Williston, Florida

HH stay at the Pyper Kub restaurant adjacent to the Williston airport.

Gravytrain Gets a Bath

"She sure is big." When you fire up that foaming brush, it seems like you're scrubbing a basketball court. It's a good workout though, and she sure looked good afterwards.

Juliette Falls Golf Club

Tonight's HH stay is only 20 minutes away, so after I left the Pyper Kub, I went over and played this very nice course with overseeded fairways which were mostly green.

Homestead Park

After golf, I checked in for this HH stay. It's an open air entertainment and shopping venue. They have a corn-hole stadium with 10 lanes, axe throwing, bar, candy store, wine store, cigar store, and more. HH guests stayed at the other end of their huge parking lot.
1/25/24

Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing

HH stay. I've been an NHRA Drag Racing fan for the past several years, since a few friends came out to Denver and took me to the Rocky Mountain Nationals NHRA event. I was hooked. This huge grass field was available to Augie for ball-play. She wore herself out.
1/26/24

Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing

This monument is for the Drag Racing Hall of Fame. The statue represents an iconic crash that almost killed Don Garlits. He survived and won the national championship several more times. First man to drive over 200mph - now the record is 336mph. 😮

Oaks Golf Club

A couple of hours away, this HH stay was a funky little course with a really good restaurant. In the morning, when I climbed out of Gravytrain, the parking lot was alrleady full. I thought it was early golfers until I went into the clubhouse and found the restaurant packed! Yummy good breakfast.
1/27/4

Ocala National Golf Club

Tonight the Lions play in the NFC Championship game. To ensure that I nave no issues in watching the game, I have booked a room at the Equis Hotel in Ocala. Since it's only a short drive away, I played 18 to fill up the time before the game. Very poorly maintained, but you can tell that the courses bones were magnificent. To quote Rodney Dangerfield: "...you musta really been something before electricity."
1/28/24

Equis Hotel, Ocala

Just another hotel room. There's a 50 inch tv, and I getting wedged into football watching position. Beer's cold, chips are crispy, The Lions are ready!

National Football League NFC Conference Championship Game

Those of you who watched the game might understand why I made this reservation in Vegas during halftime... and why I canceled it right after the game. A friend and I went to the NFC championship game in 1991, which was the Lion's last appearance. We both reserved rooms in Vegas for the Super Bowl. Now you know why the Lions lost. Jinxity jinx jinx.🫤

Pyper Kub (again)

For my second visit, my new friends offered me access to their deck, WiFi, and a power connection.

Pyper Kub (again)

This is the co-owner of the Kub. He is retired Navy (but pretty cool anyway 😉). He was an air traffic controller on Navy carriers from the end of Korea into Vietnam. Very gracious host. I'll be back... soon.

Laurel Island Links

Looped a few miles back into Georgia for his great HH stay. I arrived around noon and easily played 18 holes in about three hours, then got a choice camping spot right next to this little pond.
1/30/24

Francis Lake Golf Club

Also in GA, this course doesn't over seed their fairways, so the dormant Bermuda is completely brown. I actually find this kind of ly easier easier to hit that the same ly in lush green Bermuda. 
2/1/24

Francis Lake Golf Club

Second night in a HH Golf stay in a row. Lake-view camping again tonight.

Monticello Florida

Spending two nights visiting with a previous Kalamazoo co-worker. He's now a journeyman performing musician and all-around bon vivant. I intended to get a photo of his t-shirt, but forgot. It said: "I gotta see the candy first. Then I get in the van. I'm not stupid!" Great to spend some time with you buddy!
2/2/24

Monticello Florida

I sat in with a regular Thursday night meeting of the "old guitar codgers." Might encourage me to start playing again.

Back to The Pyper Kub 

Augie was happy to get back to Carol and Dave. Another night boondocking at their cute little restaurant, but this was a rainy night, with a pretty good line of thunderstorms settling in over us around three am.
2/3/24

Homosassa, FL

We traveled over to Florida's "Big Bend" (right where the scrotum joins the penis), and the stormy weather followed. Came here to visit "River Safaris & Gulf Charters." The main draw of this HH stay was to take an airboat ride. Not only was there rain, but wind too. The airboats were beached for the day. 🫤
2/4/24

Brooksville Country Club

Stormy weather is in play for one more day. This HH Golf Course is a fairly pedestrian course with a five hole stretch of amazing holes! 12-16 are played in, out, and around an old quarry. The rain came just as I was teeing off on the back nine, sprinkling for a few minutes and seeming to stop.

Brooksville Country Club

For the entire stretch of quarry holes, it rained. Hard. Hard enough for me to breakout rain pants, hat, and gloves. But every storm shall pass...
2/5/24

Waypoint Bar and Grill

The next day was a gorgeous, sunny Day. I wad headed down toward the Tampa, Clearwater, St Pete, Naples metroplex - or maybe "retirement-plex" to visit another collection of friends and family. I had a few days of hitting random HH spots scheduled, but missing the airboat ride in Homosassa was still eating at me. While I was doing my own eating from the "Taco Tuesday" menu at the Waypoint (excellent, BTW), I decided: That's it! I'm going back! Homosasa here I come (again)!
2/6/24

River Safaris & Gulf Charters.

