I Think We've Found a Gem!

Sometimes you just get lucky, I guess. We found a gem of an RV Park today! Yesterday when we decided we did not want to drive all the way to Clermont in one day, Forry just started looking at the map and outlined an area about halfway there. Then we looked at our directories to see what we could find in that area in the way of RV campgrounds.



We found two near White Springs that both looked good and offered a 50% discount. I called the first one, Lee's Country Campground, let it ring, but got no answer, not even an answering machine. So I sort of shrugged and started looking for the number of the second one. But before I could punch it in, my phone rang.

It was Myrna from Lee's Country Campground calling me back! And apologizing because she hadn't gotten to the phone in time to answer my call! Myrna asked me the usual questions: how big is your rig; any pets; do you need sewer, etc.
She then assured me that they had plenty of space and could give us a pull-through space.

We left Pine Lake RV Park in good time this morning and had an easy trip east on Interstate 10 through Tallahassee. We stopped for diesel at a Pilot near Midway, Florida. We put in 48.4 gallons at $3.829. With our RV Advantage Card it was a quick in-and-out as the card gives you Pump Start privileges and there is no need to go inside until it is time to pay. It also gives us 3 cents per gallon off. Not much, but that's $1.44 we didn't have to spend...

We were pleasantly surprised when we turned into Lee's Country Campground. It's small, they have eight acres with only 38 sites. Very tidy and clean. There is a gate across the entrance and there was someone there immediately to open it for us. The office is just beyond the gate and Myrna was waiting for us. She said that they had started the park from scratch twenty-two years ago. The park has no long-termers, mostly over-nighters and a few weekly renters.



 


Auntie Violet is parked on a grassy area with 50 watt electrical service and a water hook-up. We very quickly put the jacks down and the slides out. I put an acorn squash in the oven with some honey and butter and thawed some crab cakes for supper. Rigs have pulled in on both sides of us since this picture was taken. Like us, they are on their way further south.

A Trip to the Gulf

This afternoon we drove down Highway 231 towards the Panama City beaches. We had picked up a brochure at the Florida Welcome Center that told about the nature trails at St. Andrews State Park, so we went to check it out. The area is full of palmetto thickets and a mixture of pine and deciduous trees --

We drove into the park and down to the jetty where we spotted these two Brown Pelicans resting on the rocks --

This Great Blue Heron was standing in the shallows, patiently waiting for a fish --

A Great Egret flew in to the edge of the rocks --

Then waded in closer to shore. It was not the least bit concerned about me standing there --

There was a very nice new boardwalk that went out to Alligator Lake. It was chilly and we saw no alligators, but watched several herons and egrets fly in to roost for the night on the opposite side.
 

This incredibly white sand is said to be quartz washed in from the Appalachian Mountains?

We saw this Northern Mockingbird and several of his family watching all of the park activity --

As we were driving back to Pine Lake RV Park, we watched the clouds turn all shades of pink in front of the almost full rising moon --

It was a nice afternoon, but we want to come back and spend more time exploring this beautiful park.

Finally, FLORIDA!

This morning we left Styx River RV Park in Alabama to head for Florida. I picked up my Mother's Day lavender plant (a present from Granddaughter Claire) that sits by the front door of Auntie Violet when we are parked. As I was getting ready to put it on the floor in the front seat of Toad, I noticed movement. At first I thought it was another leaf. Can you spot what I found?

It was a pretty straight shot east on Interstate 10 into Florida. I-10 is a four-lane highway in very good shape. We only ran into one small slow stretch of bridge construction. (It is very unusual not to run into a GREAT deal of construction!) We stopped at the Florida Welcome Center and picked up a couple of maps and a whole passel of brochures. We are planning to be in Florida for a couple of months, so we should find lots to explore.

We turned off on State Highway 231 and headed south about fourteen miles to Pine Lake RV Park. This is one of the parks affiliated with our Resort Parks International membership, so we are staying here for a week at $15 per night for a 50 amp site.

Before we left this morning, I sat down and wrote out several checks for our annual insurance fees (the bills came in that batch of mail yesterday...). We'll have to make a run into town and the post office in the morning.