January 3, 2012 by steve.

Our last trip to Mayakka State Park was immediately before our Great American Road Trip in March of 2010. On our previous trip we’d done the ranger tours, the airboat ride and the tram tour, so this trip was to have a bit of a different tone to it. We were going to do stuff outside the park.

We stated with a trip to the Rosa Fiorelli winery that is located just north of the park. In addition to collecting all the local state park stamps, we’ve also started making sure we drive to every winery within a days drive of the places we camp. This winery was a pleasant place, don’t ask me about the wine, I don’t drink it, that’s Lady CurbCrusher’s job. The folks that ran this place were friendly and jovial, and that made the stop pleasant. The shop was small, and had about 10 people in it, and only room at the tasting bar for 2, so it made for an intimate wine tasting.

Our next stop was Hunsader Farm, which we passed on the way to the winery. This was a cute, kitschy kind of place with a produce stand, petting zoo and other activities.

Finally it was time to eat, so we headed into Sarasota to Yoders Amish restaurant. Lady CurbCrusher had heard about this place, so we decided to try it out. They are famous for their pies, but all the food is excellent. The line was out the door when we got there around 3:00pm, and we when left about ninety minutes later, the line was around the side of the building. We indulged in large high cholesterol meals of country fried steak, fried chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. Then topped it all off with pie for desert. We had apple, peanut butter cream and pecan pie. All the food was delicious and the portions were generous. It was definitely worth the wait.

The next day we headed out to a farmer’s market that we’d seen on the way out the back entrance to the park the day before, and found much more. It turned out it is the Crowley Museum and Nature Center. In addition to the farmer’s market on Saturday morning, they have a local history museum and a nature trail that wanders through the area. If you are a first time visitor to the farmer’s market, they will give you a free ticket to the museum and nature center. Always looking for free stuff, we took advantage of the offer and spent an hour or so looking through the exhibits and walking the nature trail. The exhibits were a good representation of the local history and very informative.

Our final activity for the trip was to eat at the Alpine Steak House. Mr. CurbCrusher had been watching Diners, Drive-ins and Dives a couple of weeks before the trip and seen the Alpine Steak House and it’s TurDuckEn dish featured. Since we were going to be in Sarasota, it seemed only natural to go eat there. There was no line at the Alpine Steak House, so unlike Yoders, we were inside and seated within seconds of arriving. The food was good, but did not live up to the expectations. Mr. CurbCrusher had the TurDuckEn, while Lady CurbCrusher had a chicken, and Little CurbCrusher went with a hamburger. We all enjoyed our meals, but they weren’t anything great. Given a choice, I’d probably make the trip to Yoder’s and wait in line.

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December 22, 2011 by steve.

Way behind on trying to post our trips. It’s February and I’ve got to go back to December to start catching up. After last years trip to James Island South Carolina for Thanksgiving and the Christmas lights there, we thought we’d try something closer to home. So we headed up to the junction of I-75 and I-10 for White Springs, Florida and the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park. Lady CurbCrusher had heard that they light up the park as a drive through Christmas light display.

Before	After

We arrived on Friday afternoon and the first thing we had to do was put a 100 miles on the car. Lady CurbCrusher has a Florida State Park Passport book, and therefore we need to visit all the state parks and get stamps. So after pitching camp, we headed over to Madison Blue Springs State Park. Where we discovered that the State of Florida has sucked all the fun out of the park. We had visited here in 2008 and had a blast jumping into the water and swimming. However, some time in the intervening three and half years, the state has removed the jumping platform. It’s ashame because Madison Blue Springs has always been fondly remembered as one of the great days of fun we had camping, and a place we’d looked forward to going again. Alas, no more. We also stopped by Suwannee River State Park and collected Lady CurbCrusher’s stamp before heading back to Stephen Foster.

Back at Stephen Foster we had a nice dinner, and the headed out to walk around the park. We walked down to the craft village where most of the activities were taking place. There was a funnel cake concession, free popcorn and hot chocolate. Santa was wondering around, and all-in-all a festive Christmas atmosphere was to be found. All the craft houses were decorated, as was most of the park. This included the bell tower and its surrounding area, where they were making it snow every hour. While it was not as large as the James Island light display, it was a large light display, and much more pedestrian friendly that the Charleston park. We spent a good bit of time on both of our nights in the park wandering around the lights.

