Florida observations

Observations on Florida

I lived here for several years in the early 70's and now am back as a snow bird. The difference between the two times is partially my different perspective and partially the march of time...The people pressure is much greater now, with all the infrastructure that these greater numbers entail. With my Northern MI lifestyle having few people in it, this is quite an adjustment for me. The nice thing that I'm finding is that Florida has set aside, quite a large chunk of State and Federal land for public use. Naturally it isn't prime real estate (read swamp and marsh) but there are several large tracts close by so I can get out and commune (and take pictures). I'm slowly getting to know the ways of the local animal life. I'm comfortable with the alligators and bears, but have yet to get a good handle on the wild pigs. I know they can get ugly, but there are just too many question marks in my own knowledge.

I was out for a long walk the other day, checking out an area and found that my biggest problem was that the published map of the area didn't show all of the secondary roads and paths. I ended up having to intuit my way out...not a problem, but a minor inconvenience. Every morning and evening, there are several flocks of Herons and Egrets that pass over on their way to and from their feeding areas

Am planing on taking the yak out this weekend to check out a lake/marsh/river/swamp system near here. On paper it looks to be a wild area, but so much is built up here, I'm no sure what I'm going to find.

We are close to Orlando, but I saw a sign the other day, marking a stream as the head waters of the Everglades. I guess it has to start somewhere...

One of the weather patterns that is strange for me is the fact that there is often an East wind. At home, we get an East wind about twice a year, here it's about once a week. The other thing is that the sunrises and sunsets are almost always colorful, but not being on a coast, there is always something in the way of a good view.

Anne and I have both been hired on at Disney and go in for orientation on Monday, so we won't need to go to plan B, which is a relief. I'll be at Epcot and she at Magic Kingdom. The hiring process has certainly changed since I was last involved with it. If you aren't computer literate you'll never get a job...So far it has been totally paperless experience, with only one, real person contact. I think that it took me the better part of three hours to access, read and sign all of the pre-hire documents...They should have a Geezer link. There was a Halloween get together last night and the owner of the RV park got an education in how NOT to turn on the propane before putting a match to the new decorative fire pit. It wasn't an explosion exactly, but it got everyone's attention when it lit off...

No pictures this time around. Be well, Jay

more swamp notes

    More notes from the Swamp

Swamp catch up.

This is late getting written...

The Okefenokee was timbered from the mid 1800's until about 1930. They built elevated rial lines to transport the Cyprus and pine logs out of the swamp. There are several islands within the swamp and they were developed as company towns. The one near where I was paddling supported a population of 600 people at one time. The town contained a sawmill and a turpentine distillery, plus stores,churches schools.. Nothing remains today, except some foundations and two boilers from the locomotives. The swamp is slowly recovering from the logging. The Cyprus trees can take 20 years to add an inch of girth. The other factor is the periodic fires that sweep through the swamp. Two since 2007.

My first two days in the swamp were on the main water feed out of the swamp. (what becomes the Suwanee River) The last day I was comfortable enough to venture off into some of the smaller feeder streams. They were really magical, almost primeval. The light, filtered through the Spanish moss, the black water moving slowly, the wildlife and the cool, moist shade. The birds ere interesting, lots of Egrets and Herons. The juveniles and their changing plumage, make it hard for me to get a firm ID on many of them

I did have a second alligator encounter. This time I apparently bumped one on the back as I glided over him. He arched his back, flicked his tail and was gone. The back arch, brought his head out of the water, next to my right hand. The tail flick put an 8 inch scar down the hull of my kayak. I'm thinking of pasting a small Purple Heart on the spot...The whole encounter was over before I had time to react. .. This is the one downside to a kayak that can be totally stealthy. I guess I'll just start making more noise when when I'm in gator country...

