Florida

Jan. 17, Jan. 18, Jan. 19

We are still at the RV repair for these three days.  Stay around the campground in the mornings and go out to lunch and do a little shopping in the afternoons.   Monday they finish evaluating what has to be fixed and we wait for the extended warranty work to be OK ed on Tuesday.  Wednesday they take our motor home in first thing in the morning and work on it all day.  They get everything done except the recall on the refrigerator and that will be taken care of in the morning.

Jan. 20

They take our motor home in first thing to do the ref. recall.  We go to breakfast and when we get back our motor home is done.  We are able to leave around 10 and are going to St. Augustine because we missed stopping there on our way down into Florida.  We only have 110 miles to go today so will be there early.   We met some nice people while staying at the RV repair campground and exchanged information cards.  We are staying at a campground about 5 miles out of St. Augustine. 

Jan. 21

 Rained hard in the night but quit early in the morning.  It is overcast and not too warm but at least it is not raining.  Today we go into St. Augustine to visit two National Monuments.  St. Augustine was established in 1565 and is the oldest permanent European Settlement in the continental United States.  The town's principal value was as a military base for the protection of Spain's colonial trade and commerce.   We decide to not take a sightseeing tour because the cars are open air and it is cold today.  We drive the Jeep around the historic part of town and stop at Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.  It was built in 1672 to 1695 as an outpost of the Spanish empire and built of Coquina, a natural sedimentary shell stone.  It is the oldest original fort still standing intact in the U.S.  Castillo went from Spanish to British control and back to the Spanish until the United States acquired what is now Florida in 1821.  It continued as a commissioned military base until 1900 under the American name Fort Marion.   We enjoyed watching the canon firing done by men in Spanish dress.  Next we stop at St. Augustine Lighthouse which was constructed in 1871 to replace the old Spanish watchtower, Florida's first lighthouse built in 1824, that deteriorated and crashed into the sea.  Our next stop was the oldest surviving Spanish colonial dwelling built soon after the English burned St. Augustine in 1702. 
We drive by the Fountain of Youth but decide it is too cold to walk around the grounds.  We also drive by the ornate Flagler College which is Spanish Renaissance architecture and was built in 1887 as the Hotel Ponce de Leon and now home to Flagler College.  After lunch we go to Fort Matanzas National Monument which was built in 1740 to 1742 to protect St. Augustine from attack from the south.  It is on the other side of the Matanzas Inlet and the only way to get there is by boat.  The Park Service provide boat service to the fort.  It's a very small fort where seven soldiers were rotated from St. Augustine for one-month duty tours at Matanzas.  We finished the day with a drive on the beach past beautiful homes overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.  There is so much history in St. Augustine and we enjoyed seeing the sights. 





cannon firing at Castillo de San Marcos

loading the cannon

lighting cannon

view from the top of fort

St. Augustine Lighthouse

Fort Matanzas

Oldest House

Flagler College

Jan. 22

It is sunny today but a cold wind is blowing.  It has been cold here in Florida for the last several days and the locals are really complaining about the cold weather.  After breakfast we go over to a Flea Market that is right next to our campground.  It's very large and I don't think I ever got all the way around.  There are lots of truck farms nearby growing cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, radishes etc.  We bought some fresh veggies and you wouldn't believe the size of the radishes.  They are a little smaller than a baseball and they are good.  Oranges, grapefruit, strawberries and pecans are also plentiful here.  There are fruit and vegetable stands everywhere.  We go out to dinner at Carrabba's and enjoyed Italian food. 

