Story Aunt Gus and Little Bear's Adventure Book 2 (Complete)
- Thread starter Kathy in FL
- Start date
November 19 (F) – Rest Day and Complete Topsail Hill Preserve
Benny and I had breakfast alone today. I don’t have a problem with Rick or Lev but gotta admit I was getting nostalgic about it being just Benny and I. To celebrate I fixed omelets, something Benny loves, and even added hashbrowns. I added cheese to Benny’s but abstained on my side. My guts were telling me that I’ve been eating too much of it.
Rick and Lev are off doing some kind of guy thing. I didn’t ask and they didn’t offer. That isn’t as snarky a comment as it might seem. Some separation from the crewmates isn’t a bad thing. We’ve been working together for less than a month. I realized today that we’ve been living in each other’s pockets and Rick might have the right idea of it after all. Gonna be at this until June of next year. Last thing I need is for any of us to get sick of the other too soon and really screw the dynamics up.
Took Benny out so he could use his bike on the paved trails here at the State Park. Had to raise the seat and the handlebars again. I hate to admit it, and won’t say anything to Benny, but I don’t know how much longer we’re gonna be able to keep the bike. It is getting too small for him and taking up valuable real estate in the “storage bay.”
I was in the middle of fixing lunch … Ham and Potato Salad Sandwiches[1] and Hibiscus Iced Tea (page 107, recipe-a-day) … when I was surprised by a call from Stella.
“Stella?!”
“Hey girl! How ya doing?”
“Uh … is anything wrong? I mean, we’re doing fine but … seriously, is anything wrong? You know you can cut to the chase with me.”
She laughed. “Nothing is really wrong.”
“And that means … ?”
“Groucho wants to know when you are going to contact your uncle.”
It took me a moment to catch my temper before it took off like a flaming rocket. “I take it Groucho is taking some blow back from Uncle Daniel.”
“No. Or at least not exactly. The man is lonely Gus. And has some regrets.”
“Fine. I’ll call. I’ll even do it after I finish feeding Benny his lunch. I’m also going to tell him not to put you two in the middle again. I know you have mutual friends or something along those lines but …”
“You’re a good kid. And it isn’t bothering me.”
“It’s bothering Groucho. I get it. And to be honest, I’m surprised Uncle Daniel gives a rip. Last time I saw him he and my brother were really going at it. Family stuff I don’t even understand but … water under the bridge I guess. Anyway, how is everyone?”
I got an ear full of TMI and when I got off the phone with her, I did the deed; I called Uncle Daniel. Oh Lord. Benny and I are going to see him at Christmas since we’ll be close enough that I might as well. Why I am letting myself be drawn in, I don’t know. Lawrence warned me to watch out although he backed off a little after Benny was born. But maybe there was a reason why he never gave me instructions that in an emergency I should contact the remaining Barrymore family members. I’ll admit I am riding the fence on this one so I’ll just move carefully. I feel like I’m between a pier and a yacht and I’m about to become toe jam between the two.
Christmas is over a month away. I wasn’t wanting to think about it and here I am adding something else to the sum I don’t want to add up. Both Rick and Lev are going away for that holiday so it isn’t like I have the job as an excuse. And before Christmas comes Thanksgiving.
Rick is taking off to visit family on the 24th and he won’t be back until the 30th. Not sure what Lev is doing but apparently it isn’t visiting family. That’s one of the things we are going to discuss after dinner tonight when they are supposed to be back. Right now I’m waiting for the last of the clothes I washed to finish drying so I can take them off the line and put them away. It is a little gloomy out but the wind has been blowing like a son of a gun. I don’t think there is any rain in the front, but it is going to be cooler. This time of year can always be a little iffy. You never know if “winter” is going to be unusually warm or if it is going to turn off cool for an extended period of time. If I had to lay bets, I think it is going to be a warm year but I won’t bet what I can’t afford to lose.
For supper I am just going to clean up all the little bits of leftovers out of the frig. Benny won’t care and my stomach is a little out of sorts anyway. For dessert however I am fixing a Golden Banana Split (page 21, recipe-a-day) that Benny and I can share. I’d even be willing to eat dessert first but I don’t want to teach Benny bad habits. I might even get in some extra stretching if the wind keeps the bugs at bay.
Tomorrow we move to Holmes County for two days and then to Washington County for two days. After that is Bay county for three only because of Thanksgiving. And so much for leftovers for dinner, the men are pulling in and Lev is waving a greasy bag o’ BBQ and grinning like a loon. Rick looks like he had a good day too. Time to put my game face on and get back at it.
Resources:
https://www.friendsofedengardens.org
Historical Markers in Walton County, Florida
Gulfarium Marine Adventure Park
The Gulfarium is the top Fort Walton Beach attraction and venue for enjoying daily shows, animal chats, animal exhibits, and interactive animal encounters including dolphins, sea lions, stingrays, and other marine animals.
Office of Greenways and Trails | Florida Department of Environmental Protection
janheader2023.png The new year brings a great opportunity to set goals for outdoor fitness and adventuring in 2023. We invite you to explore Floridas regional trail system this year, whether that means planning a long-distance hike or bike ride or just a short day trip. Between the 13 regional...
[1] Ham & Potato Salad Sandwiches
Nov 20 – 21: Holmes County
November 20(Sa) - Ponce de Leon Springs State Park
Was up early this morning for the ham, cheese, and onion omelets that Benny begged for last night. Thank goodness Little Bear likes his Aunt Gus’ cooking or there’d be problems. I swear I don’t know where a kid his age puts all the food he eats and still stays so trim. He’s definitely no couch potato that’s for sure.
Ponce de Leon Springs State Park is in two parts. The smaller piece of the 406 acre park has most of the amenities and is on a little section of land between US90 and I10. The bigger piece is mainly there for Sandy Creek where you can fish from the bank for bluegill, big mouth bass, chain pickerel, panfish, and catfish. Benny and I both gave it a try, caught some catfish easy enough, but had to toss them back because they were too small to keep. And the one Benny caught may have been small, I was still glad that I made him put on a glove to take the hook out of its mouth. Doggone thing bit down on his finger enough to bruise. Damn thing is lucky I didn’t stomp it or find a gator to feed it to. It only scared him for a moment and then he was over it. I know it is a lesson learned but dang it I hate when I have to let him learn those kinds of lessons.
Ponce de Leon Springs' water temperature remains a constant 68 degrees Fahrenheit year-round. Cool but not freezing. The main spring is a convergence of two underground water flows and produces 14 million gallons of water daily. You can go swimming and snorkeling in the park along both Sandy Creek and Mill Creek. It was a little crowded but then again it was Saturday so the park was busy.
To get out of the crowds around the swimming holes we had and early lunch; Roast Beef and Tomato Sandwich Pizza[1], and Apple Cookie Boats (page 175, recipe-a-day) for dessert. While everyone else took their turn having eating lunch, we went hiking. Thanks to some conveniently placed sign-thingies we learned that the now quiet woodlands were once busy with the sounds of locomotives. Nineteenth- and early 20th-century workers would harvest pine sap for processing into turpentine, while loggers removed the tapped-out trees for the lumber. Signs of these activities can still be found in the trees themselves, as some still bear the scars made from the collection process. There are several trails to choose from and some are even “bike-ready,” but they are all short … quarter-mile to barely a mile. You could string a few of them together, but it didn’t really give Benny and I a chance to work off the wiggles from lunch so despite the crowds Benny and I went snorkeling.
There wasn’t much visibility because people were stirring up the sand. I had Benny got back to Rick and stay there and then went deeper to grab Lev some pictures. I wasn’t going free-diving but I at least got him a shot of the mouth of the spring.
“Whoa,” Lev said, nodding as he pulled it up on his digital screen. “You didn’t need to do this.”
“Hey, if you can almost tip over getting that shot of Benny on the paddle board I can do the easy and get this for you. Sorry that it is still cloudy.”
“Actually it isn’t bad. The vid is pretty decent too. You’re hired.”
I snorted while I dried my hair then dried Benny off so we wouldn’t catch pneumonia. I know I looked a little out of place in my wet suit but 68 degrees is still freakin’ 68 degrees so it wasn’t like taking a soak in a hot tub.
We fooled around a little more at the park but the wind picked up again and it was a damp cold. We decided to head out to our overnight accommodations. Last night during our planning meeting it came up that someone had goofed and Ponce de Leon Springs does not have camping. Rick was definitely chagrined that he’d missed the mistake. One of the things that we are doing tonight is going over the itinerary again. Anyway, we were looking at a problem but it wound up being an easy fix in exchange for some free advertising via a flyer tacked to a board at Topsail. Lucky us, Ponce de Leon Springs RV Park was the closest and most accommodating camping site as we could have hoped for. It is barely a mile from the state park and its amenities include laundry which is something we need and the rule is, “I ain’t yo mama.”
I’ve decided that Saturday nights are going to be Fondue Nights. If I packed the fondue pot I might as well get some use out of it on a regular basis. Tonight was Greek Fondue[2] and I gotta say, it went over well and I’m going to start looking for more recipes of that type for the future. Prep and clean up is a breeze too. For dessert I fixed Apple Cider Float (page 172, recipe-a-da).
Between dinner and the planning meeting, while Lev ran his stuff through the laundromat, Rick came over and sat down while I was drying dishes. “You sure this isn’t a hassle?”
“What? The dishes?”
"The cooking.”
“Relax, the maffs are easy since I’m doubling and it really isn’t any harder to cook for four than it is for two.”
“Er … maffs?”
“Sorry … math. Seriously, it isn’t a big deal … unless … oh … is it like the avocado?”
“What? No! No, I just … Rosa was … I mean … hmmm …”
“Now that you’ve backed yourself into a corner you might as well come clean,” I told him with a grin at his embarrassment.
He shrugged. “She says men don’t really understand or appreciate what it is like to have to do the same thing day after day … like cooking, or laundry.”
I snorted and then winced. “Sorry. Don’t mean to be rude. Need to watch my tone.”
“Consider it forgiven,” he told me with a grin of his own at my embarrassment.
I nodded in acceptance and said, “Look, sometimes life is tedious. That’s just the way things are. Doesn’t have to be bad or good. And I’m not saying this to be rude but not every guy is like your uncle, with a housekeeper to help out. Most of my guy friends were doing their own things when they went to school or military. Some of them might not have done it all that well, but not all my female friends did either. Females might be a little more genetically encoded to handle the boring stuff without flipping a switch but some of us get the wiggles too easy. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think it is a male or female thing. It just is. Beats the alternative of being on the other side of the cemetery sod.” Then I winced again. “Sorry. I … uh …”
Rick smiled in understanding. “Relax. That’s not a bad attitude to have. I wish people …” He sighed. Then admitted, “I wish Rosa and her mother were quite so … er … vocal about stuff like that.”
“Gets on your nerves?”
“Not exactly. Just … It’s like they fight their culture and then they wallow in it. And I know that isn’t PC, I just don’t know how to explain it otherwise.”
“Hey, I’m half Spanish. I get it. Watched some of my cousins on that side deal with it. Traditional role vs. current societal expectations. And you can close your mouth, I do know how to speak like I have some education … at least on occasion. I’ve never really had to go through that. Some of it is that I don’t give a crap most of the time what other people think. Sometimes it is because my grandmother was pretty good at teaching me balance and how not to fight learning skills and necessities and confusing them with my gender. But I will admit that most of the time it is just the don’t-give-a-crap side that gets me through the day.”
“You don’t care?”
“Let’s put it this way, I’ll do whatever it takes. I’d clean drains at a sewer plant if that’s what it took to provide a life for Benny. For me, it is about goals and doing what you gotta with as little drama as possible. Some things just aren’t worth fighting or complaining about.”
Lev came back at that moment so I don’t know how Rick would have responded. Maybe I should wonder. Then again … there’s that don’t-give-a-crap thing again. Oh well.
