Feb 28 - Bald Point State Park and Alligator Point peninsula, Florida Gulf coast

  Woke up to fog and grey gloom, so spent the morning doing tax returns and Peter's Blog.  After lunch, the weather improved, so we drove out to Ochlockonee Bay  off the FL Gulf Coast.  Saw a cute little deer on the way out of the campgrounds.  Really neat bridge over the bay to the peninsula.  Just across the bridge was a boat ramp, which also had a really interesting trail running along the shore--so we explored it.
  Then we continued on to the Bald Point State Park at the very tip of the peninsula.  It had two eco systems--a salt marsh and a lot of beach coastline on the Gulf of Mexico.  On the boardwalk out onto the salt marsh, we met a young couple.  We started chatting, since they asked us if we owned the car with the MA plates. Turns out they lived in Cambridge for 10 years, he doing programming.  As we spoke, Peter asked what kind of programming, and he said he had developed a solitaire online game, and we said, oh, like World of Solitaire.  And he bowed a bit and said that is his design and game.  Turns out he developed and set it all up and still owns it.  Once he added Google ads to it, he was able to retire at at a very early age.  He said they had never met anyone who actually uses his game, even though they have had 9 billion hands played.  Interesting folks. 
  Then we walked over to the beach access, and found sandbars with over 50 birds just standing there. Most of them were big pelicans.  Long, long stretches of beautiful white sand beaches.  Unfortunately, not hot enough to swim.  But we did see fish jumping out of the water--two or three times in a row.
  Had dinner at a nice restaurant overlooking the bay. 

Ochlockonee Bay shore photos:

Bold Point State Park Salt Marsh photos:

Bald Point State  beach photos:

Feb 27 - Trip over to Ochlockonee State Park, in Sopchoppy, FL

  We are beginning our journey over to the Florida panhandle.  Checked into the Ochlockonee State Park in Sopchoppy, FL (or as a local in the next town over called it--Slopchoppy, FL).  It is an OK State Park, only 30-some campsites, along the Ochlockonee River.  The Paynes Prarie State Park was so well done, it is hard not to compare.
  We got here, set up, and went out to explore the campgrounds.  Did an almost 2 mile hike on the River trail, along the river.  Then, we took the "scenic drive" on a dirt road/path throughout the park.
  Ended the day catching up.

Ochlockonee State Park photos:

Feb 26 -La Chua Trail, Paynes Prairie Preserve

La Chua Trail at the northern part of the Paynes Prairie Preserve --This was by far the most exciting, delightful, and amazing trail we've seen thus far.  Huge living oak trees, with the branches spreading out as wide as they are tall, creating such a magical hobbit-like environment.  Then, you walk out on a boardwalk into the huge swampy "prairie", full of green plants.  And the birds!  Lots of them--big, long beaks, and squawking so loud, calling to each other.  We even saw a mother Bald Eagle with her baby eagles up in a tree.  Just an amazing place!
  Finished up the day in Gainesville, again, for dinner, and the last shopping at Whole Foods before heading out tomorrow.

La Chua Trail photos:

Feb 25 - More Paynes Prairie State Park and Gainesville,FL

  We drove over to the visitor center, watched a video of the area (absolutely incredible photography) and got some maps and recommended hiking trails.  Walked over to observation tower that overlooks a portion of the prairie basin.  Their prairie is not dry, like out west, but is very wet.  We hiked on a portion of the Cones Dike Trail, until it was flooded.  But it skirted a big swampy portion of the prairie.  We saw a lot of bison poop, but no bison.  About 3 miles round trip,  The weather had turned cooler overnight, so it was a beautiful sunny day with a high of 72 and low humidity.  Perfect for hiking.
  We came back to the RV, had lunch, and did some electronic catch up.  I sat out at the picnic table with my computer and wrote the bills, etc.  It was so beautiful out, that I walked back over to the lake and sat in the pavilion and read, and just hung out.
   We headed into Gainesville, and on the way, stopped at the EcoPreserve along the highway.  Large body of water that is part of the preserve, with a boardwalk pier into it.  What was so incredible was that so much of the green area at the edges looked solid, but were actually floating.  With the waves, the ground looked like it was undulating.  Really cool!
   We drove through University of Florida in Gainesville, and ate dinner at a great little hip mexican place, that actually had TVP and tempeh as protein choices.  We walked through the library, as it was such a huge building, and had very impressive architecture.  Also, did a quick stop at the Whole Foods (hey, it was a college town, so it had one).

Paynes Prairie visitor center observatory and hike photos:

The EcoPreserve photos:

Gainesville library:

Lake view near our campsite:

Feb 24 - Paynes Prairie State Park, Micanopy, FL

  We arrived at Paynes Prairie State Park in Micanopy, FL today.  It is located in north central FL, near Gainesville.  It is REALLY nice.  We definitely like State Park campgrounds so much better than RV mobile home park life.  There are trees surrounding our site, and the neighbor is near, but not on top of us.  There is no sewer (but there is water and electric), so we will need to use the dump station if our grey water gets too full.  But, we are close to a nice shower/bath house, and will shower there, which is the biggest contributor to filling the grey water tanks.  Also, we will use paper plates to minimize the dish washing.
  The weather was VERY hot and humid, which makes me melt and have low energy.  However, we did set up the RV, and then explored the campgrounds a bit.  It is a very large preserve, so you actually need to drive to the other sections.  But, we walked over to the lake, which has a pavilion and a little pier.  Then did a 3 mile hike on the "Lake Trail".
  We had our Sunday night family Hangouts call, and the monthly Sibling/cousin Zoom call.  It was great catching up with everyone.

Our campground site photos:

The lake area and Lake Trail hike photos:

Feb 23 - another day at "home" in Wauchula, FL

  So today is our last day in Wauchula, FL.  We've been enjoying the time sort of staying put for a few days. We were in a bit of sightseeing overload.  Now, I think we are eager to be on the move again.
  I ran into town and did a few loads of laundry.  Needed to wash the rugs, by the door and in front of the "kitchen".  It is amazing how much stuff--dirt, sand, leaves, etc. gets tracked in each time you enter the RV, even with the large patio mat at the front door.
  We did our now usual walk around the campground and along the Peace River.  Then I spent the afternoon working on tax returns!  Went swimming in the pool, but as it was very hot, and this is Saturday, there were a lot of kids splashing about.  Still it felt good to be in the water, and doing a few aerobics.
  This evening, they had a guitar singer at the community center, playing a wide range of music, including oldies but goodies.  He even sync'd the songs to videos.  He was only a so-so singer, but played the guitar very well and sang good songs.  I went by myself, as Peter stayed behind to try to catch up on his blog posts.  Funny thing --most of the folks at the gathering were "old" and almost all overweight.  I felt like I was at an old folks home.

More campground hike photos (love the faces in the old tree):

Working on tax returns: