Wandering America
March Madness in Florida
| Rainbow Plantation, Summerdale, Alabama Well, we finally did it - we left the Escapees Park in Alabama after having arrived on January 3rd. It was a real "hoot" staying there and making many new friends as well as participating in a lot of the social events at the park. Our next window neighbors (don't have a door on that side of the RV) were Randy and Terry Guiler from Maryland. Across the street was Dick and Pat Schellin from Oklahoma. We did a lot of activities with these fine folks and will stay in contact with them until we meet again. While at Rainbow Plantation we also made a lot of new friends who have leased sites through the Escapees Rainbow Parks Unlimited (ERPU). These include J. and Heidi, Dave and Sharyl, Bob and Pam, John and Catherine, Clyde and Sarita, Bill and Kathy, and Chuck and Jan. We visited together, played together, ate together, worshiped together and the Saturday before we left we had a lunar eclipse party (that was for us lunatics). It was hard to leave with all of this socializing going on but while we were at Rainbow Plantation we applied for a ERPU site which will be a five year lease with options to renew. We were 19th on the waiting list and will take about a year before we get a site. In the mean time there is still a lot of traveling to do. Once we get the site we will only be there about four or five months a year.       White Springs, Florida We did a no, no. One of our rules is to travel no more than four hours a day. The park that we wanted to stay at in Defuniak Springs was full so we drove straight through to Kelly's RV Park in White Springs, a six hour drive. After five hours in the truck we all had had enough (katts included). However, this gave us an additional day in this area to visit the Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park as well as doing some bike riding and additional site sightseeing. Falling Creek Paul and Dorothy were the first people we met at Kelly's RV Park. Paul told us about the waterfalls at Falling Creek as well as an old Chapel. During the 1850's a small group of people lead by Thomas Dick and Rev. Greene relocated from South Carolina and settled at Falling Creek which is now located within Lake City. They set up a small community and, of course, built a church. The one one room church still stands today having been rebuilt in the 1880's and conducts weekly non-denominational services. There is a small cemetery behind the church with graves of some of the Falling Creek's founding families.   A nicely done wooden walkway provides a scenic walk from the parking area, which we assume was part of the original settlement, to the falls. These are not big falls but very pretty none the less and the walk was enjoyable. It is worth the visit if you find yourself in the area.   "Way Down Upon de Suwanee Ribber" Stephen Foster burst into his brother Morrison's office asking him for some names of rivers for a song that he was writing. After a couple of suggestions that Foster quickly turned down Morrison grabbed an atlas and found a river which begins in the Okefenokee swamp and runs 250 miles through Florida then empties into the Gulf of Mexico. Upon hearing the name Foster said that was it and abruptly left the office to finish the song. Of course we all know that that river was the Suwannee River and the song was "The Old Folks at Home". Apparently Foster never saw the "Suwanee Ribber" but made it famous nevertheless and in 1935 Florida's state legislature designated "The Old Folks at Home" as the official state song. It's ironic that a memorial for Stephen Foster would be erected in White Springs, Florida since the only trip he ever made south of the Mason-Dixon line was to New Orleans for a cruise. He spent most of his life in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area where he wrote over two hundred songs before his death at the age of 37. We remember singing his songs in grammar school, "Oh! Susanna", "Camptown Races", "Jeanie With the Light Brown Hair", and "Old Kentucky Home". The Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park is located along the Suwannee River in White Springs, Florida. A quiet little town today but in whose past was a bustling little community that was promoted as a health resort. Along the banks of the Suwannee River was the White Sulphur Springs which was advertised to cure almost any ailment. Teddy Roosevelt was one of the resort's famous visitors. The spring house in now part of the park that encompasses some 1800 acres. The Stephen Foster Museum and Carillon Bell tower memorialize Stephen Foster and his work by displaying memobelia as well as ten Dioramas which illustrate the words of his songs. The ninety-seven Carillon Bell Tower rings out Foster's music in scheduled concerts throughout the day.      Dioramas are models that look like 3-D pictures.
Big and Little Shoals The Big Shoals is approximately a mile long set of rapids in the Suwannee River. There is a three and a half mile paved bike trail that runs from the parking area at Big Shoals to the parking area at Little Shoals. Being the bikers that we are we just had to ride the trail. It was nice ride with no rattlesnakes this time. We didn't visit the shoals because it was late afternoon and the park closes at dusk. We plan to visit the shoals the next time we are in town.  A final note. Florida state parks have been noted as being some of the best in the nation with the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park being among the best of the best. They have nice large level sites with 30amp electric and water hook-ups but you need to make reservations if you plan to stay there during the peak season as there are only 45 sites. Bushnell, Florida On Wednesday we made our way to Sumter Oaks Park in Bushnell. This is the third Escapees Park that we have visited. It is an old park but has full hook-ups and most of the sites have concrete patios. There is an indoor heated pool and during the peak season there are a lot of activities. We knew that Dirk Harrington, who we met in Clarksville, IN back in October, was at the park so we planned to look him up. It turned out that he was parked right behind us in his 2007 Dutch Star. Dirk went fulltime practically at the same time as we did so it was nice to see him again and share our experiences for the past five months.  Rich and Diane Emond visited us and we went to Lazy Days RV to look at some "high end" motorhomes. They do have fifthwheels but they are primarily a motorhome dealership. We made it in time to have a free lunch before we toured their inventory. It is fun to see how the other half live - these units sell for a half million and up. To be honest with you we didn't see anything that said "take me home". The Strawberry Festival is a week and a half long event takes place in Plant City, Florida every March and we managed to show up in town for the last weekend (lots of traffic). We didn't attend the festival but did stop at Parksdale Farms which claims to be world renown. Well, we can't attest to that fact but we can tell you that they have a wonderful strawberry shortcake and a great strawberry shake - Yummy for the tummy! Rich and Diane had been there in past and thought that we would enjoy a visit - thanks guys, it was a lot of fun especially when accompanied by good friends.   Habitat for Humanity Build Habitat for Humanity has a group called Care-A-Vanners that is made up of RVers who generally sign on for a two week build. On Sunday, March 11th, we joined with several other Care-A-Vanners in Dade City, Florida to participate in a build. We will not go into detail here about our experience but there is an in depth report in our Articles Section. Dade City, Florida Fort Dade, which most likely wasn't a fort but a military camp, was established in 1835 during the Seminole Wars. It was disbanded in 1837 but reestablished during the third Seminole Wars in 1849. From that time Fort Dade continued to grow as a settlement until 1889 at which time it was incorporated as Dade City. During the 1930's Dade City was know as "one the state's handsomest little cities". One of the city's architectural landmarks is the Edwinola Hotel which was rebuilt in 1907 after the original structure burned. The hotel's name is a combination of Edwin and Lola Gasque who were the owners.   While in the area we
went biking with fellow Care-A-Vanners Fred and Kathy Ripberger on the
Withlacoochee State Trail (try saying that three times fast).
This is a 46 mile long trail that runs from Owensboro Junction
(six miles north of Dade City) to Gulf Junction (just south of
Dunnellon) and is the longest paved rail-trail in Florida. We
only did a quarter of the trail before turning around and heading
back. Stopping at the Ridge Manor Trailhead for lunch we
encountered a pair of cardinals. The male is included in the
pictures below, we wanted a picture of the two of them together but
they just wouldn't co-operate.
   Wall Spring Park
Wall Spring Park is located in the small community of Palm Harbor which is just south of Tarpon Springs. This park was popular during the 1950's as a health resort because of the "healing powers" of the spring. Today there is a 63 acre island that has been developed with excellent walking paths, a viewing tower, and several viewing stations. We spent a couple hours enjoying the views across the water to other islands and peninsulas.       Tarpon Springs Area Tarpon Springs is primarily a Greek community that is known for its sponge harvesting. Most tourists will visit what is known as the "Sponge Docks" which is made up of gift shops and eateries. Greek cooking prevails throughout the area so if you are looking for some authentic Greek cooking this is the place. We visited both the historical downtown as well as the Sponge Docks which we enjoyed more (less people to deal with). Just outside of town is the A. L. Anderson park which is right on Tarpon Lake. It is a wonderful place to enjoy a picnic lunch.     The Big Ka-thud!