I think the planning meeting went well … for the most part. Discovered that the State wants to include the State Fair, the Strawberry Festival, and a few other local festivals and Rick isn’t really feeling it. When we spend time at those types of activities it will take away from our time at the State Parks. Rick is going to write a letter requesting those activities be removed. Lev didn’t look like he agreed and I found out he and Rick had discussed the issue before. Me? I don’t care. This is a job and I’ll go where the people signing the paycheck tell me to go.
[1] Roast Beef & Tomato Sandwich Pizza
[2] Greek Fondue
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you for the chapters.
Last edited:
It is a book I have. Let me see if I can find a recipe for it on amazon.
November 21 (Su) – Morrison Springs County Park
Breakfast was breakfast burritos. I fixed the scrambled eggs and the guys heated the few little odds and ends left over from last night’s fondue. Today is Sunday so Rick had to (chose to) take the day off and he apparently needed to take care of some personal business so when we checked out of the RV park, he took the jeep and we took the van and headed to Morrison Springs, one of the most popular diving spots in northwest Florida and well-known throughout the southeast. It is a 161-acre park acquired by the state in 2004 – it used to be privately owned land - and is leased to the county to maintain and preserve making it both a “state” and a “county” park at the same time. But that isn’t the only thing that is special about this park.
The highlight of the park is a 250-foot diameter spring pool that produces an estimated 48 million gallons of crystal clear water each day and has been recorded to produce up to 70 million gallons a day. The springs has a pronounced “boil.” No, that doesn’t mean it is hot. What that means is that the water flows up out of the spring so fast and hard that the water “boils” at the surface.
Morrison Springs’ water flows from several spring vents, found 46 feet deep inside the spring. Three cavities allow Morrison’s waters to surface from the underground aquifer and man is that water cold. The deepest of these cavities, at approximately 300 foot in depth, eventually terminates in an underground chamber of unknown dimensions. Cave divers have tried to measure it many times but only part of one side has been confirmed.
The spring puts off so much water that it also has a spring run. A spring run is a downstream river which carries water away from a spring. The spring run is approximately 150 ft. wide and slow-moving. It flows southeast for approximately .7 miles and empties into the Choctawhatchee River.
The water is a beautiful turquoise color which looks like you are in the Keys, not in the north of the State. It is deceptive. You are thinking Caribbean-like temps, until you get in the water. Holy cow it is cold.
The Morrison Springs Park includes large boardwalks overlooking the springs, a diving dock and a newly repaired boat ramp away from the diving location. It replaced another boat ramp that itself was rebuilt have another hurricane caused damage. That’s the way it goes here in Florida. You build something, then over the years due to storm damage you have to repair it, and then eventually a storm comes along and you can no longer repair the damage, but you have to completely rebuild.
What was great about today is that Benny and I got our SCUBA certifications renewed. Not just regular scuba, but also cave scuba which is a separate certification. I’ve had both of my certifications since my first year of naval cadettes. I got Benny scuba certified for his fifth birthday. Oh many was he psyched that day, but he was cave certified for the first time today. Now I admit, some people probably think I’ve lost my mind but I don’t see that it has hurt him many at all. I’m not saying every kid his age can do this kind of stuff but I bet a lor more can than the grown ups in the room want to admit. I’m not abusing him for criminey sake, I want him to know the rules and then be able to follow them. That’s what training and certification is about. I appreciated that the diving instructors all held the same opinion. I just wish other people would keep their nose out of business that isn’t theirs.
After the park we headed on into Washington County to overnight at Falling waters SP so we’ll be where we need to be first thing in the morning. Rick met us there and as I was still working off my angry at some people that should have kept their lips zipped I told everyone I would cook unless they really wanted to go out. Everyone was fine with that so I fixed the gluten-free version of Meat Lover’s Bread Salad[1] and to try and prove to Benny I wasn’t going to lose it, I made up some Swamp Creature Snack Mix (page 179, recipe-a-day) to go with the Ginger S’mores[2] that we had around the fire ring.
“It’s okay Aunt Gus. That lady didn’t know stuff like she thought she did.”
I took a deep calming breath and told Benny, “Thanks Little Bear. I just don’t like how she tried to get in our business. I didn’t want to embarrass either of us going off like a Tallahassee Bottle Rocket but it was close.”
He patted my hand and snuggled up. “Don’t let her give you ‘gestion. We live our life our way. Right?”
Geez that kid is sooo empathetic it makes me feel ashamed of my own lack of it. “Too right Little Bear. Uh uh, you can snuggle up for a while. Get good and sleepy and then,” I bent down and whispered, “You can take the Crew and make a tent if you want.”
That got me a happy smile. I knew it wouldn’t take long and when I came back from helping him “set up” it was to find a sympathetic ear in Rick and Lev both.
“I wish I’d had the chance to do things at his age,” Rick told me.
Lev added, “I was raised on a farm. My grandfather didn’t exactly keep me in a gilded cage. Sure, I got hurt a few times but that’s how you learn not to make boneheaded mistakes anymore than necessary. And the mistakes were made because I wasn’t following the rules, not because I was trying something new.”
“Thanks guys. Appreciate it.”
What I didn’t tell them was that while I appreciated their support, nothing would keep me from raising Benny the way Lawrence wanted him raised, the way my brother had helped to raise me. The way Grandfather had. Dad might have wished for me to be more like my mother, but on the other hand the few times he actually talked about her, she sounded like your above average kind of female. Before Lawrence was born they used to truck together, taking turns driving. I never knew her but I learned to respect her … and appreciate what she sacrificed for me.
I may never have a bio-kid of my own, but I do want all of those that raised me to know they did it well enough that I can raise Benny … and without some holier than thou woman getting in our business and threaten to accuse me of child endangerment simply because I didn’t wrap him in cotton batting to the point he couldn’t experience any kind of life. The Creator built this world for us to appreciate and take care of with fun and adventure regardless of age or gender.
Resources:
VisitFlorida.com
Morrison Springs | Walton County, FL - Home Page
Historical Markers and War Memorials in Holmes County, Florida
[1] Meat Lover’s Bread Salad
[2] Ginger S’mores
Moldy, this is the book. Sometimes the recipes can also be found online as a stand-a-lone but not all of them.
Food Network Magazine The Recipe-A-Day Kids Cookbook: 365 Fun, Easy Treats (Food Network Magazine's Kids Cookbooks): Food Network Magazine, Carpenter, Maile: 9781950785919: Amazon.com: Books
Food Network Magazine The Recipe-A-Day Kids Cookbook: 365 Fun, Easy Treats (Food Network Magazine's Kids Cookbooks) [Food Network Magazine, Carpenter, Maile] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Food Network Magazine The Recipe-A-Day Kids Cookbook: 365 Fun, Easy Treats (Food...
www.amazon.com
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you 
. I don't mean to get your brain going elsewhere.
. I don't mean to get your brain going elsewhere.
November22 (M) - Falling Waters State Park (camp)
I know it sounds a little gross, and Rick and Lev tried to be grown up and not turn their noses up, but Pumpkin Grilled Cheese (page 187, recipe-a-day)[1] for breakfast is really good, especially since this morning was on the cool-ish side. After Lev got his first bite he said revealingly, “You know this is pretty doggone good.”
He looked at Rick with a double-dog-dare-ya look which of course meant Rick had to take a bit … after making absolutely positively sure the bread was gluten-free … and the look on his face as priceless. Of course the fact I sat a fresh pot of cowboy coffee in front of them for their mugs didn’t hurt.
Lev mumbled something around his mouthful and when I laughed and said I hadn’t understood a word he said he swallowed and said, “Where do you come up with this stuff? This is crazy … and crazy good.”
“The mother of invention is necessity, limited space, and a budget.”
“Wha …?”
“Something my grandmother used to say. By the time she and grandfather married he’d done his time in the Navy and was pretty well-off as such things go. But Grandmother always said that he wouldn’t stay well-off if she spent or wasted it all. Same for their next door best friends, the Phelps. The Judge did pretty well. Not as good as if he’d been a judge in a big town but for along the river he stood out. Meemo … um … what I called his wife because all of us kids did … she and my grandmother were so alike they might as well have been twins. It is how they said they weathered the financial storms that turned their husbands’ well-off to doing okay rather than broke like a lot of other people got.”
Rick seemed to be interested in spite of himself … or maybe because of his uncle. “For instance?”
“Maybe your didn’t grow all of your food but you made an effort to grow some of it. You didn’t waste what you did have. You made your own versions of things … like cleaning supplies … and you took care of your house yourself rather than hiring a housekeeper even if you could have afforded to. And when you had a tomboy granddaughter come around you taught her to help keep things up so you wouldn’t have to hire in landscaping help.” I laughed at a memory. “I drove the zero turn lawnmower and the side-by-side dumper before most kids even started thinking of driving a car. I could maintain the motors on Grandfather’s boats too. And when it came to fixing things around their place I usually learned it well enough that I didn’t have to tell Dad when something broke at our place. Geez …” I had to laugh again.
“What?”
“The summer before … the summer before I lost them all … Lawrence had come home for a couple of weeks between duty stations and … and because he wanted to talk to dad about the girl he’d met … Penny. Dad got lucky and got a full week haul and he was already scheduled to take off, but a couple of weeks before the river had flooded and we were starting to have trouble with the septic field. He’d already bought everything we would need to do it, but it was just sitting there until he could get to it.” I shook my head.
Rick said, “You can’t just leave us hanging after you start a story like that.”
A little sadly because it was the last time that I’d gotten the chance to help my father like I did I explained, “Well the night that Dad left the drain field collapsed. I knew what had happened because my grandparents had had the same thing happen a couple of months earlier. Lawrence was in a pickle because he’d come down with the creeping crud when he reacted to some vaccine he’d been forced to get for his next duty station. My grandparents and the Phelps were out of town at the time as well. Wellllll … I’m August Summer Barrymore Jr and didn’t think anything of it. Here’s Point A and I needed to get to Point B and the ‘getting there’ didn’t have the same kind of obstructions that other people had. I didn’t compute ‘age appropriate’ or ‘can’t’ or even ‘shouldn’t’ very well. Still don’t for that matter.” I snorted. “I swiped the spare keys to my dad’s truck, and no I wasn’t even old enough for a learner’s permit but had been driving for a while with no one the wiser, hooked up his heavy-duty trailer. Drove to my grandparents’ place where I swiped the spared keys to the Phelps’ shed where they kept their tractor that had the bucket on the front and the used it to load the backhoe attachment on the trailer as well. And yes, I knew how to drive the tractor and use the attachments because I helped the Phelps because the Judge’s arthritis started to get crippling about that time. I went back to the house to check on Lawrence who was so dopey he hadn’t even realized I’d been gone, he assumed I was out kayaking or something.”
“Uh …” Rick looked a little disapprovingly.
“Gotta remember, I was very independent. After Lawrence left home my dad stayed in-state as far as trucking went but he could still be gone overnight. And he was on the road a lot because he was the single parent paying all the bills by himself. I moved back and forth between the River House and our house but … Yeah, I know it was different but no different from kids who have parents that worked nights or if they lived part time with one parent and part with another. It was just my life and a pretty doggone good one for me compared to what it could have been.”
Rick muttered, “Sorry. I … just don’t know about a kid … a girl … staying by herself like that.”
I shrugged.
Lev got me back to finish the story. “So ….?”
I chuckled. “So … before anyone realized what I was doing I dug out the old, collapsed drain field, dug a new one, and basically did what my Dad thought he was going to have to do.”
“Girl, I’ve done a few jobs like that, but I didn’t do it alone. Are you telling me …?” Lev asked with his eyes trying not to show his disbelief.
I shrugged. “I just … look … I think differently. My thinks were even more different back then. Norms and the why of them just weren’t part of my reality. The septic field collapsed. I’d already helped to repair one by watching. They said I helped good. So that made me – in my mind – believe I could do it. And that’s exactly what I did. It never even entered my mind that I couldn’t. I simply replicated what I had seen and helped to do. The only thing that made me mad is that I couldn’t put the sod back the way I wanted to. Lawrence heard me getting angrier and angrier that it wouldn’t fit and came out and … he laughed. Until he realized I wasn’t trying to start the job I was trying to finish it before Dad got home. Then he nearly fell off the porch laughing. Made me so mad. I told him if he wasn’t going to help he could just go back to sleep. That only made him laugh harder and say that Dad and Grandfather weren’t going to believe him. See they had gotten home early and found my note saying not to call the Sheriff that I was the one that had borrowed the tractor and that I promised to return it with a full tank when I finished. I’d just failed to tell them what I had borrowed it for.”
My family would probably still be telling that story on me … if any of them were still alive. Sigh. Sure, there is Uncle Daniel but I doubt he knows any of these stories. Okay, time to get off the pity train. Maybe I’ll write this stuff down for Benny. Man, does that make me feel old. Bleck. Drop the boo-hoo-hoo’s and get on with what we did after breakfast. I have enough “’gestion” as Benny would say.
First destination was the Falling Waters Sink, a 100-foot-deep, 20-foot-wide cylindrical pit into which flows a small stream that drops 73 feet to the bottom of the sink. It qualifies as the highest waterfall in the State. To access the waterfall, we followed the Wire Grass boardwalk trail that takes visitors to two viewing platforms. For the most immersive experience, the lower platform descends to a spot below the rim of the sinkhole where you can feel the mist off the water as it cascades down into the depths. The upper platform provides a higher and drier observation point. From there you notice that as the water hits the seemingly solid floor of the sinkhole very little if any water collects there. It disappears into a hidden cave system below. While the waterfall’s source is easily discovered, its destination remains unknown.
Call it hiking, walking or taking a stroll, the footpaths and trails of Falling Waters State Park are diverse enough to be many things to many people. As we walked through the forest we enjoyed the views over the waving blue-green blades of wiregrass that was blowing in the nearly constant breeze left over from the front that had moved through.
We got to see the “giant” fox squirrels that live in the park. Gray furred fox squirrels have become the park’s welcoming committee as it’s often the first animal you see when you pass through the park’s gates. These arboreal mammals will put a smile on your face as you watch them performing as they go about their daily routines.
Rick had to get to another meeting not long after the waterfall so I didn’t feel bad about having Tomato and Avocado Sandwiches[2] for lunch.
After lunch we decided to keep hiking. As we walked through the park, we will noticed multiple depressions in the land’s surface. A sign-thingie informed us that they are sinkholes and the reason they are present in this area is because the bedrock near the surface is limestone. Limestone, over many thousands of years, is dissolved away by groundwater leaving behind void spaces in the rock. When the void spaces become large enough that they can no longer support the soil and rock above, it collapses forming a sinkhole.
Another sign-thingie that Benny needed to read to finish his Junior Ranger packet explained that sinkholes are sometimes entry points into vast mazes of underground tunnels also created by the process of dissolution. These subsurface caves intersect Falling Waters Sink. In other words, the falls flow through a sinkhole that collapsed into an underlying cave system. The park’s trail system crosses over the underlying cave system in several places. They know this information thanks to spelunkers who used specialized equipment to explore and map more than 400 feet of passage beneath the park.
Lev got lots of film. He said it would give him lots to choose from to edit and send on to his bosses. The wind settled down and of course the bugs came out so we headed back to camp. He needed to work so I fixed So Easy Gaspacho[3] for supper. I was about to invite Lev to eat inside the van and out of the bugs but Rick showed up so I broke out the citronella and we all ate quickly and then separated, the men to their tents and Benny and I to the van. I felt a little bad but both men had been picking at each other for some reason. I hope they knock it off.
Benny is played out and wants to go to bed so I’ll probably watch a bit of history documentary with him until he falls asleep. Tomorrow is suppose to be an interesting day full of comp’d activities.
[1] Pumpkin Grilled Cheese Recipe
[2] Tomato & Avocado Sandwiches
[3] So-Easy Gazpacho
November 23 (T) – Gators, Wolves, and Horses
What a wild day. Horses, and Gators, and Wolves, oh my.
Breakfast was Pumpkin Spice Pancakes[1] (page 191, recipe-a-day) – gluten-free of course – with real maple syrup and I fried bacon as well. It was either the bacon or the coffee, not sure which, but Rick and Lev finally regrew their human bone. I don’t think either man likes the holidays very much, or that is my impression. Likely family stuff, and assuredly none my business, but it was a relief for them to be back to “normal.”
After breakfast we took the Jeep and were off first to Orange Hill Gator Farm. The paperwork that I had reviewed last night said the place offers a unique look at Florida's most famous reptile, the American Alligator. I wouldn’t say “unique” since I’d been around the beasties my entire life, but it was interesting. The farm is home to over 200 alligators and other reptiles. We were there off-season. Touring season normally begins in April and ends in September. They wanted the free advertising, needed it after the storms, and the State wanted the attention as well.
The family-friendly experience that they gave us was a close up view of the indoor gator house where guests get a chance to hold and feed baby gators. The tour ended at a natural pond on the property to see large alligators in their own habitat. We learned about the habits and how this amazing creature fits into the Florida ecosystem. Ever had a baby gator take a poop on you? A baby gopher tortoise take a whiz on you? I now have the certificate for both. Little Bear giggled about that off and on the entire day. I nearly told him I’d also been whizzed on by a baby human boy that had pretty doggone good aim. Oh the blackmail I will have for the future.
After reptiles came wolves. A-rooooooo! Seriously. The Seacreast Wolf Reserve is a fully fledged, tax exempt 501(c) (3) non-profit organization dedicated to providing a safe and humane sanctuary for displaced captive wolves. There are some seriously doofus people on this planet. Wolves are wild creatures, not a domesticated pet. The wolves were really nice to look at but I was glad they weren’t treated like dogs because they aren’t, they’re wolves. We did get some really beautiful pictures. One odd thing did happen. One of the wolves seemed to fixate on Benny, but not as prey. Benny and that wolf just stared at each other.
“I’m not being rude Aunt Gus. I’m letting him look inside me to see I want him to have a good day. He’s letting me look inside him too. I like him. He’s smart.”
I wasn’t quite sure what to say and sometimes there isn’t much you can say. I know wolves are intelligent animals and Benny wasn’t giving off a vibe of he was trying to be dominant. The wolf wasn’t being cranky or anything like that. He wasn’t being friendly either but … I don’t know what the heck to call it. It just felt weird. I don’t think it registered on Rick or Lev but I did see a couple of the people at the Reserve whispering and then looking at Benny. I don’t know, I was just glad to get out of there. And now I’m dropping it.
After the reserve we pulled over and I handed out the Zesty Chicken Soft Tacos[2] that I had prepped for lunch. From there we headed to Sunshine Riding Trails next. Benny and I have both ridden before. The burros in the Grand Canyon springs to mind. So this wasn’t a “first” for either of us but surprise, Rick had never ridden and wasn’t interested in trying it either. Weird. Lev was very comfortable in the saddle … or he was until tonight. Giggle, snort, chortle.
The family-owned business offers riding lessons for all ages as well as trail rides and overnight camping packages. Trail rides are on the beautiful Econfina Creek Water Management lands that feature sandhills and preserved longleaf pine forests. The company only uses Tennessee Walking horses because of their smoother gait. After our two-hour trail ride we headed back to Falling Waters for our third night in the park.
Dinner was what was leftover from lunch plus some rice and beans for a side. Rick made an early night of it so he could pack after doing some reports. I had just brought out a bowl of Cranberry Popcorn (page 190, recipe-a-day). I was about to take it back into the van when Lev reaches out and takes the bowl saying, “Don’t mind if I do. Thank you muches.”
Benny laughed and joined Lev in hoovering up the snack. Well at least it didn’t go to waste. I did some clean up of my own and then put Benny to bed. I think I’m finished working the brain kinks out and can go to sleep. I’m going to think about getting some caffeine waters and hiding them in the back of the frig. I don’t want to start another insomnia cycle. Been a while and hate it when that happens. It is one thing not to need much sleep. It is another to be unable to sleep when I feel like it.
Resources:
Historical Markers in Washington County, Florida
[1] Gluten-Free Pumpkin Pancakes
[2] Zesty Chicken Soft Tacos
Kathy, I hope that someone from the state of Florida sees this and knows how much YOU are prompting tourism in your state. The story is great, and being able to "see" Florida as being something other than Disney and the beach is quite nice. BTW, I've never been to florida.
I love my state. I recognize the state has problems but no where is perfect. It is certainly more than just Disney. It is very diverse culturally, geographically, and geologically. People who have never been here think all we are is the House of Mouse and white sand beaches. That might be what brings in a lot of revenue, but that isn't all we are. Thanks for seeing it.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you this morning
Only because you showed me.
Nov 24 – 26: Bay County
November 24 (W) St. Andrews State Park (camp)
We are starting the seventh county today, but it is without Rick. He is visiting his family for the Thanksgiving holidays. He’ll be back the 30th but that means we are doing two counties without him. Last night he was freaking a bit I think, kept making sure that both Lev and I had his cell phone number and his sister’s home number and cell phone. Then he hopped in the Jeep around two this morning to hurry off to the airport and the Jeep is going to remain in long term parking.
I was wondering if it was going to be weird, but Lev said it is just a different part of the assignment. Nice guy. He is definitely much more hands off than Rick is. Rick is super organized and likes to have an itinerary for the day. It has saved me a lot of work. But … I guess I have missed doing it myself. We definitely got a little more adventuresome today than some of what we’ve done with Rick.
First thing this morning I emailed Rick: Hope you arrived safely and are having a good time with your family. I promised to keep you up-to-date so here it is. Leaving Falling Water SP, should make St. Andrews SP in an hour and 10 min assuming normal traffic. Will check in and pick up JR program packet at the ranger station. One planned grocery run in Panama City today. Will remain in St. Andrews tomorrow. Itinerary still in place. Will email again as you requested when we move to Gulf County. Will meet up as planned in Jackson County at Florida Caverns unless flight delays. Gus
Among the many things to do in Panama City Beach, there is one standout that should not be missed; St. Andrews State Park. I’ve been here before on a summer camp kind of dealio. It was not long after Benny was born and Lawrence wanted me to have at least one good training run under my belt before he had to rely on me too much. He was already worried about Penny being able to face life without a keeper. Wait, that sounded awful. It’s true, but Lawrence was being more protective and not the snark it sounded like I was just slinging. Gotta watch what I write as much as watch what I say. I don’t want Benny to ever read something and wonder about how I felt about Penny. She was there for me in the beginning, just somehow she lost her way as life got mean.
At the far south end of the long stretch of resort hotels and condominiums lining the white sands of Panama City Beach, St. Andrews State Park offers a surprisingly pristine slice of old Florida. I know that sounds like a billboard but there are only so many ways to say the same thing. St. Andrews is pretty. Thankfully it doesn’t seem like the park got hit nearly as hard as the rest of the Panama City area did. They are still talking about what hotels and stuff they are going to rebuild and limiting them to so many floors instead of the high rises the more modern ones had become. The retirement resorts also suffered quite a bit. Not sure exactly what the state is going to do. Rather than restricting growth, the rumors are that they are going to restrict how close to the beach they can build from here on out. A lof of the really old tired ones survived and are getting a face lift whereas a lot of the newer places were completely gutted by the winds and storm surge. It is a real mess in one long pile of debris after the other where stuff is getting sorted so it can eventually be reclaimed or recycled[1].
Concrete and old pavement is sent to a concrete recycling plant that breaks it up into different grades and then gets used to make new concrete, road beads, foundations, etc. Plastics are being turned into building blocks and fake wood planks. Wood and timbers are being reclaimed. Wire and other metals are being recycled. It is just taking time … and expensive fuel … to process it all. It will probably take years at the rate they are going.
