No Real News Yet

 

I don’t really know anything yet.  The Doctor has ordered tests for Wednesday at an Owensboro hospital, and I will be fitted for a 24 hour monitor on the same day.  If nothing is picked up on these then, I will wear the monitor for 20 days.  He is a very good Doctor and wants to make sure what is going on before he prescribes any kind of diagnosis or gives me any kind of medication.

We have mostly  just been doing family things so, I really have nothing to write about.  I did get to spend the whole day with my little great grandson, Mason yesterday.  He is 3, and loves the Easter Bunny so we had lots of fun watching him gather eggs and play all day.  We also, of course, chased him around all day.  Oh to have that kind of energy again!!

In this picture Aunt Shannon is trying to get Chelsi up.  As you can see, instead sleeping in the guest room she slept on the couch with all three of Aunt Shannon’s dogs.  Shannon loves her little dogs.  Just to toot my own horn, the quilt she is sleeping under is the first one I ever made, and it was completely hand stitched.  All blocks, seams, the whole darn thing.  Took me forever!  I learned really fast to put the hard parts together with a machine, and then I really went to town on them. :) The others are of Chelsi being shy.

This picture is of Chelsi and Erica, and Erica’s kids.  Erica is an ex of my oldest grandson, Nick, but they have stayed very close and all feel the relationship may be rekindled some day.  Long story short, she was married before and has three kids from that marriage, she then had her tubes tied and Nick wants kids so, we will see, but we all love her and the kids so have stayed close to them.

This picture is of Mason pulling some cotton candy out of one of his baskets and really enjoying it, with Grandma Shannon looking on.  In the middle picture is Jon’s two girls, Chelsi and her Mom, Angie.

We also taught the kids how to play Mexican train and Pegs and Jokers. They really enjoyed both games.  I am sure we will be playing both again.

We have had rain here, nonstop for the whole time we have been here.  Every creek and stream are flooded, and the Ohio River is way out of it’s banks.  I just heard on the news this morning that a lot of roads are starting to close due to high water. Flash flood warnings here everywhere.

My son, Jon, and my grandson, Mitch have started a little business that has turned into more than they thought when they started.  They are remodeling bath rooms, and their specialty is tile patterns.  They are beautiful and people are calling everyday wanting them.  My grandson was laid off  from his full-time job and goes back to it today so, Jon will try to keep their business going till he either gets back or can leave his job and do this full time.  Right now it is the benefit side of this job that will have to be figured out.  I wish them all the luck in the world.  Jon just retired from 20 years of the army and found the inactivity at a desk almost unbearable so, I think he was ready for some physical labor.

As Sue says, I will write again when I have something blog worthy.  Hope this will publish, my internet is not really very strong.  Since I have been using the antenna that Mac told me about, I do pick up a lot better signal.

Hope you all had a very Happy Easter and didn’t over eat like I did.  Stay safe…. :)

Made It to Indiana

 

Just a note to let you all know we made it back ok.  I have a very weak signal here so won’t be doing any posting and not much on line while we are here.  I will get caught up with all of you at our next stop.  My Doctor’s appointment is tomorrow, and will have to make plans after we find out what is going on with my heart.  Catch you all later… :)

Falling Creek Falls

 

Geocaching is still our favorite hobby.  We hadn’t done any in Florida so needed to get on that.  My goal is to geocache in each State that we stay in.  I think as more and more kids take up this hobby, the harder and harder the caches are to find.  I did manage to find a couple of them to hunt I thought these old bodies could handle.  This is also something that Rusty can do with us, so, off we went.

Our first one was at a small Park, Falling Creek Falls.  A really nice little park.  Very well maintained.  The first sign I saw was no dogs..  Darn!!!  This just doesn’t seem fair to me.  I guess a few people not keeping their dogs on leashes, and not picking up after them, ruins it for all of us.  So again, Donnie stayed in the truck with Rusty and I went on the hunt. 

I changed my mind and went back to the truck and told Donnie that this time we were going to take Rusty home and come back.  There was a beautiful boardwalk that ran into the woods.  I wanted Donnie to see this too.  He had missed out on the springs we have visited because of no dogs being allowed, and I didn’t want him to miss out on this.

It was only around 10 miles back to the RV, so it didn’t take us very long.  I had packed us a lunch and thought we would eat lunch after our hike.

This park is located on County road 131 just north of the 441/I10 interchange.  Falling Creek Falls was opened October 2001.  A joint project between the Suwannee River Water Management District and Columbia County, the property was purchased from the Parker & Hogan Families to protect and preserve the Falls for present and future generations.   This park offers walking trails, restrooms, playground and the beautiful elevated Boardwalk to the Falls.

