Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Monkey Island was an interesting attraction situated in the middle of one of the many waterways in Homosassa Springs.  The Monkey Bar was a mostly outdoor establishment where patrons could enjoy a tasty adult beverage while watching the monkey antics from a safe distance.

Above the Monkey Bar was the Riverside Crab House.  Loren and Sharon had been before and recommended it, so we went in for a late lunch.  We were seated at a table with a view of Monkey Island giving us some live entertainment with our meal.  What luck - the special was all-you-could-eat fish and fries.  You know I had to make our waitress go back for seconds.  It was really good, but I exercised enough restraint that I didn't hurt myself.

The monkeys were quite active, probably because they knew it was nearly their feeding time (anytime between 3 and 5 in the afternoon).

The monkeys do not like the water, so they stay on the island.  I was not at all sure they would not hop into a kayak if it came close enough. A few times, paddlers, intent on their i-phones got close enough, but the monkeys never made a break for it.

Back at home, I finally found out why there was an area staked out around a hole in the sand next to our site.  It was a turtle nest!  Mama turtle had come out for a look around and let me take a few pictures. When I got too close, however, she showed me just how fast she could scoot back into the ground.

Monday, December 28, 2015

Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park was only a ten-minute drive from Rockcrusher Canyon RV Resort and was a "must-see" attraction even though we had seen it before.  The number and variety of birds had us snapping off hundreds of pictures.  Sometimes, it seemed the birds were posing for the camera.  None seemed shy and they were all beautiful (in their own bizarre way).

It seems like one of the ironies of nature that the flamingo should be the epitome of grace and beauty while smelling so foul.  When our eyes started to water and it was best to just keep moving.

Lou, the Hippo, has been in the park for many years.  Feeding time was everyone's favorite, as he seemed to swallow whole everything Vicki tossed at him.

The yellow-green you see behind Lou was the remnants of a "splash-zone" event.  Fortunately, I was on the other side of the pool when the tail started spinning, so I was in the clear.

The crowd at feeding time made it clear Lou was the star attraction at Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.

It was playtime for the otters - they were extremely active.  They would race from their platform to the viewing bridge then do a flip turn and return on their backs.  Unfortunately, they were too quick for me to capture well except for this shot when he hopped on the platform for a breather. 

You can get an idea just how popular manatee watching is in the area - even when the weather is so warm.  We only saw one sad manatee being pursued by a pack of pushy snorkelers.  You just wanted to say to him, "swim to the other side of the rope big fella and they can't follow".

Colder weather drives the manatees to the springs for warmer water.  The freakishly warm weather equals very few manatees.

The underwater viewing station was a good idea, but it was too warm for manatees to be this far upstream.  Algae on the windows made really clear photos impossible.  The fuzzy shot below captured only a few of what must have been thousands of fish swimming in schools around the viewing ports.

I think I captured the essence of the beast with my look of cluelessness and wonder.

There were so many more residents of the park not included in our pictures.  As an apology, I will just give a shout out to the alligators, swans, herons, cranes, the entire reptile house, bears, foxes, wolves, pumas. bobcats, eagles, owls, deer and, of course, the manatees.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas on the road can be a little lonely unless you are in a nice park with friends.  Loren and Sharon invited us to share Christmas breakfast. Sharon made an excellent sausage and egg casserole, hash browned potatoes and fruit.  Joani made some cinnamon pull-aparts with a dipping glaze.  Some champagne and orange juice completed a special breakfast that was hard to beat.  It was all delicious, so of course, we ate too much.  Thelma and Louise watched us eat from a respectable distance as all cool cats do. Thelma watched everything from her box on the counter - I think that was her "what are they doing here?" look.

I think it's her "where's my mimosa?" look.

We barely had time for breakfast to settle before it was time to get ready for an early dinner.  Rockcrusher Canyon RV Resort had organized a big potluck Christmas dinner at their clubhouse.  Joani made a nice cherry cobbler and I brought a bottle of wine.  I guessed there were somewhere between 70 and 80 folks, so there was quite an array of tasty salads, veggies and desserts to compliment the ham and scalloped potatoes provided by the park.

