2025 – New Year – New Adventures!

Recapping 2024 – we rode our bikes only 212 miles last year, drove Acey 4,478 miles, Thor added 8,567 miles and we visited just 7 states FLA, AL, SC, KY, OH, MI and GA – but we got our house finished and we moved into it last June!

We had intended to leave Tennessee on Friday December 27, but since Chuck surprised us with his arrival on Christmas Day, with plans to leave on Saturday to get back for work, we delayed our departure one day – which worked out well! It was pouring down rain Friday morning which would have made for an unpleasant time getting set up to leave. We had more time to finish packing and also were able to have our usual Friday happy hour at Yazoo and dinner out with Chris – and  Chuck – Eve joined us too!

So, we left our sticks-n-bricks home at 8:40 am on Saturday December 28 with 103,580.2 miles on Acey and 134,031 on Thor. It was a good day to travel – not too much traffic and the weather was clear. We crossed the TN/AL state line at 10:30.

By 5pm, we had arrived at the Dothan RV Park. We were assigned a pull-thru spot which made it convenient to not disconnect Thor for our overnight stay. We got back on the road at 7:38am on December 29 with 103,992.9 miles on Acey. It was drizzling (“liquid sunshine”!) as we arrived in Florida.

By 3pm we arrived at Thousand Trails Three Flags RV Campground in Wildwood, FL. Our friends Russ and Adele invited us to their New Year’s Eve gathering in The Villages and we enjoyed bringing in the New Year with them! A week later, we went out for dinner with them at the Tap House Social in The Villages. Alas – no photos – we were enjoying our time but forgot to take any pictures…

We rode our bicycles several times on the Withlacoochee State Trail from Inverness. This is a great rails-to-trail path!

The railroad that ran through this area was built to support the phosphate industry in Florida.

It’s a well-kept trail with some good shade.  

More Cooter Turtle sculptures were added along the road in Inverness last November. (Link to news story) Lots of Cooter Turtles can be seen in nearby Cooter Pond – which was featured in a previous blog. These 3 colorful sculptures were constructed from recycled aluminum cans!

After one of our rides, this Lamborghini was parked near our Jeep! 

We rode our bicycles a total of 75.6 miles during our two week stay. On days that we didn’t ride, we walked a couple of miles around the RV park. Many folks still had their Christmas decorations up.

We left Three Flags at 11:30 on January 11 with 104,299.2 miles on Acey and 134,362 on Thor. We arrived at Southern Palms RV Resort in Eustis, FL 12:20 and got settled in.  We frequently walked around this RV park as well. There was a cormorant spreading its wings by a pond – it must have gone fishing!  

We often see Florida sandhill cranes around the RV parks and sometimes when we are out biking. These cranes are a non-migratory species that nest in freshwater ponds and marshes.

Herman occupies the driver seat when Acey is parked.

We drove to Winter Garden to ride in the West Orange Trail.

There we encountered a couple more sculptures along the way!

We rode a few times on the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway – a hilly bike trail that includes a landbridge over I-75.

Traffic on the interstate below was moving right along!

This is one of our more challenging trails with a few good inclines and we occasionally see horses along the way!

We had a bit of a cold spell the week of January 20 and attended the Fleetwood Motorhome Association Rally FMA4fun for our second year.  Conveniently, it was held at the RV park.

There were informative sessions on many topics during the days. Here are some slides from one of the talks; be prepared – safety is always a good thing!

We had delicious food and great entertainment several evenings. We really enjoyed seeing Bill D. Williams again this year!

Chris Sacks played another night; his wife joined him for a couple of tunes.

The shifters on our bikes were not working well, and Jim replaced the shifters and cables. The cables had rusted and frayed making them stick inside the housing – very thankful that Jim is so handy! We also got covers to put over the handlebars to keep the rain out; hopefully preventing the cables from rusting again. We also have covers on our seats; when we are travelling with Acey, the bikes stay outside, so these covers help keep things dry and clean.

The rear tires on our bikes were looking worn after riding over 3,000 miles! Jim ordered new tires from Amazon and got them put on. We rode our bikes 69 miles during our stay at Southern Palms.

On January 28, we visited Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees, as we did last year. The rangers count the manatees each day – that morning, they counted 427!

These creatures are so unusual, and it was another nice cool day to be outside in Florida!

There certainly were a lot of manatees!

Some were QUITE large!

A young manatee was nursing as it floated along next to its mother. Manatee nipples are located in the “armpit” just below the flippers.

Some manatees that have been tagged with tracking devices – usually after being released from rehab. They are attached with a belt that will break free if needed. 