Hope someone can tell me what those mushrooms/fungus are.  I have never seen anything like them.  They grow something like a Morel, but they aren’t.

This was one of the prettiest areas I have seen since arriving here in Florida.  I could have walked up and down these boardwalks all day.  And the bonus is they really do lead you to a Falls.  This Falls is also locally known as the Coca Cola Falls.  You will see why when you see the colors of the Falls.

The picture on the upper left is the best I could get of the magical colors of this pretty little Falls.  there was a Y in the boardwalk. The other way lead you to upper parts of the Falling Creek.

We did find our two geocaches and thought while we were so close to it we would go ahead and have a look around part of the Big Shoals Public Lands.  There wasn’t really much to it.  Just a kind of turn-around a bunch of hiking trails and picnic areas.  We again paid $4.00 for a day pass.  I took a couple of pictures and talked to the guy volunteering in this park, but he didn’t have much to say.  He did thank us for stopping by.  We ended up eating our lunch here and then headed on home to Rusty.  I hate that he wasn’t with us, but also like doing some things with Don so, we will just have to pick and choose better when taking him along.

It was a fun day.  We have really enjoyed exploring northern Florida and highly recommend it to all.  Will write next on the road to home.

Want to thank Rick for mentioning Picnik a while back.  It is a part of Picasa, and until yesterday I hadn’t really paid much attention to it, but I finally clicked on it and was amazed at everything you can do with it.  Just for fun, I want to share a picture of the woods that I added some pink ribbons to in honor of my niece, Angie we lost over two years ago to breast cancer.  Thanks Rick for all the help you give us challenged bloggers.

 

Later…. :)

Gulf Of Mexico

 

Welcome to my newest follower, rmnorman1.  I couldn’t find a site for you, but if you do have one, contact me and I will put it up here.  Thanks for riding along.  Hope you enjoy are crazy traveling.

Well, it has happened!!  I received a comment today that I had to delete.  I guess this is what you call spam.  Not going to post the name because I think that is what they wanted.  It was nasty and disgusting and is deleted.  If I can figure out how to do it, I will block them. Nuff said. 

The same day we went to see The Fanning Springs State Park, we also drove the extra miles to see the Gulf Of Mexico.  I mistakenly thought by driving  down to the city of Suwannee, that we could reach the Gulf.  Not so.  We did make it to the city, but could find no way to get down to the ocean.  Bummer… :(

I was really wanting to see how Rusty would handle the waves so, I hadn’t given up yet.  We finally stopped at this little Café/bar type place and I went in and talked to a very nice young man about directions to the Gulf.  He told me it was possible, but there was a 15 mile drive down a dirt road.  He assured us the road was in good condition, and when we came to the end of it, there were only a couple more turns. 

The road turned out to be right in the middle of a swamp, so, it was really interesting.  We could hear birds calling and at one point there was a small gator in the road, but he was too quick for me to get a picture.  We also scared a coon and he ran off too quick for a picture also.  I loved the road and would probably take it again.  Very peaceful.

We had to make a couple more turns and then there it was.  There were lots of people everywhere again, but I did manage to get a few pictures.  That kite was being flown by an older gentleman, and I thought it was a hand glider at first.  When it got closer, I could see it was a dragon kite.  Very cool.

As you can see, Donnie did finally get Rusty down close to the water, but he was only interested in the little boy carrying the other little dog.  It was one of those tiny little yappy dogs, but cute as a button.  Didn’t really want anything to do with Rusty, and Rusty didn’t want anything to do with the water.  I think he thought, “oh, no, another bath”.

We didn’t stay long cause we had a long trip home and the people that were already there were camping and cooking so, we hightailed it on out of there.

We took a shorter route home.  Rusty had been a good boy all day, and we didn’t want to push his patience any more than we had to.  Besides, me and Don were getting tired too.    We traveled about 200 miles on this day and needed to get home.

Do you all ever eat smoothies?  I have been making a lot of them lately.  We were getting in a bad habit of eating ice cream waaaaaay too much.  This way we are getting a treat, but it is filled with fruit and yogurt. They are easy to whip up in the blender, and I use frozen fruit and/or fresh.   Some of them have 2 or 3 different fruits.  I love them and glad I rediscovered them.

Later… :)

Fanning Springs State Park

 

Want to welcome Ron, my newest follower.  I could not find a blog for you, but if you have one, please contact me and I will add it here.  Thanks for coming along.  Hope you enjoy the ride. 

