Spring Time Day Trips

Florida seems like such a long time ago!  Here it is the middle of June!

The “tan train” has been back to the factory again - - but now it’s better than brand new!!!  The folks at the Forest River Repair facility in Goshen went above and beyond H’s expectations on fixing the trailer – even tho it is out of warranty! 

Of course, when we went to pick up the trailer – we couldn’t just drag it back home without stopping for an overnight stay somewhere!!  That “somewhere” happened to be the Elkhart County Fairgrounds Campground, which was about 2 miles from the repair facility.  A nice overnight place to stay - - with very clean bathrooms and parking pads that were long enough to accommodate both the trailer and the truck. While the sites were not overly large – they were still ample.  And plenty of freshly mowed green grass!!

Goshen is the RV/Trailer Capitol so everywhere you looked there were parking lots FUILL of RV’s waiting to be delivered.  Once out of town the countryside was rolling hills occupied by neat and tidy Amish farms, complete with black buggies and fields of grazing horses and black and white milk cows.

 

Linton Gardens 

Just north of Goshen and neighboring Elkhart, we found Linton Gardens, a spacious garden and gift store, surrounded by sprawling acres of various displays of uniquely named bushes, flowers and trees!  Interspersed were child sized Victorian houses and Oriental buildings and even a petting zoo in one far corner.   Inside the huge gift shop, the aisles meandered in and out of smaller rooms, each with it’s own unusual theme – from fairies to ferns and from succulents to shoes!!!  What patience H exhibited while I browsed!!!

Our other trips have all been of the “day” variety and mostly involved the boat and fishing!  Each week we’ve attempted to spend a day out and about – not worrying about the yard, the garden or the house.  We’ve revisited some of our favorite picturesque inland lakes that dot the landscape in southern Michigan!  On Evans Lake in the rolling hills of Irish Hills, H caught 2 fish and I caught 5 - all catch and release because Michigan’s Bass Season was not open yet!  North Lake – appropriately named is north of Ann Arbor and was calm and serene when the Tracker was slid into the water the next week.  We caught a few sweet pictures of some of the many doting swan parents and their fluffy gray, pretty soon to be white, cygnets!   This time H caught 5 fish and I only caught 2.  While we normally have the fun little contest of who catches the first, who catches the most and who catches the biggest – by far I believe this “mama” takes that prize!  It’s a good thing H had the net with us!  She was/is too big to eat and it still wasn’t open season so, yes, she is also back in her lake!   On Center Lake, between Napoleon and Michigan Center, the lake was SO weedy that we got tired of catching

North Lake

“GRASS pike” and only a few small bass.  That day we called it quits early and headed back home.  Our last fishing day was on another favorite lake – Baw Beese Lake up in Hillsdale.  It was a coolish day to begin with but the winds were so strong that H had the engine turned all the way to one side and still had trouble keeping the boat going straight.  No fish on that lake but after lunch we stopped at Bird Lake - a little further down and on a backcountry road.  Once the boat was in the water, I told H, “OK, so catch a fish!”    And he did!  I teased him that it was the first time I had told him to do something and he actually did as he was told!!   Giggle!!

My Gnome Village is all back in place amongst the clusters of hostas and the other small plants under the protection of the tall Spruce tree.  The noisy wrens are darting in and out of their house that hangs from a low limb.  The newest additions to the village are a Mickey Mouse and an antique looking red mailbox!   Mickey came from a second hand store in Florida!  In his previous life he was a sippy cup from Disney World!  Now he is the official “G’Nome Land” Greeter and stands under an arch made of children’s Duplo plastic building blocks!  The mailbox is a birdhouse from Joann’s and now has a red button covering the entry hole!  See – it even matches the red “telephone booth”!  Of course there is a snail by the mailbox and a gnome with a laptop sitting by the phone booth!  - - OF COURSE!!!