The Park is situated along miles of sugar-sand coastline, covering 1200 acres and offers boating, camping, swimming and watersports, fishing, hiking, and bird/wildlife watching. It is also the headquarters of the Shell Island Ferry, the official water transport service to one of the popular attractions in Panama City Beach: Shell Island.
Research showed us that the Shell Island Ferry is the safest, quickest, and easiest way to reach Shell Island, an undeveloped 7-mile long barrier island and beach that makes up the southern reach of St. Andrews State Park. Accessed via private boat or the official Shell Island Ferry, the island is considered a must-see for visitors. Swimming and snorkeling are great. Hiking inland on the island offers the opportunity to explore rare Florida coastal plants, bird, and wildlife communities in their natural condition.
We did it all, ferry to watersports to hiking. Got a little pink too. I shouldn’t have gone cheap on tour suntan lotion. Waterproof shouldn’t mean you have to re-apply every ten minutes or so. Grr.
Lunch was picnic style and both Benny and Lev devoured their Tuna and White Bean Lettuce Wraps[2]. It was about all I could come up with since it had been a while since I’d done a grocery run. We snorkeled and then took the ferry back and then I took care of restocking. I’d finally gotten out of Lev that he needed some work time so that’s what he did while I prepped for tomorrow after a dinner of Cobb Salad Subs[3]. If Lev wasn’t already an adult and 6’6” I’d say he was going through a growth spurt. I swear he can put away some food. Which is fine. Really. Hopefully tomorrow won’t be so weird.
[1] Recycled Building Materials: 4 Best Reclaimed Construction Ideas | Architecture & Design
[2] Tuna and White Bean Lettuce Wraps
[3] Cobb Salad Sub
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you.
November 25 (R) - Holiday: Thanksgiving
I’m all rolled up, stuffed, full as a tick. Today was a decent day. Actually it was better than decent and I’m still not sure why I’m surprised by that. I started breakfast with something a little light; Pumpkin Pie Yogurt Bowls (page 192, recipe-a-day).
Lev looked at it and said, “Take it we are gonna go all out with the Thanksgiving theme.”
“Uh …”
Then he grinned. “I’m in. I’ll wrangle Benny here to give you some space to cook. Or do you need help?”
“I know how to ask if I need anything. And I might to get the solar cooker down.”
“Done. Anything else?”
“Yeah. Eat.”
He laughed and complied. I felt a little ridiculous going all out to make a gluten-free Thanksgiving meal, but I did it. I wouldn’t say Lev is a complete stranger, not after a month of closely working together, but we aren’t related or anything. I know he has family anyway. Apparently he only sees them occasionally. Don’t know what the sitch is there and I’m not sticking my nose in. I guess “family” is who you adopt at any given time.
You know I haven’t thrown a football around for a long dang time. Somehow or other we got involved with the family camping next to us and boom, suddenly there was a football game going on. With Benny, or the other little boys, sometimes becoming the football. They thought it was hilarious. Even the adults on that side participated and some old folks camping on the other side of them enjoyed playing spectator.
It wasn’t all play but a couple hours was fun. Positively weird.
We agreed we’d have “Thanksgiving” at dinner time so for lunch to keep the eating machines from being famished I made Mini Cheese Balls (page 193, recipe-a-day) with gluten-free crackers and Thanksgiving Sodas (page 199, recipe-a-day)
I used a variety of different cooking methods to fix our meal, including a turkey breast and turkey drumstick in the solar oven, and Lev and Benny both were absolutely blown away. In addition to the solar cooking I made a box oven to bake Lemon-Maple Squash[1] in. I made a reasonable facsimile of stuffing[2] in the same contraption. In a skillet I made Meemo's Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Almonds[3]. I boiled the potatoes to make Grandmother Barry’s famous mashed potatoes and since potatoes are naturally gluten-free I made a bunch to freeze and make potato patties with later. You always forget something on the grocery list and I forgot rolls, so I made gluten-free cornbread[4]. Lev threatened to run off with the entire pan. Oh my gosh. He’s 6’6” and both legs are hallow. I baked some apples[5] on the coals. I’m sure everyone is wondering where the sweet potatoes were, well I saved them for dessert as in Sweet Potato-Marshmallow Dip (page 194, recipe-a-day) and for the “dippers” I used gluten-free graham crackers.
“Damn Gus. The only kind of stomachache I have is from eating too much. I’ve never … I mean never … just damn.” I swear the guy looked like he was in ecstasy while he and Benny helped me to clean up and put away the leftovers.
This puts the nail in the coffin that Lev is gluten sensitive at the very least. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t have celiac disease because his symptoms improved so completely in a relatively short period of time with no meds. He has no stomachache except due to eating too much. Might suggest he take a daily vit like Benny and I do but hey, adult-sized grown man and NOMB. Just happy to realize that he feels better and seems to be less … morose might not be the best description, but at least he isn’t an Eeyore like he could get to be in the beginning. He was worse than me about waiting for a box of shoes to drop. Personality has definitely improved.
He tried multiple times to get some work done but he kept nodding off. I heard him say “screw it” before shutting his equipment down and switching to a football game. He still went to sleep in the camp chair giving Benny the giggles when he started snoring. I eventually convinced him to climb in the passenger seat and tilt it back. Didn’t take him long to go back to sleep.
I rolled Benny into his covers when he crashed and burned not too long after that. Weather was a little cool and Benny played harder than normal. I’m definitely putting this as a good example that Benny can interact with other people. Lev definitely helped with that.
“Kid isn’t bad. Just because he isn’t super social and outgoing doesn’t mean he doesn’t have it going on. Well, sure, he might be a little different but so what? We all are once you get below the skin.”
I like that man’s attitude. Wish there were more like him.
Tomorrow is the traditional day of Black Friday shopping. No. Freaking. Way. I will not join the crazies in the jungle. Uh uh. I heard some of the people in camp are going to do it. Why? Doesn’t that defeat the entire point of getting away from it all? Each to their own I suppose.
Tomorrow there is one more park in Bay County but we will spend our last night back here at St. Andrews. And speaking of, I better hit the hay or I’ll be dragging tomorrow.
[1] Lemon-Maple Squash
[2] Classic Gluten-Free Stuffing
[3] Green Beans with Caramelized Onions and Almonds
[4] Gluten-Free Cornbread
[5] Grill-Baked Apples With Cinnamon and Sugar
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Big thank you.
November 26 (F) - Camp Helen State Park
Camp Helen, today’s destination, is known for being one of Florida’s largest coastal dune lakes. It would have been nice to have been able to use the jeep and leave the van in place but, after making sure that we “marked” the campsite still occupied, and letting the rangers know we’d be back, we headed out ignoring the Black Friday hopping crowds.
“Er … you don’t?” Lev asked.
“Shop? It isn’t my favorite activity, that’s for sure. I’ve had to work the Black Friday crowds a couple of times, but they were all at small places for vendors that didn’t mind Benny coming along so long as I worked and didn’t spend all my time taking care of him. Twice was all it took for me to decide I’d rather be someplace else during those kinds of crowds.”
“How’d that work? I mean with Benny?”
“He was a small baby the first time and the second was right before … before Lawrence didn’t come home. Penny still worked back then and I was Benny’s primary caregiver. Lawrence nearly blew a gasket the second time because Penny had told him she had all these family plans and stuff for the three of us except her friends talked her into going out shopping with them. I think it was one of her biggest regrets. It was a pretty big blow up and with the Atlantic Ocean between them I’m not sure that it ever got fully resolved.”
“Man, that’s tough.”
“Yeah. Afterwards I just … er … my responsibilities were different and I had to get work sorta piecemeal because of it. And … sorry for dumping the sad on you.”
“Hey, don’t be. I mean, yeah it’s sad … but it also gives me insight and photogs need that to make sure their focus is more than just 2D. But I don’t mean to make you feel like I’m being nosey.”
“Uh uh. You’re too easy to talk to. And I can’t believe I haven’t asked if you need time to go make some family calls or whatever, rather than babysit Benny and I.”
“No,” he said on a sigh. “I’ve been away from the family on major holidays for so many years now that … it’s just different.”
Yeah right. There’s a story there and it sounds like it could be as messy as mine but I could tell he wasn’t ready to talk about it so I didn’t push. I hadn’t when those counselors were always pushing me to “talk my feelings out rather than let them build up and become poisonous.” Most of them meant well, I mean it isn’t like they were going through the motions or anything like that. But there’s things in this life only certain other people can understand. Most of those counselors hadn’t experienced what we did, although the military counselor that hooked us up into the Gold Star Family program was pretty cool.
None of us had been particularly interested in breakfast this morning so we had popcorn. No, I’m not kidding. Benny and Lev thought it was very, very cool. I was just being goofy when I offered them the extra where I’d made a treat/snack for later in the day. I was glad that I’d already prepped everything as we all wound up hungry before lunch time rolled around and I don’t think I’ll be making that mistake again.
After entering the park we headed over to the Visitor Center to check in and pick up Benny a Junior Ranger program. It was too cool for being on the water and getting wet but there were plenty of other things to do, starting with a history lesson.
Known as Inlet Beach to the early settlers, the area around Philips Inlet was initially developed as a recreation area in the 1920s when McCaskill Investment Co. of DeFuniak Springs, Florida, published a brochure inviting people to visit the Inlet Beach Hotel, located near where Camp Helen stands today. The hotel burned to the ground and McCaskill sol the land in 1928 to Robert E. Hicks who purchased 185 acres of land overlooking Philips Inlet. He built a summer home for his wife, Margaret, who named the compound Loch Lomond. Mr. Hicks died in 1932 but his wife continued on. In 1945 Avondale Textile Mills of Sylacauga, Alabama purchased Loch Lomond from the Mrs. Hicks and her family, and renamed the property Camp Helen, and for 39 years operated a resort destination for their vacationing employees. During that time, 12 duplex cottages and a recreation hall were built.
The original Camp Helen was located at Hog Island Sound, in what is now Tyndall Air Force Base. Mr. Comer always named his mills and properties after women in his family, and Camp Helen was named after his son Fletcher’s wife, Helen. This camp had been operated in the summers for Avondale employees, but in 1941 was requisitioned and turned over to the U.S. Government in anticipation of World War II. The “new” Camp Helen opened to employees in 1946, with permanent duplexes, a recreation hall and fishing pier on the Gulf added in the 1950s. Camp Helen provided a week’s worth of fun for Avondale Mills employees who could enjoy boating, fishing, sunbathing, shuffleboard, volleyball, basketball and other activities. Meals were served three times a day in the dining hall, and guests could enjoy evening fun in the recreation hall with dancing, bingo and music. In 1987, Avondale Mills discontinued its use of Camp Helen as a vacation facility. In 1996, the state of Florida purchased Camp Helen and opened it to the public in 1997 as a state park. Several of this historic building are still standing but not all of them are in good repair or open to the public.
There were lots of sign-thingies, some hiking, bird watching, and squirrels. Oh good Lord were there squirrels. And every one of them were ADD and manic. I had the beasties try and get in my pack three times, once while I was wearing it. A ranger explained that the storm damage to area trees had created some problems for them and they were getting a little nutso because there weren’t enough nuts … or acorns … to go around.
The squirrels were so bad that we decided to eat in the van instead of at a picnic table. Turkey tortillas wraps with cranberry sauce was the primary thing I made using gluten free tortillas. But I also made Thanksgiving Chips (page 197, recipe-a-day), Thanksgiving Sodas (page 199, recipe-a-day), and Harvest Popcorn (page 201, recipe-a-day) to fill any leftover spaces.
We are back at St. Andrews State Park for the night, and everything is really quiet. Lev is working in the front of the van and Benny has crashed and burned during the first chapter of an audio book. I’m sitting up here in the sleeping loft wondering why it isn’t weird to have Lev in the van with us, more worried about why it doesn’t bother me than the fact it doesn’t bother me. In some ways he reminds me of Lawrence, they are about the same age, or would be, or … never mind, you know what I mean.
