I got done installing a small brick wall in my addition on March 5th, and on the 8th I headed off for Florida. (Turns out even small brick walls are a lot of work (for a novice anyhow. This one took me 7 full days!) My first stop was in Indy to visit with Todd and Chris, where I stayed for a couple of days before heading further south.
Making the drive - my favorite stop at the truck stop just north of Macon Georgia. Sandy crashing out in the trailer. (She loved trailer trips - she got to sleep with me for a change.)
The good ol' Florida welcome station. Still a ways to go (Florida's a big state), but the longest part of drive is behind me at this point.
My favorite Florida stop at my friends Dean & Sandy's place in Port Charlotte. 2nd shot is the canal behind their house which runs out to the gulf. (Dean used to have a large Searay, now it's jet skis.)
Dean lets me park on the grass of the lot next to his house by his shed (where I can plug in my trailer). His yoga studio is to the left. Sandy and Dean's dog Finnigan. (They get along well.) Sandy loves to hang out under the trailer.
On one of our morning dog walks at a local park with a small lake. (Sandy couldn't manage the walks any more - she was too old and sadly couldn't walk well at that point.) There are lots of birds which is always fun. This is an egret perched at the top of a tree (near it's nest.) Seeing a big wading bird like that up in a tree is a bit surprising, but that's what they do.
A day trip up to Venice to visit my friend (and former Ford engineer) Victor. A friendly / hungry pelican out on the pier looking for handouts.
On Venice beach with the people and lots of birdies. (This is a flock of black-headed gulls.)
We took a day trip to nearby Boca Grande Island with Dean & Sandy and Dean's brother Keith and his wife Linda. They just got a winter place in nearby Punta Gorda where Sandy's oldest daughter (Heather) also lives.
A guy we ran into who was shore casting. He socked into something so we waited while he pulled it in. It was a beauty - an ~24" jack (Crevalle jack). (He threw it back.)
You never know what you will run into on the beach in Florida. This was an advertising shoot for some product or another. As I recall they were kinda tight lipped about what product it was, but it was an interesting spectacle so we watched for a while (until I got tired of the model hitting on me anyhow... (or something like that))
A day trip to the Everglades, and a favorite stop at Shark Valley for a bike ride to the observation tower 7 miles down the trail. It's a great ride. (Gator and egret pictured.)
On the road to Lakeland. (Pretty sure this bozo wanted to make sure everyone could hear him. (Hint - he succeeded.)) Also a lunch stop.
My favorite campground at Lakeland - the rustic Wilderness Shores and their long horned cattle.
They also have lots of interesting goats.
And a few very friendly miniature donkeys. (This one wanted a snack something awful.)
I always take my mountain bike and inflatable kayak with me on my road trips. Wilderness Shores is a great place for both.
And my favorite stop out at the island rookery out in the lake. (Cormorant and (I believe) little blue heron pictured - plus a lot of egrets and ibises in the rookery.)
Always a highlight of the trip is hitting some Tiger's spring training games. So far in my visits to Publix Field they are undefeated! (Although this year both games were ties - which occur in spring training.)
(I believe this was Colt Keith at the plate.)
Annual visit to the Clearwater Aquarium. (Winter died in 2021.))
Can't go to Clearwater without a stop at the beach...!
I decided to take a day and stop at Chattanooga this trip. It was a great stop. First stop was the Chickamauga battlefield, which was the last Confederate victory.
(It seems it was really more of a draw as it ended up being a Union siege of the town.)
Some Michigan battalions were in the battle, along with many others. (They had battalions made up from troops from various different states.)
My next stop was to Ruby falls - an underground waterfall in a large cave. It was a nice stop.
Ruby (she was a real person - her fiancé (who developed the cave) named the falls after her), the falls (they favored colored lights) and me.
My last stop in Chattanooga was the popular incline railway. (I packed in a lot that day.) It was also a nice stop.
The apparatus was interesting to see. Point Park was a war memorial on top of the hill.
Heading home. (There are always redbuds blooming somewhere along my route.) Sandy taking it easy along the way.
Last lunch stop of the trip.
I made a final stop at the infamous Buc-ee's roadside rest stop - I had to see what the fuss was all about...
(Not sure I figured that part out, but there sure were a lot of people there with me.)
Home - with snow my living room addition project waiting for me (as evidenced by the pile of bricks on the porch - a hearth for my wood burning stove was next up.)
Here is the itinerary of the trip. (Green shading indicates dates I was on the move driving with my trailer, and white days that I stayed put.)
