Returned to Thousand Trails Orlando

We have stayed at the Orlando Thousand Trails, which is actually in Clermont, several times this year and currently we are again parked at the resort. There are hundreds of sites, and it is a very busy park, especially during the months of December-March. Most of the full-hookup, grassy sites are level & well spaced with picnic tables. The park has a good variety of activities, 2 pools, a hot tub, ballroom, recreational area, Pickleball daily, line dancing 5 days a week, entertainment weekly, store & cafe, is ideal for bike riding and so much more. There are turtles, Sandhill cranes and wild turkeys roaming throughout the park and are often in our sites. We are close enough to Disney to be able to hear the nightly fireworks.

Strawberry Shortcake is the name of the game in Plant City

Yes, we are now royalty, at least when it comes to being Queen & King of eating strawberry shortcake. Plant City strawberries are considered the best strawberries in FL and Parkesdale Farms is the place to go to enjoy them. People come from all around, tour buses arrive daily and so we came to partake of the goodies. People line up for the strawberry shortcake, which is huge and only $2.49, unless you want ice cream in addition, then it $3.29. Although, the lines appear long, the staff have this down to a science and people are easily served in short orderand are on their way to an area at this farmers market set aside for customers to sit and enjoy their order. The area is totally decorated in strawberries & red everything. It is a family operation and they appear to be experts at keeping customers happy.
. I think Jim and Diane would agree as they ravished their own bowls of the sweet nectar.

Punta Gorda with Bob & Nancy

Today we arrived at the Punta Gorda Elks, we stayed here 2 years ago and really liked the location. Again it is dry-camping, but the Elks lodge is situated right on Port Charlotte Harbor. It is a very active lodge with hundreds of members. On Monday evenings they serve a most delicious southern fried chicken dinner. And since it is Jim Baker's favorite meal, well we just had to go. Since fellow Boomers Nancy & Bob Colbert reside in Punta Gorda, they joined the Baker/Fishers & us.








The next day Nancy invited us to their place and offered to make us a brunch. We all gladly accepted and arrived hungry. Good thing, because Nancy out did herself with several freshly made hot dishes, which we quickly devoured. Couldn't let a good thing go to waste. Yeah, like food is ever going to go to waste when Boomers are at the table :)

Bonita Shores & Diane Fisher's Birthday

We took a long drive along Florida's gulf coast and explored several of its beaches. Dianne found tons of shells, we loved the warm sand, watched dolphins frolic just feet from us and spent the day enjoying the ocean waves. At the end of the day we were rewarded by a beautiful sunset on the sands of Bonita Shores.

We are currently dry camped at Bonita Springs with Jim Baker & Diane Fisher. And it just so happens today is Diane's 62nd birthday. We celebrated with them at a wonderful restaurant, Skip One Seafoods, located not far from where we are parked. The catfish we had was more than very good. After dinner we continued the celebrating at our rig, and "birthday cake" was Mango Key Lime Pie. It was a twist on an old favorite, and it turns out mango is one of Diane's favorite. Thanks Diane for allowing us to be a part of your special day!

Big Cypress National Preserve

Our next stop was Midway Campground in Big Cypress National Preserve. What a terrific campground, all of the sites surrounded a lake, each site has a concrete pad & patio, picnic table, grassy lawn, electricity, is well space from neighboring sites and it is conveniently located right off Hwy 41.

We were able to take a narrated tram tour at Shark Valley and saw more alligators & birds than one could count. Halfway through the tour we walked up to the 60 ft. observation tower and had a great view of the surrounding everglades. This is also a great biking loop covering 15 miles and many visitors opted to take that option.

Adventures in Everglades National Park

Even though we really hated to leave the Keys, we knew we must. Our next adventure lay just ahead at Everglades National Park. This park covers only 1/5th of the 1.4 million acres that make up the Everglades. The entire Everglades ecosystem is basically a giant; slow-flowing river that is 50 miles wide but only a few inches deep.We camped at Long Key Pine campground. This quiet and peaceful park, surrounded by tall pines, as the name suggest, has large spacious sites, and although it is only boondocking, there is access to water and a dump if needed.

This national park contains several hiking and biking trails, an informative visitor center, and very interesting and educational ranger led activities, tours and talks. We found it to be a paradise for wildlife, with a wide range of fauna, including 400 species of birds.