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November 28, 2011 by steve.

Just a couple of weeks after Halloween and the CurbCrushers are headed to Mr. CurbCruhser’s hometown of Pensacola, Florida. This historic City of Five Flags was actually settled prior to St. Augustine, but the Spaniards that set up housekeeping on the barrier island got introduced to the Gulf of Mexico weather phenomenon known as a hurricane and found their boats sunk, and their huts washed away. Fortunately, the CurbCrusher family settled there quite some time later when people had learned to build houses inland.

In addition to Veteran’s Day being a nationally recognized day of remembrance, for a number of years the Navy’s Blue Angel Flight Demonstration Team has held a homecoming air show at Sherman Field in Pensacola. There also happens to be a campground right across the street from Sherman Field by the name of Oak Grove, run by the recreation and welfare folks at Pensacola Naval Air Station. Through good fortune and the service of Father CurbCrusher (Mr. CurbCrusher’s Dad), we were able to make a family trip out of this and stay at Oak Grove during Veteran’s Day Weekend.
We arrived on Thursday afternoon, after the drive up from Orlando and got ourselves situated in the park. The trip was uneventful, and that’s how we like our trips. We did have a new toy to play with on the trip, a Droid Bionic phone from Verizon. Using he mobile hotspot feature, we kept an Internet connection for pretty much the entire trip, and Little CurbCrusher was happy to sit in the back on her iPod and chat away with friends while we drove. Lady CurbCrusher was able to Google stuff anytime she wanted on the trip, and we even streamed some radio along the way when the local station’s programming was wanting.

We started our Friday with breakfast, then packed our chairs into the cart and hiked over to the air show. We spent a good part of the morning wandering around the static displays. Lots of planes and stuff on display, and plenty to keep busy. The show portion started around 10am with a number of acts like Otto the Helicopter clown, Shockwave the Jet Truck, and a couple of heritage flights.

After a full morning of air show acts, and a good bit of the afternoon, around 2:30pm or so the main act got under way with the Blue Angels. Awesome show!

All the pictures from the airshow are on my Flickr stream.

Well, that wasn’t enough for one day. We walked back to the RV for dinner, then headed back over to the flight line for the night show. The Blue Angels don’t fly in the night show, and I was sort of wondering what a night air show would be like, and what could you see. It was pretty cool actually. A couple of the acts flew and had pyrotechnics that launched from the wings. The Shockwave Jet Truck made another appearance and the night ended it the wall of fire. All of the night show photos can be found here.

After a full day, and part of a night, at the air show, we slept late on Saturday morning. Following a leisurely breakfast, we headed out to Big Lagoon State Park located just west of the Navy base (Pictures). We also made a trip over to Ft. Pickens and checked out the campground. We had not stopped by Ft. Pickens since 2004, when we camped there right after Hurricane Charley had hit us in Orlando, but before Hurricane Ivan struck Pensacola. Ivan had pretty much destroyed the road to Ft. Pickens, along with damaging other parts of the park. Ft. Pickens has been open and operating for a while and looks like it should be a great place to camp again.

Sunday started early. Mr. CurbCrusher came up with a crazy idea last January. He and his Uncle should enter the Disney Goofy Challenge in January 2012. The Goofy Challenge is where you pay way too much money to have the privilege of running a half-marathon on Saturday and a full Marathon on Sunday at Disney World. The second part of the idea was to challenge Father CurbCrusher to run the half-marathon. Well, its been almost a full year of preparation and all the participant were in Pensacola, and they were having a marathon and a half-marathon. So we all entered the half-marathon for a nice brisk run. We all had a nice run and everyone finished within the cut off time. The pictures are not on Flickr yet, but I’ll come back and edit the post when they are.

So, what do you do after running a half-marathon. Go climb a lighthouse. Lady CurbCrusher had climbed the Pensacola light house before, but Mr. CurbCrusher and Little CurbCrusher had not. So we walked the half mile over to the lighthouse and climbed to the top. The view is wonderful, and the museum is pretty good also. Lighthouse pictures are here.