The vegetable garden is all planted and almost all mulched with layers of newspapers and grass clippings to keep the weeds down and the moisture in. We’ve cut back a little on the amount of tomato plants this year – only 14 and 5 varieties.  The plethora of gorgeous spring flowers has all faded.  The poppies are big, bright and beautiful but they too will soon be gone.  The summer’s collection of lilies and coneflowers are just budding. The ever-growing amount of weeds is momentarily under control.  The bugs have been sprayed for and the flowerbeds all fertilized.   Now it’s time to pack the “train” and head out for another adventure!  We’re heading for south central Ohio.  Wish we could see you there!

Heading Home

Okay, H “did” the last blog!  Did you like his style?  Did you learn anything about Salt Springs in the Ocala Forest?   You did learn that H has a terrible time getting into his kayak tho, didn’t you!  He does like to jump into things headfirst!!   Yes, he is getting pretty good at taking pictures with his new drone.  And - of course you also saw that it was a very warm sunny day when we ended up on Daytona Beach for our beach-walk.   There was a lot of “nature” strolling up and down those beautiful beaches that day.

 But alas, our 2-week stay in the forest was used up and it was time to head north.  The route H chose took us up Rt 301 to Rt 23 and on north into Georgia, past the Okefenokee Swamp and into the Laura Walker State Park.  Oops!  Spring Break and they were full so we pressed on north!  Staying on Rt 23 till McRae, we switched to Rt 441 and then I remembered the pretty golf course as we passed by it and entered the Little Okmulgee State Park.  Luckily we found an almost level site with a parking pad long enough for both the tan train and the bright blue truck because H was hoping to not have to unhook the truck for just one nights stay.

 

KOA in Georgia

In years past, we got to know dear folks, Gene and Bobbie from Eatonton Georgia.  Gene has passed on but every once in a while our paths cross with Bobbie and on this Day 2 in Georgia we met her for breakfast near her hometown.  Our destination for the day was a “resort” on the other side of her town and a sprawling Lake Oconee.  H and I had endured a sales spiel at a Wally World RV Resort in Ohio a year ago and as a result were issued passes for free camping at some of their organizations other camping resorts.

Since the price for this hilly, old KOA campground was right – we signed up for 3 nights.  “HILLY” is using the term mildly – VERTICAL is a little bit closer.  The bathhouse was at the bottom of the steepest hill!  They put us in the transient, very narrow sites near the top of the hill - of course!  The view of the lake and park from H’s drone in the sky is much more impressive!  The building to the left of center is the bath house/meeting room area.  Below that are a swimming pool and several shelters.  BELOW that is another row of camping sites and then the hill that ran down to the water finally!  Bobbie came to spend the afternoon with us and we three even attempted to play putt-putt golf on the rundown, falling down old course.  After just 2 nights, H and I had had enough and we pulled out – heading north again.

 

The road from there was hazy. No, really – on and off fog, drizzle and heavy gray clouds along with wind for most of the ride home!  At one high spot in the road we crested a “mountain”, driving thru a low hanging cloud!  On the downward side the sun was shining but then it was back into gray again.  Up thru North Carolina, across the western tip of Virginia where you could look out over the landscape that looked like a miniature train setup, and then the eastern tip of Tennessee – right past the “scenic turnout” where we had stopped 3 years ago, with the smoking wheel on the Rockwood Trailer.

Warriors Path State Park, which sits between Johnson City and Kingsport Tennessee, is named for the Cherokee War and Trading Path.  It is located on the Patrick Henry Reservoir on the Holston River. There are 134 campsites and the bathhouses were new in 2015.  Spring Break - this park was crowded too but it was fine for one night!

 

Boat ramp at Warriors Path St. Pk.

Rt 23 led us up thru Kentucky to the expansive bridge that crosses the Ohio River and on to Portsmouth Ohio.  The Shawnee State Park was just west of town and was open.  However – this elderly state park obviously was not accessible for anything bigger or longer than a pop-up camper.  We drove around the entire campground and finally settled on a semi level site with enough space behind it that we could back in on an angle.  We had to stop JUST before the backset of wheels went off the pavement and into the muck OR the spare tire that is mounted on the back bumper ended up in the mud on the incline behind the site.  The tongue of the trailer was at the road’s edge and the truck was delegated to park across the way in another empty site.  No problem – there was only one other camper parked in the entire campground!  The biggest problem was the broken water line which meant NO running water ANYWHERE in the campground for several hours.  The gracious lady at the park headquarters let us fill our jugs with fresh, clean water!  Rustic camping!

