Manatee Hammock Campground

This place is in Titusville. It's a county park. We are here to visit the Kennedy Space Center. I have flown over Cape Canaveral 100s of times and always wanted to visit. We drove over there this afternoon and watched a 3D Imax movie and visited the building that housed the Space shuttle Atlantis. We also went into the gift shop. That goes without saying. We have booked two tours, 1 tomorrow and 1 the next day.

Blue Spring days 3 & 4

Things spiraled out of control yesterday and I didn't get around to posting anything. Today I had a good ride on a paved trail that runs through the park. That trail is called "The spring to spring trail". It will eventually run from Blue Spring (here), to DeLeon Spring. This afternoon we drove to the town of DeLeon Springs to visit with Reggie and Lisa Lennon. Reggie is a long time friend/business partner of the Everett's. We move tomorrow.

Blue Spring day 2

The 40 days and 40 nights of rain ended around 5 AM this morning, 39 days short of a repeat of the biblical flood. Due to a bizarre bit of circumstances we found out that Mike & Linda Everett were staying in their RV close to us. Mike is Jenny's cousin, Larsons nephew. We ate lunch together and had a good visit with them in their PP (Princess Palace). The Blue Spring we are camped near is the winter home to a group?, school?, herd? Of Manatees.

Blue Spring State Park

We only had a hour and and a half drive. It started raining at 4AM this morning. It's now 7PM and it's still raining. So, we had to break camp in the rain and we had to make camp in the rain. The breaking camp went pretty well, the making camp not so much. When we got here we discovered that our reserved campsite was no where near level. Backing in had the front too high. We tried to make it work by backing up onto blocks. Keep in mind it's raining. After using all of the blocks we had in our possession it still wasn't enough. I drove back to Park HQ to see if they had another site. Nope. We finally decided that if I nosed in I could probably raise the front wheels high enough to get near level. Raising the rear wheels off the ground is a no no.That's what we ended up doing. All the utilities are on the left side so I had to run them under the MP. It's still raining. Rain + dirt = mud. The front wheels are nearly a foot off the ground. We are here for 4 days. This is going to be terribly disappointing but I'm sad to admit I didn't take a single pic today. Should stop raining in 40 days.

Rodman day 3

Our major event today was a yak trip on the Ocklawaha river. We had to drive 6 miles to get to a ramp we could use. The river braids a lot as it meanders through the swamp so there were several opportunities for navigation screwups. I would say the most significant part of our time on the water was the large number of White Ibis, flying up and down the river and hanging out in the trees. There were 1000s of them. It was like an Alfred Hitchcock thing. We move tomorrow.

Rodman day 2

Today was partly filled with administrative details. I started with a bike ride along the berm tha parallels the canal. They had to dig up a lot of earth to get a 200 feet wide and 30 feet deep trench. The berm was straight as an arrow so the ride was unexciting. After lunch we crossed our fingers and went looking for a liquor store in Palaka. Our worries were totally unjustified. Our liquor locker has been restocked. Lunch was at the # 1 rated restaurant which was on the banks of the St. Johns River. That river is the longest river in Florida and the only river in the country that flows north. After lunch we hiked through a garden park, went to Home Depot and bought champagne at Walmart. That was about it. P.S.- the government has reopened. Whopee!

Rodman State Park

We have moved north along the path of the Cross Florida Greenway.  As we learned in yesterday's post the Greenway was originally supposed to be a Cross Florida canal. We are camped on the bank of the canal that was actually built. I got my kayak wet for the first time on this trip by paddling on the portion of the canal adjacent to our camp. The nearest town to us is Palatka. We are in dire need of a liquor store. Hopefully Palatka can satisfy our need.

So much to cover

First, a little history. Back in the 30s a project was begun to build a cross Florida canal. A strip of land 1 mile wide and 110 miles long was purchased, the residents were run off, the land was cleared, and the digging of the ditch was begun. It was to be 200 feet wide and 30 feet deep. At some point someone said WTF! A 30 foot deep trench dug into the porous limestone rock that is the spine of this state was going to cause a problem or maybe 2. The project was abandoned. The good news is Florida has a 78000 acre State Park, its called the 'Cross Florida Greenway'. I have been, and Jenny and I rode our bikes on it today. The canal was supposed to have been dug right here where we are camped. A bridge was started that was supposed to carry cars over the thing. Oh well, our government can find ways to build stuff we don't need. We move tomorrow to a campground that is on a lake, behind a dam, that was part of the canal project.

Santos day tres

Another ride this morning. I went to an area that was reserved for testosterone afflicted death wishers. There was a warning at the gate that had one of those toxic looking skulls on it. There were a lot of jumps and loop de loops and places for doing flips. There were some red spots that I think were blood stains. Not sure about that. I was alone out there so I was somewhat reluctant to do my double back flip. We are here one more full day. That wall my bike is leaning against is supposed to be a banked turn. I guess gravity doesn't apply  

Santos day 2

Things turned chilly last night. I had to bundle up for my ride this morning. We should be back to shorts tomorrow. We ate lunch at the # 3 out of 180 restaurants in Ocala. It was Mexican. As is usual with a Mexican restaurant there was too much food. We won't be eating dinner. After that experience we found a disc golf course. I threw 2 birdies and was even after 11. I reverted to my tree hitting self after that and finished +5. After # 18 we expected to be at the parking lot. We found the # 19 tee. Then # 20 and 21 etc. I think there were 27 but we quit and found a trail that led us back to the car. The pic shows just how difficult disc golf can be.