I can’t see the same thing happening if it was Rick. I’m pretty sure I might like Rick … as in like him for possibly more than a friend, but it is that friend thing that is stopping me from thinking too hard about it. This is all way too new and way too complicated.
In the morning we’ll leave Bay County and head to Gulf County. I’m a little leery that there isn’t enough for us to do there, and the time is going to drag. There’s also some warning that hurricane damage is pretty extensive but that is one of the points we are supposed to cover. I’ll do what I can with Benny and leave the final presentation to other people. It is what it is, and I need to get on to my own digital housekeeping rather than playing sit and spin with the brain hamster.
Resources:
FWC-Managed Public Shooting Ranges
Shell Island Ferry | St. Andrews State Park & Shell Island
https://www.floridastateparks.org/s...a/file/St. Andrews SP_INSET_PROOF_3.13.19.pdf
Historical Markers in Bay County, Florida
Nov 27 – 29: Gulf County
November 27(Sa) TH Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park (camp)
I was thanksgiving’d out so breakfast was scrambled eggs and ham. Not to mention we’d used up the last of the leftovers yesterday for dinner. Hurray, nothing spoiled. I can’t stand wasting food.
I emailed Rick right before we headed out:
Camp Helen State Park was a refuge from the nutty Black Friday shoppers yesterday. I suppose you’ve heard all of the horror stories on the news. Ugh. So glad I didn’t have to be out in that. Last night in St. Andrews was quiet so Lev was able to get some work done and I got all the yada yada I needed done as well. Already checked out and headed to Gulf County and Peninsula SP. Will take over an hour and a half and possibly longer which is why we are leaving so early. Storm damage is reported to be extreme in certain locations, especially Mexico Beach. That’s the latest whack that place has taken from a hurricane. Last big one was Hurricane Michael in 2018, but last year’s mess of storms has definitely been another severe problem, or so we heard from some other people at Camp Helen. Coastal road reported to be passable, but frequent delays. Panama City I know is a mess due to road construction that we’ve already had to drive through a couple of times. And Tyndall AFB expected to be a bear to get through regardless of time of day. Will keep you updated if problems get fierce but not expected to. Gus
Boy was I glad we started as early as we did. There were a lot of Lookie Lou’s on the road, but we managed to avoid the worst of them despite it still taking two hours to get to the state park. Geez.
The ranger who checked us in at the gate acted like he had zero personality. Most rangers are nice, I thought this guy was either having an off day or he had borderline jerkitude issues. About the only thing he did was tell Benny where he could pick up a Junior Ranger program and he practically growled that.
I guess I could sympathize after we got into the park and could see all the construction going on as a result of the hurricane damage, he still didn’t need to be such a jerk to Benny. Take your frustrations out on adults, not the kids you want to remember your park as they grow up. Most of the campsites were unusable and those that were, were in fact being used by rangers from other parks who had volunteered time to help with storm clean up. This is a time where it would have been good to have Rick around as liaison.
There wasn’t a lot to do but what was available we did it as well as we could so that Lev could take the pics and vids he needed. Just so we could wrap our heads around some sort of structure we started with the history of the park. Native Americans were the first to utilize St. Joseph Bay where TH Stone is located. The peninsula was settled by hunter-gatherers of the Weeden Island and Mississippian, Fort Walton Cultures. Remains of shell tools and pottery of these cultures have been found in the park.
Spanish explorers named St. Joseph Bay in the early 1500s but did not settle here until 1701 when they built a fort, Presidio San Jose, and a mission at the tip of the peninsula. After a few years the settlers abandoned the fort and returned to Pensacola. Nothing remains of the settlement today.
As the Florida Panhandle became an important part of shipping routes in the 1800s, settlers from Apalachicola moved here hoping to establish a competing port. St. Joseph’s Point Lighthouse was built on the peninsula in 1839 to serve the short-lived town of St. Joseph across the bay. After the town’s population was decimated by yellow fever in 1841, the lighthouse was dismantled and the material salvaged and repurposed for other settlements.
In 1868, the Stone family purchased much of the land surrounding the bay, including the peninsula. It stayed in their possession until 1940 when they sold it to the U.S. government to use for military training. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park opened in 1967. It was dedicated to the former owner, T. H. Stone, a respected community leader in Gulf County.
We spent the morning reading all of the sign-thingies and the stuff I could find online to stretch out some of the educational stuff in the Junior Ranger paper that didn’t make much sense due to missing sign-thingies that were down due to construction or damage. I think we’d all had as much as we could take for a bit so I suggested an early lunch of the Ham and Mandarin Salad[1] I had fixed the night before. Benny and Lev were all up for that and just for giggles I pulled out a bag of BBQ chips.
“Aunt Gus! Can we?!”
“Well, I didn’t put them on the table as decorations Goofusmaximus. Put your plate over here and I’ll dump some on there. But it is water to drink. ‘K? I forgot to fix up the milk and I don’t feel like drinking it warm.”
“Ew. Only at bedtime. May I have some squirt in my water?”
“Lemon or lime?”
“Lime please.”
While Benny got busy eating and drinking his lime-flavored water, Lev eyed the bottle of water I was drinking. I caught him and chuckled in embarrassment. “Not caffeine. Promise.”
He relaxed. “Actually I should apologize. I didn’t realize … um …”
“That I would nearly faceplant? Yeah, caffeine affects me opposite of what it does most people. I’m sorry you and Rick found out the hard way and got a shock.”
“Yeah well … you know how weird it is to have a kid take the water bottle and read the ingredients and then say we gave you caffeine?”
Benny was the one that kept them from calling an ambulance. I’m glad we were in camp at night. They just let me sleep it off. I suppose I should have told them about my “sensitivity” a little more in-depth. Well they know now. With a nice pointy exclamation point.
“Can I ask you why? Coffee keeps me awake.”
I shrugged. “They don’t know exactly. Some of it is that Barrymore's metabolize caffeine differently, but not all of them to extreme that I do. It is a genetic thing in the family. Some of us just a couple sips of coffee with keep us up for days, like we’ve drunk a bucket of espresso.”
“And you?”
“I’m … I’m very ADHD is what they tell me. When I was a kid, before I was forced to learn to cope and could finally put to use all of the behavioral therapy I got, it was a miracle drug for me. Better than anything else they tried. I just couldn’t have it much or they worried that I would build up a tolerance for it. It acts as a vasoconstrictor. Um …”
“I know what that is. My sister used to have migraines.”
I nodded. “Similar. When the hamster starts to get out of control, sometimes the only way to put it in a straight jacket is to cut off its blood supply. Basically the caffeine helps me to control the areas of my brain that are overactive.”
“I like the hamster analogy.”
A little on the beggy side I said, “Please don’t use it in the film.”
“Huh? Oh, hey no. I just mean it helps me understand. Sorry I screwed up.”
“You didn’t screw up. It’s my issue, not yours. For Benny’s sake I should have spoken up.”
I didn’t record the experience in the Log. It is embarrassing enough to remember it in hindsight. My friends would have realized what had happened immediately and it would have been no big. Well my new friends now know but I suspect they wouldn’t laugh it off the way my old crewmates and shipmates would.
We decided to hike off lunch by going to the Maritime Hammock Nature Trail. It is only a half-mile scenic walk passed three natural communities and access to St. Joseph Bay. Pretty but short. I miss our long hikes in the national parks.
It got a little warm after that hike so I told Benny we’d head to the beach and maybe … maybe … do a little snorkeling depending on water temp. Well it was warmer in the water than it was out so we did some shelling. Shelling is popular at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park. With both Gulf of Mexico and St. Joseph Bay beach access, there are a lot of shelling opportunities. One of the rangers, after realizing who we were and why were were there explained that if you shell at different times of the year, you see a variety of shells.
The park had just recently reopened so the beaches weren’t picked over. We went at low tide and took pictures of a lot of the different shells we found. I told Benny he could keep five shells and the rest needed to go back. He was happy to keep the five and took a while to decide which ones. The others we returned to the water for the tide to take out and bring back up, letting the Creator decide what happened to them.
Glad we double checked because one of the ones that Benny was going to keep had to go to the water’s edge, it had a live critter in it. You never collect live shells. Besides the obvious of killing whatever the critter might be, when they die my Lord they can stink, the kind of stink that is hard to get rid of. Ugh.
Tonight was Saturday so we had fondue. Smoked Mozzarella Fondue[2] and plain popcorn to munch on as well. Definitely going to need to add more of that to the grocery list. Even Rick will eat popcorn when I can’t get him to eat much of anything else. That is not a complaint, not really. But you’d figure at some point he would get over his caution of my cooking.
Camp is almost painfully quiet tonight. Not a fun or tired quiet, but a stressed out quiet. Benny was restless sensing it, so I let him go to sleep with his headphones on listening to one of the stories I downloaded for him for long van rides. I worked off my heebies with some planks and stretches. Lev was just working period. Tomorrow promises to be a better day.
[1] Ham & Mandarin Salad
[2] Smoked Mozzarella Fondue
November 28 (Su) – Day on the Water and Beach
Had an absolute blast today. The weather was perfect, the kind of warm winter day that all the Snowbirds come south to experience. Cerulean blue sky, just enough wind to dry the little bit of sweat you make, and the water was clear for miles.
I’m so tired and relaxed I’m not going to bother recording things in any particular order. First off, we started with something for Benny; a Turtle Trail[1]. He had a blast earning the special certificate you earn visiting all the points of interest along the trail. The last stop was out of the way up in Wewahitchka, but we were done with water by that point so were able to make it without any real problems. It also gave us a different perspective on what the storms had done last year.
People were really worried about whether the turtles would be back, but just like clockwork at the beginning of May, the loggerhead turtles started coming out of the Gulf to lay their eggs in the sand. This goes on at night until the end of October. Around two months after the eggs are laid they start hatching so long as the clutch is viable and doesn’t get disturbed. Gulf County is the largest nesting place for sea turtles in Northwest Florida and is home to more than 40 percent of the nests. During the Turtle Trail we learned that when the tiny hatchlings emerge from the sand, they scramble to the water of the Gulf, using the light of the moon and stars to guide them.
Between some of the turtle stops we took a sailing tour out to some shipwrecks[2] most of which had been intentionally sunk to create artificial reefs[3]. Some of the ones we saw were:
- SS Vamar[4] - Almost always included in Daly’s charters, the wreck of the Vamar was given status in 2004 as the 9th of Florida’s Underwater Archaeological Preserves. During her career at sea, the Vamar’s most notable voyage was as the Eleanor Boling when she accompanied Rear-Admiral Richard E. Byrd on his first Antarctic expedition. The subject of an edition of the History Channel’s Deep Sea Detectives, information and memorabilia relating to the SS Vamar and Admiral Byrd’s expedition are on display at Daly’s as Friends of Vamar seek a permanent home. Home to sea turtles, octopus, and abundant reef fish.
- Air Force Tower - Just as the name indicates, this wreck is of a metal radio tower that was lost in a storm and has become a favorite dive site. Lying on its side, the Tower rests at 72’ but rises to just 15’ below the surface. Home to sea turtles, barracuda, sharks and other pelagics.
- Keyser - Visible remains of this wooden tugboat include the boiler and heavy machinery which lie in 48-feet of water. Sunk in 1932, it is home to Queen Angels, black snapper and sea turtles.
- Barrier Dunes Barge[5] - In the late 1980s, a 170’ barge sank less than a mile off the Gulf side of Cape San Blas. Largely intact, the barge rests in 35-feet of water. Visible on one side of the wreck are the exposed remains of an old forest. Home to sea turtles, sharks (one bull shark in particular), myriads of bait fish.
- Sherman Tug - Sunk as an artificial reef in 1997, the ship sits perfectly upright in 82-feet of water just a few miles from the SS Grierson (Liberty Ship). The top of the wheelhouse is just 60-feet deep making it a great site for divers of all skill levels. The Tug attracts a variety of pelagics, bait fish and often, sharks, as well.