So, now we’re home.  Time for the Spring Chores to begin!   The flowerbeds are full of Chickweed and Creeping Charlie.  The lawn is scattered with sticks and branches from all the winter damage.  Lots of dead pine trees are lying splayed across the backyard.  And my tomato seeds need to be planted! 

IT’S GOOD TO BE HOME!

Ocala National Forest Area

It's in here some place

Bobbi normally writes the blog, but now it’s my turn. So instead of a lot of words I’ll just show some pics of my favorite places in and around the Ocala National Forest.                                                       

party time at Salt Springs

Manatee crossing

Salt Springs

Salt Springs run to the St. Johns River

Selfie at Salt Springs

            Silver Glen Springs

Good fishing ?

Silver Glen Springs

Daytona Beach

nature watching during spring break

Lake Placid

The intent was to be up early and be on the road before the 20 – 30 mph winds started.  H chose to drive south/southeast on RT 41 to the crossroad RT 29 and head north.  Then the winds started battering us. The gusts were stronger when the roadsides opened up from the scrub woods to open cattle pastures or farm fields.  On Sunday the winds were not as strong at Camp Florida RV Resort but still way too strong to put the awning out!  Each day that followed we saw the winds lessen and lessen until we finally were able to get that awning unrolled.

That Sunday evening, the TV news brought word about a monster wildfire that was ravaging the Picayune State Forest.   In our last blog I mentioned our scenic trip that ended up taking 4 hours to get out of - that was the Picayune forest!! The rectangle of land that is bordered on the north by east/west I75, on the west by Collier Blvd, on the south by south/east RT 41 and on the east by RT 29 is/was that dry wooded area. The northern half of that area – 7600 acres have now been destroyed by this “man made” caused mass of flames and fueled by the 20-30 mph winds. After a week of fighting this out of control wildfire it was still only 50% contained. 

Bud and C winter home

We HAD to stay at Camp Florida!  H had a “package” being delivered to Bud’s winter home and H wanted to get it and start playing with his new toy.  H is now a registered, licensed drone pilot.  Once all the winds settled down he made good use of the sunny weather to practice his flying prowess!  Now we have lots and lots of pictures of the top of the trailer with us standing next to it!   Our neighbor from that park also wants one of his own now!  D and his wife J have the same first names as one of my sons and of H’s daughter!  What an easy way to remember them by!  And these great folks are from Michigan!

 

Camp Florida is a lovely RV Resort set in the rolling hills of south central rural Florida.  There are activities everyday and all day. The large heated salt-water pool sits next to the lake and across the parking lot from the activities building, which, is next to the shuffleboard, tennis and boucie ball courts!  There are enough hills in the park to wear out your legs if you attempt to go up and down them too many times in the day!

Camp Florida is a few miles south of Lake Placid the city and Lake Placid the lake - which is only one of the many picturesque lakes that dot this gently rolling region!  Lake Placid the city is the Caladium Capitol!  Surrounding the small town are dark muck like fields of recently planted Caladium bulbs.  Bud took us to one of the commercial growers and Carol and I both got to select our favorite colorful plant choices but in fat brown bulb form to bring home!  Lake Placid is also famous for its 48 colorful murals but I never got a chance to get any pictures because IF we were in town – we were going somewhere – to the Elks Club for steak dinner or to one of the neat Mexican Restaurants!  And now there’s no time – our week is up and it’s time to move north again.  

