Southern Camping Trip 2024 / Day 21

Highlands Hammock State Park

Sebring, Florida

February 20, 2024

Christmas berries.

Marc- We started the day off with a hike on a Park bike trail. I asked a Park employee if this was allowed and he said yes but that we would need to watch out for bears.  Sue and I felt we could handle this with our nordic walking sticks (similar to cross country ski poles but geared for dirt).  The only animal we saw on this trail was a Great Egret that flew off as we approached.  We proceeded to crisscross the Park on various trails with such names as Sweetgum trail, Cypress Swamp Trail and Ancient Hammock Trail.  The vegetation here is awesome.

Great Egret

Barred Owl

We have yet to be able to photograph an owl although there is is an Owl family in the campground. The above is a mural in nearby Lake Placid, aka "City of Murals."  I spoke to a Park Ranger about these owls.  He indicated that they prefer oak forests, cypress forests, hardwood hammocks and swamps.  Their nest dream home is in cavities (holes) in trees.  The Ranger explained that he was building an Owl nest from an oak log.  The log is hollowed out at one area near what will be the top.  The hole must be well drained and mesh set at its bottom.  Twigs and straw are then placed on top of the mesh.  He added that the nest must look natural.

Sue and I found found this tree that might work well as an owl nest.

The forests here has not changed much since the days of the Mastadon.  The Egrets are still here.

(Another mural from Lake Placid)

Not all murals are historically accurate.  This mural  shows a studious dragon and an inquisitive butterfly near the public library.

Mural near the city park.

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One of my missions on this trip south is to find a used anchor windlass for our new boat.  I will stop at Sailorman in Ft. Lauderdale (our next camping stop).  If anyone knows of other Florida locations for salvaged anchor windlasses please let me know. 

Southern Camping Trip 2024 / Day 20

 Highlands Hammock State Park

Sebring, Florida

February 19, 2024

Wood Stock in cypress swamp Highlands Hammock.

Marc- A hammock is a closed canopy forest.  It consists of large trees whose leaves filter out much of the light, making the inside of the forest dark, shady and cool.  In Highlands Hammock there are many hardwood species such as Oak, Elm, Hickory, Red maple, Sweet gum, Sugar hackberry and Bald Cypress.  The Sabal palm and many ferns are also abundant.  We saw and heard fewer birds than we saw last year during our visit here.  Of note today were the Barred Owl,  Yellow Rumped Warbler, Carolina Wren, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Blue Vireo and Pileated Woodpeckers.

Giant oak tree with Sue for size.

The same giant oak tree reaching high up in the forest.

Cypress

More Cypress

The Catwalk Trail (partially closed for repairs).

Pileated Woodpecker

We also visited the CCC Museum here in the Park.  In fact it was the CCC that built the Florida State Parks.  This means a lot to me since my father and his older brother were in the CCC during the Great Depression and spoke well of the experience.  Although they were not in Florida their experience was similar.

The CCC recruits did everything from planting trees to building structures, roads, bridges and trails that have lasted to this day.

Southern Camping Trip 2024 / Day 19

Highlands Hammock State Park

Sebring, Florida

February 18, 2024

Crossing the state line (again).

Marc- Today was a rather difficult travel day in the rain lasting 6-1/2 hours.  Nothing really to write about except that it was still raining when we set up camp and found that our power cord was 12 feet short.  Luckily the Park Store had an extension cord.

Southern Camping Trip 2024 / Day 18

St. Marys KOA Campground

St. Marys, Georgia

February 17, 2024 

Beach Quilt using the paper piecing method

Marc-  Our last day at St. Marys Campground.  We started the day off with breakfast at Steffen's Diner, an A+ establishment with great food and good prices.  It was a rainy day so we spent time visiting a hardware store (for new camper keys to replace a broken key) and another Quilt shop to find more  fabric.  We ended the day with a return trip to Fernandina Beach to see a Musical called Billy Elliot.  Set in the 1980's England during the coal strikes and how Maggie Thatcher solved the problem by nationalizing the mines and forcing the miners to return to work.  Billy Elliot is a coal miner's son who is taking boxing lessons in a studio that doubles as a ballet studio at night.  Billy stumbles into the studio one evening to return the keys and is taken by dancing.  He is a dance prodigy and is pushed by the dance instructor to apply to the Britain's Royal Ballet School.  After much push back from his coal miner Dad, Billy is in the end encouraged to try out.  The actors were terrific during the two hour show and we were able to meet all of them afterward.

We did breakfast.

Quilt shop discovery and a plan.

Marc laying out the fabric for this herringbone pattern for a table runner because I (Sue) could not figure it out.

Partially completed table runner.

Sue at work.

Small cruise ship at Fernandina Beach Marina.

Sue makes a friend.

Fernandina Beach Post Office

For those of you who have owned a Volkswagen (Note the license plate).

The Musical.

Meanwhile back at the camper.  A special Wordle word.  (Remember that the quilter's "stash" is a near sacred thing.)

Sue - We went to one more quilt store in Kingsland, GA (town next to St. Mary's).  Beyond Fabric.  This place, like so many I've seen, was nothing to look at from the outside, but pretty nice inside.  They had beautiful fabrics (I even saw swimmers on fabric, and some cat fabric called out to me but I pulled myself away from it), they had a "ribbon room," they also had a room full of upholstery fabric and sunbrella.  There was a very nice woman, Joyce, running the place today.  I bought 2 jelly rolls, and got a one time 20% off deal for my birthday which is not even this month.  You can use your birthday deal any time in a calendar year.  They had a few quilts hanging on the walls.  I told Joyce when I walked in there that I "didn't need anything," but just wanted to look.  2 jelly rolls later, I left.  Beyond Fabrics gets an A.  I will go back next year assuming we are in the area.

Southern Camping Trip 2024 / Day 17

St. Mary's KOA Campground

St. Mary's, Georgia

February 16, 2024

Home in mill town of Fernandina Beach, Florida.  The tree is an Eastern Redbud.

Marc-   Today is my birthday and I wished to return to Fernandina Beach for a visit and some of their excellent ice cream.  On arrival we immediately noticed flowers in bloom and a thriving downtown.  Most of the shops and homes are in great condition and occupied.  Sue and I walked around town from the Marina on the Intracoastal Waterway side of town to the shops and Park in the Center of town and eventually to some hiking trails near the Atlantic Ocean side of town.  We spotted some beautiful birds while walking the trails.

                                                                            Nasturtium

Bottle Brush Tree

Looking up Atlantic Avenue, the main shopping district.

A beautiful home in town.

Fernandina philosophy

Sue's favorite shop in town.

Small fishing boat very popular with the resident pelicans.

Sea shell beach.

The trees seem to be growing birds around here.

Great Egret

Anhinga

Great Egret out fishing before he moved to his tree.

After lunch we headed South touring Big Talbot Island and Little Talbot Island (mostly consisting of white sand beaches and connecting bridges).  We ended up on St. George Island to visit Kingsley Plantation, now owned by the National Park Service.  This Island was controlled by the French, then the Spanish, then the British, then the Spanish again, and finally the United States.  Kingsley, a Brit, came over and established a cotton plantation.  He imported slaves including one that would become his future wife.  Kingsley married Anna his slave and freed her and her children.  She would become the owner of the plantation under Spanish control.  Spanish Florida had liberal racial policies that allowed her to own land and conduct business.  This all changed in 1821 when the United States took control of Florida and placed severe restrictions on people of color.  Anna and her children were forced to leave the country in order to maintain their freedom.

The main house of the Kingsley Plantation.

The main Plantation docks.

Turnips above and Garlic below at the Plantation gardens.