The TREK Continues

This morning we moved a whopping 20 miles north to Clerbook Golf and RV Resort. We are attending the South East TREK Fun Club Winter Rally. Some readers may remember that we previously owned a Safari TREK. The TREK is a very unique motorhome; it is a compact coach with no discrete bedroom. The bed lowers from a recess in the ceiling over the living room area. Due to it's unique design TREK folks are a bit more close knit and dedcated to their brand than owners of most other makes. We have maintained our membership in the SETFC and are still welcome at the rallies, even though we now own an SOB (some other brand). There are about 45 coaches registered at the rally. We will be here until Sunday, and then move to Blue Spring State Park near Orange City where we will meet our friends Jim and Ann.

Paddle: Hillsborough River (once more)

If it's Wednesday it must be the Hillsborough. For the third Wednesday in a row we paddled on the Hillsborough River. The Hillsborough is a wonderful river. Joe Faulk of Canoe Escape claims it's the best river in the world. When questioned closely he hedges and says it may be merely the best river in the northern hemisphere. In any case, it is a great river. If you are ever in the Tampa area and want to paddle the on Hillsborough, drop in at Canoe Escape and let Joe and Jean set you up.

Today we paddled with our friends Wayne and Lynda from NC and Joe and Jean Faulk, proprietors of Canoe Escape. The weather was warm and mild, with some clouds. The water level was about 12" higher than when we paddled last Wednesday and almost 20" higher than we paddled two Wednesdays ago. We put in at Sargeant Park and took out at Trout Creek Park, about 8.5 miles down. We again saw all the usual birds as well a few pretty fair gators. Just before taking out we paddled up Trout Creek. Trout Creek is a very deep, slow-moving creek and an excellent place to see some gators.

Paddle: Withlacoochee River

Today we paddled on the Withlacoochee River with Wayne and Lynda, and Bob. We put in at Trail's End Camp below CR 42 near Floral City. We paddled downstream a couple of miles (although there was no flow) and then turned south into Jumper Creek. We lunched at some high ground that featured some magnificent live oaks and some citrus trees. Most of the oranges were sour, but we did find one tree with sweet oranges and another tree with some pretty good tangerines. We gathered about half a bushel of fruit before departing. We saw a few gators and a number of wading birds, but the real treat was the raptors. We saw dozens of red-shouldered hawks and almost as many ospreys. A few were munching on fish. We also saw a great blue heron eating either a very large fish or a medium sized snake. Whatever it was, it was flipping and flopping and was probably too large to swallow. The temperatures have finally warmed up a bit and we had perfect weather today.

After our paddle we stopped at Lake Louisa State Park to visit friends who belong to the South East TREK Fun Club. These friends were having an informal pre-rally to the official SETFC rally that starts on Thursday. We were treated to some snacks, adult beverage and fun conversation.

Paddle: Homosassa River

On Sunday our friends Wayne and Lynda relocated from Ocala National Forest down to Silver Lake Recreation Area and joined our friends Bob and Donna, and Bob and Cheryl. On Sunday afternoon we drove over there to visit and to plan some more paddling trips. After discussing several paddling options, it occurred to us that we have lately undergone a fairly severe cold snap here. When it gets cold the manatees come into the warm waters of the Florida springs. Homosassa Springs is one of their favorites, so that clinched it. We would paddle at Homosassa.

Today we put in at a public ramp a mile or two below the spring. The paddle from the ramp to the spring was pretty dull as we passed along houses, resorts and marinas. But when we approached the spring, it was all worth it. First we saw something very unusual. We saw what looked like a tsunami coming straight for us. There were about a dozen large waves that suddenly appeared and, after a few seconds, just as quickly disappeared. A volunteer manatee watcher later explained that there was a female manatee who was "in the mood". The lady manatee apparently had chosen a suitor and the losers got exited and went on a manatee stampede. Very exciting. When we got to the manatee area there were manatees EVERYWHERE! Homosassa Spring is actually located within a state wildlife preserve. There are barriers to prevent the wild manatees from entering the spring, so they hang out just beyond the spring run. We were able to paddle among them as they swam by, around and under our boats. After playing with the manatees for about an hour, we paddled over to Margarita Grill, tied off our boats and had a very nice lunch. After lunch we paddled a short distance up the Halls River and then returned to the ramp.