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November 5, 2011 by steve.

It’s Halloween again, and the CurbCrushers are headed to Fort Wilderness, the Disney campground experience. We’ve spent the last couple of years at “the Fort” for Halloween, and decided that this year would be no different. Lady and Little CurbCrusher headed out early, while I worked a few more hours so that we could afford the gas in the motorhome for the 26 mile trip. Since they went out around 9:30am, they experienced something we’d never seen before, no line at the gate. Of course it still took 20 minutes to check-in, but hey you didn’t have to wait for a bunch of folks.

Of course they had an ulterior motive for heading out early, a short trip to the Magic Kingdom. They took the boat over to the Magic Kingdom and rode a couple of rides and wandered around the shops until I arrived around 1:30. After getting the motorhome parked, we headed over to EPCOT to enjoy the Food and Wine Festival one last time before our passes expired. We had planned to stay until the fireworks, but after eating our way around the world, we headed back to Fort Wilderness around dark. We made two or three trips to EPCOT for the Food and Wine Festival this year, and all the Food and Wine pics can be found here.

Back at Fort Wilderness, we had dinner and then wandered over to the Port Orleans Riverside resort to see Piano Bob. Lady CurbCrusher had read about Piano Bob on another website, and thought we should go visit. Bob does a good show, he interacts with the audience, and sings “old people” music according to Little CurbCrusher. However, we all had a good time. I don’t know if I could take Bob every night, but its probably a good once a year show to catch. The service is so bad in the lounge, that the show turns out to be free. If you can find a waiter, you can order drinks, but we had a hard time getting the attention of the two guys working the room. We ordered something to drink twice, and the second time it took about 40 minutes to have them served. So, take a bottle of water, go and enjoy the show.

We started the next day out decorating our site. As you see to the left, its not really a lot of decorating, compared with what some of the folks do (see below), but we put out a few things and tried and get into the spirit of the holiday. We spent the rest of the day wandering around the Fort, and ended the day with a Giddy-up-and-go package from the food place down near the marina. This is basically like visiting a KFC, Disney style. The day ended with a friend of Little CurbCrusher’s showing up to spend the rest of the weekend, and Halloween with us.

Two big things happen at the Fort over Halloween, the Golf cart parade and the trick-or-treating. There are a number of activities that take place, and rather than writing all about them, I’ll just illustrate them below.

Pumpkin Carving Contest

Golf Cart Parade

The Pet Parade

Trick or Treating Candy delivered by train

Needless to say we all had a great time at Fort Wilderness. We were up early the day after Halloween and packed for the long 26 mile trip home. To see all the photos we took at the Fort, visit the CurbCrusher PhotoStream on Flickr.

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July 21, 2011 by steve.

As noted in the previous post, Mr. CurbCrusher is suspended from writing the blog until further notice. Here’s LadyCurbCrusher’s take on our trip to Unicoi State Park in north Georgia.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Today we drive around Atlanta and check in at Unicoi. The drive was mostly uneventful except for all the white vehicles that went from one side of the interstate to the complete other side often without any warning. When we got off the Interstate the fun started with the ups and downs and double S curves of the mountain area. After 3 hours we arrived in the town of Helen and drove through it to get to Unicoi SP.

At Unicoi you check in at the lodge then go to your colored site. Our site was white for full hook up (water, electric and sewer). The sites are much closer together than in the other camping areas but we do have sewer so we don’t have to watch our tanks as closely here. When we arrived there were only 3 sites available to chose from so I picked site #26. It looked the longest at the time. One benefit was there is a small stream called Big Brook that runs behind our site and we have a cleared access to it. The mountains are not cool this year; they seem even more humid than FL right now. The outside temps are in the upper 70’s to mid 80’s but with the humidity it seems more.

After setting up we took a short tour of Unicoi. We started back at the lodge(which has free wi-fi), drove to where the beach is and then moved on to Anna Ruby Falls next door. We had stopped here previously about 4 years ago so we knew what to expect. We paid our admission($2 pp) and then parked and started walking up the trail to the waterfalls. This is a nice path that is paved until you come to the platforms with stairs right at the waterfalls. the path is only 4/10 mile so it is not too hard to walk but it is steep in several places.

