagull stole my ice-cream!) but couldn’t because all the Tonka trucks on steroids were moving monstrous mounds of sand from one end of the beach to the other.  This year the huge yellow trucks were gone – replaced by beachgoers, sunning themselves near brightly colored umbrellas while frothy aqua waves slid up on the white sand in front of us. 

Back up at the public access parking lot near our park, H suggested we walk the “half-mile” of beach, back up to the long fishing jetty on the north side of the state park.  That half-mile turned out to be MUCH longer!  The soft, deep, damp sand was like walking a mile in foot deep soggy wet snow in those heavy snowmobile boots that we used to wear!   Flocks of jabbering gulls and terns gathered and played leapfrog out in front of us – taunting us as we struggled on!  But we made it and the cool, shaded, upstairs porch of the multi facility building by the jetty allowed us to catch our breath and soak in the scenic view of the ocean and inlet before our return walk back to the truck – on the wide, level, cement walk that followed along the road!

Two nights and we moved north again – up A1A, past Melbourne Beach, Cocoa Beach and around and past Port Canaveral to Titusville.   John Prince is a Palm County park.  Long Point, and Wickham Park in Melbourne, are both Brevard County Campgrounds.  The third Brevard County Park is Manatee Hammock, which was our home for 2 more nights.  Our site was spacious and surrounded by pine trees.  Out the back window we could see Ron from WP Franklin and his little single person trailer in the next row over!  Coffee and conversation got us caught up with each other’s travels over the last month.

 It was a short walk to the bathhouse from our site.  On the way was a dead palm tree, which neither of us paid much attention to.  After all – it was just a dead tree!  Then I really looked at it - - it had a face!  And the face came with a set of big white teeth.  Look closer – it had something in its teeth.  Should we tell him he had some meat stuck in his tooth?

Rusty’s Seafood Restaurant, on the waterfront in Port Canaveral, is always a favorite for lunch with Lois and Dave!   The day was warm and sunny and our prime seats were out on the porch – right by the railing so we could watch for boats heading up or down the river. Up river you could see both commercial fishing boats and pleasure boats secured to several docks and pylons.  All the empty pylons were occupied by pelicans who were waiting for their lunch too!  While none of the multi storied cruise ships that were moored farther up river were scheduled to depart, there was a big black and white tugboat that chugged down river.  It was passed up by a “pilot ship” heading for open water and a freighter that must have been waiting for him out there to offload his local boat pilot who would guide his ship safely up the river to port.   Our time with my friends ended way too soon but we know we’ll get together once we all reach home again.  A quick trip thru downtown Historic Cocoa completed our afternoon out. 

It was time to say goodbye to salt water and head inland to the fresh water of Lake Mary Jane and Moss Park.

Week two John Prince

Our 2^nd week in John Prince has been just as busy as the first!  We’re getting ready to move on to our next destination in the morning.  We’ve also been anticipating the launch of the SpaceX rocket but once again it has been scrubbed.  Now we are anticipating getting to see it for real since we are moving up the coast and closer to Cape Canaveral!

Crossing the tracks to the southbound station

Lunch at Lincoln mall

 Last Saturday we parked the blue truck in the shade under the massive pillars that hold up the 12 lanes of I 95 and right next to the sky-high crossover walkway for the TriRail train system.  Its train tracks run alongside I 95 from West Palm Beach down to the airport in Miami and passes thru 3(tri) counties to do so.  As we’ve done before, we rode in the top level of the train and kept up with the traffic on the expressway until we were forced to slow down and stop at each town’s rail station.  Once out on the South Beach of Miami we had our fire grilled pizza lunch in the middle of Lincoln Street at tables brightly decorated with cobalt blue bottles with fresh sunflowers peaking out the top. Sitting there in the shade we took full advantage of the prime location to people watch!  And there were plenty to watch!  Our walk out to the actual beach was short lived since the wind was hefty and cold!

