On the Water Again (briefly)

Looking down the harbor with the flock of seagulls that followed us. They picked food out of the hands of passengers, including Scott! You can see the end of the barrier island on the right with blindingly white beaches.

Heading down the pier to board our boat.

Multimillion dollar houses lined the harbor along
with condo high-rises.

We saw lots of dolphins but it's hard to get 
good photos. Here's one playing at our bow!

The restaurant we ate at a few days later was just
to the right of the "lighthouse"

Scott and the kids enjoyed feeding the seagulls!

After a rainy day on Sunday where we enjoyed the National Naval Aviation Museum, the sun returned on Monday. We still had a packed week of activities here at Santa Rosa RV Park! Besides the usual daily walks, water aerobics, bingo (We hadn't played this for decades but lucked out this week. I won once and Scott, twice!) etc. our wonderful activities director Kerri put together a trip down to Destin for a Dolphin Cruise. About 25 of us car pooled down and enjoyed the 90 minute cruise out to the Gulf. We saw lots of dolphins including a family with a young one. It was a beautiful day, cool but sunny. It brought back a lot of memories for Scott and I. It was the first real boat trip since we sold Scott Free!

The Air Force Armaments museum. This is the main section of the museum, although a lot of the planes were outside on the grounds. 

Another part we both liked was a film and section
on the Doolittle Raid during WWII

Another day we returned to the Destin area for the Air Force Armaments Museum and a special dinner out at the East Pass Seafood Restaurant in Destin. After we visited the museum, Scott said, "Well, that was depressing!" What did he think? It was a museum of weapons. But there were a few good moments. For me it was a series of stories about heroes in WWII that weren't given the awards and recognition they deserved until well after the war. Many of them were minorities. And Scott enjoyed the planes and engineering videos. 

We had dinner afterwards over looking Destin harbor at a restaurant our captain on the Dolphin cruise had recommended. Because it was cool and cloudy we were one of the few patrons there when we arrived so Scott agreed to sit at the bar. I like to do that once in a while because you end up talking to people and often get to know the bartender. And in fact, that is what happened. Plus, as you can see from the photo below - we had a good view of the waterway and passing boats.

The view from our seats at the bar in the East Pass Seafood Restaurant in Destin

But we're off again on Sunday for Lafayette, LA. We'll spend a week there seeing old friend Barney and his new wife (to us at least) and a couple we met there last year. It's Mardi Gras so it should be lots of fun. We have to leave early next Sunday as we're invited to a Pig Roast that afternoon (followed by the Super Bowl). So it's a dawn departure for the 6 hour plus ride. 

We enjoyed several bike rides in the National Seashore nearby. Although the bike path was along the road, the 35 mile an hour speed limit and little traffic made the riding easy. 

Land Cruising in Style!

This is the view right outside our RV site looking west along the beach. That's the pool deck on the right.

Last year we spent 4 nights at the Santa Rosa RV Resort and enjoyed it so much we opted for 15 nights this year and it has not disappointed.  Our site right on the beach has a lovely view over the water and we're right next to the heated pool. There's a lot going on here almost every day. We walk with a group in the morning at 8 AM weekdays. There is water aerobics twice a week, Bingo twice, card games, coffee & donuts, and a Pancake and Sausage breakfast! We enjoyed watching a fiercely fought corn hole tournament (we'll have to practice up for next year). It's easy to meet people at events or just around the fire pit in the evenings. We've been using our bikes as well and doing our Bone Builder exercises. 

A section of the Corn Hole Tournament

The view from our RV looking east (low tide). 
That is their fishing pier .

We had a great lunch at Red Fish, Blue Fish
over on Santa Rosa Island.

Several times we've taken excursions around the area. First to Eden Gardens State Park east of here with two other stops at Grayton Beach State Park and Topsail Hill Preserve. At Eden Gardens we toured the historic Wesley House and the lovely grounds. The other parks have campgrounds which we might want to extend our stay (more cheaply) in the area next year. They are both right on the beach. 

The Pensacola Lighthouse

That's the beginning of a very long
climb

The view looking east

The view looking down!

A number of people turned around due to the
difficulty, length and steepness. We were fine,
although I took a number of breaks!

Then we headed west on two days. First to the Pensacola Lighthouse, first built in 1825 as a 40 foot tower replacing a Lightship and then was in turn replaced with a 150 foot one in 1859. It was 177 steep steps to the top and we made it! There is a museum there as well with a reconstruction of the lightkeepers quarters. Our second visit to Pensacola was again to the military base, this time for the National Naval Aviation Museum, which is huge and took us a full day. Luckily there is a bar/cafe there so we could fuel up. Hundreds of planes from every era are represented along with artifacts, films, reconstructed vignettes of life at war (all of them) and personal stories. It is an excellent museum but not as good as the WWII Museum in New Orleans, one of my all time favorites. .

We still have a week here before heading west again. Tomorrow a Dolphin Boat Cruise with a group from the RV Park. More on that later!

The historic Wesley House at Eden Gardens - this is the back which faces Tucker Bayou. The house was bought by a very wealthy widow who donated it with all the furniture and possessions to the State after her health made it impossible for her. 

We enjoyed a very good lunch at a 
nearby hotel overlooking the water
afterwards. 

Sorry this is hard to see - it's a crossing the date line ceremony
on board an aircraft carrier. King Neptune and his consorts 
are testing the Polliwogs (first timers). These guys could try 
out for Rue Paul!

You are only seeing a small part of this huge museum!!!

I really loved these recreations of life during the wars - here WWII - but it's a little like the living quarters in MASH too.

Here's a little bar for the soldiers in the 
Pacific.

I always love the stories about women and 
minorities that served. Here an oil painting of 
the first woman Naval aviator, Barbra Allen
in 1974. 

When Subic Bay Naval Station was decommissioned in the Philippines in 1992, the Officer's Club Bar was reassembled here at the Museum and is back in use! I was at Subic Bay myself in 1967 while serving in the Peace Corps in nearby Tarlac. I was invited by a family member who was serving there. 

Westward Bound: A Begining

 

The Winery is at 275 feet in the historic city of
Brooksville

Our first direction after leaving Harpal and Jeannie in Winter Park was west to Harvest Host host member, Sparacia-Witherell Family Winery. Harvest Host members can stay one night free at any of the host locations, with an expectation that you will buy/tour/donate at least $10 worth. We always spend more than that! Scott did a wine tasting and then bought two bottles. Due to the medication I'm taking for rheumatoid arthritis, I am allowed very limited alcohol.  As this winery makes sweet wines, I won't be drinking them, but Scott loves that! We had a nice flat spot overlooking the vineyard and 80 degree sunshine - happiness.

The waterfront at Silver Springs State Park with a couple of the glass bottomed boats. 

Inside the boat with Captain Andy and about
18 customres.

The water is so crystal clear that we could see
down 26 feet or more and thought it was 6! The
remains of some "Greek statues are over on the upper
left, remains of a movie shot here.

Our canoe trip started down this bayou for a mile or so before ending in the Silver River, which we
took back to the boat rental docks. 

Scott and I grew up at camp canoeing so this was
easy for us - although then we were made to 
kneel down, not sit in the seat!

There was once a menagerie here as part of
the amusement park. The Resus monkeys
escaped over time and now roam the area
freely. We saw at least 15 of them during our
canoe trip.

The remains of an old fort (probably a abandoned
movie set) - very atmospheric though. 

Turtles took advantage of anything sticking out 
of the water.

Here they share a log with a drying Anhinga

Snow egrets are always beautiful

Next it was a short hop north to Silver Springs State Park and it lived up to it's reviews! The campground sites were lovely, widely spaced, mostly drive through sites, with clean bathrooms etc. And the park itself had so much going on. Silver Springs was founded in 1878, the first tourist attraction in Florida. It is the home of artisanal springs, one of which is the largest in the world (wikipedia).  Its' glass bottomed boats are still plying the clear waters of the Silver River. Declared a National Natural Landmark in 1971, it was taken over by the State in 2013. A lot of movies and TV series were filmed here, starting in 1930's with the Tarzan movies. Several James Bond movies, the Creature from Black Lagoon (3 of them), Legend, The Yearling and the tv series Sea Hunt were all filmed here, We did the boat tour (fun), rented canoes for exploring the river, and did some of the hiking trails. We'll be back there next time and stay longer. 

Here's a map of the canoeing trips available. We just rented for 2 hours and did the loop shown on the big map upper left and an inset middle left enlargement. Next time we'd love to do the long trip down the Silver River. A van picks you up at the end. But you need 4 or 5 hours to do it. 

Our next stop was two nights in Tallahassee at the Big Oaks RV Park. And it really had lots of live oaks, very big ones throughout the park. We had changed our plans to stay in a city when weather reports looked like severe thunderstorms - and then the weather changed! We had some mild storms at night but great days, although it turned cooler.

The main house at Goodwood

The grounds and gardens were not at their best
in the winter - they do get sort of 4 seasons here.

Scott right in front of Baby at our beach front
site at Santa Rosa RV Park.

On our full day there we toured the Goodwood Museum and Gardens. Our knowledgeable tour guide was very involved with the non profit that runs it - for 27 years! The main plantation home was first built in 1850 after the original owner and all his family died in a steamship which sunk in a hurricane off North Carolina. A series of owners expanded and improved the property - until the end of the Civil War, with the labor of the enslaved people on the plantation. In 1911 an extremely wealthy widow, Frances Tiers bought it and poured money into the main house, a pool, guest cottages and lots more. Today it's a popular wedding venue. Our guide included in her talk information about the contributions and lives of some of these enslaved people and we got a brochure with more information on other individuals. A memorial to their lives has been designed and will be constructed this year on the property. It's a beautiful building and unlike many we have toured, totally furnished with original furniture, paintings, clothing, linens - everything!

And this is the view from our dinette table!

And now we are happily settled in the Santa Rosa RV Park in Navarre, FL for the next 15 nights! This is only the second time we've stopped in one place since we started land cruising. The only other time was in Dallas/Tulsa with our oldest son Josh and his family. We stayed here for a few nights last year and loved it. We met people and liked them - there is a lot of social life, we are right on the beach, there is a heated pool and unlike, southern Florida, we could get a reservation!

West Coast Visits (Florida that is)

 

The long white sand beach on Pelican Landings'
private beach

Scott loves to take pictures of the wildlife

This reminds me of the Hitchcock movie, "The
Birds"!

We crossed over the state of Florida from Jupiter to Bonita Springs to visit our cruiser friend Barbara. We met her and her husband in Trinidad back in 2005. They were on their boat Enkidu then, but not long after, sold her and bought a home on Bonaire. We spent quite a bit of time with them there but after their divorce, and her move to Florida, we remained friends with Barbara. She visits us up in Vermont in the fall and we return the visit in January. Her home is in a huge development named Pelican Landing - it would be a good sized city in Vermont! There is a gated community inside their gated community. After the last hurricane it was a year before their beach, on a barrier island, opened again. Happily we had a nice morning to take the boat shuttle out there and walk the beach. Having worked up a good appetite, we had a great lunch and walk around the Shangri-La Hotel in the historic downtown. 

The farm to table restaurant is highly rated and
we agree!

The landscaping is wonderful at the Shangri-La
Hotel, originally built in 1921 and a historic
landmark downtown.

Next we had two couples to visit, both in St. Petersburg, several hours north. Bill and Suzanne are renovating a home there. I first met Bill in 1969 when I rented an apartment in the "Old Hotel" in Hancock, VT with a group of friends for the ski season. That was the beginning of "the ski group" many of whom are still friends today. Scott and I stopped twice in St. John's, USVI to see them in Scott Free where they are still residents. Bill has had some health problems recently but looked great and we enjoyed a walk along the bay and lunch at an excellent Turkish/Greek restaurant, Mio's Grill. 

Suzanne & Bill

Mio's Cafe & Grill for an excellent lunch
and time to catch up with these old friends.

It was only a half mile down 1st St to my cousin Joanie's home for 3 nights. Joanie and Kent are world travelers and were leaving in only a few days for Antarctica!! Joanie and her sister Mary, along with 5 other siblings were the children of my mother's sister and we all grew up together. Mary came down the first night for dinner and her daughter and husband came for another night. We enjoyed two of the many great museums in St. Petersburg, The Imagine Museum of Contemporary Glass Art was first and the second, the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art. Both were wonderful. 

At the James' Museum. As you can 
see the weather was cool.

Joanie and I make pose with William Cody, a distant
but not direct relative of mine.

At the Imagine Museum they had a special exhibit of the glass artist Karen LaMonte. Her life size
"sculptures" in glass of women were so beautiful. She started with classical themes but after several years in Japan she did a large series of women from the so called "Floating World" along with exhibits of actual kimonos. It was breathtaking.

Photos do not do justice to any of this.

This is over 8 feet tall and a combination of 
glass rods and mirrors. It's like looking into
infinity. 

A close up

A loved this painting in the James Museum - the
works were collected over time by Tom and 
Mary James and are of living artists.

The jewelry was so beautiful. This is a close
up because I loved the grin on the bear!

Every medium was represented, here a piece in
pottery of the Long Walk.

I'm not as much a fan of wildlife art but this oil
of the three cubs and the turtle was such fun.

Despite the cool weather the sun allowed us to spend some time in their huge porch living room. 

I selfie of Scott, myself, Joanie and Kent just before
we left.

But then it was time to return to Baby, left at Harpal & Jeannie's in Winter Park. One more night with them enjoying dinner out at a Peruvian Restaurant! We learned to love Peruvian cuisine while there for 2 moths and look for another opportunity when we can. 

Baby at Harpal's in Winer Park

Jeannie, myself, Harpal and Scott out for dinner.