Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival

We have come to Nunnellon to join in with the famous Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival. We have been able to meet up with our friends Don and Sandy, who introduced us to the Log Cabin. Withlacoochee is set in a large Live Oak Hammock, right alongside the Withlacoochee River, which is a crystal clear spring fed river absolutely teeming with bird life. Morning and evening displayed stunning sunrises and sunsets. The weather has been fabulous, clear blues skies, temperature in the 70’s, low humidity, although it has been chilly at night, getting down into the 40’s (!) on our last night. As usual everybody has been very friendly. We have soaked up bluegrass concerts on Friday and Saturday from 1.45 until 10..00 and Sunday afternoon. After the concerts I have wandered round doing a bit of jamming in what they call ‘Campground Pickin’. Some local groups have campfires, where they put three or four bits of tree trunk round and just burn it slowly for the whole weekend, rolling them closer as they burn away. Everyone gathers round them and sings and plays, passing jars of ‘White Lightnin’ corn liquor round. (No I didn’t, I still value my eyesight). Sandy, Don, Sally and I met up and had a couple of jams. On the Saturday night we ate together, then jammed then talked until 2.00 in the morning ! A good job the clocks were going back that night.

We really enjoyed the music and are starting to appreciate the quality of some of the singing. It is difficult to single out any band in particular, but a group called David Peterson and The 1946 Band were so good that we actually bought all their CD’s.

Another band called the Gary Waldrop Band sang with some beautiful harmonies. The headline band was the Grascals, who were also excellent. We found some new friends in Leon and Margaret, who were sat behind us. He is from Melton Mowbray, but his mother ws from Middlesbrough ! and she is from Germany. Hi to both of you if you are reading this blog.

I had to spend time taking photo’s of the sunsets and sunrises, though I don’t feel that I managed to capture the beauty of the place. Because the campground was on the edge of the river some lucky campers were able to have their rig right on the waters edge. When I talked to some of them I discovered that to get the waterside pitches you had to more or less inherit them, one lady I spoke to had been coming when the pitch was used by her mother, she got it when her mother died. Some people have been coming to this festival for more than 20 years. The ground is only used during the 2 festivals it has each year in March and November. Sally and I both agree that this has been the best Bluegrass event we have been to.

A travelling life means that we have to move on and sadly we have had to say goodbye to Don and Sandy on Sunday night. Because we are going to travel north soon it is unlikely that we will ever see them again. They have both been ever so friendly and made us feel very welcome as strangers in a strange land. I know that you both will be reading this at some time, so even if we do not see you again you we will remember you in our hearts for a long time, and who can predict the twists and turns of life that await us. We may yet meet you again, even if it is over the internet.

Goodbye to Ron and Carol

Wednesday saw us having pancakes for breakfast and a leisurely time as Ron and Carol packed their cases and we drove down to Orlando Airport. We allowed plenty of time and the check in went very smoothly. We all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Sally and I had really enjoyed having Ron and Carol with us, it has certainly made this holiday special. It was great to be able to sit out with them in the warm evenings and play and sing together. We just hope that they have enjoyed it as much as we have.

Tuesday: Oktoberfest in The Villages

As it would be Ron and Carol’s last full day we tried to reamin laid back and not plan too much.

So at 8.30 I took Ron onto the water in a canoe, where we paddled round the reeds and banks looking for alligator, we found one large one resting on the bank. Ron of course wanted to go up to it and pat it on the head, but thankfully the alligator knew of the dangers of this and as we approached it slowly sank back into the water. Still it was nice to be down at the water level looking at the wildlife. Ron professed to not have canoed since childhood, but he was pretty handy with the paddle.

After breakfast we were forced to get in the truck and go down to Grumpy’s for an ice cream. This is the local ice cream parlour and we each had a small cone, which we just about managed to finish. A quick smooch round some shops for last minute presents meant that it was now time for a late lunch. We had decided on the Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill, a well known eatery in these parts. The girls had the Oakwood Special Chicken and we lads had to suffer the 12oz New York Strip Steak. Our steak duly arrived, but not with the chicken, still they said it would be along in a bit, some little mix up at the chef’s end. After about a minute the manager came and apologized, and offered us another drink (declined) and the chicken then appeared, the manager continued her apology, though it didn’t seem particularly bad service, as we were all able to eat together. Both the chicken and steaks were excellent. At which point the manager returned, aplogised again and said that we would not be charged for the chicken meals, because of the poor service. We didn’t complain.

