Winter Camping 2012 Feb 16-

…8pm last night

Grammy and I met up with other ghost seekers at the Ripley’s Castle and Museum in St Augustine.  Lots of really weird stuff there.  We were each given (included in the cost of ticket) a Ghost-o-meter and a disposable 35mm camera.  I immediately disposed of the 35 mm camera and pulled out my Coolplix digital.  (who in the world uses film any more??)

All kidding aside, this was one of the best ghost tours that we’ve been on.  Lots better than the one in Savannah!  St. Augustine is said to be the 3^rd most haunted city in the country.  New Orleans and Savannah claim 1^st and 2^nd place.  That may be so, but there’s been more opportunity for ghosts in St. A because it’s been around since 1564.  People ‘been dying here longer than the other twoJ

We didn’t see anything suspicious on our tour but I shot plenty of pics with Orbs in them.  Of course, I seem to have orbs in many of my pics anyway.   Nothing special.

When we returned to the Ripley Castle we found it to be really spooky on it’s own.  The place gave me the creeps – daytime and night.  This place use to be a hotel that  Richard Ripley had stayed in several times.  He wanted to buy it but it was never sold to him in his lifetime.  He died in 194?  Later his heirs made the purchase and located there his many curiosities from all over the world.  Thus, this is the only “Ripleys Believe it or Not” museum that Ripley himself actually stayed in. 

We returned to the Montana satisfied that we did what we could to wake the dead – with no results.  Guess I should have slept through it.  Brenda says my snoring …. ah, you know the restJ

Feb 16…

We returned to the city this morning for the last time. Brenda walked the rest of my feet off that she didn’t get to yesterday.   I think that we covered everything pretty well: The Old Fort, the Old Drug Store (that’s haunted too), and the Lions guarding the city bridge.   These few photos give you the general idea.  If you want to see them all go to my FB page and take a look. 

Well, we hook up and pull out tomorrow morning with a general heading of North, Northwest.  God willing, we should be home by Saturday afternoon.  It was really good to get back on the road and do some more camping and exploring.  Next week we both have appointments and obligations at church, so we’ll ease back into it on Sunday. 

Hope these last couple of weeks have been as enjoyable for you as it has been for us (even with the few mishaps).  God bless you; and we’ll hopefully see you on down the road!

Happy Trails,   Grammy & Pappy aka Ah-Pa & Gigi

Old haunted drug store

"Shrine" installed to ward off Indian ghost

Old Fort at St. Augustine

Lions guard the city draw bridge

Winter Camping 2012 Feb 15-

Thank you to the KOA camper who allowed his dog to poop in the middle of the park road that led to the bath-washing machines. We really appreciate you disregarding the rules, which plainly state to pick up after your pup poops.  In the dark last night, Grammy managed to step in it and bring it into the camper. 

We find that there are a LOT of people who travel with their pets.  It’s not unusual to see campers who have 2, 3, even 5 dogs or cats with them.  We are moving into our 5^th season of traveling in our Montana and this was only the 2^nd time that this has happened to us. The other time was at Unicoi SP and it t’was I who found the trail lump.  We’ve noticed that most people carry plastic bags in their pocket to pick up after their pup.  All camps have written notices and most have “trail boxes” in which plastic bags can be found to do what should be done.  So, most campers are thoughtful of others, while a few are inconsiderate….  a reflection of everyday life. 

4:45pm …. Just returned from St. Augustine proper,  and a day long tour of the city.  Visited the place that they say was the original settlement in 1552.  Also drank from the Fountain of Youth – you may have seen Grammy taking a drink & posted on FackBook.  Wow! What a difference.  ….going back to the city tonight for a ghost tour!  Can’t waitJ

Happy Trails (and clean ones hopefully)

Pappy & Grammy aka Ah-Pa & Gigi

Florida Camping 2012 Feb 11-14

  On Sunday morning we wrapped up our stay at Cedar Key and headed east 59 miles to a State Park called Paynes Prairie.  This expansive wild life preserve is located on the south tip of Gainesville FL and a few miles east of I-75.  It got its name from a Old Seminole Indian leader named King Payne.  Now, King Payne was the son of a Chief named “Cowkeeper”.    Back in the early 1800’s Col. Newnan and his company of Georgia soldiers marched down to Paynes Town to drive the Indians out.  Newnan was defeated.  A year later they returned and captured 450 head of cattle that belonged to the Seminoles  -  shortly after that  Paynes Town folded and was no longer.. 

Paynes Prairie reminds me a lot of Myakka SP in South FL.  It’s an old park – very large – and very wooded camping sites.  Driving thru this park and its campsites is a challenge in itself.  One must traverse thru the forested lanes like an obstacle course; you never can tell when a tree might decide to get too close to you  - (like one did to me in the Okeefenokee).

Settling in for the evening, last night, I wrapped up the water hoses because the weather was rumored to be changing.  (It got down to 23 degrees.)  And of all things the park lost electrical power at 5am this morning.  No power, no heat, no coffee.  We did find a Waffle House down the road that had all three, so we ate a good-ole Waffle House breakfast. 

Today we plan to do a lot of hiking on the prairie.  This place is loaded with wild horses, bison, and many other assorted 4-legged creatures.   Did I mention that when we went to the Visitor’s Center yesterday we watched a Bald Eagle as it landed in a giant pine tree next to the Center?  Yes indeedee, there was a huge nest in the tree, which the Eagles have been using for many years.  I’ll include pictures of our hike in this posting. 