           On Sunday we parked once more in the shadow of the expressway and took a shuttle bus to downtown Lake Worth to walk and enjoy their 22^nd annual street chalk art festival - along with the throngs of other festivalgoers.  There were 4 blocks each way of art and artists on their knees working on their developing creations.  There were kids, high school groups, local companies and civic groups all striving to win an award.  Some chose birds or animals to depict. Some chose cartoon characters.   Some chose real people or celebrities like a striking black and white version of Leo Decaprio – complete with piercing blue eyes.  Then there were the professional artists showing off their colorful talents!  Remember seeing on TV the insurance commercial that features a 3D

chalk rendition of a whale leaping up out of the water?  These 10 ft     wide creations are that same awesome style!  If you stand at the center at the foot of the picture, the scene does look 3D and in amazing proportion but if you walk around the side or even stand at the top - - the drawing looks grossly elongated and out of shape.  

 There’s been another trip to the Boynton Inlet, which included a stop off at the Gumbo Limbo Turtle Rescue.  On one day’s venture we headed north up the coast with visits at the sparkling blue waters of Rivera Beach and Juno Beach.  One day we headed out north to find a mall to walk but instead got side tracked by a sign that said: Gun Club Road - and the truck turned onto it.  We never did find the gun club but did find Rt 441, which turned us around and pointed us back south because H remembered that Loxahatchee National Wildlife Preserve was off of that road.  Years ago I snagged an alligator when we were fishing there!  We had returned to the scene of that crime! 

When we were staying at WP Franklin we met a couple that we had camped next to when we stayed at Savannah’s county park last year.  Dale and Connie were also staying here at John Prince Park and we finally crossed paths and re-started our friendship.  After chatting and peddling around the campground on our bikes, we were invited to join them for lunch at one of their favorite places.  The Dune Dog is located in Jupiter Beach, right on A1A.  Eclectic Florida style decorations hung from the walls and ceiling.   The small eating area was filled with heavy picnic tables.  We went with the intention of enjoying a fancy hotdog but fish and crab cakes were the choice of the day for 3 of us at our table!  My fillets were SO large that one whole one was brought home and was enough for H and I for another meal.

On our way back from our fun lunch, Dale suggested we go with them to see a nature preserve that they had found earlier.  Wakodahatchee Wetlands is 38 acres of wetland ponds, berms and islands that are divided by a 3/4-mile long wooden boardwalk that stretches out, over and around it. The name itself is Seminole and means Created Waters.  It was built between 1995 and 1996 by the Palm Beach Public Utilities Department as part of their water filtration system while still reclaiming wetlands.  We saw and heard more birds than we’ve ever seen before!  They were everywhere – roosting in trees, stalking lunch from the thick reeds or flying overhead just barely 3 feet (it seemed) above our heads!  There were Grebes, Warblers, Blue Teal and other ducks, all sizes, colors and kinds of herons and egrets!  As always there were Anhinga and Cormorants.   Even an alligator was spotted before it slithered into the water!   In the top of one small tree on one small island was a large conglomerate of twigs and branches.  In that massive pile of kindling were 2 “bad hair day” looking baby blue herons being fed by their attentive parent.  Such squawking and carrying on by those two demanding bird children!  C and I felt sorry for that mama!

Sunday has come and is just about gone.  We spent the day preparing for our upcoming move and then took time to ride our bikes around the park again and chat more with C & D.   Now it’s almost time to go.

Week one John Prince

Monday morning the “train” was hooked up and the blue truck
headed east into the wind, towards the Atlantic side of the state across forty miles of sugarcane fields.  At times there was not even a palm tree in sight.  We pulled into John Prince County Park and Campground in Lake Worth and H backed into our site on the edge of Lake Osborne.   For the next two weeks, the big back window will be about 10 feet from the waters edge.  The resident neighbors are Muscovy ducks, long legged, spotted brown Limpkins and even a big green Iguana!! Check out the tree trunk!  John Prince Park is named after a well-liked county commissioner who served for 18 years back in the 1940’s.  There are almost 300 campsites and over 700 acres that include miles of paved bike trails, mulched exercise/running paths, space for soccer games and a golf course.  Lake Osborne has a parade of pleasure boats and small fishing boats that cruise by each day.  The lake connects with a myriad of channels, where lots of kayaks and canoes hang out.

