Thanksgiving At Sertoma

Thanksgiving at Sertoma starts early. The Ranch provides the turkey and everyone brings a ‘covered dish’ to contribute. They start on Wednesday evening cooking the turkeys in giant BBQ’s. They stay up all night to cook them and people come and go all night to talk and pass the time with the team of cooks. Everyone is welcome to come and get dinner, then the music on the stage stats at about 3.00 and goes on util about 10.00.

Due to the kindness of Connie and Jim we had been invited to the Soggy Bottom Bunch thanksgiving dinner, which was centred round Connie and Jim’s and Brenda and David’s RV’s. Connie had got up at 6.00 to roast a 22b turkey in a giant electric roaster, by 12.00 people were starting to gather at their RV. Everyone helped to set out the food that had been brought. Turkey, Sweet Potatoes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, potato salad, hash potato salad, sweet potato stuffing, bread stuffing, two other stuffing’s that were indescribable. Loads of different salads, fresh fruit (yes with your dinner), Cranberry jelly and sauce, apple sauce and pickles. You couldn’t get a sample of everything on a single plate, you had to take at least two turns at the table, Let alone getting a lot of dishes which were particularly nice. After this we had to eat the desserts, apple pie, sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie and cherry pie. Brownies and bits.

The real joy was that Connie and Jim had opened their RV/home to us as complete strangers, we almost felt that we were part of their family. The afternoon moved on and we then got round to playing some bluegrass together. We finished at about midnight, though Sally went to bed at about 9.00, exhausted. It was another lovely day for Sally and me.

Thabksgiving Festival

Thanksgiving is the festival that all Americans take part in. It is always on a Thursday, the third Thursday in November. It celebrates the survival (not arrival) of the Pilgrim Fathers to Americas shores. They arrived and would have starved in the cold if winter if they had not been supported by the local Indian tribes. So after they had survived the winter and gathered food the next year they gave thanks for everything they had (a bit like our Harvest Festival). This has now become a huge festival, like taking a deep breath before the run up to Christmas. The concentration is on food and eating, not on giving presents. The centrepiece is always turkey and all the trimmings. With time with the family a high priority, it also has undertones of celebrating the huge and diverse family that is the U.S.A.

Wednesday 2 – So Here we are

We arrived at Sertoma Youth Ranch and found our little spot in the park – it is little as well, trailers are crammed in, but everyone is friendly. We setup, had tea I went for a wander, only to stumble on a group of people ‘pickin’, they foolishly asked if I wanted to join them, so I returned for the old guitar and Sally. We were made really welcome by the folks that were gathered there (about a dozen). We got on really well, they even forced me to sing and then wanted more! We got on so well that they invited us back to share Thanksgiving Dinner with them.

Wednesday – Today we leave

Today we leave behind a great 6 days of our vacation. It has been made great by the people we have met here. Little Joe and Dee, ex Tampa Bay cop and his wife, John and Mo, ex Tampa Bay cop and his English wife, Big Joe and Ann and his big boat, from Scott County TN. Jack and Rosie, the Italian Stallion and his lovely wife, Anita and Eddie. Tom and Lucy, from West Chester PA, were strangers like us but we had a great time getting to know them. Most of all Popeye, who drives round on his scooter making everyone welcome, he needs a special thanks for taking us on his boat all the way down to Suwannee and back, a real highlight of our vacation.

Tuesday – A sit around day

Temperature back up to around 80, humidity low, did nothing but sit round. Sit round the trailer, sit round the washing machine and dryers, sit round the swimming pool, sit round the campfire. – another great Florida day.

Down the Suwannee

Well, we made it. All the way to the mouth of the Suwannee River. We had a great time, five of us set out and cruised down the river. We loaded Popeye’s electric scooter on board and Sally’s manual wheelchair. Hooked up the GPS to the laptop and away we went, it was reminiscent of all sorts of boating adventures, Rosie and Charlie on the African Queen, Rosie and Jim on the canal boat ‘Ragdoll’, Toad, Ratty and Mole out on the river, Captain Pugwash on the Black Pig, we even had Tom (the cabin boy) and Lucy with us. There was even a flavour of the humour of Three Men (And Two Women) In A Boat, by Jerome K Jerome, to say nothing about the dog, which we did not have with us. We saw lots of alligators, jumping mullet, wading birds and Osprey. The weather was a very pleasant 75 ish. It took about an hour and a half to get to the little town of Suwannee. The town is a combination of roads and canals, so that almost every house has a car access at the front and a boat access at the back. We cruised through the canals and tied up at Bill’s Fish Camp and Bait Shop and then wandered through the town, which took about 10 minutes.

