Winter Trip 2016-Lithia Springs 1

Tues. Feb. 9-Feb.: One of the nice things about Lithia Springs is how quiet it is, but we are close enough to civilization that we have a good internet connection. So Tuesday, after we had pancakes for breakfast, we downloaded the LSJ and caught up on what is happening in Lansing while we’re gone. The day was mostly cloudy and breezy and the temperature struggled to reach 61°. We both started reading outdoors and Marv lasted longer than I did, but eventually we were both back in the camper trying to warm up. We decided to use our usual rainy day activity and go to a movie after hot soup for lunch, so we enjoyed “Hail, Caesar”, the latest Coen Brothers film. On the way home we used our Winn-Dixie points and bought gas for $1.59-.25=$1.34 a gallon. Marv used our Discover card for another 6.5 cents off so we paid less than $1.28 a gallon for 20 gallons! Again we marveled at how much less this trip is costing than previous years. Marv made small Chicken Caesar Salads for a light dinner while I blogged. Then we went to a nearby Beef O’Brady’s to watch MSU come back from an 18 point deficit only to lose by 1 point in overtime. A sad end to our day. And it’s going to be another cold night. 

View out the back of our campsite. That's a cow pasture up on the right!

Wednesday was bright and clear when we woke up but the trailer was down to 47°. Luckily it warmed up quickly with our heater on as the coffee dripped and was comfortable when we got up. We both read the papers we downloaded until it began to get a little warmer outside. The sun played hide and seek behind clouds most of the morning so it never got much above 62°, just like yesterday. Late in the morning we hiked from the put-in place on the Alafia River as far up river as we could go. The water is high again this year so the trail disappears into the river in several places and we could only go a few hundred yards before we turned back. So we walked back to our campsite and then took the trail behind the campsite to the river and again walked as far up river as we could, making our hike about a mile and a half all together. 

The Alafia River

A puffed up, shivery scrub jay

Deer and raccoon tracks in the muddy bank

Cypress trees along the river bank

When we again returned to the trailer the sky had cleared off completely and it was hot sitting in the sun, but still cool in the shade. We ate lunch at 2:00 and then hopped on our bikes to ride through part of the immense sprawling subdivisions that are next to the park. It has been interesting every year to see how the Fish Hawk area has grown and it is now the size of a small town with strip malls, a post office, and miles and miles of houses. The path from the park leads into the neighborhoods called Fish Hawk Ranch and Fish Hawk Preserve. Housing is continually being added on and it is stretching towards the boundary with the park now, with houses in the “$480K and up” to the “$590K and up” range (that’s how they’re advertised outside the models). One under construction near the back is the biggest house I’ve ever seen, with two cupolas, a two story high covered area on the back that will probably have a pool, and a four car garage that will be entered from the back so the windows face the street to add to how large it looks. We hoped to find a mail box to send out the grandkids’ Valentines but never found one so they will go out tomorrow from the park. I hope they make it in time! We wandered around the neighborhoods for a while before turning towards “home”. As we circled a large retention pond we saw a wood stork, a rosette spoonbill, and a Great Egret that all took flight as we watched. The whole ride was just short of 6 miles. 

Egret, Wood Stork, and Roseate Spoonbill

Knowing that it was the warmest point of the day we both decided to get showers since the bathrooms are unheated. After relaxing for a bit we made Mexican Rice with hamburger in it and salads for dinner. The evening was again spent watching some TV and reading as the temperature dipped into the forties. Thursday morning we found out it was 32.4° at its lowest during the night. But the sun was blazing and things began to warm up quickly. Fearing that we were using data too quickly by tethering our tablets to our hotspots we decided to ride our bikes to the headquarters and use their WiFi to do some emailing and download the LSJ. While we were down there, because the campground was clearly filling up fast, Marv went in to the office to see if he could pay for the site next to us for the Oiens. Luckily, they allowed it and we got #29 for them. We could sit at a picnic table under a shelter with sun on our backs and shade on the screens overlooking a wide area of grass and woods so it was very pleasant. Knowing that the Oiens would be joining us any time in the afternoon we spent the rest of the day sitting in the sun and reading at the campsite making the second day that we never even started the truck. 

Our big, deep, wonderful campsite

A very relaxed Marvin

The Oiens arrived around 4:00, Janice with her arm in a sling because of her as yet undiagnosed injury and inability to get an appointment with an orthopedist until the following Tuesday. But they finally had their Motorhome (and only home) back so they were in high spirits. We spent the rest of the afternoon catching up on the last 6 months, making due for dinner with hummus, crackers, veggies, and cheese and sausage chunks. It was SO good to see them!