Batter Up - Let's Play Ball

Cincinnati, OH (68 degrees, clear blue skies)

Downtown Cincinnati from the freeway

We spent a few days traveling from Florida to Ohio. It was fun following the spring time along the road. Each state was in a different stage. Cincinnati was our destination to see the Cubs play at the Cincinnati Reds Stadium (Great American Ballpark) We have not seen them play in awhile and John really is a devoted fan. Our friend Debbie bought us tickets in celebration of our upcoming anniversary.What a great friend! She and her boyfriend Dave drove from Indianapolis to meet up and go to the game.

We had fantastic seats right behind the home plate.  

The weather was perfect and best of all the Cubs Won!!!. 

Life is good!

Debbie, Dave, John and me (plus some Reds mascots)

It's always fun to visit Cincinnati.  It's very scenic and the downtown is very vibrant with lots of great restaurants.

Great views from the Moerlein Lager House (Dave and Debbie)

Our campground for a few days is the Little Farm on the River. It's located on the Ohio/Indiana border and many of the sites are located along the river. The sites are a good size and it is a very peaceful and pleasant campground with full hook ups.

Little Farm on the River

View of the river from our site

The next day we noticed on Facebook one of the couples (David and Susie) who are traveling with us in Canada were only 20 miles away. We are members of a FMCA camping club but hadn't met in person. We were able to find a restaurant close by and enjoyed a pleasant dinner together. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture.

We are now on our way to Indiana to meet up with family and friends. 

There is no place like home.

Jimmy is such a good traveler

Come Along For A Paddle Trip To One Of The Wild Places - Silver River

Ocala, Florida (82 degrees, cloudy skies)

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water"

Loren Eiseley

Non stop paddling adventures have been a part of our fun agenda while staying in central Florida. The Silver River was our last trip down the crystal fresh waters of this area. There is a new launch here now since the Silver Springs State Park took over the outdated amusement park. It's soooo much easier to launch from here. (cost $4/person)

Last time we had to portage our kayaks down a 1/2 mile trail. It wasn't pretty. By the time we got to the river we were exhausted. You can now drop off your kayaks and take your car to Ray's Wayside Park. The park offers a shuttle back to the launch for $10 (9 a.m and 1 p.m) and then you can drift downstream for seven miles back to your car.  We were not aware of this option so we paddled downstream two miles and came back to the same area upstream.  

When you first start off it takes you through a densely forested area. At times it was hard to tell where the forest and water met. So, sit back and paddle along with us. It's a gem! This is one of the true wild places...no cars...no houses...just lush beauty.  

We counted 80 turtles during our paddle.  This one was huge!

There are lots of alligators on this river. They are not interested in us but this sighting was amusing. Meet Mr. Alligator - note what appears to be a smile

Check out all the turtles along the bank sunning themselves in the warm sunshine

We watched for awhile. I wonder how it all worked out for the alligator????

Pretty Wood Duck

Monkeys, yes monkeys are a common sight on this river.  Supposedly they were released by a Jungle Cruise tour boat operator in the 1930's. Check out this link to a blog written about them.

If you don't like to kayak there is a glass bottom boat tour which is very poplar. 

One of the springs

With reluctance we headed back to the launch. It was another enjoyable day on the river. 

Kayaking Our Favorite River In Florida - The Rainbow Springs River

Dunnellon, FL (82 degrees, cloudy skies)

The Rainbow Springs River is delightful in so many ways. It's a kaleidoscope of color and the clear fresh water are so much  fun to kayak, tube, or swim in. Year round the water temperature is 74 degrees and it's another place where huge amounts of fresh water pour in from springs interspersed along the way.  

A couple of years ago we stayed at the Rainbow Springs State Park and launched from there.  This time we used a launch site at the K.P. Hole County Park. It's a well run park and we'd recommend getting there early to secure a parking spot. We almost didn't get one. There is a $5/person admission fee to use the facilities, picnic area, and launch site for boats, tubes, and kayaks.  There were lots of patient staff checking coolers and dealing  with the large crowds. There is a no alcohol policy and one guy was very disappointed to find out they have a device which "sniffs" your containers for alcohol. He was very vocal in his dismay, however, was allowed to take the container back to his car. You also cannot take any disposable bottles on the river so be sure to have your water in a recyclable container.  