……We just returned from a hike in the prairie.  About 5 miles of hiking and 2 of biking.  We did see some wild horses but they were 300 yards away and kept walking the same direction we were walking – so we didn’t gain any ground on them for picture taking.  We also couldn’t get any photos of the Eagle!  Dadgummit, we didn’t see anything else worth framing on this hike, so we headed back to the camper.

After a day in the preserve, we decided to venture into Gator country, to take in a movie.  Gators, Gators everywhere and not a Bull Dawg in sight  (except us)…. So we hurried into the theater and took in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.  I thought it was a pretty good flick… at least the second half of it.  I had read The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, (one of the three series books written) so I could follow the story line  easier than Brenda, whom I kept informed of what was happeningJ

All in all, we found it to be a pretty darn good time at Paynes Prairie .  Tomorrow we will pack up and head further east to the Florida coast.  Our stay at  St Augustine promises a warmer climate and with interesting days in the old Spanish town looking for the Fountain Of Youth!

I shall give a full report tomorrowJ

**News Flash**  Today is tomorrow!  The good news is that we have wifi in this St. Augustine KOA Park.  The bad news is that this is NOT a park that we’d stay in if we had seen it first.  First of all, it’s 52 bucks a night and secondly, the beautiful lake that it sits on is a drainage ditch!  It’s gotten too dake for me to take any pics of it right now, but Grammy posted one on Face Book earlier from her I-phone.  Don’t know what you can tell of it, but it ain’t a pretty site.   Well, we’re only parking here – the days will be spent in St. Augustine….looking for that Fountain of Youth.  …..And if we find it, we’ll bring some of it’s water back to this ditch and hope it helps while we’re here.  It’s the least we can do for these poor folks here at the KOA, NOT!

           

 Happy Trails! 

 Pappy & Grammy aka Ah-Pa & Gigi

Winter Camping 2012 Feb 6-10

Winter Camping 2012  Feb 6-10

February 6 was get away day.  We motored down almost to Valdosta GA and spent the night at Reed Bingham SP.  We stayed at this SP a couple of years ago and found it to be good ground.  Our campsite was indeed level so we forwent the process of dismounting the Montana from the Ford.      RBSP is known for its large vulture population as well as for it very long board walk that works its way down to the Little River.  For a 2-mile trail it worked very well to keep up our daily exercises.

Wednesday morning we headed further south – our destination: Rainbow Springs SP, FL.   We were within one mile of the Florida State Line when I felt “something”.  I peered into the right mirror and to my dread; I saw pieces of “black stuff” flinging from the area of the rear tire.    We had a blowout on the starboard side!   I eased truck and trailer off to the shoulder and I reminded myself of the horror stories I had heard of travelers whose flat tire had destroyed the wheel well as well as the under carriage of their camper- I had to stop and stop now!

The tire was utterly destroyed.  It was one of the originals – one that I had planned to replace before our “out West” trip - later this summer.  (After 4 to 5 years old, trailer tires are not to be trusted, regardless of how good the tread may look.)  This tire was done for.  GEICO provided the emergency on-road service and within an hour we had the spare tire on the ground.  There was however another problem.  The spare tire was one that I had already changed out – and I felt it was equally unreliable.  We headed northward on I-75 and returned to Valdosta where we bought 3 new tires. 

Four hours after our initial shock, we were again southbound for Rainbow Springs SP.  Arriving at nearly 6pm, we found the park to be one of those neatly arranged; campsites easy to get into!  Jack & John White (and wives) met us and we had a lovely evening; eating a welcome dinner that Judy prepared.

The next morning we all rented canoes and paddled upstream on the river for which the SP is named.   Along the way the clear water and the abundant wildlife awed us.   My left shoulder (formerly dislocated) got the workout it needed.  All was good!

In the next leg of our trip we landed at Cedar Key RV resort.  This park was good for one thing; parking the rig and taking day-trips.  I don’t have much to say about Cedar Key; mostly because Cedar Key doesn’t have much to say itself (or offer).  This Key is trying to become an art community – and it may well do so one day.  The seafood at the Pickled Pelican was well worth the short trip in to town though.   

The next morning we decided to travel over to Manatee Springs SP.  It’s known for its wintertime visitors.   No - not the snowbirds - but the wintering Manatees.   We stayed a half-hour and watched about 10 of them as they lounged and basked just under the water’s surface.   Very nice, but there’s only so much you can watch a manatee do; so we next headed over to Homosassa Springs SP which also is known for it manatees and other wildlife varieties.  This was really a neat park – very different as far as state parks go; it was a zoo in its truest sense.  The short boat ride and then extensive boardwalks allowed for watching every winged animal common to FL.  It’s even home to a hippopotamus, which we watched from about four feet away.    Yes there were manatees here too, but the ones in there natural surroundings at Manatee Springs SP were actually more fun to watch. 

Well, we are about half way through this camping trip – so, I’ll wrap up this posting for now.  If we are lucky we won’t have any more surprises to talk about in the next post.  

Happy days down the road,

Pappy & Grammy aka Ah-pa & Gigi

Brenda and Manatee Friend

                                              Flamingos galore at Homosassa Springs

                                     Brenda makes a video of the shredded tire????