After picture taking and walking back down we went into the store and bought ice cream to enjoy after the hot walk. They have a very nice store at the base and they carry a variety of merchandise. I really liked the pottery that comes from this area.

After returning to the campsite CC and I walked to the store and interpretive center in the campground while TCC went to the playground nearby. Then we had dinner and CC and I walked around the lake and went out on the docks to see if we could find fish. We met our neighbors from the Tampa area. They have a famous Golden Retriever named Rusty that has his own sidecar and trailer towed behind their motorcycle. He is so cute sitting up with his goggles on as he rides behind them. They told us he had his picture on the front page of the paper during bike week.

Monday, July 11, 2011

We started today by having our usual pancakes then going into Helen to look around. The traffic really seems to die off after the weekend is over. We just came off a holiday week as well so that probably slowed things down some. A few of the shops weren’t even open so it made the shopping much easier on the pocketbook. We saw some T-shirt shops we want to return to. CC saw a t-shirt that said “I’ve hiked the entire (width of the) Appalachian Trail” that he wants to acquire after doing so. TCC seemed fascinated with the glass blowing shop but no one was making glass figurines when we were there. After walking the entire length of the street we stopped at Troll Tavern which is right on the Chattahoochee River to watch the tubers go by and have lunch. We spent an enjoyable hour there and caught some pointers for when we tube tomorrow.

At lunch, we decided that we would go today to Blue Ridge to go check out Mercier’s Orchard. We stopped there years ago when we were in the area and wanted to go back. But first we stopped at Habersham Winery for me to try the wines. After purchasing a bottle we went across the street to Nora’s Mill and bought some of Grandpa’s Flour for making pancakes. Then another stop at The Willows Pottery for a beautiful plate and we were on our way. So after taking the scenic route, and stopping for a picture at Skeenah Gap Campground, where CC almost slid off the mountain in our previous 5th wheel, we arrived at Mercier’s.
We looked around and taste tested many great foods and decided we needed a strawberry/apple slushie for the ride home, as well as a jug of apple cider and some delicious pound cake. Taking another scenic route back to Helen we made our final stop of the day at Fred’s Famous Peanut Stand for hot boiled peanuts. TCC and I were still full from lunch so we went to the Lodge so she could log onto the wi-fi to check for some things. And CC made himself dinner and then when we got back he and I walked around the lake again.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Today started off exciting. CC was outside having his bagels and milk when a black bear walked up to him. He saw it out of the corner of his eye and he thought it was the neighbors letting Rusty, their dog, out in the morning. Only it was a young black bear. CC grabbed his bagel and ran back into the RV shouting “It’s a bear! It’s a bear!” I grabbed my camera and headed out to see if I could get a picture but when I peeked under the RV I saw its feet behind the RV and so I came back inside to get a picture out of the window. It was drinking the milk from CC’s glass he had left behind when he ran. I got a couple of pictures but we stayed inside until it took off. They did warn us at check in that the bears were active right now.

After breakfast we loaded up the car with our hiking poles and water shoes to go tubing on the Chattahoochee, also known locally as the “Hooch”. We chose Cool River Tubing based on some reviews we saw. We were expecting to pay a lot more but it was only $5 pp to tube either 1 or 2 hours. Since we brought our own sticks that’s all we paid. We elected to do the 2 hour tour so we and 6 others jumped on the old school bus and were driven up the road a ways to be let off at the starting point.

The first hour was great, since it was early there weren’t too many people on the river to bump into. Then we came to the mid point for the 1 hour trips and a cross country camp let about 100 kids into the river. After that it was hard to find a space on the river where you didn’t bump into someone. We had a great time and since the tubes had a bottom we didn’t even really get that wet. The water WAS very cold though.

