Cedar Key

We've moved. Cedar key is on the gulf coast a little south of where the Suwannee river ends. We're in a commercial RV park. We heard about this park from one of those friendly fellow campers we met someplace before now. A cold front came through last night so the highs will only be in the 60s. I had to wear a long sleeve shirt this morning. This place is supposedly famous for its sunsets. Getting pictures of sunsets is kinda hard because of the location of the sun in relation to the camera. In this pic I'm on the left.

You know you're in Florida if there's a----

Kayak on the Silver River

The river flows through the park but it's over a mile hike on a sandy trail to get to it, we put in at a county park 4 miles below the park and paddled up stream. The actual "Silver Spring" was another couple of miles. We saw tons of wildlife. No swimming or fishing is allowed and even the turtles wouldn't budge when we paddled by. The birds didn't care. We could have whacked them with a paddle. We saw a bunch of alligators. We made it all the way to the spring and turned around. The river starts at the spring and the water is crystal clear. We were on the water for nearly 5 hours. Here are a couple of pics of the trip.

Up the creek

Watch "Jenny paddles the Silver river" on YouTube

Florida finally

We will be spending the next 3 days at Silver River state park near Ocala Fl. The silver river flows from silver spring, which is a tourist attraction. We're going to spend a few hours paddling the river tomorrow. After we got set up today we did some exploring on our bikes. We were off road most of the time. There was some deep sand in places, making progress difficult. Forecast temp tomorrow is 82.

Paddling the crooked

I rode the trails this morning and we got the kayaks wet this afternoon. We got some tide advise from a ranger yesterday. We left the ramp about an hour before low tide and rode the current out. We explored a couple of tributary rivers for an hour or so and then turned around and rode the rising high tide back to our car. This is way different than I would have done it. We'll be here one more day.

Still in Georgia

We're having a heck of a time getting into Florida. We drove a couple of hours south on I 95 and are currently still in Georgia. We're right on the border at Crooked River State Park, near St. Mary's GA. We've decided that state parks afford more opportunity for doing stuff. We rode bikes for awhile this afternoon and then went into historic St. Mary's for some hors d'oeuvres. Tomorrow we will kayak on the Crooked River, which reportably, has a 6 knot tidal current. We might be washed out to sea.

Massive paddle failure.

After what I figure is something like 5000 miles, my Werner, carbon fiber, crank shaft paddle finally broke today. I cracked the right blade on the Mississippi and I have been babying it ever since. I was paddling on the intercoastal this morning and had to push off the bottom when I heard that sickening SNAP. I had a spare so I was able to continue. I guess I know what I'll ask for, for my birthday. We've got our next 5 days scheduled. Tomorrow is Crooked River state park near St. Mary's GA.

Still at Skidaway

We decided to extend our stay here to 3 days. We rode our bikes for a couple of hours today. Tomorrow I'm going to do some kayaking on the Skidaway Narrows in the morning and we'll hike all the trails in the afternoon. Here's a couple of pics.

Skidaway Island Georgia

Watch "Jenny's jungle ride" on YouTube

Jenny's idea of a bowl of cereal

We are camped in Skidaway Island State Park GA. Our visit with Lindsay & Jamie is complete. We are now headed south. This park was suggested to us by a fellow camper at the KOA in Charleston. We have noticed that people seem to be overly friendly in RV parks. They strike up conversations without provocation. It's somewhat disconcerting. I'm trying to adjust. Jenny has started to make her own granola. She claims it's so exceptionally nutritious that she only needs a mini bowl of it every day. I can't help but laugh when she has her 'bowl' in the morning.

Headed South

We stayed in Tega Cay for 3 days after our long holiday visit to Texas. We're at the KOA in Charleston visiting with Linz and Jamie and of course, Connor and Austin. Austin just started walking last week. Things are a little more hectic with both boys fully mobile. Of course, the added challenges don't impact the grand parents too awfully much. Jenny & I had everyone over for dinner tonight. Here's a pic. We're headed to Florida from here.

Exhaustipated

Def: Too tired to give a shit. We spent last night in Shreveport La. It rained all last night. It rained all day today. I kept twisting the windshield wiper switch trying to find a faster speed. We got to an RV park in Meridian MS during a slack in the monsoon. It started raining again right after I got started hooking things up. The rain just stopped but the storm is headed East and so are we. It will be a long day but we should be home tomorrow.

Luncheon at A&M system Chancellors house

Governor Perry saddles up to Dave at ceremony

It appeared to everyone that Gov. Perry was trying to get close to me but the security dude kept him away.

Big deal goings on at A&M

Today was the ceremony to Re-activate Squadron 6. Jenny and I linked up with Jerry & Diane and Alan & Donna and made it with plenty of time to mingle with our buds. The class of '74 had the greatest participation. 11 of us showed up (12) if you count Alan.

Aggie squadron 6 reinstated

To make a long story short--this squadron (6), was disbanded some time ago. I was in Sq. 6 for 2 years. All old Sq. 6 fighters have been invited to attend the ceremony. Jenny & I are here as are a large number of other Sq. 6 alumni. We had an informal get together at the MP on Friday.

Twins actual b'day

We took the tribe out to eat to celebrate Caroline and Stella's birthday. The party won't be until next weekend and, sadly, we must begin our drive home, so we are going to miss it. Before we left for the birthday dinner Jenny insisted on a photo fest. This pic has Jason, Jenny's younger brother, Maggie, his wife, their daughter, Nuria, Larson, the Patriarch, Jenny and yours truly.

Seth's Birthday

The weather was atrocious again today. We were kinda stuck because outdoor activities are pretty much what we expected to be doing. We did buy a couple of kites because kite flying was all we could think to do in hurricane conditions. One kite is still up there somewhere. If its still up tomorrow morning I guess we'll have to reel it in. We had a good shish k bob bar b que for Seth's birthday dinner. Afterward we played cards. That's what old married couples do at the KOA. This pic was taken at the card table.

South Padre Island

Seth & the twins celebrate their birthdays the first week of January. We decided to take a trip. Courtney is a beach enthusiast and none of us has ever been to S. Padre so we did some research and decided on the KOA. We got a cabin for the kids and a campsite for the parental units. We had everyone in the MP Including Seth's dog, and towed the car. The weather is beyond gross. It's cold, raining and windy. Definitely not beach weather. We did some driving around after we got here. The Forrester can't accomidate everyone so we had to put the girls in the back.