Wildcat Lake Roadside Park

This past week, I got to go to St.Petersburg with Gary. Neither of us like going there, but things needed to get done at his rental house. Since I'm his home away from home, I always get to go now that the house is occupied and Gary can no longer sleep in the house. I've showed you pictures of me sitting on the driveway in St.Pete before, so I won't bore you with that again. Instead, I thought I'd share some pictures of a little roadside park that Gary and I stopped at along the way. It's called Wildcat Lake. It's on State Road 40 between Ormond Beach and Ocala. We have passed there many times before, but finally decided to stop for the first time. As you enter from the highway, to the right are the restrooms and a parking area with a grassy area leading down to a tiny beach. On the other end is more parking and a boat ramp with a dock. Gary parked me under the trees there, and had a sandwich after taking these pics. There's not much to the place, but it's a quiet area to hang out in and take a break from the road. It's actually kind of pretty. Too bad they don't have a camping area. I'd be all over that. Not far away is Juniper Springs and Big Scrub Campgrounds, both of which are located in the Ocala National Forest. A future trip could include a night or two of camping in one of those places. If I whine long enough, maybe Gary will take me there. Then again, if I whine too much, I might end up on eBay. YIKES!!!

Blue Spring State Park, Part 2

Day two at Blue Spring, and everyone was up early. Bob went out in search of coffee for himself and Jen. Gary went out for ice and breakfast. With their missions accomplished, Bob and Gary returned. Bob and Jen wanted to rent a kayak and do some sightseeing on the river before the crowds got heavy, and Gary was planning to take the 10AM river tour on the cruise boat. The three of them left, and me, the tent, and the Nissan Figaro held down the fort. I don't think there was a single person passing by our campsite that didn't stop and look at the Figaro. That little car is a real people magnet. In the early part of the afternoon, Bob and Jen returned and went out for awhile in the Figaro. Gary returned too, and headed out for some antique shopping in town. Later in the day, everyone returned, had some dinner, and hung out and talked. Jen spotted a turtle near the restrooms, and took a picture of Gary with it. Those turtles can live to be REALLY old, but I'll bet Gary still has a few years on him (HA-HA!!!). Everybody was tired from a long and active day, so bedtime came early. This would be our last night with Bob and Jen. On Saturday morning, they would be heading to Winter Park (near Orlando) for a car rally and to meet up with another Figaro owner. Gary would be heading to Daytona for the spring car show at the speedway. As for me, it would be an exceptionally quiet day. No Gary, no Bob, no Jen, no tent, no Figaro, and nobody stopping by to oogle over that cute little car. It would prove to be a good day to hang out and enjoy the campground. It ended up raining on Saturday afternoon, but it was over by the time Gary got back. Gary watched some videos on Saturday night, and we packed up and headed back to St.Augustine on Sunday morning. This was probably our last actual camping trip until the fall, but Gary continues to sleep in me every night in the garage. I know with the ever increasing heat and humidity, that those days will no doubt end soon as well. But no complaints from me. We have been a lot of places since the weather got cooler last October, and Gary has spent more time with me than ever. I'm a happy little Serro Scotty. I'll keep you posted if and when things happen around here, so stay tuned.

Blue Spring State Park, Part 1

There was lots of activity going on here last Wednesday that involved little old me. Gary was loading camping stuff into the van, and then I got hitched up and my lights checked. A camping trip was apparently going to happen, but to where? On Thursday morning, we left the Green Acres Garage and headed 85 miles south to Blue Spring State Park. We had never been there before. It was well worth the relatively short drive. Gary had booked campsite number 10 for us, and I knew as soon as we pulled in that we were going to like this place. The wooded campsites were pretty and roomy. Not long after getting me set up, Gary was heading to the restroom when he saw this highly unusual little car coming down the road. The car stopped at the restroom, and Gary talked with the owners (Bob and Jen from Wisconsin) about it. The car is a Nissan Figaro. It was made in 1991, one of only 20,000 built, and one of only five known to be inside the United States. This particular car was once owned by actress Rose McGowan. In talking with Bob and Jen, Gary found out they had wanted to camp in their tent at Blue Spring, but the campground was full. Since Gary is a gearhead, he had an immediate bond with Bob & Jen, and asked them if they would like to pitch their tent at our campsite if the park would allow it. They were thrilled. The park had no problem with us sharing a site, and Bob and Jen and their little Figaro moved in. The picnic table was moved to my left side, and the tent was set up right next to my door. Bob and Jen were SOOOOOOO nice. They own a fleet of cars and a van that ironically is named "Toaster". How about THAT? It was fun to have company. After setting up their tent, Bob and Jen headed out to do some shopping, and Gary went out to explore the park. Bob and Jen and Gary went down to the spring on Thursday night to watch the abundance of fireflies that are seen for a limited time in the area. Most of the fireflies hang out by the spring, but a few were in the campground area too. I had never seen them before. That was REALLY cool. We were all tired and turned in fairly early. We sure had fun on our first day at Blue Spring.