Time flies when you're having fun!

I really wonder how I ever had time to work!!  But then again, when I worked, I wasn't perfecting the art of piddling, gazing at the birds, exercising regularly and taking time to smell the roses!  ;-)

We've been incredibly busy since the last post and I am quite sure that I will leave something out of the list of things we have done!  We have had a birthday party (Maggie!), held a celebration of life for our friend Marty, kayaked the Rainbow with friends, biked in Cedar Key to check on the owls and eagle, and have participated in a bunch of activities at the park.  Dan has also put new tires on the rig, gotten new bearings pressed, and installed a hydraulic thing-a-ma-jiggy!

For Maggie's birthday, a group of us went to "The Freezer" in Homosassa for a late lunch.  The place has gotten great reviews and is a hit with the locals.  The place was packed when we got there and the crowds never really thinned out.  The menu is not expansive but the food is yummy.  I managed to eat over a pound of steamed shrimp all by myself!  ;-)  And a few garlic butter chicken wings that were wonderful.   After lunch, we hit a few geocaches in the area. That night, back at the clubhouse, we had cake and ice cream.

Happy Birthday Maggie!

She loved her cake!

We had gotten a copy of a picture of Maggie mimicking Cousin Eddie in Christmas Vacation. There was one scene when Eddie was emptying the black tank in the street drain.  Maggie did a great job of imitating Cousin Eddie so we had to take advantage of it!!

We also had a group of friends get together for a celebration of life for our friend Marty.  Marty passed away in September and her presence is missed at the park.

Dot, Cliff, Connie, Tammy, Maggie, Syl, Rod
Tricia, Dan, Gin (Vel was taking the picture; not sure how we missed Charlie!)

 Everyone brought "nosh" (appetizer/snack) and Charlie and I grilled pizzas.

Getting the pizzas ready to grill

Chef Charlie

Dot and Rod enjoying pizza; Gin acting silly!

After pizza, Dan lit a campfire....

We all had wine corks and one by one, threw them in the fire and shared a special memory of Marty.  We know that she was smiling down on us.

We joined our friends Nancy and Bill and Gail and Rick for a paddle on the Rainbow River.  Gin, Syl, Dan and I packed lunches and headed over to Rainbow Springs State Park.  The weather was absolutely perfect!  We ate lunch at Nancy and Bill's campsite and then enjoyed paddling (or motoring!) the river.  It was great catching up with everyone.

The next day, Nancy and Bill and Gail and Rick came to Cedar Key for a bike ride.    We enjoyed eating lunch at Pelican Place (our patio area!).

Smiles and laughter at Pelican Place

The bikes were packed up and we drove down to the marina in Cedar Key.  It was a perfect day for a bike ride.

Taking in the sights

We were on a mission to see if the eagles and owls were in their nests.  It was our lucky day!

Papa Owl close by.....watching the nest 

The owlets had hatched since the last time we were there.  We got glimpses of their downy heads but I was not quick enough to get their picture.

Mama Owl - we think there are two owlets

We watched them for awhile and then pedaled off to check on the eagle's nest.

Wow - the baby eagles have gotten so big!

These guys were moving all around the nest,ducking in and poking out.  They would walk around the edges as well.  Mama eagle was close by watching them/.

We pedaled out to the airport and actually saw a plane land.  We then started our way back to the marina....taking in the sites along the way.

Pier on the left; the old Honeymoon Cottage on the right

The group parked their bikes to check out the pier.

 
Plenty of people were fishing and Bill and Rick got some pointers from the fishermen.  Gin was having fun with the pelicans.

Pelican whisperer! 

We really enjoyed showing Bill, Nancy, Gail and Rick Cedar Key.  With hugs, we bid everyone "safe travels" and know that we will see them again soon. ;-)

We have six more weeks left before we hit the road again.  Hitch itch has not yet set in since we are staying so busy but I know that those six weeks will fly by.

