Hog Pond Trail - Withlacoochee State Forest

We slept well and woke up after 6 am. We did our morning language lessons and had morning beverages before going downstairs around 6:30. At 7:30, Mark and I drove to Mavis Tire and Brakes. Mark drove Cindy’s Toyota Highlander, and I drove his Ram pickup. The tire shop was unable to repair the tire since the nail was so close to the sidewall, so it would have to be replaced. Since all of the tires were badly worn, Mark had four new tires put on the car. While the car was being serviced, we drove to Home Depot and bought two eight-foot-long sections of ¾ inch polymer quarter round molding and some high strength construction adhesive. When we got to the house, we cut the molding to fit the sides of the shelving on either side of the Murphy bed and attached them with the adhesive. We also used the multi-tool to round the ends of the 2x4 boards on the bedframe in the room where we are staying. While we were working in the upstairs bedrooms, Mary and Cindy were cleaning and dusting, helping us clean up our messes.

We had grilled cheese sandwiches with a slice of ham for lunch, then went back to the tire store to get the Highlander. The four Michelin tires for the car cost over $1300 installed but should last well. I drove the Highlander back to the house and was impressed with the ride of the car.

Cindy & Mary on the Hog Pond Trail

Mark & I put tools away from our morning projects, while Mary & Cindy planned for our April trip to see the total solar eclipse. At 1:30 we loaded the dogs into the Highlander and drove the short distance to the Hog Pond Trail area of the Withlacoochee State Forest where we took a 2 hour 15 minute walk covering what we guess was over 5 miles. The trails were still pretty muddy from the past two days of rain. We didn’t see any wildlife, but there were lots of tracks and signs where wild pigs were rooting up an area near the ponds. We stopped at Twisty Treat for ice cream on the way back to the house.

Mark made pasta with andouille sausage and sauteed vegetables for dinner along with a Caesar salad. Everything was good. After showering and doing our evening language lessons, we watched an episode of Astrid on PBS followed by an episode of Evening Shade on Prime. We were in bed by 9:30.