I know, the title of this blog post is not that catchy, but it is descriptive. A couple of weeks ago the three of us left Bradenton saying goodbye to family and headed north on Highway 19 past St. Petersburg and Tampa. Late in the afternoon we settled in at an RV park just outside of Old Homosassa, a quaint park with a community of people who immediately showed their friendliness. We had two different folk busying themselves trying to assist us to get parked in a fairly tight spot between large mature trees. The Park was a beautiful place complete with ponds, turtles, and even an owl. And, of course, it had a pool, clubhouse and a low-key community putting golf course through the whole park using the paved streets as putting fairways.
The renown Skyline Sunshine Bridge, south of St. Petersburg crosses Tampa Bay.
Homosassa RV Park
Informal Golf at the Park
Yulee Sugar Mills Ruins were just a few hundred yards away from the RV park. Processing sugar cane into molasses, sugar and syrup, supplying Confederate troops during the Civil War.
Here is an example of a mule drawn sugar cane mill.
We spent a couple days visiting new homes, manufactured homes and reviewing real estate listings for the area. We were amazed by the relative value for land and homes, much less than the Denver market we are most familiar with. No, we did not purchase or even get close to doing so. It was all about educating ourselves, and a bit of dreaming the "what ifs." Fancying river front ocean access property with a new home on it feeds something within, but the practicality of living so far from loved ones, moving to a totally new community, and dealing with a hotter more humid climate easily gets our hearts looking back to Colorado, our home.
We enjoyed the few days stop, readjusting to living full time in our 30 foot home. We traveled around the corner of Florida into the panhandle to Apalachicola, staying overnight in the town's marina parking area. We gained permission to park there from a Sheriff's Deputy since there was not a close RV park. It actually turned out to be a nice stop where we checked out some of the fishing boats, seeing a wonderful sunrise, and also gaining some fun camera shots in town.
Our tour of some quaint shops netted some fun time.
Sunrise, not Sunset.
A quiet evening by the inlet.
Happy on the beach again, a self portrait.
On our venture west we stopped at an Alabama State Park east of Mobile. To our surprise the park was the site of the last major civil war battle on the day the Confederacy surrendered. Berkeley, then a town that riveled Mobile, is now nothing more than a memory, but the battlements are among the most preserved. Unfortunately, the State was doing a controlled burn at the main battlefield and we were not allowed to visit the whole park. But not is all lost, the pictures I took almost can transport a person back to that fateful day, soldiers dying hours after General Lee's surrender in Virginia.
Startling discovery reminds me of another past in the deep south. This tree is located in the park.
Although the forest is now tranquil, its beauty belies it past. What mixed feeling I felt that on the evening bike ride alone.
Our next stop was Louisiana, at a State Park on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain. Although we had interest in traveling more quickly toward the Texas Gulf Coast, we stopped two additional nights due to severe storms in the area surrounding New Orleans. About five inches fell on us and at one time the area we were in was under a tornado warning.
An Angry Lake
One of my best pictures in the past weeks, taken during a respite in the storm.
Well, thanks for coming along. I am tired and need to hit the hay for another day. We are now in eastern Texas.
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