Sunday, Mar 31, 2013, Easter Sunday, Reed Bingham State Park, GA

Easter Sunday brought us another beautiful day. We started it off with an early morning hike in Reed Bingham State Park, GA.

 Morning sun trying to break through.

 Pinxter Azalea (Georgia's State Wildflower)

 I see a clown balancing a ball on his nose.  What do you see?

It threatened to storm but it only sprinkled a bit with a very pleasant 74 degree high and a nice breeze most of the day.

This display has "Easter" written all over it! 

Spring has sprung in South Georgia.

Saturday, Mar 30, 2013, Reed Bingham State Park, GA

Started the day with a few miles of hiking in Reed Bingham State Park, GA. Very nice boardwalks by the river and trails through different types of woodlands. We probably encountered more elevation change than we saw in all of our hiking in Florida.  

Sadly, mosquitoes put a damper on enjoying the hike. I do not believe I have ever seen so many mosquitoes - Joani said it looked like I was walking through a cloud when the sun was backlighting me.  

The azaleas were in bloom and made for some very nice pictures. After lunch (and a quick nap) we took Sam for a ride into Moultrie to visit the WalMart. As usual, we found a lot of stuff we didn't know we needed - I think I should buy some WalMart stock.

Friday, Mar 29, 2013, Move to Reed Bingham State Park, Adel, GA

Moving day. We hit the road by about 10:45 (190.6 miles/1795.9 total). Pretty comfortable drive, nice roads and no wind for a change. Reed Bingham State Park in Adel, GA, looks new (or maybe just made-over) and has a lot of trails to explore.  

We had a little excitement with a broken hot water heater. I started looking into a replacement ($900) but the pictures made it look like a pretty simple self-contained unit so I decided to troubleshoot ours. Turned out there was a failed switch that was easily replaced and Voila! - hot water again. Sat outside and enjoyed extremely pleasant weather until the mosquitoes ran us back inside.

Thursday, Mar 28, 2013, Museum of Science and History, Sally Corp Tour, Jacksonville, FL

Got up early (OK - early is now 7:30 for us) and drove to Jacksonville, FL. We walked along the riverfront and around Friendship Fountain until the Museum of Science and History opened. 

Watched a strange "lift" bridge as it let a sailboat go down the river.  

The museum was interesting and seemed to have the right mix of science and history. For example, we did not know that Jacksonville suffered a devastating fire in 1901 and had to rebuild nearly all of the downtown area. In 8 hours 146 city blocks burned to the ground - 2,368 buildings.

We got to see all of the projectors used in their planetarium since its start. They also had a variety of indigenous animals on display. 

We saw everything by 11:30 which was good so we could make our scheduled tour at Sally Corp. It was a very interesting place that makes robotic figures. Their factory was about 40,000 square feet and employed a variety of artists, graphic designers, machinists and engineers. Julie, our tour guide, took us step-by-step through their process from concept to finished product. Sally Corp makes animatronic figures, "Dark Rides" and games.  

Next, we went to the Budweiser Brewery for a little tour and samples (who knew?) We got there just as a tour was started so no waiting. Found out the name Budweiser was completely made up to sound German to give the product some class. Also found out Europeans have now bought the company so it is no longer "American Owned" (could it have been the German-sounding name?) 

That place was huge and the numbers were staggering - 12,000,000 bottles per day! Joani tried a Lime-a-rita (she loved it) and I had a Becks Sapphire in the Hospitality Lounge.

Wednesday, Mar 27, 2013, John's RV Park in St. Augustine, FL

Today at St. John's RV Park in St. Augustine, FL, a site has opened up (spring break makes it tough to make last minute reservations). Had to wait until after 10:00 for our site to clear - all set up by 11:00.

We fell prey to the flashy billboards on the highway that say "Fruit - $1/bag" and "Fresh Shelled Pecans - $3.99/lb." Of course, when we got there we found plastic bags with two sad oranges for $1 and nice grapefruit for $17.99/half bushel (who can eat that many grapefruits before they spoil?). The freshly shelled pecans were ground up (pecan meal/flour). Joani jumped on that deal - she can't wait to make pecan/flax/blueberry muffins. Drove back to the outlet stores again to make sure we didn't miss anything.

Tuesday, Mar 26, 2013, Move to St Augustine, FL

Packed up and hit the road around 11:00. We moved to a park between St Augustine and Jacksonville named St John's RV Park (about 116 miles, 1,605.3 total miles). Since they did not have a site for us we had to boondock in a field.  

We drove to the St Augustine outlet mall and Joani was able to find the shoes she has been looking for (and they were on sale, so of course, we got two pair to save even more). All the hiking we have been doing has put some real wear and tear on our shoes. We also went to Camping World where I found the sealant Brian had recommended, so I can now start cleaning up the seams on the coach. We finished off the Thai leftovers for dinner. Without power, it was an early night.

Monday, Mar 25, 2013, Black Point Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island, FL

We started the morning on Merritt Island, FL, taking in the Black Point Wildlife Drive. It was a very nice drive with a lot of birds and gators and this time a herd of wild hogs just for something different.

  

We went to the Brevard Museum of History and Science but found it's only open Thursday, Friday and Saturday - that will have wait for another time. We drove to the Kennedy Space Center but we only had time for a few quick pictures.

KSC Rocket Garden

We enjoyed a walk around Cocoa Village, an artsy little area, but my favorite was the hardware store. Travis Hardware was established in 1885 and I think some of the items for sale have been there since it first opened.

That's a $780 wrench and they went up to more than a $1000 for a big one!

A friend from work (Rockwell/Boeing) lived in the area and we were able to get together. We met Terry, Kathi, their two beautiful daughters, Aimee and Chloe and Kathi's mom at Thai Thai. Great conversation, great food - an excellent evening.