This was in preparation for the highlight of our visit, a meal at Sarah’s Bar and Grill. A sprawling two story wooden building with the grill upstairs (most living spaces in Suwannee are upstairs as it is known to flood). We had a delightful meal of local specialties such as Hamburger and Philly Cheesesteak, which were quite good. Tom had the Grouper Sandwich. Outstanding were the sides of Yam nuggets and Pea Salad. But it was a lot better than the picnic we had prepared in case Suwannee was closed on a Monday. We returned to the boat and cruised our way back up the Suwannee River. Our concern being that the tide was now at a low ebb and the river, though wide, is very shallow in parts. However we did not encounter any sand banks and returned to a hero’s welcome (mixed with some incredulity that we had accomplished the venture without falling off the edge of the world, and relief that we had returned at all) from the Old Salt Dogs we had left on the quayside that morning. We finished off the day with a good old mug of tea and a sit round the campfire.

Exploring the Suwannee

Yesterday Popeye again took us on the river on his boat, with some other friends, Tom and Lucy. We again went up river to the Manatee Springs State Park and saw manatee and some birds. Manatee Springs is about 2 miles from Yellow Jacket Campground. As we returned a plan formed in my head, a plan so audacious and awesome that would make Bill and Ted’s adventure look like a trip to the corner shop. What if we were to explore downriver! As far as the mouth of the Suwannee! This would be an expedition of major proportions, taking a whole day, involving the production of a picnic. I shared this with the rest, who were taken aback by the intellectual leap that had been created before their eyes. Being of almost sound mind we sought out the Old Sea Dogs who inhabited the Yellow Jacket Campground, who universally said ‘ohh’, accompanied by a sharp intake of breath similar to a plumber when asked to give a price on changing a tap washer. (please use increasingly ludicrous and fake Cornish/pirate accent) ‘You be careful of that river, it be a dangerous place’, ‘Watch ye out for the sand bar’, ‘Be ye sure that you leave Turkey island well to starboard’, ‘ Make sure ye have a spare shear pin in case of weed’, ‘you’ll be doomed, doomed, doomed’, ‘If ye be swept out into the Gulf there be serpents, leviathans and Krakens awaiting, not to mention the ghosts of Spanish sailors still searching for gold lost when they foundered in the Spanish Main’. Anyway, our minds were as one – to Suwannee Town we would venture, way down upon th4e Suwannee River. Getting out my trusty GPS parchment I reckoned it was 19 miles, so it would be an adventure. Read on for when we return.

Saturday – Manatee Springs

Today we planned to visit Manatee Springs State Park. This is where the fourth largest natural spring in Florida is. It outputs more than 100 million gallons per day of pure clear water at 72°F. But its other big attraction are the manatee that come up the Suwannee River to winter in the warm spring waters. First we went to where the water bubbles up from under the ground, it is a hole which is about 40 feet deep, you can see to the bottom, and about 60 feet across, surrounded by bald cypress trees it looks very pretty. Then we took the short walk along the stream to where it drains into the Suwannee river. At the mouth of the river there is a viewing platform where you can see the manatee grazing in the clear water. We stood for about half an hour watching 16 manatees swimming up and down. The water is so clear that you can see them very easily. It was a very peaceful and relaxing experience. While we were there there were a number of people asking question of the Rangers. One person asked what you call a group of manatees, such as there was here. The ranger was at a loss and said he did not know. I suggested that you could call them anything you like as they can’t hear you when they are underwater.

After returning to the car we went shopping for food and had a look at the Christmas decorations in Wal-Mart, some of them are very attractive.

We had decided to invite Popeye to dinner with us, but as soon as we came back to the campsite we were ourselves invited to a chicken dinner by the crowd who had made us so welcome. So we have spent a very pleasant evening round the campfire chatting and eating their baked chicken with rice and bean casserole. Once again we are overwhelmed by their hospitality and generosity, although we did manage to entice them into sharing our cherry pie, which we had just bought from Winn-Dixie.

Thursday Moving on down the Suwannee

White Springs (Hi Walter) is a lovely town, but having been there for almost a week it was time to move on. We had really enjoyed being at Kelly’s RV, where they had made us very welcome.

The decision was where to next. We know we have to be down at Dade City for Thanksgiving so we have a week. We decided that we would like to see more of the Suwannee River, so we followed it down to near its mouth. We have ended up at a campground called Yellow Jacket Campground. It is on the west side of the river and there is not much here, except the beautiful river fringed by cypress, palm and oak trees.We were worried that we may not like it. However we have a site right on the side of the river and it's lovely. The best part about it is the people. As soon as I went into the office someone introduced themselves. This was followed by someone helping us drive into our site. We started talking (as usual) and before we know it we are sitting round their campfire, talking away about family etc. Next day Popeye, who has a broken ankle, took us for a ride up the river in his lovely, very comfortable, pontoon boat. We were fortunate enough to see a group of manatee in the very clear water, then a large alligator sunning itself on the bank, as well as various herons and kingfisher type birds. This evening we were invited to go with them for a meal to a local grill, so we took some folk in our van. There were twelve of us sat round a big table, all talking away. They have really made us feel at home here. Great company, beautiful scenery, good day.

Wednesday Suwannee River State Park

Today we drove over to the Suwannee River State Park. This park is at the confluence of the Suwannee River and the Withlacoochee River. I think it is probably the most beautiful of the State Parks we have seen. There is a mix of Live Oak, Slash Pine and other varieties of tree. The cold spell we have had has really set the leaves to changing colour. It was a bright clear day and the river moves past quite slowly. The park has swing chairs placed at an overlook to the river. We sat there for a while and it was most peaceful and tranquil. It was a pleasure just to be there. We wandered round the park and looked at the remains of the earth works put their by the confederates in 1863, now all overgrown and in in the woods, then we walked down to the river. It was lovely

Day in White Springs

We went back to the Steven Foster State Park this morning to visit the places we did not have time to see over the weekend. It was a lovely warm sunny day, perfect to go down to the river gazebo and gaze up and down the Suwannee River. While there, two canoes came round the bend in the river and a voice hailed us saying, 'Didn't you dance contra with me?' It was a lady, Nancy, and friends, who had danced for two nights with Terry at the festival. They were still camping on the Park campground as they were very involved with the organisation for the weekend. We went down to the canoe launch area and thus ensued a long conversation about conservation issues in Florida.
About an hour and a half later we wandered down to see the remains of the sulphur spring which had been very popular in the early part of the 20th century. The high concrete walls still remain although the spring has not flowed for at least 15 years - caused by the water table dropping. We then went to the local hotel for a buffet lunch. What a fascinating place - built in 1903 out of stones from the river and bricks imported from Georgia- full of old furniture and artifacts. They had, in showcases, ledgers with guest signatures, one being Theo Roosevelt signed in 1913. We were allowed to go up to see some of the guest rooms - it was like taking a step back in time - rooms with high ceilings, wooden walls and period furniture. Very nice. Not bad value at all - £10 for us both (including tip), for as much as you could eat of Southern cooking - corn bread, grits, fried chicken, chicken pot pie, banana dessert and fruit pies to name but a few of the dishes on offer.The salad bar was excellent.
We came back to the trailer for a rest as we are still tired after the hectic weekend.

Florida Folk Festival - a Warning

We have written about the Florida Folk Festival at some length, because it was a very special Weekend, with a lot of memories that we want to keep and this blog is our record of what we have done. Don't worry if you find yourself dropping off to sleep reading it, we don't mind at all if you are bored.

Monday

Collapsed, did nothing.

Sunday – Florida Folk Festival Day 3

Started with a visit to the Carillon Tower, a large building where they have hung a set of bells which play out Stephen Foster tunes. Inside there is a dome which has excellent acoustics and a 19^th Century Steinway Piano! Sally joined in with a Shape Note singing workshop (pic). Shape Note Singing is a form of choral singing of hymns, different shape were used to identify the name of the note. The overall effect is quite amazing, Sally really enjoyed it. This was followed by a local gospel bluegrass group who sounded great in the dome(pic). An early lunch saw us at the Azalea stage listening to some Irish music, great fid

dler. Following lunch we planned to do a couple of jam sessions, the first was a gospel jam, followed by a ‘State Park Rangers Florida Song Jam’. As we were sat a number of Rangers (they run the State Parks, nice green military style uniform) arrived with instruments and more or less surrounded us. We thought that they would do a few campfire songs as the only way they could get to perform was to book their own workshop for the folk festival. How wrong we were, each of the Rangers took it in turns to perform, many of them songs they had written themselves. The standard was very high and dispelled completely the notion that Rangers were just ‘suits’.

The one place we had not visited was the ‘Riverside Gazebo’ Stage. This is Gazebo (open sided) built right down by the Suwannee River. During the festival it had been mostly used by local North Florida acts. It has been a growing concern of people that Florida is becoming over developed and losing its natural habitats and water resources. Protest songs are one of the main genres for Local Florida Folk. The Suwannee is the focal point for these environmental issues. The Stephen Foster Park is on the banks of the Suwannee and brings together the people, the protests and the place. The Riverside Gazebo becomes the focus for all of these concepts. On the final afternoon of the festival, (the unofficial closing ceremony), the gazebo slowly fills as people come to listen to local singers, a lot of the big name musicians come to support, almost as homage to the fight to save Real Florida Values. As the sun starts to set, the final item, in a by now packed Gazebo, is always ‘The Old Folks At Home’ (Way Down Upon The Swanee). Stephen Foster’s most famous song, Florida’s State Song and the anthem for environmental protestors. It was one of those moments that are quite spiritual in nature, a moving experience to be a part of. (I will try to write about the environmental concerns that are becoming very important some time soon)

The evening was filled with more dancing for me and the final concert for Sally. By 8.30 we were both absolutely worn out and came back to the Trailer.

We had enjoyed a fabulous musical weekend. We had met a lot of very nice people, too numerous to mention, but if they read this blog, thanks a lot for being so friendly.

Saturday – Florida Festival Day 2

As we got so cold last night, we prepared ourselves even better for this evening, and took the quilt from the spare bed with us to the festival. The days have been beautiful, warming gently and by midday it is up into the 70’s (above20 C), but those clear skies have meant cold nights.

As we parked, Mary parked next to us and that started a good conversation with her and her friends. I wandered off to watch the Cajun workshop, but it was too crowded to join in, nice music though. Sally beetled off to watch the Irish dancing. I went to learn more about Bluegrass Jamming Etiquette from ‘Doctor Donna’, very interesting. After the session we met up with Harvey from the Briar Pickers and was able to give him the CD of the Cleveland Bays. While we were talking, Dr Donna comes up to chat to them as well, but she was not looking well and she mentioned that she needed to take a Vitamin B12 injection, could anybody administer it for her. Well that started something as I called Sally (Sally takes a daily injection of VitB12) and she came to help and by the time we had finished we were firm friends with Dr Donna and her partner, but missed the rest of the morning.

After our picnic, we went to an ‘Old Time Music’ Jam session. Now to the undiscerning eye Old Time Music (OTM) is the same as Bluegrass, but oh no. A circle is made (the same as BG), but on choosing a song everybody plays the melody, there are no instrument breaks. As bluegrass is dominated by the banjo, OTM is dominated by the fiddle, predominant key is ‘D’, as opposed to the ‘G’ of bluegrass. It also does not need a bass, and allows such instruments as dulcimer and autoharp. OTM is played for contra dances.

It was fun and much more like band sessions with The Ridings. I had a good chat with a really nice fiddler called Ellis, who was local to White Springs (Hi Walter, [I will explain to others later]) and has a horse so he takes part in the Olustee re-enactment as a cavalry man.

In wandering around various stages, we met another lovely couple called Pete and Lou. Pete plays the fiddle and is ardently an OTM man, so I was able to find out a bit more about it. It seems that bluegrass is an offshoot of OTM, starting with Bill Monroe in 1946. OTM tries to keep to original tunes from the 17^th to 19^th century.

We now had a few moments to search out Walter and Merri,( the people who had invited us to their party via a comment on the blog) as he had said that he could be found at the Beer Tent. Merri was not there, but Walter welcomed us warmly and we had a pleasant chat for a bit. It seems that he found our blog because he lives in White Springs (Hi Walter) and has linked to Google to send him an email every time his town is mentioned and as we mentioned our arrival earlier this week, he very kindly invited us to meet him.

Over dinner we again, by coincidence, sat with Gene and Deanna and got along really well. He had been working in Uganda in the 70’s, when Sally was there, so we had a time of reminiscing.