We came back to the campsite and had lunch then decided to go to Goats on the Roof and the antiques store we saw yesterday but didn’t have time to go into. So we stopped at Goats on the Roof and there really ARE goats eating grass up on top of the store. You can pay a quarter and pedal a bicycle that will move the food can up to the roof where it dumps out and feeds the goats. The Weather Channel was there filming local GA interest stories, so they were up on the roof as well. Normally people cannot go up there, only the goats. Inside the store you can mine for gemstones and geodes. They also sell jams and jellies with ice cream and fudge. We bought TCC an ice cream cone and CC and I shared some peanut butter fudge on the way to the antique store.

The antique store does not look as big as it is from the outside. It is 3 floors and probably 6,000 sq ft of old stuff. They carried old linens, plates, glasses, furniture, and toys. We took awhile and looked around but didn’t see anything we couldn’t live without.

On the way back to the campsite we stopped at the picnic area to take a picture of the lake, the dam and Smith Creek. Then we chilled out reading and eating Fred’s peanuts at the RV.

Before dinner we were sitting behind the RV chilling out when I heard a weird whirring noise. CC got up and went to investigate what it was. I promptly jumped into his new gravity chair I had bought him for our anniversary since I hadn’t tried it yet. TCC was sitting with me when she said :There’s the bear!” It was walking down from the bathhouse area right next to our RV. I immediately jumped up and ran into the RV to get my camera. The camp host came running up and was trying to scare it away. I didn’t get any pictures because of him. The bear has done nothing wrong. It’s stupid campers who would won’t put their food away that attracts them. They have every right to be here in woods where they live. The weird whirring noise was the hosts making ice cream. No, we did not get a taste.

We also got to see the fireflies tonight. We don’t seem to be able to see those in FL. They seem to like meadows and forest areas which we don’t get to very often.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

We all got a late start today. CC made cinnamon rolls and then we left for Brasstown Bald, which is the highest point in GA. We got there and walked the 6/10 mile to the top. We could have taken a van for a cost of $3pp but we needed the exercise anyway. The walk was very pretty much like Anna Ruby Falls without the river next to it. The walkway is paved and does incline the whole way up and down and has rhododendrons growing over the path. At the top is a movie about the area and an interpretive center with displays like bears and a locomotive. On a clear day you can see Tennessee, Georgia (to Atlanta), North and South Carolina. They also had a small store at the bottom of the Bald.

After we finished there we left to find a section of the Appalachian Trail to hike. We found a section near 75/17 where it crosses the Unicoi Gap and found the marker rock and white blazes. We went up the trail for about ½ mile and then turned around. The next stopping place was about 2 miles away from there. And that was one way.

We went back to Helen to get gas, and stop at Betty’s groceries. If you ever need anything while in Helen this is definitely the place to get it. Even the wines were cheaper than the wineries. They have it all. Food, sundries, firewood, bakery, alcohol and toys.

On our way back to the campsite we also stopped at Fred’s peanuts again to reload our supply of boiled peanuts. Then TCC and I spent some time at the lodge using the wi-fi before dinner.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Today we got started late as well. CC made us pancakes and then we headed out to Helen to pick up his AT t-shirt and whatever souvenirs we wanted. But we walked the whole town and they didn’t have the shirt in his size. We watch the tubers again before leaving and heading back to Goats on the Roof because he saw the same shirt there. We were able to find his size and bought more fudge this time, we purchased a variety of Butterfinger, peanut butter and regular chocolate because it was so good the first time.

We came back and had lunch then CC and I went to check out the lakefront beach area. I was sure the water would be cold because the stream behind our RV is really cold and it dumps into the lake, but the lake was cool not freezing like I thought. The water was a weird green yellow color though, but only in the swim area. The rest of the lake was a darker green. They rent paddle boats and canoes there as well as have picnic pavilions and a cafe with decks to eat outside.

After we spent about an hour or so there we came back and got TCC to go up to the Lodge and use the wi-fi and finish up our souvenir shopping. The clerk was telling us all about their intern program, where the students live in cabins at the park and do various jobs for the park. I think one of the craft rangers at the Nature Center is probably one of these.
We got back to the site and started cleaning up to head home tomorrow. CC looked at the weather forecast when he was at the Lodge and the weather will be much cooler next week. Too bad we already have something planned for then.
Our week here has been great. I always prefer to be on our own schedule and not those of other people like when we have visited this area before. It just makes the trip so much more relaxing for me.

