Boy did we sleep!

We were both tired last night and around 2130 we went to bed.  Yesterday's travel just wore us out.  I didn't get out of bed until after 0800!  I woke Jim but he didn't get up until 0945!

So we had a very slow morning.  While I was doing laundry and making pea soup Jim went outside to hook up the TV....but there was a cable missing.  We had it in Welaka so he must have left it behind.

After lunch we made a scouting run to Hudson where we'll have the windows repaired.  On the way we stopped at a Walmart to get a cable.  We found the repair place and it's an easy drive.  We then decided to drive south on Highway 19 and check out the area....

What a mistake that was!  The closer we got to the Tampa area (and we were by no means close!) we encountered more and more traffic.  The road is being worked on, making it wider (which obviously is needed) and traffic was bumper to bumper with frequent stops for lights and stalled traffic.  We've decided we won't make any day trips using that road.  We'll see if we can locate a campground closer to Tarpon Springs so we can explore the area.  If not, we'll just skip it.

We made it home driving some back roads and enjoyed a more leisurely, less hectic drive and saw some coastal areas.

Real convenient to the campground is a farm market and we stopped there  picking up so fruit and veggies.  Once home we were starved and had some soup, then our afternoon coffee.

Within an hour we walked down to the river and below you'll see some of the pictures I took.  We were fortunate enough to see at least 5 manatee.

This is the road back into the tenting area.  Most of the sites are quite big and several were occupied

We saw several boaters enjoying the late afternoon, some fishing some just paddling

Of course we took Boo with us!

As we walked back to the campground I heard this unmistakable sound of a woodpecker...and it only took a moment to find him....This Piliated Woodpecker was very close to the road just pecking away!

I've never seen one before!  So it was a good way to end our walkabout

Staying put for awhile

If you keep up with us on Facebook you already know that we've decided to stay in Welaka for the next year or so.  We learned after we arrived that the owners were looking for office help but didn't want to train someone for just a few months.  So Jim talked with them and then we discussed it.  This will be good for us financially of course, but it will also allow us to explore this area in depth and hopefully see  family members who live in Florida...



This area is incredibly gorgeous.  Sunsets on the St John's River are beautiful and I've seen eagles almost every time we walk down to the dock. Our drives around the area take us past farm fields and orchards and it will be interesting to see the 'seasons'.  I know we saw some Texas Longhorns and we're trying to remember where so I can get pictures.

There are pros and cons about sitting in one place for so long.  One is I'm not near a Whole Foods store!  But I did discover an Organic Market in Crescent City just south of here.  I can pick up produce daily if I want to drive there.  But Viva la Verde buys local and regional produce and puts out a list every week and you can choose what you want and have it delivered, if you want.  I picked up our produce last Friday and I was surprised and pleased with what I got.  I will be dialing back what I order because it's way to much for the two of us.  We also have Walmart, Winn Dixie and Publix stores so we won't go hungry!

We did have to move to another site...now that we're work campers....and I'm not pleased about that.  It's right next to the office, across from the pool and  fire pit.  Lot's of foot traffic that makes Boo bark and dust from the road. But, we'll move again when another site opens up farther away at the entrance to the property. Of course being this close to the office we will see everyone coming and going!

Our weather the past few days has been chilly.  Upper 60's or higher during the day and mid 30's at night. Lot's of sunshine!  I wonder how many of these cold fronts we'll have before the heat of summer settles in?

Jim starts tomorrow and he'll work 2 1/2 days a week.  Hope I don't have to much trouble getting him out of bed on those mornings!