Visiting Steve & Marcia in Sebring

After waking, having morning beverages and doing our language lessons, we took the dogs on a short walk on the street. When we returned to the house, Mark warmed the breakfast burritos that he had made the night before. They were tasty and filling for our drive to Sebring.

We were able to get out by 8:30 and chose a route that avoided I-75 and the Tampa area. Even though it was Saturday morning, we knew that traffic would be bad around Tampa. While driving we heard a pebble fly up and tap the windshield, fearing a crack, but we kept moving not seeing a chip.

Progress on the "hippie van"

Once we left the Gulf Coast and started driving through the less populated central part of Florida, the landscape was very pretty. Some of the citrus groves had fruit hanging, and lots of cattle were in fields.

We arrived at Steve and Marcia’s place a little before noon and had a great visit. Steve updated us on his job as an elementary special education teacher, and Marcia took us out to see the progress on restoring her “hippie van.” She had removed the wrap and repaired areas with dents or rust. Although the top of the van will remain white, she painted most of the van’s body an almost turquoise blue. The amazing thing is that she painted the van with spray cans of Rustoleum. I couldn’t believe how smooth and uniform the paint looked. She hand-painted some of the graphics and used an air brush apparatus on other graphics.

Marcia & Steve

After our visit, we took them out to Dimitri’s Restaurant for lunch to celebrate Steve’s 66th birthday which is on February 25th. Marcia had a flounder sandwich, Steve ordered the Philly cheesesteak, Mary had a Cuban sandwich, and I had fish and chips. Mary and I swapped some fish for half of the sandwich. We all enjoyed our meals. We appreciate that Dimitri’s has a good selection of Greek, Italian and Cuban menu choices as well as American favorites.

We returned to Steve’s house and spent some time in his gardens assessing the needs of his lime tree and examining the tiny bagworms on the palm trees. It is always great to see Steve and Marcia laughing about old times and planning new adventures. We left Sebring around 3 pm for the 3+ hour drive to Homosassa.

Looking at Steve's garden

The drive to Homosassa was uneventful, although traffic was heavy. We saw a large group of Jeeps that had apparently been to an event and were heading north. We stopped at a Walgreens to get a birthday card for Cindy then got to Whittington’s a little before 7 pm. Dinner was the Schmidt’s meatloaf that Mary had prepared on Friday along with green beans and rolls. We watched an episode of Astrid and Professor T on PBS before going to bed.

Jacaranda Hotel

We had cereal for breakfast then took the dogs of a short predawn walk, in order to leave for Avon Park shortly after 8 am. The temperature was warmer than the cooler mornings have had over the past few days.

The three-hour drive southeast on route 98 was uneventful as we watched the temperature increase to the low 80s. Mark had a good gospel bluegrass station on the Sirius radio, which was good listening for the drive. We made a stop in Lakeland for Krispy Kreme doughnuts then continued to Avon Park. We arrived at the historic Jacaranda Hotel at 11:30, happy that we had reservations since there was a long wait for a table. Steve came out for us and got us seated as soon as we arrived.

The buffet at the hotel was very good. I especially enjoyed the chicken and beef tips. There was a large selection of desserts, but their signature dessert is the strawberry shortcake. We all ate too much but enjoyed visiting with Steve and Marcia while we ate. It was interesting to hear about Steve’s work as a substitute teacher for third through fifth graders at an elementary school in Highlands County.

Our group at Highlands Hammock State Park

After lunch we drove to Highlands Hammock State Park in Sebring and walked the short boardwalk Cypress Swamp Trail through the wet hammock. After the big meal, it felt good to walk around some.

Steve and Steve at Highland Hammocks SP

We drove back to Homosassa nearly the same way on route 98, arriving at the house around 5:30. We checked the pin fish trap in the canal but had no fish. We took the dogs on a longer evening walk since their morning walk was so short.

We had a snack for dinner then relaxed in the evening. Mary and Cindy read, while Mark watched the Bengals and Chiefs in the playoff game. We planned to leave around 7 am to drive east to The Villages to see Mark’s sister, Jodie.

