Manatee Springs SP, Chiefland, FL, to Pasco Winter Quarters, Land-o-Lakes, FL:  Rained this morning.  But it stopped by the time we were ready to pack up and leave.  And it was pretty cool—50s.  Pulled out, stopped at the dump station and were out of there by 10:00.  Back on Rt. 19 heading south and stopped at the little town of Inglis for breakfast.  After a great breakfast we continued south on Rt. 19 until just south of Homosassa and continued on the Florida Turnpike.  Luckily, we remembered to affix our Sunpass thingy to the windshield.  Arrived at our park and were set up by 2:00.  Really warm here.  75!

Mon, 11/12/12:

KOA Tallahassee, FL, to Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland, FL:  Left the KOA this morning at 10:00 and continued east in I10.  It’s such a pretty drive around Tallahassee with the heavily forested rolling hills of northern Florida.  Just east of Tallahassee we dropped south on Rt. 19 which takes you through what old Florida must have been like.  Lots of beautiful live oaks covered in Spanish moss and large horse and cattle ranches.  Through little towns with names like Erido and Ido.  And a few miles before Chiefland is a large property of several hundred acres enclosed in neat white board fencing with two ornate electronic gates.  We’ll be biking by there hopefully in a few days.  We stopped in Perry for something to eat and continued on.  Arrived at Manatee Springs and were set up by 3:00.  Relaxed and enjoyed the peace and quiet of this pretty place.  83 degrees when we pulled in here.

Boardwalk through the cypress forest

Tue, 11/13/12:

Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland, FL:  After our morning ablutions we walked down to the Suwannee River to see if there were any manatees.  Nary a one.  The spring run is very high, there’s water in the cypress forest, and even the Suwannee River is high.  Met a couple from Ohio who are at an RV park in Old Town.  Great couple.  We talked with them for quite a while.  We all walked down to the spring and watched some scuba divers and then went our separate ways.  Walked back to our site and had some lunch.  Then just relaxed at our site for the rest of the day.  We have new neighbors in a Roadtrek from Maine.  Some deer—a doe and two fawns roamed by.  Mike laid a fire and we enjoyed that until it was time to come in and have dinner.  79 today.

Suwannee River

Wed, 11/14/12:

Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland, FL:  Today was cloudy all day.  We drove into Chiefland so Mike could drop off a prescription for refill, we picked up some more groceries, and had some breakfast.  Back to the park.  Mike dropped me at the entrance and I walked the rest of the way.  After lunch we walked down to the spring.  There was a small manatee in there, but we couldn’t see him.  Walked back to our site and read for a while.  We had a fire later in the afternoon and our neighbors on the other side of us came over for a while with their boxer, Bo.  Bo loves carrots!  The deer roamed by again as usual.  There must have been 20 or so deer around us last night.

Thu, 11/15/12:

Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland, FL:  This morning was just plain cold.  Went for a short hike and then back to the spring and the Suwannee River.  There were three or four manatees out there but it was hard to see them because of the angle of the sun—or I should say lack of sun.  There were a couple of scuba divers in the spring.  One of these days we’re going to don our wet suits and snorkel the spring.  Yes, one of these days.  Back to Chiefland for a late lunch.  Our neighbors, Phyllis, Rich, and Bo went to Cedar Key.  We decided not to go this year because it’s cloudy and cool.  But they said the sun was out there.  Oh well.  They came over and enjoyed our fire for a while.  Rich brought over a bunch of wood.  They go back home to St. Augustine tomorrow.

Spring is a little cloudy this year.

Fri, 11/16/12:

Manatee Springs State Park, Chiefland, FL:  Cold and damp this morning.  The weather has been lousy here this year.  Mike had a fire going when I got up.  We bid farewell to our neighbors and headed to Chiefland to do our laundry.  Picked up some burgers after the laundry and brought them back. Stayed inside the rest of the day reading and watching TV.

Phyllis, Bo, and Rich

Bo the bodacious boxer.

