Winter Travels 3

January 30-February 6, 2018: Marv made reservations a bit late this year, since we were still unsure of our plans. Therefore, it was really exciting when he managed to get a week at Oscar Scherer State Park followed by 6 days at nearby Myakka State Park. Louise Sternberg had introduced us to both of these parks and they have become two of our favorites. But they are very popular, making them really hard to get reservations. The weather was just getting better and better and we had lots of sun and temperatures in the low to mid-80s. Oscar Scherer is an urban park, a small island of wilderness in the middle of the busy Sarasota-Venice area, just miles from the gorgeous Gulf beaches. All the sites are surrounded by undergrowth so they feel very private and ours backed up to the many acres of scrub oak flatwoods so it was great. We took advantage of the Pancake breakfast, ranger hikes, Friday night movies with popcorn (Groundhog’s Day with Bill Murray on Groundhog’s Day, of course), and adjacent Legacy Rail-to-Trail during our idyllic week’s stay. While there we managed to ride about 35 miles on our bikes and saw some gopher tortoises, water turtles, and lots of birds, including the resident eagles with the viewing area just about a hundred yards from our site. We also appreciated being able to do our laundry with credit card enabled machines while we watched the eagles’ nest.

Our private campsite #50

Our ride north on the Legacy Trail was about 11 miles. Along the way I
saw two gopher tortoises, a yellow necked turtle, and an osprey enjoying a meal on a branch.

We added on to an Audubon volunteer led hike, who showed us an owl's
nest with no owls in sight, near the eagles' nest.

A tri-color heron

Marv got some great shots and a video of the gopher tortoise grazing on grass.

We managed to get over to nearby Nakomis Beach, just north of Venice, for sunset and a pleasant meal of cheese, bread, wine, and smoked tuna spread. The next day the GPS took us on a wild goose chase to find the Lemon Bay Nature Preserve where we inadvertently took a l-o-n-g hike and saw the whole area because of the lack of adequate signage. Luckily it was a very pleasant day and very pretty trails.

A view of Lemon Bay from the boardwalk

We saw these little geckos everywhere.

We spent part of one afternoon sitting in the sun on the beach but with a nice
breeze we weren't enticed into the chilly water.

The day we rode south on the Legacy Trail we traveled 16 miles and went into
Venice for lunch and to visit the beach. We shared a HUGE hot fudge sundae, justified
by our long bike ride but only took this one picture of the day!

One of our days we took the state park trail on the other side of the bike trail through a big area of scrub oak flatwoods to Big Lake. We back packed a picnic lunch that we ate over looking the "Lake", left from construction of the nearby freeway.

The trail was only this wide near the beginning, right off the Legacy Trail.

We assume this is some kind of orchid but didn't know what sort. It smelled lovely!

We found this wood stork at Big Lake, along with many snowy egrets and a Great Blue Heron or two.

This is the only Scrub Jay we saw in this protected area which usually has plenty.

Our second sunset at Nakomis Beach.

Our final morning before leaving Oscar Scherer gave us our best viewing of the eagles.

If you look closely you can see both babies and one adult here.

One parent leaves as the other stands guard with one baby behind.

Both adults are vigilant parents until the babies fledge. Adults mate for life, and this female returned to the same nest with her mate for many years. Three years ago, after their babies fledged, her mate was electrocuted when he landed on high voltage wires with a wet fish. She came back to the nest the next year with a new mate and they raised babies there for two more years. They returned this year to the nest about two weeks before Hurricane Irma came ashore. Although the nest appeared undamaged, the pair built this nest within site of the other and the original nest remains vacant. It is unusual because it is in a dead tree and they nearly always prefer a live tree. 

Winter Travels 2

January 26-30, 2018: We were blessed with fair weather to pack and then drive south. There was a quick stop for lunch in Fort Wayne with Ken, Jen, Josh and Josie then on to Carmel. Sarah had reservations at a pizza place called “The Brick”, renovated by a new owner, where the seven of us could eat dinner for free as they trained their staff; all we paid for was the beverages! We celebrated Analyn’s 7^th birthday there, then Sarah went to church for bell and vocal choir practice, Craig, Eli, Jordan, and Analyn went to the kids’ school for Science Night, and Marv and I got back on the road. When we were about an hour south of Louisville, we stopped at a Pilot Truck Stop where we pulled in with the Big Rigs and stayed the night (for free) for the first time, which is now possible with our self-contained trailer. Hard driving the next day got us to Troy, Alabama, where we stayed (for free, again) at a Walmart parking lot. We thought we would have another, similar stay but Sunday found us closer to our reserved site for Monday night at Hillsborough River State Park than we expected. We called all the State Parks along the way and, as expected, no one had openings. We tried a couple of private parks in Zephyrhills, just north of Hillsborough, and couldn’t get anyone to answer. On a fluke, we called Hillsborough River and, miracle of miracles, “Caroline” told us she could get us in a day early, and even gave us a site where we could stay for the now three night stay!

Ana was happy with her Lego set and money towards a LOL Doll,
which were still difficult to find after the Christmas rush on them.

Like all the other places we have reservations this year, we have stayed at Hillsborough River before so it is very familiar to us. Although they have a few park sponsored activities like coffees and pot lucks, our short stay meant we would miss them. We took hikes and biked around the 3 mile circular, one-way camp road and enjoyed the beautiful Blue-Super-(nearly)Full Moon with a walk around our camping loop with no need for flashlights.

