This is Gator Joe's!

We finally made it to Gator Joe's, the famous restaurant on Lake Weir, where the foot from the infamous gator, Old Joe, it encased on a wall. An intercepted message from Ma Barker and her sons in 1934 mentioned Old Joe and the FBI ran it down to a house just down from this restaurant. After a four hour gun battle, Ma and one of her sons were killed. I was going to try the Gator Tail but got a great deal on a very tasty fish dinner instead. Next time I will try the Gator Tail, for sure! We went there with Bill and Helen Moll, MOC friends who live full time in the RV park where we are staying. We saw a beautiful sunset on the lake from the deck of the restaurant. We are now scheduled for a "Monkey Ride" on the river Friday. This is a pontoon boat ride on the river through Silver Springs where, years ago, a lot of monkeys that had been used there during filming of Tarzan movies, had been released. Now they are wild along the river. Should see mucho gators, birds, and monkeys.

Ormond Beach, FL

Last weekend, some friends from the MOC, Ron and Thelma Standiford, stopped by on their way from South Florida to an RV rally in LA. We had dinner in La Toreo, a pretty good find of a Mexican restaurant in Ocala. They toured the park we are staying in and liked it. Maybe they will come here next season - hope so. It was great seeing them again. 
Yesterday, Sunshine and I took our usual morning walk. We were met by a couple of our usual morning greeters, the Hawk just saying "Hi" as we passed by and the gator saying "You keep on your side of the pond and I'll stay on mine!" Later, Carol, Sunshine and I drove to Ormond Beach. This is a beautiful community alongside some magnificient Atlantic coastline. In the photo containing the soaring gull, in the background you should be able to see a parasailor  trying to get enough of this windy day to lift him out of the surf. We found a beach that allowed dogs and Sunshine knew she liked it but didn't know quite what to do with it. She has hiked the dunes along Lake Michigan and lay in its rolling surf and likes jumping into ponds and streams to lay just into the water to cool off but didn't quite know what to do here. Like so many things with the retired racer Greyhounds, she knows nothing but training, running and, in Sunshine's case, breeding. Playing, stairs and many things taken for granted with most puppies just are not part of their makeup so need to be taught. She ran some along the beach with me and romped in the softer sand but here the sand along the water's edge is hard and she didn't know quite how to handle it. These and other area shorelines were used for auto racing in years gone by and people still drive on them. The surf was beautiful and she did seem very happy just observing, this time. Soon, we will return to the Gulf of Mexico and see how she reacts there. She was so tired from all of the new, to her, activities that she slept most of the way home. We did stop at a shop that has some life sized animal statues that, from a distance, could be real. Tonight we are going to go to Gator Joe's Restaurant. This should prove really different.

Travis Tritt at Silver Springs

Yesterday, Travis Tritt performed at Silver Springs Park on a beautiful day for anything outside. Carol wasn't feeling well so I left Sunshine to take care of her and went to the park solo. The park has an outdoor stage embedded in an old mansion with plenty of room and attractions all around. The trees are full of Spanish Moss and the birds and animals all welcome us every time we come here. I tried my hand at taking pictures and videos with my Android phone and, at one time, was able to get to the front of the stage for a couple of shots. (play the video above for a portion of one of his songs) There were a bejillion people in attendance and the crowd was a mixture of country, Woodstock, Rock Concert, Biker Party. The park was selling 1/2 yard beers and people were carrying their strange looking glasses for the beer all over the area. Travis sure puts out a lot of music. I left the concert venue after an hour and a half to beat the crowds leaving and, as I drove by the rear of the stage on my way home, he was still singing. Thursday, Bob and Noreen, two friends that we met when workcamping at Waldenwoods in Michigan a few   years ago, are coming for a visit and we will once again come back to this park. It is raining now so we are deciding whether to drive over to the Atlantic Ocean, just an hour away, or stay in our snug Montana. Decisions, decisions - retirement is not an easy life. Oh, yes, I return to the hospital tomorrow to have my stitches removed from my lip. Then will decide if I can wait to return to Michigan to get my front tooth replaced/capped or have it done while down here.

Gators everywhere!

Sunshine and I are discovering that wherever there is water around here there will probably be an gator. If the water is big (lake, large pond, river, stream) there will probably be a very large one or more. Here is a small pond in our park that is being dredged and this little feller was showing off for us by swimming back and forth in front of us. Gotta really be observant when she steps into the water to cool off! Duh!

Not a good day in Silver Springs!

Yesterday was not one of my better days. I have entered in several fitness challenges and have been taking many walks around the campground and on into the Ocala National Forest, which is just outside of our doorway. I was feeling so good that, as I was walking through the forest, I started trotting. Wrong move! I tripped over a small root on the path and went down hard right onto my face. One of my upper front teeth broke off at the gumline and cut through my upper lip, coming out on the outside. Ten stitches later, seven on the outside and three on the inside, I was able to leave the hospital emergency room. Just a month ago, when back in Michigan, I fell twice on the ice landing on my face each time while walking Sunshine. I has stopped running because of my knees and now will add because of falling. Is this a "getting older" thing? Whatever - maybe I will learn before I really get hurt, huh? Today is a much better day so I will take advantage of it by enjoying what faculties I still have!

A great day in Silver Springs

 

Yesterday was another perfect day in Silver Springs. Sunshine and
I started out with a stroll through the Ocala National Forest with her alertly keeping us on the right path. Later, Carol and I went to the Silver Springs Park, where we were greeted by these two beautiful birds. We strolled the banks of the river and took a glass bottom boat ride over the springs. Then we came on a great Giraffe, who gave us its profile. Next came the bears. A gigantic Kodiak was "chillin'" in a pond playing with a stick. That mamouth creature is ten feet tall! It was becoming quite warm so as we left the park we were wished a fond farwell by this beautiful orchard type flower. During Sunshine and my last stroll around our RV Park, we took one last look at the beautiful fountain in the middle of a pond. Today looks to be another wonderful day - the sun is shining, we are alive and grateful and "Who could ask for anything more?" as the song lyrics go.

WE MADE IT!!!!!!!

We are finally in our Montana in Silver Springs, FL. The trip was going smoothly until I had another mental lapse and put a tank on gasoline into our diesel tank in Georgia. Just got back on I-75 near Warner Robbins, GA and the Ford began missing. It got worse quickly so we were able to get off at an exit and it died immediately after we got out of traffic. There are horror stories all over about this being a multi-thousand dollar "mistake" so we were not feeling too well. It was about 5:00PM and a tow truck took us to a car rental place on the way to the Ford dealership. The rental agency was just starting to close but took care of us. The truck was taken to the dealership and left in their yard because they had closed. The next day, Friday, we discovered that they were to be able to drain the tanks, lines, filters, etc and that no damage had been done to any of the engine. We picked it up about 3:30PM Friday afternoon and headed south. We arrived at the campground Saturday noon and the Montana greeted us warmly (it was 80 degrees). Our neighbors have welcomed us back and had been worried because of our late (over a month) return. Sunshine ran her first lap of the dog park this morning and loves lying on the grass outside being warmed by the sun. We are all enjoying the sun and warmth of both the weather and the people.