Silver Springs State Park

 

 

 

 

Sunday February 22-Well its moving day, we both still feel horrible but had no choice but to suck it up and hit the road. We didn't have very far to move only about 60 miles. The bad part was we took roads that went through lots of towns with lots of stop lights. It seemed we hit every red one. We didn't leave until noon because we hoped our site would be available. Let me tell you that was a long 60 miles. We pulled in to Silver Springs State Park around 1:30. Our site wasn't quite ready so we just sat in the truck and rested. Thank goodness it wasn't to long. The weather on the other hand was really pretty. We made our way to the Sharpes Ferry Camping Area, and our site #22. We had no problems getting in. This site is very large, and very private. We have 30 amp service and a water hookup on site. The shower house is really close and very clean. They also have laundry facilities available at the shower house. We got everything set up and instead of taking a walk around to check out the area we both rested the rest of the day away.

 

 Monday February 23-Well another sleepless night. Today I felt the worse yet. Jeff still doesn't feel good yet either. The weather has changed, its gray and gloomy so at least we aren't missing any good weather. I have to say this has been the quietest park yet. Its also the least crowded. We are excited to get out and take a look around....maybe tomorrow?

 

 

 

 

Tuesday February 24-OK, we are up and going to make a road trip into town. Jeff called the Petsmart to see if they have Belle's prescription food. They do and we are off to get some. We purchased all they had, 14 cans. So we are going start this and hope it does what its suppose to do. We stopped at the store to pick up somethings we thought would taste good. We just haven't been eating much. Jeff said this is the littlest grocery bill we've had for a while. We can't even come up with something that sounds good. Never had that problem before. After getting back and resting we decided the dogs have suffered enough. We had to get them out for a walk. We just went around our loop. It was good to have some fresh air.

 

 

 

Wednesday February 25-Today we started Belle on her new dog food. Its really gross but she seems to like it. Today we made a trip over to Camping World in Ocala. Had to return a screen that covers the hot water intakes. We got the right one this time. Lucky for me there was a quilt store close by. I got to take a look in there. On the way back we stopped at Bob Evans for a late breakfast. Jeff liked his but I didn't think mine tasted good. It could have just been me, nothings tasting good. We got the dogs back out for a walk. This time we took them around all the loops. Each day we are feeling better. The weather is still very gray.

 

 

Thursday February 26- Jeff is getting his appetite back, he wanted a waffle from the Waffle House today. We went for breakfast, I got hash browns and finally something tasted good. The weather is looking good. We see some sunshine so when we got back we decided to take the path to the river.

 

 

 

It was really nice to be outside in some fresh air. The sunshine was amazing too. Even the dogs had a good time enjoying the weather. We made our way to the river and as we were looking around I noticed a little alligator enjoying the sunshine too. He didn't seem to mind us joining him.

 

 

 

After sitting on the deck and enjoying the peace and quiet we headed back. Had to carry Soffee on the way back. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon. It felt so good to be outside. On a different note my best friend called to say her mother had passed away. She was quite a gal. I'm sorry I can't be there with her.

 

 

Friday February 27-The suns out but its still really cool out there. We drove over to the head springs. Its part of the state park now. We didn't have to pay to get in. We are just looking around today. We plan on launching our kayaks there when it warms up. They have glass bottom boats you can take a ride in. The place is a bit run down but they are getting things put back together.

 

 

We walked around the park on a path that followed the river. We watched some people on the glass bottom boat. We also enjoyed those jumping mullets. Man can they jump high and go far.

 

 

 

While we were here thought we should see where we will be launching from. Looks like its going to be an easy launch. They charge you $4.00 per kayak to launch. Its going to be worth it, especially if we see them monkeys. Came back and relaxed.

 

 

Saturday February 28- Its another rainy day today. It doesn't look like its going to change so we decided to take in a movie. We picked out a good one this time. We went and saw McFarland, its a Disney movie and is based on a true story. It did not disappoint. The theater was nice, the popcorn was yummy and the movie was great. The rest of the day stayed cloudy and wet. Hopefully this yucky weather is about over. We are feeling better and are ready to get outside and do something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Lake Louisa part 2

Sunday February 15- Another Sunday another church. This one we have attended before. Real Life is the name. We came 2 years ago and its really grown. My step brothers ex wife lives in the area and attends this church so we got to see her. She told us that this church is busting at the seams. They are in the process of building a new bigger auditorium. We loved this church as well. Its nice to walk into a new church and already feel a part of it. People can really be friendly. After church we headed home to say goodbye to our neighbors Meran and Jeff. We will see them next year at Jonathon Dickinson for sure. We fixed us a brunch. Then we got to watch the Blackhawks play. They don't put to many games on national TV so it was a treat. We walked the dogs and had a yummy crock pot roast for supper. Looking forward the Saturday Night Live 40 year special that's on tonight.


