Finally Florida

Last night we were enjoying a sound sleep when at midnight we both woke up to the sound of rain (or so we thought) hitting the windows above the bed.  As we listened, this was not a normal rain hitting the side in one continuous beat of drops; instead, the drops went from one side to another then back again and keep repeating that pattern of rain.  It was like someone was outside spraying the side of the motorhome with a hose moving from one side to the other and back again.  Carol opened the curtains and discovered that the sprinkler system was running and spraying our motorhome back and forth from one side to another.  This went on for about an hour before it stopped.  Management must have not realized that Site A-1 would be occupied last night.

Our dining area window.

Here is the culprit sprinkler that "showered" us with "rain" last night.

Welcome to Florida....we did not stop at the welcome center for a photo opportunity.

We have been pleasantly surprised at the gas prices.  Yes, the prices are more than we want to pay; but, the prices are the same as Decatur and sometimes lower.  The lowest we have paid is 3.29 a gallon in Alabama.  

 

We drove US 19 from I-10 south to Inverness.  Signs say this route is the Florida-Georgia Parkway.  It is a four-laned highway but it goes south through small towns and there are occasional stop signs and lights.  We like to drive it when we are going to Inverness.  It has pretty rural scenery and we are not driving so fast that we can't enjoy sightseeing. Hurricane Idalia came through this part of Florida in late August.  Clean-up is still taking place as these pictures show.

Clouds look like rain but no rain today.

This is the road that we had to drive to get into Holder Mine Campground just outside of Inverness.  

Improvements have been made since we camped here two years ago.  The entrance and exit to the campground have new gates that require a four-digit password in order to open the gate.  I hadn't noticed the password on my reservation e-mail so we didn't know about the change.  Fortunately, a park employee drove by, saw our dilemma, and explained the new system so we could enter.  

We like to camp in this campground because of the beautiful moss-covered trees and large concrete pads on which to set up the motorhome.  Each site is well-spaced and large.  We have stayed here three times and each time our site was #26.

After we got set up, we unloaded the car and drove to Jim and Karen Peyton's home.  They are old friends from Decatur.  We caught up with what is going on in our lives and the lives of our kids and grandkids.  We then drove around the area and ate supper at Cedar River Seafood.  Our appetizer was small nuggets of fried alligator.  Against my better judgment, I was encouraged to try a bite or two.  It really didn't taste bad but it was not my cup of tea so I let the rest of the group finish them off.  Everyone had some kind of fish except me and I had chicken!  We spent the evening talking and they taught us a new game of cards called "golf."  It was fun.  I hope we can remember how to play it when we get back to Decatur.  Back to camp at 11:30 p.m.