Biking the West Orange Trail

We have been criss-crossing with our friends Dave and Audrey during our whole stay in Florida, but so far we have had little chance to actually do anything with them. Last week we made a plan to bike on the West Orange Trail on Saturday. Cool!!! Well, come Saturday the weather was less than perfect. The forecast was cool and cloudy, with a 50% chance of rain. What the heck; sometimes you just have to go for it. We made a plan where Dave and I would start on a connecting trail on Lake Minneola and pedal about 8 miles, then we would meet Audrey and Dorcas the County Line Station at Kilarney, the official start to the West Orange Trail. Together we biked another five miles to Winter Garden, "the land of pleasant living", where we lunched in a nice little Italian restaurant. From Winter Garden, Dave and I biked a few more miles eastward on the trail to Chapin Station, while Audrey and Dorcas returned to County Line Station. It was a very pleasant ride and a very nice trail. Winter Garden is very quaint and scenic. The town had converted the area down the middle of Plant Street, the main drag where the tracks had run, into a very nice strip park about three blocks long. While we did get a little drizzle, the weather was not as bad as the forecast. There were several bike shops along the trail that had a number of very unusual bicycle configurations. We saw triple and quad tandems, tandem recumbents and tandem three-wheel recumbents. Dorcas test-drove a recumbent. I don't know if she liked it or not, but we didn't bring it home. We are looking forward to biking the West Orange Trail again.

The weather here has been a bit cooler than normal much of the past week with highs in the 60s and lows in the 40s and 50s. Tonight and Monday night the lows will be near 40, but it will warm significantly later next week. We are looking forward to more stereotypical sunny Florida weather.

Photo of the Week

I felt bad after trashing Dorcas' Element on the Alexander Springs shuttle. So I took it to town and had some modifications made. Momma was less than thrilled.

Paddle: Alexander Springs again

Our friends Wayne and Lynda had been hoping to come to Florida for a week or two and meet up with us for a bit while they were here. They finally escaped NC just before the storm this past weekend and ended up at Alexander Springs CG in Ocala National Forest. After a fierce game of cell phone tag, we finally touched base with them, sort of. They left us a message on Wednesday telling us where they were, and that they intended to paddle Alexander Springs run on Thursday. Since they had no cell service there, Dorcas and I drove up there this morning to surprise them and paddle with them. They were amazed and happy to see us. It was a beautiful sunny and warm day. We set up our shuttle at the public access on river left. I had not been down that road in over two years. It was poorly maintained then, and they have apparently not graded it or improved it in the last two years since. There were about a hundred swimming pool sized pot holes along the road. Most were too wide to go around, so I just drove through them, hoping the water in them did not swallow the Element. We finally completed the shuttle and put in at the spring head. We saw more gators than I have ever seen on this run. We also saw the usual assortment of herons, limpkins, and anhingas, with a few red-shouldered hawks to boot. After the paddle Wayne and Lynda made us daiquiris, grilled us steaks and fed us chocolate. To quote Wayne in a previous trip report: "Almost perfect!"

Paddle: Hillsborough River Gator City

We had paddled on the Hillsborough River a week ago. On that day it was cool, breezy and overcast. We saw many, many interesting birds, but only a few alligators. Today was relatively warm and sunny, and we saw less birds but many more alligators. Go figure. We paddled with our friends Bob and Donna, and Bob and Cheryl. While on the river we ran into our friend Ken, who was guiding an Elder Hostel group down the river. The river level was 8"-10" higher than when we paddled the river last week, due to two pretty heavy rains in the last four days. There was one tree across the river which had to be dragged over. That tree was not there last week and probably came down during the storm last Saturday night. One of the members of the Elder Hostel group said that tree was the best part of the trip. Weird.

Busch Gardens Part III

Today we made our third visit to Busch Gardens. We had already seen all the shows and had little interest in the rides. We decided we would spend the whole day just playing with the animals. During the day there are scheduled programs at the major animal exhibits throughout the park, but there are also many scheduled encounters throughout the park where a keeper will bring out an animal for a one-on-one interaction with visitors. We bounced around the park all day catching these sidewalk encounters. We played with Ybor the Cuban iguana, Olivia the Virginia opossum, Rainbow the harlequin macaw, Emmett the screech owl, Boris the tawny frogmouth, Rocky the eastern box turtle and Dagwood the yellow rat snake. We got to know the handlers so well that Natasha invited us for some personal behind-the-fence encounters with Beaker the Caribbean and Pinky and Stinky the Chilean flamingos, and all their flamingo friends. We also played with Versace the gray crowned crane and Pancho and Axle the crested screamers. We had a great time petting and feeding these exotic birds. Oh yeah, we also found our way to the beer garden.