Naples Area

Collier Seminole State Park is one of Florida’s oldest state parks and is home to the last “Walking Dredge”.  It was built in Michigan and was used to dig the ditches that provided the rocks and dirt to build the Tamiami Trail (route 41) from Tampa to Miami Florida. SPFB!!  The park has been closed for the last year for renovations.  Some campsites have been eliminated, some enlarged, and some still should be enlarged.  The old relic of a bathhouse has been torn down and rebuilt but has to be closed again to make the MANY repairs needed!  Our site gets full sun all day so we’re grateful for the awning and the sunscreen that provides some respite from the heat.  The back of the trailer faces a shaded area where a resident hawk resides!  The early mornings are full of her raucous calls as she swoops after the small gray squirrels!  The lights on the bathhouse do a great job of attracting the many types of moths, including one large Sphinx moth.  It was docile enough to climb on my fingers and allow me to carry it home for some pictures!  The next day it was back in it’s spot on the bathhouse wall!

The weather has been HOT, HUMID and FULL of small black hungry mosquitoes.   The air conditioner has been on every day – and the one in the truck works great too!  LOTS of day trips!  One was to Everglade City with a stop at the National Park Visitor Center and more stops to watch the resting pelicans on top of the pylons along the many bayous lined with moored boats. A “scenic” route on our way home was supposed to be an 11-mile side-trip but ended up being 4 hours of heat, dust and monster potholes!

Another early morning jaunt was to retrace our path to the beach in Naples. Our day’s exercise was to walk along the crashing waves to the pier and back.  Marco Island was another favorite destination!  Their new museum was a refreshing cool stop!  Parking lots near the beaches were $8 but we found the perfect spot down the road to park the truck in the shade.   Our little bikes were unfolded and we rode up the multi use sidewalk to one of the narrow public accesses between the tall resorts lining the beach dunes.   While not the snow-white sand of the upper Gulf Beaches – these beaches were still wide and clean - and sprinkled with millions of small beautifully perfect shells! 

Bright sun umbrellas and tall brilliantly colored sails made for a great picture!  We were on the beaches early and off before noon!

One morning H got to go shoot some skeet at a gun club farther down Rt 41.   From there we went exploring a subdivision and marina across the highway.  The dark water of the marina was full of all kinds of things – motor boats, sailing ships, manatee tour boats and a long dark gnarly looking sleuth of a gator!  On the edge of one of the retention ponds in the housing section there was another large black creature sleeping on the bank – within 30 feet or so from the lovely home next to the pond!  Yipes!

Our new Illinois friends, J&A, who we met in Trimble Park and again at WP Franklin, arrived the weekend after we did.   Their stay was only 2 days as they are on their way back north.  She graciously invited me to join her in visiting the Naples Botanical Garden.   The wonderfully colorful gardens at the Toledo Zoo are something to see and the fantastic Thomas Kincaid like gardens at the Butchart Gardens on Victoria Island, Canada is out of this world!  This spacious botanical paradise took us from tropical Florida to the floral jungles of South America and then transported us to Oriental paths in the Japanese section!  There were exotic trees and shrubs with strange names and equally strange blooms in vibrant shades of reds, oranges, yellows and purple!  There were deep dark calming reflection pools, splashing fountains and relaxing waterfalls! Luckily, there was lots of shade and a soothing breeze!  The amazing conclusion of our visit was the orchid collection, hidden in a dappled sunlit nook of trees, slabs of bark and bubbling collections of water.  Orchids of every size and every color hung in wooden baskets or clung to branches in the small trees!  After 2 hours in the heat we were both beginning to melt and our 2 heroes soon rescued us and took us out for a seafood lunch!

Naples has several interesting and unique museums. The first we toured was the Collier County Museum.  It shows the development of Florida’s “last frontier”.  It is a 5-acre historical park, which includes a 1910 Steam Engine, a 1920’s swamp buggy, a WWII Sherman tank and a Seminole Indian Village replica.    The Naples Depot Museum is set in Naples’ first passenger train station.  It focuses on how generations of Floridians used transportation and technology to conquer the vast wilderness that was Florida.  Plus - sitting out front was one of H’s favorite old cars a Studebaker Avanti!  There were several railroad cars outside for touring, too.

Our two weeks are up.  The temps have been in the high 80’s for the last 2 weeks but now a cold front has come thru and the temp today was ONLY 79 degrees but VERY windy.   All of our neighbors have moved out and new ones have moved in.  The sunscreen is down and the awning is rolled up.  The road NORTH is beckoning us and we can’t resist its call.

