SOME BLOG READERS DROP IN AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A REASONABLY CIVILIZED HOME STRETCH ROUTE TO SARASOTA FLORIDA

WE’RE STILL ON THE BANKS OF THE SUWANNEE RIVER
I heard morning’s early dawn before I saw it.  From around our coach came feathered sounds from the tree tops.  Some were familiar sounds while others were not.  I recognized a pair of Hoot Owls and the knocking of a nearby Woodpecker.  A Cardinal discovered our rig’s side mirror and had quite a time with itself flustering about with the reflective image it found there.  When I stepped out with Pheebs Thursday night we heard a couple Hoot Owls close by and with the aid of our flashlight were able to see them both.  Yep, it’s a pretty nice spot we’re in here.

THIS CARDINAL WAS SURE ENTHRALLED WITH ITSELF IN OUR RIG’S MIRROR

SPOTTED THIS ELUSIVE SUWANNEE SWAMP GATOR CLAMBERING INTO THE RIVER THIS MORNING

THOUGHT AT FIRST THIS WAS AN ALIMAGATOR IN THE RIVER BUT NOPE, JUST A PIECE OF FLOATING WOOD

BENT TREE KNEES

I SEE A LONG NECKED CYPRESS WOODCRANE BIRD DINING ON SOME PASSING LEAF FISH:))

Following a nice morning walk we loaded two weeks of laundry into the Jeep and headed south to Old Town.  Last time we did laundry was in Sierra Vista Arizona so we had us quite a load this morning.  Our nice camp hosts here at Gornto Springs County Park had told us Thursday afternoon where to the find the laundromat and by golly we found it right where they said it was.

‘HEY MOM HOW’S ABOUT BRUSHING THE DOG TODAY’

‘AHHHHH, THAT FEELS SO GOOD’

We’ve been to some nice laundromats while traveling over the years but this one in Old Town was the nicest.  Recently renovated it has all new machines and the lady there (Jody) was very helpful with all our questions about the area.  For anyone traveling and dragging a boat load of laundry with them I would certainly recommend ‘An Old Town Laundromat’ at 26656 SE Highway 19 Old Town Florida.

THE OLD TOWN LAUNDROMAT

PHEEBS AND I OUT FOR A WALK AT THE LAUNDROMAT



PHEEBS AND I ALSO MANAGED TO SNAG US A QUICK JEEP WASH IN OLD TOWN AS WELL


AND WE STOPPED IN TO SAMPLE SOME BOILED PEANUTS THIS MORNING TOO
We had us a look at another County Park a short distance from Old Town called Hinton Landing.  Four sites available here with electricity and water.  Nice spot on the Suwannee River beside a spring.  We’ll keep this site on file for possible future stops.

ON OUR MORNING WALK I AT FIRST THOUGHT THESE WERE TRILLIUMS IN THE BUSH BUT ON CLOSER INSPECTION I COULD SEE THEY WERE NOT

As I’ve said, we do like this older area of Florida and it’s on our list as a place we would return to and scout out further.  As readers know we are not city folks or people who need to be near all the big box stores or glitzy beach stuff.  Traffic is light here on area roads and we see lots of dirt roads leading off out into the countryside and of course for Pheebs and I that is important.  With beaches not being a priority for us we’re quite satisfied with the slower lifestyle pace found in the area where we are.  It has given us something to think about over the next 7 or 8 months.


A FLOWERING SHRUB AT THE LAUNDROMAT

We were back to the rig before noon and were both relieved to notice the welcome coolness of our shady spot.  Today was not as hot as Thursday and for us that was a pleasant bonus.  And oh now nice to have such sweet sounding birds chirping right outside our window.  Oh my and you should hear all the little Spring Peeper Frogs tonight.

AND I NOTICED THE LITTLE CARDINAL WAS BACK BUT THIS TIME ON SOMEBODY ELSES MIRROR

I don’t know why the following font changed color but it did and I’m too tired to fuss with it.  Think it was about mid afternoon when a car pulled in and we met two of the nicest people, Rebecca and Paul Baxter from up around Buffalo New York.  They are staying in an RV Park near Mayo north of where we are.  Paul has been a long time blog reader and when he saw we were camped in the area decided to pop over and say hello.  Like I have often said in my posts I am always nervous meeting new people but some folks have a knack of putting me at ease and these folks easily did that today.  They, like us are scouting out the area for possible longer stays in the future.  We may just see them again:))

OH-OH I THINK SOMEBODY CRACKED A FUNNY

SOMEBODY MUST HAVE SAID ‘POSE FOR THE CAMERA BOYS’

TRYING TO GET PHEEBE TO POSE

The camp hosts here at Gornto are really nice folks as well and tonight they dropped off some fresh caught fried and battered Mullett fish for us.  Kelly really liked it but me not so much.  I had a bowl of Special K cereal for supper.  Now that’s my kinda eatin.

HERE’S OUR CAMP HOST CATCHING US SOME FRESH FISH FOR SUPPER TONIGHT

THIS IS THE GORNTO SPRING WHICH FEEDS INTO THE SUWANNEE RIVER TO THE RIGHT

PEOPLE SWIM IN THE SPRING TO THE LEFT AND THESE BUOYS ARE TO PREVENT ANYONE FROM BEING CARRIED OUT INTO THE RIVER


BOATS PASSING BY ON THE SUWANEE RIVER


Our final Florida destination will be right in Sarasota Florida itself where the main purpose of our Florida trip is to visit Aunt Jean.  Fortunately for us we have a really nice place to stay  and it’s the same place we stayed when last here back in October of 2016.  More about that when we get there in a few days.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than ten years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?"
"I'm four and a half."
You're never 36 and a half . . . You're four and a half going on 5.
You get into your teens; now they can't hold you back.
You jump to the next number. "How old are you?"
"I'm gonna be 16." You could be 12, but you're gonna be 16. Eventually.
Then the great day of your life; you become 21.
Even the words sound like a ceremony.
You BECOME 21 . . . Yes!!
Then you turn 30. What happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED! We had to throw him out. What's wrong?
What changed? You BECOME 21; you TURN 30.
Then you're PUSHING 40 . . . stay over there. You REACH 50.
You BECOME 21; you TURN 30; You're PUSHING 40; you REACH 50; then you MAKE IT to 60.
By then you've built up so much speed, you HIT 70. After that, it's a day by day thing. You HIT Wednesday . . .
You get into your 80's; you HIT lunch, you HIT 4:30. My grandmother won't even buy green bananas. "Well, it's an investment, you know, and maybe a bad one." And it doesn't end there . . .
In the 90's, you start going backwards. "I was JUST 92."
Then a strange thing happens; if you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"
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A nursery school teacher was delivering a station wagon full of kids home one day when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in the front seat of the fire truck was a Dalmatian dog. The children fell to discussing the dog's duties.  "They use him to keep crowds back," said one youngster.  "No," said another, "he's just for good luck."  A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrant."
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