I’m going to keep this short and bang through this quickly because 1) I need to get a jump on a very busy work week, and 2) my internet here won’t handle many photos.
There were only a few of us that partied hard enough to ring in the new year. But we were partied out and lights out by 12:02.
We spent New Year’s Day visiting some spots in downtown St. Petersburg. It was a beautiful day, one mared only by the observation that my 11-year-old daughter throws a way better spiral than me.
The next day I was back to work, but Amy and the girls (along with the rest of my Florida family) found a place to take in some ice skating. They were prepared for a cool rink, but ended up shedding layers since the rink was outside.
Saturday morning, we got the oil changed in the RV and then hit the road for Lake Kissimmee State Park.
We really like it here. The camp sites are secluded, and it’s so, so quiet.
It was a beautiful morning for our Sunday morning walk. Not a bad day for being the dead of winter.
On our walk we came upon a cow camp, hosted by a “genuine” cow hunter. He was all “in character” the whole time, so it was a little weird, but it was interesting nonetheless to learn about the Florida cow hunters of the 1800’s.
On our way back to the RV, Nat spotted this armadillo. I’d never seen one before. They look like armor-plated possums.
Carrie also caught site of this cool tortoise. He started a 1 mph race across the road when we approached him.
We made sure he got across safely so as to not become some car’s speed bump.
This is the only down side to 80-degree weather in January:
More spanish moss. It’s so pretty the way it hangs off the live oak trees down here.
Lake Kissimmee State Park is not a particularly exciting place, but it feels great to be outside.
Natalie made baked mac & cheese for dinner tonight, and it was a smash hit. (For any of my former Irvington neighbors reading this, it was every bit as amazing as The Legend’s mac & cheese!) Natalie has become sort of a young Jedi cook in training, it seems; a young padawan to Master Amy.
It’s too bad that serene, tranquil locations are inversely correlated with good internet. We’ll be packing up in the morning and heading closer to civilization so I can get in a good work week.