Monday February 16- Jeff woke up not feeling good. Its a nice day today it got up in the 70's today. I took my walk then headed in to get some cold medicine for Jeff. Since Jeff wasn't feeling so good I decided to get some cleaning done. I did some laundry, vacummed, swept and even gave Belle a haircut. Had some more time so I cut my hair too. Had a easy supper and watched TV.


Tuesday February 17- Jeff thought he felt a bit better. I was glad cause its movie day. We went to the movie. Jeff made us vegetable soup for supper. Its raining again. Jeffs feeling worse as the day goes on.


Wednesday February 18- We decided to take Belle into the vet again. She had a issue with blood in her urine before and after meds we thought she was better. That's not the case she's having the same problem. We took her in and this time we had them do the xray....she has bladder stones and they wanted to do surgery tomorrow. We were shocked at the estimate they gave us so we decided to do some research on this with other vets. She doesn't have any other symptoms so we are gonna give her some medicine and put her on a prescription diet til we can get back home and get the surgery done. We just hope and pray she doesn't get worst cause then obviously would have to get the surgery done right away. Its hard on the road when the dogs get sick. There are lots of vets but some of them just charge such crazy prices. Well that's how we started our day, and so it was a stressful day for sure. Jeff still feels like crap.


Thursday February 19- Hey baby its cold outside. Started off in the 40's. Ok we have become wimps. Jeff just can't seem to shake this bug. I decided to make good use of my time and clean stuff out. I started with the bedroom closet. I cleaned out drawers, the oven/microwave and the sinks. Since we decided to wait on Belle's surgery I went back over to pick up the paperwork and prescription. I stopped and got Jeff and I a sandwich on my way home at Jimmy Johns. I went for a walk around the park to soak up some sunshine.

The views while walking are magnificent and it motivates you to get out and enjoy. This park is easy to enjoy. Its peaceful with its own special beauty.


Friday February 20- Woke up to another cold one, Jeff still feels horrible. I decided to take on one of my favorite jobs.....defrosting the freezer. I'm kidding, its not that fun. After I finished that I noticed that I was starting to feel crappy, great. We both spent a lot of time laying around tonight. We had plans that we wanted to do but with this bug we both have caught we haven't had much energy to do much. We did have a visitor that kept tapping on our back window.























Saturday February 21- Well its official, I'm sick. This is our last day here and so we usually take the day to clean up and pack up. With us having a full hookup here and not at our next stop I wanted to catch up all the laundry. We also ran to town to get a few groceries, and fill up the truck. The weather has warmed up which feels real good. We managed to get everything packed up, good thing cause both of us were running out of energy. Spent the rest of the night resting. Jeff still doesn't feel 100 percent. Tomorrow we move to Silver River State Park. It's only about 60 miles away. We hope we feel better for the tip tomorrow, but we'll see. We didn't seem to accomplish much at this park, we had more we wanted to do. This stupid flu bug really put a damper on our final week...I did get a lot of cleaning done. So it was somewhat productive.

Lake Louisa

Sunday February 8- Before we hit the road we had to go back to Bayside Church. Again we loved the worship, message and the feel of this church. Went to the first service and then we went back to our rig and finished packing up. We didn't have far to travel so we weren't in a hurry to leave. After looking up our route decided to stick with the interstate route. Traffic wasn't bad, we think maybe the weekends aren't too bad to travel, at least you are missing all those commuting to work.

We have visited this park before so that always helps when you're pulling in. We are in the first loop, site #18. We backed in with no problems and unloaded our stuff. Its really nice today with blue sky and warm temps. We have a full hook up with 50 amp service. Its a quiet park until about 9 or 10 o'clock. At that time you can hear the fireworks at Disney. Its all good they only last about 10 or 15 minutes.  We took the doggies for a walk and called it a day.


Monday February 9- When we got up it was nice out. The weather man said rain but it seems to be taking its time showing up. Went ahead and got the bikes and boats down. Jeff rode his bike up to the rangers station to drop off some mail. That's a 6 mile round trip. This is a big park with lots of biking, hiking and fishing. There are a number of lakes to enjoy, Louisa, Dixie, and Hammond to name a few. There are lots or trails and they provide you with a map to pick one suited for you. They range from 1/2 mile to 5 1/2 miles....something for everyone. I went for a walk when Jeff got home and I got sprinkled on a bit on my way home. The rain arrived around noon and rained the rest of the day. Our Soffee has another tummy ache today.