Alligators and stuff

Notes from the swamp:

The Okefenokee swamp is not what I anticipated. Much of it is what I would call marsh, tall grass and Cyprus trees, interlaced with major and minor water courses and the occasional island. It's not a water filled jungle. We are lucky in that all of the land surrounding the State Park is Federal, and was closed due to the shutdown. As a result there was no people pressure on the wildlife. One ranger told me that he was seeing twice as many alligators as before the shutdown. (about the only positive thing I heard about it.) That said, this place is crawling with “nature”.We've had a flock of turkeys come through the campsite three times today. There are numerous little deer everywhere. I thought at first that the small deer were Key deer, but I'm told they are White Tail deer and are tiny because they have such a limited food source. At sunset every night, there is a Horned owl that lets us know that he is around.

The fun thing for me is learning new things, in this case it's Alligator craft.

It turns out that they are mostly a victim of bad press and their forbidding personal appearance. If you are bigger than they are and don't look like food, you're good to go. In a boat or kayak you are plenty big enough and look nothing like food. Alligators have a relatively small brain and work mostly on instinct. (about the smarts of a fluffy bunny, but with teeth and the muscle to use them). Don't however take Skippy (my term for small, barky dogs) on the water with you as they most defiantly look like lunch. They post signs about not taking pets in the water and the rangers say they get grief about it all the time.... I took the yak out for about two hours today, just to get a feel for the area. By count I saw 28 Alligators today. The most unnerving part of the paddle was getting down the cut to the river. The open water was only 6 -8 feet wide, with a few more feet of Lilly pads on each side. Come to find out that gators love to hide in Lilly pads, waiting for lunch to wander past...I passed three and they never moved,just watched me go by with those unblinking eyes that see everything. It was kind of like snakes. That first instant when you brain identifies the shape and color that your eye is seeing. I will say that they got my undivided attention. At the end of the cut I paddled up behind two that were moving the same direction I was. One of Jay's new rules of paddle craft is: when approaching alligators from the rear, they have the right of way and whatever speed they choose to go, that is the current speed limit. See pic below. By the end of two hours, I was comfortable (and respectful) sharing the water with them .

I will say that at one point my heart skipped a beat...I was in deep water just paddling along when my paddle struck a large underwater object, that reacted to being struck. I don't really know for sure what it was, but I have my suspicions

I plan on going out again at first light tomorrow on a photo recon .

We got off the Interstate at Montgomery, AL . and went cross country over to Waycross, Ga, which is at the top of the Okefenokee swamp. I wanted to get a look at the lay of the land and see what it was all about. Going across both states, I was fascinated to watch the fall crops being harvested. Cotton and peanuts, We're going to spend several days at the swamp and I hope to do a paddle or two..We've already seen several alligators....

       We're working on solving a mystery. I saw a digital camera laying in the road, so we stopped and picked up. The recent pictures show several people on motorcycles from Florida, touring TN and NC. I'm hoping to be able to track them down and get their camera back to them. I know that there is web site “I found your camera” and I'll try that as a last resort...after I exhaust my sleuthing skills. I'll let you know how it plays out.

   Below is cotton; in the field, being harvested, and ready for transport.

 

    October 19,  Wednesday

           Still moving southward. We are just below Birmingham AL in a wonderful State park .Yesterday passed south of all the fall color but I,m sure it will catch up with us later.Tuesday we stayed the night in Bowling Green, KY and that park will require a whole separate entry later.  Today's pics are from that campground and on the road yesterday.

on the road again

  

October 13 Day one. I was beginning to wonder if we were going to actually leave today. We stopped at the harbor for the required “leaving town pic”, and got trapped in the parking lot by two SUVs that were socializing in the exit lane. I gave them 5 minutes and then pulled up on their bumpers...Oh, were we holding up traffic??? (not that I don't regularly stop to socialize, on Main Street, South Shore, and any other road. But I always monitor my mirror...

After leaving town, at warp 9.5,

I wanted to stop and check how the kayak was riding on the roof. I chose the casino in Manistee, as they have a big parking lot. We went inside “for just a minute” and the “complimentary coffee”. We allowed $5. each...to make gas money. Anne doubled hers and I lost all of mine...Net 0...I was told that I had to pick up returnable cans, all the way to the Indiana line, to make up my shortfall...

I noticed several Adopt-A-Hi way signs that were marked “available”. The issue being that the original sponsor was “in loving memory of” whoever. Did they stop loving them, or just lose interest.....”seemed like a good idea, but it's too much work”.???...

