Wintering In Florida

Month 2 – January 2022

When I start these entries, I always feel like I should be saying “Captain’s Log, Star Date …” Hahaha. We are coming to the end of our second month in Florida. The time is going by too fast. We are having a great time enjoying the sunshine, our family and our explorations. However, we have been lacking a little with the exploration side of things. Too much time visiting, I suppose. And Bill’s work schedule gets in the way too. Cold weather has also moved in, which keeps us from getting out on the water. I check the temps here compared to WA/OR so I can send pics to my kids and make them jealous. Is that wrong? I haven’t been able to do that this last week. We have had 3 rainy, gray days (gasp!). Our morning temps are pretty much the same. I guess it is Mother Nature’s way of reminding us of the winters in Oregon, just in case we were feeling a little homesick. Hey, Mother Nature, I don’t miss the winters in Oregon! Send that sunshine and warm temps back to Florida.

Happy New Year

I hope everyone had a Happy New Year and 2022 is treating you well so far. We celebrated the New Year in Lakeland with Bill’s cousins. Of course, there was no shortage of food and drink. The evening was quiet until the neighbors started exploding some Tannerite. We finished our card game and headed down to the party to see in the New Year and watch the firework show.

Lake Kissimmee, Burgers and Spook Hill (insert creepy music)

We stayed an extra day in Lakeland and made the drive down to Lake Kissimmee (pronounced Lake Ki-sim’-me. Most non-Floridians say Lake Kiss-a-me) We heard tale of some great burgers at a dive in Frostproof and had some cousins camping at the lake. Another visit with family and food is involved? Do you see a theme with our Florida trip so far? The weather was decent, a little on the chilly side, but we decided to put the top down on the jeep anyway. The burgers at P&J’s Recreation Pool Room were great and totally worth the drive. Bonus find was the fried okra. We ended up ordering a 2^nd basket because it was so good. Just like my Grandma and Bill’s Big Mama used to make. With full bellies, we headed back to the lake and chilled a little more before heading back to Lakeland and then on to Brooksville.

Along the way back to Lakeland we decided to make a stop at Spook Hill in Lake Wales. It wins the Big Ball of Yarn award for the month. Legend is a gator and a great Indian warrior chief were killed in a battle. Is the gator seeking revenge or the warrior chief protecting his land? Who knows? Place your car in neutral at the white line and watch it roll UP the hill. This was good for a giggle.

All in all, it was a perfect way to bring in 2022!

Flea Markets and Produce Stands

A few of my favorite things about Florida are flea markets, good and mostly local grown fresh produce, the natural springs and shell hunting. We haven’t been able to get to the shell hunting beaches yet, but a trip is planned in February so stay tuned. We have however, gone to a couple of flea markets, found some very good produce stands and visited Three Sisters Springs (more on the springs a little further down)

The mother of all flea markets is in Webster FL. It is the largest flea market in Florida and only open on Mondays. It has been around for over 50 years and covers 35 acres. I remember going here once as a little girl and it seemed so big at that time. You know how sometimes when you are a kid and everything seems bigger than it really is? Well, Webster is just as big, if not bigger, than I remembered. If you are a true treasure hunter you need to arrive early. Like 7AM early, when the sun is coming up early. We did not make it there until around 11. A lot of the vendors were packing up already. Yes, it was a little cold (for the Floridians) and windy but I couldn’t believe they were packing up already. That being said, there was still A LOT to look at. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if all the vendors were there.

If I had a garage to work in, I found a lot of items that I could have taken back and re-purposed, like on Flea Market Flip. Maybe something to think about when we settle back down somewhere. I’ll have to add this to my list of “must-haves”… a good flea market close by. My feet and legs were tired once we were done walking the market. Highly recommend checking out the Swap-O-Rama if you are in central Florida on a Monday.

We have gone to a few other flea markets in the area just because we like looking at junk. It’s a good way to get a little exercise and fresh air. I also like to check for fresh produce. There is an abundance of produce down here and I LOVE IT! Fresh from the farm tomatoes, onions, peppers, strawberries and the list goes on and on. I have found two places I absolutely love; Perrine’s Produce in New Smyrna Beach and Beasley Farm in Brooksville. Both have excellent produce and great prices. We have been eating a lot better since finding all these nice fresh fruits and veggies. That’s a good thing since our only New Year’s Resolution was to eat healthier and be more active. I can happily say, a month into 2022 and we are doing good.

Rails to Trails

Hernando County is part of the Rails to Trails program. The Withlacoochee State Trail runs 46 miles from Citrus County to Pasco County, crossing through Hernando County. It is on our Things to Do List and we were planning to do it this month. Bill found another trail in Brooksville that connects to the Withlacoochee trail. It was a little closer and we thought it would be good to try this one out first to see how far we could make it. Hahaha. The trail we took was called the Good Neighbor Trail. It starts at the old railroad depot in Brooksville and ends at the Withlacoochee State Trail in Ridge Manor, 10.7 miles away. The bike ride through the countryside was great. Good exercise and relaxing all at the same time. At mile 6 we decided to turn around since we knew we needed some energy to get us back. It was a very nice ride and we did not burn ourselves out. Next up a ride on the Withlacoochee trail from Silver Lake to Townsen Lake. Look for a report in February.

Ocala National Forest

Now for an easier ride… Jeeping in the Ocala National Forest. The forest holds the only Jeep Badge of Honor trail in Florida. Come to find out, the trail is basically a series of forest roads and not an actual jeep trail. Bill made a connection with a fellow jeeper on Facebook and we met up in Ocala to ride on some of the forest roads which double as their OHV trails for jeeps. There are a few trails designated only for ATV, Side by Sides and Motorcycles.

