Today we loafed. We went out long enough to get a propane bottle refilled and top off Charlotte’s diesel tank but no other exploring except for an AM walk inside the park during which we got to meet and pet many dogs. They were all quite nice. We prepped for departure tomorrow by doing all the regular stuff – fill water tanks, dump waste tanks, top off the truck antifreeze and reading. We also made a campground reservation in Cape Canaveral for the 23rd through the 26th since NASA’s schedule indicates there will be a Delta IV launch at 2:30 PM on the 25th. I hope it goes off as scheduled.

Today our cruise took us south, then northeast and then west. First, Peg was nice enough to let me go back south to see the dragline in Coleman. Today it was operating and we sort of sneaked into the access road to the quarry to get a photo. No sooner had we taken a video of the dragline working when some of the quarry staff came by to quiz us on what we were doing on their site without checking in with the office as plainly posted at the entrance. They were very nice about it, particularly when I mentioned to them that I would be leaving immediately.
We wandered around through the Ocala National Forest after that. The Ocala is very nice but we did not see many critters. We did, however, find a restaurant called Jan’s River Cafe near the town of Ocala which also had a candy store next to it selling “Whoopie Pies.” The food at Jan’s was terrific. Peg got a half of a lemon chicken with cabbage and beans and mashed potatoes which she said was superb. I got Shepherd’s Pie which was also very tasty. We are figuring out that chain restaurants have mediocre food but little cafes seem to have great stuff. After eating too much at Jan’s, we wandered next door to the place with the whoopie pies to see what they were. They seem to be big cake-sized cookies top and bottom with ice cream in between so we tried some of them, too. They were also good but by the time we left the parking lot we were close to popping from too much of a good thing.
Dinner today was deemed unnecessary. Somehow I lost my neat little pocket knife today although we can’t figure out how I did it.

Today we took a spin to the west to a town called Silver Springs where there is a state park and to Homosassa where there is a state park called Weeki Wachee which they pronounce as “Weeki Watchee.” Silver Springs State Park offers boat rides around the springs and adjacent gulf but there are only two trips per day which means you either have to wait a long time for a boat after working your way up a waiting list or forgoing the ride. We passed on this one because the wait was four hours.
We then headed down to Homosassa to what should be called “Weeki Whackee” based on the spelling of the place. At Weeki Wachee Springs State Park they have a concessionaire that offers shows with girls fitted with rubber tails such that they look like mermaids for those who believe that kind of shit. We passed on the rubber tail show, as well.
On the way home we did spot an enormous dragline scraping lime out of the earth near Coleman, FL. It was operating when we initially went by but by the time we turned around and got to a place where we could get a good photo, they had shut down for the day. Nevertheless, it was a truly impressive piece of equipment.

Driving day. We left Suwannee and drove a couple hours SE to 3 Flags RV Park in Wildwood, FL. We got in pretty early because it was only about a two hour drive so we went to Camping World nearby to find out it closed about 15 minutes prior to our arrival. It must have something to do with it being Sunday and the entire region being infested with Baptists. One of the guys in a park we stayed in told us that “Most religious folks believe that God created the earth but, actually, Baptists created the earth and merely hired God as a figurehead.”
Having failed at Camping World, we went to a local Scab-Mart and stocked up on stuff for the trailer. This chain (Wal-Mart) does, indeed, have some of the strangest looking folks inside their facilities and a great deal of them work for the store. The store is located in a part of Florida known as “The Villages” which we would call “The Various Housing Developments” in CA. There is no town, per se, called “The Villages” but big tracts with names like “Davenport,” “Garden Terraces” or “Golfing Hellhole” but the state refers to the area collectively as Oxford. Many Republicans inhabit the area.

Another day at Suwannee River. We took a side trip to Manatee Springs where they also have an elevated wood walkway through the swamp. We did not see a single manatee but did get pictures of two water moccasins that had hauled themselves out of the water onto floating logs. One of the moccasins was big (maybe 5′) and the other one was about the size of a pencil about 15” long. They are impressive but not cute.
After not seeing any manatees at Manatee State Park, we drove out to the town of Suwannee on the Gulf of Mexico. We found a restaurant in town that had great seafood where Peg had a shrimp Po-boy with real good french fries but crummy cole slaw. I had the seafood combo of fried shrimp and grouper with fries and everything was tip-top. We cannot remember the name of the restaurant but since it is the only place in town, I suppose it would be hard to go wrong.
We took a little spin through Suwannee which is quite scenic in a strange way. There are mostly little houses that have canals in their back yards where everyone keeps their motor boats in little boat houses with boat lifts. It is a pretty nice part of the world here where fresh water bumps into the gulf’s salt water.
We headed back to the campground to prep for departure tomorrow morning.