We saw a newbie hitchhiker today. He saw us coming and stepped off the roadway (smart move) and continued to walk backwards (not so smart)... smack into a mailbox. The funny part was that, we saw it coming and, boy was he surprised....

     We spent the night at Potato Creek State Park in Indiana,near South Bend, a wonderful park. Lots of water, trails, woods, and prairie. We were a bit nervous approaching the park, as there were 8 or 10 RVs coming out the access road. We realized that it was Sunday of a three day weekend , late in the day, and there was probably no room... It seems they allow late check out, so there was lots of room. I was particularly happy as we had no plan B, at that point.

Looking back on the trip way too many individual things stand out to count. Generally they fall into the following areas. The interesting and wonderful people that we met, from all over the country and the world. The State Parks on the Fl panhandle were great. Miles of wilderness beaches but close to civilization. The history of the cities and areas all through the South but in particular the Atlantic coast line. We spent several days in Savanna and Charleston, but could have spent a week in each. The history of the Outer Banks and the lighthouses in particular were fascinating. I'd never spent time in DC and have been a life long fan of the Smithsonian so we spent three days there. I didn't realize there were so many Smithsonian Museums...I need at least 4 more days to see those we didn't get to.

The high point has to be the time in Blue Hill, ME and the birth of grandson Oliver Fleming Burt. The start of a new life is so wondrous and amazing..

Observations and funny’s....On the Mass. Turnpike, there is a $5. extra charge if you take more than 12 hours to complete your trip. (ie, napping in a rest area)....There is airport style security at federal museums...(leave your leatherman at home)... you see and experience 200% more by staying off the interstates...( we went to Hollywood, Surf City, and China) ... Wally World is a real place...just East of London, Ontario CA...Sign South of Flint....” the next 2 miles of Hwy cleaned by

State Representative

AVAILABLE “ I'm assuming he lost reelection and decided he wasn't so warm and fuzzy about clean highways after all....and finally within 5 minutes of having the house phone turned back on we had two solicitation calls. (they said they had missed chatting with me.)

End...

 

Tuesday 4 16 13

     Thoughts   Am becoming re acclimated to home, and there are adjustments that have to be made after the long absence
    You have to look to see who is driving, in the oncoming lane.  (It's rude not to wave.).....After looking into 200 UPS trucks I finally saw Steve today....A mini van is not 32 feet long...Parking spaces don't have to be 45 feet long anymore... I no longer need a bank loan to consider a stop at the gas station....I woke up this morning and couldn't figure out where I was...(this might be age related)....People don't have a Southern accent...you know 7 out of 10 people you see on the street...
  Below are a few pics of Charleston that didn't get posted.  Fort Sumpter is the "thing" out in the water.  The mortor is one of those used to shell it.

      

Saturday 4 13 2013

    Arrived home safely after 3 1/2 months on the road.  more thoughts and pics later. 
   After 19 States (and Canada)  and 35 camp grounds,we arrived to freezing rain and snow.  It was scary how similar the weather was to the day we left (Jan 1) We were blindly hoping for maybe some green grass or trees, but Oh well...

Thurs

4 11 13

      Crossing Canada, from Buffalo to Port Huron   Wind, and freezing rain early on but later just wind
  The food offerings were to say the least, interesting.   Back in MI Fri.

  

Monday 4 8 1

     We arrived in Blue Hill, Maine on Thursday.  Just in time to celebrate the birth of Oliver Fleming Burt, 71/2 pounds and healthy and happy.  Peter and Adrienne's first born.  All are doing well and are in that initial period of welcoming a new baby and adjusting the family dynamic for the new addition.  The weather here is almost a carbon copy of home....still unseasonably cool....
  We are off tomorrow on the last leg of  our wanderings and should roll into Frankfort over the weekend....Boy is that going to be a shock after 4 months on the road..
 

     Below is the first real sign of Spring, the ice is going out

     A: the home owner doesn't know one

from another or   B; The birds don't know ho to read....

     I wasn't aware that there was a problem, much less that there was a thing as Rock Snot.  I'm thinking a grass roots organization or raise some funds for a rock snot PAC.  We cannot allow the rocks to continue doing this.....

