Back to Sarasota

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February 16, Monday

We'd spent enough time in the Everglades, so we packed up and headed north along the Tamiami Trail, and then through a bit of central Florida on the way to Sarasota. We got into town around 8:00 pm and checked into the Day's Inn, which is along the Tamiami Trail, route 19, just north of the Ringling Museum. I called Kay again at Quest Outfitters, and asked if I could take advantage of their hospitality in order to make a bike cover for Bear. She told me I could pick up the machine and the material and work at the hotel.

February 17, Tuesday

I took off for Quest Outfitters, picked up the sewing machine and the material and notions, and returned to the Day's Inn. I also bought lightweight plastic at Ace Hardware, and worked on creating a pattern for the cover. On the way I stopped in at Oscar Scherer State Park and, knowing it was a long-shot, asked if they had any campsites available for the next few days. A bit of trail magic twinkled, and the Ranger told me they had just had a cancellation, and that the next 6 days were available if I called the reservation agency. I called immediately and booked the site for Wednesday through Saturday nights. I also booked the following 5 nights at Wekiwa Springs State Park, just north of Orlando in Apopka. Deb and I went out for lunch, and spent much of the day shopping at Goodwill etc. When we returned to the hotel, I started work on cutting out the pieces for the cover. Much to my dismay, and no little embarrassment, I realized soon that I needed about 1 1/2 more yards of 1.1 oz siliconized nylon. I did as much sewing as I could, going to bed around midnight.

February 18, Wednesday

I did a touch more sewing, then returned the machine to Kay with the project unfinished. I made arrangements to do more work on Thursday at their house. Returning to the hotel, we packed up and moved to the campground. Oscar Scherer SP is a very nice park, the sites are almost totally isolated by all the shrubbery and palm trees. A small river flows through on the way to the gulf, and the grounds are the cleanest I' ve ever seen. I even caught a glimpse of the campground host sweeping the leaves and twigs off the sidewalk that led to the hot shower facility ! Every site had electric and water, and cost $24 a night. The gate locks at night, so a code is given to the campers to enable them to unlock the gate. It was a beautiful evening, but began to get just a bit chilly by bedtime.

February 19, Thursday

I got up early and headed to Kay's to work on the cover. I spent considerably more time on this project than I had expected, but finally after about 8 hours work it was done. I returned to the campsite, and we spent another chilly night in the tent. I think the temps got well into the mid 30's, or about 2 to 3 degrees C.

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