This manatee has scars – probably from running into a boat’s propeller.

This link has some interesting information about manatees.

Besides the manatees, there were some interesting birds along the Blue Springs Run.

And there were a lot of fish as well – safe from the manatees because their diet consists mainly of seagrass!

On February 1, Acey had 104,370.5 miles and Thor had 135,239 when we left Southern Palms just before 11AM.  We stopped at a parking lot for a few minutes because TTO will not allow RVs to arrive before noon; we arrived at Thousand Trails Orlando at 12:10.

While walking around the RV park, we watched a gopher tortoises crossing a road.

We saw another one in the grass

Oh wow – this T-Rex is busting thru the windshield! 

We really enjoyed our visit to Gatorland in Orlando (link) on February 4. It is  “The Alligator Capital of the World®”; we saw LOTS of gators and other animals! This gaping gator jaw has been greeting visitors to the park since 1962.

As we began our journey thru the park, there were sections with platforms where gators were divided by age groups. They seemed to like to pile on top of each other!

Gator of all sizes – and colors! The white gator is leucistic, not albino; very rare!

They had a display of macaws, parrots and cockatoos.

We saw some baby Cuban Crocodiles – the lighting made them rather green!

There were 3 shows to see on the day we visited – first up the Up Close Encounters!

Boa or python? We can’t remember – just glad we didn’t get called to participate!

The Gator Jumparoo Show was awesome; they strung chicken on hooks and send them down a line for the gators to jump up and catch!

And the last show Legends of the Swamp featured some alligator wrestling and gator facts.

A very unusual alligator that was rescued and being cared for by Gatorland – meet Jawlene!

A pair of Florida Panthers are right at home in the park. We caught them catnapping!

And Emus! We didn’t see LiMu emu…

Giant tortoises! These guys were indeed GIANT! They represent three of the largest species in the world – Galapagos Tortoise, Aldabra Giant Tortoise and Sulcata African Spurred Tortoise… some park visitors were feeding them with lettuce on tongs!

The Very Merry Aviary – a small enclosure with hundreds of budgerigars. Watch your step!

And MORE gators around the park…

A raised boardwalk made for an adventure on a walkway through the swamp – providing a taste of “Old Florida”.

We enjoyed our day at Gatorland and hope to return again someday!

The Van Fleet Trail is a rail trail that we have ridden several times. It is very straight and flat with little shade. We rode this trail 3 times while at TTO.

The trail runs thru part of Florida’s massive Green Swamp, and we saw some more wildlife there!

A couple of fellows were stopped on the side of the trail, looking at this (cottonmouth?) snake!

We had our slide covers replaced – a job Jim did not want to tackle!

The South Lake Trail in Clermont is another favorite bike trail. Much of the trail follows along the south shore of Lake Minneola; on a warm day the breeze off the lake is refreshing!

At a lunch stop one day, a squirrel checking out the trash can stopped for a photo!

We rode the South Lake Trail 3 times putting 96 miles on our bikes during our 2 weeks at TTO.

We enjoyed a Valentines Day lunch at the Salt Shack, located on the lake; we ride by it frequently since it is right next to the South Lake Trail!

Some folks arrived in a sea plane for some good eats!

On Sunday mornings, we go to YouTube to see the previous week’s service at our home church, Stephens Valley Church (SVC) in Nashville. It’s a great way to worship and keep in touch with our church family.

On most Sunday evenings, we Zoom with the family – connecting with those scattered all over the US – as many as 15 of us if everyone signs in!!

We left Thousand Trails Orlando at 10:30 on February 15 and stopped briefly at a parking lot, so as to not arrive too early to Clerbrook Golf & RV Resort; arriving at 12:20. Since the two RV parks are fairly close together, we did not attach our toad, so Linda followed Acey in Thor.

We walked around the park several times and saw a variety of wildlife. We watched this turtle cross the road, to be sure it made it safely!

A cormorant on the golf course

another sandhill crane

and an ibis

On the 26th, we drove over to New Smyrna Beach and walked 6 miles on the beach.

Lots of activity at the beach! With the hard packed sand, they allow vehicles to drive on the beach.

We passed several lifeguard stands along the way.

Lots of sea gulls playing at the shore.

Meanwhile, our nephew Steve was enjoying a snowy day in Oregon!

We went for one last ride on the South Lake Trail before packing up to return to Thousand Trails Orlando and Jim’s derailleur broke into several pieces that we couldn’t find! Amazon to the rescue; we were able to get a new derailleur just like the one that broke: Jim got it replaced! We rode about 38 miles during our stay.

