We woke to another cold, clear morning. The thermometer said it was 37 degrees out there again this morning. Looks like we are going to have another chilly ride today.
Steve met the owner of the wooden travel trailer (Charlie) on his way to the barn for a coffee. His hobby is wood working and he said if you haven’t been to the barn before they have coffee every morning and they also do wood working. Charlie had noticed that our parking area had a wet spot and asked if we had a leak. Steve told him that we were using our backup hose that has a leaky connection because our good one sprung a few leaks the other day. He said it was probably the squirrels and not a defective hose. Apparently it is quite common here that they will chew on your hose leaving pin holes so they can have a drink. Sorry for the bad rap the other day Camping World.
We left just after 9:30 deciding to stop at the Visitor’s Centre...hopefully it will be open. It was and after being greeted by the fellow manning the place...he was outside having a smoke...we went inside. This older fellow had a rather distinctive look...one that I’ve been seeing more of lately...nothing like a balding man with a long ponytail! We took a look at the big map they have and noticing that the trailhead that we first thought we would go to is actually on a gravel road, quite a distance from the highway; we decided on the Delancy Trailhead which is right off the highway 19 about 6 miles from here. After talking to the fellow about other things to see and do in the area, we were on our way.
This trailhead was similar to the one we were at yesterday...lots of room for many vehicles to come in and off-load their ATV’s. Today we were the only truck in the huge lot. We have our off-loading routine down pat and in no time we were ready to hit the trails. It was 10:40 as we headed onto the “purple” marked trail called the Delancy Loops. Our plan was to connect with the yellow trail and follow it until we could connect with the red trail. We were going to do the red trail and then finish off with the rest of the purple trail on our way back to the truck.
The purple trail is similar to the trails we rode yesterday...narrow, windy but not at all difficult. They are all sand, which is fairly deep in some areas and it’s really quite cool because a lot of the corners are banked. One part of the trail that had a lot of banked corners going from side to side reminded me of a waterslide that has a lot of curves in it and how they bank from side to side as you go down it.
We were sticking to the outside loop when we came across a downed tree that was blocking the trail...it was up to high to go over and not high enough to go under, so we had to turn around and take another loop that would also get us to the yellow trail. We stopped for a break once we hit the yellow trail and this is when Steve noticed that my quad was leaking fluid. It wasn’t oil from the engine which was good...it looked like it was coming out of the right front shock. Hmmm...should we continue on? It didn’t look too bad so we decided to just keep an eye on it and carry on.
We found today’s ride to be much warmer than yesterday’s. I had put on an extra “undershirt” and was plenty warm without the rain jacket as a wind break. Steve had pulled out his heavy hunting jacket and was wearing that with his fleece liner underneath...it wasn’t long before he ditched the fleece liner.
We made it onto the red trail and decided to stop to check my quad and have lunch. I had noticed that we had been going on a bit of an incline as we made our way to the red trail and I guess it was just high enough that my cell actually had a signal. I realized this because as we stopped, I heard my phone (which was in my cargo box) give off the familiar “bleep bleep” notification. When I checked it, I had two text messages...one from Chris and one from Rob....both wishing me a Happy Birthday! That’s when I noticed that I actually had cell service so I decided to call them right back. And I thought I was going to have to use the pay phone tonight to call them. I had a great conversation with each of them...although the connection started to weaken towards the end of my chat with Rob. It was so good talking to them! Steve’s brother Dave, son Jonathan and girlfriend Kerry are in Victoria for a visit. Rob said they were coming over for dinner with steaks and Kerry will be making her famous Long Island Ice Tea. Watch out guys...her ice teas sneak up on you!!
After lunch, Steve decided to pull out the manual to see if he could find anything that would shed some light on what the leaking fluid could be. He noticed that the fluid was not coming from the shock but appeared to be coming from a module above. The manual pictured this component but doesn’t say what it is. After removing the access hood Steve thinks it may be an ignition module. There were no warning lights coming on and it seemed just fine while I was riding it. Not being able to figure out exactly what is was, we decided it would probably be a good idea not to push our luck so we headed back.
