Whew, what a long day. All started well enough. We traveled to Tampa and had the good fortune to hook up with a couple whose blog I have followed faithfully for over a year now of daily posts. Doug & JoAnn were kind enough to meet us for lunch at the Cracker Barrel where we enjoyed a fish fry that was delicious. We hope to meet them again, perhaps on their next journey to Nova Scotia or maybe next year when we return to Florida. Doug wore his Nova Scotia sweatshirt in honour of our visit.

From there is was over to the big RV Super
show at the Florida State Fairgrounds in Tampa. Talk about a super show, it was incredible! The pic to the left shows the group of Montana owners who gathered to meet at the Montana display. This was our first time being able to attend a gathering of members of the Montana Owners Club. I've written back and forth with them over the internet for the past three years but until now had never met any of them.










We barely scratched the surface at the show, I don't know how many days you would have to prowl around the grounds to see everything. The girls were with us and they had a pretty tiring day as they walked miles on their little feet. Maggie challenged several big dogs to duke it out but they all seemed more amused than threatened. It took us a lot longer to get things done because of all the people who stopped and wanted to talk about their Poms with us. Many had passed and the owners seemed to really enjoy petting our girls.

After the show the fun really began. I got snookered real good by the GPS. I punched in our return trip home and didn't pay too much attention until I realized we were getting closer than I wanted to Orlando. Well, we ended up in Orlando and after a re-program we arrived home about 2 hours later than we should have. As if the day wasn't long enough already!

One good note about the drive home was running into this place. If not on the wrong road we would have never discovered Parkesdale Farms. You have to see it to believe it. We had giant, fresh strawberry shortcake. Large, and I do mean large Navel oranges for a quarter. I saw one orange today the size of a small pumpkin. Grapefruit 5/$1.00. They were extra large too. Anyway, it is quite a place. It's in Plant City.

We headed out for this Park and had a great day. Kathy got in a good, early morning walk and managed to avoid any Bobcats. This Park has nice picnic areas and is located on a beach. So you can swim or fish although since the cold spell the water needs a bit of warming up.













The fishing boats come and go all day. You may not see them but there are a lot of dolphins following some of the boats, no doubt being fed as they follow along. Note the big Pelican sitting on the rock.













This trail is part of the Park. We had a nice stroll thu here, again on the lookout for Bobcats but we didn't come across any. No snakes either. To be honest we haven't seen a snake or a strange bug here yet.




Lunch again, an all you can eat buffet. Finally I am gaining a bit of discipline. Left there with still a bit of room in my belly. (only because this isn't our favourite one)
















Then another good dog walk. The girls will be in great shape, perhaps we will too. Kathy is surely getting in her daily quota of kilometres.

Tomorrow it's off to Tampa for the big RV show. I will meet members of the Montana Owners Club that I have emailed back and forth for 3 years but have never met.

Had a nice easy morning, laying about in the sun and enjoying a cup of java. Kathy grilled a couple of burghers for lunch and the girls had their morning walk and ball chasing exercise.

For a bit of afternoon entertainment we headed over to Bealls to do a bit of window shopping. Didn't find any red hot "Dot" deals so left with nothing at all.

Today we took a drive up the Coast a bit to Sebastian and Vero Beach checking out RV parks for next years great adventure. We like this place and will probably return but it never hurts to see what else is out there. We didn't find anything we like better than Road Runners, yet. The truck needed a wash so stopped in at a place where they hand wash. Isn't she a beauty?












Gabby and Lilly got in a good run chasing after balls and Maggie tires herself out just walking along and growling at all the other dogs. Maggie wouldn't lower herself to chase a ball. Waste of good time she says.

A slow day for sure. We got up late due to the hectic activities of yesterday. Decided to do a bit of shopping. I've noticed the malls around here seem to be put together a bit differently than we are use to in NS. In Florida they usually try to landscape their supermarkets and strip malls to make it more attractive. At home we remove every living thing from the landscape and pave it over with asphalt and stick a box store in the middle of a barren wasteland. I even observed what appeared to be two employees in the parking lot picking up paper and other trash.

