Boats, Planes, and Amphicars

I have been here in Tavares, Florida for one week and just finished the Sunnyland Antique boat festival. Many beautiful wooden boats were here as well as seaplanes and Amphicars. That 007 boat pictured is from Russia and has a huge radial airplane engine. The city is just finishing a massive waterfront renovation with all new docks making this a perfect spot for the event.

Yesterday we did a Amphicar parade and then a group spash-in for the huge crowds. They lined the docks and cheered us on, Spanky riding on the back was as always a huge hit! During the week, I was able to explore the area and take long Amphicar rides on Harris Lake and Lake Dora. All the lakes are connected by canals and you can go for miles. Very pretty scenery, just watch out for the alligators.

This show was a great place to see old friends and meet new ones. Now I am packing back up to get on the road. Tomorrow I am headed south to visit goods friends in Port Charlotte.

Manatee Springs State Park

I have been to many fine state parks across this great country of ours, but this one is definitely high on my short list! You need to add visiting here to your bucket list!

To me, this park is what a great park should be - a beautiful natural setting that teems with wildlife. All the critters seem happy here - when is the last time you saw a squirrel wave at you? LOL

The emerald color in that top pic is the mouth of the springs. This is a first magnitude spring over the aquifer that has a amazing output of 150 million gallons a day! You can swim in the springs when no manatee are present, the clear water is a constant 72 degrees year round. Scuba divers come from afar to dive here. They can dive in the springs, go thru the underground limestone caves, and surface in another spot. Divers have explored over 5 miles of caves at a typical depth of 90 feet.

I have so many great pictures, I will need to make a album just from this park. The last shot is looking down the Suwannee river from the inlet to the springs. Be well!

Florida gulf coast

To start with, here is a great Florida sunset shot I took at Panacea.

The next pic is my new friend Tina who adopted me for 3 days and showed me the sights. Tina is a native gulf coast lady whose family has been in the seafood business for many generations. She is just a lil thing, but can pull in a crab trap or net with the best of them!

Sadly this whole industry is doing poorly here, thanks to IQF which means imported quality frozen. Another case of cheap chinese products flooding a market, wiping out a American traditional business. What a shame!

Now i have moved on and am at Manatee Springs state park which is absolutely awesome! The springs are filled with manatee that are marvelous creatures. The springs are on a inlet off the Suwannee River and they have built a wood walkway that allows you to walk out to the river. The inlet is also filled with mullet fish (pictured) that jump out of the water about 4 foot high. They make quite a sight as well as lots of gar and the huge gulf sturgeon that are here. I have a nice site here for $20 bucks a night, fantastic, may have to be here a few days..........

On the gulf coast

First stop after leaving Dallas was Lake Claiborne State Park NE of Shreveport. This is a wonderful Louisiana park that I would highly recommend. The park hosts were Michigan folks who had been wintering their for many years. But as they said, you gotta leave before it gets too hot, thats when the ticks & snakes come out! Ahhh, the south!

One of the most interesting views I have seen is crossing the mighty Mississippi at Vicksburg. Being a water guy anyway, I am amazed at the rivers power to move these huge loads of cargo, aided only by the steering skill of the tugs river pilot. Double click on those top two photos to enlarge them and appreciate the scale. Also amazing are the giant cranes that unload the container ships at Mobile, Alabama.

I took a totally new route for me this trip along the gulf coast. Starting at Gulf Shores, Alabama, I headed east along the coast on 98 going thru all the coastal towns in Alabama and Florida. They range from spots like Orange Beach where every inch of space is loaded with buildings and humanity including spring breakers, to miles of isolated gulf frontage. The 60 foot Starship rig has been severely challenged at times, but is doing fine so far.

This is a great route if you have the time, usually the water is visible and there is nothing like Florida's white sand beaches. One sign of the times is literally thousands and thousands of beach front homes for sale all along the gulf coast.

Today i am chillin at a nice waterfront RV park in Carrabelle, Florida. I hope all is well with you!!

Time to hit the road again - off to Florida

This winter sure has went by fast - here it is March already!

The Amphicar is now completely refurbished and drives & swims like a dream! D and I got a chance to swim in Lake Lavon with some young passengers who thought the experience was pretty cool!

I needed a better way to haul the Honda Hobbitt moped, so I spent a day with master metal worker, Buck. We designed and built this custom rack to bolt to the front of the Starship. It was a fine project and allows the vintage scooter to load or unload in about a minute.

The Amphicar garage (trailer) has been in off site storage here in Texas and just brought back for the loadup. So now it is load up everything and hit the road again. The plan is a slow meander towards Florida to finish the winter before heading north to Michigan. Spanky sends his best!