We didn’t dive at all of them because there were people there ahead of us or there were people there fishing which is another big deal in the area. I would have liked to have done some fishing but at least I got to do a little scalloping, not to harvest them which you can only do from the middle of August to about the end of September, but to show Benny what they looked like in their sandy beds.
We also collected a few seashells and did a little paddleboarding. I also helped to show this freaked out grandma that yes, people as young as Benny’s age could indeed paddleboard, that it was mostly practice and a willingness to follow the rules that could make it happen. I also showed her that while giving her granddaughter some pointers that I was willing to take the paddleboard away if she didn’t follow the rules. Boy was she surprised … grandma and the girl. They were even more surprised to find out nearby beachgoers backed me up. It was a lesson in the fact she didn’t own the beach and her willingness to follow the rules affected other people’s ability to enjoy their time there.
She was a little miffed after her younger sister, who had been following the rules learned to stand up and paddle without falling off before she did. Then it became a competition and soon enough, as soon as she dropped the attitude, both of them were happy as clams and toodling along … within the boundaries set for novice paddleboarders. Their uncle took over when I needed to pay more attention to Benny. I noticed he was snickering and gave me a thumbs up where no one else could see. Ask me again why I think Benny is pretty special and how I am not interested in working with other people’s kids despite several people suggesting it. Er … nope. I’d probably scar them for life treating them to the occasional CPO Barrymore when they irritated me too much.
Somewhere in all of that we had a picnic lunch of Raspberry Pecan Chicken Salad[6] on gluten free bread. Lev insisted on supper being on him … shrimp scampi over rice pilaf at one of the beach side hole-in-the-wall type dining places. Boy, the place looked like what was left over after a shipwreck but the food sure was good.
It was getting dark and cool-ish when we headed back to TH Stone for the night. Lev needed to work, and Benny needed to decompress where he’d been around more kids than normal. While they both did that … and Benny feels comfortable enough with Lev to play with the Crew in the open … I decided on one last Thanksgiving silly … Pumpkin Spice S’mores (page 197, recipe-a-day)[7]. Everyone most definitely enjoyed that bit of ooey gooey goodness and I’ve added it to my recipes to keep and even posted it on the blog, complete with a close up of Benny’s mouth that made him look like he wore as much as he ate.
The camp is really quiet again tonight and about a third of the spots are vacant. Guess everyone is heading home or heading off to the next spot on their itinerary which is what we will be doing tomorrow though we’ll come back here for one last night after that.
[1] Turtle Trail (see website at Turtle Trail | Gulf County, FL | See Our Wild Side )
[2] http://www.dalysdock.com/uploads/2/8/7/5/28759881/mexico_beach_marine_life_guide.pdf
[3] MBARA - Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association
[4] Vamar Shipwreck Site - Wikipedia
[5] Port St. Joe diving - GoodDive.com
[6] Raspberry Pecan Chicken Salad
[7] Pumpkin Spice S'mores
November 29 (M) Constitution Convention Museum State Park
Traffic was a bit of a mash up this morning, but it was just Monday-morning-going-to-work busy-ness and not real beach traffic.
Constitution Convention Museum State Park doesn’t really have a whole lot to it compared to most state parks., but it does have a Junior Ranger program available, and I used that to help Benny get something out of the place. First off, we aren’t talking the US Constitution, but Florida’s State Constitution. Big difference. Second, the place is only about fourteen acres. A self-guided tour leads visitors through displays and exhibits of the era of the late 1830s.
The tour references life in the town of St. Joseph. Railroad barons mixed with high society in that era. It was this affluence that brought the state’s first constitution convention to the town of St. Joseph in 1838. A replica convention hall is used to take visitors into the debate of delegates Robert Raymond Reid, William P. Duvall, David Y. Levy and Thomas L. Baltzell. These life-size, audio-animated mannequins were a little dated but they did add a realistic touch to the circumstance of drafting a state constitution.
The museum commemorates the work of the 56 territorial delegates who drafted Florida’s first constitution in 1838. Following four more constitution conventions, Florida was finally admitted to the Union in 1845 as the 27th state. Yahoo and all that. Founded in 1835, St. Joseph competed with Apalachicola as a trading port on Florida’s coast on the Gulf of Mexico. The original settlement lasted only nine years.
Looking at every exhibit in the museum made it easy to use up the morning and I threw the plastic picnic table cloth on the ground at lunch so we could eat our Dilled Seafood Salad[1]. It was going to be a struggle to keep Benny from being bored after that, but Lev had a request.
“Uh … kinda hate to bother you if you’ve already got plans but I’m running out of clothes that won’t walk me around they are so rank. And I have a deadline I need to meet also. I know you mentioned food shopping and … well … you have a problem breaking off early?”
Actually, his request fit exactly what I needed too; food, laundry, and work in that order. So, that’s what we did. Benny fell asleep in a puppy pile with all the Crew … plus a new member who is a sea turtle. His name is Lou … Lou the Loggerhead. Lev is up front and definitely still in work mode the same way he has been since our simple dinner of rotisserie chicken and rice. I put the little bit of leftovers away to use later, got all the packaging and everything disposed of so I could organize the groceries to maximize space, and then did more digital housekeeping like paying our bills and starting to prep the stuff that has to get put into a Drop Box for the accountant for end of the year taxes. That sucked. I don’t have a lot of deductions and I’m going to have more income to report this year as well. Ugh. The hamster’s hackles are rising just thinking about writing that check.
I was a little stressed, so I pulled out this log and put the day in order. I think I’m ready to settle down and listen to some Elvis, maybe some of his gospel covers. Yeah. I haven’t done that in a while. The hamster really likes Elvis, especially the gospel tunes.
Resources:
Turtle Trail | Gulf County, FL | See Our Wild Side
Historical Markers in Gulf County, Florida
[1] Dilled Seafood Salad Sandwiches
beaglemama
Contributing Member
Thank you, Kathy!
I love your writing. I'd rather have you writing whatever story speaks to you and you're happy with it, than trying to force yourself to write something and have it come out subpar and you're not happy.
I love your writing. I'd rather have you writing whatever story speaks to you and you're happy with it, than trying to force yourself to write something and have it come out subpar and you're not happy.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Many thanks Kathy.
December 1 (W) – Russ House Historic Site >> Civil War Park >> Ocheessee Creamery >> UPick Satsumas >> Pick Up Pecans >> Honey >> Olive Grove
Holy smokes, another run around like crazy kind of day. No state parks involved except for the fact we are back at Florida Caverns to camp. Was productive and I picked up a few things here and there using some of the per diem I’ve managed to save. Day started with breakfast; Over-the-top Latkes (page 206, recipe-a-day), ham slices, and poached eggs. Little more effort than I normally make but … okay fine. I’m trying to impress Rick. Let’s move this along so I don’t have to think about how nice it was for him to actually eat without checking to make sure the food wasn’t alien produced.
The was a day of vendor/sponsors and comp’d activities. First stop was Greengate Olive Grove[1]. There gift shop was a new “old Florida Cracker house.” Apparently they had something similar before but the storm had done some damage and the damage had revealed was termite and wood rot issues so they took it down to the ground, turned that space into more parking, and built a new shop on the opposite side of their old parking area.
I don’t really think of olive oil when I think of Florida industries but apparently it has been a growing niche market for a few decades. The shop had some tasty infused olive oils but I could only afford (cost and space) to pick one … strawberry and honey infused white balsamic. Holy Yum Yum Batman. I’ll be making some good salad dressing from that. When Lev found out what I was going to do he snuck in a bottle Blueberry Pear Dark Balsamic and Mango Siracha Infused White Balsamic and gave me these ridiculous puppy dog eyes.
Rather than let him know that he’d gotten me with the eyes I told him, “Don’t be a ‘tard. Of course I’ll make it if you’ll eat it.”
“Yes!” he said nearly spiking his camera and then being so goofy even Benny laughed. All I did was roll my eyes but then had to cover by coughing into my elbow. Geez he’s as bad as Benny and reminds me of my old crew. Geez.
Rick contributed some Meyer Lemon EVO after asking if there could be any cross contamination. I wanted to roll my eyes for a different reason but didn’t. I’m beginning to think that Rick as a complex to go with his gluten sensitivity. Either way the EVO will also come in handy.
After Greengate we headed to the SmileyB Honey Farm. According to the flyer: We produce honey in North West Florida moving several times a year following the flows with the focus on Florida White Tupelo production in Wewahitchka in April and May. Tupelo production has been tough for several years due mainly to weather with some seasons producing very little and then having to wait for next years flow. We also produce several wildflower honeys throughout the year and market a few of those. We produce a light wildflower honey in Spring and darker wildflower honey in Fall each with a very distinct flavor difference.
I’m a honey fan. I don’t really go for the processed sugar stuff. Unfortunately I can’t use stevia either as it gives me serious heart burn. I do use monkfruit but I grew up on honey and raw sugar from whatever Mexican grocery store had it in stock. I’ve gotten away from it a bit but I used to keep piloncillo (cones of unprocessed raw sugar) and I would grate whatever amount I needed. It was never much because neither Benny nor I should have too much sugar. At the farm I got some raw Tupelo honey (is lower on the glycemic scale that most other honeys) as well as a bottle of each of wildflower honeys they offered. Benny got an education on bees … the queen, their lifecycle, etc. He spotted the queen right away in their display case. He also got dozey listening to the little buzzers hum as they worked.
“Don’t sweat it Rick. When I was little there was a family at our church that were beekeepers. I used to love to go out near the hives and sit and I usually wound up doing the same thing as Benny … it is like white noise to our brains. It drowns out all of the other flotsam and … poof, sleepy time. My dad had them make a recording from their hives and put it on repeat at night. That, or the sound of moving water, relaxes me like nothing else.”
He smiled in understanding. “I like the sound of thunderstorms myself.” Maybe that’s one thing we have in common. Sort of. I prefer waves crashing to thunder crashing.
We pulled over at a little park after we left the bee farm and had a lunch of Italian Style Veggie Wraps[2]. Benny insisted on picking out my drink while I refueled the van. When I found out what a production he made of it I said, “I’m never going to live that down am I.”
Lev and Rick look at each other and they both tried really hard not to grin. I just shrugged. It is what it is I guess.
After lunch we had to pick up the pace. We stopped at the Russ House Historic Site[3]. According to the guide at the front desk the house is, “Jackson County’s official Visitor Center, and was built in the 1890’s and significantly remodeled in 1910. One of the most beautiful Classical Revival/Queen Anne homes in America, it is an impressive landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Said to be haunted, it has been the focus of a number of paranormal investigations and is rumored to have several ghosts. The two-story wrap around porch is an eye catcher and one of the best views in Marianna. The home is open for tours and also available to rent for meetings, weddings, parties, showers, depositions. The house capacity is 100 people and also has a full kitchen.”
They were setting up for some bridal shower or other so we had all the excuse we needed to vamoose out of these quicker than maybe manners dictated. But we did get a couple of trivia facts that Benny wrote down to remember. The first building used as a bank is located (and still standing) in Jackson County. It is also home to the oldest Baptist Church. The county’s Chamber of Commerce take themselves very serious[4]. One of their people met us at the Civil War Park near the visitor center and told us all about how one of Civil Wars bloodiest battles to take place in Florida took place in Jackson County. The Battle of Marianna spanned several miles of land and ended with a large number of casualties from both sides. It has been referred to as “Florida’s Alamo”. A bible saved from burning St. Luke’s Church during The Battle of Marianna is still housed at St. Luke’s Church.
The man was nice and knew his stuff but boy I let Rick and Lev schmooze him into letting us go. Man, did he like to talk. But that’s fine; we did learn something and Benny had fun looking up and confirming some of the stories he told. He was happy to find out that the man had been telling stories, but not lying while he did it.