Another great little State Park off of our list now.  It was a bit farther away, but I thought worth the trip.  This one was $6.00 for day use.  I guess because they had an attendant and lots of info they hand you when you register.   Somebody has to pay for all of that… :)

Fanning Springs State Park is located on the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail in Fanning Springs, Florida.   This is a very popular clear water spring, as you will be able to tell by the amount of people in my pictures.  Although I tried not to get them in photos, it was impossible, so I gave up and just took my pictures.

This spring produces between 40 and 60 million gallons of water daily.  Visitors can enter the park by boat from the Suwannee River or by car.  There are very nice picnic areas, playground, volleyball court and use the open areas for frisbee-throwing or football.  A boardwalk leads from the springs to a gazebo on the river.  You may see white-tailed deer, gray squirrels, red-shouldered hawks, pileated woodpeckers and barred owls.  Manatees sometimes visit the springs during the winter months.

Fanning Springs served as the local landing for steamboats carrying products to and from local plantations until railroads crossed the Suwannee River in the early 1900s.  The land has been used primarily for recreation since the mid-1900’s.  It was purchased by the state in 1993.  In 1997 the Florida Park Service became the caretaker of this marvelous site.

Sorry, but I just can’t seem to get enough of these moss-draped trees.

Again, Rusty was not allowed down by the springs.  I went down and Don stayed with him.  There were people everywhere so, I didn’t go all the way around it.  I knew it would be pretty from the other side, but did not want to intrude.

Of course the Manatees were long gone by now so held no hope of seeing one.  The swimmers would have frightened them away if there were any… :)

This was another great exploring day.  I would seriously like to go back when not so many people are around, to see it from all angles.

Rusty has gotten on my bad side again.  We were sitting here, Don watching TV and me on the computer.  We both knew he was chewing, we could hear him.  We give him rawhide chips to chew on so he will leave the furniture and our bodies whole.  The last time both of us checked he was still chewing on his rawhide.  The next time I looked up he had chewed a hole out of the carpet.  I couldn’t believe it, a hole right out of the carpet.  Good thing we are getting a new floor installed when we get to Colorado.  I know all puppies chew, but this is a first for me. I didn’t scold him because I didn’t actually see the deed done, but know it was him.  I guess this is all part of being a puppy parent….

Later…. :)

Troy Springs State Park

 

We made up our minds that we had visited our last State Park without Rusty.  If he wasn’t welcomed, then we would turn around and leave.  Most of them will let you walk your dog, on a leash at all times, around the outside of buildings, but won’t allow animals inside.  We understand that and will just work around it from now on.

So, with Rusty in tow we took off for Branford, Florida to see the Troy Springs State Park.  It wasn’t far, just down 247.  No great scenery jumped out at us so we just enjoyed the drive.

The depths of this spring contain the remains of the Civil War-era steamboat Madison, scuttled in the spring run in 1863 to keep it from being captured.  A recent addition to the state park system, Troy Spring now has an entrance road, restrooms, an accessible walkway, picnic tables, and a riverside dock for canoeists and boaters on the Suwannee River.  This 70-foot deep, first magnitude spring offers opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, and scuba diving.  Only open-water scuba diving is permitted and divers must be certified; no solo diving is allowed.  Trails for hiking and horseback riding are being developed.  It is located right off of 425, 1.3 miles north of U. S. 27.

In the top picture is the entrance into the park , and because no one was collecting money, Don and I had to scrounge around to get $5.00 together out of our change.  We had larger bills, but no fives.  We did finally drop enough change in to the little envelope and went on in.  You can see the picnic area and the really nice rest area.  I met a nice couple who were getting ready to go for a dive.  They had never dived here before and were looking forward to it.  There is also a picture of a wild blackberry patch.

The next picture shows the long walk down to the springs and viewing area.  Rusty was not allowed on it so he and Don stayed in the picnic area while I went down.  A long walk, but well worth it.  It was made easier on the climb back up, by them snaking the walkway back and forth  across the steep hill.  I tried to talk Don into taking his turn going down, but his knee is still bothering him so he stayed topside.

I guess you think I have lost my marbles in the third picture….  I took the pictures of the trees because I am fascinated by all the “knees:, anyway, I think that is what they are called.  We were told in Louisiana that they are not new trees and really aren’t roots so, what are they?

Turtles must really love these springs.  I saw several swimming around in it, but too far away to get a shot of them. The chicken was at a place where we stopped to wet our whistles.  Not for sale, just standing out there.  They didn’t even sell chicken, that I could see.  What a hoot… you just never know what your going to see. 

This was a fun little park and one I would recommend anyone taking the time to see.

Welcome to Andy, my newest follower.  I couldn’t find a blog site for you, but if you have one please let me know.  Hope you enjoy the ride.

You all stay safe.