After one wrong turn on the purple trail which took us onto a really cool windy trail, we turned around, found the right trail, and were soon back at the trailhead. It was going on to 2:00...not as long of a ride as we had had the past couple of days but it had been good....other than getting a sick quad, that is. Steve even saw four deer on the trail.
But before loading the quads back into the truck, Steve had to play on the youth practice circuit that was there...of course, he hadn’t noticed the sign stating you had to be under 15 years old to go on the track. Oh well, there was nobody else around and he had fun on it.
We were back home just after 3:00...plenty of time to “do” my hair, shower and get ready to go out for dinner tonight. There will just be the two of us tonight...usually there are four because I share my birthday with a very good friend, Rob Cawsey, so he and Nancy always join us. But not this year...so Happy Birthday from Florida, Rob!
The restaurant, Bass Champions, was not at all what we were expecting. Since it was only open for dinner, we expected a little more “evening ambiance”. Nope...it was basically a bright, busy diner. Obviously the emphasize is on good food and not so much on decor. But we both had huge, very good meals. Their specials tonight were 14 oz. prime rib...Steve was in his glory...and “all you can eat ribs and draft”—that’s what I had. Unfortunately, they were beef ribs...I would have preferred pork ribs...but very tasty anyway. We both had our choice of 2 sides...Steve chose salad and fries; I chose baked potato and zucchini...and dinner also included your choice of clam chowder or chilli. Holy Cats...that’s a lot of food! After we had finished our meal, the servers all came by the table, sang and presented me with a special dessert. I can’t recall what she called it, but it was strips of deep fried tortilla drizzled with apple syrup and sprinkled with icing sugar and cinnamon. That and a cup of coffee finished off dinner. We were both stuffed...I don’t even want to think of the number of calories I consumed at that one meal!
The bill was a very reasonable $36 (which included 3 draft for me and 1 for my driver) and after paying it and leaving a good-sized tip, we headed home to get into our stretchy clothes! I had had a great birthday!
All went smoothly as we packed up and headed to Suncoast RV. After going over the list of things we wanted them to fix, we were waiting outside with our suitcases for the taxi to arrive. We sat there for almost 30 minutes until a plain unmarked car pulled up in front of us...hmmm...no exterior signs to indicate it was a taxi and no meter inside...don’t like that. But the fellow said that he was an independent driver. Well, okay. I was very happy when I started to see signs indicating that we were nearing the airport...whew...at least it looked like he was driving in the right direction.
It was about a 40 minute hike to the Springs...and a much nicer day for pictures today than it was yesterday. These springs don’t have the fish in them that the others have had. And the water, although really clear, does not have the turquoise-blue colour that Silver Glen Springs had. But the area is really pretty. One end is closed off for swimming and then on the other side of the bridge is for canoes and kayaks. 
After about an hour, I was very frustrated and decided to close it all down. Steve had a fire going...it was time to go out and relax with a glass of wine by the campfire.
After our walk, we stopped in at “The Barn” which is basically the activity/social centre. There is a huge beautiful fireplace and on these cold mornings, there is a fire going and coffee on. They have all sorts of activities set up for those who want to partake...woodworking, quilting, jigsaw puzzles, book exchange, etc. They have all sorts of social functions...potlucks, music, etc...
This campground doesn’t really have any “it” factor but it’s not bad. We have water and electrical hook-ups (at $27/night) but no sewer...okay, we have “free-flowing” water but our holding tanks can only hold so much, so that means we have to watch how much water we use...sheesh. But we are close to the bathhouse...via a cement sidewalk right from the back of our site. The trees are too close to put out the awning fully and our picnic table has to be set up sideways under it...at least that way the barbeque can be kept out of the rain...should it rain.
The next thing now, was the satellite dish. I looked up the satellite coordinates on the “dish finder” website and after much perseverance; Steve managed to get the dish pointed in the right direction and...voila...we had TV! We have internet and satellite TV...ahhhh....life is good!
The Springs are just beautiful...the colour of the water is a gorgeous turquoise blue and there are tons of huge fish jumping clear out of the water...very cool!