Tuesday February 10-Well Soffee seems better today so that's good. Its a bit cool out there but the suns shining. We both got our walks in. Decided to head to town for lunch and supplies. Lunch was at  Outback and was really good. Then we made a trip to WalMart....that place was crazy busy. It was like a weekend or something. We got our stuff and headed back. While I was unloading I noticed we was missing a few things. Great we left a bag. I wasn't going back today so I made a phone call to tell them we would be back but not today. Since it's cool we thought chili sounded good for supper.


Wednesday February 11- Jeff had one thing one his mind today, washing the truck. Its so hard to find self service car washes. It seems everyone either drives thru or has somebody do it for them. Well we found one and made our way there. Its wasn't far away either. We also went back to get our sack at WalMart. After washing the truck we stopped at The Showcase of Citrus.

Quite a place to stop. You can pick your own citrus from the tree or from the shelve. They have big monster trucks you can ride thru the orchards. Lots of unique goodies to purchase. Its really a fun time for families with lots of stuff for kids to enjoy.

We got some citrus fruit from the shelve, Jeff purchases some Vidalia onion relish, fresh orange juice and I got a orange juice slushy, which was awesome. It was a wonderful day and before leaving we walked out to the orchards to smell the sweet smell of citrus. Wonderful.

Since the weather was so nice I decided to get some laundry done. We have been watching to see when the rocket launch was going to take place. It had been cancelled a couple times but tonight was the night. Wasn't sure if we would be able to see it but we could. First we just saw a trail of smoke but then we saw the flame following the rocket.

Thursday February 12- Its a cool day again but really nice for walking. Jeff talked to them at Jonathon Dickenson and it looks like we will be hosting there next winter. We are both excited for that. We loved the park and the area. It warmed up enough to get the dog bathed. We visited with our neighbors Meran and Jeff. They are full time rvers too. We decided to go out and celebrate our new job and the neighbors came with. We made our way to the Red Lobster and enjoyed a wonderful meal and great conversation. They showed us that from top of a hill here in the park you can see a Disney hotel from here. We keep thinking we should make our way there some evening to watch the fireworks.


Friday February 13- We decided to celebrate Valentines Day early. We took a road trip to Kissimee to go to Camping World. If in Kissimee better stop at Krispy Kreme for doughnuts.























Yep they were hot and as yummy as I remember. At Camping World we found a few things we couldn't live without. So after that we headed back home. The traffic was just crazy there. We have been trying to get ahold of some old friends from high school. They live in Lakeland and we wanted to get together and catch up. We got a call back from Paul and it looks like we will be heading there tomorrow.  It was game night so we played skipbo... I win...again.



Saturday February 14- Happy Valentines Day everyone. It's another chilly day here in Central Florida. Not complaining its better than Iowa. We drove over to Lakeland after lunch. Traffic was light. We didn't have any issues finding there house. We went there the last time we visited Lake Louisa 2 years ago. Paul and Jann Lowary moved here right after high school. Jeff and Paul have some dandy adventures to talk about. They have purchased a 5th wheel and a new truck to travel when they retire. We answered some questions they had. It was great to get together and catch up.
We stayed as long as we could without having to drive in the dark. Traffic driving  back wasn't bad either. We noticed a sign saying traffic was backed up ahead so we stopped off to get a sandwich and we avoided any traffic. It was a great day. The weather has been cooler than normal so it seems we have only been able to take walks and visit. Oh well, its been a great week.

2nd Week @ Lake Manatee

Sunday February 1-In all the excitement of arriving at this park, cause we like it so much, I forgot to tell you what it offers. They offer 30 amp service, water on site but no sewer. Our phones and internet were really good with verizon. This park is normally very quiet from what we can remember, but not this time. Its seems there is a race track down the road and both weekends there was lots of racing going on. The noise traveled right over the lake to the campground. There are lots of hiking paths, but they are short hikes. They have a day use area with swimming if you want, it was a bit chilly for that. They have a dock if you like to fish and of course the lake. Your motor needs to be 20 hp or less. The shower houses are well taken care of. One of the most entertaining thing about the park is the camp host in our loop. His name is Jerry and you can hear him coming on his golf cart, not because of the cart but because of his singing, hes a hoot.