Santos trailhead campground

We are not sure if this is a state park. It is definitely a trailhead. There is a paved trail that runs forever that starts here and another trailhead for the 80 miles of single track that winds around what I think is the Ocala National forest. I rode for about an hour after we got here and I had a blast. The trails were designed and built by the OMBA (Ocala Mountain Bike Association) they are apparently pretty good. The trails are fun to ride. There are a lot of banked turns and bumps. Jenny and I rode a little (6 miles) on the paved trail before dinner.

Last day at Gold Head Branch

We think Verizon is messing with us. Before we left on this trip we changed our data plan to unlimited. They have 3 versions of unlimited. Go figure. We, of course, opted for the cheapest version of unlimited. Every afternoon things slow down to a crawl. I would pull my hair out but I don't have enough to spare. This is of moderate interest only because I generally do my blog post in the afternoon. The hundreds/thousands of followers who are expecting an update probably can't sleep because of Verizon. Shame, shame, shame on them. I can generally do the verbiage but can't do the pics until the next morning. We leave tomorrow to a park that has access to 80 miles of bike trails.

Gold Head Branch day 3

Another good ride (I really like my new bike) The Florida trail runs through this park. It's kind of like the AT. 1300 miles covering most of the length of the state. I don't know if bikes are allowed on it but I learned in the Air Force that you should never ask a question that you can't stand the answer to. Today was another shorts and T shirt day. Pic of our campsite below.

Bike Hike

We dropped the bikes off at a trailhead and started our hike from a different one. We used the ride back to the MP to hit all of the parks highlights. We were out nearly 3 hours and I feel like we have a pretty good feel for the parks personality. This is a CCC park. They all have a similar vibe. We had spectacular weather today (shorts) but it is forcast to crump soon. Don't know what we will do tomorrow. That's a good thing. The pic on the left is a little stream that runs through the park. The water is so clear it's hard to see.

Mike Roess Gold Head Branch SP

We really aren't supposed to be here. We had reservations at another park that was trashed by the Cat 5 hurricane that blew across the Panhandle so we jumped through a hoop when we found out and found this park. The drive took us east on I-10. There was a 10 mile stretch where the pine trees were snapped off about 30 feet above the ground. The forest was sticks. We are here for 4 days. There's a lake and some trails here. The pics were taken on my exploratory bike ride as the sun was setting.

Day 5 (outta here tomorrow)

Another gray chilly morning. We did mostly administrative stuff today. The MP part that failed was the carbon monoxide detector. When it fails it starts to beep and it won't stop. It failed at 2 in the morning. In order to shut it up I had to cut a wire. In order to cut a wire I had to get a wire cutter. In order to get a wire cutter I needed to get into my tool box that was in the car. It was a fiasco. My attempt to install the new detector blew a fuse. I had to find the fuse yadda, yadda, yadda. Any way, we are back in business. We ate a great seafood dinner, watched the sunset and have buttoned up outside in preparation for our departure tomorrow.

Day 4

Nothing of note to report. Another bike ride and a trip into Defuniak Springs to pick up the needed MP part that we had ordered. The weather was kinda gray and chilly so there was no sunbathing. I didn't take a single pic so I just took this one.

Grayton beach day 3

Another epic 2 hour bike ride. There is national forest land across the street from the park. There are a lot of trails that are not, in my opinion, well marked. I had planned on an hour and a half but the extra half hour was needed because I was lost. After lunch Jenny and I biked into the small town of Grayton. There is a 20 mile paved bike trail that parallels the coast. The park is at mile 8.

Grayton beach day 2

I went for a long bike ride this morning. I was disoriented most of the ride. Thank god for GPS. There are a lot of trails here that I can get lost on. I will probably try to get lost every day. There is something satisfying about recovering from being disoriented. We ate lunch at a nice restaurant in Seaside. You probably won't be surprised that the MP is acting up. We have found the part but it won't be here until Monday.

Grayton Beach SP FL

We made it to Florida. We are now officially 'snow birds'. The drive took us across Georgia and Alabama. There was a stretch on I 10 in Florida that the hurricane's damage was obvious. We are here for 5 nights. I took a short bike ride to the beach right before sunset and took these pics.

Hamilton Branch SP

I said yesterday that we would be in Georgia tonight. That was an alternative fact. However, like Sara Palin, I can see Georgia from my window. The border is  somewhere out there in the middle of the lake. (Pic below). Right before we left Beaufort I received my new bike from Rim Tours in Moab. (Pic below) We drive across the Panhandle of Florida tomorrow. Our destination is on the Gulf coast. The park where we are staying was closed due to hurricane damage until last month. The temp this morning was right at freezing, hopefully that will be the last of that for awhile.

27 holes

We played all 27 holes of the State Parks disc golf courses today. My game is now as sharp as a Ginsu knife. Jenny, as always, was my spotter. The championship course is maybe the best course I've ever played. Possibly even better than Tega Cay. We walked over there and back so we were out 2 1/2 hours. We leave here tomorrow for a one night stand in Georgia and then it's mostly Florida for the remainder of this trip.

Chester SP SC

We drove less than an hour to get to Chester. The park has a lake and 27 holes of Disc Golf. We were here last year about this time and the lake had a pretty good coating of ice on it. I'm sitting outside in shorts at the moment. Our plan this trip is more of Florida. We made our campground reservations for this year 12 months ago. I can honestly say I don't remember where we are going. The trip should last about 5 weeks. This trip should be the swan song for the MP. Our new one is being built and should be ready next month.

Random pics

The blogger app is no longer being supported  I am experimenting with using the website.

We have begun our 2019 winter trip. The first stop was Tega Cay to celebrate assorted birthdays. Seth is ?? And the twins are 9. We leave here tomorrow for Chester SP. The pic is seth's birthday feast.