Driving day. Left Tallahassee and drove to Suwannee River Hideaway in Old Town, FL, about 3.5 hours SE. On the way, we were obliged to cross the Fenholloway River. Both Peg and I noted a foul smell that we thought was coming from Charlotte right after we went over the Fenholloway. However, Peg got on the internet and found out that 75 years ago the state of Florida made a deal with a chemical company / pulp mill 20 miles upriver from where we crossed that allowed them to dump their foul shit into the river which really stinks, in more ways than one. As we got further from the river, the smell definitely went away so we had suspected Charlotte and she didn’t do it. Sorry, Charlotte.
We pulled into the Suwannee River Hideaway which is a nice little park with all the stuff RVers need, including a pond with alligators that come up on the nice grassy banks to soak up some rays. They also have what they call a “boardwalk” which is actually a raised wooden walkway mounted on wood piles driven into the swamp. It is about 1500 feet from a trail in the campground over the walkway to the edge of the Suwannee River. It is a very nice walk and they have a great platform at the end where you can just sit down and watch the river flow by the perch. The walk through the swamp views is quite pleasant, as are the platform vistas.
A songwriter named Steven Foster wrote a song about the “Swannee” river but he was mispronouncing the name, perhaps from total ignorance or merely because he thought Swanee sounded better than Suwannee.

We got up really early which was sort of aided by yesterday’s time change and went to the Ford dealership so we could get in line early to meet their obnoxious first come-first served policy. We arrived at 6:45, 45 minutes before they opened and we were the first folks served but it still took three hours out of the day. I love Charlotte but I loathe Ford dealerships.
After dealing with these assholes, however, the rest of the day was wonderful. First we went to Wakulla Springs State Park. The springs pour out 400,000 to 600,000 gallons per minute of fresh water and they are located right in the middle of an area infested with wildlife. We saw big vultures, cardinals, ibises, gallinules, ducks, cranes, some animals with names I can’t pronounce and loads of alligators. It is spectacular, especially since they take visitors out on battery-powered boats to see everything from the water. We also went into the adjacent resort building and ran into the maintenance manager, Neill Adderly, the son of Cannonball Adderly the musician. He took us on a tour of the 1930’s vintage building which is very nice.
From there we went down to St. Marks on the Gulf of Mexico. The area is a federal wildlife refuge so, again, we got in free using our federal access pass we bought in Gold Beach last July. I love that $80 pass; we must have saved about $300 so far and the year isn’t over yet. The refuge is truly magnificent. We saw alligators everywhere, birds of all descriptions and stuck our little mitts in the Gulf. There is also an old lighthouse at the end of the road that is pretty neat considering it is cylindrical but built from brick. We also found that visitors should keep the windows up and run the A/C since there are also quite a few flying insects.
Dana called and spoke with Mom for a while before our miserable Sprint phone took a shit and dropped the call. Nice to chat with Dana.
On the way back to the Invader we found a restaurant called “Savanna’s Country Buffet” which had great food in their buffet for $8.75 a head, including the drink and tax. Good home-cooked stuff and we overindulged disgracefully. On the way home we ran through some thundershowers which only dropped rain at a rate of about 4 inches an hour. We also finalized all the necessary arrangements for our next three stops in Florida which seems to be pretty necessary because not only is it spring break for lots of Florida kids, this area is a Mecca for all the retired and elderly old farts from the entire eastern seaboard.

Fauntleroy was out to see us off this morning before we left Florida Caverns and drove to Big Oak Park just west of Tallahassee, FL. We arrived early so we went into Tallahassee to do some biz. We also crossed a time zone line just west of town so we lost another hour today.
First we went to the Ford dealership in town to inquire about getting the oil changed in Charlotte’s diesel engine. As usual, the dealership is difficult to deal with and they wanted us to hang out for a mere 4 hours for an oil change. I nixed that and asked if we could get an appointment but, of course, the assholes only do first come, first served so we bailed.
We stopped by B of A to make a deposit and, Zowie!, there was a Trader Joe’s across the street from the bank and we popped in to re-stock the Invader larders. We also shot down the road to a Camping World and bought some shit-dissolving enzymes for the waste tanks and a bottom step to help the gimpy old owner into his mobile palace.

Today is my birthday and Peggy bought me some bird seed because I wanted some to bribe birds to come to me. We drove into Marianna and scoped out some of the gorgeous historic buildings in town. Very nice.
The rest of the day we got to do what I wanted – nothing. Fauntleroy made an appearance again today giving us ample opportunities for pictures.

We went into Florida Caverns today. The caverns are really neat but the passages are really low in some spots and I almost shit my pants bending over and slithering through some of them. Nevertheless, the cavern is pretty spectacular and the tour takes visitors right up to the stalactites, stalagmites and columns. The tour guide was a nice kid but she pronounces stalactite as “stalagtite,” and said that her mnemonic trick to remember that the deposits are calcite is that calcite rhymes with “cow.” The tour is still fun for all but all the kids touch the deposits despite being told not to touch anything. Shitty parents, I guess.
There was an enormous Barred Owl that we spotted that lives in a Cypress tree in the swamp behind the the spot where we set up the Invader. He makes lots of racket, even before dark and is a truly gorgeous specimen. We have named him Fauntleroy the Assripper.