Jake, Jesse and Java

Our next stop in Florida was to visit an old high school friend, Alex. We didn't really know each other that well in high school, but we reconnected at one of our high school reunions and have kept in touch via email since then. When I learned that she moved to a 7 acre piece of property in northern Florida, I vowed we would visit one time on our way in or out. This time was it. Good timing. Her donkey, Jesse, just gave birth to a baby 10 days ago. Is she cute or what? This is mamma, Jesse, and her baby, Java. Here's the daddy, Jake, with Alex. She had plenty of room for us to park the motorhome, and even has a 30 amp hookup for us! They say poodles are smart ... but, sometimes I'm not too sure. Here's Odie barking and chasing after Jesse. And, he didn't back off even once he got right at her heels! Donkeys can *kick* y'know! Hey, dumb dog! We took a little time to show Alex and her husband, Jim about geocaching. We found a geocache at a park less than a mile from their house. Beautiful trees. Thanx Alex! We will visit again. Bye Bye Java

Paddling the Econfina River

This is the kind of day that explains why we love RVing. The spontaneous recreational opportunities we have that would normally require weeks or months of planning. We looked at our Passport America directory and selected a site in a town called Perry, Florida. As we were driving down the road, we noticed a sign for Econfina State Park that confirmed there was truly an RV park there. We had noticed this also in our Passport America book but didn't really believe it. We looked at each other and said, 'Let's go there', found a place to turn around, and drove the extra 6 miles to that park. It was delightful. You know we like to paddle on rivers and there was a river here, but we didn't have enough time - we were planning to get to Gainesville the next day to visit our friend Alex. But, we got an email from Alex that the next day wasn't good for her, could we wait a day. Well, OK. Now, what do we do with our extra day? We really would like to paddle *down* the river rather than up and back. I wonder if we could find someone to follow us in their car to a put-in spot ... etc. etc. We found a put-in spot that was on the main road and figured we could leave the car there and go back with the motorhome later. So, we had a day on the river. There were a few challenging places where trees were down across the river. We would get a 'running' start and run the kayak up on top of the partially submerged tree ... sitting kind of like a see-saw. Then, we scootch our bodies to the front of the kayak to tip it over the front of the log and eventually, after rocking, and pushing, and 'scootching', we'd be in the water on the other side. There were about 7 or 8 of these obstacles. It made the day more interesting. We never did have to get out of the kayak and portage. We paddled for a good 4 hours and didn't see another soul until we were almost to the take-out point, the boat launch at the State Park. Once we were out, Jim easily hitched a ride with another boater who had just used the boat ramp and was driving out to the main road. A perfect day. 

  

See the .pdf Blog Book for 2006 to see the photos that are supposed to be here. Use the Table of Contents to find this particular post by its title.

Rivers and Gators and Birds, Oh My

One of the very special features of Florida is the fresh water springs. After leaving Patricia's, we decided to to a little sightseeing and visit Wakulla Springs. This is a huge spring which then feeds the Wakulla river. It just became a state park in the 80's sometime, which explains why I never went there when I lived in Tallahassee in the 70s. One thing that people do in the Florida springs is go scuba diving. Jim and I have done that in Ginnie Springs. We have our cavern diving certification but would never be allowed to dive in Wakulla. The entrance to the cave is at 160 feet! If you spend an hour diving, you need 5 hours of decompression before you can come up! Go visit this really cool interactive website that leads you thru the cave. btw - the difference between a cavern and a cave is that, with a cavern, there is always a source of natural light - you never get into complete darkness. In my book, caverns are cool - caves are scary. We took the river tour at Wakulla and our guide was about the most enthusiastic environmentalist I've ever met. She never did get thru her standard spiel because she kept saying, "Oh look! There's a ..." Wood Duck, the number 1 most beautiful duck anywhere. White Egret on it's nest And, it's breeding season so they have the full plumage. Green Heron An alligator Yellow crowned night heron (very rare to see this during the day) Spider Lilly Great Blue Heron on her nest feeding chicks Blue Heron (not 'Great' Blue, just Blue) Anhinga This alligator photo didn't come out right ... but I kinda like it ... gator art. Just looking into the gin-clear water made the $6 trip worthwhile. Jim had the camera for this ride, but there were a few moments where he was busy helping the guide change over the gas tanks on the boat motor. The rest of us enjoyed a few moments of peace and quiet in this primeval place. I picked up the camera and focused on a wood duck ... it was only after we got home and looked at the pictures that I realized I wasn't the only one focused on that poor wood duck! Can you see the alligator in the upper right? This is supposed to be the spot where Johnny Weismuller made his famous jungle call as Tarzan. But this one that Jim took takes the prize!

Greetings from Florida

Just because we left Florida doesn't mean we don't like it. Florida is actually very special. It's not just DisneyWorld, Miami Beach and the Keys. It has lots of wilderness and rivers and wonderful campgrounds and crystal clear springs. So, when we crossed the state line, we were excited. Florida was named after the spanish la florida (flo-REE-dah) meaning 'Land of Flowers'. Yep We stopped at the first rest area - also the Welcome Center with lots of tourist information. We had a free glass of orange juice, and picked up bags full of pamphlets on hiking trails, kayakable rivers, campgrounds, springs, state parks etc. I-10 up here in the north 'panhandle' area of Florida is a great road. Wide, well maintained road traveling thru gently rolling hills and dense forests on either side. Our first stop was to visit our friend, Patricia. We knew her in South Florida and, since we've been gone, she bought a piece of property and moved to North Florida. Her front yard was a great place to park the motorhome! So, she got to visit us at home, just like we got to visit her at home. And, we got to see her in uniform for her job in a local correctional institution. There are apparently a lot of prisons in N Florida - providing a major portion of the employment opportunities. Then we had a leisurely morning, oh boy, reading in bed ... my favorite!

Biloxi - good news, bad news

The good news is that there are a couple of casinos in Biloxi that are open, and we were able to park for the night for free. We called the Imperial Palace and asked if there was any parking for motorhomes ... they directed us to a parking area under the freeway. We had dinner at the IP's buffet and it was excellent! The casino was packed. The other good news is we got to put a new state on our map. The last time we were thru Mississippi we didn't spend the night - and you can't put a state on the map if you just drive thru! The last good news is that the town is bustling with activity ... if you're into demolition or construction - there's lots of work to be done in Biloxi, they *are* rebuilding. The bad news is that the level of devastation is overwhelming. Here's the Beau Rivage - it actually looks in tact from the outside, but we understand the first two floors are wiped out from flooding on the inside. It is currently closed. We heard a story that the newest casino - the Hard Rock cafe claimed that their decorative guitar was completely hurricane proof ... well, if you look close it is damaged .. but it is still there. More scenes along the beach. It looks like a war zone, doesn't it? There's no gas being pumped here at any price!