Ok now on to our Sunday. Both of us were excited to be going back to a church we loved. Its right up the road from the campground. Since we were there last year they have rebuilt a big part of the church. Bayside Church is bigger and better then ever. The worship was great and the preaching was awesome. When we got to the church the cars were lined up to get in. They people there are so friendly, they make you feel very welcome.

After church we ran to the store to get some stuff for our fish dinner tomorrow. Got home and could smell the chicken in the crock pot which was supper. It was nice outside so we sat outside to enjoy the day. Then we got ready to watch the super superbowl. We didn't really have a team but so glad we watched it. That's one of the best superbowls I've seen. So it was very exciting. I worked some on the blog and enjoyed some of those yummy strawberries from O'Briens.


Monday February 2- I got up and started cooking. John and Joan are doing the fish so I made some potato salad to go with. Then I made pecan bars because who can have a dinner without dessert? Not me. While I was cooking Jeff went to the dock to fish, John and Joan were there. Its seems Joan is the official fish finder. They seem to like her fishing pole the best. Jeff came home with a stringer of fish but it was a group catch.

Jeff had to clean the fish. The weather cooled off so he took me in to Walmart so I could get the stuff I needed to put together a quilt before I start quilting. So happy they had everything I needed.

Well the weather held off and we went to John and Joans campsite located in the other loop. We had a nice dinner with the fish they had caught this last week. Everything was real good. We walked home with the light of a beautiful full moon. It was a nice day.


Tuesday February 3-Brrrr its cold outside this morning. I couldn't wait any longer on the laundry, I got started on it. Its cool out but there is sun and a breeze perfect for drying. We didn't do a lot today, John and Joan walked by and we visited with them. Since it is cool we used the leftover chicken and made some soup, it hit the spot. Jeff and I went back out for a walk and decided to try some more geo caches. I can't catch a break, that Jeff is on fire. After supper Tom and Debbi came over for a campfire and conversation. It seems we've been doing a lot of that lately.....conversing. So nice to run into old friends and have the time to catch up. Its been great.



Wednesday February 4-It was a bit cool to start the day but it warmed up nice. Jeff went down to fish, I went for a walk. When I got back Jeff had come back from fishing with no fish but a bag of tomatoes a camper had gave him. Well since we had the tomatoes all we needed was bacon and lettuce to create supper. We went in to pick them up. On the way back we stopped at O'Briens to pick some more berries. I can't seem to get enough of them. So after supper Jeff went back down to fish.

Thursday February 5- It rained all night long and was still sprinkling in the morning. We waited for it to quit and then took the dogs for a walk. We knew John and Joan were taking off today so we wanted to tell them goodbye. We got back home and decided to make it a movie day. Went for lunch at Applebees before the movie. When we pulled up at the theater we couldn't believe how busy it was. Went inside and had to wait in line for the popcorn and tickets. We picked the movie Black Sea. It seems everybody picked different movies because ours wasn't crowded at all. It was good but kinda slow to start. When we left if had really cooled off. I guess a movie day was a good choice.


Friday February 6- I got my walk in today before getting ready to go to town. Its back to the races....dog races that is. The dog track was hopping, busier than ever. It was a really nice day. It was cool but the sun was out. We didn't stay for all of the races but we had a good day.

We had some traffic on the way home but not too bad. We finished the night out over at Tom and Debbi's, again with the visiting...maybe that could be my new career, I'm pretty good at it.


Saturday February 7- Well this is our last full day at the park. We went back to camper coffee this morning. Its good to see where people are from and where they are going. Again visiting. We went back to our campsite. We have lots of stuff to start picking up. We leave tomorrow and so we like to get stuff put away the day before. Its another pretty day, the suns shining and its warm. We walked the dogs around one more time. When I was inside I heard a familiar noise. Not one that we'd heard this trip but from last year. Tap tap tap on the back window. I opened the shade and there he was....

so goodbye birdie, see ya next time. This is a wonderful park and we always enjoy our stay. We love it when we come back as well.

Lake Manatee State Park

Sunday January 25- Well before we leave this great park and head out to another we decided to go back to Suncoast Church. It was as good as last week with a special surprise. As we turned to leave the church I saw someone from our home church in Keokuk Iowa. John Mott and his wife Chris. We visited for a little bit and we headed on home. Check out time here is 1 o'clock and Lake Manatee isn't far away. We finished packing up . Jeff got out of the truck to make sure we were going to make it when some rude lady honked her horn. I couldn't believe she did that, never had that happen before. We weren't even blocking the road that long a minute or so. I guess she was in a hurry. Our drive over was uneventful. The weather was good for traveling. We knew the route to Lake Manatee. Our site number is 21. Backed right in with no problems. After setting up we got the dogs out for a walk. We knew that some friends of ours are here. We saw there spot but they were gone. Probably fishing. John and Joan love to fish. Came back to work on the blog. I turned on my computer and it was doing some major update or something it seemed to take forever to finish so I could download my pictures. I'm so not computer savvy . I get very aggravated.

