November 4, 2015 - Horseshoe Beach, FL

What a beautiful view to see Gulf of Mexico when we got up and walked to the front area of our Lil' Home (LH).  It was almost as if we were floating on the water.  So heavenly!

When we stepped out of the LH there were already boat trailers parked, so the boats must have gone out so early in the morning.  

After our late breakfast we lounged for a bit before biking out.  A group of seagulls crowded in on a sandbar, the egret gracefully flying by.  There were people fishing from the dock, so Edith walked over to see what is going on.  There was this egret in the water waiting for the bait that one of the anglers might throw to it.  

We went out for a bike ride, went to the marina/store on the other side of the canal. We went inside to see what the store has. It did not have live shrimp, but has frozen ones.  We asked one of the guys about what place is ideal for fishing. "Shired Island", he highly recommended.  We had been there long time ago and will need to find time to drive over and check it out.  

We biked throughout residential streets checking out some interesting stuff.  There was one house with lots of buoys.  Most houses are on stilts, some are not.  Horseshoe Beach does get flooded once in a while especially during hurricanes.  It started to get too hot and muggy to continue biking, so we went back to the campsite.

We had beef stew leftover so we ate that up.  It was really nice to eat outside and watch birds go by, boats entering/leaving the ramp, pelicans taking a bath (it was fun watching them doing that).  So peaceful and quiet. We really need it!  Edith is not the type to sit idle all day long, she needs to get up and walk around once in a while to rejuvenate her mind, body and soul.  Erwin is the one that will happily sit in one place for hours and hours while reading a book.  

A large flock of pelicans started  dive bombing in the water and one pelican had a hard time keeping a fish in its beak.  Another pelican slyly swam close to the pelican with hopes that the fish will fall and it can grab it. It was a fun show to watch.  That is something we don't get to see very often.

Belted Kingfisher

Bald Eagle

No idea what it is...

"Which one do you want for supper", Edith asked Erwin.  Sometimes she will go ahead and fix whatever she feels like, but this time wanted to know what Erwin was in mood for.  "Pan fried chicken thighs fine", Erwin signed. Along with chicken thighs we had seasoned Italian green beans with sautéed mushrooms and sliced tomatoes with olive oil and basil seasoning.  It was too muggy to eat outside, so we dined inside.

Edith went by the library, which was closed, but was able to access the internet, checked emails. There was one from our realtor updating us on the status of our house.

Edith started to get excited about the sunset because there was no clouds around where the sun will set in.   Just perfect! That is the one she has been waiting for, a huge ball of fire sizzling into the water.  

November 3, 2015 - Horseshoe Beach, FL

We were busy getting our Lil’ Home (LH) ready for the road trip to Horseshoe Beach, FL.  While Erwin was putting stuff away Edith went to the concession to use free wifi to update our travel blog.

When Edith got back the LH was all ready to hit the road.  We left the campground at 10:30 am, already missing the state park, but promised that we will come back here another time. It is a very nice park to visit and the campground is satisfactory.

In Chiefland, FL we stopped to pick up groceries at Winn Dixie.  There is a grocery store in Cross City, FL, but it is small and does not usually have a lot of selections that we might want to get.  

The road trip on US 19 was very smooth.  In Cross City we turned left on US 351(the only highway into the village) for Horseshoe Beach, FL. At that point it is 20 miles away.  There was a bit of road work on 351 as the crew was rolling out sod for the shoulder.

We were relieved to know that campsite #8 was still vacant and we set up the LH right there.  There were about 10 boat trailers on the premises.  After we got the chairs out we lounged a while and watched pelicans diving in the water to catch fish. One pelican was successful.  One Great Blue Heron was standing on the bank of a small island way out in the water.  We watched it for a while and it did not catch anything.

This will be our "home" for 6 days

Airboat 

Something in the air caught Edith’s eye and when she looked up to see what it was it was an osprey with half eaten fish in its talons. She quickly got out of the chair, walked around to the front of the LH to see where it went.  Lo and behold, the osprey is on the top of the light pole that is right next to the LH!  Of course, Edith wasted no time in getting her camera ready and got many great shots.  She could see the fish tail sticking out.  What kind of fish, she wondered. It could be a redfish… no, not a redfish, the tail is differently shaped! Possibly Spanish Mackerel? The osprey seemed to have had enough of Edith’s presence it left. 

Edith went out for a bike ride to the village checking out the library for wifi access code.  The cafe was closed, so was the convenience store.  The ice cream parlor is closed permanently.  It was really very quiet in the village. 

The park attendant showed up around 4 pm to collect camping fees. We asked her if it was ok the way the LH is parked. "That should be fine, but you will need to move your car in the back behind your motorhome this Friday", she advised.  "Why?", we asked. She said it is because Fridays through Sundays the city park will be crowded with campers and fishermen with boats and they will be parking everywhere and may even block you in so if your car is behind your LH, you may be able to leave.

After Edith came back from biking she decided to take the Jeep and drove to the dead end on the other side from the city park for sunset pictures.  However, the rain clouds were right in front of the sun.  She spotted a bald eagle in the air and it landed among trees in private property not too far from where she stood. She tried to look for it, but was not able to go around it because if she did she would be trespassing!

Created in HDR effect

Two shrimp boats went out to haul shrimps.  Pelicans were busy diving for fishes.  Anhingas were flying in twosome to the place where they would rest for the night.  There were many different species of gulls flying around.  Few cars came by and the people joined to watch the sunset. Edith did not stay there very long, went back to the campsite.

