Winter Trip 2016-Hillsborough River 2

Sun. Feb. 21-Thu. Feb. 25: We spent a quiet, lazy Sunday morning, with no paper that we could download, but reading our books and texts from Linda and Patty reporting on the sermon and vote for Liz. As expected, she was approved by nearly unanimous vote. We rode our bikes over to see how crowded the river was and decided we would kayak in the afternoon since not many canoes seemed to be rented. We enjoyed fruit smoothies at the café and then went back to eat lunch. There is a launch site by Cedar Landing, at the other camping loop. We drove the blue boy over to the dump station to empty and then went on to the Landing to inflate and launch the kayak. We forgot to take a camera or our phones so we don’t have pictures of our very pleasant paddle of about an hour. We saw just one alligator, only about 3 feet long, which was fine with me. The river had gone down since we arrived and was flowing slowly enough that it was easy to paddle upstream for half an hour or so, through one small rapids, and then return. The afternoon had clouded over enough that the sun was never really out during that time. Marv figured out a way to get the kayak, still inflated, in the back of the truck. We drove very slowly back to our campsite and will be able to easily take it out again while we’re here. We relaxed a bit and then made a dinner of grilled boneless pork strips and salads. After doing dishes we had brownies with ice cream on them for dessert while we watched the Disney 60^th Birthday special. Wanting to get a bit more exercise we walked around the camping loop and then got ready for bed. I washed my hair first thing on Monday and we made the rest of the Asian Salad and read until Ross and Pat Mack, along with their labradoodle, Jake, arrived around 11:30. We visited and got caught up awhile and then grilled more of the New Orleans sausages we have enjoyed on this trip. We lingered over lunch at the picnic table before walking Jake to the other camping loop, to the Cedar Landing, along the river to the picnic area so Jake could get a drink at the special, low, doggie drinking fountain and back to the campsite making it a walk of almost 2 miles. We all needed a drink by then and we talked until they needed to return to Cypress Cove, where they stay in their fifth wheel for 2-3 months every winter. 

Pat and Peggy

Old Friends: Marv and Ross

After relaxing and reading Marv and I took a bike ride around the camp road with a stop at the Trailhead for the Wetlands Restoration trail that we planned to walk the next morning. The information sign told us that it was one of only three trails (counting the Park Road) that bikers could use. So we changed our plans to bike the trail rather than walk it. On around the circle we stopped to take the short portion of the Rapids Trail so we could see the rapids we hadn’t made it to the day before. A Class 2 rapids, they would have been too much for us to do in our inflatable kayak. 

Egret feeding in the middle of the rapids

Below the rapids

Back at the campsite we had a small supper of soup and cheese and crackers, again outside, as we realized we have eaten every meal at Hillsborough River. It is another indication of how nice the weather has been lately. The sun set and the temperature hardly dropped so we only went indoors when it unexpectedly began to sprinkle a little bit. We both took showers to cool off a little bit and got to bed for an early wake-up call the next morning. On the tram ride Ranger Sean had told the group that one could see a lot of wildlife by taking the Wetlands Restoration Trail at dawn or dusk. It rained very lightly pretty much all Monday night. We got up at 7:00 and weren’t sure about the trail after a night of rain. But since it was totally clear we decided to try it. The sun was just rising Tuesday as we pedaled over to the Trailhead. The birds were singing like crazy; especially active were the pileated woodpeckers that we had heard but not seen at our campsite. One cooperated by perching at the top of a dead tree for Marv to take its picture. 

The trail proved to be really easy riding on a hard packed two-track most of the way. We startled deer two different times and could see egrets roosting at the top of a couple of trees, their feathers startlingly white against the blue sky. It was peaceful and serene as we rode nearly silently the 1.7 mile length of the road. We continued through a gate that took us into the Dead River Wilderness area, past a nice lookout over the Hillsborough River that would make a great walk-in campsite, and beyond. The trail got a little narrower although still easy to pedal but when we felt like we had seen enough we turned around and retraced our route, passing two slightly later hikers. 

