Kathleen's Window: Part 2- December in Florida or What to Do in Florida If You Can't Camp on the Beach!

This is a continuation of our travels in Florida in 2012 before I began blogging in January. See the posting “Back on the Road and Looking Behind Us at 2012” for the first part.

Before we left Crooked River State Park in Georgia, we discovered that we had a flat tire. Our back axle has duallys, two tires together on each side. We had valve extenders put on at the infamous Chantilly Mercedes Benz in order to make it easier to read the tire pressure and fill the tires. After leaving we pulled into the nearest truck stop and got in line for the truck service bays. After the mechanic managed to break off a fake lug nut on the purely decorative wheel covers, he discovered that the valve extenders had been screwed onto the old short valve extenders which allowed the air to leak out. After fixing the problem and refilling the tire we were on our way to Florida. (The valve extender problem was never completely fixed until we returned to Maryland at the end of March.)

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center for a map and had our free cups of fresh orange juice. I would love to know how many decades they have been doing that. I remember getting it as a child when we traveled to Florida! We left the interstate near Gainesville and drove through the countryside to Manatee Springs State Park for three nights. We had read that the manatees were just beginning to come up the Suwanee River for the winter and we thought we might see them.

The hot springs allow the scuba divers to access the underground caves. The day we arrived the access was stopped for the winter, because the manatees come into the pools for warmth. On all three days we hiked out to the pier on the river and on two days we saw manatees. One day we saw a pod of five, and the next day a lone one that came close to the pier. Our other discovery was turkey vultures that migrate south to this spot for the winter. There were hundreds, perhaps thousands of them. They roost in the trees overnight where the warmth from the hot springs rises up. Incredibly clumsy birds, they don't fold their wings before they land on a limb, so there's a lot of crashing into trees and knocking other birds off perches. There also seemed to be an elaborate pecking order. We stayed on the pier until dark fascinated by the noise and and spectacle. So ugly and ungainly!

Greg did some bike rides in the woods and took me on my first real mountain bike trail ride. He also rode into the nearest town, Chiefland, seven miles away, to return phone calls. That was our first experience with spotty phone coverage. He got a lot of strange looks from the locals as he lounged about the bank lawn in his biking clothes.

The campground and the facilities were very nice and we enjoyed camping in the sand, live oak woods and palmettos. The only downside was the large group of University of Florida students that showed up after dark and partied at their campsites all night. I wasn't thrilled to look out my window the next morning and see a guy roll out of the car he had slept in and pee on a tree!

Swim stairs at Manatee Spring

Boardwalk along the Manatee Spring outfall out to the Suwanee River.

Firewood delivery

Turkey Vultures fighting for roosts in the warm air rising up from the warm spring.

Turkey Vulture warming up in the morning sun.

Manatee

Cyprus knees

Saturday, December 1, 2012

Our next stop was Silver River State Park in Ocala. Manatee Springs was near the Gulf Coast. We drove back into the interior of the state. The park is located next to the old Silver Springs resort which appeared to be run down and for sale. (I later read that it has been bought by the state and will be combined with the state park.) There were hiking and biking trails down to the river and through the park. We took advantage of those and Greg discovered that I can't ride in the sand. (I won't elaborate on my tantrum!)

We left after three nights and stopped at a WalMart nearby. While we were there we got a phone call from the campground host who informed us that we left the surge protector on the electric post. Campground electricity can be erratic and the surge protector keeps us from accidentally frying our wiring. It could have been a very expensive lesson if we hadn't gone back for it. They cost $275! We haven't left it behind again!

Silver River about one mile below Silver Spring

Bike/walking trails

Racing canoes

Gopher tortoise on a mission

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Our next drive took us east through the Ocala National Forest to Tomoka State Park near the Atlantic Ocean. We were hoping to be able to ride our bikes to the beach. The park is on the mainland and Ormond Beach is on the barrier island across the Halifax River (the Inter-Coastal Waterway) from it. The campground looked similar to all the parks we'd camped in since Georgia; live oaks, sand, palmettos and Spanish moss. The fog rolled in from across the inlet on and off all but one of the five days we were there. But, it was a calm, quiet, private site and we enjoyed it. Two evenings near dusk, we had an osprey sit up in a dead tree behind out site. We walked and rode our bikes around the park. Two days Greg rode the bridge over to the beach. I didn't feel confident to go over the steep drawbridge, and ride in the traffic. We did ride the paved bike path through the park and through the adjoining waterfront community. While we were here we discovered that we could get local TV stations by raising our roof antenna. Then Greg discovered how to connect on the back of the TV so that we could hook up the ROKU to stream Netflix. Suddenly we had entertainment options!