Live Oaks

Fontainbleu State Park; Mandeville, LA: A beautiful, sunny day. After lunch we hiked the little nature trail (1.5 mi.). About halfway on the trail there is a boardwalk that goes out into a wet area off the lake. The last time we were here there were LOTS of water snakes in and around the water. Today we only saw two—one on the boardwalk and one in the water. Then we walked around the sugar mill ruins. This whole park used to be owned by a Frenchman who built a plantation, brick kiln, and a sugar mill. He operated it from 1828 to about 1856. He owned most of what is now Mandeville. His main residence was in New Orleans, but he loved to spend the summers here by the cooling breezes of the lake. The plantation is long gone, but you can still see what used to be the drive up to the plantation which was lined with live oaks. They are now huge—hundreds of years old—and dripping with Spanish moss. Checked out the beach area and then came back. Made Mexican lasagna for dinner.

Park Entrance

Little Cottage at Park Entrance

Fontainbleu State Park; Mandeville, LA: Had a hard time getting out of bed this morning. Cold! Warmed up to the mid-60s and really pretty and sunny, but cool. We decided to do the laundry and grocery shopping. Got that done and just relaxed the rest of the day. Roast beef, mashed potatoes, and a vegetable for dinner.

Fontainbleu State Park; Mandeville, LA: I started driving this morning until we stopped for fuel and food. Then Mike took over. We left the Pensacola area around 10:00 a.m. and arrived at Fontainbleu at around 3:30—stopping for lunch for about an hour. Fontainbleu is a pretty park, but the campground isn’t the best. Our site isn’t that great, but we’re only here for 7 nights and we’re only paying $8/night with the Golden Age Passport. There’s also a bike path that goes right through the park, so we’ll do some biking. And hiking. After we got set up we went into Mandeville for dinner. Supposed to get into the 30s tonight. Brrrrrrr!

Pensacola KOA; Milton; FL: A beautiful, spring day. I drove today for a change. We’re kind of going backwards, since we left summer and are now experiencing spring. All the dogwoods are blooming, along with azaleas, red buds, and fruit trees. Really pretty. But the nights are much cooler. In the Keys the low was around 70. Here in the next few days it’ll be in the 30s. Not sure I’m ready for this. We left Tallahassee at around 11:30 and arrived in the Pensacola area around 3:45. Stopped at a Flying J for fuel and lunch. We’re now in the Central Time Zone (YES!). Our shower door somehow came unhooked during the drive and apparently was flopping around. Now we have to get that fixed or replaced. We did have some rough areas on the highway.

Tallahassee East KOA; Tallahassee, FL: Left Claremont around 11:00 this morning and arrived at the Tallahassee KOA at 4:00. In several places we saw glimpses of the “old Florida”. Lots of oaks and Spanish moss. Lots of open area. Pretty. We leave tomorrow for a KOA near Pensacola.

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: I went to Great Clips and got my hair cut this morning. Shortly after I got back the guy showed up to finish up the carpeting. Then Mike took off to gas up the truck and get the truck washed. The carpeting was finished up around 2:00. It looks so good—better than when it came out of the factory. They are very good. After he finished I started vacuuming and proceeded to clog the vacuum cleaner and we couldn’t get it to work again—even after cleaning it all out. So we headed out to buy a new one. After dinner at an Italian restaurant, we stopped at Big K and bought one of those Dyson bagless. Brought it home, put it together, but it was too big. So we packed the whole thing back up and took it back. Then went to Target and bought the same thing we have now, which is much better and cheaper. We are pooped. Started “A Farewell to Arms” by Hemmingway. Good so far. Tomorrow we leave and start heading towards Louisiana.

Sea World

Clydesdales, Sea World

Claremont RV Park; Claremont, FL: The carpeting guys finally showed up—around 11:00. They tore out all the old then left for lunch and in the afternoon they returned and started laying the new carpeting. They still have a lot to do, but it looks really good. Hopefully this will hold up better. Wish I’d had them replace the vinyl also. Maybe next time. They finish up tomorrow.