Interesting fungus

Hillsborough River overlook at a bend

Marvin the Magnificent

Roosting Egret

Long early morning shadows

Restoration Wetlands Trail

Continuing around the camp road circle we had our first disappointment to our ride. We had planned on sharing the huge breakfast burrito at the Poolside Café, but when we arrived we found out they didn’t open until 10:00. Since it was only 8:45 we returned to our campsite, completing our almost 6 mile ride, and Marv made fried eggs for us instead. Bill came over and stayed a long time talking. He left when Hoosier made it clear he was ready to leave and we made wraps for lunch. Bill came back and again stayed a long time, this time without Hoosier. When he remembered that we had said we planned to kayak in the afternoon, he left us and as we loaded up the kayak, it started to sprinkle lightly. There were still blue patches of sky so we headed back to Cedar Landing. Since we had gone up river the first time, we went down river this time. It was very quiet and very peaceful with no one else around. About 20 minutes into our paddle we came around one obstacle and looked down river and saw that what we thought was a big log to avoid was moving! Looking closer we realized it was an 8-10 foot alligator, swimming downstream very slowly. Keeping a respectful distance we followed her for about 10 minutes. When she seemed to turn around a couple of times, perhaps looking for a place to sun on the bank, we decided to turn around and go back. Marv was regretting that, although he had taken several pictures, they were with the telephoto so you couldn’t see her in context. We laughingly said he could just take a picture of that rock about ten feet away, when it ducked under the water, with just two beady eyes watching us go by. That was enough alligator encounters for me for the day! Just as we got back to the landing it sprinkled again. We got the kayak out, deflated, wiped out, rolled up and stashed in the truck before we drove back. 

BIG Alligator

See you later, Alligator!

Cypress reflections in paddle ripples

The rest of the afternoon was a mix of patches of sun and short sprinkles but the temperature stayed in the upper 70s°. Dinner was grilled chicken salads because we were going to another sports bar to watch MSU play Ohio State at 9:00. We chose a closer sports bar called Coozies which turned out to be a dark, dingy, horribly smoky joint. The handful of people there were all at the bar smoking and talking loudly and no one was watching any sports. We sat at a table and the waitress informed me they didn’t have Club Soda but she got the game for us on a nearby TV. As it was getting underway a couple came in and sat at the table between us and the TV. The waitress brought the woman a glass of wine and the guy a large pitcher of beer and they both lit up and started the juke box playing very loudly. We lasted until halftime, when it seemed that MSU had the game in good shape. Using Marv’s phone’s app we listened to the second half of the game in the truck and then were relieved when it didn’t lose its signal all the way into the camper, where we enjoyed yet another Spartan victory. As usual, MSU is coming alive as we head into March. The rain that was forecast for after 9:00 on Wednesday began around 7:00am. Luckily, we had planned our day around it. We had taken down the awning and stashed everything under cover the night before. As soon as we were up and ready we drove about 20 miles away, sometimes in torrential rains, sometimes in sunshine, to the outskirts of Tampa and Ybor City State Park (pronounced Ee-bor) and National Historical Landmark District, now known as Tampa’s Latin Quarter. In the late 1800s Vincente Martinez Ybor, of Cuba, founded the city as a cigar manufacturing center. It was unusual for its time with the blending of Spanish, Cuban, Italian, Jewish, and African American families all living together. Ybor cleared the swamp and built the factories and housing for the workers, but he encouraged others to provide services such as restaurants and grocery stores, so it wasn’t a “Company Town” where everything is controlled by the owner. The Museum run by the State Park is in an old bakery building. They have an excellent 20 minute video that explains the history of the town, then we went through the museum of artifacts and photographs as another heavy rain shower came through. When we finished, a docent took us out into the bright sunshine to one of the three cottages next door that is furnished and maintained as if the workers had just stepped out for a few minutes. We were the only two people with the docent who was talkative and informative and seemed in no hurry. As we strolled across the large courtyard area between the museum and the cottages a Ranger came out and told our docent that he had a large group waiting for him to do the next tour. 

