Ocala and a few lost days at Juniper Springs ; Maypo and Orat arrive
(posted from home)
(This post covers 21 – 29 February, 2012)
---------------------------------
Wednesday, 29 February -
This morning as I walked back from the bathroom a woman at a nearby campsite stopped me and asked if I'd like a dozen eggs. It seemed an odd request but she and her husband had been shopping yesterday and had bought white eggs rather than the brown eggs they like (!!). Now all we need is some bacon!
I'm still feeling quite weak today so decided I'd not go canoeing with the guys. I took them down to the rental shop and helped launch them. I then drove in to Silver Springs and bought some pre-cooked bacon and got ice and fresh salad fixin's.
The trip was supposed to take three to five hours so I began looking for them about 1330 at the take-out. As it turned out I missed them by twenty minutes and I went on to Salt Springs since the pickup shuttle only ran hourly. That turned out to be a mistake; the shuttle was running late and took them back to the rental shop while I was in Salt Springs.
When they didn't show at the next pickup time I returned to the rental shop and found them patiently waiting. The trip had been a fairly strenuous one and they were happy to just have some time to recover.
That evening we drove down to Old Crow Bar-Be-Que for some good eats.
--------------------------------
Tuesday, 28 February -
This morning I drove down to Orlando for my brothers' evening arrival. As I passed through Eustis I saw an Advance Auto and checked out their battery selection. I ended up buying an Optima deep-cell battery for $230.
As I neared Orlando I realized I had quite a lot of time so I looked up a local Apple Store at Altamonte Springs. I took the iPad in for another look. It again has developed a habit of unexpectedly rebooting.
I got lucky and only had to wait a few minutes for an appointment with a technician. She determined the hardware was okay but recommended I close out background applications more often to avoid the unexpected reboots. We'll see. Something sounds fishy about an operating system which is so easily confused.
I then drove on to the cell-phone-call lot at Orlando International and awaited a call. I had been using the iPad and FlightTrack to watch my brothers flights in near-realtime and knew when they landed. I also have FlightBoard which shows the overhead flight boards at most airports so I even knew the baggage carousel.
I picked up Orat first and we had about an hour's wait back at the cell-lot until Maypo came in. Pickup couldn't have been easier.
We then drove north, back to Juniper Springs. We arrived about 2300 and only needed about a half hour to finish setup. I had unloaded the ATV and set up sleeping cots this morning so it was only a matter of settling in.
-------------------------------
Monday, 27 February -
Today I was feeling better and began planning for picking up my brothers. I was still very slow but at least seemed to be slowly working my way out of the problem.
-----------------------------
Sunday, 26 February -
This is getting ridiculous. I need to be ready to pick up my brothers in Orlando on Tuesday and I can barely function. I seem to be worse in the mornings and by mid-afternoon feel somewhat better. This afternoon I decided I had to have some comfort food so drove east to a small family restaurant and had a hamburger and fries. That didn't seem to help, though. I couldn't finish them and the tastes didn't seem right.
----------------------------
Saturday, 25 February -
And another lost day. Again I couldn't stay up at all until noon and then only long enough to drive up for ice and to re-book my spot for the night. When I'm not sleeping, though, I'm buzzing through 'The Covenant'.
----------------------------
Friday, 24 February -
Another lost day. I slept better overnight but still remained very tired and could only sleep and read through the day.
----------------------------
Thursday, 23 February -
I had a rough night last night. I became nauseous and had oddly-disturbing dreams and runaway thoughts which woke me time after time. I've somehow contracted a 'bug'.
I felt very, very sleepy and after dawn slept almost straight through to noon. I dragged myself out of bed to drive up to the check-in station to book another night but then returned immediately to bed for the rest of the day.
----------------------------
Wednesday, 22 February -
This morning I took a few minutes to shop for supplies at Walmart and returned my rental DVD to the Redbox, then headed out battery shopping.
I need a battery to run my clay target thrower. I checked at a battery specialty store, at Pep Boys, and at Northern Tool but didn't see anything which seemed like a good answer. I don't need that much of a battery for the thrower but it occurred to me that we also need to replace the deep-cycle battery for our fishing boat's trolling motor, so I might as well do that. But good ones are awfully expensive.