After lunch we took a leisurely drive to The Villages, because today was Oktoberfest 07. This meant a parade down the main street and round the square, a band in the square, lots of concession stands and a general German Feel to the day.

We took our place on the roadside and watched as the parade came past, led by a black and white (sheriff’s car) from the 50’s wailing out its siren, a pair of shire horses and cart with the frau’s in blouses and chaps in lederhosen, followed by an ‘Oompah Band’. This was closely followed by The Villages Cheerleaders (none of them under 60 I am sure, but all wearing miniskirts and tight top), a variety of decorated golf carts, mostly with German flags, driven by more blouses and lederhosen carrying big steins. Then came the Twirlers (batten twirlers, yes all appeared over 60, short skirts, high heels and high kicking all the way down mainstreet), more golf buggies, then The Villages Cloggers (we would probably call them tap dancers) (yes all appeared over 60, short skirts, tapping and high kicking all the way down mainstreet), more golf buggies. Another group followed who were the ‘Bavarian Mothers of Marrion County’. At the rear a Lone Piper, skirling away (?). All good fun.

We followed the parade to the packed town square, where the ‘Oompah Band’ had installed itself on the bandstand and were underway with all manner of German Beer Drinking songs. Which as the evening drew on featured such Keller swinging greats as Kansas City and You Ain’t Nothin’ But A Houn’dog. But they were great to dance to. We managed to get seats in the square and joined in the fun, found out that the people next to us were called Ellouise, Connie and Jerry, Ellouise had an Irish Mother, Connie had a Scottish father, etc. As the light faded we wandered around the square, bought an ice cream and some funnel cake, found another couple of bands playing in side streets, did a bit of shopping. Back in the square we were treated to cabaret by The Villages Cloggers and the Twirlers, as well as some traditional hand clapping, thigh slapping German folk dances. By about 8.30 the party was starting to wind down so we returned to the trailer having had a great time. Nothing like a nice quiet day.

Footnote: The Villages

The Villages
The Villages (sorry to repeat myself from the previous journeys blog) is a community which has been designed and built for the over 50’s. It’s population is now about 100,000. It features such things as a network of golf buggy roads, so you don’t need to drive anywhere, it has a very active social programme, there are more than 250 clubs and associations. It also has the town square (well 2 actually, but we only use one at a time). We were visiting Lake Sumter Landings. The town square is the focal point of The Villages. It has the surreal feel of being a cross between Main St Disney, The Truman Show and The town center set for Back to the Future. Streets and pavements are immaculate, lots of trees and flower beds, The shops and houses are pastel coloured shutter board construction, with veranda style frontage over the sidewalks, the Villages Radio is played from speakers mounted in lampposts, there are very few cars, but dozens of golf carts, everyone you meet makes eye contact and says ‘hi’, which is an invitation to stop and spend a few minutes passing the time of day. There are expensive shops and reasonable restaurants. There are 2 main streets that are not much more than 100 yards long, which come into the square. On one side is the lake (large, but quite artificial), boardwalk, pier, non-working, but visually attractive sail barge and lighthouse ( at about 50 miles possibly the most distant lighthouse from the sea). The town square itself is surrounded by trees, little raised areas, with chairs on, bordered with flowers and greenery and some booths where you can get a drink. In the square there is a band stand and a couple of hundred patio chairs strategically placed so that you can just sit and relax. Many of the buildings round the square are cafes o r bars which have outdoor seating anyway. When you enter the square you feel that the pace of life has just gone down below walking speed. This is a natural meeting place, encouraged by having a band play on the bandstand. Everyday between 4.00 and 9.00 you can go down and listen to the band, have a drink, dance (couple or line dance, or just do your own thing), chat, or just watch the sun go down over the lake.