SuperShow Still

On Saturday and Sunday we attended the Florida RV Supershow. There were more than 1200 RVs on display, but we actually spent very little time looking at RVs. We spent most of our time looking at accessories, parts and services. We saw lots of neat gadgets. I looked at towed vehicle braking systems and may upgrade our system in the future. We did buy a new flag and 20' flagpole. We also bought a new TV antenna. Our current antenna is useless, and Camping World had one on sale and a 1/2 price installation special, so we got one. They installed it Sunday while we were parked at the show. We have been looking at satellite TV systems, but now that our over-the-air TV reception is much improved, we are less motivated to get satellite. We also bought a driver's side sun visor. We left the fairgrounds about 5:00 PM and moved about 60 miles to Thousand Trails Orlando about 10 miles south of Clermont.

Photo of the Week

Most of the facilities at Hillsborough River State Park are located on a long, one-way loop road. There is not a conventional "One Way" sign or "Do Not Enter" sign anywhere along the whole loop road. It seems to me that a sign pointing drivers the wrong way down a one-way road is just asking for trouble.

SuperShow!!!!!

Today we left Hillsborough River State Park and moved about 15 miles to the Florida State Fairgrounds, venue for the Florida RV SuperShow. The Hillsborough River State Park is a neat place, but we didn't have the chance to enjoy it this year. We did something off-site every day, leaving at dawn and returning after dark. Next time we will spend more time in the park. We will visit the RV show today and tomorrow, spending the night at the fairgrounds. On Sunday evening we will move about 50 miles east to Thousand Trails Orlando.

Dorcas recovered her long-lost cell phone today. I called home last night to check our messages, and there was a call from a security officer at Lazydays. He had the phone, and we picked it up this morning. Momma is happy again.

Busched Again

Our tickets to Busch Gardens are good for seven consecutive days, so we did a repeat visit today. Again, we rode no rides, but enjoyed some musical shows and played with the animals. We petted a 6-month old alligator and a 7-foot yellow rat snake. We watched feedings of the hippos, the rhinos and the lions. We heard Les Brown and the Band of Renown featuring Les Brown, Jr, a reincarnation of the famous big band from the swing era. Dorcas was serenaded and danced with the Men of Note, a Motown quartet that did the Four Tops and Temptations numbers. We also managed to find the beer garden.

MOSI

Today Dorcas and I visited the Museum of Science and Industry, MOSI. It was a dreary rainy day and a great day to visit a museum. MOSI is a sprawling museum with four floors of exhibits including many hands-on activities. Much of the second floor is devoted to natural disasters, particularly hurricanes. Dorcas and I got to go into a wind tunnel that produces hurricane force winds (74+ mph). Its kinda like holding your head out the window driving down the interstate. We also saw a pencil cannon, where they shot a No. 2 wooden pencil through a 1/2" piece of plywood. I want one of those. Later we saw an IMAX film "The Deep" narrated by Johnny Depp and Kate Winslate. Finally we saw a very cool planetarium show. Once a month the astronomy folks have an outdoor viewing. We will be in Tampa on Feb 20 when they will view the lunar eclipse, so we hope to catch that.

Paddle: Hillsborough River

Today we paddled on the Hillsborough River with old friends. Our friends Joe and Jean operate a canoe livery on the river, so we met at their place: Canoe Escape. We have paddled with Joe and Jean a number of times, but hadn't paddled with them in more than a year. We also met our friend Bob from NC and friends Bob and Cheryl from FL. We put in at Sargeant Park on Morris Bridge Road under cool and cloudy skies with a fair wind. The Hillsborough River is a great place to see alligators, but the conditions today were not conducive to sunning gators. The Hillsborough is also a great place to see birds. Joe and Jean know the river well and identified all the birds we saw and pointed out all the good gator holes. We saw a few gators, but the birds were the real treat. We saw ibis, cormorants, anhingas, great blue herons, little blue herons, tri-color herons, green herons, black crowned night herons, roseate spoonbills, limpkins, snowy egrets, great egrets, red-shouldered hawks, an osprey, black vultures, a wood stork and belted kingfishers. Dorcas got an excellent picture of a piliated woodpecker. It was a very leisurely and enjoyable 8 mile, 5 hour float. We took out at Trout Park near I-75. While it threatened to rain much of the day, the rains held off until we were off the river. Another wonderful day on the river with good friends.