Just one of hundreds of boxes designed and used in Ybor City

The bakery building that now houses the Museum

 Restored ovens in the museum

Three workers casitas

Living room, furnished with donated items of the couple whose wedding portrait hangs on the wall

Kitchen in the casita

Cigar factory on the block behind what is now the museum...

....the building is being restored and made into apartments

We decided to walk around the area on our own, starting with lunch at La Tropicana, a Cuban restaurant a couple of blocks away. We shared their house favorite Bibi’s Cuban sandwich and an order of black beans and rice, with bread pudding for dessert and a cup of Ybor’s famous café con leche. Just as we paid and were leaving the skies opened up one more time and the rain poured down in buckets for about 20 minutes, but that was the last rain storm of the day. We waited it out in the restaurant and then walked many blocks down 7^th Avenue, La Setima, with its red brick buildings, wrought iron balconies and narrow brick streets that give it an Old World or New Orleans flavor. 

La Tropicana

La Setima

We returned to the truck and then found La Segunda Central, a nearby Cuban bakery founded in 1915, which furnishes La Tropicana its breads and our waitress assured us was the best around. We each bought a turnover and we asked for a “short loaf”(about 2 feet) of Cuban Bread. But when we got to the truck we realized it was TWO short loaves and we had only been charged 79¢. What a bargain! Our final stop of the day was Cigar City Brewery. But we arrived just a few minutes after a tour had left and we didn’t want to wait 50 minutes until the next one. We shared a double brown porter and headed back to the campground, where we gave some of our bread to Bill and ate some with the leftover pork strips from the other night and beans. 

This red shouldered hawk was perched on a low branch right behind the camper when we got back.

It stayed for pictures and watched us as we put the awning back out

It was very humid but not terribly cold yet when we went to bed. Because the next few days were forecast to be in the low sixties on Thursday we drove to Crystal River to see manatees after having doughnuts and coffee again in the morning. At the coffee we talked to a very pleasant couple from Switzerland who also own a home in Nova Scotia, and a man who grew up in West Germany but now lives in Grand Rapids. We had been told that the best place to see manatees  is Three Sisters Springs National Manatee Refuge. But we didn’t realize that it was so far from Hillsborough River. It took us about 90 minutes to drive the 65 miles. Before we reached it we passed the Homosassa State Park and decided that might be a better place to see them. In the Visitors Center we realized that this formerly privately owned enterprise was really more like a zoo with a viewing platform and underwater viewing area reached by tram or boat ride for $12.50 a person. Since we just wanted to see manatees we weren’t really interested in all that. We ate a picnic lunch of Cuban bread, cheese, and a tangerine at a picnic table in the sun which made the 60° day and gusty winds bearable. We walked the ¾ mile Birding and Nature Trail out to the entrance to the animal park and got on the boat to return on the 1 mile Homosassa River to our truck. That was all free. 

Boat ride at Homosassa Springs

Beautiful wood ducks on the river

Soft shell and hard shell turtles on the river

We went on to find Three Sisters Springs but the address in the GPS didn’t take us to the right place. I googled “Where to see manatees in Crystal River, FL” and among the answers was the headquarters for the Kings Bay National Wildlife Refuge. It was nearly 4:00 when the very helpful volunteer there explained how we could get into the Three Sisters Springs, since it was too late to catch the city trolley that usually takes people there. He told us a place we could park the truck nearby and walk in the gate, but warned us they would probably make us leave at 4:30. Since it’s a National Park, Marv’s Lifetime pass would get him in for free but I would have to pay $12.00. That sounded fair to us so we rushed over to the springs. The Ranger at the gate had already done his paperwork and closed the books for the day so he told us we could both go in free on Marv’s pass. We walked about a ½ mile to the board walk around the springs and arrived just as most of the people were leaving on the trolley. There were a couple of volunteers and a few other people as we walked up and down the boardwalk, seeing more manatees than we’ve ever seen before. Standing in one place I easily counted 30+ so altogether there must have been close to one hundred. They are mesmerizing as they slowly rise to the surface to breath and then sink down to drift around in the water, which is always at 72°. They are drawn to the springs all winter but since there have been some cold days and nights in the last few weeks there are more than ever. The volunteers all left at 4:30 and a final trolley took everyone but one photographer and the two of us. We walked back to the gate where the Ranger was locking up and ready to leave too. The plan had worked perfectly and we were very satisfied with our time with the manatees. 

