Trip Update Jan 2012 Part 1a

Sandhill Crane
Canoeing Alexander Springs in Ocala NF
Great Egret
Young gator

Trip Update Jan 2012 Part 1b

Black-crowned Night Heron
Break time
Baby gators
Wild Rhesus Monkey

The day after New Year’s Day we flew from Baltimore back to Orlando to pick up our RV and canoe trailer. Our trailer problems continued - the bearings on one of the trailer wheels over-heated and seized up. It looked like the wheel was toast, but we were unable to find a replacement wheel. Eventually we found replacement bearings and got the wheel repaired.

Last year, when we returned to Albuquerque, NM from our New Zealand trip we found an oil leak from our generator. Prior to that, a mechanic, while changing the oil, over-tightened the drain plug and cracked the housing. We had been trying for six months without success to get the dealer to refund our repair cost. Recently, we contacted the Good Sam Club for assistance in resolving this problem, and suddenly the dealer was happy to refund our money.

In Florida we drove to the Ocala NF and canoed Alexander Springs - one of the prettiest river trips in FL. This year we sought out county parks for hiking and future camping. Lettuce Lake was one of several new interesting places we found with lots of wildlife and hiking. We attended the RV Super Show in Tampa but it was too big to cover in one day. We also had a fun day at Busch Gardens. It must have been Brazil day because I think we were the only speaking English visitors.

We traveled as far south as Sarasota before heading back to Ocala. In between we visited the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and canoed four more rivers. At Silver River SP, an 84 yr old man told us about his ‘cracker’ life as a boy growing up in rural Florida. (The term “cracker” refers to the rural, poor, white people of southern Georgia and northern Florida who cracked the whip as they rounded up their cattle.) On weekdays, he shares his like experiences with the 3^rd and 4^th graders in his county.