February 4, 2016 - Lake City & White Springs, FL

Oh! Oh! It is raining cats and dogs.  Water puddles… No hiking/biking today! 

Erwin mentioned he heard thunders during the middle of the night while he slept. Obviously, it did not bother Edith at all.

There was a wild orange cat crouching in front of the Jeep tire.  It was seen walking around at the campground when we arrived yesterday.  The fur color is so deep orange. 

In spite of the pounding rain Edith decided she was going to drive to Lake City to do a bit of shopping. She forgot to pick up a bag of shredded Mozzarella cheese when she shopped at Aldi two days ago and needed it for tonight’s supper.  Erwin chose to stay “home” to do woodburning.

The drive to Lake City was not too bad.  Edith went to Michaels first to look around, but did not see anything she wanted to buy.  Then she went to Starbucks that is across from Michaels.  The store was crowded, but Edith found a chair that is by the wall with an outlet.  She stayed there for about an hour and half editing pictures for the blog.  There were people coming in with umbrellas or rain ponchos.  The rain was still coming down hard.

Next trip for Edith was to go to Winn Dixie to get cheese and few other items.  There were some people buying cases and cases of sodas, boxes and boxes of crackers, dips  (Edith figured they are for their Super Bowl parties).  The rain started to taper off a bit when Edith left the store to go “home”.

On way to the campground Edith saw about 50 vultures or buzzards circling near the water tower in White Springs. She turned left on a side street to get a picture, but as soon as she stepped out of the Jeep the buzzards started flying away from the water tower. There were maybe three or four still out there.  

The rain was on/off the rest of the afternoon and into the night.

February 3, 2016 - Jacksonville, FL to White Springs, FL

The sun had a hard time breaking through the clouds.  While Erwin was at UHaul to get propane filled up for the Lil’ Home (LH) Edith went to Aldi to pick up fresh vegetables and fruits. Erwin also stopped at Murphy USA to get diesel fill-up, then went to the back of Winn Dixie store to wait for Edith to meet him after her shopping trip.

After Edith got back we hooked the Jeep to the LH, left around 10:30 am. The clouds were still thick . At least it did not rain.  The drive along I-10 West was very good and without incidents.

Jacksonville Skyline as seen fromWarren Bridge

I-10 West

We checked into Stephen Foster Cultural Center State Park in White Springs, FL and they had one site with 50 amps available, much to our delight.

On way to the campground Erwin did not notice that there was some kind of pothole and the LH rocked and rocked as he continued driving into the campground.

On way to the campground

Watch the part between 1:05 and 1:10 where the LH rocked after turning left

We pulled into site #36 and got the LH leveled and set up in a jiffy. Edith was about ready to prepare lunch, needed to get plates from the cabinet above the sink. Well, Erwin had already warned Edith to open the cabinets slowly. She did not and the dinnerware came crashing down on the countertop and the floor. That is the 2nd time this has happened! We lost one salad bowl, one soup bowl and two cereal bowls. This means a shopping trip to one of the stores to replace what was broken.

It took us a while to sweep up broken pieces from the countertop.  We swept the floor several times, vacuumed the carpet and the runner to be sure there were not any tiny bits left.  Of course, our lunch was put on hold until we were done cleaning things up!

We went for a bike ride within the state park, checked out the historic Suwannee River (also spelled Suwanee River) near the ranger station. It is a major river of southern Georgia and northern part of Florida and is about 246 miles long.The interesting thing about this river is that it “separates” peninsular Florida and the panhandle. Back in late 1900’s White Springs was a flourishing town with a health resort and 14 hotels in operation, thanks to the steamboat that operated on the river. As of now none of them are open for business :-(

After we got back from bike riding we set chairs outside and under the awning, rested a while before we had supper.  

We have no idea what the weather was going to be like for tomorrow, so we did not make any plans.

January 27-February 2, 2016 - Jacksonville, FL

• Jan 27
  •  We picked up the mail at Post Office that was on hold while we were out of town.
  • We met our good friends, Audrey, Harold, Rosalee, Clark, Mary, Brenda and Jack, at BJ’s Brewery off Gate Parkway for our monthly lunch gathering.  It was supposed to be our turn hosting it this month, but we were out of town for 3 weeks, so Brenda and Jack took our place.  It was great seeing them again.  The foods were excellent.  It is our turn to host the lunch gathering for February.

