Tuesday morning we were up at 7 AM because Terry had a dental appointment in Orlando, 50 miles from Wildwood. Yesterday morning we were up at 7 AM again to get ready to move to the Orlando Thousands Trails Preserve. Will this madness never end?
We checked our e-mail, I responded to several that needed immediate attention, then we started getting ready to leave. By the time we had pulled out of our campsite, stopped to hook our Explorer to our tow bar, done our light and brake check, and dropped off our parking permit at the campground office, it was 10 AM when we actually left.
In the past we have taken State Route 44 to Leesburg and picked up US Highway 27 there. Leesburg is a small town, but that route has several traffic lights and stop signs along the way, and a construction zone. This trip we took the turnpike from Wildwood to US Highway 27 south of Leesburg, which only shaved about five miles off the trip, but saved us quite a bit of time and stop and go driving. The $4.50 toll for our Winnebago and toad was worth it.
I wrote in yesterday’s blog that the Thousand Trails has had lots of available sites this winter, but I take that back. It was that way when we were here three weeks ago, but not when we arrived yesterday. I’ve never seen it this crowded in the three winters we’ve been here. They only had twelve sites available when we pulled in. That is twelve empty sites total, out of over 800! And while we were checking in, a non-member came in to inquire about a site and they were willing to rent one to him. That makes a dues-paying member feel good.
Fortunately, there were two 50 amp sites left, and we snagged a paved level back in FHU site with a picnic table. Better yet, there is an RV site on one side of us but the other side is just open ground. And we are backed up to the forest, so there’s nobody behind us. When we were here the last time, there was maybe two feet between the back of our motorhome and the one behind us. And our site is even nice and level! By 11:45 we were parked and hooked up, an easy traveling day of just 44 miles.
With that done, I decided that I really deserved a nap, so I took one. Life must have its little rewards.
Miss Terry deserved a reward too, so later on we went to San Jose’s Original Mexican Restaurant, her favorite eatery in this area. We haven’t had a bad meal there yet. I chose my regular shrimp enchiladas, and Terry ordered pork tamales and a chili relleno. Everything was excellent.
When we came back to the Thousand Trails, we stopped at the campground’s fishing pier and boat launch on Lake Hancock. This is a great paddling lake and we’ve had our Sea Eagle kayaks on it several times. Hopefully we’ll get out again while we’re here. The lake has some big bass and yes, a few alligators, too. But then again, just about anything larger than a birdbath in Florida has at least one resident alligator. I’ve never heard of a kayaker being molested by one though, and we plan to keep it that way.
It was late in the day and the bass were jumping, chasing some small fingerlings for dinner. I took a couple of pictures with my Droid, but it was getting chilly and before long we retreated to the comfort of our motorhome. Hopefully it will warm back up by the end of the week.
Before I close for today, I want to share something with you. If you ever worry about the future of this country, take a minute to watch this news story about three high school seniors and their act of love for a classmate growing up with a disability. The three were nominated for homecoming king, but all agreed that whoever won, they were going to relinquish the crown to a popular classmate who has not allowed his challenges to keep him down. I’m not ashamed to say it brought tears to my eyes when I watched this news video, and I think it will some of you too.
Thought For The Day – The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.
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Nick Russell
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Nick,
Surprised other people haven’t replied to your link to the homecoming king. Don’t know if you’ve heard of Jason McElwain or seen the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fw1CcxCUgg ,
but it’s a similar feel good incident.
Charley
In talking to my grandkids and their friends, I find a group of polite, respectful young people who care about doing well in school, helping others and are getting a good education in their public schools.
Of course, this is not an isolated case–they are like the thousands of other young people we never hear about and the schools we never read about because there is never any trouble. On the contrary, they are quietly performing heroic deeds, every day, just like the three teens and Community High School in Tennessee.
If you feel like giving up on the next generation, find a community park where there are organized sports. Notice the determination of the boys and girls as they struggle to learn new skills and team work from volunteer coaches. Find out what it takes to become an eagle scout. Have you ever been invited to a Jewish bar or bat mitzvah? Find out about the years of preparation those kids go through. You’ll agree that they deserve the big party!
In other words, our kids, their parents, and their teachers are doing a great job. That’s why the failures make news.
I could not have said it better, Jodie.