Monday January 26- It was a bit cool when I woke up. I went for a walk and stopped by John and Joan's to say hi. We had planned on maybe putting the kayaks in but too much wind and too cool. Since the weather is cool I decided to make homemade noodles. I also worked on the blog and cleaned. Still having problems with this computer. Oh will I ever learn? We ran into the store and mostly just relaxed around here. We really like this park and the atmosphere.


Tuesday January 27-Again another cool morning but great weather for walking. Both Jeff and I got in a nice walk. I thought I'd get my sewing machine out and start sewing blocks together for another quilt. Decided to get back outside and we did a few geo caches. They have added lots since we were here before. Took the dogs out for a walk and we walked by a couple and said hi......Jeff turned around and asked him his name because he looked familiar. It was Tom Lavender, we took scuba from him years ago. He has been living in Key West for 15 years. Its so neat when you run into unexpected people. It really is a small world.



Wednesday January 28-Still chilly but the suns shining bright. After walking we got in the truck and headed in to town. We went to the big red barn. Its a flea market with just a little of everything. We went mostly for the produce. First thing I spotted was the strawberries....yum. After picking out some wonderful produce we wandered thru the rest of it. I remember they have a candy place that has these giant maltballs, kinda excited about them and I found them.

On the way home we stopped for lunch at the Cracker Barrel. As we were walking in we spotted a Sonny's BBQ across the street and quickly changed our plans. When we got back we did more geo caches. Jeff seems to be on a roll. I have some catching up to do. He seems to be quite the geo cacher these days. We had some fresh green beans for supper with new potatoes. Both purchases today. Dessert was strawberry shortcake, the strawberries we got today as well. Everything was really good.


Thursday January 29-It was still kinda cool this morning but its suppose to warm up. We packed up some snacks and all the kayak stuff. Off we go to kayak. We found a launch just outside Fort Desoto.
We had to drive across the sunshine skyway.

 

We unloaded the kayaks and headed out. The water was a little rough when we took off. It was still cool too. Found our way out to the ocean and the dolphins. It was a really beautiful day. We tried some fishing but they weren't really interested today. The dolphins were very tricky today, hard to get pictures. As we were heading out there is a little island that is home to lots of birds and pelicans. When we left the tide was pretty low. Had to find the channel to get out.

Jeff did some more fishing, he did catch one, wasn't sure what it was. We also pulled onto an island and looked around at the shells. Had a bite for lunch for lunch and headed back out.

We might not have caught a lot of fish, the weather was a bit cool, but the day was a great one. The trip back was not like the one out. The water was so flat it was a bit eery. So glad we made the trip over and will definitely be back.



Friday January 30-We had plans to meet John and Joan at the dock to try fishing. It was nice to visit with them, the fishing was no good. Came back and made brunch. We took the dogs for a walk and ran into Tom's wife Debbi, she invited us over tonight to visit. We had an early supper because we were going back to the dock and fish. It was very slow but they caught a few.

The fishing didn't really pay off but the sunset was amazing. The longer we watched the prettier it got.

We left and walked over to Tom and Debbi's. We sat outside and visited the night away. We had never met her so we learned some about her and caught up with whats been going on with them. It was a wonderful night.



Saturday January 31-We didn't have much planned today but the camper coffee here at Lake Manatee is a must. Jerry the camp host has a blazing fire going with hot coffee for the taking. You can bring breakfast pastries if you want. I made cinnamon rolls again. Its the only safe way to make them. If I make them for us, we eat them all. If I make them to share, we only eat 1. Good diet plan.

After leaving the camper coffee we decided to go get a couple movies in town. It seems there is a race track down the way and that's all we have been hearing today. The loud motors. On the way back to the park we stopped at O'Brien family farms. Jeff had BLT and I enjoyed a giant strawberry shortcake. After we went out and picked some strawberries.

Those strawberries were perfect....giant, red and full of flavor. I had to try one on the way home. We spent the rest of the day watching movies and me sewing. We had a visit from John and Joan. They went fishing and came by to show us there catch. Looks like we have plans for supper on Monday. Wow another week gone...it just seems to fly faster and faster. I just keep reminding myself to enjoy each day. It doesn't really matter what you're doing, we are blessed to be doing what we are doing.