K.P. Hole County Park

We drove up to the launch area and were allowed to drop off our gear and then park the car.  There is a long ramp leading out to the river and it was an easy launch. Folks with tubes or boats leave from another area.  It is very organized and probably the most efficient place we have seen which handles large crowds.  

Anhinga drying it's wings and enjoying the day too

From here you can either paddle upstream to the headwaters and float back. Or you can float downstream and paddle upstream back to the park.  We choose to go upstream to avoid the large groups of tubers. Within minutes it was peaceful and so delightful. One side of the river has beautiful homes and the other side is natural and a part of the Rainbow Springs State Park. We saw a lot of birds and turtles and no alligators.  

Scuba divers love this place too.We saw many organized groups out diving into the underwater caves. I'm not brave enough to try anything so adventurous but it was fun watching them.  

Scuba Divers getting off of a dive boat. There were lots of smiling faces

Dive boat with cave divers

We paddled around the swimming area of the State Park and then headed back. There are lots of ways you can enjoy this river. Here are links to the other blog posts with two other ways to kayak this river.

Lazy Paddle Down the Rainbow River-launch Rainbow River State Park

Kayaking the Rainbow River using a livery

Swimming area of State Park

If your plans take you to central Florida be sure to check out this beautiful place. The campground is very nice but does require advance reservations. We were staying in Wildwood and it was about a 45 minute drive to the park.

Here is my favorite photo of the day!  Check out the Yellow-bellied Slider Turtle basking on the log.. She seems to be delighted with day too. My girl friend Karen says it looks like she has a mermaid tail.  

Paddle Trip Down The Spectacular Weeki Wachee River

Wildwood Florida (84 degrees, cloudy skies)

Spectacular Weeki Wachee

It's common as a fulltimer to have to deviate your travel plans.  John calls it the jello lifestyle and says you have to have lots of wiggle room.  We planned on staying in Weeki Wachee Florida for a few days to visit this State Park.  However, as we were getting ready to leave we noticed the refrigerator did not appear to be cooling properly. It was registering at 51 degrees, however, the freezer appeared to be doing OK. We quickly put everything in a cooler and called Alliance Coach in Wildwood Florida and begged them to check it out.  We have had service there before and have found them to be reliable. They agreed to work us into a very busy schedule. So, we adjusted our plans a little and have spent three days here in the campground adjacent to the shop.

They found out the light inside the refrigerator did not go off when the door was closed.  The heat from the light may have been elevated the temperature.  I wasn't completely convinced, but we've watched the temperature closely since it's been fixed and it seems to be cooling adequately. Hopefully everything will work properly  Replacing a refrigerator in a motorhome is very expensive.

During the weekend we did make two day trips to some great kayaking rivers.- Weeki Wachee near Brookville and the Rainbow River near Ocala. Both rivers are located in a Florida State Park.

We did not have time to visit the Weeki Wachee mermaid show, however, we did get to paddle down the river.  The mermaids have been performing live in this State Park since 1946.  It just sounded like fun and little piece of Americana. So, I guess that means we will be returning again soon. :)

The Weeki Wachee River was breathtaking and it was our first visit.  We launched at Paddling Adventures outside the main gate of the park. They charge $6/kayak and shuttle one person back to their car at the take out (Robert's Park) for $5.  It's a well run place with convenient wagons to help get your gear and kayak down to the river.  The route is 5 1/2 miles in length and an easy shady paddle. 

Complimentary cart for transport

We'd recommend going during the week if possible.  The weekend crowds are pretty intense and at times you also compete with a lot of boat traffic as you approach the end.  We still enjoyed it immensely and the fresh water (74 degrees) was clear and delightful.  We were in awe of the breathtaking colors and spring fed waters (over 150,000 gallons pour into the river each minute) It's a great place to swim and oftentimes there is a sandy bottom.  

Sightseeing Cruiise

About half way down the river you start to see cottages and homes.  The river slows down at this point and the trees and foliage change. The color of the water is not as intense but still very pretty. We saw two manatees in this area.  One of them had been scarred several times on it's back most likely due to boat propellers.  There were signs on many of the homes asking folks to slow down and to watch out for them.  

Look carefully for the Manatee

I waited at Robert's Park after exiting the river at Robert's Park.  John was shuttled back to our jeep and we were soon back on the road.  What a great day.  The rivers in north central Florida are spectacular.  Check back soon to see our post about one of our favorites - the Rainbow River.