Travels with Snowbirds 2012 Bushnell FL

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Saturday January 7, 2012

Florilow Oaks, Bushnell, FL

A quiet day. Winston woke me up again way before sunrise….Wonder what that’s all about, but I was able to coax him to go back down by snuggling with him on my bed. We both dozed for a while. Up and out early for a long walk. I decided I really needed to clean my rig. I never really cleaned it after the last camping trip of fall, then I drove it full of plants and other valuables when I moved to NC, and it just needed a good scrub. I washed and vacuumed everything I could find, except the windows. They are a losing battle inside, because when Winston barks at them, he spits all over them. I left that chore for another day.

Judy B took a trip out early to check out the Dade Battlefield encampment. She wanted to make sure her rig would fit in and get out easily. That did not happen, the parking lot was an overcrowded dirt field and the guard at the gate told her it would not be a good idea for her to try to park.

From the Florida State Parks web site about Dade Battlefield State Park: Every January, under the oaks of Dade Battlefield State Park, history lovers gather to commemorate the battle that started the Second Seminole War. On December 28, 1835, Indian warriors ambushed 108 U.S. soldiers at this site, and only three soldiers survived. The 80-acre park protects not only a historic battlefield, but also the natural communities as they existed during the war.

This weekend marks the reenactment of that battle.

So we sat around all afternoon and had happy hour at Margie’s at 4:00. I met Margie last year, she was one of those who joined us on the Shuttle Launch trip. At 88 years old, she still drives her RV all over the country when she is not wintering at Florilow Oaks. She had a bottle of fine whiskey she was looking to share and share we did. Winston barked the entire time I was out. On one of my walks around the area a woman called out to me, “Is that a Bedlington?” Turns out she did obedience training on Bedlingtons’ 25 years ago. I asked her if she would like to have him for a week to train him for me and she just laughed. “Can’t you hear that yappy dog?” which of course I couldn’t miss. She said she has totally given up on obedience training with her current Schnauzer as he is untrainable. She told me Winston is not show quality because his tail curves up and he’s too tall. Well, ok then. I guess I won’t show him…..laugh.

Judy and I decided to go to Coyote Rojo for dinner, the local Mexican restaurant, which was very crowed, more so due to the influx of visitors for the encampment. Chardonnay, home made chips and salsa, Steak Fajitas for me, Shrimp fajitas for Judy, yummy. Judy is very gracious and unhooks her rig for these short trips. Her dog is very good left alone while we do other things. Tomorrow we are going to Homosassa wildlife park to view manatees in her rig. We will take both dogs and leave them for the hour or 2 it takes to tour and visit the manatees. It should be interesting, but I am counting on Winston and Charlie getting along just fine, maybe all Winston needs is a playmate. Yeah, right.

Kat out

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