Friday, July 15, 2011

We are on our way home now. It rained all night so everything around us is soaked. Good thing we packed all the outside stuff yesterday. While we were pulling out the group next to us was trying to hitch their travel trailer. The guy backed all the way into his hitch and bent it. His wife wasn’t giving him directions at all. I think the grandparents were actually still inside when we heard the loud boom of him hitting it. The hitch was bent down at an angle. Hopefully they were able to fix it. The mist was really pretty on the tops of the mountains as we drove down them. I tried to get some pictures of it but I don’t think I was very successful. We were listening to the radio and heard there was a horrible crash on I-85. We were lucky that we were taking I-985 instead it seemed like it was backed up for 10 miles.

We stopped once again at Lane’s Peaches to get our peach ice cream and some snacks for the trip home. We were able to see the production line start fresh with new peaches on it. It’s pretty cool to see it start at the beginning. The only real slow down we encountered on our trip home was an accident at mile marker 304 on the FL Turnpike. It looked like an Albertson’s 18 wheeler had clipped a mini van and crunched the passenger side in. I think 4 cars were involved. Traffic was crawling for a little while but there was nowhere to get off until just before the accident so we had to wait. That’s the second time this summer we had a slowdown on the Turnpike. Lucky we weren’t coming through earlier in the day. There were cars racing and one’s wheel came off causing a bad accident that closed it down for hours. We finally made it home around 8 pm and are unloading the RV. It will be nice to sleep in our normal beds again. Back to doing chores tomorrow.

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July 20, 2011 by steve.

Because of my slow nature, I’ve been suspended from writing for my own blog by Lady CurbCrusher. We recently made a trip to North Georgia and on the way stayed at High Falls State Park near Forsyth.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

We left Orlando around 9 am heading to somewhere in GA for the night. We’re on our way to the Blue Ridge Mountains for a week’s stay at Unicoi State Park near Helen.

Most of the trip will be up I-75, a trip we’ve made many times so really nothing new to see. I did not get my state line picture in GA because the sign was blown down along the highway. We stopped at the GA welcome station to eat lunch and pick up info on the places we were staying near. Then we hit the road again.

CurbCrusher’s partner at work told him about this place called Lane’s Peaches that we needed to check out. So just after Perry, in Peach County, at exit 142 we got off and went west for 5 miles to find it. Glad we did -they do have the best peach ice cream I’ve ever tasted. TeenCurbCrusher ordered that and I had the peach cobbler. I ordered a small and it was enough to save for dessert after dinner later. CC ordered a boring pecan pie slice, but he did say it was good as well. They have a large warehouse full of everything to do with peaches:jams, jellies, ciders, fresh peaches, and various household novelties. There is also a production line you can self tour that shows how they bring the peaches in from the orchards and pack them to ship all over.

After our refreshing repast, I gave a call to the KOA in Forsyth and the state park in High Falls to see if they had sites available and they both did. We aimed for the state park because CC loves waterfalls and this one had one that was 100 ft high.

We arrived at 5 pm, just after the office closed, so we were instructed to find a spot, park and the host would be by to collect our money. Well daylight was burning so we left a note for the host that we would be back later and then we left to find the waterfall. Since we would only be here one night we had to check everything out as soon as we could. We drove up to a parking area near the front of the camping area and got out to discover the old powerhouse that was built along the river. This was where they generated power for the area. The building was made of brick but there was nothing left inside, just the walls holding it up. We finished looking around there and then headed up to the parking area where we could access the waterfall. We found a trail to follow and with a short walk could see the waterfall. The trail led down to a platform for better viewing but we could see people actually on the rocks and in the water so we looked for a path to get us down there. We found a really steep one but continued on and soon we were walking on the rocks in the river.

The falls aren’t actually very high but they were still cool because we don’t have them in FL unless they are man made. We walked around the rocks for awhile taking pictures and then headed back to the campsite. The park is spread out with the day use area and the lake camping area(25 ft or less) on one side of the road, and the river camping area on the opposite side.