Visiting in Sebring

Once again, we were able to sleep in until nearly 6 am. After our raisin bran and yogurt breakfast we looked at options for the remaining days of our Florida vacation. We were pleased to have a video call with the Koehler’s a little before 8 am. It was great to see them.

At 8:30 we left for Sebring to visit our friends, Steve and Marcia. We stopped at a Racetrac gas station to fill the Corolla rental car. This is the first fuel that we had to buy since renting it on Wednesday afternoon. We were happy that we had used less than 10 gallons of gas in all the driving that we have done this week. The first part of the 90-minute drive to Sebring was a little foggy, but the sun cleared the fog about 45 minutes into our drive. As we neared Sebring, Mary spotted a group of wild hogs in a pasture. We stopped the car and saw about 25 pigs including a large boar, several sows and about 20 piglets of varying ages and sizes. Although we had seen a great deal of damage from the feral swine at several of our hiking locations, this was the first group of pigs that we had seen this week.

We were so busy visiting that we forgot to take any
photos so this is one of Steve & Marcia from 2020

We hung out with Steve and Marcia for over an hour then went to lunch at Dimetri’s Restaurant near their home. We have been there several times before and have always had excellent meals. This visit was no exception We were happy to ride in Marcia’s “hippy bus,” a 1977 Volkswagen minibus painted in a psychedelic theme. Marcia had the shepherd’s pie, Steve had the fish sandwich, Mary and I had the special which was two local grouper filets. One was stuffed with spinach and the other with crab. Everyone enjoyed their meal.

After lunch we went back to their house for a visit, leaving around 3 pm. As predicted, our time with them was a highlight of our trip to Florida. They are great friends, and we treasure every minute that we are able to spend with them.

We took a southern route back to Sebring through the town of Arcadia and stopped at a small park near Saratoga called Rothenbach Park. We walked the 2.7-mile nature trail around the park to get our daily walk in. We left the park just before they closed the gates at 6 pm and stopped at a nearby Publix market to get breakfast items and fruit that we would need for the remainder of the trip. We really like Publix and find that the quality of their food items is typically good.

We arrived back at the AirBnB apartment before 7 pm and watched the recorded service from our Georgetown United Methodist Church. We are considering kayaking tomorrow but our options for the day are open.

Returning Home - Day 1

Mary and I awoke around 6 am and had a breakfast of cereal and tea from the Keurig machine.  We started packing a few things in preparation for our return drive back home to Georgetown, Kentucky. 

At 8 am Steve and I left to pick the processed wild boar from the Meat Shack in Okeechobee.  We picked the meat up and paid the $95 processing fee to grind most of the two hogs and prepare the tenderloins.  After getting the meat in the cooler, we stopped at a nearby Publix grocery store to get dry ice and duct tape to seal the cooler.  We also got several paper grocery bags to keep the dry ice spaced from the wrapped packages of meat.  Although the dry ice was a bit pricy, we wanted to assure that the meat didn’t spoil on the two day drive back to Georgetown, Kentucky. 

While we were gone, Mary had packed up our things and readied us for the 15 hour drive.  Although we had a Cadillac SUV for a rental, the space was limited with the coolers and all of our gear and clothing.  We got on the road by 11:30 am.

We drove east on Rt. 64 to I-75 where we drove north toward Atlanta.  The orange groves and cattle farms made for a pretty drive for us.  We ate our Walmart sub and fruit along the drive for lunch.  We got to Atlanta around 8:30 pm where we found traffic to be bad even at that hour.  We wanted to get through the city so we wouldn’t have to go through there on Wednesday morning. 

We stopped at Cartersville, Georgia just north of Atlanta and got a room at the Day’s Inn.  The room was fine since we would only be there long enough to get a few hours of sleep and the rates were good. 