Lake Osborne

 H was restless to see the ocean and inspite of the impending heavy clouds we traversed the arched bridge that crossed the Intercoastal waterway and found the Lake Worth beaches. The sandy shore was sparsely dotted with tourists and the sidewalks and benches were empty because the storm was coming across the aqua water at an increasing speed.  Even the seagulls were struggling to fly.  We made it back to the truck just as the deluge began!

Palm Beach

Early Tuesday morning the real storm hit with a vengeance – thunder, lightening and strong winds that rocked the trailer.  By 9ish it was beginning to settle and H did not want to sit around and watch it rain, so we headed south to Fort Lauderdale and an indoor flea market that H and another friend used to go to before my days in Florida began.  It is called Swap Shop and looks like a large yellow warehouse sitting in the midst of a half dozen drive in theaters!  The interior of this multi level “warehouse” has an arcade, a restaurant, a car show, and of course rows and rows of cheap jewelry, clothing and shoes.  H says it even used to have a circus!  Surrounding the main building are canopies covering long rows of produce, clothing  - - - and shoes!  The shopkeepers were struggling to keep the puddles of water in the walkways from damaging their wares.  Other small shops surrounded the outer edge of the buildings and in the parking lot were even more venders with piles of their “wares” laying on tarps or just on the wet ground.

We had noticed several areas on Fort Lauderdale and Pompano that had tree damage and palm fronds down.  It was then we heard on the news that more tornadoes had touched down in the area!   Several buildings had roofs torn off and a stable had damage and horses injured.  Are we following the tornadoes or are they following us? 

Down A1A we found the Boynton Beach Inlet parking lot.   The tide was rushing to get thru the narrow cement lined “inlet” canal as we walked up and over the bridge to the other side.  The long jetty was lined with fishermen – and hungry pelicans!   Fancy big white boats seemed in a big hurry to get thru the narrow gauntlet of cement so their wide crashing wakes threw pounding waves against the walls of the canal.   On the way back to John Prince we bent our necks and tried to peer into the fancy gates that protected the homes and castles on the other side of the tall concealing walls.  Did one of them belong to Rush?  Or Trump? – His big jet was sitting at the airport when we passed by on our trip to John Prince last Monday!

Day at the Zoo

We read online about a “Dual Discovery Pass” for BOTH the Dreher Park Zoo AND the South Florida Science Museum and Aquarium which seemed like a good deal.  Thursday we went to the zoo!  Also called the Palm Beach Zoo, this zoo is 32 acres of trees, jungle, winding streams of water and board walks lined with what looks like thick bamboo lashed together with heavy twine ropes. The animal groups are divided into continents and are set around a big circle of dancing fountains like thick spoke sections on a wheel. We sat in on a “Wild Things Show” which included an introduction and a small talk about each animal.  An Australian Dingo and an African Porcupine were just 2 of the animals. A Two Toed Sloth was hung on a horizontal pole – like a hanger in a coat rack and we all watched her creep hand over hand – ever so     s  l   o  w  l  y   to the post at the other end!  A “Wings Over Water” Show included a Macaw, a massive black and white vulture and a Harris Hawk which landed on a post about 5 feet from me!  Even tho there are no lions, no elephants and not even a giraffe – the highlight of our visit was 2 half grown grizzly bear cubs!  Remember the news report last spring or summer about a momma Grizzly out in Yellowstone that was killed?  She had 2 cubs that were rescued.  These preteen bear cubs played and splashed in the water and scraped with each other like any pair of sisters would!  I must have taken a hundred pictures in order to get a few good shots!

Friday was not going to be a good day for the beach (again) so we chose to go find the Museum/Aquarium.  Standing guard in front of the museum was a huge animated dinosaur that roared as it’s huge mouth opened and shut.  The visiting display, called “Dinosaurs Around the World” promised to turn us into globetrotting explorers, along side 13 life-size roaring, breathing, animatronic dinosaurs as we learned about the creatures that roamed the fierce plains of Africa to the once tropical beaches of Antarctica.  The aquarium was interesting but not as magnificent as the new aquarium at our own Toledo Zoo.  From the museum we ventured to downtown West Palm Beach and found an antique boat show being set up. So far there were two long docks lined with some of the most gloriously restored wooden grand ladies as you could ever find.  The vessel at the end of one dock was the

 “Honey Fitz”.  She was the presidential yacht for 5 US Presidents from Truman to Nixon.   Although each president changed her name, JFK named her “Honey Fitz” after his maternal grandfather – John Frances Fitzgerald and that name has been given back to her.