Sat, 11/17/12:

Manatee Springs SP, Chiefland, FL, to Pasco Winter Quarters, Land-o-Lakes, FL:  Rained this morning.  But it stopped by the time we were ready to pack up and leave.  And it was pretty cool—50s.  Pulled out, stopped at the dump station and were out of there by 10:00.  Back on Rt. 19 heading south and stopped at the little town of Inglis for breakfast.  After a great breakfast we continued south on Rt. 19 until just south of Homosassa and continued on the Florida Turnpike.  Luckily, we remembered to affix our Sunpass thingy to the windshield.  Arrived at our park and were set up by 2:00.  Really warm here.  75!

Ft. Pickens National Park, Santa Rosa Island, FL, to KOA Tallahassee, FL:  This morning was a little warmer, but really windy and cloudy.  We were going to take the bikes and bike to the other shore batteries not accessible by car.  But neither of us wanted to bike in these conditions. So, we decided to just pack up and head east.  Mike called ahead and the KOA had plenty of sites. So glad we did decide to leave early, because it took us 4 hours to drive to the KOA which is west of Tallahassee. We still have at least a three hour drive tomorrow.  So instead of a long seven-hour drive tomorrow and a long line at the dump station before we were able to get on the road, now we have a leisure three-hour drive and can take our time. Good decision.   

Surf's up on the Gulf.

Blowing sand over the island road.  You can hardly see the residential high rises on the eastern end of the island.  Looks more like a winter scene.

The other night we enjoyed a beautiful sunset over Pensacola Bay.

Ft. Pickens National Park, Santa Rosa Island, FL:    Another beautiful sunny day, but it’s sure taking its time warming up.  And it’s still pretty windy.  Needless to say, I donned shorts and a tee shirt and sat outside in the sun for a while reading my book.  After lunch I stayed inside because of the chill.  Later on we checked out some of the shore battery guns put in place in the 40s.  Back to our site and laid low. Mike’s tooth that was bothering him broke off last night, but he’s not in any pain any more.  His awesome dentist in the Keys will take care of it.  Only 73 today.

One of the gun batteries on the beach.

Sailing on Pensacola Bay

Ft. Pickens National Park, Santa Rosa Island, FL:  This morning we got going early and took the laundry over to the facility here in the park.  Nobody in front of us so we got the job done quickly.  After that we relaxed around our site, had some lunch and then headed to Ft. Pickens to tour the fort with a National Park Ranger.  She just started in May, but she gave a great tour with a sense of humor and a lot of knowledge.  I was so impressed I gave her a $20 tip.  Drove to Pensacola Beach and had an early dinner at Hooters and then drove back enjoying a beautiful sunset.  Our park is packed this weekend—what with the holiday weekend.  Poor Mike has a tooth bothering him.  He has a great dentist in the Keys, but we won’t be there for a couple of weeks.  Not sure he’ll be able to wait that long. 

Ft. Pickens was built entirely by slaves.  Sad commentary. The owner of the slaves received compensation for their use, but of course the slaves got nothing.  Except for the fact that these slaves were highly skilled masons and must have taken a lot of pride in the results of their labor.  There's a lot of intricate brick work in this structure.

Mikey on the beach

This pristine beach goes on for miles.

Ft. Pickens National Park, Santa Rosa Island, FL:  A nice day today, but chilly.  After lunch we headed over to Ft. Pickens at the western end of the island.  We didn't walk around the fort—just checked out the museum.  After that we drove back to Pensacola and did some grocery shopping.  Only 65 today.

Construction was started on Ft. Pickens in 1829 and completed in 1834.  21.5 million bricks were used in the construction--most locally made.  It was built to accommodate 200 cannons. It's considered the largest coastal fort in the U.S. and was used until the 1950s.  

Ft. Pickens National Park, Santa Rosa Island, FL:  Chilly and cloudy this morning, but it cleared off by 10:00 and turned into a beautiful day—albeit a bit chilly.  After lunch we drove down past Pensacola Beach but were turned back because the road was closed to Navarre Beach.  Stopped at the huge ferris wheel on the beach and took a ride.  It’s 200 feet high and you sit in a little gondola.  We did 4 revolutions—about a 12 minute ride. Not too bad.  Back home and relaxed the rest of the day.  Only 63 today.

Looks more like a winter scene than a beach scene.

Took a ride on this huge ferris wheel.

Sun reflecting off the water making it sparkle.