October 28, 2015 - Chiefland, FL

It has been a long while since we both slept til past 9:30 am.  Edith took a quick peek to see what the weather was like.  Overcast!

Edith wanted to go sightseeing in Cedar Key, FL, but Erwin wanted us to just stay here and chill out.  Besides that, we will be going back to Jacksonville, FL tomorrow for our medical appointments and errands.  We needed to watch our gas budget.

While Erwin was eating his late breakfast Edith walked over to the concession to use its free wifi, so she can edit and post travel blogs.  

No one was swimming in the spring, but there was a couple going out in a canoe.  Edith would love to go canoeing, but Erwin was concerned about his right shoulder. He had shoulder surgery last January and It is not fully healed. 

For lunch we had taboulee (Syrian salad consisting of diced tomatoes, diced cucumbers, chopped green onions, parsley and soaked/drained cracked wheat).  After lunch Edith prepared zesty italian chicken thighs in slow cooker and let it cook for 6 hours on low setting.  That will be for our supper tomorrow after we get back from Jacksonville, FL.

The afternoon found us lounging outside while watching the birds and squirrels that were about not far from us.  Cardinals, wrens and titmouse showed up.  Squirrels were busy bringing nuts. 

Carolina Wren

Male Northern Cardinal

Female Northern Cardinal

Late in the afternoon we took a hike at Sinkhole Loop, .6 mile loop.  There was a gentle breeze and it certainly helped while we walked.  We saw few sinkhole ponds, saw monitoring wells (It is a well drilled to 86 feet and into the underground river, the well is covered and locked but can be opened for testing the water below to gauge it’s purity).

After we got back from hiking Edith started to prepare supper and we had tacos, a very simple meal.  Nothing fancy.  

The time for the sunset was 6:49 pm, so we hurriedly walked on the boardwalk to get to the end of the dock.  The sun was already down below the treeline, but there were nice colors in the clouds.  Lots of buzzards, egrets, anhingas, herons were flying to trees not far from the dock to roost for the night.

We decided not to have campfire because it was so warm outside.  

We looked at the map trying to decide what best routes to take from Chiefland, FL to Jacksonville, FL. We have few things to take care of: pick up the shades for our bedroom, pick up mail and bicycles at the house, stop at Wells Fargo Bank, make an appointment with Erwin’s knee doctor and lastly our appointment with a dermatologist.

October 27, 2015 - Chiefland, FL & Old Town, FL

It was overcast, but not raining yet.  

Edith went to the concession to use its wifi, so she can edit and post travel blogs.  The aroma of BBQ pulled pork and ribs got her mouth watering.  There were no swimmers at the spring.

On way to visit Gracie and Jerry we stopped at R & L RV Supply to see if they have gutter extensions for the Lil’ Home.  The drips from either rain or air conditioning run down the sides of the LH leaving stains, so by adding the extensions the water drips further from the sides.  They had some in stock and we bought one that we knew will fit.

We had quick lunch in Old Town, FL before going to Gracie’s house.  It started to drizzle a bit.  

As usual, it is always good to see Gracie and Jerry again.  We spent the afternoon chatting.  We stayed for supper and Gracie served Hobo Burgers.  We have to say that we liked it better than the one Edith fixed last week.  Gracie’s son Jerel and his girlfriend Sam were supposed to eat with us, but Jerel had not come home from work yet.  

Edith & Gracie

Jerry & Erwin

For the evening we sat and chatted more.  We are never out of news! We watched a bit of the news on TV.  For dessert Gracie served brownies covered with chocolate frosting.  Oh my, plenty of walnuts, so crunchy!  

It was around 8 pm when it was time for us to go back to the state park.  As we were outside Erwin heard an owl hooting, looked up and saw it flying overhead to another tree.  He told all of us to look for it, but it was too dark to see.

The gate at the state park was closed, but we had the code to open it.  

The day was just nice spending time with wonderful friends.

October 26, 2015 - Chiefland, FL

Edith took a peek out of the window and saw that it was not going to be a beautiful morning.  That is okay, she told herself since she wanted to sleep in a bit longer.

We needed to pick up more food items at Winn Dixie in Chiefland, FL, but we went to the public library first to use its wifi service so Edith can finish two travel blogs.  While she was working on it Erwin pulled out Louis L’Armor paperback and started reading it.  The day got better!

After eating out for lunch we stopped at Winn Dixie. We bought foods that should last about 4-5 days, but cost us over $40!  Edith has not been couponing much like she used to several years ago. She realized it is difficult to keep it up while traveling because we do not have a printer to print coupons or buy Sunday newspapers that have coupon inserts.  She will have to somehow figure out how to stretch our grocery budget.