The biggest of the three springs, Pretty Sister

The sun was setting as we drove home. About halfway back Marv spotted the Deep South Family Bar-B-Que, a tiny hole in the wall that advertised fried green tomatoes on a sign out front. For $9.95 I had smoked ribs, fried green tomatoes and fried okra. For the same price Marv had their steak and onion sandwich, fried apples, and potato salad. We ordered at a walk up window and ate it in their seating area of about 6 picnic tables on a screened porch that was pretty chilly by then.  It was GREAT! The temperature dipped down to 50° as we made our way back to the campsite.

Winter Trip 2016-Hillsborough River 1

Wed. Feb. 17-Sat. Feb. 20: Hillsborough River State Park is in the same county and about 45 miles away from Lithia Springs so we could take our time breaking camp on Wednesday and still leave by 11:00 check-out time. We stopped by the headquarters to use their WiFi one more time and then drove to our next campsite. We had stayed at Hillsborough a few years ago with Ann and Shelby and had good memories of it. Campsite 99 is at the back and outside of the farthest loop of three. It is a bit shallow but opens into the woods and as the whole campground is very quiet this time of year, it will be nice for our stay. 

Our campsite, overlooking the long leaf pine/live oak hammock

Lunch is served. Note the thermometer reading.

This beautiful web was between our campsite and Bill's

Bill Asher introduced himself as our next door neighbor and told us that his wife, Lynn, who is ten years younger than he, had flown home to Indianapolis on Sunday to go back to work. He and his rescue greyhound, Hoosier, were staying for a couple of weeks and then driving back to Indiana. We ate a quick lunch and got all settled in for a two week stay. Marv made corn bread and Bill came back over to invite us, along with a few other nearby campsites, to come over for a Happy Hour/Get Acquainted time. Wayne, from two sites down, was the only other camper who came, saying his wife, Diane, was relaxing after their travel day. Walter from the other side of Bill said he had some business to take care of in town so he’d take a rain check. The four of us visited while our cornbread baked. Then Marv and I biked over to the Rec Hall for their bi-weekly potluck. A couple at Highlands Hammock had warned us about the poor impression they had had of the potluck here. But it turned out they had attended the first ever for the park, and the volunteers had learned some things from that. There were lots of people and lots of food. People were friendly and went around and introduced themselves and told their hometown. There was a 50/50 raffle to benefit the park and the prize amount was $47! We didn’t win that, but we did win a door prize that was a glass candy dish with a bag of cherry jelly hearts. Knowing the glass dish wasn’t a good idea for camping we gave it back for them to give away next time. But we kept and enjoyed the candy. J A Park Ranger talked about things that were happening at the Park the rest of the week, and it became clear we had come at a perfect time, as you will read later in this blog. Thursday mornings they offer coffee and doughnuts as a fundraiser for the park, so we biked over to the Cedar Landing pavilion for a get-acquainted session with Rangers, volunteers, and many campers. Again they went around and had people introduce themselves. Afterwards we biked to the “Poolside Café” (the big pool is closed from Dec. 1 until the water can maintain itself at 70° for three days) and tried to use their WiFi to do a few things. First we went to a website called EventBrite and purchased tickets for a very special event at the park. Saturday there was going to be a Rendezvous with reenactors at Fort Foster, a reconstructed fort from the second Seminole