I then disappeared to the Contra dance in the evening. Had a really good time. All the dances are long ways dances with two couple sets, with one couple (the inactive couple facing, or contra to, the active couple) and they are all progressive, with you keep with your own partner. It was great fun. In the first dance I danced with a girl from Tallahassee called Vicky and we stayed as partners for the evening. She was very nice. Her boyfriend didn’t like dancing and poor Sally, who loves dancing, is not able to.

Sally (warmly wrapped in the quilt) went to the evening concert at the Amphitheatre and listened to some good music. After the dance I took Sally back to the Trailer and then returned to the festival campground for the jam sessions. It was an amazing experience, walking through the campground, pitch black, no street lights, subdued light from the tents and RV’s crammed in together, every few yards a space with the glow of a campfire, with perhaps a dozen people huddled round, singing or playing, drinking or talking. As you walk through the campground the sound perspective changes every few yards, distant singing, or close up instruments, banjo, bass, fiddle, fading and swelling as you walk through. It put me in mind of what a civil war encampment may have been like. Had a good time jamming round one of the campfires, with some of the members of Briar Pickers and others. A very good day.

Friday Florida Folk Festival Day 1

The day started early and cold. We have hit a cold spell. The temperature at night is dropping to almost freezing and we are not prepared for cold weather, so we have had to sleep with the heating on, but we got as many warm clothes as we could carry for the anticipated cold evening ahead. We arrived as early as we could.

The programme is a 56 page booklet describing the performances on 15 stages at half hour intervals plus the craft, environmental and food activities. So we just took it as it came.

Our first stop was for Appalachian Clog dancing, very nice. I tried a bit, but rubber soled trainers do not make for easy movement on the floor. This was followed by catching up with some friends we had found at the Withlacoochee Festival, known as the Briar Pickers. They are a very nice 6 piece band who play a variety of good music, much of it of British origin. After that we had a wander round, looking at the food and craft stalls, having a hot drink and talking to some people from Jacksonville. After that we went and watched the Cross Creek Cloggers perform some more Appalachian and Irish clog and step dances. Each of the stages (apart from the Amphitheatre, which was the gently sloping side of hill with a stage at the bottom) was a sideless marquee set up amongst the oak trees of the State Park. You could find the various stages and event areas by walking on paved paths through the forest, which Sally’s wheelchair could negotiate. After lunch, we moved from stage to stage soaking up the atmosphere, enjoying the warm midday sunshine. Sally was able to take a rest.

Although there are many food concession stands in the festival, the main meals are provided by a number of local churches. Each church has a small section of a large canopied building. You can get a complete main meal for $5.50 (now about £2.60). They cook most of the food at home and bring it in for the festival eaters. They all serve a similar menu of ‘Southern Comfort’ cooking. Fried chicken, chicken and veg cooked with pilaf rice (pronounced pee-laf), chicken with dumplings (imagine a pale yellow chicken casserole with large, but empty ravioli pillows), shrimp gumbo (shrimp in a vegetable and tomato sauce, mixed with rice), or smoked ribs. All of which come with 2 sides, or vegetables. Collards (anything from turnip tops to chopped spring greens), black eyed peas, sweet potatoes, beets (beetroots), mash, field peas, baked beans (smoked and very sweet). Followed by sweet potato or pecan pie.

After our culinary treat we returned to the Heritage stage where I was able to take enjoy doing (yes doing) some contra dances, which Sally watched for a while before going to the evening concert. I was knackered, but it was great fun. I then joined Sally to watch a brilliant guitarist called Sam Paccetti. By about 8.30 we were too cold (yes too cold !!!!!!!) to stay any longer.

During the day, we, of course, ran into a number of people to talk to. It’s funny how even with a large number of people you will often see the same people again and again. We had run into a very nice couple at Withlacoochee Festival, Harvey and Jane. They had introduced us to their band, The Briar Pickers, and we kept seeing them as they moved from venue to venue. In the evening they played the music for the Contra dance and they very kindly gave us the CD of their music and the music they play for the Battle of Olustee Re-enactment. Very enjoyable it is too.

We shared a meal table with a very nice couple from Melbourne (East coast Florida, not Australia, sorry Kirsty), Gene and Deanna. I also met a lovely lady called Mary, who I partnered a couple of times in the contra and we chatted for a while.