The trail to Lake George is 1-mile each way and was a great walk. We saw lots of deer scurrying away as we approached and at one point as we turned a corner, we startled a bunch of wild turkeys. There were likely bear in the area as well as alligators but we didn’t see any. It was a beautiful trail and very cool!
Once finished our “chores” we decided to sit outside for a bit. It wasn’t long before the friendly little squirrels came by wanting a peanut. There is one “mommy” that comes right up to Steve to get her peanut...but is not quite comfortable taking it from his hand. Then there is the “mean” one that comes along and chases her away. We sat being entertained by them until it got kinda cool out so we headed inside.
We decided to do the Salt Springs run today...no, we’re not entering a marathon! The Salt Springs run is basically a 5-mile river that runs from the Springs to Lake George and is supposed to be very scenic. I hope we see a manatee! After paying the $5 parking fee at the marina, we unloaded the boat and motor. We hadn’t had the motor out since last August when we had been in northern Manitoba. After adding the oars, life jackets, etc. into the boat, we wheeled it down into the water. 
As we left the marina, the water was fairly shallow and very weedy. You must go dead slow (or as their signs say...Idle Speed) for the first mile. The run was very pretty...in its own way. Lots of different birds and it was another clear sunny day which always makes a difference. The sun was actually quite warm as we motored along...we never even thought about taking suntan lotion with us.
Lake George is a huge lake...the second largest in Florida. We had also been warned about how quickly it can get really rough. Apparently it is a fairly shallow lake and once the wind comes up, it gets pretty nasty. Steve wanted to give the motor a good run and also use up the gas that was in the tank so away we went zooming out onto the huge lake. He decided to head towards a point jutting out and as we neared it, we noticed it was very weedy again, so we quickly headed out further way from shore.
I relieved Steve after 20 minutes rowing. After a while, he thought that he would try starting the motor. We both didn’t think he’d have much luck but thankfully, it did sputter to life....YES! Unfortunately, it wasn’t pumping water to cool the engine down. Steve thinks it got plugged with all the weeds that we went through and overheated. Giving it a bit more of a break, he tried it again. It was pumping now and we sped away trying to get as close to the mouth of the run as we could before it stopped pumping again....and it did stop. So we limped along, with some rowing between periods of the motor running properly. I was very relieved to finally make it back to the run. At least once there, if we had no motor at all, there were plenty of boaters in the area fishing. 
After loading the boat, motor and everything back into the truck, we headed home. But before actually going to the campground part of the park, we went to the Springs just to see if by chance a manatee or two had come in. There were some people swimming...it was a nice warm afternoon, after all (we learned later that it was 70 degrees and that was in the shade). So no manatees were present. 
We decided to go for a walk before happy hour today so we put on our walking shoes and walked the whole campground...not just the perimeter but back and forth on all the roads too. There....now we will sit down with our bevies and enjoy what is left of a warm afternoon. After being entertained by a couple of squirrels and then chatting with a neighbour for a bit, we decided to head inside.
Steve met the owner of the wooden travel trailer (Charlie) on his way to the barn for a coffee. His hobby is wood working and he said if you haven’t been to the barn before they have coffee every morning and they also do wood working. Charlie had noticed that our parking area had a wet spot and asked if we had a leak. Steve told him that we were using our backup hose that has a leaky connection because our good one sprung a few leaks the other day. He said it was probably the squirrels and not a defective hose. Apparently it is quite common here that they will chew on your hose leaving pin holes so they can have a drink. Sorry for the bad rap the other day Camping World.
We found the trailhead we were looking for on highway 316 and pulled in. The parking area is well thought out, giving riders plenty of room to park their vehicles and unload their ATV’s. There are also nice restrooms...they are pit toilets but are clean and housed in a nice cement building. 
We started out on the brown trail, went over to the blue trail, did a tiny bit of the red and looped back around on the blue and brown. There were a lot of deer and bear tracks on the trail today. We both really enjoyed these trails better than yesterday’s. They were narrower and windier...not at all difficult...no steep hill climbs...actually, no hill climbs period—steep or not. But we had a great time! It was chilly, though. Who would have thought that I’d be wearing 4 layers of clothing in Florida?! I even had to put on my rain coat to act as a wind-break...and at one point, I wish I had my long-johns on!! 