Highlands Hammock State Park

Marcia had to take the “hippy bus” into town to get the crank window apparatus repaired so Mary ran into town with her.  Steve and I went to Walmart to get groceries for the pulled pork dinner than Marcia was planning.  We also went to Lowe’s to get a replacement dryer vent hose and a 90 degree fitting since the hose that we reconnected last week failed the first time that a load was run in the dryer.

After we returned to Steve’s house, we packed a lunch of sandwiches and fruit to head to Highlands Hammock State Park.  This 9,000 acre park is best known for trails through old sour orange groves and ancient forests of giant live oak trees. 

We started our visit at the small CCC Museum, where exhibits describe the role of the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1920s to build this and many other parks across the country.  There were displays of the tools and techniques used by the young men working in the CCC during the Great Depression.  One of the things that we enjoyed most was a loose leaf binder with information on CCC projects organized by state. 

We drove around the road, stopping to view areas that were likely to hold alligators, snakes or birds.  Because the weather had been unusually cool and dry, there were fewer alligators than when Steve had visited before.  We saw a red-shouldered hawk on the side of the county road.  The bird flew up into the trees when we neared but didn’t move far then returned to his spot after we passed.  We could not see what the hawk was after there, but it was interested in something at that spot.

There was a boardwalk through one of the areas of the hammock that is a wetland.  The boardwalk was secure but had a rail only on one side which made Mary a bit uneasy.  We saw several people along the walk but not many.

We moved on to the Ancient Hammock Trail where we saw several huge trees that had probably been there for many hundreds of years.  We talked with a couple visiting the area from Louisville and pointed out many spots where wild pigs had caused significant damage to the forest.  We picked one of the sour oranges and found it to have a good orange flavor but was very sour. 

When we got back to Steve’s house, we chatted with Marcia who had been working out in her small office out back while we were out.  She had made pulled pork in her instant pot while we were out.  We had an early dinner of pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, potato salad and chips.  Everything was very good.

After dinner, Steve took Marcia to pick up her van while Mary washed dishes and I connected the new dryer vent.  We visited for a while then Marcia went back out to her office to work while Steve and I watched the movie, The Missing, on Netflix.  I enjoy any movie with Tommy Lee Jones and this was an interesting western.  By the time the movie was over around 10:30 Marcia came from her office and everyone was ready to turn in for the night.

MLK Day in Sebring

We had a mostly lazy day today.  We had noticed that their dryer vent pipe had torn at the bend where the vent leaves the back of the dryer.  We cut the vent shorter and reinstalled it on the vent with strong clamps.

Most things were closed for the MLK holiday so we just stayed at the house until late morning when we decided to go for a walk into town.

We walked from Steve’s house along Lake Jackson in the opposite direction of our walk last night.  We walked to an area with a public library, a stage theater and a public beach.  We walked down to the beach and read the list of plays that are coming to the theater this season.  

We continued our walk to the center of town where there is a central roundabout with a small park at the center.  We saw that there were police with streets cordoned off near the town center circle and asked a city police officer what was going on.  We were told about the MLK parade so we found a sunny park bench where we would have a good vantage point when the parade started.  

The parade was a small affair with one elementary school class, a few elected officials from the city and representatives of local civil rights organization. There was a fire engine and a couple of antique cars.  All together the parade took only about 15 minutes to pass us. 

After the parade completed, we walked to a nearby used bookstore.  The owner reports that she has over 200,000 books on the shelves.  While it appeared that the store was small, there were several rooms each of which was filled with well-organized volumes.  We very much enjoyed browsing the books, chatting with the owner and petting the store cats. 

We left the bookstore and walked back to Steve’s house where we had a lunch of ham sandwiches then spent the afternoon visiting and preparing for the wild boar hunt that we have scheduled for Tuesday.  

That evening we went to a nearby Mexican restaurant (Don Jose’s) for dinner taking Marcia’s “hippie bus” to the restaurant. Predictably, everyone we saw wanted to look at the bus and to take photos of it.  I had a chicken chimichanga with beans and rice, Steve had a beef burrito and Marcia had a super nacho plate.  We all enjoyed our meals. 