 
 

Fun with friends

This past week, our friends Shelly and Bob invited nine of us from the park to come over for buggy rides. Their friends, Denny and Lavyrle, have a winter home near the Goethe State Forest complete with RV hook-ups, horses, and buggies.  We could not have asked for a better day weather wise....warm temperatures and blue skies - not typical of what we have been seeing this winter in Florida.

Off we go!  We had a total of three buggies!

Ed and our driver...."Stick"

Our Mules.....Bailey and Boomer

Having fun on the buggy ride!

 We meandered through the woods and visited two of Shelly and Bob's friends that lived close by.

Group shot of the girls that went on the buggy ride.

I didn't get an organized shot of the guys! 

Sunny skies!

One of the stops we made was at a farm that had Percherons (a type of horse that the owners race).  The buggies that they use are beautiful....

Bob checking out one of the buggies

Majestic (and big!) horses

Dan was in awe with their brand new tractors!

  

Headed home

A wonderful ride on the trails!

After we got back to Bob and Shelly's, we enjoyed a wonderful dinner.  It was a great day with friends!!

Last Tuesday, we went to Three Sisters Springs in Crystal River to go kayaking with the manatees.  It was another beautiful day and were happy to have two nice back-to-back days weather-wise!!  We loaded up the gear in the vehicles and nine of us were on our way.

Sure hope this isn't the only manatee that we see!

Putting in the yaks!

It wasn't the easiest place to put our kayaks in but it worked and soon we were on the water!

It was a beautiful day to be on the water

We had to paddle in a tunnel!! 

There were a TON of people on the water that day.  And, I mean a ton.  They were in kayaks, canoes, personal boats, commercial boats, swimmers, and snorkelers.  At some points, it made it difficult to maneuver the kayak.  But alas, we were rewarded with what we came for!

This big manatee floated by right in front of us.
 

There is an area roped off that you can't enter and there were a ton of manatees congregating there.   Signs were posted not to harass, touch, prod, etc etc the manatees and trust me, there were spotters located on the boardwalk to ensure that this did not happen.  There were also "manatee watchers" that were counting the number of manatee in the water.

The springs were actually open for paddlers and some of our group ventured in to do this. Dan, Gin, Syl, and I couldn't fit our kayaks between the posts (used to close off the springs) so we  hung back.  Gin and Syl sought shade while Dan and I motored about.....

Should we trade in the kayak for this lovely boat?  :-) 

Pete's Pier in Crystal River

Pelicans were everywhere!

We enjoyed a picnic lunch on the water....this was the perfect spot!

We saw several manatees floating by but it was a bit hard to capture them in a picture as the water was quite dark.  We paddled a bit more and the weather started looking like it could get cranky so we headed back to our put-in point.

Ed, Dan, Gin, Syl, Tricia, Maggie, Pete, Vel, and Carol

It was a great day on the water.

Life is good!

Manatees, Pelicans, Eagles, and Owls...oh my!

Although the weather has been a little less ideal that we like it in Florida, we have managed to stay quite busy!

In early January, we met about 20+ other RVers at Crackers in Crystal River for lunch.  It was a mixture of old friends as well as some we had not before.  We enjoyed a great meal and it was fantastic getting caught up on what everyone has been up to.

One Saturday, we went to the Manatee Festival in Crystal River with Syl, Maggie, Vel, Ed,and Diane.

The day was cool but the sun was shining brightly.  We walked around the streets of the festival and had typical fair food for lunch.  Boy - our guts sure aren't used to all of that!  We did not even eat dinner that night.  We opted not to take a tour on a boat ($10 a person) and took the free shuttle bus over to Three Sisters Springs to see the manatees and they did not disappoint.

Those grayish blobs are manatees! 

We walked along the board walk and had wonderful views of these gentle giants.

One good thing about this cooler weather is that the manatee congregate in the Springs where the temperature stays consistent year round.

A beautiful place to kayak

We all agreed that we needed to come back to kayak Three Sisters Springs....we didn't think it would be enjoyable to kayak with the manatees and thousands of your closest people friends during the festibal!

It was a great day with great friends!

Quite a bit of time has been spent on creating a very special place....