On the other hand, I saw a fishing trip more or less ruined because of the old trolling battery failing at an inopportune time so I don't want that to happen again. The battery was a cheapie and I had tried to keep it topped up but didn't use a float charger. I'd think of charging it every few months and thought I was doing pretty well at it.
But last summer we hosted a family reunion at Pinchot Park and I brought the fishing boat for the more avid fishermen to take the kids out. I had topped off the battery but once on the water it lasted only twenty minutes.... and this on a lake that does not allow outboards. Fortunately it lasted just long enough for the fishermen and kids to make it to the other side of the lake at another launch ramp. The adults took the kids bank-fishing the rest of the day and they didn't seem to mind but I was very unhappy with the battery's quick demise and the fact that I couldn't tell it was near the end of its useful life. But as of this morning I wasn't quite ready to spend $200+ on a high-quality battery.
As I drove east on US40 I hit a few of the familiar stops--- The Ocala Boat Club launch ramp on the Oklawaha River (near where I had seen monkeys a few years ago), the Public Lands Information Center, the Ocala National Forest office, and the shooting range.
As the afternoon wore on I thought I'd take an abbreviated ride on the Centennial ATV Trail and then find a home for the night. I found the trailhead but the parking area was actively under construction so I followed a posted sign to a temporary trailhead a mile or so away.
As I unloaded the ATV I noticed the sky was darkening but I had seen this before--- clouds threaten and we'd get a very light sprinkle and then the sky would clear up. And since I was only riding for an hour, I should be fine.
My ride went well for the first half hour but as I turned for home the rain started. It did indeed start slow but continued to build. I stopped and put on my rain jacket but by the time I got back to the van my pants and riding gloves and sneakers were soaked. I didn't think much of it and quickly dried off and changed clothes.
I then drove to the nearby Juniper Springs State Park campground for the night. Rain was steady now but I felt snug in the van for the night.
-------------------------------
Tuesday, 21 February -
This morning I decided to give the ATV riding a break and drive into Ocala. On the way out of the campground I saw Ted at the water pump so stopped to catch up on the news on his truck. He had had it towed and fixed yesterday. The problem with leaking fuel came from a squirrel chewing through the hoses going into the tank-mounted fuel pump. I had seen a squirrel under the truck yesterday so that was probably the one. Ted says he's going to pick up a sling shot on his next trip to Wal-mart. The repair only cost $65 and the tow was covered by his auto-club subscription so he got of lucky. One thing I learned from this, though, is the go-to guy for mechanical problems is Larry's Garage in Fort McCoy.
I set the GPS for the Honda powersports dealer in Ocala and was there within the hour. I bought an oil filter and o-ring, a gallon of oil, and a largish bottle of S100 motorcycle cleaner.
I then drove on into the South College Street area of Ocala I've frequented a good bit. I had a burger at the Five Guys, bought mosquito nets at the Sports Authority, hit the federal credit union for its ATM, and drove to the Starbucks west of 75. There I caught up email, posted the blog update, and had a Skype video chat with Labashi.
Afterwards I drove north an exit to Northern Tool Supply and Gander Mountain (both on the same lot). I went through my tool bag and found I had left a few small items at home so replaced those. I looked for a good battery setup for the clay-bird thrower but didn't settle on anything yet. I then went next door to the Gander Mountain and bought a case of clay targets and a few boxes of shotgun shells.
By that time it was nearly dark so I elected to try the nearby Wal-mart. I've stayed at this one before so thought it worth a try. I was surprised to find the end lot empty. Usually there's an RV or two there and sometimes an 18-wheeler. I checked with security and learned it's still okay to stay overnight so long as the lot is cleared by 0800. This is the only Wal-mart I know of with an 0800 rule but I'm not about to complain.
After chatting with the security patrol lady I rented a movie from the Redbox.... 'The Ides of March' with Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. I'm not a big fan of political stories but this one was very well done.