Rain, Rain, And More Rain

 

It  pretty much rained here all last week.  Sometimes it was actually raining so hard you couldn’t hear yourself think.  I had gone to the grocery one day, and the rain came down so hard, everyone was pulled over to the side of the road.  You literally could not see the car in front of you.

We did have a little break one afternoon so we took Rusty walking around the small lake/pond here at the park.  I wanted to see if I could find any wild flowers or unusual plants.  I did pretty good, and even scared up a Blue Heron.

OK, I will try to name some of these flowers, and if I am wrong, you all feel free to correct me.  Top left I think is spider wart, right back: some kind of fern, bottom left: water lily, middle bottom: wild flocks, and I know what the other one is, I fought it in my gardens at home, but the name escapes me at the moment.  Thistle????  How did I do? Click on the pictures to make them larger…

 

I am fairly sure these are water lilies.  And they were my pick of the day.  I think they are perfect flowers, surrounded by the perfect colors to show them off.

This is a picture of the blue heron I scared off and some more pictures of the RV Park and cabins.  It was a nice walk and my second of the day in between rain storms.

Our plans have changed again.  We had planned to go to South Carolina from here, but I am still having a bit of trouble with my heart, and my daughter, Shannon thinks it would be best for me to go to a  Heart specialist.  She works for a group of them and has moved my appt. up from June, to April.  The only way I know to explain what is going on, is that it is beating out of rhythm.  They think it may be A-Fib, but won’t know till they can do some tests.  Quite frankly I am not used to feeling bad and am sick of it.  I will be glad to just finally find out what the heck is going on, and do something about it.

 

We will leave here on the 16th and make a couple of over-night stops on the way back to Indiana.  That should make for a less tiring trip all the way round.

I am so happy.  I have had my bird feeder out for 2 weeks, or since we got here, and today I finally had some red-winged black birds stop and feed.  They are the only ones I have seen on it, but hope there will be more.  I know there is plenty for the birds to eat this time of year, but I do love to watch them.

Going to make this a short post.  Later… :)

Columbia County Historical Museum

 

The building that houses the Columbia County Historical Museum dates from about 1870. An unusual example of Southern Italianette  Style, it features the typical square shape and low pitched roof as the notable architectural features.  Typical of the homes of this period, the rooms are arranged symmetrically off of a broad central stair hall.  The upstairs bedrooms are arranged in a similar fashion.  a rear servants staircase leads to the kitchen wing and the back porch area.  Wrapped on two sides by a two-tiered veranda, the exterior features are balanced with simplicity of design.

John Vinzant Jr., the first Clerk of Court of Columbia County, and a disabled Confederate Veteran, bought this house in 1880 for $450.00.  His daughter, May Vinzant Perkins, lived here until she was 92 years of age.  She was a widely respected and published poet, plus a feature writer for local newspapers.  May Vinzant Perkins was named Poet Laureate of the State of Florida and a founding member of local service and social organizations.  She continues to live through her poetry that is on display at the Columbia County Historical Museum.

We enjoyed this museum and especially liked the story of how they got the guns for their exhibits.  Apparently some time after the war ended a party of black soldiers entered town looking for someplace to eat and to rest.  None of the towns people would have anything to do with them until they came upon this one lady.  She said she would feed them, but they must leave their guns outside.  The men of the town decided the guns should be locked in a tool shed for safe-keeping.  After the men finished eating they went outside to find the men of the town had a change of heart and beat the soldiers and ran them out of town without their guns.  Later they disposed of the guns in Desoto Lake, here in town.  Sometime later the people of Gator, (Lake City before it’s name change), decided to drain the lake to see if they could recover the guns, and sure enough they did.  While they were doing this an older gentlemen came by and stated that there should also be a lot of pistols in there.  He said for years the Sheriff and his deputes had been dumping guns into the lake that they had confiscated from criminals.  They looked a little longer and came up with all kinds of pistols.  Some of these same guns are now on display in this museum.

 

This is the outside of this pretty little museum.  There was no charge for visiting, but we always make some kind of donation.  This is run by volunteers only, and I must say it is in very good shape.  I took quite a few pictures and will share them with you.  Hope you enjoy them.

Wanted to thank all my friends and family for all the Birthday wishes I received on Friday.  Yes, I am officially on Medicare now.  I can barely believe I have reached 65, but here I am.   My Hubby got me a beautiful ring for my B-day and I know a lot of people say the romance is out of a marriage after so many years, but not so.  Thanks Honey, I love it.

Let me welcome my newest follower, Lila.  She doesn’t have a blog yet, but they hope to sell their business and start full timing soon.  Her husband does not want to sell the business and put their people out of a job in these hard times.  I can understand that, and we will all be out here rooting for you when you can start.

Hope you all have had a great week end… :)