FAMILY VISIT #2

FLORIDA

     Ron's youngest brother Dave, his wife Kathy, and daughter Chrissie live in Spring Hill, FL, about 60 minutes north of Tampa on the Gulf side of Florida.  Dave and Kathy have visited AZ, but we'd never been to FL.  With both time and means now at our disposal, Ron called Dave in March and asked when might be a good time for a visit.  Turns out April is a perfect month, with mild temperatures, what Floridians call low humidity, lots of sunny days, not much rainfall, not too many bugs.  Ron booked our flights for April 24 and we were ready to go!

     Ah, the mechanics of travel.  If a flight is scheduled out of Phoenix at, say, 5:30am, one has to leave Flagstaff at, say, 1:30am to drive & get thru security & board on time.  Getting up at, say, 1:00am to leave at 1:30am leaves no doubt as to one's relative age.  That would be  waaaay too old for such nonsense, x2.  We did it anyway.  We were pleased to fly American Airlines after both their computer crash and the sequester furloughs of air traffic controllers.  Our flight was, in fact, flawless.  We arrived without incident at Tampa International, picked up our rental car, and headed north to Spring Hill.

     Forewarned by Dave, we knew our route to Spring Hill was a toll road.  Neither of us ever having driven a toll road, there were elements of both adventure and disbelief.  Yes, you really do have to go through four toll booths in an hour of driving, and pay $1.00-$1.25 each time. Oh sure, you can run the toll booth, but they take a photo of front and back of the car and send you a bill based on the license plate info.  I'll bet the rental car companies pass it right on to you, too.  If you exit and want to get back on, there are booths on the ramps.  Yes, they really do have you coming and going.  Dave told us that particular highway was for sale (!), most likely to be purchased by foreign interests.  The new owner will collect the tolls and be responsible for maintenance.  If highways are for sale to begin with, I'm thinking there must be money to be made.  Who'd-a thought???   Dave is one of the locals who commutes to Tampa for work daily.  The cost of the toll road would quickly become prohibitive, so he uses alternate routes that carry a heavier traffic load but are already paid for by his income tax.

     We were warmly welcomed by Dave, Kathy, Chrissie, her significant other Joe and adorable Shirley Temple-haired daughter Susie. 

              Me with Kathy, Chrissie holding Susie, and Dave

    Throughout our visit, Dave and Kathy generously made sure we were comfortable, entertained and well fed.  They were perfect hosts, and we thank them!

     Call me an goggle-eyed Arizonian if you want...my brain simply could not process the amount of green my eyes saw.  Top to bottom, inside out, it was extravagantly lush.  
                                       

    All that green.....

 

and the constant presence of water....

 made it paradise.

     Dave and Kathy had a variety of highlights planned.  We had requested a focus on Florida's natural wonders.  This part of the coast is called the Nature Coast, and that suited us to a tee.  We began with Homosassa Springs the day after our arrival.  It started out many years ago as a roadside zoo-type tourist attraction.  It's been taken over by the state park system and now focuses exclusively on indigenous plants and animals.  The animals with permanent residence are ones that have been injured and healed but can not be released back to the wild, so the setting is now a natural habitat-style zoo, very well done.  The park is also heavily involved in manatee rescue and rehabilitation.  Human behavior caused manatees to become an endangered species; different human behavior is making a significant positive impact on their restoration.

Manatees are slow moving, docile, plant eaters.  They breathe air but are able to stay underwater for long periods, including  long enough for this nap, photo'd  through an underwater viewing area.

 

  

Besides the manatees, this setting gave us the opportunity to see animals we wouldn't have otherwise, including alligators,

an indigenous wolf that's also endangered,

 

and lots of birds. Idjit that I am, when I first saw the flamingos, I wondered why in the world they would have pink plastic flamingos in a wildlife park.... 

We were well pleased with this introduction to Florida wildlife. 

     Kathy had to work the next day, so Dave took us on a local road trip.  Dave has lived and worked in the area for many years and he included many personal anecdotes, giving an additional layer of interest.  

