Cooter Pond, River Safaris, Sugar Mill Ruins, & Homosassa Wildlife Park

Thursday 2/23 we drove to Inverness, Fl to check out Cooter Pond Park. Cooter Pond Park is a town park developed with financial assistance provided by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The park is named after the big aquatic turtle found throughout Florida. The variety found locally is the "Peninsula Cooter", having a high-domed shell and yellow head stripes.

Cooter Pond Park is a small park with a large boardwalk running along the pond and a walking/biking trail that goes completely around the pond. We walked the boardwalk but didn't hike around the pond.

From the boardwalk we were able to view quite a bit of wild life from aquatic birds, fish, gators, hawks, and of course the Cooter Turtle.

There were two hawks one was on the top of the building looking at us and this one on the sign.

The park entrance has a statue of the Cooter Turtles.

It was very relaxing just walking the boardwalk and although it was in the 80s the cool breeze kept us very comfortable. The town of Inverness is lucky to have such a great town park.

Saturday 2/25 we drove to Homosassa Springs for a river safari on the beautiful Homosassa River.

River Safaris offers air boat rides to pontoon boat tours. The pontoon boat tour offers cruises to swim with the Manatees, a backwater tour, Gulf of Mexico cruise, and a sunset cruise. Bev and I chose the pontoon boat backwater cruise which also provided a lunch. We both love riding on a pontoon boat because it is quiet and relaxing while seeing the sites.

While we were waiting for our boat we watched the wildlife including this bird on top of a pontoon boat.   They also have 3 alligators fenced in with their own pool.

Soon we were on our boat heading for the backwater of the Homosassa River. Bev and I were the only ones on the boat except for the captain. This is a view from our boat.

On the way out we passed this crew paddling to the beat of a drum.

This is Monkey Island which is populated by monkeys that originally lived at the Homosassa wildlife park. The monkeys kept escaping so they set up this island to contain them. It is a great setting for the monkeys and an interesting attraction for boaters. We did see the monkeys as we passed by but I can't see any of them in this photo.

This gazebo was used by Grover Cleveland who spent a lot of time in the area. (Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President of the United States, the only president to serve non-consecutive terms and the first to be married in the White House.) Because he was so large it was not safe for him to go out in the small fishing boats of the time. They set up this gazebo for him which he used quite often to fish from.

A cold front came to Florida so it was quite cold on our boat ride but we were dressed for it and had a great time.

After we left the River Safari we passed by the Yulee Sugar Mill Ruins State Park.

It is the oldest standing historic structure in Citrus County and is partially restored. The mill is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The mill was owned by David Levy Yulee, one of Florida's most outstanding historic figures.

By 1851 Yulee's sugar mill had over 150 slaves and used expensive machinery imported from New York. During the Civil War the mill served as a supplier of sugar products for Southern troops, and his mansion became a supply stockpile.

In May 1864, a Union naval force burned his home to the ground. The mill escaped harm, but never reopened and fell into ruin. Yulee was accused of treason and briefly imprisoned.

There is a lot of things going on in this area including the Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park which was our next stop. (The monkeys on Monkey Island were relocated from this park.) The entry fee was quite reasonable and with our AAA discount it cost around $9.00 each.

From the visitor center the entrance to the park was a short boat ride down a river.

I was a very informative ride down the river seeing the sites and the wildlife. After exiting the boat we had to cross a busy road to get to the wildlife park. The park only has wildlife that are native to Florida except for one resident, Lu the Nile Hippopotamus.

When the State of Florida purchased the former attraction in 1989, it set about finding homes for the exotic animals that were not native to Florida. They were not able to find a home for Lu the Hippopotamus so there were hundreds of letters sent by local residents to the then Governor asking him to allow Lu to remain at the park. The Governor declared Lu to be an Honorary Citizen of the State of Florida so he could live out his days at the park. Lu weighed a mere 90 pounds at birth. Today he easily exceeds 6000 pounds, which is near the maximum estimated weight of older male hippos in the wild (7100 lbs). Lu was staying warm submerged in the water and we only saw his back so I didn't take his picture.

Here are just a few of the animals we saw.

Florida Black Bear

 

Hawks

Florida Panther

It was a busy day touring but we really enjoyed ourselves. This area has a lot to see and do and we will return.

