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.

Myakka River State Park Part 2

Sunday January 18-We got up early and got ready to attend a church that was just up the road. The service started at 9:00 a.m. but we got there early, really early because we needed to make reservations for next year. Our internet at the park is not that good. The closer we got toward town the better the service. Anyhow we just parked in the parking lot and tried to get some reservations. We didn't have any luck. So at 9 we went into the church (Suncoast) and boy what a surprise. To start they were super friendly. The worship was loud but we loved it. The preacher came up to us before we headed into the auditorium and explained the service. He said the first part is like a concert followed by the message. The worship was like a concert with all the musicians...sounding like professional musicians. The message was excellent. When we left both of us were excited to still be in the area for next weeks service. We got home and made brunch. Since Jeff's bike is fixed we decided to ride across to the other side of the park. It was a great day for that and again we saw lots of critters.

 

 

Monday January 19- Boy it started out really cold this morning, Jeff said 38...that's cold. It took awhile to warm up. We had planned to put the kayaks in today but it just wasn't gonna get warm enough for me. I did some things around home. Jeff decided to try some fishing. I stayed back and did some scrapbooking. He gave me a call to come and see this neat bird that was hanging around him so I did.
























I got on my bird app found out its a Black Crowned Night Heron. Both of us were very interested in him and he with us. He didn't ever get really close but watched us from a safe distance. I'm loving this bird.


Tuesday January 20- It wasn't as cool this morning and it looked like rain. We did get our walks in this morning. Both of us had a hankering for a steak so we went in for lunch at Outback. It was really good and hit the spot. After lunch we went to the movie. Jeff dropped me off to get in line for tickets. We were running late and the line was long. I got tickets and here comes Jeff so we went in to find a seat, the place was packed and we had to sit closer to the front then we like. The movie ( American Sniper) was really good. Some of it was hard to watch. Sure makes you appreciate what our servicemen and women do. We headed home and the traffic was a bit crazy. With our bellies full of popcorn we had leftovers for supper.



Wednesday January 21- Here at the park they have a camper coffee on Wednesday morning. I made some cinnamon rolls to bring. It takes place at the log cabin from 9a.m. to 10 a.m. We were surprised by how many were there. We sat and visited with some and compared notes and places traveled. It was a really pretty day so Jeff and I loaded up our stuff and headed to the river to fish. We went to a spot behind the log cabins.

Well we found a place with a little sunshine and sat down. Jeff was fishing I was watching the wildlife. There were birds, fish and gators. One gator in particular came swimming down river. He turned and headed right toward me. He stopped around 3 feet from the shore. By that time I was moving back. He just set there and watched me. It was really creepy. I didn't know how I was gonna get my chair or phone that was sitting on the chair.  I moved down river some and the gator moved to so I grabbed my chair. I think someone has been feeding that gator.

Our day at the river was a beauty of a day, we got to watch the wildlife fly, swim and eat the day away.... I keep saying I've become my grandma because she loved animals and nature so.

To finish off the day we decided to take a bike ride. Stopped on the bridge like we always do and noticed all the people fishing and when I say fishing I mean catching. Jeff went back and got his poles to join in on the fun, and fun is what he had. He got some nice tilapia and brought them home to clean and eat later.

While Jeff was fishing or should I say catching and bringing in a fish this alligator came swimming real fast to try to steal that fish. He was moving. Jeff was quicker.























What an exciting day of fishing. The good news was we even brought some home.




Thursday January 22- Today we made a trip to Acadia to take care of some business and stopped at a Walmart on the way home. Unloaded our stuff and got the dogs out for a walk. Remember those fish from yesterday.....that was our supper tonight. Yes they were very tastey. Ended the day with a movie from redbox.


Friday January 23- We had so much fun last week at the dog races we wanted to go back. We got there and the place was really busy. It was also very windy today.

We went down where they weigh them before racing and get a real close look at the dogs. Jeff likes to look at there eyes. One tried to jump up and greet Jeff. What beautiful animals. We didn't come home with our pockets full of money but more in love with those greyhound dogs....... Stopped for supper before heading home.


Saturday January 24- Our last full day at this park. It rained all night so everything was wet. We started putting things away but had to wait for stuff to dry. Since it was a really cool day I put together some soup for supper. We walked the dogs, I put Soffee's coat on her, she gets cold easy. We decided to ride the bikes to the bridge and try one more time to fish. It was kinda busy because its the weekend. A group of scouts were trying to fish. The trip wa'n't a waste though because there was a group of Rosette Spoonbill by the rivers edge, so pretty. Not too far from the birds a giant gator. Isn't nature wonderful.

After leaving the bridge area Jeff went back to the spot behind the log cabin to try once more. Me again looking for critters. I spotted something up in the tree, I thought it maybe a owl or hawk. It was a red shouldered hawk. Quite a find.

Well all good things must come to an end and our time here is just about done. What a wonderful couple of weeks we enjoyed. Next stop Lake Manatee.