After dinner we made a telephone call to Tyler, our guide for Tuesday’s wild boar hunt.  We wanted to finalize our plans, learn when we needed to be at the hunt site and what we needed to bring.  Since we needed to leave the house a little after 4 am we decided to get an early bedtime.  

Kissimmee River

I slept very well in Sebring since the drive down to Florida on Saturday took a lot out of me.  Fifteen hours of driving is more than an old geezer like me is used to these days.  When we were in our 20s we would easily drive from our home in West Virginia to western Kansas in one day on our way to see Mary’s parents in Utah.  While that was 16 hours of driving it didn’t seem as long since my bones (and brain) were much younger then.

After waking, I learned to use Marcia’s Kuerig machine to make tea.  The caffeine was welcome after the good night’s sleep.  I read some, did my German lesson, showered and got dressed for the day.  Marcia said that there had been trains passing in the night that were very noisy but I didn’t hear a thing.  A truckload of dynamite could have driven through the room and gone unnoticed by me last night.

Once everyone was up and dressed we took Marcia’s “hippy bus” into town.  The 1977 Volkswagen bus is beautifully restored inside and out with peace signs and psychedelic art.  Everything in the bus is clean and neat.  There isn’t a speck of dirt on the rear mounted VW engine.  The flooring and headliner were bamboo mats and Marcia has a hula girl on the dashboard to dance as she drives.  Everyone in town gawks and waves as she goes by.  People are always wanting to take photos with the bus and talk to her about it.  

She drove us to a nearby flea market where a vendor that Steve knows sells locally grown vegetables.  Having lived in the snow belt, the thought of buying locally grown tomatoes in late January amazed me but the tomatoes were quite good.  The drive back to their home had people waving and flashing peace signs as we make our way through Sebring’s streets.

Marcia made ham, egg and tomato sandwiches on whole wheat for our breakfast.  They were really good and had us ready to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather.  We went out and prepared Steve’s aluminum fishing boat for a day on the river.  Since the temperature was already in the 80s we wore shorts and t-shirts.  We considered taking fishing gear but decided that we would just enjoy the boat ride today.

We put the boat in the water near the town of Lorida where there is a public boat slip on the Istokpoga Canal.  Launching was fast and simple on the boat ramps although the water in the canal was only two feet deep at times.  This canal was part of a larger waterway that was constructed in the 1920s to drain the swamps of Florida, make the land more suitable for agriculture and to provide a navigable waterway between Lake Kissimmee and Lake Okeechobee. The environmental consequences to these projects were unforeseen and there are currently projects underway to restore the watershed to a more natural configuration.  

We saw several other watercraft including a good many fan propelled air boats and several small aluminum boats called “mud boats” with long motor shafts that extend well beyond the boat’s transom.  We have seen these boats on television being used in shallow waters in the Louisiana bayous.  We also saw locals using these mud boats in shallow areas on the Yangtze River in China.  

We made our way slowly in the canal until we came to the Kissimmee River where we continued north toward Lake Kissimmee. Along the way we saw dozens of alligators, some basking the warmth of the Florida sun and some swimming with the eyes and backs visible as the moved through the water.  The Kissimmee River was much deeper (10 to 15 feet) than the canal in most places but we still had to exercise caution because of the numerous sand bars and sunken tree snags in the river.  

We found a wide spot in the stream and enjoyed our lunch of peanut butter sandwiches, apples and potato chips.  We were happy that Tyler called to check in while we were out and had good news about the possibility of selling Jackie’s former house in Huntington.  After our lunch we started back toward the boat launch enjoying the warm sunny day.

We made the short drive back to Sebring and got the boat and truck parked then went for a walk along Lake Jackson.  There is a good sidewalk near the lakefront so we walked 1.5 miles to a public water fountain and bench where we turned and returned back to Steve and Marcia’s house. We stopped at a small public beach on the lake then continued our brisk walk breaking a sweat in the warmth of the day.