  

  Erwin's dish: Salmon on quinoa and roasted vegetables

  

  Edith's dish: Personal Pepperoni Pizza

  • After lunch Erwin picked up a jar of salted whole cashews at Costco and we went to Home Depot to check out base cabinets that might work for our Lil’ Home.  Unfortunately, the depth is too deep and won’t fit well.  
  • Erwin did the laundry and there were three loads from our 17 day outing. 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jan 28
  • It must have rained during the night because it was very wet outside when we went in the house. 
  • It started to mist when we left the house and it turned into rain when Erwin dropped Edith off at Starbucks (her temporary office). Erwin wanted to check out Woodcraft store that had moved to a new location not too far from our house.
  • After lunch we went shopping at various stores: Aldi, Home Goods, Michaels and Bed, Bath & Beyond.  Aldi is the German-based grocery chain and is reported to be better than Trader Joe’s. It is a self-service store and you bag your own groceries.  The former Circle K furniture store on Southside Blvd. was converted to Aldi last year. We wanted to go in and see what it is like to shop there. Aldi does not accept credit cards.  Most of their products are their own brands.  They had bananas for 29 cents a pound (Publix sells it for 69 cents a pound).  We picked up cauliflower, blackberries and bananas
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • Home Goods did not have plastic placemats we wanted for our LH.  Michaels did not have a good selection of colored pencils and gel pens. 
  
  
  
  
  
  • We checked out portable vacuum cleaners at Bed, Bath & Beyond and it has Shark Rocket for $99.  We did not buy it today, but will get it after February 2nd.
  • It was very foggy when we got back home.  Then it started to rain on/off all evening long.
  
  
  Jan 29
  • We overslept til 9:45 am.
  • Edith worked on two travel blogs at Starbucks while Erwin stayed at “home” to work on his new woodburning project.
  • In the afternoon we went downtown to check out street art or murals that Edith saw on Instagram, but she could not find the specific location that one of her Instagram followers told her about.  She will have to ask him again.
  • We had a nice visit with Rosalee and Clark, returned the portable vacuum cleaner that we borrowed from them
  • Erwin wanted to go to Chamblin’s Used Bookstore, not too far from Rosalee and Clark’s house. It is off Roosevelt Blvd (RT 17).  It is a big store, has millions of books. Erwin bought a few paperbacks.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  • Edith went to the Cork District on Kings & Roselle Sts to see if there were any new murals added to the sides of a building. Roselle Street was the street that Edith’s parents had a house and Edith grew up there for few years. The house is not there anymore, was demolished to make room for I-10. The first section of I-10 was completed between Sanderson, FL and Jacksonville, FL in 1961.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Jan 30
  • It was a very lazy morning for us.
  • We visited and had supper with Bon, Marilyn, Helen, Tina and Julian. The dinner was very delicious.  We spent time around the fire pit before dinner was served.  After dinner we went outside again and had toasted marshmallows.  A lovely time with them.
  
  
  Jan 31
  • We spent the morning grocery shopping at Aldi and Winn Dixie.
  • We went back to Bed, Bath & Beyond and bought Shark Rocket HandVac to be used in the Lil’ Home. It is portable and easy to store in the closet.
  
  
  
  

  

  
  
  
  
  Feb 1
• It was a very beautiful morning and the temperature was 80˚.
• We shopped at Costco for other stuff that we did not get at Aldi and Winn Dixie yesterday.
• We spent the afternoon figuring out a way to set up filing system for Edith to use to store documents and mails. We finally figured it out, but that is a temporary thing until we have a desk built in.
• Erwin cut down the Crape Myrtle trees while Edith pulled out weeds in the front lawn.  There were more dandelions that we remembered. That was because we cancelled the lawn service and they have not come to treat the lawn since last November.

• In the late evening a deaf guy representing Rainbow vacuum cleaner company stopped by to check with us.  We filled out a form at DeafNation Expo in March 2014.  That is over a year and half.  We told him that we were not interested and asked him to have our names removed from the system.

Feb 2

• It was another beautiful morning with lots of puffy clouds.  
• Edith decided to go out for a drive to Evergreen Cemetery to pay her respect for her parents who are buried there.  The cemetery is one of the oldest in Jacksonville area.  Her ancestors are buried there, also.  

Top pic: Edith's parents
Middle pic: Edith's maternal grandpa
Bottom pic: Edith's maternal grandma

• Edith went to another cemetery, Greenlawn Cemetery, to pay respects to one of her favorite aunts, Aunt Rose (her daddy’s sister).  While there she spied a small raptor on the head of the statue of Jesus.