Kathy got her sneakers! Yea!

Weather is on the upswing. 15C today with the promise of warmer every day, 27C by Saturday.

Today we ventured South to Hallandale Beach to spend a very enjoyable afternoon with Gary and Marilyn, our friends from the Tantallon area of Nova Scotia. They winter in a condo in Hallandale Beach. As you can see by the clothes, it wasn't a tropical day at all. Eight degrees to be exact.





From their window you can see beauties like this sail by along the Intercoastal.







Another day, another all you can eat buffet. When will it ever end? The caloric intake must be obscene.







We thought about sneaking off with Gary's Corvette but he kept a pretty close eye on us.

After this we hit a mall, still looking for shoes. What a mess. The mall was a small city in itself, you drove around this circular, 2 lane driveway that allowed you to access parking areas to the left or right whenever you dared venture out of your lane. Traffic cops with loud whistles tried to bring some order to the chaos. What it amounted two was a very large truck trying to stay in a very narrow lane with cars coming from every direction. Once we managed to get inside the building one felt like a very small ant in a very large ants nest crawling with millions of other ants. Kathy could not find shoes to her liking and although I did manage to locate a croc store I refused to attempt a buy under such barbaric conditions. I don't need shoes that badly! I have vowed never to return to that place. I think the name of the place was The Adventura Mall, near Hollywood, Florida. This is fair warning to any man who values his sanity.

Yesterday we had 24 degrees of sunshine while today brings 1 degree of rain. Yes, that's 1 degree, in Florida, with some parts having snow. Now we really do not have to come home because we have it all right here. Summer one day and winter the next. What more could a Canadian ask for?

So what do you do for excitement on such a day? We decided to go for a drive to some place we had never been. That took us to Okeechobee in the centre of the State and this place, Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park.





This told us a bit about the area.









If you look hard enough you might see a few nice deer in this field.








This Campground has a bit of something for everyone. They keep a few cattle around.







The Park specializes in having campers come with their horses. They have all sorts of riding trails. This big guy must be a sissy as he needs his blanket on this cold day.






It's also a great spot for birders. I've never seen so many different birds as I have in the past couple of weeks.







After we left the Park we drove thru miles and miles of farmland. Everything from orange groves to potatoe fields, cabbage and strawberries. And talk about ranches, there were countless cattle farms where I must have seen thousands of cattle.





Upon seeing this sign I wondered if my brother in law has relatives down here we don't know about? What do you say Lee?







Special mention here goes to Kenny Walker of Halifax who insisted we take in a meal at Golden Corral. Wow! All you can eat buffet and all it cost an old senior like me was $9.99. You wouldn't believe the selection, including done to your preference steak. Another bad day for my calorie count and even Kathy is getting in on the act. I hate to think of what her weighin is going to be like when we get back. She won't be a happy camper!


All things considered it was a great way to spend a cold, rainy day in South Florida. Tomorrow is again cool but the temp goes up every day from here on so we will soon be in those swim suits.

Out for a drive and came across this little park along the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway. We stopped and went in for a while.







This is the view looking South from Jensen Beach.








You find these abandoned boats that have drifted ashore and left to rot. A local said this one has been here for 3 or 4 years.







The Pelicans were waiting for a fisherman to throw some fresh fish guts their way.







Pretty tame I'd say. They let me get very close.








A bridge over the Intercoastal.









A view along the boardwalk.









Maggie and Lilly had a walk and thought it was a pretty neat place. Maggie does seem to be a bit thirsty.

















On our way home we meandered up the coast and decided to stop in at this great spot. Kathy says it's warm and positively swimable. Once those gathering storm clouds clear we will have to get out the swim trunks.





The water looks beautiful, aqua blue/green.


















Can anyone spot the rooster?