At the Springs

Belated Merry Christmas one and all!  If you look back to our blog from December 2018, you see our pretty little Christmas tree that graces our dining room table and lights up the entire big window.  The same brightly lit tree is on the blog for Christmas 2017!  In 2016 it was the two tiny melting snowmen on the sparkling white sand on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico!  2015 saw the beautiful white nativity set at Sharon’s home!  Mr and Mrs Santa Claus at Salt Springs was our official Christmas photo for 2014!  This year, our great neighbors from up home have given us this sparkling Cardinal snow globe lamp and it brightens up our dark kitchen corner!

 As usual, the bright blue truck has been out exploring the forest back roads, always on the hunt for bear or deer.  Lots of other trucks were out in the woods this time but their drivers were all dressed in bright orange hunting garb!   Once we saw a dark spot in the road way ahead of us and  . .  wait . . .  was it a bear?  Nope – just 2 hunting dogs sauntering up the road! 

Out wandering the main route of FL RT40 we stopped just before the high bridge that crosses up and over the St John’s River.  Strolling along the short boardwalk, we

passed a gentleman on a dark brown airboat. The engine roared to life and swung out into the middle of the vegetation clogged waterway.  High up on the bridge, the bridge master told us that this massive island of green just congregated in, under and around the main channel and bridgework guides in less than 24 hours!  This floating mass of plants and their river clogging roots started gathering the evening before and now all passing boats had to squeeze thru the narrow, rocky side passage.  Another boater came down river and joining with the airboat, fought together with anchors and ropes to dissuade the river-jamming clump.  The boater would drive into the clump as far as he was able and then throw his anchor as hard and as far as he could.  The airboat would make sure the anchor was deep enough into the jungle of roots and then park his craft on top of the metal hook.  The boat would pull back and the airboat would slowly work his craft forward guiding the buried anchor. By the time we returned to the truck an hour later, half the channel was open and they continued to push and pull the clog out of the way, letting it continue to float freely on down the river.

The Ocala National Forest is the oldest forest west of the

Alexander Spring

Mississippi River.  The 3 best campgrounds that include beautiful springs within the forest boundaries include our favorite Salt Springs, Alexander Springs and Juniper Springs.  Alexander

Alexander Spring

Springs is wooded with non-electric camping and the spring area itself is deep and dark blue.  The canoe/kayak launching area is just past the buoyed swimming area.  Juniper Springs is also a wooded, non-electric camp ground and the beautiful springs are smaller but has a rustic CCC mill with a working water wheel that is run by the excess water that rises from the deep blue spring.  The area where all the kids used to dive off of is now protected by a black wrought iron railing, but you can still stand up over the deep

Juniper Spring

spring and look down into the blue depth.  Check the blog for last year to see H’s drone picts of Salt Springs and also Silver Glen

Springs - which is beautiful swimming area with no campground.

It has been so good to get to visit with my sister in Ocala!  Of course we HAD to go see her as soon as we arrived so H could get his new drone. Then there was Christmas Day!  Wednesday, the day before we were to head out once more we met her for lunch at Logan’s Steakhouse!  We were stuffed!!!

H got to shoot skeet up in Palatka and it is always followed by lunch at Corky Bells on the high bank of the St John’s River, just north of the “forest”.  The truck has even gotten a fresh oil change.  Our friends from previous years have been visited with.  New friends from Wellsboro, Pa have become “Happy Hour Friends”.  Too bad Dick’s bike of choice is a PURPLE Harley!  He did like taking my little white electric bike out for spin tho!!  He and Connie have been camping at Salt Springs for years – so why haven’t we met before now??  We’ll make up for that in the future, for sure!!

Our Salt Springs stay has come to an end and we must move on - down Fl Rt 19 with our usual stopover in Eustis to check out the lakeside boardwalk.  After all the rain we’ve had in the last 3 weeks, it was so very nice to enjoy the sunshine!  We saw a sign for an “Estate Sale” being held in a sprawling white tent in a mall parking lot and it drew us in!  A nearby empty Beall’s Outlet store had been turned into yet another antique mall and beckoned us to visit them also!  On down the road and thru a massive amount of new road construction, we finally reached Sanford on the shores of Lake Monroe – also part of the St John’s River.  Unable to maneuver the “train” around the snug traffic circle at the edge of downtown, we took a longer route to get to the city’s marina and the collection of boats - from the authentic paddle wheeler tour

boat, to tall masted sailboats, to the massive houseboats all moored and resting at their docks.   Whew!  This day’s journey was getting long – 90 plus miles!  Time to end it and park this “train” in Manatee Hammock for awhile!  There’s going to be a space launch on Monday and we are hoping to see it!

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!