Sweet Home Alabama!

We headed to Birmingham Alabama to visit a good Air Force friend and avoid Hurricane Barry.  We enjoyed a nice Jamaican Jerk restaurant in the downtown area of the  capital city.  The downtown streets were empty @ 5pm.  You could tell that this used to be a popular part of town.  While eating good and listening to Bob Marley someone came into the eating establishment and asked for money from each table.

A lot of the downtown area was a shell of the former glory.  You would discover trendy shops, eating places, and night spots separated by multistory brick facades that were tumbling down and dumpy.  There was a recently updated civil rights memorial.  The best looking office building down town was labeled the Southern Poverty Law Center:

A lot of the government state capital buildings were kept up well.  Following was the Alabama Historical Museum celebrating the 200th anniversary of the state.  On the grounds of the museum was the first confederate white house for Jefferson Davis that was well preserved.

Our friend stated that the downtown area was making a comeback recently.  After the forced integration in the 1960s, the money makers left the downtown area and invested in the areas just east of town.   These areas are thriving today.

In one of the nicer buildings areas downtown was the Hank Williams Museum.  The 1952 Cadillac convertible perfectly preserved was worth the price of admission.  Hank Williams Jr. got to drive it to high school after he inherited it.  What a cool ride!  No photos were allowed but the museum web site has a great picture.  Hank died at the young age of 29 due to a heart disease  His music continues to be legend.

Tuscumbia, Alabama is where Helen Keller grew up on a large plantation.  She was born a normal happy girl until she had a high fever and seizures at the age of two.  After the illness she couldn't hear nor see due to brain injuries.  This turned her into a fairly wild child until the age of 6 when one of her caretakers was able help her connect with her environment.  She built on this eventually able to speak, graduate from college, and inspire the world.  Pictured here is her childhood home.

This was part of the original 600 acre homestead.

Next on to Tennessee and Mississippi

Pictures from the last post in July

I truly think that someone could make a bunch of money educating us gray hairs about the latest electronic (unneeded) changes that don't improve the system much.  My computer won't recognize either smart (dumb) phone still.  I figured out how to email the pictures and save them into my computer...………………….

Beautiful Gilchrist Blue Springs within a few miles from our property.  Note the deeper blue water in the center of the springs.  This is where this fresh pure river sized spring comes from the ground at a constant refreshing 76 degrees.  The depth in that area is about 12 feet.

A most refreshing picnic spot under a huge tree outside of the Lake City VA Hospital in Florida.  The multiple layers of leaves that this tree provides cuts the summer heat from the Florida sunshine and any small breeze enhances the moment.

Another fresh water spring with the refreshing 72 degree constant temperature flowing into the Santa Fe river at the Ellie May's RV resort.  This water is much cooler than the sun fueled swimming pool at the resort without kids yelling and chlorine.  Most pleasant swimming.

Kate and the land yacht at Ellie Rays RV resort.  Note the awning is deflecting the sunshine sparing the air conditioner extra efforts.  Note also the ramp for Bruno.  He isn't climbing stairs like he used to.  On the table is this year's summer garden.  A pot containing a basil plant.

The resort docks along the Santa Fe river at Ellie Ray's RV resort where we camped for the 4th of July.  This navigable  river comes 100% from freshwater springs from northern Florida such as Ichetucknee.  A lot of the springs and short outlet rivers have been turned into state parks.

This is one picture from the Land Yacht that shows the devastation from the category 5 hurricane Michael nearly one year after the fact.  Note the former foundations near the road and the broken trees.  Also note the former pilings for the boat docks in the distance.

This clearly depicts the visibility from the Land Yacht during a major down pour.  This is why we pull over when we can and wait it out.  You only want to move your house when you can clearly see just where you are going.


This is a picture from Vortex Springs RV and recreation area west of Tallahassee, FL.  If you look closely beyond the RV you can see the big slide into the springs.  This is where I was able to dive a fresh springs.

Florida in the rear view mirror........for now

March 30 through June 30 was spent working in the Lake City, Florida Emergency Room at the VA Hospital.  We did some local travel and searched places for a forever home.  The potential future plans call for a place to park the RV in the winter in northern Florida and the potential to leave the heat for northern climates in the summer.  Time will tell just how this works out.

