March 16–18, 2015 Wauchula

On Monday, 16th, we said our see you laters and hope to see you later this year to Shelly and Bill.  We are so blessed with such good friends.

We headed north to Wauchula to The Resort, an Escapees CO-OP and got settled in our site. This is really a very nice park:

We were met by Bob and Donna who got a lot here a few years ago.  Great to see them again.  Once we were settled, we headed off to Lake Manatee State Park to visit with Andy’s brother Bill and Marcia.  We have not seen them in a while and when we realized we were so close, we just had to get together.  So we spent the day with them and they treated us to a great cookout! (Thank you, Bill and Marcia.)

Miles Traveled: 44 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Florida:  US-17; SR-64

I spent Tuesday morning at the laundry and the clubhouse, meeting folks and checking the place out.  This is really a nice place but we had lots of questions so this afternoon we spent some time with Bob and Donna in getting those questions answered.

That evening we went to the St. Paddy’s day dinner and dance – another great time.

Donna, me, Bob:

On Wednesday, we did some shopping, some visiting, and went to Happy Hour in the Clubhouse where we met more folks from the Co-op.  And we decided to put our name on the list for a lot here.  (Before you know it, we will be lot barons – HAHAHA!)  It will be a few years so we have time to decide what we are going to do.

Tomorrow we continue our journey north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

March 14–15, 2015 Peace River Tour and Friends

This morning, 14th, Shelly and I took off to the farmer’s market where I picked up more of the local honey.

As many of you know, I have severe allergies and take three shots a week.  I have chosen not to take any more meds due to the side effects and this year decided to do the local honey wherever we are. (Andy has been telling me this for years but, of course, I didn’t listen.)  Doing research, I found that I needed to buy unfiltered, unprocessed, unpasteurized (in other words, raw) honey.  I will tell you that it is hard to find – we have found that some folks say it is raw but it is not.  The raw honey is like a gel and gritty and extremely sweet.

When I was in Yuma and sneezing and coughing, I found desert honey and tried it.   And it worked – felt much better.  So I have been trying to find different honey as we came across the country.  And today at the market, I found some – Yea!!

That was just my two cents and if you have allergies, I recommend trying it!

This afternoon, we headed to the marina for our trip – this is our boat:

The marina as we head out:

Past many boaters:

The Elks Lodge:

Bi-planes flying around:

Many beautiful homes along the river:

The Peace River runs south for over 100 miles from Lake Hancock to Charlotte Harbor.  It winds thru different eco-systems – some areas it is very small and shallow and as it enters into Charlotte Harbor, it is over a mile wide.

On board was a naturalist who explained the history of the area and the natural areas that we went thru.   The mangroves:

So many channels:

One of the nesting areas:

Even an alligator:

We didn’t see any manatees- :

Our naturalist was from the Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center and was great at explaining everything we saw.  If you are in the area, I highly recommend the Peace River Nature Cruise by King Fisher Fleet.

Our greeter as we came into port:

On Sunday, 15th, Judy, Bill’s sister joined us as we celebrated St. Paddy’s Day with corn beef and cabbage.

We have had such a wonderful time here, getting caught up, laughing, talking, hugging, and laughing some more.  Thank you, Shelly and Bill, for all you have done.  It was great to see you both and Miles too:

But the time has come for us to start our trek north so stay tuned and enjoy today.

 

March 12–13, 2015 Friends and Wildlife

On Thursday, 12th, we woke to beautiful skies, packed up and headed south.  I really do like this part of Florida – lots of farms and greenery:

We arrived at our good friends, Bill and Shelly, got set up and spent the rest of the day getting caught up – it is so good to see them and looking forward to spending the next few days here.

Stats:

Miles Traveled: 141 Miles

Routes Traveled:

Florida: CR-673; US-301; SR-39; SR-60; US-17

On Friday, 13th, Shelly and I took off sightseeing.  Our first stop was the art gallery and Fisherman’s Wharf.  The wharf is now a pier of shops with the marina around it.

While there, we made reservations for an eco tour of the Peace River for tomorrow.

Our next stop was the Peace River Wildlife Center.  This center was started in 1978 for the rescue, care protection and preservation of native small wildlife.

“Since its beginnings the wildlife center has treated over sixty thousand birds and small animals, offering a high-level of skilled care by trained and permitted wildlife rehabilitation specialists with years of experience in treating native fauna disease and trauma.”

Currently, PRWC admits about 2,000 clients annually, a number that has increased every year since the Center’s founding. If a bird or small animal cannot be returned to its native habitat after treatment and recovery but is otherwise healthy, it becomes a permanent resident of the Center.

More information can be found here: http://peaceriverwildlifecenter.org/

Here are some of the residents:

“You looking at me!”

“Hello – “

From there we walked over to the park and around the trails:

Interesting – this is where the first white man died in America:

What a great time!  Andy and Bill went to a car museum while we were gone.

Our night ended at the local Elks Lodge – take a look at that view:

What a great day!