To 13 weeks working in Lake City, Florida

The journey across the top of Florida is nearly 400 miles.  The panhandle is long but I never thought that it was that long.  They are still picking up downed trees along the interstate from Hurricane Michael last summer.  We will be working about 60 miles west of Jacksonville and 50 miles north of Gainesville  There are a bunch of fresh water springs that feed the Suwannee river that we hope to explore.

The work assignment started December 9th and will end on March 9th.  We docked the land yacht at a local RV ranch near Alachua, FL.  We have a nice country setting that includes cows, goats, donkeys, ostrich, and a few parrots.  There is usually some sort of animal entertainment going on.  The northern Florida winter is quite mild but the temperatures reach for the extremes on a daily basis.  We have had a few freezing night while making it into the 70s the next day.

I am working mainly 12 hour shifts.  This allows for 7 out of 14 days off to explore northern Florida.  We are in the center of Florida with the Golf of Mexico on one side and the Atlantic ocean on the other side.   On the Golf  side there aren't many beaches in this area of Florida due to hurricanes rearranging the  shore line often.  If you  look at the map there aren't many towns or roads.  The entire east coast is a beach on the barrier islands with an intercoastal waterway deep enough to navigate before you get to the land.

This is Jacksonville Beach

We have decided that for the most part northern Florida is all part of a big swamp.  Many lakes,
 and waterways with some land in between.  When it rains here the lakes and low spots fill up with water.  Florida is fairly flat so there aren't many places for the water to go.  The swollen rivers and lake start sending the water towards the ocean.  Many of the lakes are large sinkholes where the water moves underground through caves.  Some of the underground rivers pop up as springs that turn into surface rivers that may duck under the surface again.  These streams turn into major rivers such as St. Johns, St Marys, and the Suwannee.

At the headwaters of the Suwannee River in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Georgia we found this guy in the wild.  If you look at the map this is a huge roadless area made up of mainly Cyprus forests in a swampy environment.  We have an Alligator lake in Lake City but I haven't found any there.

All of this water makes for good fishing, boating, kayaking and floating during the summer.  Many birds and wild animals get to enjoy the rivers too.  Looking on a map you will find many parks and wild life preserves.  This weekend we were able to see some of the fabled sand hill cranes for the first time.

Part of the fun traveling to different areas of the country is enjoying the local food.  The people in this area eat really well.   They certainly know what to do with tasty fat.  If you go to the store for pork rinds you will find many varieties and maybe some fresh in the deli.   If you are looking for black eyed peas you may run into many varieties.  We have been enjoying field peas and zipper peas.
They all are a little bit different.  Of course you need to throw in some smoked meat and bones for flavor.  If I stayed here for very long it would be hard to avoid all of the goodness and put on poundage.

On New Years, for a good example you need to have 5 flavor filled dishes in order to get rich and be successful in the new year.  #1 You need golden cornbread with lots of real butter which will bring you money  #2  You need collard green with lots of pork for flavor.  The green brings you more money.  #3  You need to eat 365 black eyed peas for luck and health each day.  Southerners throw a silver coin into the pot.  If it ends up on your plate; you will have extra wealth.  #4  You need Hoppin John.  This is a mixture of black eyed peas, rice, and fat back or ham hocks.  Consider this dish a pot of money.  #5  How could you start a ne year without hog jowls.  They will bring you wealth as well as good health.  I saw these in the store but couldn't bring my self to try them.

Here we feel like we are in the middle of lots of sports action.  Within about 200 miles we have 3 pro football cities, several college football bowl games, Daytona 500, the Atlanta Super Bowl, and Orlando with all that is included there.  In order to avoid the crowds and commotion we are avoiding such activities and keeping it rural.

This is the old coast guard station on St Simons Island in Georgia that is now a museum.  We had some fantastic BBQ at Southern Soul BBQ.  This business occupies an old gas station and there is usually a long line.  We saw it on the show Diners Drive ins and Dives.  People at work highly recommended it as well.  So if you get to the Georgia coast...…………..The beach was nice as well.

Not a good shot but these are sand hill cranes.  These birds are rarely seen due to their extreme migration.  Impressive birds.

This is Spanish Moss that hangs from most trees in this part of the country.  It doesn't harm the tree and is considered natural to this area.  Early pioneers used it to stuff mattresses.  The problems happened when the bugs that live in the moss bite at night.  Good night; sleep tight; and don't let the bed bugs bite..  Came from here.....

With all of the working it doesn't allow much time for blogging.  Only just over 6 weeks left before we get "on the road again".  We will try to keep up with the adventures.