The campsite Caroline gave us a day early was even better than the one
we had reserved, at the back of the second loop and privately tucked away.
Apparently however she recorded it incorrectly and the next day another Ranger
came to check why were in it, wince he had just given it to someone else. 
Luckily, he didn't seem surprised that Caroline had made the mistake and
he let us stay. Whew!

This pileated woodpecker led us on our first hike up the river.

The Hillsborough River is very placid and we have kayaked downstream and then
back  up to our put-in spot, but we didn't put our kayak in this year.

I'm not sure how the front turtle got out on the limb like that
nor how she will get down when the time comes. I love this shot!!

Tri-color heron

The old CCC suspension bridge, which has been closed for historic renovation,
was open this year. It's a good thing because the newer bridge was closed with
damage from the hurricane. We saw evidence of Irma nearly everywhere we stayed.

Approach to the CCC bridge.

Marv gets arty with the fungi.

Winter Travels 1

 January 9-16, 2018: Our Winter Travels this year were a bit convoluted in that we flew to Cocoa Beach, Florida to spend a week with our dear friends John and Mary Anne Larzelere, who graciously invited us to share their wonderful condominium at Las Olas (The Waves) just south of Cape Canaveral. A week or so after we returned we packed up our Evergreen trailer and drove it to Florida for its first extended stay.  Our week with John and Mary Anne was as relaxing as could be with walks on the beach, time in the pool and hot tub, puzzles, reading, lots of good eating, and conversations that never end when you’re with longtime, very precious friends.

You can always tell the Northerners in Winter. We were some of the
 few wearing bathing suits in the high-60 degree weather.

The pier just north of Las Olas always had waves and always had surfers in wetsuits .

The pool from the fifth floor balcony. That's me down there. 

Marv, on the Larzeleres' balcony overlooking Cocoa Beach. 

Marv and John riding north on Cocoa Beach

When we got to the Cape Canaveral jetty, we headed inland to the Lock between the ocean
and the intercoastal lake.  The lock is interesting because it flows into the ocean during low tide
and into the lake at high tide. The difference is about 7 feet here. Note the towering Disney
Cruise ship in the background, loading up passengers for a few days of Magic.

The white shrimp I had for lunch came off this boat.

Our delicious lunch was dockside at Atlantic Seafood Company. We earned our
lunch with our 11-12 mile bike ride.

Just north of Las Olas is Kennedy Space Center and in the area is a sort of safety buffer zone, cleared of residents and development, and even a small village known for its independent, quirky residents. Left to revert to its natural state it is now a National Wildlife Refuge. Both times we have visited Cocoa Beach we have driven to it and taken its winding scenic drive. The eagles that were residents here are gone now, after Hurricane Irma blew down their nesting tree. But there was still lots to see and because it was MLK Day, it was a free admission day besides! It was a perfect "last day" with our generous and gracious hosts.

John, Mary Anne, Peggy and Marv at the entrance sign.

We started with a picnic lunch, grateful for the warming sun on a chilly day.

Marv captured a great shot of this Great Blue Heron and its reflection.

Our first alligator of 2018. We didn't see many, no doubt
because of the temperatures in the low 60s.

Another great shot by Marvin of a Roseate Spoonbill in flight.

We were fascinated to watch the Spoonbills waving their distinctive bills across the
bottom of the creek to stir up food, and the egrets that followed them to share.

A nice red bellied woodpecker shot

I got out of the car and went to the edge of the bank to get this shot of a large gator.

Iceland Part 6

Friday, October 19: This evening we would head back to the U.S., but not before we walked up to Hallgrimskirkja, the iconic national Lutheran cathedral, back down to tour The Harper on our own, and then over to lunch on Iceland' s famous hot dogs, supposedly the best in the world. It had been a short trip but our only regret has been the cloudy nights which prevented us from seeing the Northern Lights.

The church is at a high point in the city of Reykjavik.
The streets here are lined with high-end shopping.

The male troll was outside a shop along the walk up the hill.

The architect planned the steeple for a lower height.  The powers-that-be
insisted he change it so it would be higher than the Catholic church.

The pipes for their magnificent organ.

The organist was practicing within a roped off area surrounded with signs asking
that he not be disturbed. We were annoyed that he stopped playing for a long time to
talk to this woman, but then I realized she was probably the Bishop of the church
so, you know.......

Leif Erickson's statue is in front of the church.

We visited with the female troll on our way back down the hill.

The Harper Opera House is right across from our hotel. At night the windows are
lighted, usually to mimic the northern lights, but sometimes with political messages.

One can wander around inside The Harper and enjoy the views from 6 or 7 levels.

This unassuming hot dog stand is said to have the best hot dogs in the world.
Bill Clinton famously ate one here and Sarai told us true Viking women eat two
with all the fixings(raw white onions and crispy fried onions, ketchup, sweet brown mustard called pylsusinnep, and remoulade, a sauce made with mayo, capers, mustard, and herbs), so that's what I did.

This woman has worked here for many years and she served Bill Clinton his.
The picture of the occasion is on the wall behind here.

The hot dogs were pretty darn good! They are made with mostly lamb,
along with some pork and beef and they more than fill the bun.

Kris and Heidi enjoy their Pylsu.