There were a few rain showers this past week but our whole stay in Florida was sunny and dry for the most part, that is until today. It rained hard all day today. I was able to sneak in a bike ride between showers but most of the day was a wash out. It gave us a chance to unwind and relax in the camper though and I was able to catch up on the blog. As you see this covered more than I like in one blog.

Remember to click on a picture to enlarge them.

Ocala National Forest, Pat's Island, and The Yearling Trail

Saturday 2/18 we took a ride to the Ocala National Forest. We headed out Highway 44 west to Highway 19 north into the Ocala National Forest. The scenery was a lot different, we were use to Orange Groves after Orange Groves but not a one to be found on this trip. It was nice to ride on open highways through the pine forests.

Our first stop was at the visitor center located in the old Pitman Residence which was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1938. It originally served as a home for the state game officer for the Ocala National Forest. It has been used by the Forest Service as an office and laboratory. The residence is recorded as a Florida Historic Site. It represents a landmark "still in use", and the CCC's place in Florida History.

Inside the visitor center we watched a great video on the Black Bears in Florida and their habitats. I was surprised to learn there are so many bears in Florida.

We continued up the road until we came to Pat's Island and The Yearling Trail. Pat's Island is one of the most popular historic attractions in the Ocala National Forest. The area was named after it's first postmaster, Patrick Smith, who settled there in the 1840s.

Much of the land bounded by the St. Johns and Ocklawaha rivers consists of the largest concentration of sand pine scrub in the world. Pioneers who settled in these areas called them islands because a sea of scrub surrounded them. Human habitation on the island peaked before the turn of the 20th century when about a dozen families sought to eke out a living on the 1400 acre island. A living was made from farming, running woods cattle and hogs, hunting, fishing, and of course making moonshine whisky.

Today you can visit Pat's Island via the Yearling Trail. The trailhead is located on SRT 19 across from the Silver Glen Springs entrance. From there you can hike up to 6 mies visiting various sites of historical significance and enjoy the natural beauty of the island.

The author Majorie Kinnan Rawlings was fascinated by the beauty of the island and the colorful lifestyle of its inhabitants. She stayed with the last two residences, Calvin and Mary Long in October 1933.

Marjorie recorded many stories told by the Longs including the one Calvin told about an orphaned deer he raised from a fawn. These stories gave her the idea for the Pulitzer Prize winning novel "The Yearling". The novel was made into a movie staring Gregory Peck, Jane Wyman, and Claude Jarman, Jr. and was filmed on location.

Of course Bev and I had to hike up the trail but we didn't complete the whole 6 miles.

 You may wonder why I took a photo of Bev from behind. The truth of the matter is I could not keep up with her. I struggled down the path to trying to catch her but she just moves too fast. For a lady with short legs she really moves.

What happened to me? I can't even keep up with a little lady? I use to be proud of my physical fitness and could even out run my grand children. When did I get so fat, lazy, and out of shape? I can't keep going on like this, something must change.

I am starting today to lose weight and get back in shape. I have tried in the past and failed so I am posting this goal in the blog. I will be too embarrassed if I don't succeed. WISH ME LUCK!

Relocated from Orlando to 3 Flags, Wildwood, FL

It has been a while since I published a blog. The last couple of weeks we just relaxed and really didn't do anything exciting. Of course you know that Bev was active line dancing everyday and helping out with bingo. She also helps out one of her friends at the tag sale every Sunday. She really has a lot of fun with all of her little friends.

We did go see a couple of movies at the Epic Theater in Clermont. The first one we saw was Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. We both enjoyed it very much and would recommend it to anyone, it was quite moving. A few days later we went to the movies again. Bev wanted to see The Iron Lady but that was not my kind of movie so she saw her movie and I saw The Grey. Bev enjoyed her movie but I didn't really care for The Grey. One advantage though of seeing separate movies is I didn't have to share my popcorn!

One day last week we took a ride to to Crystal River. We wanted to check out the river cruises where they actually let you swim with the Manatees. We were to late to go on a cruise because they leave quite early but we plan on returning. It was an enjoyable ride and we spent some time driving up and down streets checking out the place. On the way back home we passed the 3 Flags Campground where we will be staying so we stopped in.