************** END OF POST ************
(posted from home)
(This post covers 21 – 29 February, 2012)
---------------------------------
Wednesday, 29 February -
This morning as I walked back from the bathroom a woman at a nearby campsite stopped me and asked if I'd like a dozen eggs. It seemed an odd request but she and her husband had been shopping yesterday and had bought white eggs rather than the brown eggs they like (!!). Now all we need is some bacon!
I'm still feeling quite weak today so decided I'd not go canoeing with the guys. I took them down to the rental shop and helped launch them. I then drove in to Silver Springs and bought some pre-cooked bacon and got ice and fresh salad fixin's.
The trip was supposed to take three to five hours so I began looking for them about 1330 at the take-out. As it turned out I missed them by twenty minutes and I went on to Salt Springs since the pickup shuttle only ran hourly. That turned out to be a mistake; the shuttle was running late and took them back to the rental shop while I was in Salt Springs.
When they didn't show at the next pickup time I returned to the rental shop and found them patiently waiting. The trip had been a fairly strenuous one and they were happy to just have some time to recover.
That evening we drove down to Old Crow Bar-Be-Que for some good eats.
--------------------------------
Tuesday, 28 February -
This morning I drove down to Orlando for my brothers' evening arrival. As I passed through Eustis I saw an Advance Auto and checked out their battery selection. I ended up buying an Optima deep-cell battery for $230.
As I neared Orlando I realized I had quite a lot of time so I looked up a local Apple Store at Altamonte Springs. I took the iPad in for another look. It again has developed a habit of unexpectedly rebooting.
I got lucky and only had to wait a few minutes for an appointment with a technician. She determined the hardware was okay but recommended I close out background applications more often to avoid the unexpected reboots. We'll see. Something sounds fishy about an operating system which is so easily confused.
I then drove on to the cell-phone-call lot at Orlando International and awaited a call. I had been using the iPad and FlightTrack to watch my brothers flights in near-realtime and knew when they landed. I also have FlightBoard which shows the overhead flight boards at most airports so I even knew the baggage carousel.
I picked up Orat first and we had about an hour's wait back at the cell-lot until Maypo came in. Pickup couldn't have been easier.
We then drove north, back to Juniper Springs. We arrived about 2300 and only needed about a half hour to finish setup. I had unloaded the ATV and set up sleeping cots this morning so it was only a matter of settling in.
-------------------------------
Monday, 27 February -
Today I was feeling better and began planning for picking up my brothers. I was still very slow but at least seemed to be slowly working my way out of the problem.
-----------------------------
Sunday, 26 February -
This is getting ridiculous. I need to be ready to pick up my brothers in Orlando on Tuesday and I can barely function. I seem to be worse in the mornings and by mid-afternoon feel somewhat better. This afternoon I decided I had to have some comfort food so drove east to a small family restaurant and had a hamburger and fries. That didn't seem to help, though. I couldn't finish them and the tastes didn't seem right.
----------------------------
Saturday, 25 February -
And another lost day. Again I couldn't stay up at all until noon and then only long enough to drive up for ice and to re-book my spot for the night. When I'm not sleeping, though, I'm buzzing through 'The Covenant'.
----------------------------
Friday, 24 February -
Another lost day. I slept better overnight but still remained very tired and could only sleep and read through the day.
----------------------------
Thursday, 23 February -
I had a rough night last night. I became nauseous and had oddly-disturbing dreams and runaway thoughts which woke me time after time. I've somehow contracted a 'bug'.
I felt very, very sleepy and after dawn slept almost straight through to noon. I dragged myself out of bed to drive up to the check-in station to book another night but then returned immediately to bed for the rest of the day.
----------------------------
Wednesday, 22 February -
This morning I took a few minutes to shop for supplies at Walmart and returned my rental DVD to the Redbox, then headed out battery shopping.
I need a battery to run my clay target thrower. I checked at a battery specialty store, at Pep Boys, and at Northern Tool but didn't see anything which seemed like a good answer. I don't need that much of a battery for the thrower but it occurred to me that we also need to replace the deep-cycle battery for our fishing boat's trolling motor, so I might as well do that. But good ones are awfully expensive.
