DON AND SARA SCHULTZ OREGON WI


Sara and I left home at Oregon, WI with our traveling dogs (Rudy & Ollie) for Homestead, FL, south of Miami, our winter base for the month of December on Nov. 17. We had an early Thanksgiving dinner at our home with Grandma Schultz (94 years) our two daughters, Amy and Polly, nephew Chris Schultz, Chris’s friend Katie and Amy’s friend Rick and Polly’s friend, Jim. After a quick trip to the Twin Cities to help Polly replace her dying car, (we found a 2000 Honda CRV in mint condition 30,000 miles) we were on our way.

Our first stop was at the Mobile Suites factory in Howe, IN to pick up a few parts for our winter home, a 36 ft 5th wheel. Our
next stop was Muncie, IN where we made a surprise visit to Don’s college roommate, Rich Harris. Rich has been an administrator at Ball State University for many years and was his usual entertaining self. We had a great meal at a local pub, with good Wisconsin beer on tap and wonderful conversation. Rich informed us that he is retiring, moving out of his house and getting married all in the next six months. We boon docked in a Wal-Mart parking lot and were off the next morning to the Great Smoky Mountains. Raining.

The great Smokys were beautiful despite the rain and overcast. We toured the famous Cades Cove and saw a buck deer in the meadow of the Cove. The park entrance communities of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg were a tremendous disappointment. They were a traffic nightmare of strip malls, amusement parks and tacky souvenir shops. Pigeon Falls is the home of Dollywood and one of the all time worst examples of urban planning know to man. Raining off and on.

We left the next day for South Carolina. We found a beautiful park on the border with Georgia north of Augusta at Calhoun Falls. Despite the fact it was in the Strom Thurmond Wildlife area, (we are still reeling from the election results) we enjoyed the view over the water. Sara and are good to go for about 4-5 days in any one location without any hookups. We can carry 100 gal of fresh water and have 50 gal capacity for grey water, (showers and dishes) and 50 gal for black water (for you know what) and a 5000 watt generator for electricity. The generator is only used to power the microwave and watch the evening news, (depressing lately) listen to a favorite CD or run the in house vacuum system. Sara vacuums often!!! Is this camping? Still raining.

Our next stop was Savannah, GA a city we always enjoy. We walked the dock and sat on the famous “Forest Gumpf” bench in one of the many squares. Finally we saw the sun for the first time since we left home and enjoyed 80’s. After three nights in Savannah at Skidaway State Park under a canopy of oak trees draped with Spanish moss and acorns clunking on the roof of the RV, we left for St. Augustine, Fl. We actually ran the air conditioner abit to get rid of the humidity. 70’s and sunny.

We celebrated Thanksgiving in St. Augustine with a turkey dinner at a local restaurant for $7 a plate with all the trimmings. What a deal and no dishes!!! Sara and I have much to be thankful for and we know it. We are well aware of the fact that this type of travel could all end with a serious health problem and cherish every day together.

We had last visited St. Augustine over 35 years ago and marveled at the growth. We toured the historic district and avoided the many malls (161 stores in one) on the busiest shopping day of the year.

After spending Thanksgiving at St Augustine, we drove toward the center of the Florida peninsula to visit the famous Ocala National Forest. Part of the attraction of the forest is the fresh water springs that are popular for scuba and snorkeling. Having just been certified for basic scuba, Don was anxious to “hit the springs”. In Wisconsin the water gushing from a spring is very cold, in the 50’s, but the Florida springs are a constant 72 degrees. While Floridians think that is still cold, to Packer backers like us 72 degrees is pea soup. Don tried Glen Stevens Springs which pours out an amazing 72 million gallons of crystal clear water from the depths per day. The spring was limited to snorkeling but what an experience. The main spring is 35 ft deep but the bottom can be viewed as though it were 3 ft deep. Don can safely free dive (no tanks) to about 30 ft and spent about an hour and a half exploring the spring. School of mullet, bass and blue gills abound against a background of waving weed beds and white sand bottoms. He swam over a fresh water ray that was about 2 ft across. After the experience, it was back to the campsite for ribs on the grill and an afternoon nap.

We left Ocala after two days and moved on to the northern edge of Lake Okeechobee, one of the largest fresh water lakes in the US.

On Tuesday Nov. 30 we left for our December home base of Homestead, FL. Homestead is 30 minutes south of Miami, 15 minutes from the east entrance of Everglades National Park and 2 hours from Key West.

The evidence of the storm damage has been limited to downed trees and signs, with several homes still sporting “blue tarp” roofs.
Semis of shingles pass us everyday on the roads but clean up is progressing in this part of Florida. Natives are happy to see tourist dollars returning to the Sunshine State.

More Later Sara and Don
https://pbase.com/ravenoaks/0405_oregon_to_homestead


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