August 2 - 5
Picasa web album link:Our next destination was along the beautiful north Florida Gulf shore, Grayton Beach State Park. We visited this park in March 2012 and really enjoyed the amenities and location. We decided to go back since it was nearby some long-time friends who just moved to the area.
Vince and Lily Falzone are friends from our central Florida
days. Kurt and Vince worked together at Lockheed at the Kennedy Space Center.
They had moved to California years ago and at this point in their lives,
decided to come back to Florida. During their time in Cali, they had two
children, Abby and Craig. Such beautiful and bright kids, who also have great
parents! They had visited us in our Palm Beach Gardens home a few years ago,
after the kids were born. It was so wonderful to see them again and how the
kids have grown so fast. They came to our campground and we spent the day at
the beach. The kids loved it (so did we) and it was so refreshing to play in
the water as the weather was hot and steamy. One night they had us over for
dinner at their new home in Niceville, Florida. It was very lovely and they
were still getting settled after doing some renovations on the house. Other
guests were Karen, the wife of a former co-worker of Vince and Kurt. Her
husband, Carl Swisher, passed away earlier in the year from kidney cancer. She
was in town visiting her sister Darcy and they wanted to meet up with Vince and
Lily. We all had a nice evening sharing old stories of their days at Lockheed.
Also, the dinner was very nice and we were stuffed by the end of the evening.
We are so fortunate to keep friendships with those who have moved away, we will
continue keep in touch and get together. We are very happy they are back in
Florida, as this will give us the chance to visit see them often.
During our four days at this park we rode our bikes, went to
the beach and simply relaxed. It was rainy a couple of days, which hampered our
outdoor activities. We still love this area of Florida and the gorgeous beaches.
Our plans were to head down to O’Leno State Park in High
Springs, where we would stay for four days. After that we were going to Rainbow
Springs State Park for five days; however, after looking at the forecast of
almost daily rain (50 – 80%), we cancelled those reservations. We would just
head home after O’Leno SP.
O’Leno State Park – High Springs, Florida
August 6 – 8
Picasa web album link:
https://picasaweb.google.com/107097369989809012646/SWTrip2014HeadingHome?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCI3l6oeV1pe_Kg&feat=directlink
Upon arrival at O’Leno, we setup and relaxed for the
evening. The weather forecast was calling for rain most every day, mainly in
the afternoon. We were going to make the best of it and try to enjoy the park.
The Santa Fe River runs through this park, but has an interesting feature. At
one point, the river “sinks” underground in a series of caves, then rises a few
miles south at the River Rise Preserve. We kayaked this river (below the rise)
a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the springs that feed the river. Due
to the weather, we didn’t schedule a shuttled paddle. Kurt paddled a 4 mile
portion of the river since I was able to shuttle him. He took Kody with him and
they both enjoyed the two hour paddle.
After the third day of afternoon rains, we decided to leave
a day early and head home. It was disappointing due to the bad weather, we
really wanted to kayak and hike there and also at Rainbow Springs. We were
ready to get back home and get settled and back to our routine. However, this
fall we are doing some reno’s and upgrades to our house to get it ready for the
real estate market. We are hoping to sell it quickly and then get back on the road
for awhile.
After that, we are not so sure what our future holds. Other
than continuing our RV travels, we plan to look around for a down-size
home/property, preferably a fixer. We would like to fix up a house and then
sell it a couple of years later, or stay there if we love it. Also in our future
plans, we would like to purchase a small lot in the Franklin North Carolina
area. This lot will be setup for our RV (possibly two RVs) for future trips to
the Smoky Mountains, one of our favorite places! God willing and with good
health, we will be able to pursue and follow through with our plans.