Jan. 23

Sunny today with a slight wind blowing.  It was below freezing last night and our water hose froze.  After breakfast we move north the the town of White Spring and will stay for 2 nights.  It is close to the Okefenokee Swamp that Dick wanted to visit.  The swamp is actually in Georgia, right on the border of Florida and it is only a short drive.  In the afternoon we drive there but I will put the rest of today in my next blog.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Disney World

Jan. 8

Sunny and nice today.  We meet Chad at their hotel and get our mail.  We had our mail sent to their house in Moses Lake so they could bring it to Florida with them.  Our first day we decide to spend at Magic Kingdom.  Main street is still decorated for Christmas with lights, garlands and a large tree.  Jacob especially liked the fort and caves on Tom Sawyer Island.  His favorite ride was the tea cups which we went on about five times.  There was a fantastic firework display at 8.  We spent 12 hours at Magic Kingdom. 

Jacob, Chad and Melanie on carousel



Chad, Jacob and Barb on Tea Cup ride



Main Street at night



Cinderella's Castle at night

Fireworks

Jan. 9

Today Dick and I are going to Hollywood Studios.  Chad and family are going to Universal Studio to see Harry Potter.  We start at the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.  It is an action packed show with fight scenes, explosions and changing scenery.  It was like we were on a movie set and they were shooting the first Indiana Jones movie.  Next we hurried over to the Lights, Motors, Action Extreme Stunt Show.  Here again it was like they were shooting a movie and we saw lots of car, motorcycle and jet ski chase scenes.  They had cars jumping over trucks, cars on two wheels and a motorcycle rider going through fire.   It was interesting to see how the car stunts are done in the movies.  We also liked the Studio Backlot Tour where we saw how they simulate a flood in a canyon.  We enjoyed our day.

Indiana Jones



Indiana Jones

Another scene from Indiana Jones

motorcycle rider on fire at stunt show

Flood in canyon on Backlot Tour

Jan. 10

After two days of walking in two parks, Dick and I are sore and tired.  Today we meet Chad and family at Animal Kingdom.  We start the day on the Kilimanjaro Safaris where we saw all kinds of African animals such as giraffes, gazelles, elephants, rhinos and lions.  We were in a safari vehicle on a rough road that sometimes went through rivers.  There were no cages and the animals were free roaming.   Next we walked on some trails where we saw birds, fish, gorillas and hippos.  The Festival of the Lion King was a very good show.  It was a live performance of music, dance and singing from the Lion King.  We ate lunch at the Rainforest Cafe and while we were eating it started to rain so we bought rain ponchos.  Lots of people left the park when it started to rain.  My favorite was the 3D show It's Tough to be a Bug where the bugs seem to fly right up to your face.  This park closed at 5 so we were able to eat dinner outside of a park.  We all go to the Olive Garden.  Another great day.




Festival of the Lion King

Jacob

Dick and I in Animal Kingdom

Mom Giraffe and baby

Gorilla

Jan. 11

Sunny but a little cool in the morning.   Chad, Mel and Jacob went to Toon Town in the Magic Kingdom and Dick and I went to Epcot.  By 11 they met us at Epcot.  We went on a space simulator to Mars and Spaceship Earth which took us back in time and into the future.  The best ride was called Test Track where our car went into slides like breaking on ice, up hills, and 65 mph around a race track.  Jacob liked that ride and as we were leaving, a man working there overheard him say he wanted to go again so we were led to the front of the line to ride again.  Another fun ride was Soarin.  Its a free-flying hang gliding adventure.  Epcot has different countries represented with attractions, gift shops and restaurants from that country.  At 9 there was a firework and laser light show over the lake in the center of the park. 



Tree at Epcot



Light show at Epcot

Jan. 12

Today it is only on the 50's.  Chad and family went back to Universal for a second day.  Dick and I were too tired to go to a park today so we stayed around the campground.   Four long days of walking around parks was enough for us.  About the only thing I did all day was some laundry.  We picked-up Chad, Mel and Jacob and went out to dinner.  They leave in the morning and we are moving up to Wildwood.   We enjoyed seeing the kids and spending time with them at Disney World.  Jacob was such a trooper, never complaining, even though we had long days and lots of walking.  On the Weather Chanel today they said there is snow in 49 of the 50 states.  The only state without snow is Florida.