The Land That Busch Built

Last night Dorcas lost her cell phone. Dang. We had gone to the Crown Club for dinner and later were working on our computers. She made several calls just before we left, then we went straight to the car and straight home to camp. When we got to camp it was nowhere to be found. We turned the car and the coach upside down. No luck. This morning we went back to the Crown Club and searched there. We asked all the staff and they looked in all their lost and found boxes. No luck. We called the phone, but it is either turned off or the battery is dead. Dang. In the morning we will return to the Crown Club to see if it has turned up.

Today we visited Busch Gardens. When we were last here in 2003 there were sub-freezing temperatures and no one came. It was eerily desolate. Today was not quite that cold, but it was a very cool day and the crowds were very light. We had bought discount tickets from the concierge at Lazadays. They were each $13 less than they would have been at the door, and they entitle us to unlimited visits for seven days. We hope to get back at least once more this week. We spent most of our time seeing the shows and watching the animals, although we did spend a little time in the beer garden. Check out the HippoCam. We only rode one ride, which is a shame, because there were no lines and you could just walk onto any coaster you wanted. Maybe next time I can get Dorcas onto a coaster or two.

Paddle: Little Manatee River

We are camped at Hillsborough River State Park and will be here about six nights. The heat wave has broken. After more than a week of highs in the mid 80s and lows near sixty, it has now cooled significantly. Last night it was 42 degrees at our camp and the next few days promise lows near 40 with highs in the mid 60s. My cold and infections are apparently over, and I am coughing up the last of the crud in my lungs. Dorcas is well.

Dorcas bought a new camera this week and has been taking pictures of everything that moves and most things that don't. The remainder of our trip should be well documented.

Today we paddled the Little Manatee River, about thirty miles south of Tampa, with our friend Ken. We put in at the US 301 bridge and paddled downstream about five miles. The run began narrow and very shallow and ended wide and very shallow. The river was fairly low; the gage indicated about 35 cfs and the median flow here is about 50 cfs. The water was clear and there was a white sandy bottom. We took a break at Little Manatee River State Park about half way down the run. It was a very enjoyable paddle; maneuvering around the sand bars is not unlike paddling in the Piedmont of North Carolina. We saw little wildlife, but did gather some pretty nice tangerines from a tree on the river bank. As we were gathering this feral citrus I asked Ken if it was bad form to gather citrus from the roadside at an obviously abandoned orchard. He said it was a bad idea. In fact it is a felony to be in a citrus orchard after dark. Watch out for the grapefruit gestapo!

After the paddle Dorcas and I went over to the Manatee Viewing Center at the Tampa Electric Big Bend Power Station. There were about a hundred manatees out in the warm water discharge canal, but they were pretty far out and could not be seen very well. It was a nice visit, but we have been able to get better looks at manatees in the springs.

We had breakfast and dinner today at the Crown Club at Lazydays. As we plan the remainder of our week in the Tampa area, a primary objective is to catch as many meals at the Crown Club as we can. It is a joy to be here when our coach is not in for service. We ate dinner with a very nice couple who have been here for two weeks while their coach is being serviced. The nice thing about the Crown Club is that even if your coach service drags on for weeks, you don't care.

Movin' North Towards Tampa

We are fixing to pull out of Thousand Trails Peace River and move about 65 miles north and west to Hillborough River State Park, just east of Tampa. We have reservations at HRSP for 6 nights, but may stay a 7th night. Then we will return to Thousand Trails Peace River for 11 more nights. While at HRSP we hope to paddle on the Hillsborough River and other local waterways with friends from Tampa and visit our home a way from home: the Crown Club. If we have time we may visit Busch Gardens in Tampa. We also plan to spend a day or two at the 2008 Florida RV SuperShow, which may be the largest RV show in the nation. We certainly aren't in the market for a new coach, but it is fun to look, and there are many vendors, entertainment, etc.

We will not have internet access in the park, but we hope to find a place to log on every day or too.

Paddle: Braden River

Today we paddled on the Braden River with our friends Ken and Ted from Tampa. We put in at Jigg's Landing , about five miles from where the Braden River flows into the Manatee River near Bradenton. We paddled upstream almost six miles, although there was no perceptible flow. The river alternated from a natural setting to developed areas. We passed under I-75 and then passed by Linger Lodge, a restaurant and RV park. As we paddled up, the river narrowed significantly. We lunched under a bridge near a golf course and returned to our put-in. We saw one pretty fair sized gator and all the usual turtles and birds. Another wonderful day and a wonderful paddle ... and not a single no-see-em!

Photo of the Week

A face only a mother ostrich could love.