On the other hand, I saw a fishing trip more or less ruined because of the old trolling battery failing at an inopportune time so I don't want that to happen again. The battery was a cheapie and I had tried to keep it topped up but didn't use a float charger. I'd think of charging it every few months and thought I was doing pretty well at it.
But last summer we hosted a family reunion at Pinchot Park and I brought the fishing boat for the more avid fishermen to take the kids out. I had topped off the battery but once on the water it lasted only twenty minutes.... and this on a lake that does not allow outboards. Fortunately it lasted just long enough for the fishermen and kids to make it to the other side of the lake at another launch ramp. The adults took the kids bank-fishing the rest of the day and they didn't seem to mind but I was very unhappy with the battery's quick demise and the fact that I couldn't tell it was near the end of its useful life. But as of this morning I wasn't quite ready to spend $200+ on a high-quality battery.
As I drove east on US40 I hit a few of the familiar stops--- The Ocala Boat Club launch ramp on the Oklawaha River (near where I had seen monkeys a few years ago), the Public Lands Information Center, the Ocala National Forest office, and the shooting range.
As the afternoon wore on I thought I'd take an abbreviated ride on the Centennial ATV Trail and then find a home for the night. I found the trailhead but the parking area was actively under construction so I followed a posted sign to a temporary trailhead a mile or so away.
As I unloaded the ATV I noticed the sky was darkening but I had seen this before--- clouds threaten and we'd get a very light sprinkle and then the sky would clear up. And since I was only riding for an hour, I should be fine.
My ride went well for the first half hour but as I turned for home the rain started. It did indeed start slow but continued to build. I stopped and put on my rain jacket but by the time I got back to the van my pants and riding gloves and sneakers were soaked. I didn't think much of it and quickly dried off and changed clothes.
I then drove to the nearby Juniper Springs State Park campground for the night. Rain was steady now but I felt snug in the van for the night.
-------------------------------
Tuesday, 21 February -
This morning I decided to give the ATV riding a break and drive into Ocala. On the way out of the campground I saw Ted at the water pump so stopped to catch up on the news on his truck. He had had it towed and fixed yesterday. The problem with leaking fuel came from a squirrel chewing through the hoses going into the tank-mounted fuel pump. I had seen a squirrel under the truck yesterday so that was probably the one. Ted says he's going to pick up a sling shot on his next trip to Wal-mart. The repair only cost $65 and the tow was covered by his auto-club subscription so he got of lucky. One thing I learned from this, though, is the go-to guy for mechanical problems is Larry's Garage in Fort McCoy.
I set the GPS for the Honda powersports dealer in Ocala and was there within the hour. I bought an oil filter and o-ring, a gallon of oil, and a largish bottle of S100 motorcycle cleaner.
I then drove on into the South College Street area of Ocala I've frequented a good bit. I had a burger at the Five Guys, bought mosquito nets at the Sports Authority, hit the federal credit union for its ATM, and drove to the Starbucks west of 75. There I caught up email, posted the blog update, and had a Skype video chat with Labashi.
Afterwards I drove north an exit to Northern Tool Supply and Gander Mountain (both on the same lot). I went through my tool bag and found I had left a few small items at home so replaced those. I looked for a good battery setup for the clay-bird thrower but didn't settle on anything yet. I then went next door to the Gander Mountain and bought a case of clay targets and a few boxes of shotgun shells.
By that time it was nearly dark so I elected to try the nearby Wal-mart. I've stayed at this one before so thought it worth a try. I was surprised to find the end lot empty. Usually there's an RV or two there and sometimes an 18-wheeler. I checked with security and learned it's still okay to stay overnight so long as the lot is cleared by 0800. This is the only Wal-mart I know of with an 0800 rule but I'm not about to complain.
After chatting with the security patrol lady I rented a movie from the Redbox.... 'The Ides of March' with Ryan Gosling, George Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. I'm not a big fan of political stories but this one was very well done.
************** END OF POST ************
posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 23:59
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