Ocala and Ocala National Forest
(posted from Panera Bread Co., Ocala, FL)
(This post covers 8 – 12 February, 2011)
-----------------------
Saturday, 12 February-
Last night I saw 40 degrees inside the van on my thermometer but I was comfy with Labashi's heavy sleeping bag atop my regular covers. I was even comfortable enough to read for a few hours in the night and finished 'The Brass Verdict'.
I spoke with Billy a bit this morning. He was upset that some mom had dropped off two teenagers (they looked to be 14 or 15) last night at the campground after hours. But of course they don't have a place to put their cooler or food and they aren't supposed to be in the campground without someone at least 18 years old with them. He had called in the ranger and was going to meet with him and the kids.
I drove into Ocala and went to Gander Mountain to try to replace my lost rain-jacket. I spent several hours in the store but didn't find anything I really liked. And since there's no rain in the immediate forecast I can keep looking.
Upon leaving Gander Mountain I realized the Starbucks where I left my jacket was only a short distance away and I could use a wi-fi connection anyway. Though I had already called and been told there was no jacket, I asked at the counter. The girl looked under the cash register shelf and there it was!
Next door to Starbucks was a Verizon Wireless office so I went in and talked with 'Brittney' about broadband technology and data plans for my laptop. In the end, though, it's too expensive and data volume too limited-- at least for now.
As I headed back through town I saw a Five Guys and had one of their excellent burgers, then I hit the nearby Panera for a wi-fi connection. I had very briefly talked to Labashi this afternoon but she was busy grouting her new granite floor and couldn't talk. We spent an hour or so on Skype Video, talking about the sale of house 1 falling through (the buyer couldn't get financing) and about her projects.
The Wal-mart was close by so I decided to stay there rather than drive back out to the National Forest. I watched the final 'Fringe' episode I had and the last half of 'Hung- Season One' before going to bed around midnight.
--------------------------
Friday, 11 February-
This morning I drove to the Forestry Office east of Ocala along US40. I learned of several undeveloped campsites in the forest I had been unaware of and that I can park overnight at trailheads if they don't have signs forbidding it.
I then headed into Ocala. I exchanged DVDs at the Blockbuster and then hit the Starbucks on the town square for a wi-fi connection. I also called the Starbucks off I-75 to see if they had found my rain-jacket. I realized I had left it there when I went for my walk late in the day yesterday. No luck, though.
I stopped at the local Harbor Freight hoping to find some small, stackable storage bins for a corner of the van but no luck there, either.
I then drove back out to the Lake Eaton trailhead and walked two and a quarter miles on the lake loop.
After my walk I went to the Lake Fore campground (instead of Lake Eaton) since the former has showers. There I met campground host 'Billy', an interesting guy from Missouri. Billy warned me to be 'bear aware' in the campground and said a bear had to be put down at the Shanty Pond campground recently. He says the campground was closed down, cleaned well, and will remain closed for awhile. He says there are two bears in the Lake Fore area but both seem to stay to themselves around the lake and don't come into the campground. I'd be a bit surprised if that's completely true but I was happy to see the rangers are enforcing the rules about keeping coolers inside hard-sided vehicles at night.
That evening the temperatures dropped under 50 but I was comfy watching two 'Fringe' episodes.
--------------------------
Thursday, 10 February-
I was abruptly awakened by the Wal-mart security guy this morning at 0800. I had been reading a few hours during the night so was sleeping in. But the security guy informed me (quite nicely) that their rule for overnighting is you must leave by 0800. I have absolutely no problem with this rule, I just didn't know it. I had been in the store last night but there was a long line at the Customer Service counter and I could see three other overnighters in the side lot so I hadn't talked to anyone about it.
Today was a very rainy day so I drove over to Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up. I bought a Times and savored it (and my mocha) and then logged on to wi-fi for the rest of the morning.
The rain stopped mid-morning so I drove back out to the National Forest after lunch and checked out the campgrounds at Fore Lake and Lake Eaton. I then walked two miles at the Lake Eaton Sinkhole Trail before returning to the campground for the night.