Jan. 13

Cold in the night again and got down to 30.  The sun is shining so it will warm up a little today.  We are going to a RV repair shop again.  Our step will not go all the way out and will not go all the way in when we move the RV.  We need to get it fixed.  There are a few other things that need fixing so we might be there for a few days.  They have a campground where we can stay and will have our RV back at night. 

Jan. 14

They work on our RV today so we need to find something to do.  We go to the little town of Leesburg where there are some interesting shops to check out.  On the way home we stop at The Villages where there are 80,000 homes and condos.  We stop at one of the shopping areas and check out the stores.  It is quite a place where people get around by golf carts.  Some are very unique and look like cars.  The step is not fixed because they ordered parts for it. 



unusual golf carts

Jan. 15
 
We got up early to go to a RV show in Tampa which is about 65 miles away.  We spent about 2 hours at the RV show and decided to leave a go to lunch.  It is getting hot out and there are a lot a people at the show.  We stop at Costco on the way back to the motor home. 

Jan. 16

We stay around the campground today and in the afternoon we do some grocery shopping.  It's warm enough to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine.  By evening the campground is full and RV's are parked in the lot in front of us.  I don't know how long we will be here in Wildwood and plan on going to St. Augustine next.  Tomorrow we need to have to motor home ready to go into service by 7:15 in the morning.  We have been on the road 4 1/2 months and driven 10,000 miles.  We are still loving the travel and having a great time.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb

Florida Keys and Florida

Dec. 24

It is sunny and nice with the temperature in the 70's.  We stayed around the campground today and just enjoyed sitting in the sun down by the water.  We went to a great seafood restaurant for dinner, dining out over the water. 

Dec. 25

We are having great weather here in the keys.  Sunny and in the 70's again today.  We drove to a nearby sandy beach and enjoyed putting our feet in and walking along the sand.  We spent most of the day outside enjoying the beautiful weather.  I cooked a ham and we had a very good Christmas dinner.

Dec. 26

Hard rain in the night but by morning it is clearing.  The wind is blowing hard today with white caps on the water on both sides of the islands.  We drive the Jeep into Key West and go to the Historic Seaport Boardwalk where there are restaurants and shops and of course many docked boats.  We had a good lunch and Dick bought 2 pieces of key lime pie to take home.  We love that pie!  On the way home we stopped at the Turtle Hospital but missed their last tour.  They had a great display of the different turtles in the area and lots of pictures and information.




7 mile bridge on the way to Key West



The water was this incredible color

Dec. 27

Today we move north from the keys.  The wind is still blowing but not as hard as yesterday.  We move up to the town of Moore Haven which is near Lake Okeechobee and the larger town of Clewiston.  Dick's parents spent one winter in the Clewiston area back in the 70's and we remembered the stories his dad had about the area.  The Clewiston area is known as Sugarland because sugar cane is grown there.  We passed acres and acres of sugar cane in different stages of growth.  Smoke was in the air as they need to burn the field  before they harvest the cane.  They harvest the cane from Nov through March.  There are also orange groves and lots of cattle in the area.  We saw many truck loads of oranges on the road. 

Dec. 28

It got cold in the night and frost is on the ground this morning.  We had an early lunch then took off for a drive around Lake Okeechobee.  We stopped at several market stands along the way and bought fruit and even some sugar cane.  There is a high dike around the lake so you can't see the lake from the road.  There are roads over the dike so we could see the lake.  It is marshy around the shore.  Back at the campground we bought dinner at the club house and stayed and played bingo.  Dick was lucky and won a game.  He ended up winning $37 which pretty much paid for our night of entertainment.

Dec. 29

Today we stayed around the campground and enjoyed the sunshine and visiting with people in the campground. 

