11/15/2016 11/9-14/2016
We went to bed on Nov 8 not knowing the results from the National, State & Local Elections and slept well. We woke on Wednesday to a mixed bag of happy & not so happy results. We have a new President & a new Commissioner at home. We also have some people re-elected who should not have and some other issues, but we are going to wait and see how it plays out before we get overly concerned. Needless to say, the next 2 years are going to be interesting and will require vigilance.
We got packed up and made the drive to St Joseph Peninsula, about 2 hours south through the Florida Panhandle. The Panhandle is an interesting place, agriculture, military, little towns & lots of places to go fishing. We had never been to St Joseph Peninsula State Park, it is always full, so we made sure to reserve a place early. Upon arrival, we are told the power was off in the whole park but were told it would be on by 6, a couple hours away. So we parked and fired off the generator...still warm in Florida. We started our process of getting ready to be home, and then went down to the beach to watch the sunset. We are on a little spit of sand that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico, very vulnerable to storms, but very beautiful spot. It is a very cool spot as one of our last stops of our summer. The electricity came back on about 630 and our grumpy neighbor told us when to turn off the generator.
The next morning, we went driving, checked out the campground, decided we would come back next trip, got Barb's State Park book stamped and went into St Joseph to visit the other State Park in town, a museum covering the very first Florida Constitution Convention in 1838-39. It is an interesting stop and covers why it was here & what happened to St Joseph afterwards. We drove through St Joseph again and then drove the 16 miles or so west to Apalachicola for lunch, overlooking the Apalachicola River...steamed oysters from the home of the largest oyster production area in the US. We headed back at 530 and watched the sun sink into the Gulf as we drove. What a cool corner of the state. We went back to the camper and spent the evening enjoying the beauty of the area.
The next morning was moving day, and that included a drive east on US 98 which follows the Gulf for a 100 miles or so and then takes you south along with US 19. We went through several small towns again along with a couple of touristy areas, before heading south. We arrived at Chiefland, an agriculture center about 120 miles north of Tampa. We checked into Manatee Springs State Park west of town and on the Suwanee River, got our camper hooked up and went on a ride to check it all out. When we went to the spring, we learn there is a pontoon ride available so we spent the next 1.5 hours on a guided boat ride, just us and the kid driving the boat...very pretty and interesting ride. Then when we got back, our fee for the boat ride included a BBQ dinner, so we sat next to the spring eating BBQ...how cool. We drove into town to make some phone calls (no cell service in the park) and bought some light bulbs I noticed had burned out on the back of the motor home.
The next morning, we took a drive to Fanning Springs State Park. There is not a lot there except a spring and a place manatees will congregate this winter, as the water will be warmer there than the Suwanee River. From there we drove south and west to Cedar Key, another new spot for us. The State Park & Museum was fun to see, a lot of history about how Cedar Key became a popular spot and the manufacture of lots of pencils, sponge and of course seafood and how the town got destroyed by a hurricane in 1896 and never really recovered. Today, it is mostly a tourist area for fishing, relaxing & watching the sun sets. It is a quaint little town on the Gulf of Mexico. We spent a couple of hours there and then drove back to the camper. The drive through an unspoiled Florida is a nice drive between there & Chiefland. We enjoyed the stop...like going back in time.
Friday, we drove the 120 miles to Hillsborough River State Park, the 11th State Park we had visited in a week. We set up camp and checked out the park. It is only about 14 miles from the amphitheater we visit a lot near the Florida State Fairgrounds, so we will probably utilize it more often. Then we drove to the town of Lutz and met Karen & Bill Harvey for dinner...very nice seeing them. Then it was back to the camper to get some sleep, big day ahead. Sat was a drive to St Petersburg and a day of music with Whiskey Myers, Blackberry Smoke, The Fabulous Thunderbirds & The Doobie Brothers, and a couple more. We met frynds Karen & Jerry Koncar & Dana Peck and her friend and spent the afternoon & evening rocking. It was a great time and a perfect way to end our summer. We drove back to the camper about 1 am and got some sleep. It was much needed.
Sunday morning, it was time for the final leg of our trip, 118 miles home. Everything went fine. It was fun to get home. We spent the next few hours getting the TV activated, turning on the internet, fixing a broken well and emptying all of our stuff out of the camper and getting it stuffed back into the garage. It has been an amazing time. I hope y'all enjoyed reading about our adventures and following along on our journey. We are going to take a couple of months and do some stuff around the house and continue our enjoyment of the music scene close to home. We probably won't do too much until after New Years and then we will start getting ready for our next trip, which will begin with 2 weeks at Flagler Beach and include a trip to Minnesota & back. Until then, I likely won't write too much unless it is warranted. Thank you for reading this blog, I enjoy writing it.
Steve & Barb Larson
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Some of the wildlife on the Suwanee |
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Pelicans waiting on lunch |
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The view from our table at Cedar Key |
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Jerry & Karen hanging out with Barb |
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Whiskey Myers |
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Blackberry Smoke |
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Fire & Ice |
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The moon over Tampa Bay |
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The Fabulous Thunderbirds |
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Just having fun |
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The Moon at home Sunday night |
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Our Camping spot at Hillsborough River SP |
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Our own wildlife...flock of turkeys |
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