January 26, 2016 - Keystone Heights, FL to Jacksonville, FL

A nice morning for us to go hiking at one of several trails at Gold Head Branch State Park.  It was a very pleasant walk.

Blue Marks on the tree to tell hikers where
the trail is

A lovely walk in the woods

Headbuster!!!

We got back to Jacksonville, FL, left the Lil' Home at our house, went out in the Jeep to have lunch at the Loop in San Marco area.

Erwin's meal
Hamburger and Onion Rings

Edith's dish
Walnut Gorgonzola Salad

We then went to Reddi Arts, so Edith can pick up few more Copic markers and Faber Castell colored pencils.

Back at home we spent time checking to be sure all is okay in the house, swept the floors, cleaned the guest and master bathrooms.  As of today, the house is still on the market. 

January 25, 2016 - Horseshoe Beach, FL

The sun has not crested over the horizon when Edith went out to check the weather. It was still chilly. The water was glass-like and not many shore birds were around.  

Today is the day we check out of Horseshoe Beach, FL. The grey water tank was almost full and we were not able to take a bath this morning.  It is a good thing that there is a dump station at the city park/boat ramp which we will use when we check out soon.

American White Pelicans are back, but so far far away from here.  Lots of Great Blue Herons near the sandbar.  Brown Pelicans were not around.

After emptying the black & grey waters we left Horseshoe Beach, FL at 9:30 am. We already missed this place. It is a great place for R&R for few days. We will be back there in the fall.

Last night we both discussed and decided to spend one more camping night before going back to Jacksonville, FL.  Erwin wanted to stop in Hawthorne, FL to talk to Jack and Edna about retrofitting the dining area in our Lil’ Home (LH).

It was not possible to pull into and park our LH at Quinby Cabinet Shop, so Erwin pulled it over to the shoulder across the street.  Edna came over first. The first words Edna signed after hugging Edith was “Where have you been?”.  Jack came over and the boys started talking about desk style, measurements, countertop, etc. while Edith and Edna yakked and yakked.  After the boys were done we chatted about camping events, etc.  We will see Edna at a camping event end of February.  It was good to see Jack and Edna again.  

We were going to have lunch at Johnny’s in Keystone Heights, FL, but when we slowly drove by we realized there is no place to park our LH and the Jeep, so we kept on going to Gold Head Branch State Park, about 7 miles from Keystone Heights.  

We got site #58 for one night.  After setting it up we quickly fixed lunch, then went out for a walk around the campground. 

There was a couple from British Columbia (BC) and we came up to them, started asking questions about BC.  They are from Vernon, BC and have been traveling since September of last year. We exchanged travel stories and Erwin shared some places to see while they are visiting Florida. 

While Edith was preparing supper she saw few ants crawling on the cabinet above the sink, called Erwin over. We checked the insides and realized that some packaged goods need to be stored in plastic containers.  When we get back to Jacksonville, FL we will have to clear everything out, call the pest control company to send someone to come and treat the LH.  This means a shopping trip to buy plastic containers.  We will also need to buy preventive measures to sprinkle around the LH while we park at any campground.

We went out for a mile and half walk, checked out the lake nearby. The water level was low and there were more lily pads than the last time we stayed here.  We did not see any alligators, no signs of birds or wildlife.  

Edith checked the time for moonrise (waning at 96.1%), went to the boat ramp, but was 8 minutes late after the rise.  The moon was very orange and there were cloud veils.  It was very beautiful!  The orange color lasted for about 15 minutes before it turned white and brighter.

Erwin spent time on woodburning while Edith edited some pictures from today’s shooting.

January 24, 2016 - Horseshoe Beach, FL

The wind is still blowing, but not as fiercely as it was the last two days.  The sun was shining brightly and the sky is pale blue. 

Upon arising, Edith was still not feeling too perky, still has a sore throat. Ear infection was bothering her the most. After taking a bath she started to feel a bit better, but did not feel like eating breakfast.

Gracie and Jerry decided to go home today instead of tomorrow and we missed them already.  

American white pelicans were back, but were at the deep end of Gulf of Mexico.  Seagulls were busily scooping the water for baits.  Brown Pelicans were not around yet.

American White Pelicans

We just lounged around doing things for rest of the day.  The sunset was lovely. Then the moonrise.  All was good today.