 |
| Some of the cars in Old Town |
 |
| Cool Clock on the Square |
 |
| Watching the cars cruise by Very cool! |
 |
| Some with blower motors - some natural All very cool! |
 |
| A beautiful sunset over Lake Monroe |
 |
| Cool old cabin on the river |
 |
| piece of artwork along the Breezeway |
 |
| Another pretty sunset |
 |
| Lee and Ricks Oyster Bar |
 |
| Waiting for our oysters! |
 |
| Enjoying Wekiva Springs! |
 |
| Fun Boat on the river - The Floating Hippie! |
 |
| Isn't this hilarious! |
 |
| Baby Owl waiting for his snack! |
 |
| This guy went into a roll when he got near the boat! |
 |
| Momma guarding her eggs |
 |
| John was our airboat captain |
 |
| Holding a baby alligator - about 3 years old Tiny - but they still taped his mouth shut! |
 |
| View of the St Johns River |
 |
| Old Florida - beautiful |
 |
| So very peaceful |
 |
| Old Florida at its finest! |
 |
| This is the big guy at a distance - BEFORE we met up so close He didn't like us crossing his path! |
 |
| It is so beautiful along the river on a sunny day |
 |
| Another one lurking about |
 |
| Home along the river Wonder what they think of the bugs! |
Dick and Debbie got here late Sunday night (July 20). We stayed up way past Mike’s bedtime visiting
and hearing stories about their trip here by way of New Orleans and
Pensacola.
Monday morning the guys took a short dinghy ride. After that we went just a few blocks from the
marina to Christo’s for lunch. Their food is terrific! So far we’ve not been disappointed. We took a tour about town and drove around
the area. A little more than we anticipated
thanks to their GPS – almost ended up in Orlando! We finally ended up at Boat Tree Marina where
we sat by the pool and enjoyed a few drinks.
We also secured a rental of a 21’ pontoon boat for Tuesday. On the way back we decided to check out the
Sanford Elks Lodge. It just so happened
it was open and drinks were cheap! Gotta
love the Elks! Of course, while we were
there a huge storm hit. We had to stay a
little longer than we intended.
Darn! More drinks and hey – we
even played a little bingo! J
Tuesday turned out to be a beautiful day for a pontoon ride
down (north) the St Johns River. After a
great breakfast at the Colonial Room, we were off on our adventure. It’s funny to think we would rent a
pontoon! Of all the boats these two guys
have owned a pontoon has not been one of them.
However, it was perfect for what we wanted to do – spend the day
cruising the river – a lot more room on it than on our dinghy! We checked out Riviera Beach (ha!) and went
to Swamp House Grill where we had a great lunch. We even saw a baby owl that hangs around
there. They would put out a fish and he
would swoop down and get it right in front of us. He wasn’t bothered by any of us. Pretty cool!
We also went up into the Wekiva River near DeBary (the City of
Rivers). We saw a huge gator that didn’t
want us to bother him by crossing his path.
He came up to the boat and did a roll!
He was at least 10 feet long. A
granddaddy of them all! Personally I was
glad I was in the pontoon rather than in our dinghy! He was almost as long as our dinghy! After a
great trip seeing old Florida the way it should be seen – we finally had to
turn the boat back in. After all, it was
approaching happy hour. We enjoyed happy
hour on NautiNell then off to dinner at Gators (by car). The food was good and again they had live
music. We’re becoming regulars! On the way back to the boat we spotted a huge
gator on Lake Monroe AND a spectacular sunset.
An end to a great day…..
I finally get to mark something off my bucket list. Wednesday we went on an airboat ride! We went to Oviedo about 15 miles from here to
the Black Hammocks on Lake Jesup. Lake
Jesup is the most alligator populated lake with an estimate of over 9500 alligators
and is one of the largest lakes in Central Florida. What a great ride! It’s been a while since Mike and I have gone
that fast on a boat! We saw several
gators including two that were nesting.
They were back in the grasses protecting their eggs. According to our guide – the female guards her
eggs for over 90 days until they hatch.
They don’t leave! They can go up
to two years without eating! However,
they seldom do.
After the ride and a cold beer at the Lazy Gator Restaurant
we were off on a road trip to Orlando where we’d plan to stop at Lee and Rick’s
Oyster Bar for lunch. Linda and Ray had
told us about this place. It first
opened in 1950 and has quite a history.
It is quite a place! If you sit
up at the bar they serve you buckets of oysters and shuck them right there in
front of you. The bar is more like a
trough and everything just gets washed or “raked” away. The four of us put away about two buckets –
at least 3 dozen in each bucket! Debbie
and I also had steamed shrimp. Yum! Our server or “shucker” I should say was a
young girl that was from Bentonville Arkansas!
What are the odds! Only about an
hour away from our home in Joplin! She
was really personable and we had a great time.
We left definitely stuffed! We made
it back to the boat just in time for a nap.
Then it was happy hour again and believe it or not – we cooked bubba
burgers on the grill. Another great day!
We took it easy Thursday.
The plan was for the guys to go back out in the dinghy in the
morning. They wanted to go back up the
Wekiva River. However, that didn’t work
out so well. They got out in Lake Monroe
only to have the motor quit. They had to
row back. Water in the gas was the
problem – with all the rain we’ve had we figured that water must have gotten
into Mike’s spare gas can. By the time
they got back we were ready for some lunch.
We decided to go to Jax’s for a late lunch and then on to Wekiva Springs
State Park (by car). That way they would
have seen the headwaters of the Wekiva River and the ending where it spills
into the St Johns. They would see how
clear it starts out. Hard to believe
that it can be so clear just a few miles upriver to only become murky and
swampy at the St Johns. We hung out at the park a couple of hours or so. And guess what – we made it back to the boat
in time for Happy Hour again! Surprise!
Friday morning we had to say our goodbyes. They had a long drive ahead of them that we
know all too well. It was really great
to see them. I hope they enjoyed it as
much as we did!
First thing Mike did was check out the motor on the
Whaler. With a change of the fuel
filter, bad gas and a shot of starting fluid it’s as good as ever. After hanging out and resting a bit – we
decided to check out the cruise night that is held every Saturday night at Old
Town in Kissimmee about 40 miles away.
Linda had told us about it and we owe her big time! It was a little hectic getting there with the
traffic but it was worth it. Old Town is
a fun little area that has an amusement park, several shops and bars and
restaurants. The cool old cars which are
from 1974 or earlier are parked all around the area. At 8:30 p.m. they all line up and parade down
the main streets. How cool is that! We even found a great spot in front of a bar
that had tables and chair outside! They
paraded right by us. The drive back home
wasn’t bad at all and we were home on NautiNell in no time. The rain even stayed away!
Now we’re hanging out on Sunday afternoon (July 27) not
doing much. Mike has a few odd jobs to
do before we leave here. Ray and Linda will
be back here this next weekend. Looking
forward to seeing them. Guess I’ll end
this for now. But stayed tuned!
Till next time!
Admiral “C”
No comments:
Post a Comment