Ocheessee Creamery[5] was our next stop. That place was small but fun. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen so many varieties of hot chocolate. You have to buy all of their goods on site because they don’t ship. In addition to the hot chocolate mixes – which I knew immediately by his expression that Rick would not be partaking of – there were some jams, jellies, flavored butters, and some mixes you could put in sour cream or whipped cream to create a dip. There were a couple specifically gluten-free so I got those but mostly what I did was get a gallon of fresh milk. Man oh man was that good tonight. It was nearly ice cold. Speaking of, I won’t be a complete hog and drink it all myself. I’ll save the bottom half of the gallon and make some ice milk in the next day or so.
Our last two stops were u-pick farms. First one was to pick Satsumas[6] … they are a type of mandarin orange that can grow in north Florida unlike most other types of citrus. At one time the Satsumas were almost all gone but they’ve been making a comeback in the varieties that can handle even more cold. Some of the citrus groves through out the state were damaged by the ‘canes last year but it also gave the growers a chance to replant using insurance, and the news says that some subdivisions that were wiped out by the storms are being bulldozed over and planted in citrus groves since rebuilding is going to be cost prohibitive for a few years until the insurance industry has a chance to recover. Assuming it ever does.
Our second upick stop wasn’t really a u-pick so much as it was a farmers market where we picked up pecans from this particular farm. The rep wasn’t there so Lev made a quick change up and just took some pictures of Benny and I having a good time picking things out at the market. In addition to the pecans I grabbed some more citrus, including lemons and tangelos, as well as some fresh veggies.
After that we were back to the Florida Caverns for our last night there. During a supper of Ham and Pineapple Wreath (page 209, recipe-a-day) – ham, pineapple, and a cherry threaded on short kabob sticks – as well as a rice pilaf – we discussed the next few days. We have another rest day coming up … meh, that’s getting old … and a few other things that I need to make sure I have things for Benny to do. Speaking of, since we are changing parks tomorrow I need to hit the hay.
[1] Home | Green Gate Olive Grove
[2] Italian-Style Veggie Wraps
[3] Historic Russ House and Visitors Center | Jackson County Tourist Development Council
[4] Jackson County Facts - Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, FL
[5] Ocheesee Creamery
[6] North Florida Satsumas - Products
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you
December 2(R) - Three Rivers State Park
Left the Florida Caverns this morning after a simple breakfast of scrambled egg hash. I had tried to make pancakes but this was just one of those mornings and wound up easier just to make hash. We needed to get on the road to Three Rivers State Park which is along Lake Seminole that is part of the border between Florida and Georgia. It took us almost an hour to get there when it should have taken half that. I don’t mean to be hormonal but Daaaang. I would have routed us around the construction had I known about it.
Rick said, “Let me handle checking in.”
“Be my guest. It is one of those burn everything I touch mornings,” I responded deadpan.
Lev tried not to smile but Rick didn’t know quite how to take it. He must have had a humorless childhood. We signed in, got our campsite, and then picked up Benny’s Junior Ranger packet.
The Flint River and Chattahoochee River combine to form Lake Seminole above the Jim Woodruff Dam. Below the dam, the waters become the Apalachicola River, which flows unrestricted until it pours into Apalachicola Bay, and eventually, the Gulf of Mexico. The name of the park is a tribute to these three rivers.
Construction of the Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam began in 1947. After Lake Seminole was filled to the desired depth, Congress passed a special bill allowing certain property of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be designated as recreational areas and leased to the State of Florida. Three Rivers became a Florida state park in 1955.
Native Americans used this area for fishing, hunting and agriculture. Apalachee, Tawasa, Osochi and Miccosukee Indians lived here until Spanish, English and American forces eventually ran them all off. In later years, turpentine and timber operations took place on area lands, evidence of which can occasionally be seen in the form of a “cat-faced” pine tree. The “cat face” is a result of where they cut the trees to gather the pine sap.
Pine and hardwood forests dominate the 686 acres of the park. These upland wooded areas of rolling hills and steep ravines are different from the natural communities found in south and central Florida parks. The steep slopes along the shores of Lake Seminole provide a “microclimate,” significantly cooler and moister than the surrounding areas. As a result, the conditions found along these slopes provide a home to a different variety of trees, wildflowers and herbaceous plants. A ranger told us that in the springtime, the slopes are covered with the blooms of thousands of trilliums and white lilies. Not long after that comes the tubular red flowers of red buckeye, and those bring the hummingbirds.
In 1947 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the Jim Woodruff Dam and Lock. The dam created Lake Seminole, a 37,500-acre lake surrounded mostly by undeveloped natural areas and wildlife management areas. Certain properties around the lake were designated to be for recreational use by the Corps of Engineers. One of these was leased to the state of Florida and that's when Three Rivers became a Florida state park in 1955.
Fishing is a favorite activity in the park, but it requires a Florida fishing license. Birding and botany are also favorites. After getting an overview of the part we decided to eat lunch - Chicken and Apple Salad with Greens[1] - and then do a little hiking. The trails are not extensive but they aren’t bad. Benny too the bird watching list with him to see how many he could see.
The Lakeside Trail which begins near the campground, as well as the Half Dry Creek Trail by the picnic area are the two main hiking areas. They also are good for bird watching. A ranger volunteered to walk with us and help Benny “collect” some of the birds on the list. According to him, in winter the pines around the recreation area attract Golden-crowned Kinglets and in some years, Pine Siskins are present. The slopes and ravines between the recreation area and the canoe launch are homes for Winter Wrens. Brown Creeper and Red-breasted Nuthatch have both been recorded in the park as well. We scanned the lake for wintering ducks; 17 species have been recorded. A pair of Bald Eagles nest in the park and Kentucky Warbler, Wood Thrush, Acadian Flycatcher and Yellow-throated Vireo can all be found in the spring and summer months.
It was a calm kind of day, much appreciated after my fritzy morning. Tomorrow is the Rest Day. I’ve made a list of things I need to do so I hope getting things accomplished will keep the hamster from getting bored. Last thing I need is for the blasted brain hamster to go squirrely.
[1] Chicken & Apple Salad with Greens
December 3 (F) – Rest Day
They call this a Rest Day but to be honest I’ve been too busy to rest. Rick took off after taking a phone call. He looked irritated and Lev looked irritated at Rick. Not sure what is going on. Maybe they are just two alphas and coexisting is creating some problems but not enough for it to get physical. At least I hope they are mature enough to avoid that. I’d hate to have to knock heads.
With Lev I know it is Rick over something because as soon as Rick took off, Lev gave him a rude hand gesture which he didn’t know I saw, and then put his ruff down and focused on work … after asking if I needed any help doing anything.
“Lev, I’ve been doing this for months now. I’m fine. Stop worrying about it and go take you day off.”
He snorted. “Nah. As long as you don’t mind or need me, I’m going to try and get ahead on a few things. I can run out later and pick up some lunch or whatever, that way you can have a Rest Day.”
I had to laugh. “No thanks. Well yeah, thanks for the offer but I just mean I got the menu planned. If you are hanging around, you want some Cashew-Curry Chicken Salad[1] for lunch? It’s already made and in the frig.”
“I’ll bring a bib,” he answered with a happy hound dog smile and then set up his editing equipment and got focused on that. Lev is easy to be around … except when he and Rick are not in sync. Which is starting to happen too much in my book. Maybe knocking heads wouldn’t be so bad. Lev and I talked about it so I hope to get it figured out, but I hate getting in people’s personal business nearly as much as I hate them getting into mine.
Before lunch I decided to do laundry. Mostly it was small clothes and our sheets. Sheets and socks, along with a few t-shirts that needed more than a damp rag and a spritz of freshener, went in the Lavario and then on the clothesline I strung between the awning poles since there were rules about tying things to trees. Didn’t give me as much line to work with but I fixed that by stringing two lines. I used the one higher to hang the sheets, the lower one I hung our socks on, and my “foundation garments” went on a folding rack I put in the head. Took longer to dry but I wasn’t running my underoos and sports bras up a flagpole for the world to see. A few of my things are starting to unravel because of hard use and you can only repair them so many times before they start looking pathetic. At some point I’ll need to replace them but I’m trying to get a little more use out of them first.
And I figured I’d put off giving the van a deep cleaning long enough. I didn’t take everything out of every drawer and cabinet, but it was close. I couldn’t believe how much grime was coming off the cabinet and drawer faces. Geez, what gives with that. The floors I could understand but it was where I was finding dirt every place else that yuck’d me out.
After calling Lev’s name three times I realized he had ear plugs in. “Yo, you shoulda told me if I was making too much noise.”
“What?” he asked taking one of the plugs out. When I repeated it he said, “No. Listening to a recording of a meeting the director had with the other staff.”
“They complaining?”
“Not at me. Er … can I ask a fave?”
“Sure, if I can.”
“Can you … er … talk to or encourage Rick not to micromanage everything?”
Uh oh. “Define micromanage.”
“Dude has a job to do … ooooooo food, thanks … and I get it. He’s just getting a little … er … inflexible.”
“Hate to repeat myself but explain your def of inflexible. ‘Cause if I’m going to put my foot in it, I want to get it right the first time around and not have to fix the fix.”
“Okay,” he said, nodding like he understood what I meant. “Having an itinerary is great, maximize the day and all that. Even have a general schedule for the day is good because we waste less time. But having it down to how many minutes we spend doing x, y, and z? Liiiiitle rigid. A couple of times I thought he was going to have a meltdown when his schedule got turned on its ear.”
“Caught that did you?” I asked a little sarcastically. Rick’s OCD is not awful, but on occasion even I find it a little much.
“You’ve noticed?”
“Yeah. It hasn’t bothered me up to this point so long as Benny isn’t getting bulldozed or rushed when he is in the middle of his thinks but, are you saying that it has been a problem for you?”
He nodded. “A little. I’ve needed to reshoot a few things, told him I needed to come back around for different lighting or because of background noise and he either ‘forgets’ or then says there is no room in the schedule. I’ve been doing this long enough I wouldn’t waste his time if I didn’t need it. I’ve been able to work around it so far. But the dude has got to lighten up. He’s not the director and a few times it’s been obvious he isn’t even listening to me.”
I sighed, accepting some responsibility. “Okay. I’ll see what I can do. I’m not going to promise miracles … Rick strikes me as someone who has a hard time relaxing … but to be honest I think he’s got something going on in the background that is putting a strain on him.”
“Ha!” Lev barked in his version of a laugh, this one tinged with some irritation. “You might could say that. But I wouldn’t bring it up. Just try and keep it strictly about the job.”
Oh ho, like that is it. And it was easy to see after Lev put it the way he did. “So … it’s something personal?”
“Yeah. Family stuff and I can sympathize. But you gotta have boundaries. He’s letting his worlds collide and instead of dealing with it, he lets it stress him out. Don’t sweat it. I’m hoping he gets a grip but if he doesn’t, I’ll go mano a mano with him.”
“Girls need not apply?”
“Eh, something like that.”
“Well Grampy, just because you are older and have more experience than Rick or I doesn’t mean I can’t help. Clue me in if you think something needs to be said. Rick is a decent guy and sometimes life just sucks.”
He nodded slowly and then said, “I see where Benny gets his empathy bone from.”
“What?!” I laughed nearly choking on a bite of my own sandwich. Benny had eaten and wanted to get back to organizing “Crew Quarters” and his Junior Ranger notebook so that the State Park stuff would fit neatly. “Dude, you’ve got to be kidding.”
“No, uh uh. You put yourself down too much. Just because you are in a position you can’t always give people what they want, doesn’t mean you don’t try and give people what they need. You read Rick and I pretty good. Give us enough rope we can hang ourselves with, but you try and not let it get that far. Like Rick and his stupids about the food.”
I was surprised he’d noticed. “Eh … he had it bad as a kid and he knows he has to be super careful.”
“I get that and by the way, my guts are all kinds of grateful. I feel better every day. But you’d think that since Rick hasn’t had any problem with your menus up to this point and he knows how careful you are with Benny, that he’d at least relax a little.”