Indian War. One can only access the fort by tram for an escorted tour three times a week with a park ranger. We had toured the fort with Ann and Shelby last time we visited and there was no Rendezvous then. Now they are beginning to offer a fundraiser for the park called “Dinner Under the Stars”. It was the second one held so far and they are only going to offer two more this year (March and April) but hoped to increase the program next year to Friday and Saturday, at least. The reenactors, in costume, would stay on after the Rendezvous and show us around the fort, where we would eat dinner. They take a maximum of 25 diners and we wanted to be certain we were among them. Having secured our tickets, we slowly downloaded the LSJ in sections because we couldn’t get the whole thing on the slow internet. We biked back to our camper and made lunch to eat outside at our camper. While we ate, a park truck pulled up to Bill’s campsite and three rangers got out and then helped Bill out of the truck and carefully seated him at his picnic table and put Hoosier into the camper. They talked a long time and then a bright yellow firetruck pulled up and two or three EMTs got out and started taking Bill’s vitals and thoroughly checking him out. We were mighty curious but stayed where we were and didn’t intrude. After a while one of the EMTs came over and said Bill wanted to talk to us. We went over and Bill told us that they wanted him to go to the hospital to be checked out because he had fallen while walking Hoosier when he (Bill) got dizzy and weak and his right foot started to drag. He asked if we would take care of Hoosier for him. Of course we agreed and, while he gave us some instructions, the EMTs inserted an IV and asked him to hold still while they took some more readings of his heart that were being sent to the hospital. Bill told us how much to feed Hoosier and how often to walk him and, oh by the way, he’s diabetic and we’d have to give him two shots a day of insulin! It was too late to change our minds and Bill had no options so we told him not to worry and we’d take care of everything. Bill was calling out instructions as he was loaded into the Rescue truck that had showed up by then and then he was whisked away to Florida Hospital Tampa, leaving us with a sad-eyed, diabetic, old Greyhound. For the next 28 hours we changed our schedule in every way, built around Hoosier’s needs. We pretty much spent our time walking Hoosier regularly and reading at our camper, with Hoosier stretched out on his bed outside or on our living area rug when we were indoors. He is a really sweet, quiet, mellow dog who was not any trouble other than the insulin issue. We did no biking during this time but did LOTS of walking. While walking Hoosier we attracted a lot of attention either from people who were interested in him as a greyhound or by people who had already met Hoosier and knew that he wasn’t our dog.  The people two campers down, Cathy and Mike, had been aware of the EMTs, etc. and offered to help in any way. We wanted to go into Zephyrhills to watch MSU vs Wisconsin basketball in the evening so we asked them to walk Hoosier at bedtime, which they were happy to do. Before we left Bill let us know he was staying overnight at the hospital and we explained our plan for the game. After MSU beat them handily we got back to the campground around 11:15, walked Hoosier one more time, and brought his bed over for him to sleep with us. It was a very long night of not much sleep for us. I had made the mistake of drinking two big glasses of mango ice tea so I was hopped up on caffeine and had to get up frequently to use the bathroom. Hoosier had to go out every three hours, with Marv walking him each time. At 7:00am Hoosier was pretty clearly up to stay so we started our day the earliest of the trip. 