You may have noticed that, in our comments on the blog, we had an invitation to a party from Walter and Merri. When we drove home, we passed the house, but were too cold and tired to stop and join in, but decided we would make contact later on.

Florida Folk Festival - A Warning

We have written about the Florida Folk Festival at some length, because it was a very special Weekend, with a lot of memories that we want to keep and this blog is our record of what we have done. Don't worry if you find yourself dropping off to sleep reading it, we don't mind at all if you are bored.

Terry getting up close and personal with the wildlife

Yesterday, Terry was fastening his jeans up, when he felt something wriggling in one leg. To our amazement, out shot a small lizzard and hid in the corner of the trailer. Don't know who was most upset - Terry or the lizzard!!! The poor thing was very carefully put outside. Don't know how long it had been in the trailer - it may have been transported from Withlacoochee for all we know, so it may be miles from it's home and family!
Later, we were tramping round a trail at Olustree ( will explain all later) when I noticed that Terry had some spider web trailing from his sweatshirt. As I mentioned this, Terry turned round and I screamed as I saw a very large - at least two inches wide - spider sitting on his chest - Terry nearly had a panic attack as he frantically brushed the spider off and he was dancing up and down as I sat shuddering. Spiders are my pet hate!!!! Terry always laughs at me when I get him to remove any spiders at home, but I didn't see him laughing this time!! So, Ron does not have the monopoly of getting up close and personal with the Florida wildlife any more!!
Olustree is a fascinating State Park. It commemorates a battle ( the largest in Florida) between the Confederates and the Union during the Civil War. Over 10,000 soldiers were involved, The Union losing nearly 2,000 and the Confederates losing about 900. The Confederates won this battle in 1864, as the Union were trying to stop Floridians sending beef, salt and other supplies to their army further North. Unfortunately, it didn't affect the final outcome of the Civil War in 1865.
I always feel that war is so futile when you consider the vast number of people affected by war, soldiers and their families etc. But, I suppose, you cannot alter man's inability to coexist peaceably with his neighbour, when some people want power and to take over what other's have.
Today, Thursday, we have had a very quiet day, reading, doing the washing and soaking up some lovely sun. We had a quick reccy. round the State Park where the festival is being held, to suss things out. A peaceful day.

Oops - Dropshots address was wrong

Some of you may have tried to access Dropshots and failed. My Dropshots account should actually be www.dropshots.com/terryfy.
Mostly it is pictures of sunsets/rises that I have taken. I will try to add more.

Shopping day

The weather has changed - up in the high 70's F during the day with brilliant sunshine and low humidity but plummeting to 38 last night. Brrr, it felt very cold last night and this morning till the sun warmed us up!!! We even had to put the heating on to warm our old bones and an extra layer on the bed.
Today we shopped for food for the week and weekend as are planning to be at the Florida Folk Festival on Friday, Sat and Sunday and don't expect to have time for shopping in case we miss anything! We have bought an electric fan heater to save using the propane gas as electricity is already paid for in the campsite fees and I (Sally ) bought some warm clothes as I only had a limited supply of warmer things. Carol, you would be OK if you were here now - you could wear the things you found too hot!!!!
We found an IHOP, International House of Pancakes, and had lunch there, having pancakes, of course, as pudding after having siloin tips with onions and mushrooms, with hash browns and eggs first. Delicious!
We might go down to the camp fire tonight - the owners of the park light a huge bonfire each evening at the fire circle and it's a good way of meeting other campers.There is also a hall for socialising in and they have a library where I can exchange books. Carol and I had taken books to exchange but didn't manage to find a site where we could do this.
All in all a very quiet day.

Bonfire Night

(Written at 8.30 pm USA time on Mon 5th November)

Just realised that it's Bonfire Night in the UK and we are missing our usual trip to Stockton Riverside to see the firework display. Shame!!!!
We have moved up North to a little place called White Springs in order for us to attend The Florida Folk Festival next weekend. It's being held at the Steven Foster State Park - now who's Steven Foster I hear you say - well he's the chap who wrote the song 'Suwannee, how I love ya, how I love ya, my dear ol'Suwannee', 'Way down upon the Suwannee River', and surprisingly 'Beautiful Dreamer'.
On our way to get some information from the State Park, after we had set up camp, we went over the bridge spanning the Suwannee River. It was quite something to actually see the river we've sung about so often. Actually, it was just a typical small river like so many others in Florida - edged with pretty trees, but exciting never the less.
There was a fascinating old wooden building dating from 1865 in the centre of White Springs. It was a two storey construction and looked just like the buldings you see in westerns but painted white instead. We realised it must have been built at the end of the Civil War and was a store as the original sign was just about visible painted onto the front.
White Springs is so small that it doesn't even have anywhere to eat out, so we drove (about 10 miles)down to White Lake for a steak.

Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival

We have come to Nunnellon to join in with the famous Withlacoochee Bluegrass Festival. We have been able to meet up with our friends Don and Sandy, who introduced us to the Log Cabin. Withlacoochee is set in a large Live Oak Hammock, right alongside the Withlacoochee River, which is a crystal clear spring fed river absolutely teeming with bird life. Morning and evening displayed stunning sunrises and sunsets. The weather has been fabulous, clear blues skies, temperature in the 70’s, low humidity, although it has been chilly at night, getting down into the 40’s (!) on our last night. As usual everybody has been very friendly. We have soaked up bluegrass concerts on Friday and Saturday from 1.45 until 10..00 and Sunday afternoon. After the concerts I have wandered round doing a bit of jamming in what they call ‘Campground Pickin’. Some local groups have campfires, where they put three or four bits of tree trunk round and just burn it slowly for the whole weekend, rolling them closer as they burn away. Everyone gathers round them and sings and plays, passing jars of ‘White Lightnin’ corn liquor round. (No I didn’t, I still value my eyesight). Sandy, Don, Sally and I met up and had a couple of jams. On the Saturday night we ate together, then jammed then talked until 2.00 in the morning ! A good job the clocks were going back that night.

We really enjoyed the music and are starting to appreciate the quality of some of the singing. It is difficult to single out any band in particular, but a group called David Peterson and The 1946 Band were so good that we actually bought all their CD’s.

Another band called the Gary Waldrop Band sang with some beautiful harmonies. The headline band was the Grascals, who were also excellent. We found some new friends in Leon and Margaret, who were sat behind us. He is from Melton Mowbray, but his mother ws from Middlesbrough ! and she is from Germany. Hi to both of you if you are reading this blog.

I had to spend time taking photo’s of the sunsets and sunrises, though I don’t feel that I managed to capture the beauty of the place. Because the campground was on the edge of the river some lucky campers were able to have their rig right on the waters edge. When I talked to some of them I discovered that to get the waterside pitches you had to more or less inherit them, one lady I spoke to had been coming when the pitch was used by her mother, she got it when her mother died. Some people have been coming to this festival for more than 20 years. The ground is only used during the 2 festivals it has each year in March and November. Sally and I both agree that this has been the best Bluegrass event we have been to.

A travelling life means that we have to move on and sadly we have had to say goodbye to Don and Sandy on Sunday night. Because we are going to travel north soon it is unlikely that we will ever see them again. They have both been ever so friendly and made us feel very welcome as strangers in a strange land. I know that you both will be reading this at some time, so even if we do not see you again you we will remember you in our hearts for a long time, and who can predict the twists and turns of life that await us. We may yet meet you again, even if it is over the internet.

Goodbye to Ron and Carol

Wednesday saw us having pancakes for breakfast and a leisurely time as Ron and Carol packed their cases and we drove down to Orlando Airport. We allowed plenty of time and the check in went very smoothly. We all said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. Sally and I had really enjoyed having Ron and Carol with us, it has certainly made this holiday special. It was great to be able to sit out with them in the warm evenings and play and sing together. We just hope that they have enjoyed it as much as we have.

Tuesday: Oktoberfest in The Villages

As it would be Ron and Carol’s last full day we tried to reamin laid back and not plan too much.

So at 8.30 I took Ron onto the water in a canoe, where we paddled round the reeds and banks looking for alligator, we found one large one resting on the bank. Ron of course wanted to go up to it and pat it on the head, but thankfully the alligator knew of the dangers of this and as we approached it slowly sank back into the water. Still it was nice to be down at the water level looking at the wildlife. Ron professed to not have canoed since childhood, but he was pretty handy with the paddle.