On way back to the state park we asked the ranger if they have firewood we can buy. “Oh, we don’t have any left”, she said.  We will have to wait til tomorrow.

After putting groceries away we rested outside and was greeted by an armadillo that walked about, looking for meals, walked under our Lil’ Home (LH). It is the healthiest armadillo we have seen.  

We realized we forgot bug spray, so we went back to town, shopped at Tractor Supply Co and got the spray.  We asked about the firewood and they were out of it, also!

Since it was pleasant and not too humid outside we grilled pork chops, cooked fresh broccoli.  Few minutes after we started eating Erwin alerted Edith to look around.  

There were few deer walking around. There was one fawn.  We saw a total of 10 deer.  They were not afraid of close encounter with humans.  It looked like they have gotten used to being around campers on daily basis.  It was a joy to watch them walk by until they disappeared into the forest. 

https://youtu.be/khDgrVzG9X0

We decided to start a small fire, so we can have some toasted marshmallows.  We sat and watched the fire dancing in the dark.  Beautiful, but dangerous.  After we devoured toasted marshmallows we went back inside the LH and few minutes later the rain came!  Perfect timing!

October 25, 2015 - Perry, FL to Chiefland, FL

We have been so lucky with the weather lately.  This morning it was 81˚ and it was a gorgeous day for sightseeing, but there is not much time for it because we needed to check out of KOA at 11 am.

It was around 10 am when Edith decided that she was going back to the cemetery to take more pictures while poor Erwin gets the Lil' Home (LH) ready by filling water tank, emptying the sewage tanks, closing all the slide outs and putting stuff away so they don't fall and rattle around.  At the cemetery the sun is now shining on the fronts of tombstones and monuments.  A perfect timing and it did not take very long to get there from the campground.  

On her way back to the campground she saw several motorhomes towing mudbogging vehicles on trailers.  It seemed like there was an event going on in the town. There was one motorhome towing a 17’ fishing boat!!! She got back to the campground little after 10:30 am. Erwin was outside waiting for Edith’s arrival and he promptly hitched the Jeep to the LH.

It was 10:54 am when we left KOA-Perry campground. We got on US 19 South that will take us to Chiefland, FL.  Before we left Erwin called Manatee Springs State Park to find out if there is any space availability for tonight. Yes, there are several spaces left. 

While we were nearing Cross City, FL Edith texted Gracie to see if it was possible for us to meet with her and her husband Jerry for lunch at Hardee’s in Old Town, FL.  She replied back that they could meet us, but were going to be little late.  

As we were approaching the intersection of US 19 and 349 we saw our old Keystone Everest 5th wheel trailer in the back lot of Jack’s Pro Tire shop.  What was it doing there, we asked ourselves.

After parking the LH behind Hardee’s Erwin walked over to Jack’s Pro shop while Edith went inside Hardee’s and waited for Gracie and Jerry.  It was 5 minutes before they arrived.  It was good to see them again.  After Erwin got back from the shop he explained that the ceiling inside the trailer is in bad shape and needs to be replaced.   We bought the trailer in 2003 when we lived in Maryland.  It became our “permanent” home for 2 and half years in Jacksonville, FL after we moved from Maryland. We sold it in the year of 2013.

We enjoyed our time chatting with Gracie and Jerry for an hour and half. We could have stayed longer, but we wanted to keep going to Chiefland, FL to check into the campground.  We made an arrangement to visit them on Tuesday, October 27th, since Chiefland is not too far from where they live.

We had not made reservations with Manatee Springs State Park for tonight’s stay, but we called ahead this morning and they said they have available sites.  We had already reserved site #13 for Monday, October 26 through Saturday, October 31.  While talking with the ranger it was mentioned that there were 3 available sites that we could stay at for 14 days.  She gave us the numbers for us to go check them out.  After checking each out we decided we wanted site #47 and went back to the ranger station to pay.  

We don’t have to move from site #47 to site #13 tomorrow, which is a big help.  The loop we are in is not too far from the concession (it has free wifi) and the swimming hole.

We were not that hungry when it was around 5 pm, so we took a walk to the concession and to check out the springs.  The water was so blue/green and in the back sun rays shone through the forest.  It was a beautiful sight.  We continued walking on the boardwalk until we reached the end of it which is at Suwannee River.  

The concession has a TV in the picnic area and there were news about ISIS prison break. We do not watch TV in our LH, so we are out of the loop with the news. We decided not to order foods there even though the pulled BBQ sandwich looked yummy.  

We decided to have “breakfast” for supper, had bacon, hash browns with scrambled eggs.  

Edith spend the evening editing pictures while Erwin was reading Zandrus' Forge authored by Marion Zimmer Bradley (SCI-FI). 

We had not decided what we will do tomorrow. We will probably decide once we see what the weather is like after we get up in the morning.