Back at the campsite (#81) we had dinner and tried to get TV reception, but unless you’re a Spanish speaker there’s not much you can get without a satellite dish. Even then you might not get too much because of the hills and trees in the way. The bathhouse was very clean and newer in the premium area and our site was a pull through on gravel with a table, grill, and fire ring and a light pole. Water and electric only though. The dump station was large but they are building a new one because it keeps backing up, according to a note I saw as we were leaving.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

The next morning we continued to check out the park before we left. We went back to the day use side and saw the pool ($5 pp), mini golf, Yurts on the lake to stay in, and took pictures of the dam above the waterfall. Then we went to the office to check out their store. Most GA parks seem to have a small store located in or near their offices. In FL it’s about half and half. So we always check them out to see what they have. Today we found out that GASP has a new program for campers. If you stay a night you get a sticker and when you have 10 stickers you get a night for free. Since this trip has us staying 6 nights in GA we signed up.

After checking out the rest of the park we went back to leave the campground and continue on our way north.

Click here to see all of our pictures of High Falls.

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June 30, 2011 by steve.

The CurbCrusher clan has not been staying at home over the past few months, it’s just that Mr. CurbCrusher has been very lazy about updating the blog. So here is one post to bring it all up to date.

	Our camping trip in April was to Paynes Prairie State Park in Micanopy, Florida. We’ve been to this park in the past, and have always enjoyed our stays here. Located just south of Gainesville, there is a lot to do in the area from the nearby state parks, to trying to find to the buffalo that wander the prairie. Click here to see photos of our visit to the prairie.
	One of the things to do near Paynes Prairie is to visit the Santa Fe College Teaching Zoo. Santa Fe College is the former community college, now state college (in Florida most community colleges have now become “state colleges”), in Gainesville. They have one of the few programs in the country that teach folks how to be zoo keepers. In order to accomplish this, they have their own zoo that is open for guided tours. They have a variety of animals in an intimate setting, and your guide is a student in the program. It made for a great way to spend part of the morning. Our photos of the zoo can be found here.
	May found the CurbCrushers in Flagler Beach, Florida at Gamble Rogers State Park. The campground at this park is located right on the beach, so we were able to get a great amount of beach time. In addition, we made a trip up the coast a few miles and paid a visit to Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, the one beach in Florida with a lot of rocks. Here are links to the Flickr albums from Gamble Rogers and Washington Oaks.
	Finally, in June we made a return trip to Manatee Springs State Park near Chiefland, Florida. If it is summer in Florida, the best thing to do is head for the springs, cool water and lots of shade. We had a great site (93) overlooking the Catfish Hole, and spent a good bit of time swimming around the springs. We took part of the day and wandered over to the Dakotah Winery which is located just up the road. All the pictures from Manatee Springs are here.

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March 18, 2011 by steve.

For the month of February we decided to visit a park we’d never been to before, the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park located just south of Yehaw Junction. This park is truly in the middle of nowhere. After heading south on the Florida Turnpike from Orlando you arrive in Yehaw Junction and exit onto US-441. You then head south for another 15 or so miles until you turn west on a small county road. After another 10 miles or so, you head north until the pavement ends, and you are at Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park. But the campground and ranger station are another 5 miles up the unpaved road. Don’t forget anything you’re going to need for the trip, because it’s close to 40 miles to the nearest convenience store/gas station and more like 60 or 70 to the nearest grocery store.

The park is pleasant. There is a family camping area and a horse campground with water and electricity at all sites. There is a bathhouse in the family campground, but the horse campground just has a composting toilet and of course corrals for the horses. Since this park is so isolated, it has dark skies, and is great for viewing the stars, and there is a special camping area for the astronomy hobbies that show up during the new moons. The park has numerous trails that are open to walking, biking and horses. During our visit we encountered deer, wild turkeys and numerous other birds on our walking and riding outings, and sign of wild hogs but we didn’t see any.