After breakfast we were forced to get in the truck and go down to Grumpy’s for an ice cream. This is the local ice cream parlour and we each had a small cone, which we just about managed to finish. A quick smooch round some shops for last minute presents meant that it was now time for a late lunch. We had decided on the Oakwood Smokehouse and Grill, a well known eatery in these parts. The girls had the Oakwood Special Chicken and we lads had to suffer the 12oz New York Strip Steak. Our steak duly arrived, but not with the chicken, still they said it would be along in a bit, some little mix up at the chef’s end. After about a minute the manager came and apologized, and offered us another drink (declined) and the chicken then appeared, the manager continued her apology, though it didn’t seem particularly bad service, as we were all able to eat together. Both the chicken and steaks were excellent. At which point the manager returned, aplogised again and said that we would not be charged for the chicken meals, because of the poor service. We didn’t complain.

After lunch we took a leisurely drive to The Villages, because today was Oktoberfest 07. This meant a parade down the main street and round the square, a band in the square, lots of concession stands and a general German Feel to the day.

We took our place on the roadside and watched as the parade came past, led by a black and white (sheriff’s car) from the 50’s wailing out its siren, a pair of shire horses and cart with the frau’s in blouses and chaps in lederhosen, followed by an ‘Oompah Band’. This was closely followed by The Villages Cheerleaders (none of them under 60 I am sure, but all wearing miniskirts and tight top), a variety of decorated golf carts, mostly with German flags, driven by more blouses and lederhosen carrying big steins. Then came the Twirlers (batten twirlers, yes all appeared over 60, short skirts, high heels and high kicking all the way down mainstreet), more golf buggies, then The Villages Cloggers (we would probably call them tap dancers) (yes all appeared over 60, short skirts, tapping and high kicking all the way down mainstreet), more golf buggies. Another group followed who were the ‘Bavarian Mothers of Marrion County’. At the rear a Lone Piper, skirling away (?). All good fun.

We followed the parade to the packed town square, where the ‘Oompah Band’ had installed itself on the bandstand and were underway with all manner of German Beer Drinking songs. Which as the evening drew on featured such Keller swinging greats as Kansas City and You Ain’t Nothin’ But A Houn’dog. But they were great to dance to. We managed to get seats in the square and joined in the fun, found out that the people next to us were called Ellouise, Connie and Jerry, Ellouise had an Irish Mother, Connie had a Scottish father, etc. As the light faded we wandered around the square, bought an ice cream and some funnel cake, found another couple of bands playing in side streets, did a bit of shopping. Back in the square we were treated to cabaret by The Villages Cloggers and the Twirlers, as well as some traditional hand clapping, thigh slapping German folk dances. By about 8.30 the party was starting to wind down so we returned to the trailer having had a great time. Nothing like a nice quiet day.

Footnote: The Villages

The Villages
The Villages (sorry to repeat myself from the previous journeys blog) is a community which has been designed and built for the over 50’s. It’s population is now about 100,000. It features such things as a network of golf buggy roads, so you don’t need to drive anywhere, it has a very active social programme, there are more than 250 clubs and associations. It also has the town square (well 2 actually, but we only use one at a time). We were visiting Lake Sumter Landings. The town square is the focal point of The Villages. It has the surreal feel of being a cross between Main St Disney, The Truman Show and The town center set for Back to the Future. Streets and pavements are immaculate, lots of trees and flower beds, The shops and houses are pastel coloured shutter board construction, with veranda style frontage over the sidewalks, the Villages Radio is played from speakers mounted in lampposts, there are very few cars, but dozens of golf carts, everyone you meet makes eye contact and says ‘hi’, which is an invitation to stop and spend a few minutes passing the time of day. There are expensive shops and reasonable restaurants. There are 2 main streets that are not much more than 100 yards long, which come into the square. On one side is the lake (large, but quite artificial), boardwalk, pier, non-working, but visually attractive sail barge and lighthouse ( at about 50 miles possibly the most distant lighthouse from the sea). The town square itself is surrounded by trees, little raised areas, with chairs on, bordered with flowers and greenery and some booths where you can get a drink. In the square there is a band stand and a couple of hundred patio chairs strategically placed so that you can just sit and relax. Many of the buildings round the square are cafes o r bars which have outdoor seating anyway. When you enter the square you feel that the pace of life has just gone down below walking speed. This is a natural meeting place, encouraged by having a band play on the bandstand. Everyday between 4.00 and 9.00 you can go down and listen to the band, have a drink, dance (couple or line dance, or just do your own thing), chat, or just watch the sun go down over the lake.