Monday - Homosassa Spring State Park

Today we drove over to Homosassa Spring State Park to see the wildlife refuge, so that we ould make sure that we ha seen all the Florida animals. We saw Florida Panther, Bobcat and Black Bear, which we had missed in the wild. We saw a much clearer view of the Manatee as they were being fed in the beautifully clear water of the spring fed river, Ron and Carol also watched the Manatee from the underwater viewing area. The Ranger giving the talk this time was much clearer and the Manatee were much more responsive.

We also went to the animal encounter and all touched a Virginia Opossum and a large Indigo Snake.

Returned home weary but had a steak BBQ, which we ate outside, with a campfire, but had to come in sharply when we had a quick shower of rain. It is now much cooler, Sally had to put on a cardigan briefly. I don't know if that is good or bad.

Sunday Move to Lake Griffin State Park

Up bright and early today to pack up and move on to Lake Griffin, a campground that Sally and I had been to before and very much enjoyed. The journey went very smoothly and we set up in plenty of time to relax, walk around the park, shop, to sit out, have a BBQ, a campfire and a sing around. We even had time to phone the kids!! Who all seem to be well (poor Emma has an upset stomach though).

Saturday - KS Day 2

We have just spent an excellent day at the KSC, this time we concentrated on the Shuttle and the Imax cinema. We had a tour round a full scale model of the shuttle and it is surprisingly large inside. The Imax cinema showed 2 3D films, one about building the space station and the other about what people did on the moon. It was very realistic. Carl and Ron went to meet a shuttle astronaut, we had a cup of tea.

The weather was pleasantly warm, so in the evening we had a beefburger BBQ and a sing around, before retiring to bed in preparation for our move on tomorrow.

Kennedy Space Center

Today we all visited the Kennedy Space Center, we decided to take the Up Close tour, which takes you past the launch pads (sadly no shuttle on them), but it was really interesting (Sally said that as well as me). This tour finished at the Saturn V Building, where they have one of the few remaining Saturn V rockets laid out and displayed in its own building. It was fascinating to see the history of the lunar landings come back to life. We were also able to touch a piece of moon rock.

We are retuning on Saturday to see the rest of the Space Center. Hope that it is as good.

Getting a view on Dropshots

I have now uploaded a few of our pictures onto my dropshots account
www.dropshots.com/terryfy

On Safari Again

Today we wanted to see more of the Titusville area to the North. Our first stop was at the Prichard House – a famous local landmark. To us it looked remarkably like the house on the hill from Psycho.

Moving on from there we called in at the Merrit Island Wildlife Refuge Park, which surrounds the Kennedy Space Centre. While we were there we went to the Mannatee Obervation Deck, where we had a good view of up to four manatee swimming in a channel which linked 2 lakes. While we were there a pod of dolphins swam up the channel. Then Ron spotted a racoon foraging near the waters edge on the far bank of the channel. When we left there we followed the backwoods trail (another word for rough road) along the Inlet shore line, looking for alligators and wading birds. The trail was about 5 miles long and for about 4½ miles we saw nothing much of interest apart from Osprey hunting for fish in the inlet, we must have seen about 6 – 8 pairs as we drove along. Circling slowly, hovering and then plummeting down to grasp a fish in their talons – very impressive sight. Eventually Carol spotted our first alligator, floating with just the top of its head out of the water. After that Ron spotted a large alligator basking in the sun about 20 feet away from us. This was followed by seeing a huge alligator sunning itself. In all we saw 5 alligators up close. We also saw a number of waterbirds, ibis, glossy ibis, little and large herons, a wood stork and egrets. On the roadside we saw several hawks, which we have identified as Roadside Hawks.

We were also hoping to see Roseate Spoonbill. We had a casual conversation with a lady in a car coming the other way. When we mentioned this she, somewhat condescendingly said something like “Oh you poor dullwitted foreigner. My dear boy, its far too early for Spoonbills”. 100 yards after she passed us Carol spotted a Roseate Spoonbill flying by (yes I have the photo evidence to prove it). This was a very enjoyable day, although a bit long and tiring.