10/10/2018 8/3 - 10/10/18
For our first August in Florida since 2012, we got reacquainted with Florida dog days of summer. We spent a lot of time indoors, making sure the a/c kept running and making plans. We met with a travel agent, which so far has been a bust. I guess when you give them too much of your itinerary, they decide to help someone who is less prepared. Helping the unprepared is probably a lot easier too.
We took the camper to Jetty Park with Lisa & Dan in their new camper...getting the bugs out. We found one in our camper when it didn't want to start when it got time to leave. We finally got it going but decided to take it to a shop to fix it...more on that later. Back home, we made arrangements to drop the MH off for some repairs. I drove the camper, Barb followed me across town. When we got back in the car, no a/c in the car...wow. So we stopped and had someone look at it and the verdict was $$$$. So we bought the parts and I proceeded to replace the a/c compressor, which turned into a big project. I got it all buttoned back up in time for us to drive to see our friend Patti in Georgia. The a/c worked fine. We spent 3 days with Patti and they called and said the camper was ready. So we headed home to pick it up. They had fixed the problems, so that is good. It started first try. We spent the rest of the week going to two concerts and a couple of Dr appointments...end of a busy month.
Sept. is here...only 3 more months of hurricane season. But then it is time to start traveling again. First is a 5 day Blues Festival in Las Vegas...so we flew to Vegas, spent the better part of 5 days inside, avoiding the 106 degree heat that is very common in that city. We saw about 40 gigs in those 5 days and enjoyed our time with a couple from NY that we met on one of the many cruises we have been on. Then it was fly home and get ready for the next adventure, 40 days of camping & visiting more of Florida's 155 State Parks. We missed Tyler's 21 B-day while we were gone, but got to take him out to dinner with his gal Emily. Then we are off to Bradenton for our 1st stop, Little Manatee River SP for 8 days. We visited all of the State Parks in the area with the car. One day on the way back to the camper, the a/c in the car quit working so I found a shop and got a diagnosis...the a/c compressor I had installed before we went to Georgia, had failed. So I made an appointment and we got that fixed...the car is trying to tell us something. Maybe after 225,000 miles, it is getting tired? But we got it fixed and were on our way, more sightseeing to do. We spent a day visiting more State Parks before moving to Sarasota and a spot at Turtle Beach Campground on Siesta Key. We visited more parks, areas we haven't been to in years and drove to the very end of Anna Maria Island and enjoyed the beauty of the Gulf Coast. We even made it to the south end of Florida Mainland where the Gulf of Mexico becomes Florida Bay, which separates the Everglades & The Florida Keys...there sure is more to Florida than the Mouse House. After spending time on the Gulf Coast and trying to stay away from the Red Tide for 3 days, we headed north on I-75 and stopped for the night at O'Leno State Park north of Gainesville for the night.
Next up is 13 days in the Panhandle of Florida, which has taken a direct hit by Hurricane Michael today. We are very sad it is getting rearranged and just hope everyone is OK. They are reporting 155 mph winds and 919 milibars (27.138 in Hg) which is the 3rd most powerful hurricane in the north Atlantic...not good. Not to sound selfish, but we got to spend 2 weeks enjoying the beauty of the area before Michael disrupted it all.
We arrived at Grayton Beach State Park on Monday afternoon, our base for the next 4 nights. We drove all over between Destin & Panama City, visiting State Parks we had never been to and visiting 2 that we had stayed at before but failed to get a book stamped because we didn't have the book. At the end of our 4 days, we drove west to Blackwater River State Park and on the way stopped in De Funiak Springs and had the 2 front tires on the motor home replaced. They had a strange wear pattern that concerned us both. Another unexpected expense, but something you have to do when we move around like we do. They had been there since 2013, so I am OK with it. After arriving at Blackwater River, we got set up and relaxed for the night. Sat & Sunday we spent getting the rest of the State Parks west of Tallahassee. We also drove to Pensacola and got our GPS in the car replaced under warranty at Best Buy that had quit turning on...at least that was free.
Monday morning, we were headed back east, this time at a State Park just north of the Gulf and just south of the mini-town of Sopchoppy, Ochlockonee River State Park, 6 nights in the woods. Ochlockonee is home to white deer & a bunch of very rare white squirrels, both of which we were able to see & photograph. We traveled to the rest of the State Parks on our map. We have now visited 150 of the 155 Florida State Parks that are accessible. We have plans to visit the other 5 in November. It has been an amazing adventure. Some parks are way prettier than others but they all have a story to tell. We also went to Tallahassee to visit the State Capitol buildings, both the old building which has been turned into a very cool museum and the new building whis is sort of a bland building that was all locked up because Congress is not in session. Then we walked across the street & visited the Florida Supreme Court building, which will have 3 new members come Jan. The guards know nothing about the place, just where you can & can't go...6 armed guards to guard an almost empty building seemed a little over the top. We moved on and drove back to the coast to watch the sun set. Being within a couple of miles to watch the sun rise & set make this part of Florida pretty unique along with the Florida Keys. Florida is an amazing place if you get out & look at it, I mean look at it.
So, on Sunday we set out for our current location. We drove across north Florida from Ochlockonee River to Gamble Rogers State Park 3 miles south of Flagler Beach on the Atlantic Ocean. We drove 243 miles across north Florida all on non-Interstates. We left Ochlockonee River State Park near the Gulf of Mexico and just south of the mini-town of Sopchoppy about 930 this morning and drove across a very pretty part of north Florida, staying away from all 3 Interstates (10, 75 & 95). We followed US 319 & 98, US 27, US 441, SR 222, 26, 100 & finally A1A. We crossed numerous rivers, passed through more small towns than I can remember, and a lot of memories because a lot of them had been a while since we there. We saw about 100 chuches surrounded by cars, lots of cars with tubes on the roof near Ichetucknee Springs, and a gazillion trees. What a relaxing day...minimal traffic (I think maybe a dozen cars passed us all day) Florida is a beautiful place, but you need to get off the Interstates & The Turnpike to really see it and enjoy it. We are at Gamble Rogers State Park on the Atlantic Ocean just south of Flagler Beach for the next 2 weeks. Tuesday, we will drive to Jetty Park and help our daughter celebrate another birthday, then come back here. Fall is a nice time to be at the beach. Be safe everyone, lots of beach time coming up. Stop by if you are in the area.
It has been an amazing 9 weeks. We will be here for another 10 days, then home for a couple weeks and then a trip south to finish off our quest to visit all 155 Florida State Parks...only 5 to go...stand by.
Steve & Barb Larson
Christmas, FL