We found several places that were bought before we had a chance.  It is a sellers market currently.  Looking for real estate here is quite complicated.  You need to consider what areas will flood with a good rain.  Hurricanes  and wet summers are common.  Due to the location there is a high potential for sink holes that swallow up homes.

There are several fresh water springs in the area.that are most relaxing without having to deal with chlorine.  The water comes out of the ground at 72 degrees which is perfect for the 90 degree days in the summer  in Florida.  Most springs are good for swimming.

They turn into rivers which are perfect for floating down  There are a bunch of wild life to entertain you on the way.  We have seen turtles, and many fish.  We witnessed five foot sturgeons that have a tendency to jump in the Suwannee River in the early summer.  They breached and splashed kind of like whales do.  One hopes that they don't jump into the boat!  Several people have died when that happens.

Of course we paddled by the occasional alligators..  We had been putting our hands in the river to reduce the blisters while paddling the 10 miles against the wind.  Not in alligator territory.

I posted a drone shot from a father which picked up sharks coming in while his children were playing at the beach  He got his kids out of the water and the sharks went away.

In the emergency room we treated patients who got bit when snakes dropped out of the trees that he was clearing.  One woman got 27 stings from yellow jackets after she tripped over the nest.  There are several bugs around that can eat flesh and burrow under your skin.  This all makes the tick problem seem rather tame.

All of this sounds like too much trouble for living in  a subtropical environment.  We have currently decided, not at all.  The winter was great for the most part.  If it froze at night the next day topped 70 degrees.  For the most part the weather, bugs, and bad animals are a minor concern.  We love the heat!  I don't think that we will hang out to appreciate the hurricanes.

Over the 4th of July we are staying at a RV park on the Santa Fe river close to where it joins the Suwannee River.  They have bands every night playing live music.  Last night was vegasmcgraw.com which was a cover band for Tim McGraw.  The singer was eye candy for the girls and  he could sing like Tim McGraw as well.

We have had thunderstorms every evening after 96 degree days.  This makes it hard for the bands on the outdoor stage.  Water and speakers and electrical chords don't mix well.  Just like the NASCAR track they dry things out and the show must go on.

From the swimming pool we can keep track of the boat ramp action.  A busy boat ramp can be quite entertaining.  There is a springs next to the boat ramp with that wonderful 72 degree water coming out of the ground.  You can jump in and cool off.  They rent boats here to explore the river as well.

We headed north and west past the wreckage of hurricane Michael that is still quite evident from last year.  Our destination was an RV park and a swimming spring named The Vortex.  This privately run park was built to entertain families and large groups as well as camping and day use.  The highlights included a band stage, food vending, store, rope swing, large slide, boat rentals and a main spring dedicated to scuba diving.

This 48 foot deep scuba pond had a cave, sunk boat, and several fish for entertainment.  You can rent all of your gear from the store.  This was a good space for scuba instruction  but not much for the spoiled tropical diver.  What can you say when you were trained without a wet suit in warm water complete with coral reefs.

There was an area of low pressure that was dropping south from Alabama and Mississippi into the Gulf of Mexico where it picked up a bunch of tropical moisture.  This storm was predicted to turn into a hurricane within the next few days and head north into land which it did.  Hurricane Barry came to shore in Louisiana, dumped a bunch of rain, and caused some minor flooding.  This was directly in our path to Texas.  We dodged north to Alabama and avoided everything but the rain.

Please excuse the lack of photos in this chapter of the blog.  When I learn programs some unknown uncontrollable force comes in and changes things.  I got a new phone/camera and was able to download photos.  Presently with this same equipment I am unable to update and download photos.  They are on the phone but won't be recognized by the computer!!!  When I fix this the pictures will be posted.

Key West and beyond

From Homestead we went to 90 miles south to Ohio Key.  This is also known as Sunshine Key since there is only one RV resort built on the island.  We were 40 miles north of Key West.  This was quite the fancy place with a marina along with the usual swimming pool, spas, ball courts and reception areas.  This broke the record for  the most that we have ever paid for an RV parking spot.

For only $170/night you too could have the Gulf of Mexico in your front yard.  For those who want to snowbird here it is a mere $3.400 a month.  Location, location, location.  The Key is just north of Bahia Honda Beach State Park and south of the 7 mile bridge.  Pictured below is part of the old 7 mile bridge that Mr. Flagler put a railroad on.  As you can see it was quite beautiful.