I started the series 'Nurse Jackie' and also the series 'Hung'. I give them both a thumbs-up. I'm keeping close tabs on electrical usage with the new battery and it appears I can run the inverter and laptop all evening and, in fact, till midnight before it takes the battery down under 12 volts. By morning, the battery will show 12.3 volts, indicating about 75% capacity.
------------------------
Wednesday, 9 February-
The campground was dead-quiet all night-- not a sound. Ah, wilderness! (in this case the Ocala National Forest).
The sun took its good time getting above the trees this morning. I don't think I ventured out of the van until 0900 but then was pleasantly surprised to find mid-Sixties temperatures. I spent an hour soaking up sun, even taking my shirt and zip-off pant legs off and changing to my sandals. /It's summer, baby!
I did a few exercises to try to get my left arm working properly again. Ever since I over-did it tearing out the walls in the basement of House 2, I've had a dull ache and sometimes a sharper pain. I may end up having to go to physical therapy for it back home but in the meantime I'll see how it responds to more exercise.
After lunch I decided to drive into Ocala for a few supplies, to return the DVDs, and to get to a phone to make arrangements for an ATV tour. But instead of following the GPS directions, I took the long way within the National Forest so I could look around a bit. I headed north, then west to the boundary and followed it back down toward Ocala.
I stopped at the Greenway visitor's center and picked up a current map, then went on into Ocala. I first stopped at what used to be a very nice Starbucks but it's now a Firehouse Subs shop. I hit the nearby Blockbuster, the crossed town to a Starbucks on South College St. They didn't have my Doubleshot Lights, though, but did call another Starbucks further southwest and located some for me.
At that Starbucks I spent an hour or so online, trying to figure out whether to get a solar charger for my new van battery. I see from my voltage display that I used up half the battery's charge last night so thought I might want to get a solar panel to help out. I found what I was looking for at the nearby Northern Tool outlet. But in the end I decided against buying it. At the last minute I remembered the Optima battery instructions having some pretty specific info about charging it. I went back out to the van and dug those instructions out and they do seem to say I shouldn't be keeping the battery topped off with anything stronger than a 1-watt trickle charger. I already have one of those hidden away in the back of the van so I'll first dig that out and see if it makes a difference.
After dark I drove to the 19th Street Wal-mart for the night. I've stayed at it before and given that tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, I'll stay in Ocala tonight rather than make the run back out to the national forest campground.
I made supper in the van and picked up some ice in the Wal-mart, then tried to watch the replacement DVD from Blockbuster. But it immediately hung up the DVD player on the laptop. So much for that!
I called Labashi on the cell phone and talked very briefly to her to check in. I then blogged a half-hour or so then turned my attention to 'The Brass Verdict.'
-----------------------------------
Tuesday, 8 February –
Finally-- I saw the sun today! Temperatures weren't great-- under 50 this morning--- but the sun feels terrific if you're out of the wind.
Today I woke after a wonderfully-refreshing sleep. Though the Palatka Wal-mart is open 24 hours, the manager closes the garden-center end of the building between 2200 and 0700. That concentrates what little traffic there is at the south end of the building and very few cars pass my north-end parking spot, making it ideal.
This morning I returned the 'Fringe' DVD to the next-door Blockbuster and picked up three for the next several days. Since I learned I can return Blockbuster DVDs to any of their stores and they have a three-day return, I can now pick up movies for the more remote campsites in the Ocala National Forest so long as I hit town by the third day. Good deal!
I did a bit of shopping at the Wal-mart and found a nice (and inexpensive) digital voltage monitor for the battery. I'll have to keep checking it frequently for awhile to get a feel for how my charging and battery systems normally operate.
I then drove to the nearby Putnam County Library and posted a blog update before finally getting on the road.
I took US19 south toward the Ocala National Forest. I first stopped at the Buckman Lock site and walked the north-side loop trail in the Cross-Florida Greenway. This was only about an hour's walk but the sun felt absolutely fantastic.
