Winter Trip 2016-Lithia Springs 2

Friday, Feb. 12-Tuesday, Feb. 16: Friday we rode down again to get the papers and read in the sun until late in the morning when we checked in with Oiens. Janice is frustrated by her inability to do much of anything because of her arm, but they are slowly getting their motorhome put back together again. We talked for a while and then had a quick lunch separately. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the temperatures reached the low seventies. While getting the papers Marv had noticed a hiking trail that leaves from the picnic area and Janice was game for trying to hike as much of it as she felt able. Lou carried a chair for her so she could stop anytime if she got tired but as it turned out she made it as far as we cared to go. It was a nice trail through the shady hammock, across a sturdy bridge spanning a small tributary to the Alafia River, and behind the out-of-sight Fish Hawk subdivisions. We stopped where the trail came up close to the back of Fish Hawk Ranch, where we could show them the giant house. Upon closer inspection, and seeing weeds and grass growing out of some of the open cement block, we realized that construction has clearly stopped on it for some time. We’ll never know what happened I suppose but it will be interesting to come back some time and see if it ever is completed. The other direction from the subdivision the trail met the Alafia River and Lou and Marv went down the bank to get a closer look. When we returned we had hiked 1.33 miles and Jan needed a nap so we went to our campsite to read and nap (Marv) until dinnertime. Lou had made red skin potatoes and brats and sauerkraut, which we enjoyed at their picnic table until the bugs began nipping our ankles and it got a little cool.  So we went inside our trailer and played Liars’ Dice until bedtime with the set Lou had made us a few years ago. 

From the bridge over the creek going to the Alafia Riverr

Note Janice's sling!

Saturday was another perfect weather day. After downloading the papers Marv and I rode to a Public Information Meeting being held at the main pavilion in the park regarding the Hillsborough County Parks. A Parks executive talked about how they had split their oversized department into a Recreation area and a Conservation area, and the Conservation and Land Acquisition was gathering information about usage and desires of the public. Then they asked those present to fill out a survey. We wonder if they’ll be surprised when they read Marv’s suggestion that they charge out-of-county users an extra fee, since we don’t pay taxes for the park. But we are camping here with water and electricity for the senior rate of $18 a night, which is really dirt cheap! We returned to our campsite and read the paper until Oiens seemed to be up and about. They had just eaten so we grabbed a quick lunch and all piled into our truck. At their suggestion we drove about 45 minutes to Sky Dive City in Zephyrhills. There we spent a wonderful afternoon watching planeload after planeload of people float down in their colorful suits and canopies. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, it was again in the low seventies, there was a delightful breeze and we had a great time without any of us feeling an urge to join them. J Most of the jumpers were highly trained and some were doing stunts in teams that were videotaped and judged for competition. Some were tandem jumpers, doing their first ever sky dive. We heard many different languages and saw adults (we learned that children under 18 cannot legally sky dive anywhere in the US) of all ages eager to fall out of the sky together. We left as the last plane of the afternoon ascended, and could see the sky divers come down as we drove away. As we passed through Plant City we noticed Buddy Johnson’s Bar-B-Que and thought it looked like a good place for an early dinner. Good decision! We split an appetizer of their giant onion rings (too many to eat), then Janice and I had their ribs, Marv had a half a chicken, and Lou had the shrimp and grits, with bacon and sausage in the sauce. Everything was delicious and filling and we took home leftovers. After stopping for some groceries at Winn-Dixie, Janice felt like she should call it a night so Marv read and I blogged until bedtime for us. 

Look! Up in the sky! Is it a bird? Is it a plane?

Just look at that sky!

We had made plans for Valentine’s Day on Sunday to go to Beef O’Brady’s at 1:00 to watch MSU play Indiana, who was tied with Iowa in first place in the Big 10. But it was another gorgeous day, much too nice to spend inside a bar, even to watch MSU. Instead we got set-up in the shade of the Oiens’ awning with our TV on a stool on a box, tuned to CBS, and sat outside to enjoy the weather AND the game. We had lots of snack foods laid out on the coffee table Marv made for me, and Lou made his invention of garbanzo beans, lime juice, bacon, and a whole head (not clove) of garlic. And even better Denzel Valentine led the Spartans to a resounding victory at home on “his” day. Afterwards, we all walked to the spring, where a few people were swimming, and took the path around to the outlet to the Alafia (Ah-lah-FEE-a) River. At the confluence we saw a BIG alligator sunning itself on the bank. Marv and I made a late dinner for all of us of Chicken Stir Fry with brown rice, and brownies and Reese’s Cup ice cream on top for a Valentine’s dessert. We all went to bed with full tummies and a warm glow from the MSU victory. 

Master Chef, Lou, at work in the background

Pretty fancy eats for the game!

Monday the four of us went to nearby (and favorite) Tim’s Café for a late breakfast. This very local joint has good food and cheap prices. Lou got his usual steak and 2 eggs with home fries and toast, Marv got the smoked pork chop and 2 eggs with home fries and a biscuit ($6.75), and Janice and I both had the Greek Omelet with home fries and toast ($5.75). 

Marv's breakfast

The men cleaned their plates but Janice and I each took home half as leftovers. We stopped at a corner produce stand and bought fresh, delicious, local strawberries. We agreed that we weren’t going to need much more to eat for the rest of the day, and we all had leftovers to use up, so we stopped at Publix and bought a small can of Grands biscuits and a can of whipped cream. Both couples rested and read the rest of the afternoon. Marv and I rode our bikes down to try and get the paper but the Wi-Fi wasn’t behaving itself at the headquarters so Marv got Monday’s but I couldn’t get anything. Lou and Marv played a game of “cross country” Petanque in the big area behind our camper. We baked the biscuits and used up most of our leftovers and then went to the Oiens’ to enjoy Strawberry Shortcake. We taught them the card game “Golf”, which Janice really enjoyed AND she kicked our butts! Lou began to put some things away so they could make a quick getaway in the morning. Janice’s orthopedic appointment was at 1:30 on Tuesday. They got up and packed everything away. Janice came over to sit out of Lou’s way and chat with me while Lou and Marv finished up and went to the dump station. They got away around 10:30 and we went to do laundry in town. We stopped on our way out to get the papers, and watched a large gopher tortoise make her way across the picnic area, across the drive, and down the bank of the drainage ditch. Just like when we had to say good-bye to Kris and Heidi, we were both feeling a little down now that such good friends had left again. It was 2:00 by the time we returned so we quickly finished off our leftover Mexican Rice for lunch and hopped on our bikes to enjoy at least part of another beautiful day. (I forgot to mention that I rode 29.4 miles at Highlands Hammock.) We went on the path over to the Fish Hawk neighborhoods again and this time took the path that winds around and through the natural area that wraps around the oldest (6 years, perhaps?) part of the area. We explored the “Starling” neighborhood that is right at the main entrance and has large homes that loom close to the street and have garages on alleys behind the homes. It has a very different look than the newer homes being built now. Back at the park we went down to the spring one last time and watched a lone swimmer paddling around the middle where the main spring bubbles up from the ground. When we returned I had 45.25 miles so I had ridden about 16 miles at Lithia Springs, and Marv had 8 or 9 miles more because of his extra trips for downloading. We read the papers we had succeeded in downloading and Marv put away a few things, then we grilled the remaining New Orleans-style sausages and had them in flour tortillas with big salads for dinner. Since we will travel tomorrow we used up the rest of the ice cream on two brownies while we watched The Muppets.

A determined Gopher Tortoise