Marcia made a beef roast with mashed potatoes, green beans and gravy for dinner.  Everything was excellent and we all enjoyed our meal.  Marcia is an excellent cook and made sure that we were well fed.   

After dinner, Steve and I enjoyed a sip of John J. Bowman bourbon and watched a Netflix movie, Hell or High Water with Jeff Bridges.  The movie was good and we enjoyed sitting and watching.  We both turned in a little after 10 pm.

Drive to Sebring, Florida

I had intended to leave for Florida around 6 am and drive past Atlanta or perhaps even to the Florida line.  However, I awoke before 4 am and made my departure by around 4:30 driving down I-75.  It was great that I could get on I-75 just 5 miles from our house and take it all to the way to within an hour of Steve’s house in Sebring, Florida.  Since I traveled through the cities of Knoxville and Atlanta on Saturday, there wasn’t much traffic and I made my way easily along.  Since I was making good time, I decided to drive straight through to Sebring and arrived in time for dinner with Steve and Marcia.

It was great to see them although they had been in the Huntington area recently to celebrate Tyler’s birthday and his enlistment in the National Guard.  Steve and I have been pals for nearly half a century and we were all looking forward to spending time together and enjoying the January Florida warmth.

I had rented a brand new 2020 Cadillac XT4.  It seemed odd to take a Cadillac on a hunting trip but the small SUV has four wheel drive and plenty of room for our gear.  The ride would be very pleasant for the four of us on our drive to St. Augustine and Titusville.  Enterprise gave me a good rate on the car for the two weeks that we would need it. 

Groundhog Day in Sebring, Florida

Central Florida orange grove

We awoke at 5:45 on our last full day of vacation and went to breakfast at the hotel.  We were on the road by 7:30 making our way to Sebring to spend the day with our friends, Steve Minor and Marcia Smith.  We enjoyed the drive through citrus groves and cattle farms and lakes dotting the area of Central Florida.  We saw a number of nesting osprey along the highway on utility poles as well as kingfishers and many wading birds.

Steve & Marcia outside their Sebring, FL home

We arrived at their home a little before 10 am which is a beautifully decorated home in a nice quiet neighborhood that is just a stone’s throw from Lake Jackson.  After a brief visit, we drove around town a bit then past the Sebring Race Track to Istokpoga Park which is operated by Highland County.  This park is a quiet well groomed place with walking paths, picnic areas, piers into Lake Istokpoga and a boat dock.  We spotted a number of hawks and ospreys.  At the lake we saw our first glossy ibis as well as one small alligator and a couple of large turtles.  We chatted with several people that we met there and enjoyed our time there.  The temperature was in the mid 80s and the sky only had a few scattered clouds.  It was a perfect day.

Nesting osprey

From there we drove to an area where Steve and Marcia had never been but we all wanted to check out.  This area, Boney Marsh and Bluff Hammock, only had a very short path that was very overgrown leading to a canoe launch leading to the Kissimmee River.  We walked around the area and followed some game trails but the brush soon became too thick for us to continue.  There were large areas that had been rooted up by wild hogs and we were all covered with tiny round burrs that we removed before returning to the car.  We did see that nearby Okeechobee Outfitters offers wild hog hunts in the area.

Osprey

After our walk, Steve treated us to an excellent lunch at Havana Days Cuban Restaurant and Bakery.  We all had Cuban sandwiches which were so large that Mary and I split one as well as a side of beans and rice and some tostones.  The sandwiches and sides were both excellent.  

After lunch we returned to their house and played a quick game of Mexican Train dominoes.  Although we weren’t keeping score, it appeared that Steve would have won.  We gave them some of the brochures on the Everglades that we picked up through the week and gave them our recommendations on places to visit.  We really enjoyed our visit with them.  We see them so seldom since they moved to Florida but we sure look forward to coming back and seeing them again.  Steve has looked forward to moving to Florida for the nearly 50 years that I have known him because of his intense dislike of cold weather.  It makes us feel so good to see how well they are doing and how happy they are living in Central Florida in retirement.  