A bit further south I checked out the Rodman Dam campground but it was too early in the day to stop for the night (camping is $12 this year). I continued south to the US Forest Service visitor's center at Salt Springs where I picked up all the latest printouts with prices and the latest rules and regs. I learned from the volunteer there that the Rainbow People are starting to arrive for their annual Valentine's Week get-together and will be at Hopkins Prairie and Farles Prairie this year.
I then went to the Salt Springs Marina to see about boat rentals and saw manatees in the river across from the docks.
I drove west then to try to find the ATV rental place I had seen in a brochure but when I asked about it at Fort McCoy I learned there's no local office. Arrangements are made by telephone and then we meet at the Off-Highway Vehicle area about halfway between Salt Springs and Fort McCoy. The directions in the brochure were to the meeting area, not to a business office.
But that trip wasn't a waste. At Fort McCoy I saw a small library and bought two good books for twenty-five cents each.
On the way back from Fort McCoy I took a forest road shortcut to the Lake Delancey recreation area. I found a very nice and deserted campsite in the west-side camping area for $6. There's no one else but the campground host right now, apparently because of the colder weather. I've been here other times when the place was hopping with ATVs and very rowdy campers so this is good luck.
After supper I walked through the campground and through the adjoining East-side campground. There I met 'Ed', a fellow camper traveling in a Sprinter van with his Ducati Multi-Strada motorcycle on the back. Ed is from the Winchester, VA area and we quickly found we have very much the same interests and have been to many of the same places.
Back at the van I tried to watch one of the DVD's from Blockbuster but it wouldn't play correctly-- it was badly scratched. The other two were free rentals of the pilot episodes of 'Boardwalk Empire' and 'Treme'. The former stars Steve Buscemi as a Prohibition-era wheeler-dealer in Atlantic City in the '20s. 'Treme' is a series about New Orleans a few months after Katrina. Both were very good and worked their magic. I'll be looking for those series when they're released.
***** END OF POST ********
(posted from Panera Bread Co., Ocala, FL)
(This post covers 8 – 12 February, 2011)
-----------------------
Saturday, 12 February-
Last night I saw 40 degrees inside the van on my thermometer but I was comfy with Labashi's heavy sleeping bag atop my regular covers. I was even comfortable enough to read for a few hours in the night and finished 'The Brass Verdict'.
I spoke with Billy a bit this morning. He was upset that some mom had dropped off two teenagers (they looked to be 14 or 15) last night at the campground after hours. But of course they don't have a place to put their cooler or food and they aren't supposed to be in the campground without someone at least 18 years old with them. He had called in the ranger and was going to meet with him and the kids.
I drove into Ocala and went to Gander Mountain to try to replace my lost rain-jacket. I spent several hours in the store but didn't find anything I really liked. And since there's no rain in the immediate forecast I can keep looking.
Upon leaving Gander Mountain I realized the Starbucks where I left my jacket was only a short distance away and I could use a wi-fi connection anyway. Though I had already called and been told there was no jacket, I asked at the counter. The girl looked under the cash register shelf and there it was!
Next door to Starbucks was a Verizon Wireless office so I went in and talked with 'Brittney' about broadband technology and data plans for my laptop. In the end, though, it's too expensive and data volume too limited-- at least for now.
As I headed back through town I saw a Five Guys and had one of their excellent burgers, then I hit the nearby Panera for a wi-fi connection. I had very briefly talked to Labashi this afternoon but she was busy grouting her new granite floor and couldn't talk. We spent an hour or so on Skype Video, talking about the sale of house 1 falling through (the buyer couldn't get financing) and about her projects.
The Wal-mart was close by so I decided to stay there rather than drive back out to the National Forest. I watched the final 'Fringe' episode I had and the last half of 'Hung- Season One' before going to bed around midnight.
--------------------------
Friday, 11 February-
This morning I drove to the Forestry Office east of Ocala along US40. I learned of several undeveloped campsites in the forest I had been unaware of and that I can park overnight at trailheads if they don't have signs forbidding it.