We took a series of roads off FL Hwy 40 and meandered up to Salt Springs, which took about 3 hours. The roads were not challenging at all. The trails are maintained but I think the brush could be cut back a little more. There were several trails we travelled where the scrub scraped the sides of the jeep quite a few times. It didn’t cause too many scratches but enough to make you cringe. I would advise sticking to the paved roads if you value the paint job on your rig.

Ocala National Forest is the oldest national forest east of the Mississippi River and southernmost national forest in the continental U.S. There are over 600 lakes and rivers and it is home to a large population of the Florida Black Bear. You heard right, black bear in Florida. The Black Bear Scenic Byway goes right through the forest. Sadly, we did not spot any on our drive. We did however, come across Jesus. Yep, as we were making our way over to Half Moon Lake, we found Jesus. He got his brand new Toyota Camry stuck in the sugar sand. I don’t know what made this guy think it was a good idea to bring his car down this sand road. Alone. (Note to my Mom…when there are people like this in the world, I don’t think you need to worry about me. At least I have some common sense.)  Our friends tell us, that’s Florida. I disagree. We have seen many people get stuck in the sand on the Oregon Coast or the snow up in the mountains. Do not think your car can do something it was not built to do. Always err on the side of safety. Apparently, he had been sitting there for 3 hours and was waiting for his tow truck to arrive. We winched him out in 5 minutes and then followed him out of the woods and back to safety and continued on to Half Moon Lake. All in all it was a good day.

Cold Snaps and Manatees

Winter finally arrived in Florida. We have been having nice sunny days with temps in the mid 70’s and it was lovely. Then old man winter arrived and the highs dropped into the mid-50’s and mid-60’s. On MLK day we were planning to take a trip down to the beach to explore Fort Desoto and do some shell hunting. It was too cold and too windy to really enjoy that. We opted instead to explore Crystal River. Crystal River is the Manatee capital of the world and the only National Wildlife Refuge in the United States specifically created to protect its habitat. During the warmer months, the manatees live out in the Gulf. When the weather and water turn cold, they migrate into the spring fed rivers to keep warm. The springs stay at a constant 72° all year.

We took the trolley from City Hall to Three Sisters Springs to view the manatees. I’ve seen manatees before, but I have never seen this many at one time. The springs are in a refuge in the middle of a residential area. When the land was originally purchased, the vision was to develop it into a condo community. The developer then changed his mind after seeing the area and resident manatees. He knew the area needed to be preserved. Environmentalist and government officials came together to raise the money to purchase the land. I am glad the land was saved and made into an area where people can observe and learn about these gentle giants.

There are a series of boardwalks that lead you around the springs and provide great views of the manatees just hanging out. During the winter months humans are not allowed in the springs. This area is reserved just for the manatees. But in the summer months, you are allowed to kayak, paddle board or swim up into the springs. The only entry is from the river, though. There are two good spots to put in your kayak or paddle board; Kings Bay Park and Hunter Springs Park. They both have a minimal fee to park. Hunter Springs Park also has a small, sandy beach for swimming.

Homosassa

Heading home we stopped for a snack at The Freezer in old Homosassa. If you are driving down US19 thru Homosassa Springs, take a right at Halls River Road or Yulee Road and drive back to old Homosassa. You will not be disappointed. The road meanders along the Homosassa River thru old oak trees and gives you a glimpse of what Florida was like before all the development. It is a little step back in time.

Along the way is the Historic Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins State Park. It is a quick stop but worth getting out and stretching your legs. David Levy Yulee built the 5000 acre plantation. He supplied the Confederates with sugar, syrup and molasses during the Civil War. Federal raiders burned the Yulee home and plantation in 1864 but the mill escaped destruction.

While you are out that way, stop in at The Freezer for some shrimp and a beer. It is right on the river. Their shrimp is the best and very reasonably priced. We were relaxed sitting on the water (with the clear vinyl protecting us from the cold wind), listening to some good classic rock, sipping some suds and feasting on our 2 ½ pounds of shrimp!

Sunset at Pine Island

I am a sucker for a sunset. Any sunset. Anywhere. As it would just so happen, we were close to the Gulf just about the time the sun was getting ready to say good night. We headed out to Pine Island. Pine Island is the little beach area in my hometown where my family and I went in my younger years. I have many fond memories of splashing around in the waist deep water with my little brother and running from the little fiddler crabs that used to populate the beach.

Today we did not come to splash in the water, though. In fact, it felt like we were back on the coast in Oregon. It was 55° out and pretty windy. That did not deter me though. The sky was primed for a beautiful sunset. And beautiful it was. BONUS! As we were walking back to the jeep we saw the Wolf Moon rising in the east. Another beautiful ending to a pretty great day.

The In-Between Times

When we are not out exploring, I’ve been enjoying visits with my Mom and my Dad, getting PT for my finger (remember the fracture from November?) and still working on getting the window valances in the rig recovered. A full reveal of the interior updates will be coming in the next month or two.

We have one more month here in FL and then we will start our journey back to the Pacific NW for the summer months. Right now, our plans are to travel up the east coast of FL, explore the Antebellum Trail in GA then settle in NC for a month. After that we are off to KY, IN, MI WI, MN, ND, across MT and back into WA. I’ve got some planning, navigating and reservations to do. Better go…