     We stopped first at the fishing dock at Bayport.  People were catching both fish and crabs.  

 

     In a stroke of happy synchronicity, Dave took us to a river-side mobile home residence that Kathy lived in for many years and is now her brother Robert's second home.  Unbeknownst to Dave, Robert and his wife were there when we arrived.  One thing led to another, and Robert ended up offering to take us out for a private ride on the Gulf in his pontoon boat. We couldn't believe our luck, nor be appreciative enough of this pure example of southern hospitality.  

Here's Robert's dock with the boat tied up. This river, the Weekiwatchee, is a little over 7 miles long and goes out to the Gulf.  

 The river is lined cheek by jowl with residences of various sizes.

      Being at sea level, many of these homes have flooded more than once.  Dave says many of them have a musty smell inside.  Zoning now requires houses be built on stilts or pylons, but all existing residences were grandfathered in.  The lifestyle is water-based.  Everyone has boats and fishing gear of various descriptions, there are waterslides directly from yards to the river, mermaid and manatee decorations in the yards. 

We floated down river at idle speed, enjoying the tropical scenery.

The Gulf of Mexico, stretching out to forever.

After this adventure, we visited Jenkins Creek, a city park.  We crossed this bridge to walk along another waterway.

where we saw these little fiddler crabs in the sand.

We climbed this tower

for these fantastic views.

 

     The day wasn't done.  Blackberries were in season, so we picked up Chrissie and Susie and went to a local patch, filled ourselves with as many as we could eat and our buckets to take some home.  The berries ripen on the bush at different times, so there was a slight learning curve to choosing the ripest ones.  Berries ripe and hot off the bush can't be beaten!

Our adventures continued the next day at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa.  

 

     This amazing place is huge (250,000 square ft), and has an advertised 20,000 aquatic plants and animals from Florida and the world.  I'll take their word for it!  Most of it was recognizable in a general way..fish, shark, alligator, turtle, stingray.

There was enough of the other-worldliness factor so that by the time we were done, I wasn't so sure I would ever be brave enough to stick a toe in the ocean!




Our route home took us to Tarpon Springs, the Sponge Capital of the World.  Yep, sponges of the natural sort.

     Turns out Greeks are historically sponge divers, and when sponges were discovered to be in the Gulf, they migrated to Tarpon Springs to be part of the industry. In the early 1900's, sponges were Florida's largest industry, before citrus and tourism.  The economics of natural sponges has waxed and waned.  Although there is still a small sponge industry,  Tarpon Springs has been converted primarily to tourism for its economics.  Its Greek population and heritage are still very strong and help attract visitors.  What fascinating history here!  And me without a clue, lo these many years.

     The next day, another work day for Kathy, found Dave, Ron and I at Rainbow Springs State Park. Like Homossasa Springs, Rainbow Springs was privately owned for many years before being taken over the by the State Parks system.  Springs are a natural phenomena in Florida.  They have a constant temperature of about 72 degrees year round.  They support a large biodiversity and are enjoyed by wildlife and not so wild life alike.

 

     The park includes numerous waterfalls that were created by private owners by pumping water from the springs.  The park system maintains the springs as well as numerous trails.  Not only is it popular for recreational opportunities, but we saw a wedding party using it as a stunning background for their photos. It's easy to see why.

 

     Next we visited Brooksville, where Dave spent many years working.  The historic part includes interesting homes, cobblestone streets, and this depot.

 

     After arriving back home, we took Chrissie's suggestion and visited the Nature Coast Botanical Garden in Spring Hill.  Local gardeners keep this small jewel looking brilliant.

 

 

 

     Our last day both Dave and Kathy had to work, so Ron and I struck out on our own.  We chose two different areas to hike.  Our first stop was at the Weekiwatchee Preserve.  The Preserve used to be a limestone mine.  Once mining stopped, the quarries filled with water, attracting birds and other wildlife.  The roads were converted to trails, and the area is now popular for hikers, birders, and other outdoor enthusiasts.