Well, we've gone and done it. We have a check list for getting the RV underway and are "religious" at following it, but it happened anyway. When backing up the RV to get the leveling board from under the wheels there was a great big "ka-thud". Somehow the hitch pin did not lock into the receiver so the RV ended up sitting on the back of the truck. Darrell checked the hitch and even locked the handle but it still wasn't correctly engaged. Part of the problem was that the truck was on a down hill slope while the RV was pointed slightly uphill. Whether the pin was sitting on top of the connecting point in the hitch or behind it, we don't really know. Fortunately the RV wasn't hurt, however, the rails on the truck's box were crushed.  We don't know how this happened but now have another safety check added to the checklist. Darrell painted some alignment lines on the air hitch as well as the truck hitch. This will be an additional visual check to ensure that the everything is properly aligned and a reminder to check the spacing between the hitching points to ensure it is seated correctly. You just can't check enough. A Drive in the Georgia Countryside While slowly, and we emphasize slowly, making our way back to cold weather we stopped over for a couple of nights in Unadilla, Georgia. From there we took a day trip to Andersonville Civil War Prison, Habitat for Humanity Headquarters in Americus, and Jimmy Carter's old stomping grounds. We expected to see flat wide open farmlands with rows and rows of peanuts, but what we saw was a beautiful green rolling countryside. It was a very pleasant drive until we entered Americus via route 49. Again we encountered the wrath of Mother Nature as it reeked havoc on a community. The first of March tornadoes passed through Americus absolutely leveling everything in its way. Just like when we passed through Biloxi, Mississippi after hurricane Katrina we were just awestruck by the devastation. It looked as if a huge bomb went off, what a mess. The community hospital was totally destroyed along with homes and businesses where this half mile wide tornado passed through. Again, we didn't take pictures since the news covered this event and any pictures that we would take could not possibly convey the disruption this community has endured. Andersonville In 1863 the Confederacy decided to build a prison to hold the Union captives. Andersonville, Georgia was chosen since its location was far away from the war's battle lines and the availability of rail service. The prison was constructed to hold 12,000 prisoners, however, before a year and a half passed the population swelled to 45,000. Needless to say the infrastructure failed with starvation and disease running ramped resulting in the death of 13,000 soldiers. Like Gettysburg this is one of those solemn places where you take your hat off and speak softly in respect for those who died while fighting for the ideal that all men are created to be free.   The National Prisoner of War Museum is located on the grounds. It is constructed to replicate a prison compound and houses many exhibits from the various wars. It is worth the visit and is a good reminder to all of us of the price paid for our freedom.   We also took time to visit the historical downtown Andersonville which has been preserved as it was in the 1860's. There's not much there but it is picturesque.  Americus Along route 27 just northeast of Americus, Georgia there's a small airfield where most of the aircraft lined up at the "tie downs" are crop dusters. Souther Field Airport would just be another small country air field except that it has the distinction of being the place where Charles Lindberg flew his solo flight. Well after all Charles had to solo somewhere so why not Souther Field Airport along route 49 in Georgia? You just never know what to expect and It's these little nuggets that make this lifestyle so much fun.  Americus, Georgia is the home of Habitat for Humanity. We stopped by for a visit and Darrell came away with a hat (after giving up $10 for it). They have a visitor's center entitled "Global Village and Discovery Center with a self tour which provides examples of both poverty housing in third world countries and various style "Habitat" homes around the world. Not everyone understands how Habitat for Humanity works, so here is an except from their brochure: "Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. Through volunteer labor and contributions of money and materials, Habitat for Humanity builds and renovates houses in partnership with homeowner 'sweat equity,' helping to build there own Habitat home as well as the Habitat homes of other. The families then purchase the houses at no profit through zero-interest mortgages provided by local Habitat affiliates."   Plains Jimmy Carter was the 39th President of the United States and grew up in Archery, Georgia (just down the road from Plains). Plains, Georgia is a rural small town with the main street paralleling route 49, note the sign denoting the Carter for Present headquarters. President and Mrs. Carter still maintain their residence in a ranch style home in Plains. While there we visited his boyhood home, which is maintained by the U.S. Park Service, and the Jimmy Carter Museam, which is located in his old high school. As we toured the farm we would come to various audio stations where we could listen to Jimmy recall events that took place in that particular area of the farm. The museam was a collection of Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter's memorabilia. We were surprised at how many books Jimmy Carter has written and how many humanitarian causes the Carters support, Habitat for Humanity being one.   Red Top Mountain It is always nice when we meet up with old friends as we are "Wandering America". That's how we feel about Red Top Mountain. While we lived in Cartersville, Georgia we used to hike the mountain's trail and whenever we are in the area we like to stop and take a walk down "memory lane". We stayed at Red Top Mountain State Park which is a very nice park but not built for big units. There are some turns in the park where it is almost impossible to keep both the truck and the RV on the road which made it a little "hairy" getting to our site. Once in the site it was beautiful, as we sat out in the evening all that could be heard was the birds and the wind blowing through the pine trees - how pleasant to not hear the sounds of our everyday world.  Early the next morning we took a six mile hike on the mountain. It was fun but our legs paid the price for the next couple of days. The pollen count was at the highest levels for many years (close to 6,000 - whatever that means). It got over everything, the truck and camper had a yellow-greenish tint. Here is a picture of Judy's shoes after our hike - the one on the left has been brushed off.  See ya ol' friend until the next time we pass through Georgia. Final Note This concludes our March Madness. Starting next month we will go back to making individual entries rather than adding to the same travelogue. That will make it easier for you to find and read the latest entry without having to scroll through an entire month's worth of entries. |