Fort Myers

See Previous Florida Blogs!!  SPFB!!   WP Franklin Campground is on an island in the middle of the Caloosahatchee River that flows from Lake Okeechobee, west to the Gulf of Mexico at Ft Myers.  This elongated island has a dam and a boat lock

attached to it, which in turn straddles the river.  From the south side of the lock and dam is the day use/swimming area and the observation deck where visitors can watch an assortment of boats slowly slide cautiously into the dark water of the lock.  When the mighty steel gates creak to a close behind them,

the equally mighty gates at the other end, slowly begin to allow tannic river water to gush in, bringing the water level inside the lock up (or down) to the level of that gate.  Once the churning water has become equal, the gate is fully opened and the boats are free to finish their voyage, either up or down the river.  On the bright sunny day we chose to revisit the south side park, the banks were edged with hopeful fishermen watching over their filament lines cast out into the calm water outside of the lock.  As luck would have it, a tourist vessel out of Ft Myers was entering into the lock along with several private boats.   We joined the other spectators on the long steel observation deck to watch the “locking thru” process.  Down below us in the confines of the closed gates was a pair of manatees that chose that moment to come up for a breath of fresh air!  Then the upper gates opened and the large animals disappeared again.  The fancy white riverboat with the big red fake paddlewheel on the back exited the lock into the wide river, pivoted around and retraced her route back into the lock to finish the tour back down river to her port in Ft Myers.  Also from that side of the river, you can see the entire lock, the dam that was spilling excess water thru it causing a hefty currant, and on the far side, the long sturdy fishing pier and our favorite Florida campground!  If you look just to the left of the light pole in the center of the picture you will see our tan train!  It was a windy day so the awning and sunscreen was rolled up for safekeeping!  The sun rose out our kitchen window and set out our big back picture window each evening so that awning AND sunscreen were really necessary!  

Our days were not all lazy.  We revisited the beach in Cape Coral and even took the trolley back out to Ft Myers Beach and Bowditch Point Park (SPFB!).  As last year when the state was releasing all the water from Lake Okeechobee into the river and eventually ending up on the beaches, the water was brown and murky and the shoreline dotted with dead and dying red seaweed.  The wide white sand beach beyond was still occupied by brightly colored sun umbrellas and way too much body spilling out of way to little bathing suits!!! We spent a day with dear friends B&C, sang Happy Birthday to H, went to the flea market, had lunch and visited with Emily, another of my close friends, and checked on ALL the eagles!  Yes! The eagles still roost in the big tree on the mainland side of “our” island and in North Ft Myers is an eagles nest-near the top of an oak tree-in the middle of a field-next to a church-that is featured on a live web cam!  We even drove out to Pine Island – another tourist and fishing island in the Gulf of Mexico.  We drove to the tiny village of St James on the very southern tip and then north to the equally tiny village of Bookelia, which is actually an island of itself!  The tip of the island has a selection of long narrow piers and docks that reach out into the greenish then finally blue waters as tho they were fingers reaching out to the islands even further out in the Gulf.  The public fishing pier situated at the parking area for the island’s restaurant and gift shop had an ornate white wrought iron gate that separated the paying guests from us curious tourists!  There were several pelicans floating in the water just off of the dock waiting for one of the patient fishermen to catch a fish so they could claim it for their own lunch.  I dared step inside the forbidden gate to snap a picture.  Was the man coming back down the dock coming to tell me to leave??

Of course there is always the return visit to picturesque downtown Ft Myers – both to eat at the Oasis Restaurant and to stroll along the waterfront before crossing over one of the tall bridges that cross the Caloosahatchee to Cape Coral on the northern side.  One visit included a jaunt thru the farmers market that was being held under one of the wide shade giving arches of the bridge and then along the walkway and out onto several piers to watch the boat traffic on the river and the auto traffic speeding up and over the bridge. Then from the top of that same bridge you could see the park where we had just walked, the pier and the skyline of the city beyond.  The riverboat with its distinctive red paddle wheel was missing from her mooring next to the large white building on the waters edge.  No doubt she and her passengers were up the river, going thru the lock at WP Franklin!