  

     Our next choice was Silver Lake.  There's an extensive paved hiking/biking trail along the Withlacoochie River and Silver Lake is one of the trailheads.  We chose instead to hike along the Withlacoochie River on a trail at the Silver Lake campground.  

Silver Lake

 

The trail

 

     Our trip at an end, we left early (again) the next morning, taking the toll road to Tampa International for our flight to Phoenix.  Almost but not quite without incident:  for some reason, my carry-on bag was just right for the first half of the flight, but too big for the second half.  The airline checked it.  Goodbye, bag.  Glad it was on the going-home side of the trip, because they didn't deliver it until the following morning. 

     What a wonderful trip this was.  We thoroughly enjoyed  visiting our family and being tourists in Florida for the first, but not last, time. Thanks to Dave and Kathy!

IT'S TIME TO REVISIT.....

                                                                   
I've been experiencing another round of WILLY-NILLY.   It's of my own making rather than outside influences this time, but the result is the same: 

 

 

Some causes of the current state of WILLY-NILLY:

 

 

1.  We've been traveling.  March, April and May all had family visits of a week or so duration. This is a good thing in itself and has been most enjoyable.  It requires attention before, during and after. Plus since we're not very experienced yet, the traveling itself requires focus and continuously  keeping track of unfamiliar details..feeling something like this:  (love finding this nod to Ron's past!)

 

 

 

 

2.  I'm in the process of making the transition from winter to summer activities.  I always entertain the belief that changes like this fall into place with minimal disruption.  The areas in which I'm making changes include running, biking, hiking, strength training, yoga, Tai Chi and what time I get up and go to bed. There's been a bit of dog-refresher training as Maggie & Gypsy accompanied us on our latest trip.  I have years of experience to the contrary, so

 

  

 

would I think there would be anything smooth about these changes?  

 

 

3.  With my swimming season complete, I'm on to more running, as well as hiking and biking.  Though swimming has a cardiovascular transfer, it has no muscular transfer.  For various reasons (Tai Chi, violin lessons, yoga & Pilates classes, gadding about) my running took a pretty hard hit over the winter.  Despite knowing this was so, I was disappointed to find just how un-fit for running I'd become.  And because I was un-fit for running, both hiking and biking were also affected.  That causes me to be in an unfavorite place:  kinda starting over.  Yep, a bit of running, a bit of walking.  A bit more running, a bit less walking.  Etc, etc, until it's all running again, which can take some weeks.  I'm doing it because I have to, and not pushing it to stay clear of injury.  That doesn't mean I like it.  I already have a plan in place not to let this happen again--running maintenance MUST have a priority in all seasons.  In the meantime, I'm in this beginner state in all my summer activities. 

 

 

4.  Miscellaneous things:  <>Tai Chi practice changes every couple months. I've been experimenting with what days & level of practice is best for me, so there's been a lot of flux. <>Pilates class has been surprisingly inconsistent on the teacher's part and may have to be cancelled altogether.  It's beneficial if practiced regularly and not so if not so. It's far too costly to be a once-in-a-while thing. <>After literally years without any particular illness, I've had two colds in the last three months and am currently experiencing either a third cold or, worse, a bout of allergies.  I've never had allergies but know they can develop after living someplace for a long time.  I'd rather have another cold.  Well, truth be told, I'd rather have neither!  <>It is consistently my way to make a list of things to do that significantly underestimates the time available.  That causes me to feel like I'm "behind", and need to catch up (posting to this blog is an example).  Puuuleeeees!  This is very much not a retired mindset. <>The van sustained a bit of damage to the bumper area that was significantly exacerbated by the gale-force winds in KS coming back from our NE trip.  That means we're without a vehicle for the duration of the repair, and we're both BUSY!  <>Lastly, there's always something interesting coming up...last Saturday we went to an outdoor folk-music concert at the Arboretum.  Tonight I'm going to a newly formed meditation group practice to see how I like that. There's a fiddle camp coming up in July. 

 

These changes are positive, and all a heck of a lot of fun.  I know that it will all settle down....right?  In the meantime, a bit of feeling like this: 

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

 

 won't hurt me!