We were only planning to stay for one week at 3 Flags but after we saw the campground we decided to extend out stay for almost 3 weeks. Bev checked out the campground office to see what their activities were and although they had line dancing they didn't have an instructor. That is right up Bev's alley so she signed up to be the instructor. When we arrive Bev will be teach line dancing 5 days a week. She will be in her glory.

We were planning on spending time in Alabama when we left 3 Flags but I cancelled our reservations.

I has been very cold in Florida the last couple of days. Saturday and Sunday night it was down to 27 degrees (burrrrr). It wasn't cold enough for pipes to freeze but cold enough. This is Florida, don't they know it suppose to be warm here? Yesterday it started to warm up again and today it will be back up to 80 degrees, thank you very much. Now that's my kind of weather.

Today we were up early, filled up our propane tank and hit the road for 3 Flags in Wildwood, FL where we will be for the next 3 weeks. This was a great trip because it only took us about 45 minutes to get here. As I mentioned Bev is excited to start teaching line dancing and meeting new friends.

We have a great site here in the shade under the Live Oak Tree covered with Spanish Moss.

This is the first time we stayed here so we will be spending time checking out the area. We also plan on going back to Crystal River for a cruise to see the Manatees. Although many people on the cruise swim with the Manatees Bev and I will view them from the boat. There are things in the water that want to stick you, stab you, and eat you so we will stay in the boat.

Happy Valentines Day

Visit to Florida's Natural Co-Op

Every time we traveled from Wauchula to Clermont and back we passed Florida's Natural Citrus processing plant on Highway 27. We were interested in how they process the oranges into juice so yesterday we took a trip to the plant & visitor center in Lake Wales. We would have liked to tour the plant but that was not an option so we drove around the plant checking it out from outside the gate.

This is a view of the plant from the visitor center.

Some views from behind the plant on a side road.

Trucks are waiting to dump the oranges.

Here is a truck dumping the oranges.

Next we hit the visitor center which has a museum, exhibits, and gift/retail store. They also showed a very informative 14 minute film on the process of growing citrus and making orange juice.

 It was very interesting to see how they develop the orange trees for planting in the grove. A citrus tree begins with a seed planted in a seedbed to grow for 9 to 12 months. This special "root stock" tree is then transferred to a nursery where a bud is grafted to it from an existing tree with a traceable ancestry. "Parent trees" are registered and certified by the State of Florida so the young tree becomes a single citrus tree with known parentage. One year later it will be ready to be transplanted into a grove where it will start to produce oranges in 3 years. If they grew the trees from seeds planted in the grove it would take 14 years for a tree to produce fruit.

They use vertical mowing machines to go down the rows of trees in the grove to trim the trees back. This allows the sun in and keeps the rows open for picking etc. Oranges do not ripen off the trees so they can not be picked until they are completely ripe. Most of the oranges are picked by hand and dumped into small trucks which are then transfer to large trucks for the ride to the plant. As long as we have been in Florida there has been a steady flow of trucks filled with oranges heading to the processing plant.

Everything is automated in the plant. The oranges are washed, sorted then run through machines which extract the juice. The juice is strained and then packaged into the various containers depending where it will be sold. 

Florida's Natural is a Co-Op owned by it's grower-members. They own the land, own the trees, and own the company. Florida's Natural, produce orange and grapefruit juice which is fresh juice not from concentrate. The oranges and grapefruits are grown fresh in Florida only and never imported. The juice is sold through the United States and exported around the world.

While we were in the area of course we had to stop to eat. We stopped at Beef 'O' Brady's Pub in Lake Wales, FL. The food was great and unlike Mc Donald's I was able to have a beer with my Reuben.

This was a much easier day of touring, not like the miles of walking we did at Epcot.

Today was a relaxing day just hanging out and riding my bike. Of course you know Bev was up and out early for her line dancing.

Later in the day we took a trip to Super Walmart for groceries. We also had to get some goodies for Eric's care package. We have to keep our Marine supplied with goodies. 

Relaxing around the campground and a day at Disney.