The sunsets are beautiful here, but come prepared to read or just walk around. This is probably not a great summertime park, as there is little shade, and no water to cool off in. There were no ranger programs during out stay, but there was a young lady ranger that was very enthusiastic and visited the campsites with a traveling exhibit box to show off artifacts found in the park, and talk about the park and its history. It was sort of like having a personal ranger program. Not sure when or if we will head back here, but it was a great place to relax for the weekend.

Photos are here.

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January 29, 2011 by steve.

About three years ago we headed south to tip of Florida, to Flamingo in the Everglades National Park. Because of the remote location of Flamingo, we never saw the north side of Everglades National Park and its companion Big Cypress National Preserve which are located closer to Naples, Florida. So, for the mid-January trip, we headed to Collier-Seminole State Park to camp and visit the Everglades.

Collier-Seminole State Park is located on the Tamiami Trail with Naples as the nearest city, and sits on the western side of the Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades. The park has a campground with electric and sewer hook-ups, and a dump site. A number of the sites are close together, and you get more of an RV park feel than a state park feel in most of the campground. There are a few sites that have generous space, and we didn’t have any problem maneuvering and parking. The on-site volunteers are a great group of folks, and put on an ice-cream social on Friday and Saturday nights, with the proceeds going to the Friends of Collier-Seminole State Park. So the camping was great. The park has a canoe launch and dock, and a few nature trails, one which goes through a Royal Palm Hammock. We tried a ranger program that was scheduled at two hours for the Royal Palm Hammock trail. The trail is no more than a mile, and after 20 minutes and we hadn’t moved more than 100 yards from the start of the trail, we decided that we could walk the trail on our own. Also at the park is a “walking dredge,” which is a mechanical shovel apparatus that was used to create the Tamiami Trail. The thing is huge, and a must see for anyone that likes big machinery.

We also took the time to go over and visit the Everglades, the point of our trip. You can visit the Big Cypress Preserve, and the Shark Valley Visitor’s center. At Shark Valley there is a seven mile trail to an observation tower. The trail is a paved road, and trams do run on a regularly scheduled basis, or you can walk or ride a bike. We took our bikes (although rentals are available) and cruised back and forth to the observation tower. The road is flat, and you will see more gators than you can count and a lot of birds. There is a walking trail at the observation tower, that brings you up close to the gators, like the one above that blocked our path for a few minutes. The path was an out and back trail, and when we walked out, there was no gator on the path. When we started walking back, the gator was there, between us and our bikes. He finally moved when we started trying to walk through the woods around him and made a lot of noise.

For our pictures of Collier Seminole and the Everglades follow the links.

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December 28, 2010 by steve.

So after spending Halloween at Ft. Wilderness, then a wonderful trip to James Island, what’s the CurbCrusher family to do during the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Go back to Ft. Wilderness. This has the advantage of being a short drive from CurbCrusher abode, so it takes less than 10 gallons of gas to move the RV to the most magical place on earth, and it is the Christmas season, so the campsites are almost as decorated as Halloween.

Not a lot new at the Fort in the intervening month and a half. They still don’t know how to check people in quickly, and basically its just a change of decorations. Of course the campers at Ft. Wilderness know how to decorate, so there are a whole lot of RV sites decorated way beyond what one sees in a normal neighborhood. In addition, what’s a trip to Ft. Wilderness without a golf cart parade. While it was not “formal” and sponsored by the Fort, we ran across the “informal” parade of about 40 decorated golf carts while we were “looping.” Note that “looping” seems to be the official jargon of those that frequent the Fort for riding around campground loops in your golf cart.

That’s right, I said riding around in your golf cart. The CurbCrusher family decided that they would splurge and get a golf cart this trip to see what it was like. As I noted in the Halloween trip report, one of the great things about driving a golf cart at the Fort is that you don’t have to do all those pesky rules of the road like yielding to pedestrians and observing annoying traffic signs like one-way and stop. We rented our cart from a guy named Kenny that Lady CurbCrusher found on the forum at fortfiends.net, a snarky bunch of folks that know pretty much everything there is to know about camping at Disney. The hint to rent from Kenny was worth it, his price for two days of golf cart rental was about what Disney charges for a single day. He dropped the cart off and picked it up from us, so it was fairly hassle free.

All in all a great and relaxing weekend. All of our photos are here.

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