We met new friends Keith and Judy and Joe and Sandy at the table along with Loren and Sharon.  Our table was called second, so we were the envy of a lot of hungry looking folks.  You will have to take my word for it that I had a good looking platter of exceptionally tasty food because, while I had a camera in my pocket, I completely forgot to take any pictures.  I probably should mention our table was next to all of the desserts which called to me throughout the meal.  I felt like the epitome of willpower when I returned with one brownie and a little cobbler.  Of course, after everyone was fed, I took home a plate with several additional goodies for later - Merry Christmas to me!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

We drove out Fort Island Trail to the water's edge with the hope of seeing a nice sunset. The clouds did not cooperate, but we still had a nice time.  We staked out an empty picnic table as Loren and I unfolded a few chairs and Joani and Sharon set out a snacking feast. We cloud watched and bird watched and people watched and even dolphin watched, but alas, the sun never really made an appearance.  

It may have been a typical Florida Christmas Eve, but it was certainly not our normal.  As enjoyable as our outing was, we very much missed family and a traditional Christmas.

Merry Christmas all!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

It was a little difficult to get into the Christmas spirit with daytime highs in the 80's and overnight lows in the high 60's, so Loren, Sharon, Joani and I decided to take in the Light Show at Homosassa Springs. The wildlife park was just a short hop from Rockcrusher Canyon RV Resort.

It was country music night, so we heard many old country Christmas favorites sung by Angie Bain, including "Santa Baby" before the lights started flashing in wild synchronization with several music tracks.

There was a pretty good crowd of folks, so an empty table was a welcome sight.  We rested our feet, solved many of the world's problems and caught up on the RV'ing life.  When we noticed some of the same songs for the third time, it was our cue to head home before the throngs of people decided the same thing.

Saturday, December 19, 2015

Rockcrusher Canyon RV Resort was inland from Crystal River, so the beach required a short drive.  Loren and Sharon joined us as we explored Cedar Key.  It was a small town that was quaint despite showing its age.  Early manufacturing activities had been replaced with tourism and artist collectives.

Bad timing can make getting your boat back to the dock a bit tricky. This guy churned up a lot of mud before he finally got out and just pulled his boat in.

Sometimes you just need to get away from the world for lunch - we found exactly the right place on Cedar Key.

Lunch was served above the Black Dog Bar.  Since it was closed, we don't know where the local folks were going for their daycare.

There seemed to be a big business in boat tours of the many small islands in the area.  Apparently, there was a lighthouse on Seahorse key that could only be seen by boat.  The whole area was a maze of small islands or keys with names like Rattlesnake key, Deadman's key, Grassy key and Dog island to give it a nice pirate flair.

I cannot say the beaches were very appealing.  I bet some inattentive parents were happy to have these muddy feet jump into the car.

Cedar Key had its own Historical Museum where we learned about the earliest settlement efforts.  There was a railroad line to Cedar Key, the first to cross the state, to support the various manufacturing operations.  Sawmills were established for both the Faber and Eagle Pencil Companies.  The extremely straight, close grain of the cedar tree was ideal for pencils.  At one time Loren worked for Faber, so he and the museum docent had a lot to talk about.

Most of us (over 60) will remember having an old whisk broom around growing up.  Likely, it was made in Cedar Key.

Friday, December 18, 2015

Today's move from Eastbank COE Park to Rockcrusher Canyon RV Resort was 221.7 miles (76,084.5 miles total).  That's a little more than our average, but still a very comfortable trip.  About one-third of the drive was on I-10 and two-thirds was on US Hwy 19.  Hwy 19 was the much better road.  It was smooth, straight, level, divided and with very little traffic it made the drive quite enjoyable.

Rockcrusher Canyon had spacious overgrown sites.  Our site, number 4, was close to the entrance, but more importantly, it was close to the clubhouse, pool and spa.  Sam took us for a long walk to get acquainted with the new neighborhood.  We were also looking for our friends, Sharon and Loren, who were somewhere in the park. They were on site 190 which was not as far away as it sounded.

We found this in front of a site occupied by fellow Georgians.

Since our friends planned ahead for us we were able to enjoy a very delicious chicken BBQ dinner in the clubhouse with nearly seventy others!  We left dinner stuffed to the gills with enough leftovers for another large meal later.  I have a feeling the next few weeks will challenge my resolve to avoid the typical holiday season weight gain.

Wednesday, December 16, 2015

It rained most of the day, so we took it pretty easy.  When we did finally venture out, I chatted with our neighbors, Jim and Ann, while Joani walked along the shoreline to capture the clearing skies. Even though we were technically in Georgia, we were facing Florida, so I counted this as a Florida sunset.  Sunsets have to be one of Florida's most impressive natural attractions.

When I mentioned a touch of cabin fever to Kate, she suggested getting out and taking a walk.

If not for that suggestion, we would have missed this.

Thank you, Kate!  We love you.