Monday Rainout

 Normally on Monday mornings we are laughing and having fun with our friends beginning at 7AM. As we were drawing near to the courts this Monday morning, a text came in from Rene stating that the courts were soaked. Boo hoo! Knowing rain was in the forecast, I was not entirely surprised, but it won't surprise you in the least that we all were disappointed. At the same time (no pun intended!) it was super dark outside, the result of this weekend's time change of which I am not a fan. We were enjoying it being light at 6:30 in the morning. Now it will be ages until that happens again. While chatting with Matt and Tom on Saturday afternoon, I mentioned the time change and how Marco Rubio is leading the charge to go back to year-round standard time. Europe and England, according to him, are thinking of doing the same.

All that to say that we said our goodbyes to the gathered group, drove home in the dark, ate a toasted bagel,  cleaned the bathrooms, and now here I am. 

SO FAR behind!!! Wakulla Springs and Toreya State Park. We went to those two places and they've never been featured in Camera Crazy before so cannot be left out! It was weeks ago now! We've been birding and enjoying it so much and while I'm dying to show some of the cuties, well, maybe just one.

Technically two, but aren't they just so darn cute together? Bruce even got a shot of them kissing; I will admit to being jealous! The colts have arrived!! For those new to this space and unfamiliar with that term, it means Sandhill Crane babies. Adorable with a capital A!

So back to that tiny trip that has taken up a bit of space in this blog already, from Apalachicola we drove North about seventy miles to check out a State Park that we knew had some challenges that we wanted to see for ourselves. Indeed, as advertised, the campground was seriously damaged by Hurricane Michael.

The entry drive mentioned on the sign looks like this.

I know the signage might be a little hard to read, so I will just tell you briefly that it details the incredible damage in just a few hours. 90% of the tree canopy was felled! Over 500 trees were downed along the very road you are looking at!! Whoa....

It is no wonder the campground is very wide open. 

It is a safe bet we will not be traveling 350 miles to camp here any time soon. Just on the other side of the spindly trees lies the Apalachicola River as it makes its way to the Gulf of Mexico. The park is named for the extremely rare Torrey tree which looks like this:

We found it not far from where Bruce is standing which is in front of the Gregory House.

Should any of this interest you, here's a link to the park website with all the info. 

In an instance of not believing everything you read on the internet, after leaving Torreya, I looked at the map and decided to head to Quincy. Why Quincy? Because it was relatively close? While there was some of that, after choosing it as our next destination, I came across a lengthy article relating the charms of Quincy, Florida. To that I say, not so fast!

This is how lively the supposedly charming downtown looked at lunchtime.

From what we witnessed, this was the neatest thing situated in the historic downtown.

To the people that live in Quincy, I am sure it is much beloved, but as a casual traveler, I think we missed the charm. 

Where to next?

Studying the map, Wakulla Springs State Park, (a shortened version of the full name) was not too far away so let's go there. Here's the link to that park.  It's been a very long time since last we made a visit to this park. I mean a really long time. Dating back to Matt's first year at FSU, which I am thinking might have been nearly 30 years ago!! He has always been one for seeing and doing and back then was no exception. I imagine Jonathan was with us when we went to visit him at school. and he suggested we see the springs. Speaking of Matthew, he is once again traveling for work and is in Duabai, UAE,  as I type. Which is to say, that's a pretty long way from his days in Tallahassee! 

Not only was there an available room, but it was pretty inexpensive in the grand scheme of things. That's saying a lot for the current economic climate we are living in. As the cost of every single thing in life escalates, sometimes it is the little things that shock me the most. Say for example, Bays English Muffins, which I much prefer over the Thomas brand. Yesterday, the cost was close to $4.00!! To put that into perspective, just last year it was $2.50. When that happens to every item in your grocery cart, it is shocking to say the least. Our homeowner's insurance just went up by a third, we received notice that our storage unit went up nearly $40 a month, and the list goes on. I cannot imagine how some people are getting along when it comes to feeding a family. 

Lastly, on this subject or runaway inflation, which sadly will probably be revisited many times throughout this year, Karen told us this morning that a turkey leg at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City was $18!! Unbelievable is what I have to say about that. 

The drive through the forest to get to the lodge was lovely and peaceful with barely a car sharing the road. Before long we arrived and it was just lovely.

I remembered next to nothing about the place but somewhere, deep in my brain, I have the faintest vision of our boat ride on the famous springs. Sadly, all five, yes you read that right, all five boats were out of commission!! While I was really looking forward to the guided trip, it was not meant to be. We did enjoy a late lunch in the beautiful dining room, shown here in the evening.

Much to our delight the food was scrumptious and if it weren't so close to dinner time, I would have had a bowl, instead of a cup, of this delicious gumbo.

We found our cozy room, complete without a television, a good thing in my opinion. This desk lamp!! 

Need I say more? As a matter of fact I will say more about the room. All of the artwork was bird related. We were among our people!!

Bruce took a little nap while I went out to see the springs.  I could not tell whom was trying to impress whom as these FSU students jumped into the chilly water on a late February afternoon.

Pretty impressive form wouldn't you say?

I then took a little hike through the woods where I encountered lovely tiny wildflowers of every hue. 

Blooming trees too.

Say yes to Dogwood trees!

As to the lodge itself, it is super cool with many amazing details like this chandelier we found in the sizable library located on the second floor. 

The lobby is ornate with every surface decorated in some way. How about the size of this fireplace??

The arched windows...gorgeous!

By all accounts the boat tour is fantastic which means we will have to find time to return to this charming lodge set along the shores of one of the world's largest and deepest freshwater springs.

The drive home? Until we reached I-75 it was lovely and peaceful, with both of us sharing the driving duties. Once on I-75, not so great. 

The number of trucks on the road, all of them carrying expensive goods is simply mind boggling to me. Eventually, as we saw that the Turnpike was horrible as well, we got off and found another way to get home. Holy cow there are a lot of people in Florida! Make them stop! Funny how it was the prevalence of air conditioning that did us in. Not really funny, as it is to be expected, but still, to think that on this trip we visited the town where it first began. Here's what the Census Bureau has to say about Florida's growth. 

As regular travelers in our state, we could have told them that already!

Until we meet again, when I will finally get back to my birdies, I remain,

your friend,

Gail