Catching up....

I've had a bit of blogging burnout so haven't been keeping up with our travels the past few weeks!  I figured that if I didn't do a post soon, it would be Christmas before I knew it.  ;-)  Then I'd really have to play "catch-up".

After we left Huntington Beach, we spent a few days at the Wilmington KOA so that we could see my daughter.  She's in her 2nd year at UNC-W and is involved in soooo many things both at school and at her church.  From Wilmington, we headed to Cedar Point so that we could "work-camp" at my parents.  You know that you've been to a campground quite a bit when the managers say "welcome home" when they see you pull in!!  We spent a little over a week doing a few chores for Mom and Dad both inside and outside of their house.  We shared dinner with them every night with Mom and I taking turns cooking.  Dad kept us on our toes with his funny quips.   Such good memories (but no pictures - too busy having fun)!

We are now at "Korky's Campground" and will be here until late December.  We got to spend Thanksgiving with "the kids"....my son Brandon and DIL Amanda and my daughter Ashleigh.  

Brandon and Ashleigh

Ashleigh had just had a foot of her hair cut off and donated to Locks of Love the day before Thanksgiving!

The hosts!

Time to carve the turkey! 

One of my cross-stitching items!

Brandon and Ashleigh always egg each other on...Brandon is drinking gravy from a very non-traditional gravy boat! 

It was a great day and Brandon and Amanda did a wonderful job hosting their first Thanksgiving in their new home.

We've been catching up with friends and family, too.  I spent the day with my sister Elaine earlier this week and had a nice time catching up with her.  This weekend my best friend Linda and I are going to have a girl's weekend and we are headed to the beach.  We're stocked up on chic flicks and popcorn!

I'm also working on finishing a few homemade gifts for Christmas and Dan has been working hard on some RV improvements.  We have a new awning and no longer have slide toppers.  :-)  He's also working on waxing the RV.  We will sure be all spiffy when we head south in a few weeks!

We are enjoying our time in NC but sure do wish the temps were warmer!  Brrrrr!!!!

Carolina Clan 2012

We left Cedar Key on October 29th on our way to the 2nd annual Carolina Clan gathering.  After an overnight stop at Walkabout Campground in Woodbine, GA, we arrived at Huntington Beach State Park in Murrells Inlet, SC.  This was the same state park that we spent last December at and it felt like we were coming "home".

We had such a fun week.  The campfire circle got so large we had to have two fires most nights!

Our kayaking trip on the Waccamaw River was a hit!  We had a total of 15 kayaks in the water.  It was a beautiful afternoon to spend with friends.

Lining up to get in the water

The big float

 At one point, we all huddled together and formed a "barge" and enjoyed the sunshine and chatted away.  It was impossible to get a picture of the gang when you're in the middle!

Marti, George and Paul

Nancy, Peggy, Laura, and Bill 

Ray, Chris, Syl and Neil

We had some visitors over the weekend.  Brandon, Amanda, Cathy and Bruce had been at the first Carolina Clan gathering and they were able to join us this time as well.

The "grandkids" getting bike pointers from Papaw and Mamaw!  

Nancy and Bill let Brandon and Amanda borrow their bikes and we had a great time exploring Huntington Beach.  We were able to spot a first for them....

Alligator

DIL Amanda and son Brandon

   We had a great time watching the birds on the causeway.

We thought he caught a fish...and so did he!  But it was only a stick.  ;-)

Back at the campground that afternoon, I got to play one of my favorite games....

Playing Spoons with Nancy, Gin and Syl!

Gail was watching us to see if she wanted to join in!  It sure was a lot of fun.

It was a beautiful morning Sunday and we  took advantage of it by walking on the beach.

Brandon was imitating a sand-PIPER!

Mid-morning, Cathy and Bruce arrived.  We had a great time catching up, bike riding (20 miles!) and hanging out.

Dan and Bruce

Not only sisters but friends!

It sure was a great week catching up with old friends and meeting new ones!!

Winding down....

Our time in Cedar Key is winding down....soon we will be on our way "north" (The Carolinas)!  But only for 2 months and then it's back to Florida!

Last weekend we headed to the Seafood Festival in Cedar Key.  We went with some friends from the park...Ken, Vel, and Maggie.  The mission of the day was quite simple...to get seafood!  But first we had a parade to watch.

Yep - this is the police "car" for Cedar Key.  Gotta love small towns!

Very cool float complete with Ariel

Island Pizzeria "float".  The 2nd best pizza we've ever had...(first is Dan's Mom's!!)

Anyone and any vehicle can enter a small town parade!

Cute dog float!

The guy in the mask must have been oh so hot!  Temps were in the mid-80s! 

There were so many booths with arts and craft vendors and local civic organizations selling food.  Between the five of us, we tried fried shrimp, fried oysters, french fries, low country boil, cheeseburgers :-), and clam chowder.  Tony's in Cedar Key is the 3x world champion for his clam chowder.  At $7 a bowl, it was pricey but oh my.....it was so worth it!  We had a great day at the Seafood Festival.

Back when we were at Three Rivers State Park, the camp host had asked if we visited Florida State Parks regularly.  I said yes and she gave me a coupon that was for free entry into any state park for up to 6 people or free entry into Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park for 2 people.  I had been holding on to that coupon for a few months and, as it expired the end of December, needed to use it before we left Florida.  We took a day trip with Vel and Maggie earlier this week to check it out.

Homosassa Springs Wlidlife State Park is a rehabilitation center for injured and orphaned manatees until they can be returned to the wild.  There are also other animals there that, for some reason or another, can not be returned to the wild.  Our first stop was to listen to one of the park attendants speak about manatees.

We watched the manatees for quite some time and even got to see them get fed!

This gal was waiting patiently for her food!

Not what I would like but I am sure they enjoyed it!

We finally left to go explore the rest of the park.

Beautiful butterflies were everywhere

Patience paid off

There were so many swans.

There was also a hippo there named Lu (short for Lucifer).

He was sleeping when we first walked up but then he opened his eyes to peak at us.  This sign was posted nearby....

Thank goodness there was no splatter!

They had quite a few alligators...most were sunning themselves but there was one that was raising such a ruckus!  He was slinking in and out of the water...not sure what the commotion was for!

Lazing away in the sun...

Would swimming really be an option?

Check out his teeth!

After the alligators, we came to the river otter exhibit.  Oh what fun it was to watch these guys swim so elegantly and swiftly.  They liked having an audience to show off for!

We all agreed that if we could be any animal at the park, it would either be a river otter or a manatee!
Definitely not a hippo or alligator! ;-)

There were so many birds at Homosassa Springs!  We had a great time looking at them all.  And, as a bonus, I got  to see the Roseate Spoonbill up close.  We had seen these in Cedar Key but only at a distance.

Woodstork

Sandhill Crane

Roseate Spoonbills

White Pelicans

Hawk

Can't remember this guys name

Bald Eagle

Couldn't resist one last photo of the Roseate Spoonbill

It was a great day and we would definitely recommend a visit to Homosassa Springs Animal Park if you are ever in the area!