Still in Florida But Not For Long!

I was reminded yesterday that I hadn't posted since January 2. Then I read my friend Patti's post in which she mentions that her husband, Mr. Brilliant (you'll have to read her book to find out how he got his name) had been blogging for a year and encouraged her readers to try him out. I had been to his site before and couldn't understand a word (he's that brilliant) but I did it again and found that he had posted over 400 messages in 2008! That's like, okay I'm just guessing here (they said I wouldn't have to do math in order to blog), but that's more than once a day! I am ashamed and having been chastened I promise to do better. Unfortunately, I am not brilliant, or even close to it, which is why you only hear from me sporadically. If I had something to say, you can be sure, you'd hear about it.

Yes, I'm still in Florida and I'm bored. Not that there's anything wrong with Florida, if you like palm trees and sunshine and Saw Palmetto and sand and lizards and FLAT. No, I'm NOT complaining/whining/etc...but I have wanted to go WEST since I bought the motorhome and I am still just about as far EAST as one can get. That has all to do with temperature and my decision to forego worrying about keeping all my water lines and tanks above 32 degrees, which means, of course, that I must hang around the warm places. And this year even central Florida has seen some hard freezing (if you didn't know, you will next time you buy oranges).

So here's what's been happening since Jan. 2. First, I realized that I needed to have my annual GYN exam and mammogram (and that I should have done it in November, before I left Asheville, duh) so I set about trying to set that up as quickly as possible. I got the exam pretty quickly at Planned Parenthood, but I couldn't get the mammogram until Jan. 26, so I decided to spend the intervening two weeks in south Florida. Unfortunately, I didn't take time to investigate my camping options and when I arrived all the local state parks (my preferred cheap/nice places to camp) were full, which had never happened before. Since my contact/host couldn't park me at her house, I was left with one option, at $45/night. It was like spending the night in a used car lot. I could read my neighbor's newspaper from inside the RV.

So the next night I went to my favoriate free place to camp,

where I proceeded to back into a utility pole, one of those that is encased in a cubic yard of concrete. As usual (yes, I've done this before but only into a wooden fence...and a nice soft tree) it was the spare tire carrier that made contact. But this time I gave it a good whack and it "bounced" off the back window, shattering the glass. The next few moments were spent trying to imagine that what had just happened hadn't really happened. You know, when you think if you just close your eyes and then open them you'll wake up?

Skip to the happy ending: the next day an auto glass place just up the road in Ft. Pierce had the glass I needed, handled all the insurance stuff, charged me only my $100 deductible (for a $485 bill) and I was on the road again at 3 p.m. Now I know why the previous owner had a back-up camera installed. Too bad it hasn't worked since I bought the RV. I guess I'll add that to the list of things I will buy when I get some extra money (I might have to get a job at the next Wally World).

Next stop: Titusville, where a new contact met me to enjoy a few hours of wildlife watching: an 8-foot one and a 6-foot one.

(Taken with a zoom lens, rest assured.) Then on to New Smyrna Beach where I was able to park in my host's yard and where I spent a very nice couple of days with some less exotic but more hospitable wildlife.

A pair of Sandhill Cranes

and some other nice folks.

The highlight of the two weeks was an overnight stay at Blue Spring State Park and an hour spent communing with manatees. In winter, West Indian Manatees move into Blue Spring from the St. Johns River because the water in the spring run is a constant 72 degrees. What lovely creatures. They make one feel absolutely at peace.

I hope you can see that the large animal in the photo is showing her belly, and that it is her calf just above. What an incredible moment.

This is the same pair and in this photo you can see the scars on the cow's back, injuries caused by a run-in with a boat propeller. Each of the individuals at Blue Spring has been identified, and named, according to these scars and other physical characteristics.

Today I am in Gainesville, on my way north to visit the state capitol in Tallahassee, then westward through Pensacola, across the lower little hangy-down parts of Alabama and Mississippi and landing in New Orleans, where I intend to volunteer for a month before heading up to Memphis to visit my siblings. That's the plan, anyway. The best part of this adventure is having the freedom to revise the plan as needed. I am, after all, Queen of the World.