A few years ago, Gin, Syl, Dan and I named ourselves "the pelicans".  Pelicans are kinda goofy (like us), not too coordinated (like most of us), and seem to be happy go lucky (like us!).  Not to underestimate the amount of work (or to simplify it in anyway - it was quite the effort by Syl and Dan and our friend Charlie - Gin and I were great supervisors!), but after brush was cleared, the sand base leveled, pavers installed, and a few cosmetic enhancements, we have one heckuva nice patio between our two rigs. And, it's complete with a wood shed, fire pit, and a  hitching post (to hold drinks, nosh, and whatnot).

Enjoying the day and Pelican Place

Ariel view of Pelican Place

It's very cozy, secluded, and a wonderful place to enjoy a campfire.

We have also been bike riding in Cedar Key a few times.  Yesterday, we went out with Syl and Maggie. We parked at the marina and pedaled to the cemetery and onto the boardwalk that overlooks the sound.  There were a few ladies there walking their dogs and mentioned that the owl's nest (which we found a few years ago), was active again.  Sure enough, you could see one of the great horned owls in the nest.  They said that there are eggs there and should be hatching in the next few weeks.  Well - alrighty then, we will definitely have to keep an eye out for babies!

Maggie had also mentioned that she had heard that there was a bald eagle's nest near the state park.  So, off we pedaled.  We were cruising down a side street when Syl and I spotted the HUGE nest (much larger than the owl's nest!) with a white head poking out.  We got turned around and parked the bikes.  The four of us watched the bald eagle and saw that she was feeding her baby (or babies).  It was absolutely amazing to see. Of course, I didn't have my camera with me but know that we will be back to watch some more and will get pictures then.

We have said it a thousand times...there sure is something special about Cedar Key.  There are no chain restaurants or motels (or even a stoplight!), just a small, quaint village that reminds many folks of Key West back in the 50s or 60s.  It's very laid back and bicycle friendly.  We just love our winter home!

    

Time to update the blog!!

You would think with the weather being so cold the past few days, that I would have had time to update the blog before now.  Well - not so much.  Seems even when we plan on hunkering down due to the cold weather, we find something else to do!

We had a very nice holiday with friends.  Christmas Eve was spent with four other couples.  Our hosts, Shelly and Bob, had moved from the RV park to a private residence near Goethe State Forest. They put on quite a spread for all of us!

Rod and Tammy

Charlie and Dot

John and Marcella

Shelly and Bob

After dinner, we played several rounds of golf (the card game).  It seemed like it was non-stop laughs.

Fun times with friends

Surely this is not one of Santa's elves!

Tammy laughing so hard she had to hold her head!

On Christmas Day, we shared a meal up at the clubhouse with about 40 other people.  It was good fellowship, the food was delicious and we left with our bellies full.

Sunset on Christmas Day

I did get some pictures from family back in NC.  That was neat since we weren't there in person....

Daughter Ashleigh and Son Brandon

Brandon and DIL Amanda

Voyce Family!
Barbara, Cathy, Mom, Dad, Elaine and my "baby" brother, Patrick!

Mom and Dad and some of their grandkids!
Sammie, Nick, Brandon, and Ashleigh 

A few days after Christmas, we got new neighbors!!

Here they come!

Our good friends, Gin and Syl, have bought the RV lot right next to us.  We are so glad!  We have a little secluded area between our lots that we have deemed "Pelican Place".  We have a fire pit that we have put to good use and know that we will have many, many good times here. Welcome friends!

New Year's Eve was fun!  Music, food, drink, friends.  It can't get much better than that!

Munchies!

Gin and I wearing our Mickey smiles and ears!

Cliff and Connie

Dave and Debbie

Dan and Charlie

Maggie and Vel

Dan, Joan, and Lee

Dan, Vel and DJ Gin

Dan and Trica - Mo and Mac in the background 

Debbie got Cliff to dance! 

Girls just wanna have fun (and we did!!)!

Silly Beans getting her groove on!  

Debbie and I moving on the dance floor!

Dan and I did not make it to midnight!  But, we did have a fun New Year's Eve!!

To all our family and friends, here's to a healthy and happy 2014!!