I shrugged. “No skin off my nose. Yeah, I mean sometimes it feels … well insulting isn’t exactly it … but it seems Rick could trust me at least some of the time.”
Giving me insight I hadn’t had up to that point Lev responded, “I don’t think Rick trusts himself much less anyone else.”
“He trusts his uncle.”
“Yeah, and there in lies a problem. I get the feeling the uncle … er …”
Some things finally started clicking into place. “Rick is like twenty-six and wants a life of his own. But he respects his uncle too much to give him the fight they probably both need to loosen the tow-line Rick’s got around his neck.”
“Did he tell you?”
“No. I’ve just had too many friends that have had parents that mean well but are overbearing about their mean well’s.”
“Well, you reached the correct conclusion. At least in my opinion. Guy needs to either poop or get off the pot … er …”
“Relax. I’m not made of glass, and I heard my dad say that enough that I have to catch myself not to say it in front of Benny.” I chuckled again when Lev did visibly relax while nodding at my unspoken request. “Look, I’m not going to gossip about Rick any more than I’d do it to you … and hope you guys don’t do that to Benny and I … so I’d like to drop this. However, I will try and help Rick not be so rigid. But since it didn’t get broke overnight it isn’t going to get fixed in that time either. You want some popcorn to munch on while you work?”
“Yes. And thanks for the help with Rick. He’s a good guy. I think if the other wasn’t going on in his life this wouldn’t be a prob … but it’s making him a little harder to work with than necessary. I don’t want it to show up in my work or have to get taken to the next level to prevent that from happening.”
Lev is a good guy too. Most people would have simply complained to their bosses as CYA than made the effort to fix something before it broke. Rick slunk back into camp after supper. No clue if he ate or not but he didn’t turn down the bottom of the bowl of popcorn that Lev offered him that I’ve kept filled most of the day. I also saw them shake hands. Something is still going on though because there’s like this wall Rick has put up. I’m not sure if I want to make the effort to climb over or not.
Resources:
Historic Russ House Visitors Center attraction reviews - Historic Russ House Visitors Center tickets - Historic Russ House Visitors Center discounts - Historic Russ House Visitors Center transportation, address, opening hours - attractions, hotels, and food near Historic Russ House Visitors Center - Trip.com
Marianna Civil War Battlefield attraction reviews - Marianna Civil War Battlefield tickets - Marianna Civil War Battlefield discounts - Marianna Civil War Battlefield transportation, address, opening hours - attractions, hotels, and food near Marianna Civil War Battlefield - Trip.com
Bar L Citrus
Malone Pecan Company
World Famous Tupelo Honey - Smiley B. Farms
Home | Green Gate Olive Grove
Historical Markers and War Memorials in Jackson County, Florida
[1] Cashew-Curry Chicken Salad
December 4 (Sa) - Torreya State Park (camp)
Some days I think I like Rick, some days I could kick him. This was mostly a kick him day. The kind of day when I wonder what it is I see in him. He’s smart. He’s got charisma when he bothers to use it. We have a lot of similarities in other areas. And if I’m honest he reminds me a little bit of a grown up Benny if Benny was a kid that that took longer to figure out the gluten issues. And shame on me but he is also nice to look at. He always looks on me approvingly when I work out and encourages Benny as well. I don’t know, today was just one of those days when none of that was enough to keep me from wanting to kick him.
I gave a lot of thought to what Lev had asked of me and since I had agreed to try and help Rick find some flexibility I figured sooner rather than later. I caught on quick that today probably wasn’t going to be a good day to try and say something. Man does that guy have walls. And today they’ve been tall, thick, and with razor wire running on top. Geez.
We got up on time and I had good oatmeal for breakfast … and the first kick ‘em in the seat of his pants feeling came when Rick turned his nose up at it and had a gluten-free Keto type meal replacement bar instead … that had apples and pecans that I had cracked myself in it. Grrrr. Gus does not like to waste food. Thankfully Lev polished off the extra and gave me that happy hound look he has. Benny also got a good helping. Me? I lost my appetite but forced myself to eat just because it was too stupid not to.
We had a drive that should have taken about a half hour but took twice that because of construction traffic and because it was the weekend and people were just out being holiday happy. Rick is wearing a hole in his seat over “the delay.” I swear if he had asked me if I could go around someone one more time I was going to leave him on the side of the road. I was in a boat of a van and pulling the Jeep. You don't just casually pass someone with that set up.
Once we got to the park – Torreya State Park – he calmed down a bit, and he better be glad he did. He almost said we didn’t have time to pick up Benny’s Junior Ranger stuff but I think he realized I’d about had it with whatever routine he had going on because he backed up and said he had a meeting he had to get to, to go over something or other that I was basically refusing to listen to at that point. Benny was trying not to be upset about the entire Junior Ranger thing and that was just one more thing I started carrying around in my bag of hurt feelings.
After Rick took off towards the park office Lev quietly asked me, “You okay for today?”
“Yeah, just give me a few to focus on Benny before you take any film of me. My face would probably break your camera.”
He snickered seeing that I was willing to work through it. “Let’s just say I’m glad I’m not the one on the other end of that stare you have going on right now.”
I took a deep breath and cleared my throat and tried to clear my brain. “Rick is wound a little tight this morning. Any idea why?”
“Not anything specific. I know he doesn’t want to do whatever he is supposed to do on his day off tomorrow.”
“Then big boy can say no.”
“You’d think but we don’t know what is on the other side of whatever is occurring. I hate to ask but can you put it to the side. I know you don’t like to be fake, and I’m not asking that, just …”
“I’ll do this for Benny. And because I agreed to do this job. Maybe this is just that one month hump I hear people talk about when you’ve worked a job and reality sorta sets in … with the job and with the people.”
He shrugged, “Yeah maybe. Just, try and put it to the side. Whatever is going on isn’t your fault, you are just catching blowback from it.”
“Yeah. I’ll adult. But he better watch his attitude around Benny. I can only explain it away so much and then there is going to be a problem even if I’m not the one to create it. I want us all to be friends and yada, yada, yada but Benny is my primary responsibility.”
Lev got it in spades but I did try and tone my attitude back. I know some of it may be a bit hyper-protective. I know I need to teach Benny to cope with people who are having a bad day. However, his sometimes extreme empathy response is really pronounced in a kid his age, so until he can cope it is Aunt Gus’ job to filter the world for him like I was lucky enough to have people do for me when I was his age.
Just to get things rolling like we normally do we did an overview of the park including some history. Torreya State Park is one of the original Florida state parks developed by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the Great Depression; it opened to the public in 1935. The park is named for the rare Florida tree Torreya taxifolia, which was named itself for American botanist John Torrey. It is an endangered tree in the Yew family. It is also called the Florida Nutmeg (count me clueless why) and Stinking Cedar (oh yeah, that I can understand, pee-u). The tree is restricted to limestone bluffs and ravines along the east bank of the Apalachicola River in the central part of the northern Florida Panhandle and immediately adjacent southernmost Georgia. A sign-thingie explained that there used to be one small colony west of the Apalachicola at Dog Pond in Jackson County, but it no longer exists.
The land was selected to be a park primarily because it had a few historical sites including six Confederate gun pits along Battery or Neal’s Bluff and an antebellum cotton warehouse at Rock Bluff Landing. Those CCC planners also dismantled and relocated the historic Jason Gregory House from its original location at Ocheesee Landing across the Apalachicola River into the park. The house’s current location on the high bluffs overlooking the river now provides one of Florida’s most scenic views. Or so said a sign-thingie in the area.
We headed back to camp and I panicked for a moment because the van was not where I had left it. A ranger said that Rick had moved it to our new camp location. Well I was trying not to blow a gasket.
Lev said, “Let me handle this. And I’m not saying you’re wrong but you are too pizzed to maybe … not kill him.”
All I could do was nod. Well it didn’t take Lev long to find him and Rick came jogging to meet us on our walk to our new site.
“Hey.”
I decided to play it like a grownup and nodded. “Little warning next time please.”
“Er … yeah. I thought I would find you before you … uh … noticed. Look, I shoulda called or something but we got lucky.”
“Lucky.”
“Yeah. Somebody cancelled for one of the sites with the yurts.”
I’d seen them from a distance.
“Okay, what’s the arrangements?”
“We’ll all sleep inside – you and Benny sharing, Lev and I in bunks. Let me show you around.”
I was just going to let it go then couldn’t. I stopped him and asked Benny to wait for me by a tree. “Rick, I appreciate you did a good thing. Really. Yurts sound all kinds of cool. Just … please don’t move the van without warning again. It’s not just a vehicle … it’s our one and only home for the last nine months and for the foreseeable future. And it holds all our worldly goods.”
He went blank face for nearly ten seconds then grimaced when what I said finally sunk in.
“Dammit. I … I didn’t think. Is Benny really shook up?”
“Not after the other ranger let us know so quickly. My heart beat is still moderating. I don’t want to take away from your surprise … just …”
He was apologetic which took him off the naughty list but he got a call from someone in the office making him grimace. “Go do the Super Ranger thing. Do you need lunch? I was about to fix it.”
“No. They ordered in a salad for me and even remembered to leave the croutons off this time. Thanks anyway. Look around and see what you think. Oh … and um … I might not be back for dinner either but I will be back before it gets too late. I have to take a day off tomorrow.”
I nodded and he left at a trot and Lev came out of the trees as he’d been giving us time to hash things out.
“Aunt Gus? Lev and I are starving.”
Switching gears I gave him a funny face. “After all that oatmeal at breakfast?!”
Being a serious stinker he told me, “You cook too good.”
I let him know with a look I was on to his game but that I would let it slide. He grinned showing he was glad I was getting over my mad.
As I plated up the Crunchy Tuna Wraps[1] I had prepped Lev asked me quietly, “Everything okay? In your shoes I might have risked the decapitation anyway. This is y’alls house.”
I blinked and was able to relax. Someone got it. “Yeah. He apologized and everything.”
“After lunch you wanna look inside the funny building?”
“It’s a yurt. And yes.”
Gotta admit, yurts are cool. And this one came with a wall unit AC and a fake (electric) wood stove. There was a skylight with a fan, a locking door, and some table and chairs. There was even electricity but no lamps or anything like that. And you weren’t supposed to cook in the yurt either, as in no open flames and that included cigs or vaping or open flame lanterns. I could understand. Basically it is just a wood frame covered by a canvas skin.
After lunch we hiked on some of the 16 miles of trails in the park, let Benny play on the playground a bit until some other kids came along and got too rambunctious and make him anxious, learned about some of the geology of the park, and then returned to camp so I could fix dinner before it got dark. Rick showed up right as I was trying to figure out what to do with the last of the Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue[2] and was very grateful when I offered it to him.
“Thank you,” he said.
“I thought they were going to provide you with at least a salad.”
A little embarrassed he muttered, “Was only lettuce and a vinaigrette dressing left over from lunch. Nowhere near as big as you make them either.”
I knew a popcorn night when I saw it so while Rick finished one thing, I made another and all three of the guys dug in to their bowls.
Lev and I took care of the privacy issues by stringing up my spare sheets. Benny finally brought The Crew inside but he put them on a chair by the bed.
“Think I’ll squish them?” I whispered to Benny.
He snickered and said just as quietly, “They’re bed hogs. They can stay in their quarters tonight. They understand.”
“Cool. The leaders can stay out …”
“No, it’s okay. Some of the Crew are a little young so they need the Leaders to stay with them.”
“Sounds like a plan. You, however, will keep your elbows, knees, and feet in the bed and on your side.”
That really did make him snicker. I know it is hopeless, I just don’t want to wind up with bruised kidneys again. Sleeping with Benny can be like sleeping with a wiggle worm that is all sharp edges and points.
[1] Crunchy Tuna Wraps
[2] Classic Swiss Cheese Fondue Recipe
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Wonderful Kathy thank you. Lev sounds like a beter guy than Rick, sorry to say