We’ve gained more friends!   Our new Trimble Park friends were here!  A couple from Illinois was parked on one side of us but had moved out and then luckily got to move back in to another spot.  Hopefully we will continue to communicate with them also!  There was a set of ladies and their fella’s from Ohio.  Both of the girls were crafters!  We shared our projects – until they too had to move on.  Next door to us was a neat couple from South Carolina - - CLEMSON territory (Sorry Ohio State!!).  These folks grew up in Perrysburg/Waterville Ohio area!  

Lithia Springs

When we pulled out of Trimble Park we had no definitive place to call home but we still headed south, aiming for either Hillsborough County Park – EG Simmons in Ruskin or Lithia Springs in Brandon.   Lithia Springs Park and Campground, just SE of Brandon Florida had only 3 sites open when we arrived so we selected the biggest and easiest for H to back the train into.  Thanks to H for sharing information about these parks, our new Lansing Michigan friends were here ahead of us!

It’s been a busy week!  We found probably the biggest Florida flea market – the Wagon Wheel Flea Market in Pinellas Park and managed to walk thru most of it but the day was cold, and the wind howled thru the long, open aisles.  On the map, New Port Richey looked like it was just north a bit so rather than make another trip 60 miles from the campground we decided to see if we could find our dear friend Jake and her little cottage style winter home.  With no address and no phone number with us, we took the chance and H drove right up to the front of her house.  Well, we knew it was one of two neighboring homes and the 2^nd door I knocked on was answered by our dear friend and her daughter!  After a nice visit, we checked out the large tree trunk in her side yard that had some Muscovy ducks nesting in the mostly rotted cavity.  As we approached the down padded interior, the female moved and allowed us to view her batch of 30 plus eggs.  I thought there were too many eggs and not enough duck to cover so I touched several and some were cold.  I wondered for how long!

On our way to Ruskin to have lunch with Swanton friends, B&N, we stopped at the Apollo Beach Manatee Observation Park at the steam spewing power plant.  The tide was out and the manatees were all huddled together in the deeper water right in front of the discharge pipes – mothers, babies and manatees of all sizes sliding up and down thru the water to gasp for a gulp of fresh air before slowly sinking back into the life saving WARM water.  New additions to the park include a stingray pool and a 3/ 4 mile long nature trail that ends at a 50 ft tall observation tower.  From the top we had a great view of Tampa Bay, the busy power plant and the manatee filled warm water run, lined by the mangrove jungle along the edge.

Our little fold-up bikes got un-folded and our leg muscles got a workout more than once as we rode along the wide cement bikeways in the adjoining neighborhoods.  Of course the water in the springs had to be inspected up close, too!  The water is still clear but the winter’s coating of green algae still lay calmly at the bottom.   The only disturbance was caused by nesting fish making large bowl shaped depressions in the bottom.  Schools of small fish still darted around the shallow areas.

 One day I got to have a “girls day out” with shopping and lunch with N.   Female conversation with no husbands around!   One day the 4 of us climbed in the bright blue truck and drove to St

Petersburg, across the 6-mile long Skyway Bridge that spans the watery entrance to Tampa Bay.  We had been told about a seafood restaurant  - the 4^th Street Shrimp Store and HAD to go see for ourselves if the food really was good AND reasonably priced. YES to both!!   From there we strolled along the beautifully groomed bay front park and checked out the marina and pier before driving thru downtown and back to the high arch of the Skyway.  To complete the journey we stopped at B&N’s favorite strawberry shortcake store on our way back home.  Like our favorite Brandon Farms, this farm and store is lined with rows and rows of lush green plants that were still dotted with red and ripening fruit.  To extend our enjoyment, we even purchased a quart of big red berries to take home with us.

The beginning of the week started cold and windy but by the end, the weather grew warmer and sunny once again.  We’re heading south while the heading south is good!  WP Franklin – here we come!