I then headed into Ocala. I exchanged DVDs at the Blockbuster and then hit the Starbucks on the town square for a wi-fi connection. I also called the Starbucks off I-75 to see if they had found my rain-jacket. I realized I had left it there when I went for my walk late in the day yesterday. No luck, though.
I stopped at the local Harbor Freight hoping to find some small, stackable storage bins for a corner of the van but no luck there, either.
I then drove back out to the Lake Eaton trailhead and walked two and a quarter miles on the lake loop.
After my walk I went to the Lake Fore campground (instead of Lake Eaton) since the former has showers. There I met campground host 'Billy', an interesting guy from Missouri. Billy warned me to be 'bear aware' in the campground and said a bear had to be put down at the Shanty Pond campground recently. He says the campground was closed down, cleaned well, and will remain closed for awhile. He says there are two bears in the Lake Fore area but both seem to stay to themselves around the lake and don't come into the campground. I'd be a bit surprised if that's completely true but I was happy to see the rangers are enforcing the rules about keeping coolers inside hard-sided vehicles at night.
That evening the temperatures dropped under 50 but I was comfy watching two 'Fringe' episodes.
--------------------------
Thursday, 10 February-
I was abruptly awakened by the Wal-mart security guy this morning at 0800. I had been reading a few hours during the night so was sleeping in. But the security guy informed me (quite nicely) that their rule for overnighting is you must leave by 0800. I have absolutely no problem with this rule, I just didn't know it. I had been in the store last night but there was a long line at the Customer Service counter and I could see three other overnighters in the side lot so I hadn't talked to anyone about it.
Today was a very rainy day so I drove over to Starbucks for a morning pick-me-up. I bought a Times and savored it (and my mocha) and then logged on to wi-fi for the rest of the morning.
The rain stopped mid-morning so I drove back out to the National Forest after lunch and checked out the campgrounds at Fore Lake and Lake Eaton. I then walked two miles at the Lake Eaton Sinkhole Trail before returning to the campground for the night.
I started the series 'Nurse Jackie' and also the series 'Hung'. I give them both a thumbs-up. I'm keeping close tabs on electrical usage with the new battery and it appears I can run the inverter and laptop all evening and, in fact, till midnight before it takes the battery down under 12 volts. By morning, the battery will show 12.3 volts, indicating about 75% capacity.
------------------------
Wednesday, 9 February-
The campground was dead-quiet all night-- not a sound. Ah, wilderness! (in this case the Ocala National Forest).
The sun took its good time getting above the trees this morning. I don't think I ventured out of the van until 0900 but then was pleasantly surprised to find mid-Sixties temperatures. I spent an hour soaking up sun, even taking my shirt and zip-off pant legs off and changing to my sandals. /It's summer, baby!
I did a few exercises to try to get my left arm working properly again. Ever since I over-did it tearing out the walls in the basement of House 2, I've had a dull ache and sometimes a sharper pain. I may end up having to go to physical therapy for it back home but in the meantime I'll see how it responds to more exercise.
After lunch I decided to drive into Ocala for a few supplies, to return the DVDs, and to get to a phone to make arrangements for an ATV tour. But instead of following the GPS directions, I took the long way within the National Forest so I could look around a bit. I headed north, then west to the boundary and followed it back down toward Ocala.
I stopped at the Greenway visitor's center and picked up a current map, then went on into Ocala. I first stopped at what used to be a very nice Starbucks but it's now a Firehouse Subs shop. I hit the nearby Blockbuster, the crossed town to a Starbucks on South College St. They didn't have my Doubleshot Lights, though, but did call another Starbucks further southwest and located some for me.
At that Starbucks I spent an hour or so online, trying to figure out whether to get a solar charger for my new van battery. I see from my voltage display that I used up half the battery's charge last night so thought I might want to get a solar panel to help out. I found what I was looking for at the nearby Northern Tool outlet. But in the end I decided against buying it. At the last minute I remembered the Optima battery instructions having some pretty specific info about charging it. I went back out to the van and dug those instructions out and they do seem to say I shouldn't be keeping the battery topped off with anything stronger than a 1-watt trickle charger. I already have one of those hidden away in the back of the van so I'll first dig that out and see if it makes a difference.