My chariot awaits! This beauty has a big ol' V-8, the guzzled a full 10-gallon tank of gas on our 1.5 hour tour (🎼a 1.5 hour tour...). But rather than the weather getting rough, it had become a bright, sunny day - near 70. It was a little chilly, but still a wonderful speed-fest through the barrier islands and sand bars!

River Safaris & Gulf Charters.

The water levels are historically low in the region, so we were not able to fly over the sawgrass like they did in the old "Lincoln Vale of the Everglades" 50s TV show that I loved as a kid, but we did find ourselves in the middle of a pod of dolphins, who wanted to play in our wake... too cool.

River Safaris & Gulf Charters.

They also have two gators (big one is over eight feet) in a pool near their parking lot. I took Augie out for her bedtime constitutional wearing my head lamp. While she was getting her work done, I pointed my eyes (and headlamp) toward the pool... four very creepy bright eyes were looking right back at me, or maybe Augie?

River Safaris & Gulf Charters.

Lincoln Vale of The Everglades

Wata natural! I think I may have a little Lincoln Vale in me. Don't I look like a natural? 🤣
2/7/24

More Cousins

Another set of snowbirds in Venice FL. We had a great visit including a trip to the beach at Siesta Key. Always great to dip into these guys' life! Now I know where they live - they'll hafta move, or bar the door! 😉 

Into The Gulf

If I look straight ahead, I'm looking across the Gulf at South Padre Island. Thanks to my Cousin for showing me a great time!

2/8/24

Maria's Garden

Tonight, I'm in Punta Gorda, FL. This HH is a very wild Nursery and Garden store. Maria is a trip. She is somewhere between 40 and 80, about 5'4", 95 pounds, and an amazing ball of pure energy. To the untrained eye the joint looks like a plant junk yard, The place has about 10,000 plants strewn about with little obvious order - but she knows what, and where they all are! I bought the little cactus in the foreground for Gravytrain.

2/10/24

Superbowl Sunday

I wanted a HH stay where I would have a good viewing experience, or at least good signal to watch the game. I chose the 301 Brewery in Sebring, which was a bit out of the way, but available. It turned out to be a bit of a washout. They had several screens, but they were all pretty small, and the only seats close enough to see them were barstools. I had a great burger tho, and watched the game in Gravytrain. Didn't have a great signal, but it was mostly fine.

2/11/24

Sanibel Island

I had plans to visit a friend on Sanibel Island where he is working on rebuilding his parents home after huricanne Ian. We got calendars crossed, and his parents were there with other family members, so he was too busy to spare me any time. That's cool - I didn't want to be in the way...

My First Cracker Barrel Stay

... but this left me scrambling to find a place to stay for a night before the Naples/Marco Island KOA. I had read that Cracker Barrel restaurants have taken up the "RVs Welcome" banner from Walmart, which very rarely allow overnight stays anymore. I called to be sure, and was told "yep, come on down honey," so I did. The above photo is why they'll eventually stop allowing it too. There were about 30 RV's in the lot when I went to sleep, and probably 50 when I woke up, taking up 75% of the parking lot.

2/12/24

Naples/Marco Island KOA

Three nights here provides me the opportunity to rest and recharge my batteries - literally and figuratively. It lies smack-dab in the middle between these two tourist destinations. It will also be a good base from which to get together with a college pal and his wife, who are frequent visitors to the area.

2/13/24

Marco Island Like a Boss

My friends took me to one of their favorite spots (Snook) on Marco Island, which was rebuilt after Hurricane Ian, then back to Naples, where we continued to drink at one of their regular dive bars...

Nightcap

...then to the penthouse bar at their hotel to cap of a "fun in the sun" day! Thanks guys!

Naples/Marco Island KOA

Today was spent walking Augie in search of a proper ball-throwing range. We finally found a wide strip of grass next to a low-traffic road. It wasn't ideal, but between a 3-mile hike and about 20 minutes of ball chasin', I finally managed to wear her out. Then I took Biscuit out for a spin.
2/14/24

Naples/Marco Island KOA

Laundry day! I also filled both of my propane tanks, and gave Gravytrain a good inside cleaning.

Naples/Marco Island KOA

With all that accomplished - I hit the pool to commune with my demographic (oldies), and work on my tan.

'Nuther Night at the Cracker Barrel 

You can't beat the price! Gravytrain tucked in while I eat chicken and dumplings. I've always wanted to like Cracker Barrel food, but I can't quite pull it off.

Golden Gate Farm 

This was an HH stay with full hookups for $45/night It's about 15 miles outside of Naples, so it's a bargain at that price. I'm here to kill two cool, mostly rainy, days.

Golden Gate Farm 

Shared my campsite with these very friendly dudes.

Golden Gate Farm 

Very friendly.

On to the Keys!