  Also have you noticed how crowded the sky is lately....

April 3 13 Wednesday

Thoughts on travel.... NY State has road signs requesting you to report AGRESSIVE drivers....CT littering $219. NY $10,000 GA $100....Toll roads in NH and ME are smooth, clean, wonderful and worth the toll...other states, not so much.

The pictures below are of a 1780's gristmill on the Susquehanna River. It's a beautiful building and a wonderful piece of engineering, and hen I think that it is 330 years old, I'm just astounded.

    

4 1 13 Monday

Our first long road day since leaving MI. We left Maryland this morning with the intention of pushing through New Jersey and getting around N Y City, all in one day..This we have done in good shape. We covered MD, DE,PA, NJ, NY, CT...That impressed me, but obviously, I'm not from around here..Small States, all clustered together, you an hit three states in an hour...

We're just into CT, and it seems that we are pushing the camping season here. The State parks don't open till May and the commercial operators don't open till April 15. The good news is that Ct has very nice rest areas on the interstate and they allow overnight RV parking, as does MA, which is the next stop.

We left the buds on the trees in DC and are now North of them again.#$&#**..I had envisioned FOLLOWING Spring North on our way to Maine but we seen to be dragging instead

Wonderful time in DC. Spent time in 4 of the Smithsonian Museums, and could easily do a few more next time. Way too many interesting bits of information from the museums to go into. . ( It saddened me to watch the older children, just race around the museums, taking pictures of everything. I don't think they learned anything in reality...) We actually found a National Park Campground only 12 miles from DC. I think it is one of the better kept secrets of the NPS..

5:03 PM OH dear... we just passed our first piles of dirty snow...I as hopping to avoid seeing that....

   I pass on this chance for some fine dinning.....

tuesday 3 26 13

Well, we're still chasing Spring Northward. Arrived in Northern Virginia with melting snow, flowering crabs and forsythia in bloom. The “cold Spring” is slated to moderate this weekend. It can't happen soon enough for me. We're currently West of DC, so I got to go through the air and Space Museum at Dulles airport. This is where they keep all the goodies that won't fit in the Museum downtown. (several million sq/ft of space....) Pictured is my all time favorite, the SR-71 Blackbird. LA to DC in one hour and one minute....(2,200mph) Also the Discovery shuttle. A real workhorse in her day..In the same hangar they had the last Concorde, an early 707, and the B-29 Enola Gaye. (there's a piece of history for you) plus hundreds of smaller, significant aircraft. I saw lots of things I never knew existed.

We're moving over to College Park MD tomorrow, for the rest of the week, so we can catch the subway and do more of the Smithsonian downtown.

Backtrack....

   Before we left Hatteras we stopped at the Bodie Light.  They had just finished  installing their rebuilt 1st order Fresnel lens.  An amazing piece of engineering and art.  Sadly the tower wasn't open for climbing until
April.  The picture of the partially rebuilt Fresnel lens was in the Shipwreck Museun at Hatteras. It turns out that Jim Woodward, who rebuilt the Point Betsie light, also did both of these 1st order lights....small world
   The pic  of the Brew Thru is a drive thur type that I had never seen.  You actually "drive thru the building" ,I can see one in Frankfort already....

Sunday 3 24 13    Kitty Hawk N.C.
      
        Toured the Wright Brothers Memorial.  Learned more of the details leading up to the first flight.  Orv and Wil had been doing their home work, diligently, four over 4 years leading up to the flight. 
interesting side light. The picture  of the first flight that we all know....was the third flight..the cameraman
clutched on the first two.  That picture is the only photo the man ever took in his entire life.....Right place, right time, immortal picture.  If anyone is looking for a water front cottage, I know where there is a nice one...this wont last long...so act now...it features an above ground holding tank that could double as an anchor....We accidentally had diner in the building  that the Wright Brothers sent the telegraph message announcing their flight from.

  

2 23 13 Saturday   mid Hatteras Island

the second pic shows cottages built behind the shore dune.  The second pic is the same location but standing on the beach, looking the opposite direction. In the distance on the last pic you can see some homes getting ready to go swimming