(skip the text: Pictures from the river)
We took a delightful trip to central Florida this February to visit friends and family. We started with a visit to Winter Garden (Orlando) to visit with Doug's mother and her family. We had a nice couple of days there going over family history, working on the computer and playing with Shirley's new digital camera.
For our next few days we went to Safety Harbour (Tampa) to visit with Doug's father and his family. We enjoyed some grandkid soccer, some pictures and videos, and a rip-roaring game of scrabble. Celeste managed to get in her 20 mile training run in spite of the weather. (Was this an omen?) It poured the whole time, although the Pinellas Trail was a great place to run.
Our final stop was in Beautiful Floral City. I've never our host refer to it in any other way, so I'm assuming that is it's official name. Tom Ritchie, who you may remember from our Mediterranean Odyssey trip, had invited us to visit, so we made a point of contacting him and lo and behold he was landing the day that we were able to come see him.
We picked Tom up at the airport, drove the hour or so to Beautiful Floral City, and proceeded to have a wonderful time. After a nice dinner, Tom, Paulette, Doug and I went to the local bar - the Shamrock - for a beer. (Bud or Bud Lite), and while we were there, we were amazed at the quality Karaoke going on. The locals were very talented!
Tom's "compound" is on a lake, and we were lucky enough to have our own cottage with a great porch. His family (Paulette, Laura Lee and Luke) were very welcoming, and we couldn't have been more comfortable. We had kind of icky weather for the first day, so we spent it at the Webster Flea Market which was unbelievably huge and busy in spite of the downpour. There is no better place for people watching then a flea market. Unfortunately, it was too wet to bring the camera out. We also visited the Dade Battlefield State Park, the site of the December 28th, 1835 ambush of Major Francis DAde and 109 soldiers. All but 2 were killed. Tom is one of the historians for the local society, so we were delighted to have him recount the details of the battle and other bits of Floral City's history.
Our second full day dawned bright and clear, with a slight chill. I went for a short run along the rails-to-trails path that runs about 1/2 mile from the Ritchie's, while Doug took care of some business and Tom gassed up the boat. Paulette packed us a picnic lunch and we were off for a full day of exploring the Withlacootchee River. We had perfect weather, and incredible sightings of many kinds of birds, alligators, turtles, and cypress trees. It was a very memorable trip, especially with Tom as the guide - being with a professional naturalist has its benefits!
All in all a most delightful visit!
Pictures from the river
Link to Citrus County Chamber of Commerce
Link to Rails-to-trails in Floral City