A Very Nice Drive

We departed the Homosassa River RV Resort at 9:45 this morning, only 45 minutes later than I had planned! not too bad :-). We had been debating back and forth about the planned route, and finally elected to scratch going directly to I-10 in the panhandle of Florida, and instead took route 98 west off of 19, which hugs the gulf coast as we made our way to St. Andrews State Park in Panama City. It turned out to be an excellent decision, as the ride was very scenic, and very light traffic (except in Panama City itself!). We loved driving the quiet highway, with hardly any truck traffic at all, as it made its way through the forests and the various wildlife management areas. Once we passed through Panacea, the scenery was beautiful, passing through the beach towns and across bridges, giving us great views of the gulf and fishing harbors. It was also a warm sunny day, just great for driving. The only issue we had was finding a gas station that we could fit into! Thankfully, before the tank got low enough to really make me nervous, we found one and received our expensive drink of diesel.

We arrived at our campsite here in the park, and it is really nice here. The site was a bit of a challenge to get into, with a badly placed palm tree in the way, but Al rose to the challenge and we slipped right in fairly easily.

Site 120 in the Pine Loop

The view from the back of our trailer; not too shabby!

We walked through the entire campground, and it's very nice. I could picture spending several days here, exploring the area. Al would love the fishing here as well. We only have one night here, though, as we make our way west, so it will go on the list for a future, more leisurely stay :-).

Final Day in Florida

It's our last day in Florida until Christmas. That seems like a long time away, but it will fly by just like it did last year, I'm sure. Lots of things to see and do in the meantime, and it will be nice to start making some money again!

It has been a busy week here in Homosassa, as expected. On Monday, we pulled into Homosassa River RV Resort for our free week stay. Its set on Turtle Creek, coming off of Homosassa River. Its a typical small site Florida RV park, but it has been very nice and quiet here. The long-term folks are the majority, everyone has been friendly, and as with most other Florida RV parks right now, it is rapidly emptying out!

Our week here has consisted of finishing the small details of departure, Al has volunteered at the Wildlife park two days, I've taken my mom out for a couple of days to get her doctor appointments and errands set for awhile, we had a small housewarming/birthday party for the family, we bought a new Prius for Al's mom and sister which should save them considerably on fuel prices (gas is $3.96, diesel $4.16 as of yesterday), and oh, we managed to spend five hours at Citrus Memorial Emergency Room as well. Al managed to slice the tip of his left index finger off while showing me how to use a mandolin to slice potatoes! No, I won't post pictures, but luckily it wasn't too bad, he didn't catch any of the bone, and he is now all patched up. They put a piece of artificial skin over the tip, and then bandage it all up. That acts as a scab to stop the bleeding and promote healing, and will eventually fall off just as a scab does. The doctor said it may grow back all the way, or he may have a divot there, but nothing that will impede his using his finger. So, that was fun....not!

Today is bath day for the dogs, Easter dinner with the family, and the good-byes for now. Tomorrow morning we will be on our way west, with our first stop at St. Andrews State Park in the Florida panhandle. From there we'll head across Alabama, Mississippi, then scoot diagonally across Louisiana finally reaching Al's sister's house in Melissa Texas, north of Dallas. We'll stay there until Sunday, and then drive over to Amarillo, TX, to Raton New Mexico, finally arriving at Chalk Creek Campground in Nathrop Colorado.

I hope everyone has a very nice Easter, and safe travels to everyone out there moving around.

Thanks, and Last Weekend at Otter Springs

First, thanks for all the wonderful comments. I enjoy writing my stories, and enjoy knowing that others like to read about our adventures. So far we are having a great time, and are really looking forward to spending the summer in Colorado. We've only been out west a couple of times, and then for brief weekends, just enough to whet the appetite. We will always be ocean folks, but its good to experience other geographic areas.

Today was our last day of camphosting here at Otter Springs Park and Campground. We have enjoyed our stay here very much, and once again have met some wonderful folks while here. The other workampers have been great, and we enjoyed meeting the few permanent residents here as well. Its a really nice place to spend some time, especially in the winter months when things are quiet and laid back.

Now that the water levels have risen enough to allow passage down the springs run to the Suwanee River, we took a canoe out early one morning for a leisurely paddle. It was very quiet and serene, great for a paddle!

These are the canoes that you can rent from the office.

Headed down the run

Don't you love the vivid greens of early spring?

There are some really big trees up here!

The springs run entering the Suwanee River

I love the knobby cypress knees.

Tall trees dripping with Spanish moss...does it get any more southern than this?

So, tomorrow we pack things up and head down to Homosassa for the next week. We have final items to tie up before heading west. When we were at the Tampa RV show in January, I had won a week's stay at any Carefree Camping Resort. When I checked to see where their campgrounds are, there's one, Turtle Creek, right in Homosassa behind the Wildlife Park. It's very convenient, being only about 15 minute's drive from the house, so we'll be staying there for the week. Free is good! Then its back on the road again a week from tomorrow :-).