On March 1, we left Clerbrook and returned to TT Orlando, Herman was ready to roll!

More wildlife and sights to see as we took walks around the park.

You never know what you might see…

This Greyhound bus conversion was interesting – would have loved to see inside!

On March 4, we rode 15 miles on the Van Fleet Trail – we always see wildlife there!

On March 6, we went to Lowe’s to pick up a few things we would need for the build-out we planned for the detached garage which includes a bathroom – Jim’s next project! Buying some things in Florida would save some time and some sales tax too!

We rode 10.5 miles on the South Lake Trail on March 7. As we were loading our bikes, we met a young gal visiting from Washington State. She was participating in the triathlon being held in Clermont the next day. She had rented a bike for the event and told us of a car wreck she had a few years back when she broke her collarbone and had to have surgery – she had a small visible lump toward her left shoulder where they used plates and screws for the repair. We told her about our son Chuck who has competed in several Ironman triathlons and acknowledged the training she must have endured; we wished her good luck and headed back to Acey.

We had lots of plans for the next few weeks; Rob planned to drive up from south Florida the next day and bring his bike. Once he arrived, we would go for a ride on the South Lake Trail, visit the 2 breweries in Clermont and have a tasty dinner on the lake at the Salt Shack. After spending the night with us, Jim would make pancakes before Rob left to get back home. We would stay another week at TTO, then spend a few days in Trenton with our friends Kimberly and Lee (who we met on the Alaska caravan) and then head to Baton Rouge to see Chuck before arriving home on March 28th, in time to be home for Palm Sunday and Easter.

Well… Rob arrived on Saturday March 8 and we fixed lunch. It was a beautiful day for a bike ride with a high of 79 and low humidity. After riding about 10 miles on the South Lake Trail, and heading toward the car, Linda somehow lost her balance and fell. We headed to the ER and discovered she broke her clavicle and ribs 1-4! Her right arm was not broken but very bruised – and her knee was skinned – we were thankful it wasn’t any worse! After 3 days in the hospital, we headed home in Acey on Tuesday March 11. We passed under the landbridge for the Cross Florida Trail as we headed north on I-75.

We had 2 overnights on the way and arrived home just after noon on Thursday the 13th. Members of our church provided meals for several days which helped immensely. Linda had basically no use of her right arm – from having the arm in a sling and basically immobile for 10 days. It was very interesting teaching the left hand all sorts of new tricks! Her orthopedic doctor agreed with the hospital that the break would not require surgery, praise God! He suggested to only wear the sling when in public, and to get the arm moving! But, it will be 3 months before things are “normal” again, and several sessions of Physical Therapy to help with strength and mobility.

There was a total lunar eclipse on March 13-14, when the Moon passed into Earth’s shadow and took on a reddish hue. Its often referred to as a “Blood Moon.”  Unfortunately, we missed seeing it, but here’s a photo from the internet.

While Linda rested on the reclining couch, Jim got to work on the buildout in the detached garage – space for a workshop and bathroom below, an office and storage above.

Panoramic shot; wall IS straight!! The wall will be finished all the way from front to back on lower level; 60 feet.

Building out walls for the bathroom.

Dividing wall – and stairs; we had Vince help with the stairs (Jim helped Vince build our deck).

We got back home about 3 weeks earlier than we anticipated, and were indeed present for Palm Sunday and Easter! The children had a joyful procession with palm branches and sang to the congregation.

Stairs and railing are done and the upper-level floor and railing too.

The plumbing was roughed in and the shower stall placed.

The storage area upstairs will have a painted floor.

Linda had a bit of a set-back – she ran out of the prescription pain meds and muscle relaxer and started taking ibuprofen; often on an empty stomach. Who knew that was not a good idea? She ended up with several ulcers and her HGB fell below 7. After a transfusion and change of meds, she is doing much better! She is getting more movement in her arm – the healing process is moving along!

The wild turkeys (or county commissioners as Jim likes to say 😊) have been hanging out in our front and back yards. There sure are a lot of them!

We missed meeting up with Kimberly and Lee when we were in Florida, but they stopped by on their way up East. We met them on our 2023 Alaska caravan. We paid a visit to Yazoo where they sampled several brews and met Chris. Linda had her own drink – no alcohol involved…

Later, Jim gave them a tour of the brewery.

Kim & Lee live full time in their motorhome and we look forward to seeing them again!

What a busy time we had the first quarter of 2025! Linda will continue PT for a few more weeks and we’ll be ready for more adventures soon!