Busy Busy Weekends in The Forest

Since arriving at Big Scrub we have learned that Friday, Saturday and Sunday can be busy busy busy on The Trails and in the campground. Below is a photo of the "Swamp Crawlers" Jeep Club driving through the campground last Sunday. Loved those Jeeps! We had a head-on collision on The Trail Saturday that sent one victim to the hospital. Last night we had another head-on collision thankfully with damaged ATV's but no injuries. That adds up to three head-on's in the month since we have been here. YIKES! Careful out there folks. Kathy, JC, Billy and I took a trail ride out to Rodman Pond and took some photos for my brother. He and his friend, Dean, used to fish Rodman Pond many many years ago. It was a great ride. Did I say "MANY" years ago? It is still a great place to catch large fish! Billy and I made an unplanned trip to Tampa and I was honored to attend a Tea Party (complete with hats) with Jackson. What Fun!?!? As a final note the chocolates were not a part of our Tea Party, but Billy and I stopped off at the Russell Stover Outlet Store to pick up some "cheap" chocolate Bloopers! The Outlet Store is next door to the Russell Stover factory, so the deals were fantastic. That was a very fun stop; however, we do not need to be stopping by there often......we devoured that box of chocolates! Oh My! We are off to The Villages to accomplish our Thanksgiving dinner shopping. We have a campground full of campers, hunters, and ATV'ers arriving this week, so we will be enjoying Thanksgiving Dinner with our fellow Campground Hosts, Patsy and Jimmy, as well as Kris (our Ranger) and anyone else who wants to stop by in The Scrub to visit. "Life Is Good Today!"

Another Weekend in The Forest

Billy and I went riding on The Centennial Trail on Thursday to begin gathering firewood for campfires through the winter. I finally received the dog goggles (Doggles) for Maggie. I have been having to put my hands over her eyes while riding the ATV in order to keep branches from damaging her eyes. She thinks she is REALLY working now. On Friday, Patsy (our OHV Volunteer Host neighbor) and I went to The Villages for a little shopping therapy. We stopped off at Brown's Country Market, Best Buy, Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, and PetSmart, and then enjoyed lunch at Five Guys! Yum. On the way home we stopped off at Doe Lake Campground in The Forest to pick up some ice. There was a large horse group staying there in the campground for the weekend, and I thought the horses were beautiful! Below is a photo of Patsy as she was returning from dragging The Trail last Thursday. The photo of the two children are two of our precious little riders who were out riding The Trail today with their parents! After spending our Saturday enjoying SEC football, we had a very active Sunday afternoon. There was a head on collision on our Centennial Trail and a lady was reportedly badly injured. All worked out well....our Ranger arrived just in time and he and Billy jumped on the ATV to go out on The Trail to locate her while I waited at the campground for the ambulance. They somehow how encountered another rider who was a paramedic so they were able to transport the victim off the The Trail to the campground just as the ambulance arrived. (The Trail is too narrow for the ambulance.) It is frightening how quickly an accident can happen on The Trails, but I think she will be fine. Tomorrow, Billy and I are meeting Kathy and JC for lunch at Square Meal and then going to ride The Trails at the north end of The Forest. Closing for now......."Life Is Good Today!"

Hurricane Sandy in The Forest

Thankfully we were spared the wrath of Sandy; however, we have been experiencing high winds for days now. When will it ever stop? After our visit to Tampa our internet has been down until today, so we have been rather bored in the forest. Too windy to even take a walk. We stopped off at Publix in The Villages on our return from Tampa. You can tell by the photo below that I was highly amused by the number of souped up golf carts in the parking lot......what a life! On Friday morning at 7:30 I drove to the Off Highway Vehicle Center to take the ATV class. I was fearful of my bum shoulder hampering my participation, but I was able to spin that 4 wheeler out like a pro! Yea me! On the hour drive to the OHV Center I passed a dead Black Bear by the side of the road. So so sad to see them hit by cars. We had a few campers this past weekend-a real nice group from the Jeep Club who had a blast for two days and two nights driving the Jeep trails through The Forest. After our campers departed, on Monday Billy and I made the complete 45 mile loop around The Centennial Trail. There were some mighty big trees down from this unrelenting wind. Today it is too windy to even consider going out on the trails, so we drove in to the Lake George Ranger Station to pick up our mail. YIPPEE! Life in the fast lane. Jackson and I decorated his Halloween pumpkin as Elmo and then he phoned on Sunday night with a big surprise for us....he is going to be a big brother!!! Now, I feel compelled to really begin sewing; however, my shoulder is killing me from the 45 mile trail ride yesterday. Yikes! We are so excited to be expecting yet another grandchild. They are just the BEST! They are our reward for not killing our children! Also, below is a photo of Jimmy and I preparing to leave the campground yesterday to work on The Trails. I had a great photo of Billy but.............."Life Is Good Today!"