The past few days we have been relaxing around the campground, of course Bev is always on the move being involved with all the campground activities. Every Friday and Saturday evenings we have been attending the entertainment which is more fun than sitting around watching TV. There is nothing but crap on TV anyway. At the entertainment Bev gets in a lot of line dancing while I listen to the music, although every now and then she lets me dance with her.

Although I have a Florida fishing license I still have not gone fishing. We have a nice lake here and I have seen people catching fish but I have never been an avid fisherman and just have not been motivated to go. I rather ride my bike around the campground checking out all the campers. Of course our favorite pass time is eating out, who doesn't like to eat out?

Yesterday 1/31 Bev and I spent the day at Disney's Epcot. It has been 8 years since we have been to Disney and figured it was about time to check it out again. The last time we camped at Disney's Fort Wilderness with the whole family crammed in our 25' Winnebago. (We now have a 30' Winnebago and would not have that crowd in this one.) We had a lot of fun even though it was quite cramped it the camper. At that time we spent the week in and out of all the Disney parks and saw everything there was to see. Grandson Eric even got a lot of fishing in at the lake adjacent to the campground. This time Epcot is the only place we want to see.

Of course our first stop was entering the parking lot where they collected $14.00 to park. We were surprised, we thought the entry fee to Disney was enough but no they wanted us to pay for parking also.

After we passed through the security gate we arrived at the ticket booths where they made it very easy to pay. The forms to apply for a second mortgage on the house were simple to fill out and very simple to transfer the cash to Disney. Well, it is just once in the last 8 years so I shouldn't complain about the price.

We did pick a great day to go because the crowds were small and we were able to zip right into any of the rides and attractions.

I'm glad we didn't go over the Christmas holiday because the parks were so full people were waiting 3 hours in line to enter any of the rides.

Epcot doesn't have a lot of wild rides but I did like "Mission Space" which blasts you off to Mars. It is very realistic and the G forces are so great the skin on my face stretched out so I looked young again. I also liked the "Test Track" where they jammed 6 of us into a car which flew around the test track, it was fun. Of course I had to go on those rides myself because Bev is a "Wuss" and would only go on the gentle slowly moving rides for old ladies.

We saw plants, fish and all the usual things on display in Epcot.

Living with the Land is a 14 minute boat ride that explores agricultural advances in the rain forest, Africa and beyond.

Here is a lemon tree with nine pound lemons.

The Seas with Nemo & Friends is another gentle (Wuss) ride where you observe characters from the Disney-Pixar film "Finding Nemo" frolicking among colorful marine life, including fish and coral reefs.

Eric would like to have this deadly Lion Fish.

We enjoyed walking around seeing all the different country's pavilions.

Yes, that is Bev heading for the Canada pavilion.

Our favorite stop of the day was at the American Adventure Pavilion.

As soon as we arrived at The American Pavilion "The Spirit of America Fife and Drum Corps", a group of drummers and fife players, marched out and performed rousing patriotic songs outdoors in front of the pavilion. Very moving!

We checked out the exhibits in the pavilion and while we were waiting to enter the show the "Voices of Liberty" entertained us. They are a group of of 10 singers dressed in colonial costumes that sing patriotic and folk songs in harmonized a cappella.

We then entered the theater for an awe-inspiring 30 minute theatrical show which uses 35 lifelike Audio-Animatronic figures and filmed sequences of extraordinary people and events in American history. We were quite moved by the whole American Adventure and as I mentioned it was our favorite stop.

Constantly walking in and out of all the pavilions and attractions can wear you out so when we needed to catch our breath we road the boat around the lake. It's not a long ride from one side of the lake to the other but enough to get a second wind.

Oh, you must eat at one of the many restaurants in each of the different countries. We picked The Rose & Crown Pub, an English Pub located in the United Kingdom Pavilion. What a great choice! We split a Rubin sandwich & chips which was so large each half of our sandwich was almost more than we could eat. (Glad we split one.) It was fantastic, one of the best meals we ever had at Disney. Yes, I did have a pint of beer with my half.

It was a long day hitting all the sights. We planned to stay for the fireworks but I was getting pooped and we have seen fireworks before so we headed back to our home at Thousand Trails Orlando. Actually it was a great time to leave because there was no traffic.

We really had a great day but it was sure good to get back to the camper and get off our feet. We are now good for another 10 years or so before we go back to Disney.