Manatee Springs, FL

Manatee Springs is about 120 miles from St. George and located on the Suwanee River. The springs are in the middle of the river and stay at a constant 74 deg year round. The night I stayed there it was about 30 deg so I elected not to take a dip in the spring. That kind of cold coupled with high humidity really feels like below zero. The plan was to stay two days and enjoy the river; however, at 30 deg we packed up and left for Ft Myers the next day. I may stop here on may way home to do some kayaking. The Suwanne meanders at a relatively slow pace, just right for a lazy float down the river. The entire trip has been so cold that I cut it short and made straight for Ft. Myers. When I made that decision Florida was the only state in the lower 48 that didn't have snow.

Destin Reunion Pictures

St. George Island

St. George Island is one of the few places left on the Florida coast that has not been totally overrun by high rise condos and hotels. We spent a week there in 1968 just before going to Ethiopia. White, sugar sands and turquoise water. Now, there is a FL State Park at one end of the Island. The camp sites are in a pine forest and a ten minute walk to the beach. It was totally deserted the day I went shell collecting. What a sight, there were star fish everywhere. I decided to pick up some shells to use as ramekins for baking. I figured I could make some lobster Newburg and serve it in the shells, or more probably tuna hot dish or perhaps tater-tot casserole (a favorite of Aunt Deb and daughter Haley). Yukky. I'll think of something to put in those shells.

Destin Reunion

Well, here I am in Fort Myers with Mom. True, I haven't blogged since LA primarily due to the extraordinary, astonishing, unbelievable, marvelous, beautiful, wondrous, out of this world, frightening, earth shattering, death defying, uplifting, depressing, horrific, events I have experienced along the way. Wow, golly gee and holy doughnuts batman! Destin was so cold that the Fox and I nearly froze our Dove Dark Chocolate drops! You had better believe that traveling alone, by myself and solo brings with it so many challenges. I.E., the furnace wouldn't lite and it was 28 deg. No problemo, the ever ready Judy Colorado had an electric heater on board for just these occasions. Of course, it was a little harder to deal with the toilet that was leaking fresh water as soon as I turned on the pump. That problem caused a build up of water in the shower which necessitated the purchase of a small stool upon which to rest my feet when sitting on the throne in the middle of the night.

These small inconviences are to be expected when experiencing a life of adventure. Well, I was going to tell you about Destin. Such a lovely reunion with Ann, Bailey and Betty. Yes, indeed, as Betty noted, nothing had really changed in 40 years except out bodies. Despite the physical changes, we all recognized one another and proceeded to plan our first party. This one was a little different from the ones we used to have in Ethiopia, Snow Ball Parties. The SBP was just that, we started at one house, picked up those friends and moved on to another house, moving on for a day or two or three. Some of us would try and hide our cars behind the houses so no one thought we were home. Well, the Destin party was in a motel room, with wine and take out from the Fresh Market. Lots of fun reminiscing was had by all. Friends are the best part of life.

After our get together we went our separate ways, me on to St George Island. OH WOW!

Lake Fausse Point State Park, LA

This certainly must be a lovely park in the summer. That is, if you don't count the mosquitoes. Right now it looks like a dead, cold, rainy swamp. And, so it is! The sun managed to peek out for a short time while the Fox and I went for a hike. Very nice hiking trail here. Hope you enjoy the pic of the Armadillo and lake. It rained all night and we were glad to get on the road to Buccaneer State Park in Mississippi. Now here's a State Park! Right on the Gulf of Mexico and quite lovely. I will certainly make another stop here on the way home. The beach is beautiful and not a soul in sight. It is sunny, bright and pretty cold. We leave for Destin this am and will join friends for our Ethiopia Friends Reunion. What a great time to see everyone after 40 years!

On The Road to Florida

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to All! The Fox and I are once again on the road. We left La Veta on the 27th of December for a long trip to Fort Myers, FL. The first stop was Dumas where the Ding Dong Daddys live (what is a DDDaddy anyway????). The name doesn't conjure up a pretty picture. That aside, they have a substandard City Park with a dump, water and. . . . get this, FREE electricity!! Whoa Baby! I pulled right in there for the night and paid no mind to the teens gathered for Monday night Happy Hour. Spent a cold evening but had a good sleep. As I get older it gets more and more difficult to drive for long periods. I had wanted to make it to Amarillo, but alas, my body said no.

On Tuesday we continued our journey to McKinney to visit my good friend, Jill. Now that was a long haul, 406 miles. When I stopped in to get gas I could tell I was once again in the land of "yes mams". I'm not sure I know how to spell "mam" it must come from madame or madam, however it is spelled. Uh Oh, I hear rain on the Casita, now what a surprise since I'm almost to Houston and it should be warm and sunny. But then this is the result of Global Warming or El Nino, or El Ninja, or however you spell those weather events. Now you know my secret of poor spelling.

I love the "Mams"! Said in a lovely twang. Oh, The Country Legends radio show is one (it's on all day). What's not to love. "Make the World go Away", Hey Good Look'n and such greats as "Luckenbach (there's a spelling stretch for ya) Texas" Gotta Love It! And I do, can't get enough of these great songs like Patsy Cline's "Crazy" just the best!

We spent 5 days at Jill's. She has two foreign exchange students with her, Ingrid from Germany and Sascha from France. Such cuties and I got to practice my German. Amazing how quickly it comes back. Not much came back, but a little. Jill has three Italian Greyhounds that are so cute. They are very small and all wear coats so they won't get cold. They drove Fox crazy with their humping attempts. I've never seen such horny dogs. Jill and I got a chance to visit and remember old times, some I dare not repeat here. She is living in one of those I wish I hadn't gotten married marriages. Sad.

I left Jill's on Sunday for Livingston, TX where Escapee Hdqs and RV park is located. I am spending 2 days here getting a feel for the place. The park is nice but not close to a golf course or hiking. I don't get the impression many of the folks here are very active, not with bingo on the activities list. Ah well, on to St. Martinville on the morrow to visit the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Evangeline Historic Park. I fell in love with the epic poem sometime in high school and have never forgotten it. She and her love, Gabriel, were separated when the British stormed the Acadians out of Nova Scotia. Many Acadians ended up around St. Martinville. Poor Evangeline looked for her love the rest of her life. Of course, she found him dying on the battlefield as she helped the other wounded soldiers. You kknow how it is, they got to talking as she wrapped the bandages. . . Oh, where are you from? Really, Acadia???