Forest Friends

We have spent this past week meeting up with our Forest friends....some old, some new. Kate and Tom stopped by to spend an afternoon with us and Kathy and JC arrived from Wisconsin last Sunday. We met them early Monday morning at one of our favorite diners in Salt Springs - Square Meal. We even ran into our favorite waitress while there. Patsy and Jimmy moved over to our campground so we have some steady "neighbors" now. Yesterday I had to drive in to a laundry mat (45 minute drive) to pay $3.75 a load to use the washing machine. Got to find another solution to the laundry issue. For dinner one night this week we enjoyed a huge plate of shrimp that Kyle and Bret netted. Yum Yum Yum.....So you see...."Life Is Good Today!"

Forest Friends Stop By For a Visit

How delightful to find ourselves back in The Forest! Patsy and Jimmy (OHV Trail Volunteers from the OHV Center) stopped by for a visit yesterday. They will be moving over here to Big Scrub with us next week. We had one camper last night.....Yippee! After dinner we road a few miles on the Centennial Trail to check it out. Going to be much hard work to bring the trail back up to "snuff." We made a trip into Silver Springs to Wally World yesterday, and plan to go out to eat at one of our favorite Forest Diners for dinner tonight. Billy is out pressure washing the bathroom, and I have been hiking around the campground picking up trash. This morning I walked old Forest Road 13 and 14 in front of the campground. I found a treasure trove of bear footprints coming and going in and out of the campground all along the roads fronting the campground. Made me stand up and pay attention. We now have the Bear Pepper Spray out and ready to fire. Bret Bush stopped in this morning to say hello. Great to see our friends once again. Checking out for today and wishing everyone a great weekend because...."Life Is Good Today."

Our Trip Into Big Scrub......

was thankfully uneventful yesterday. As we returned 8.9 miles down the dirt road and deeper into the Forest to our Big Scrub destination I felt the freedom of being back into the "great outdoors!" Maggie slept fitfully last night as did I at first. As soon as lay down my head I heard a loud noise right by our bedroom window. Mind you...we are back into the dark dark darkest of nights without benefit of street lights out here. I quickly rammed a sharp elbow into Billy's side to go investigate the LOUD noise. Of course he didn't hear a thing. He stuck his head out the door and said that he didn't see a thing "out there." I begged him to look again as the noise was loud. Low and behold our rather heavy outside rocking chair was knocked completely over....bear, racoon, possum? Your guess is as good as ours. Then our electricity began surging until it finally completely shut down. Billy went outside with his trusty flashlight (the floodlight is now charging) to investigate. We couldn't get the power back on so we slept through the night with the generator running. Billy cancelled his shrimping trip this am so he wouldn't leave me stranded alone out in the boonies without electricity. As soon as the sun came up Billy was able to find the main circuit breakers and you guessed it....We have power and Life Is Good Today!

Great Farewell Dinner in our Neighborhood with.....

Bruce and Fran and most of our neighbors. Again, we all laughed until it hurt, and a good time was had by all. We will be heading out tomorrow for Big Scrub Campground at Ocala National Forest. Will miss our friends, neighbors and fishing in Panama City; however, we are looking forward to being back together with our Forest Friends!!!! Will share a few photos with you of our new property (across the street from our sticks and bricks house) and and fantastic neighbors. Then I shall call it a night. Life is Good Today.