We left their home and drove the 90 minutes back to Bonita Springs.  We parked at the hotel and brought things up to the room to pack.  After starting to pack we decided that we should get a small dinner.  We had such a large lunch that neither of us wanted a large dinner.  There was the Culver’s across the street where we had eaten earlier in the week so we decided to go back there.  We walked across Bonita Springs Boulevard to the restaurant and ordered.  Mary got the same cranberry chicken salad that she had before.  I had the cashew chicken salad that Mark and Cindy split before.  My salad arrived with the chicken chunks incompletely cooked so I sent it back.  I seldom return food to the kitchen but this chicken was still cool and pink on the inside and I didn’t want to eat it that way.  After preparing it again the salad was very good.  

After dinner we took a short walk around the area and returned to the Bonita Springs Day’s Inn to finish packing and print our boarding passes.  

Arriving in Florida

We left our Georgetown home at 4 am to drive to the Cincinnati Airport.  As we usually do, we arranged tor parking at the Cincinnati Airport Hilton Hotel through OneStopParking,com.  It is a very easy and inexpensive way to park at the airport.  For about $5 per day we park near the Turfway exit of I-75 in Florence, Kentucky and take a shuttle for the short ride to the airport.  The shuttle leaves every 30 minutes and took us directly to our gate.  

Our two hour flight left only 10 minutes late and was fairly full. We dozed off and on for the flight despite the fact that the seats on Allegiant flights are pretty tight with little legroom.  We arrived at the Punta Gorda, Florida airport shortly after 10 am.  We learned that the city is not pronounced “Poont-a” but more “Punt-a” Gorda.  Mary retrieved our checked bag from the carousel while I got our Nissan Versa from the Enterprise counter a short walk from the airport terminal.  There was a light rain as we left but since the temperatures were in the 60s it wasn’t a problem.  We heard that Miami was 81 degrees and we were looking forward to enjoying the warmth.  

Orange grove in Central Florida

We drove northeast toward Sebring, Florida to visit with Steve and Marcia.  The drive took us through agricultural areas with mostly citrus crops.  Many of the orange and grapefruit trees had already been harvested this year but some still hung heavy with oranges.  This part of Florida is sparsely populated in contrast to the coastal areas on the Atlantic and Gulf.

Steve and Marcia’s house is a nice home in Sebring that seems perfect for their needs.  It is over 100 years old but is in very good condition.  The interior has been very creatively decorated by Marcia making the home have a very Florida feel with the pastel colors and open feel,  The outside of the home is planted with a variety of shrubs and flowers including several cacti and other tropical plants.  She has converted the potting shed into a space where she can do reports for her job writing reports for equal rights investigations.  

Steve Minor and Marcia Smith at their Sebring, FL home

We had the best time visiting and catching up until we became hungry and went to a local diner recommended by Steve. Dimitri’s is a local diner specializing in Greek and local seafood. As starters, Mary had a garden salad and I had a local seafood bisque. Mary had grouper Florentine with sweet potato and broccoli.  Her grouper was stuffed with chopped spinach and nicely seasoned.  I had the grouper franchaise which was filets that were lightly breaded and covered in a Greek style sauce that was slightly lemon.  I had sweet potato and beets on the side.  Steve and Marcia both had haddock fillets that they reported were excellent.  Everyone enjoyed the meal very much and we were surprised at how low the bill was for such a great meal with more food than we could possible eat.  

After dinner we went back to Steve & Marcia’s to walk through the house and garden shed.  We decided to try to get back together on Saturday if possible.  We love spending time with them and can’t wait to see them again.

As we departed for the three hour drive to the Day’s Inn Florida City the intensity of the rain really picked up.  As we traveled south toward Homestead the rain came harder and harder.  We learned the next morning that we may well have driven through a tornado.  In any case, we were happy to have made it to our motel without incident.