Florida and Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg Area
The grey squirrels forage in the oak trees which hang over our motorhome. They cut the stems of the acorns and drop them to the ground. Our motorhome interferes with this process - the acorns hit our roof instead of the ground. In 2 of the 3 Florida state parks we have stayed in, squirrels have bombarded our motorhome with acorns. An acorn that has fallen 20 to 30 feet from a tall oak tree, reaches a velocity sufficient to it makes a sound like a small firecracker when it hits the roof. It can be startling. the noise wakes us at night and in the day, from daydreams. The feral pigs benefit from the activities of the squirrels. They eat the acorns that the squirrels have dropped. While biking in a State Park, we approached a mother pig and about 10 piglets. The mother and 9 piglets ran off, leaving 1 who continued rooting. Its head was buried in a rooting hole so it could not see me sneaking up on it. I got so close that I could touch it before it became aware of my presence and exploded out of the hole and ran off to find its mother and siblings.
But enough about squirrels, pigs, and acorns. Contrary to popular opinion, our cellular telephone still works. Sometimes we are located in the boondocks where cellular reception is weak or non-existent, but usually, we can be reached. If you wish to reach us quickly, phoning is probably a better way than Email cause I don't check Email very frequently - about every week or two.
We are currently located at the largest RV center in the world. The Lazy Days RV center near Tampa is located on about 100 acres of land. Motorhomes and trailers for sale and repair cover a large portion of this 100 acres. Apparently, they sell and repair more RVs here than anywhere else. The center also has a campground, a Cracker Barrel restaurant, and Camping World where camping supplies are available. We had some minor work done on our motorhome here but used it as a base for exploring Tampa and environs.
Today we will travel to Desoto County Park where we can camp over the weekend under palm trees with the waters of the gulf lapping near our door. It is located on Mullet Key south of St. Petersburg. We visited the park a couple of days ago to check it out so we know that it has all the amenities that we like plus lots of shorebirds to watch. From there, we can explore the attractions of St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Largo area before continuing down the west coast through Sarasota, Fort Meyers, and Naples. But first, a side-trip to Zolfo Springs is in order because there is an Escapees Park there and we will pick up our mail there. Next, we plan to visit Everglades National Park and then spend a few days in the Florida Keys, probably at the Bahia Honda State Park. So far, we have found the State Parks to be affordable, well maintained, and containing nice hiking and canoe trails. On weekends they tend to fill up with local campers, but during the week there is usually plenty of space. Most snowbirds who spend the winter in Florida find a preferred campground, usually a private one, and spend the winter in one location. Because the State Parks usually have a 2-week limit, the snowbirds do not fill them. Also, State Parks do not have sewage hookups so it is necessary to crank up every few days to go to the dump station. This is no problem for us because we usually do not stay in a park for more than 2 or 3 days anyway so we dump when we leave. However, our grey water tank can become quite full in a day or two if we wash a couple loads of clothes. Consequently, we also stay at a commercial campground every once in a while where we have access to a sewer hookup so we can catch up on clothes washing.
Although we will probably spend a couple of months in Florida before heading back to Texas, we will leave plenty to see in future trips. The weather here has been magnificent and is expected to remain in the upper 70's to low 80's for the next few days. It becomes warmer as we head further south.
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