We spent one of our days on a 5 hour car caravan, as 2 rangers walked us through hardwood hammocks, onto numerous boardwalks, explained the history, gave us several opportunities to view many alligators and several species of birds, as well as, informed us of the threat from the disrupted flow of water from Lake Okeechobee. They explained how easily the lack of water could prove to be disastrous to this delicate ecosystem if it is not maintained. To our surprise we discovered just how diverse the everglades are, and learned so much more than we could ever have imagined.


Our biggest surprise came in the form of an unwelcome, non-native inhabitant of the park, a 15 foot Burmese Python. Apparently, these snakes have been let loose by their owners when they became to large to be kept as "pets". Unfortunately, their numbers have exploded to over 5,000 and pose a serious threat to the native wildlife in the Everglades. When one is found it is killed and that is where our story begins. At one stop our ranger had just explained to us the problem with the pythons and what the park was doing to eradicate these snakes. Not 5 minutes later our group came upon one beside the road. Frank asked the ranger if he would like him (Frank) to run over the snake with his car. The ranger's response was YES!! And Rambo Frank was all business as he roared into action, and took dead aim at the reptilian. Oh my gosh what a sight to see, we were all quite amazed by the shock and awe as the boa constrictor and the Jeep collided. I'm not sure who was more in shock, me, Frank or that snake as he quickly retreated. Oh well I guess the snake won this battle.

A Day boating in the Keys

Boomer friends, Diana & George Ruelens invited us and fellow Boomers, Lee & Edie Solomon, to join them on their boat, Two if by Sea. They were originally full-time RV'ers, but now live on their boat full-time. It was warm and the seas were calm, so Frank and Lee were able to do some scuba diving. Frank was thrilled and thanks to Diana & George expertise assistance getting them into the water, and Lee being a skilled & attentive diving buddy, the dives couldn't have been better.

It was a perfect day, aqua blue waters, lively conversations with good friends and a scrumptous lunch provided by our host. Thank you Diana & George for a wonderful day!!!

Play Day in Key West

Tuesday we spent the day roaming the streets of Key West with good Boomer friends Diane Fisher & Jim Baker. Key West is a world unto itself, with a "party-hardy-at-the-end-of-the-world" atmosphere. Of course we visited all the usual "tourist" spots, Duval Street, Mallory Square, a walk along the waterfront, and had our picture taken at the southernmost point in the continental US ("I'm sure we could "see Cuba from there"). But our most important mission was to find the best Key Lime Pie in Florida. It was decided we'd buy pies at the two places that had been rated as the "Best" by locals. With forks in hand we took to the task, tasted, commented, tasted some more and pondered our decision. It was unanimously decided by the four of us, that the winner was the Blond Giraffe. It was the combination of just the right amount of tanginess, with that slight lingering sweetness united with a most wonderful smooth texture. Yes, we had a winner.

Soon it was time to leave, and we retreated back to Jim & Diane's 5th wheel for dinner. Diane prepared a meal of fajitas which definitely hit the spot and was a most delicious ending to a great day.

Sunset at the Elks in the Florida Keys

We decided to travel further south earlier this week, and are now parked at the Florida Keys Elks in Tavernier for a while. They have 10 electric & water sites right on the gulf coast with a million dollar view just out the RV window. The weather is warm and sunny, with temps in the high 70's.

There is a neat little Tiki Hut at waters edge, and around 5 o'clock you will find folks beginning to gather for the evening Happy Hour. The conversation is interesting, the snacks are tasty, but it is the sunsets that are truly magnificent!!

Royal Lipizzan Stallions

Today we are staying at Peace River RV park in Wauchula, FL. Good friend Linda & Lynn Ford, also from the NW, are also staying here at the park. We met them our 1st year out, in December 2004, in Casa Grande and became fast friends. Ever since then we have been blessed to enjoy their friendship and fellowship when we are both in the NW, as well as, often along our travels. This year they too are in FL and we get to spend time with them while they are here. So today we all traveled over to Myakka City, FL to see the Royal Lipizzan Stallions paractice. The beauty and grace of these stallions is amazing. The ranch is open to the public to watch them train for free. This has been a family operation for many, many years and the riders are all female at this time. The session lasted about 1 1/2 hours and covered not only the history of the breed, but the history of the family. It was truly a sight a wonderous sight to see.