Dec. 30

Sunny and nice again today.  We drive into Fort Myers and on the way we stop at a discharge river at a power plant to see the Manatees.  They are very sensitive to cold water so they hang out around power plants where there is warm water.  The Manatees are endangered and protected in Florida.  The power plants must keep the warm water flowing even it they shut down the power plant to work on it.  We were excited to finally see Manatees.  They are air breathing mammals and are related to elephants.  They are slow moving and live on aquatic vegetation.  We had a good view of them from the boardwalk along the water and saw all sizes of Manatees.  We next went to Fort Myers Beach area where there are shops and restaurants.  We ate lunch at an open air restaurant.  Dick decided he wants a bike so we go to Camping World and buy 2 fold-up bikes.  They have a carry bag to put them in when we are traveling.  They are small enough to go in the back of the Jeep when folded.

Manatees

Fort Myers Beach

Shopping at Fort Myers Beach


Dec. 31

Dick got the bikes set up so we could ride around the campground.  We had fun riding on all the roads and talking to people along the way.  We stayed in the campground today and just enjoyed the sunshine.  After dinner there was a New Years Eve party in the club house.  Everyone brought finger food to share and the campground band was playing music for dancing.  We enjoyed sitting with Ron and Elaine from British Columbia and meeting some new people.  We left before midnight and moved out to the road by our neighbors.  They were playing music and we had fun doing some line dancing and learned to fox trot.  We rang in the new year outside and among some new friends. 

Jan. 1

Sunny and nice again today.  We stay around the campground to do the laundry in the afternoon.  There is Bingo again tonight and we are going to go over and play.  We were lucky again tonight and both of us won a game and ended up winning $86.  

Jan. 2

Sunny and warm today.  After breakfast we went down south to Big Cypress National Preserve.  The preserve totals 729,000 acres.  We saw birds, alligators and turtles in the roadside canals.  We came on an area where there was a high fence with wire on the top to keep the Florida Panther off the highway.  They are funneled to a underpass under the highway.  At the first visitors center we walked along a boardwalk and saw Manatees again.  There  were not as many as were at the power plant but a few  were swimming in the water.  At the  visitors center in the center of the preserve we saw many alligators sunning and swimming in the canal below the boardwalk.  We drove to Everglades City and had lunch.  We stopped at the Gulf Coast Visitors Center in the Ten Thousand Islands area of the Everglades. 



Alligator swimming in Big Cypress

 Jan. 3
We said good-by to the couples we had become friends with and move about 70 miles north for three days.   We really liked the campground and met some really nice people.  We exchanged information so we can keep  in touch with them.  We are in the Wauchula area at one of the Thousand Trails campgrounds.

Jan. 4

Warm enough today to wear shorts.  After breakfast we go to the river that flows around the campground and check on fossil digging.  They find shark teeth in this river.  One man was digging and collecting in the river.   He looks for fossils frequently and he gives us a lot of information.  Before leaving he gave us 2 shark teeth that he had gotten from a local mine.  He makes jewelry and has a booth at a nearby flea market on weekends.  I don't think we will try to do any digging.  We go to dinner with the couple behind us.  They have been here before and know the good places to eat. 

Jan. 5

Sunny and nice today.  After breakfast I go over to the meeting house where there are crafts to learn.  I make a crochet necklace and then in the afternoon I make a crystal bracelet.  It was a fun way to spend the day.  After dinner we go over to the couple behind us to say good-by.  We are leaving in the morning. 



Jan. 6

It rained in the night and still raining this morning.  We are going up to Orlando and only have about 70 miles to travel.  This campground is very large with about 1500 spots and we are staying for 7 days.  Tomorrow Chad, Mel and Jacob fly in to go to Disney World.  We are camped only 9 miles away so it will be any easy ride into the park.  We drive down to Orlando to buy our tickets into the park and got a 5 day ticket.  The more days you buy the cheaper it is. 

Jan. 7

Cold and windy today.  We drive down to a flea market to try to find  the man who gave us the shark teeth.  He wasn't there today but we did a little shopping there.  We stayed around the campground when we got back and I did some laundry.  Chad and family got in late because their plan was a couple of hours late.  We will make plans for rest of the week and spend some of it with the kids.  Definitely Happy Travels, Barb