Last year hurricane Irma sent a storm surge through the Florida Keys.  Where we were camped was six feet underwater at that time.  There was a lot of renovation going on in the keys.  They rebuilt the RV park nicely.  There were a lot of places for sale.  We didn't find any bargains in the Florida Keys.

Since we were expecting to get onto a boat and travel to a remote island 70 miles into the Gulf of Mexico, we were highly interested in the weather.  Just north of Florida a strong storm was causing ice, snow pushing thunderstorms and tornados south in front of it.  By the time that it caught us in the Keys we had 30mph gusts and sideways rain.  This made the bridge crossings more interesting with our twelve and a half foot high land yacht.

The storm stalled and stirred up the ocean for a few days.  When we made our crossing there were 4-6 foot swells and many sea sick people on the boat.  Our dreams of snorkeling in some pristine tropical warm waters were quickly dashed.  The boat fills up months in advance so we had to go with what we had.  I felt sorry for those had decided to camp for a few days.

The Dry Tortugas are a cluster of 7 islands in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico that constantly get rearranged by the water action that comes with the hurricanes.  They are surrounded by a bunch of shoals and sand bars that show up at low tide.  It maintained a sense of magic even when stormy.

In the early 1800s they built a light house in order to assist ships from grounding on this flat land.  Military minds decided to build a fort to protect ships headed to the Mississippi River.  Prisoners were housed there after the civil war.  They even stored coal to refuel the ships there as a contingency plan for when we didn't get along with Cuba.

The main problem is that there is no fresh water source making life uncomfortable.  Now it is a wild life preserve and a national park.  The birding was plentiful and highly entertaining.  We could see the potential underwater entertainment.

After consuming some key lime pie dipped in chocolate in Key West we headed north the next day.  Our outrageously priced RV parking got worse on the weekend.  Miami was headed south to Key West on the Friday morning as we headed north.

On the way to Cape Coral/Fort Myers we headed across alligator alley on the north side of the Everglades National Park.  From the drivers seat of the land yacht I counted over 20 alligators basking in the sun beside the waterways near the road.  Kate had to keep an eye on the road for me.

We stopped in at Big Cyprus National Preserve to see some more.  The water was clear.  It was interesting to watch the local fish work to keep the alligator properly groomed.

From previous visits to Fort Meyers we were interested in making this a snow birding destination.  We had fun exploring our dreams.  Now if we could decide just which dream to follow we would have it made.  Now was it the waterfront condo or lots of land in the jungle?

Waterfront park at Punta Gorda, FL

On our way back to the Lake City area for another 13 weeks of work, we stopped at the Suwannee River Rendezvous RV park along some famous river.  The park is remote, miles from the nearest town of Mayo, Florida.  They certainly have some creative entertainment here along with the usual pools, hot tubs, and the occasional live band.

On Saturday they have pigeon races.  You choose a bird and put some money on it.  Will it be the 1st, 2nd,  3rd or last place bird?  They take the birds 15 miles down the road and they fly home.  Go # 38!They also sponsor Chicken Bingo.  The chicken is placed on a large bingo card.  If you correctly guessed the square where the chicken does his business there is money to be made.  They will also take you and a canoe up river to travel back.  We wanted to stay but the commute to work would be too much.

March on the road again in Florida

13 weeks of work has finished up.  We are moving out for southern Florida.  Going all the way to Key West and beyond.  Beyond is a planned 70 mile remote boat trip to Dry Tortugas National Park in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico.  Our usual trip is to go about 200 miles in one day and spend a few days exploring the area.

Our first day we made it down to Sebring in central Florida.  We were trying to avoid Florida's toll roads because they jack up the price charging per axle.  An RV pulling a car is 4 axles.  Sebring is a smallish town that has several lakes and a lot of water front property.  It is in the warmer during winter area of Florida.  The beaches are over one hundred miles away.

Many people go there during the winter to "snowbird" in a lessor populated part of warmer southern Florida.  We stayed at Sebring Gardens RV park run completely by a retired guy who did his best to keep the place cheap, clean, and friendly.  We continued down the center of Florida past the rather large Lake Okeechobee where you can run your boat through a system of canals and locks across
Florida.  Kate is on top of the dam.