Late in the night Edith was determined to drive to the dead end park and looked for the Milky Way. There is not so many street lights out there as they are at the city park/boat ramp.  It took a while before she was able to spot it and took pictures.  

November 2, 2015 - Chiefland, FL

We were really LAZY this morning. All because of the dreary weather!  Today is laundry day!  We do wish there was an easy way to get clothes clean without laundry.

The sun kept trying to come out, but the clouds kept blocking it. It was a constant battle between the sun and the clouds all morning.

We found a coin operated laundromat two blocks from the main street in Chiefland.  It was clean and well maintained.  While Edith was taking a picture of Erwin getting the laundry started he commented that the female readers might be jealous that their spouses don’t do laundry. Well, there were more males there doing their laundry than we have seen elsewhere!

While Erwin was at the laundry Edith went to the public library to use wifi to check emails, messages and to update travel blog.

After the laundry was done we decided to go out for lunch at ABC Greek/Italian Restaurant.  It had all you can eat pizza buffet for $6.95. We elected to go with buffet. There was a table with ladies wearing red hats and purple outfits.

On way back to the campground we stopped by Chiefland RV Park that is one block away from the laundromat to get information on their rates.  The office reeked of cat urine.  Forget that one!

We changed into swim wear to go swimming at the spring, since it was sunny and warm.  The spring temperature is 72˚ all year round.  The spring produces about 50-150 gallons a day.  There were four swimmers when we arrived.  We did not have snorkeling gear or fins with us. We had them before, but they were in bad condition after years and years of usage from the time we were married in 1992.  We will have to start saving $ to buy new snorkeling gear.  

The water was COLD at the beginning, but after staying in a while Edith was the first one going in the water.  Erwin went in much later, but hurriedly swam back to the steps, said it was too cold to stay in.  Edith spent time exploring the area, but without googles it was hard to see what was down there.  It was maybe 20 minutes before Edith felt it was time to get out. Edith had GoPro camera with her, but without special filter for underwater it was difficult to video anything in the water.   Erwin did not even bother to come back in the water. He just sat there watching and waiting.

We changed into dry clothes, hung up the wet suits and towels outside.  We lounged outside sipping cold drinks and chomping on appetizers/snacks.  It was a peaceful moment.

A very simple supper was prepared on the stove and grill outside.  We decided not to build a fire because it was warm and we were low on firewood.

We were too exhausted to walk on the boardwalk to the dock to watch the sunset.  Edith said she can wait until we come to Horseshoe Beach.  A better place for watching sunsets.

We did a bit of cleaning up and putting stuff away before we depart tomorrow morning, so we won’t have to do too much in the morning.

November 1, 2015 - Chiefland, FL & Horseshoe Beach, FL

Did anyone of you forgot to set the clock back this morning?  We did! 

Upon arising the sky was blue with some clouds, but in an hour or so it was overcast and grey.  We had decided that we were going to Horseshoe Beach, FL in the afternoon to visit friends and to sightsee a bit. 

By mid-morning a lot of campers had left for home, so now the campground is ours until Tuesday. It had gotten so quiet all of a sudden; no kids riding bikes, no couples walking around hand in hand. We bet the deer are happy now!

Edith did a bit of housekeeping in the Lil’ Home (LH).  So much easier and quicker to clean LH than the house where it is big and many rooms to keep up with.  

Erwin was going to replace the vents on the roof, but when he got there he noticed that the vents were sealed with something special and he did not have on hand to re-seal them.  He decided to wait until he talks to someone who has had experience in replacing vents.  In the meantime it is not so critical to replace them.

The concession is the only place within the state park where one can use free wifi, so Edith has been going there once in a while to update travel blogs.  While she was working on the blog there were few people swimming in the spring.  One of them has scuba diving equipment.  We are thinking of swimming there tomorrow when the weather gets warmer or hotter later in the day.

We left for Horseshoe Beach around 12:30 pm, stopped in Old Town for quick lunch. Arrived Horseshoe Beach around 1:45 pm.  We went straight to the city park/boat ramp to check out its campground facility. $10 for county residents/$20 for non-county residents and the maximum stay is 7 days.  Erwin scouted around the area, said we could camp at #7/#8 for better view of the water.  We might try to camp there next Tuesday after checking out of Manatee Springs State Park.  

After checking out the city park we went to meet Gracie and Jerry who like to visit Horseshoe Beach once in a while.  Jerry’s sister and nephew were visiting in town, also.  We visited with them for about 2 hours, then left to go back to the city park.  We had about an hour and half to kill before the sunset. Erwin took out a paperback book to read while Edith was busy walking around and shooting pictures of the birds, the sunset, etc.. 

Edith was kind of disappointed that the clouds decided to take over because two hours earlier the sky was so blue with not one cloud in sight.  She was looking forward to getting a picture of the huge orange setting sun above Gulf of Mexico.  Well, that did not happen!  

Osprey 

Mockingbird - Florida State Bird

Sunset over Gulf of Mexico

It was one hour drive from Horseshoe Beach to Manatee Springs State Park in Chiefland, FL.  It was 6:45 pm when we got “home” and we reheated the beef stew that Edith prepared early this morning.  

Edith was able to see the Milky Way, but it was not as clearly visible as it was a month ago.