It’s been a busy week here in John Prince.  I’ll tell you about all the rest next time.  More storms are predicted but maybe we’ll make it to the beach again before we head north.

Okeechobee Torry Island

Harvesting sugar cane

Lake Okeechobee is the 2^nd largest freshwater lake in the USA – second only to the Beautiful Blue Lake Michigan.  An odd shaped circle, the lake encompasses 730 square miles, is normally 14 feet deep, and has 143 miles of earthen levees around it.  The 30 ft tall levees are rimmed with paths suitable for biking and walking and bird watching.  At the southern end of the lake is Clewiston, then South Bay where we stayed last year and Belle Glade. About 10 miles up the right side is Pahokee.  These small, OLD, agricultural towns are all surrounded by the massive sugar cane farms. As we approached the area from the west there were varying stages of cane growing as far as the eye could see. Some fields, black from being burned were plowed and ready for planting. Some fields were already a foot tall. Some cane was tall, tasseled and drying – ready to be burnt off.  In every direction, rolling black clouds rose above red-hot flames that roared across the dry field.  Huge tractors and combine style equipment were rolling down the still smoking rows and harvesting the latest sweet crop.  Flocks of egrets and ibis followed closely behind, looking for some tasty morsel that may have been uncovered.  Ashes flew everywhere – across the roads and in the towns and even out on the island.

Torry Island campground

Just west of Belle Glade and on the lake side of the tall grassy dike is Torry Island – and the city campground/park that carries the same name. The campground has been here a long time and has improved some since H used to camp here a long time ago but still needs a lot more TLC.  The water is high in the lake and with all the rain the campground is still a bit soggy – besides being surrounded by saw grass and swamp too!  Several canals have been dug to create peninsulas for campsites that allow campers to have their boats at their own site.  Our “train” backed up to one such canal but it is obvious that it had not been cleaned out in a bunch of years!  It’s full of floating weeds, tall reeds, trash and even a 4 ft gator that suns itself on the grassy edge when it is warm enough - just feet from our trailer! 

View from our back window

 Right across the canal from us is just one of the big dams that hold back the water in this expansive lake. This dam and several of the others are still holding back water while the ones that lead to the Caloosahatchee River to the west and the St Lucie canal to the east are wide open.

We’ve oohed and ahhed at several glorious sunsets while we’ve been here. We’ve also hiked a 2-mile path that led over a green steel bridge and thru the swamp to the west of this sunset. We stuck to the center of the dry, mowed path while being alert to the jungle noises that

Port Miayaka lock

kept attacking our ears – chirping & squawking birds of all kinds and other unnerving rustling noises in the tall grasses.  Snakes? Gators?  At one clearing H let out a yelp and jumped back as soon as he saw the large black gator!  Other campers have seen “her” and her 20 babies so we stayed clear of her grassy resting area.  Down the path further we came upon a pair of frolicking otters that chased each other back and forth until they saw/heard us approaching.  Even further down the path was an even larger monster of a gator!  H was ready to turn back but the big fella’ decided to slither off the path and into the dark water, allowing us to pass thru his territory –QUICKLY!

We’ve made even more new friends in our short stay on Torry Island. Janey and Bob are from Michigan and have a trailer that looks like a cousin to ours.  We rode our bikes up on the dike with them and even went out to dinner one evening.  Debi and Jeff are full timers from Ohio!  Bruce and Helen are avid birders from Goshen!

Our week is now complete.  The finishing touch was a “round the lake” trip to the town of Okeechobee on the very northern tip of the lake.  Flea Markets, a humongous fish sandwich lunch at Cowboys (again!) and stops at piers and parks all along the way filled up our Saturday.

On Sunday we’ll finish up with all the tall tales, story swapping, crafting and traveling advice and prepare to move on to Lake Worth and John Prince County Park.