After dark I drove to the 19th Street Wal-mart for the night. I've stayed at it before and given that tomorrow is supposed to be rainy, I'll stay in Ocala tonight rather than make the run back out to the national forest campground.
I made supper in the van and picked up some ice in the Wal-mart, then tried to watch the replacement DVD from Blockbuster. But it immediately hung up the DVD player on the laptop. So much for that!
I called Labashi on the cell phone and talked very briefly to her to check in. I then blogged a half-hour or so then turned my attention to 'The Brass Verdict.'
-----------------------------------
Tuesday, 8 February –
Finally-- I saw the sun today! Temperatures weren't great-- under 50 this morning--- but the sun feels terrific if you're out of the wind.
Today I woke after a wonderfully-refreshing sleep. Though the Palatka Wal-mart is open 24 hours, the manager closes the garden-center end of the building between 2200 and 0700. That concentrates what little traffic there is at the south end of the building and very few cars pass my north-end parking spot, making it ideal.
This morning I returned the 'Fringe' DVD to the next-door Blockbuster and picked up three for the next several days. Since I learned I can return Blockbuster DVDs to any of their stores and they have a three-day return, I can now pick up movies for the more remote campsites in the Ocala National Forest so long as I hit town by the third day. Good deal!
I did a bit of shopping at the Wal-mart and found a nice (and inexpensive) digital voltage monitor for the battery. I'll have to keep checking it frequently for awhile to get a feel for how my charging and battery systems normally operate.
I then drove to the nearby Putnam County Library and posted a blog update before finally getting on the road.
I took US19 south toward the Ocala National Forest. I first stopped at the Buckman Lock site and walked the north-side loop trail in the Cross-Florida Greenway. This was only about an hour's walk but the sun felt absolutely fantastic.
A bit further south I checked out the Rodman Dam campground but it was too early in the day to stop for the night (camping is $12 this year). I continued south to the US Forest Service visitor's center at Salt Springs where I picked up all the latest printouts with prices and the latest rules and regs. I learned from the volunteer there that the Rainbow People are starting to arrive for their annual Valentine's Week get-together and will be at Hopkins Prairie and Farles Prairie this year.
I then went to the Salt Springs Marina to see about boat rentals and saw manatees in the river across from the docks.
I drove west then to try to find the ATV rental place I had seen in a brochure but when I asked about it at Fort McCoy I learned there's no local office. Arrangements are made by telephone and then we meet at the Off-Highway Vehicle area about halfway between Salt Springs and Fort McCoy. The directions in the brochure were to the meeting area, not to a business office.
But that trip wasn't a waste. At Fort McCoy I saw a small library and bought two good books for twenty-five cents each.
On the way back from Fort McCoy I took a forest road shortcut to the Lake Delancey recreation area. I found a very nice and deserted campsite in the west-side camping area for $6. There's no one else but the campground host right now, apparently because of the colder weather. I've been here other times when the place was hopping with ATVs and very rowdy campers so this is good luck.
After supper I walked through the campground and through the adjoining East-side campground. There I met 'Ed', a fellow camper traveling in a Sprinter van with his Ducati Multi-Strada motorcycle on the back. Ed is from the Winchester, VA area and we quickly found we have very much the same interests and have been to many of the same places.
Back at the van I tried to watch one of the DVD's from Blockbuster but it wouldn't play correctly-- it was badly scratched. The other two were free rentals of the pilot episodes of 'Boardwalk Empire' and 'Treme'. The former stars Steve Buscemi as a Prohibition-era wheeler-dealer in Atlantic City in the '20s. 'Treme' is a series about New Orleans a few months after Katrina. Both were very good and worked their magic. I'll be looking for those series when they're released.
***** END OF POST ********
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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