Tag: Florida

A smorgasbord of activities in Florida’s Osceola National Forest

A Civil War battlefield, The Florida National Scenic Trail, and kayaking Ocean Pond among giant cypress

Paddling among giant cypress on Ocean Pond

Before sharing about Florida, I have to tell you that I have now astoundingly joined the ranks of DIY travel trailer fixer-uppers. (Although nothing is fixed yet). Much of this cold and rainy Alabama day has been devoted to trying to figure out why my refrigerator is not working. From the simple checks-breakers, fuses and plugs-I moved on to trying to secure a dealership repair appointment (impossible) or a visit from a mobile RV tech.

The closest tech turned out not to be close anymore as he now lives in Arkansas. But Ron was the best of trail angels, spending hours helping me over the phone. There I was with my multimeter, in the land of circuit boards, colored wires, and hidden fuses. Finally, through a Grand Design owners forum, I discovered a blown thermal fuse that I will soon try to repair. What a learning day!

Site #28 in the Ocean Pond Campground only had a water hookup. However, the generator and solar panel kept me up and running, all but the refrigerator. I sure was looking forward to having cold and frozen food in the campsites ahead, all of which have electricity.

The largest Civil War battle to take place in Florida was fought nearby. The Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park was seven miles from camp. Interpretive panels along a one-mile trail told the story of the evenly matched battle through photographs, primary sources, and a clear narrative. The terrain of open pine woods and palmettos, interspersed with impassable swampy areas, helped me visualize the drama of that tragic day. Just over five thousand soldiers on each side-the Union hoping to cut off food supplies from Florida at the Suwanee River railroad bridge and the Confederates handing them a costly defeat.

“Grape and canister swept by with hideous music, and shell after shell tore through our ranks and burst amid heaps of our wounded heroes,” remembered a soldier of the 115th New York.
Huge crowds attend the re-enactment of the battle every Presidents Day weekend.
Boardwalks are becoming a favorite haunt of mine. This one, through a cypress swamp on the Florida National Scenic Trail, enticed me to sit and write and study the verdant plant life.
A native green anole (I think) at the edge of the cypress swamp. Anoles, like chameleons, can change color. In Florida, over two-thirds of the lizard species are invasives, including the brown anole, which arrived on cargo ships in the late 1800s. Females of both species look like this one.

Ocean Pond is the roundest body of water I have ever seen. One day, I kayaked around its almost 7-mile shoreline. The shallows near shore are picturesque, with turtles and water lilies among the cypress. I studied one patient great egret who was fishing there, swallowing his catch with bounces of his very long, thin neck. There were patches of pickerel weed, not yet in bloom, and cow lily (spatterdock) just beginning to show its bright yellow, spherical flowers. I love the touches of home to balance out all that is new and unusual.

The border of grass behind me was present almost all the way around the lake and often prevented me from accessing the shallows, except where there were openings. Knowing that there were alligators around and it was a warm day made me cautious to plow through the grass and reeds.

I’ll finish with a shout out to the federal government for their America the Beautiful Lifetime Senior Pass, available to those 62 and older. For a one-time cost of $80, mine has already paid for itself two times over since I purchased it on January 5th. How grateful I am to be experiencing all these natural wonders at such an affordable price!

Q & A: What’s in the pantry and on the plate as a fulltime RVer?

The highs and lows of the culinary journey after two months on the road

Lake view from my campsite in a Florida national forest

How much are you spending on groceries and eating out?

One goal of this journey is to discover how much it costs me to live a full-time nomadic RV lifestyle. I have budgeted $300 for groceries and $75 for restaurant meals monthly. Both line items have benefited from the hospitality of family and friends and by rural camping locations. There is not much temptation to go out to eat when there is nowhere close by to go. On the other hand, I went all out on meals in Savannah during our three-generation girls weekend. (While baby Emilia enjoyed her bottle, Megan was introducing me to the espresso martini!).

After two months, I believe that the grocery amount is doable, the restaurant amount is not. I want to be free to experience regional specialties and go out to eat with family and friends along the way.

How does your food differ on-grid and 0ff-grid?

So far, on this journey, I have never been able to use both electric and water hookups at the same time. In fact, the trailer stayed winterized until arriving at my current campground in northeast Florida. Thank goodness, you will agree, given those cold and challenging nights in the Carolinas.

Several mornings have started out in the low 40s here in northeast Florida

All of the electric & water sites were taken when I arrived last Thursday. I was grateful to get one with a water hookup, lake view, and paved parking pad. I’ve made a couple of runs to convenience stores and a Family Dollar within six to ten miles, but there is no grocery store. I am not running my refrigerator so I can prioritize lights and heat. The generator (whose carburetor was replaced under warranty) and the solar panel are keeping the battery charged fine.

Lunch on my campsite patio yesterday while I was having my F150 windshield replaced by a mobile repair service! Chicken salad from the leftover chicken tenders was quite tasty.

Here’s what I found: For dinner one, a frozen Mexican bowl that I ate with tortilla chips from the pantry. For dinner two, a two-serving bag of no-longer-frozen brocolli with one of those microwaveable white cheese pasta cups. (My microwave works when the generator is running). For dinner three, chicken tenders from the closest convenience store with green pepper strips and fruit salad. For dinner four: avocado and the rest of the tortilla chips. Family Dollar also provided a can of hearty beef and vegetable soup and a bag of non-refrigerated meatballs in Italian sauce that are still on hand.

To sum up, I need to plan ahead better on groceries. I expected to have electricity here, to be running the fridge, to be able to buy what I needed after I set up camp. Instead, I found myself wandering Family Dollar in search of meals that would be healthy and tasty enough.

You will find Hawg Heaven in Prosperity, South Carolina

Have you been sampling the local cuisine?

Readers of my canoe tripping books know how much I love a cheeseburger and fries, especially with a fresh salad. The El Dorado near the Arrowhead Campground did not disappoint in that regard. By South Carolina, I was determined to have some BBQ and found it on Hawg Heaven’s all-you-can-eat buffet, along with corn bread, ribs, homemade mac and cheese, green beans, butter beans, and peach cobbler. Yessir, I was eating well in the South now!

Georgia’s Golden Isles shrimp were sweetly flavorful, delicately battered, and fresh as can be. I ate them seven different ways, including this taco salad with shrimp at Tortuga Jack’s on Jekyll Island, courtesy of my friends Christine and Bob. Bob and I were high school classmates!

In my imagination, in the planning stages, I was going to be grilling steaks and making homemade pizza. Whirling some smoothies around with my new immersion blender and reaching into the fridge for a cold beverage whenever the mood struck me. So far, I haven’t even come close. Tomorrow, though, I move on to new possibilities. The next place has electric & water at every campsite., and you can trust that the pantry will be much better provisioned.