The next destination was Homestead, Florida.  We picked this area because it had great access to the upper keys and Miami.  We got to explore Key Largo where Kate found a local bird recovery operation that rescued local birds and rehabilitated them.  We also tried to make it Miami beach.  We didn't make it.  Too many spring breakers and traffic jams.  There were daily stories about major arrests and violence on the news by the crazy spring breakers..

We did make it to Key Biscayne National Park.  Nice beaches and light house.  Florida tolls to get across the bridge without ability to pay.  We bought a Sun Pass.  This was the area where I was able to sail on a 45 foot  catamaran getting the ASA certification a  few years ago.

There is also a National Park just  east of  Homestead.  You can rent canoes there to explore the mangroves on the Key Biscayne Bay.  In and around the bay there are several wrecks of ships trying to cross the shallow waters and reefs that protect the bay.  Below is the sea grass that had blown on shore at the boat launch.  It is hard to tell but the grass was stacked up over one foot deep.

The latest hurricane sent in a storm surge of 17 feet.   That is 5 feet taller than the RV.  Florida is so flat.  This  did create a huge flooding problem for the area.  Homestead Air Force Base was destroyed during this storm.  Now it is a reserve base.  You can still hear the  sounds of freedom there.

At John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo they had dive boat, snorkeling tours, and glass bottomed boats as well as some nice beaches.  Mr. Lobster was hanging out in their aquarium.  If you go there to dive they require that you take their refresher course if you haven't dove in 2 years.  Due to a rare storm it was too windy and too cold.  Report was that the visibility was bad as well.

February in Alachua, Florida

There are only about three weeks left in our winter working in northern Florida experiment.  We look forward to hitting the road again.  It has been great fun exploring the area.

This is a cheaper option for lodging on the Atlantic side of the state near Flagler Beach.  The road you see in between the motel and the beach is the famed A1A.  The clouds robbed us of the sun rising over the Atlantic ocean.

Flagler is the guy who invested in the railroad built to Key West.  He figured that easier access to the Florida keys would bring more tourist money.  He was partially right but it didn't take too many years for a hurricane to wipe out his railroad over the water.

This was the view from our motel room in St Augustine, Florida  We were in the middle of the action in this historic tourist town.  The fort here was run by the Spanish and British then Spanish again before becoming part of the USA.  The downtown area sported lots of good eats, tourist shopping, and historic buildings. 

 The Flagler College was an all girls university that was established in the former Flagler hotel built for the elite in the early 1900s.  During the tour there was a portrait of his third wife.  She was only about 32 years  younger than him when they got married.  They added gray hair and extra wrinkles to her portrait making the age difference look more reasonable.  

When it rains in Florida the water drains off into the local rivers which flow into sink holes that turn into rivers again at lower elevations.  During hurricanes this drainage system gets overwhelmed and flooding occurs.  Near our camping spot the Santa Fe river dives into a sinkhole that continues underground for three miles before forming a river again before eventually becoming part of the famed Suanne River heading to the Golf of Mexico.

We hiked into this sink hole.  One turtle was riding on a log that was circling around the sink hole.  On the side lines were several other turtles and an alligator basking in the sun.

Today is race day; Daytona 500 NASCAR that is.  Our camping spot is around 2 hours drive time to the raceway.  We will be watching it on TV with the rest of America.  Tickets start at $175 each.

The super bowl in Atlanta was only about 5 hours away.  We didn't have the several thousand needed per ticket so we didn't make that trip.  Early in March Daytona is having a bike week that is usually well attended.  They inflated the camping prices to park near the beach that week to $180/night.  We will be camping somewhere else..

Our home for 13 weeks is located a few miles out of town.  The lower part of the property is prone to flood during heavy rains.  This is also where they have several farm animals around for our entertainment.

In the morning the donkeys give us yee haw concert.

In the evening the parrots conduct their own concert

There are many other entertaining animals

There are also cows, horses, and pigs.  Bruno our mixed breed family dog for many years has plenty places to roam as well.  He is getting old and not enjoying the hikes in the 80 degree heat.  We are enjoying the heat in February.

Of course there are a lot of huge oak trees with the Spanish moss handing like ZZ top beards around.  Next month we will be headed south to the keys for a bit before turning the Land Yacht back towards the NW.

Thanks as always for reading.

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.