Marv and Hoosier try to download the paper at the cafe

Friday was a very quiet day, like Thursday afternoon, of walking and reading in the sun. We took a two mile walk with Hoosier before lunch and all the others were at least around our camping loop, with lots of folks asking about Bill. We tried again to get the LSJ even though we had found that all the files we thought we had gotten the day before turned out to be empty. Friday was no different. We finally heard from Bill late in the afternoon, when he said they wanted to take one more MRI, which they hadn’t done yet, so he was afraid he’d be staying another night. We fed Hoosier his dinner and Marv gave him insulin for the third time (that never did seem to go very well) and then we put him in Bill’s camper while we caught the 5:00 tram ride around the park. As a free service the ranger picks people up right at their campsite and, when the tram is full, drives around the park on the circle road, with frequent stops to talk about the park and all it offers. There was another ride at 6:30 but it was dark by then. While we were on the ride, Bill called Marv and told him that he was being released and would be back this evening. The tram dropped us at our campsite and we brought Hoosier over to our camper for the evening while we made dinner and relaxed. Bill’s son drove him back to his camper about 8:30. When we had handed Hoosier back to his human companion we went out to do some downloading at a McDonald’s and to buy groceries at Winn-Dixie. We knew we were going to sleep much better than the night before. Saturday was yet another gorgeous day. Since the rain at Highlands Hammock and the couple of cool days at Lithia Springs pretty much every day had been sunny and mid-seventies, with nights in the low fifties, perfect for sleeping. After breakfast I made tuna fish salad and Marv put together half of an Asian chopped salad mix we had gotten from Winn-Dixie. Then we read while waiting for Jackie Himelright and Ed Smith to come. They were traveling from a week at a rental house on the Ocean to Sun City to stay the weekend with friends from Ed’s FFA days. They stopped by our campsite, where we ate lunch, visited, and took a short walk behind our campsite to the Wetlands Trail and partway down it. It was nice to see folks from home and we laughed about how we have to come to Florida to get together. (Pictures will be added later, when Jackie sends them.) We were all sorry we would miss the candidating sermon of Liz Miller as Edgewood’s new pastor and remarked on the unseasonably warm 64° they were having in East Lansing. Everyone knows it won’t last but it’s nice to have the February respite. By the time they left it was time for us to get ready for the Dinner Under the Stars. We drove our truck to parking lot #1 so we could give Bill, who was also attending, a ride. Ranger Bryan was waiting there for the 23 people who had tickets. We took the tram across the highway and near the fort, where we got off and walked past a sign that said “Back to the Present” pointing to the tram, and then one that said “Enter the Past”, where we were met by a navy personnel and an army private who were attracted by the “ruckus” we made and came to escort us to the safety of the fort. It was a good thing they did, because along the trail we could see Seminole warriors following our progress from the palmettos and grasses. We were hustled into the fort and seated at 5 picnic tables, with a soldier, marine, or sailor in period uniform and in character at the head of each one. Marv, Bill, Walter and I ate with Ensign Sean (the same Ranger who drove Friday evening’s tram) who regaled us with the history of the fort and the Seminole Indian Wars while we ate a delicious dinner of mashed potatoes with beef stew on top, corn bread or garlic toast, cider, and bread pudding. A nearly full moon climbed overhead and shown so brightly we hardly needed the torches, lanterns, and candles that lighted the fort in a magical way. After dinner the whole group had a presentation by Lieutenant Luke, who was in charge of the fort since General Foster was away on assignment. He told us about the ammunition used in the cannons and a little more about life in the fort in 1837. Then we went to the Quartermaster’s Store and Ensign Sean told us about the daily ration for each man and more about how they lived in tents outside the fort, coming in only when they were under attack. Next they took us outside to a big campfire where the four Seminoles we had seen on our way in told us more about the wars from their point of view. The Seminoles were the only tribe that never surrendered. The wars ended when the US forces had to turn their attention to other matters, including the Civil War, and just walked away from the conflicts. In the firelight the four warriors were an impressive sight and their stories were exciting and amusing, in turn. Finally, we went beside the fort and the soldiers fired a small cannon, after first going through the whole protocol for priming and preparing it. The cannon shot was a big roar and the flame shot out about 8 feet; SO impressive in the moonlight under a canopy of stars. We walked back to the tram and returned to the campground around 8:45 feeling like we had truly traveled back in time. 

Look carefully in the palmettos!

Outside Fort Foster

Inside Fort Foster

Nearly full moon

Dinner with Ensign Sean

Lieutenant Luke

Guarding the Quartermaster's Store

Around the campfire

Cannon firers

Seminole party

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

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!