Tag Archives: Ocala

The 2018 Road, Day 33: High Life in the Low Country

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Posted by on in Travel

June 27, 2018, Timmonsville, SC-

Many lovely days, over the years, have been spent in places not exactly mapped out or put on an itinerary.  Today,  I made an early start, out of Spring Hill, with the aim of reaching somewhere in the Carolinas, before calling it a night.   I bid farewell to W and the dogs, with  Mother still asleep.  A stop at Staples was necessary, to pick up a carrying case for this laptop, before heading up the back highway towards I-10.

I stopped on the east side of Ocala, at a Huddle House, getting a loaded burger-a break from the more Spartan fare I gave myself, over the three days at the “Beach House” (named for its Beach Street location, rather than proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, which is ten miles away).  Huddle House is a football-themed chain, found in the South, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions.  It seems fairly reliable and put me very close to Interstate 10.

I also stopped at the Florida Citrus outlet, in Macclenny, to pick up some jars of marmalade- one for a friend I plan to visit, tomorrow, and one for some friends in Tennessee.   Then it was on to I-95 and through Georgia, once again, to the lowland interior of South Carolina.  I would be passing east of Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, this time, and focusing on a backroads route towards Salisbury, NC, where another Baha’i friend lives.

This route brought me to Walterboro, just in time for a simple, but well-varied Southern buffet, at Olde House Cafe.

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Walterboro has some fine architecture, in its downtown,  but rain was setting in, and I had the idea of getting closer to the North Carolina state line.  The rain got worse, though, the further north I drove, and after another hour of dealing with the elements and the approaching nightfall, I stopped in Timmonsville, at a Budget Inn.  The place is also clean and fairly inexpensive, like its counterparts in Ocala and Elkhart, IN.   There looks to be some sort of breakfast place, attached to the gas station across the road, so tomorrow may well be off to a good start.

 

The 2018 Road, Days 30-32: A Break from Driving

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Posted by on in Family, Personal Values, Social, Travel

June 24-26, 2018, Spring Hill, FL-

This is a photo-less,  nearly driving-free post.  I spent Sunday night in Ocala, a good stopping place en-route to/from the Nature Coast and points further down Florida’s mid-Gulf region.  Other than being tailgated around a church parking lot, by an older man who demanded to know what I was doing there, Ocala was a friendly enough place.

I got to my in-laws’ house, in Spring Hill, around 10:30.  Fortunately, W was home and Mother was up and dressed.  These three days were largely spent watching old movies (TCM) and coddling the two dogs.

I did get a couple of dips in the salubrious pool, with Bella (younger dog) happily joining in the splashing and laps.  Her more cautious “older brother” was content to lay around and watch us.

The most momentous thing that happened was that I bought this laptop, its mouse and case. The device is lighter weight than the War Horse was, and thus easier to tote around.  Nevertheless, I found myself missing the Lenovo and hoping it is at least being used for peaceful purposes, if it is even still running.

The weather was a bit on the tortuous side, so none of us spent much time outdoors. W went to visit her horses, but unlike in December, I did not join her.  AC becomes addicting.  We took all of our meals at home.  Mother appreciated that part.

It’s been a peaceful break from the road. I will head out tomorrow again, with my goal being  the middle of South Carolina, by evening.

The Road to 65, Mile 74: Reversing Course and Meeting Butterflies

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Posted by on in Personal goals, Social, Travel

February 10, 2015, Gainesville, FL-This has been one of those days when I am reminded that deeds done by others, with the best of intentions, can backfire and take innocent people down with them.  It just makes me weigh my own words and deeds that much more carefully. In a nutshell, my mother-in-law said she didn’t want any visitors, including me.

I was ten miles away, at that point, and so turned around, in south Ocala, feeling quite calm, actually.  I think my angel was carrying me through the rest of the day.  I had two confirmations:  One was stopping at Jim’s BBQ Pit, in Reddick, just north of Ocala.  A bubbly, very pretty young lady served me as if she were serving her father, or a favourite uncle.  The food was comfort, also:  Smoked chicken, barbecued beans and slaw, with a fabulous house barbecue sauce.

The second stop of the afternoon was Florida Museum of Natural History, on the campus of the University of Florida, at Gainesville.  The institution traces the state’s varied conditions and changes, focusing on the Pleistocene and on some of the Indigenous peoples, who pre-dated the Seminole and were ancestors of the Miccosukee.  The icing on the cake, for me this afternoon, was the Butterfly Rain Forest.

The Pleistocene exhibit’s star is the Colombian mammoth skeleton.  Colombian mammoths ranged south of their woolly cousins, and had finer hair.

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A Mastodon was featured next to the shovel-tusker, for comparison.  Mastodons ranged in north Florida, as well.

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A family of Paleo-Indians was shown in the next hall. Florida’s indigenous people had a very rich culture and system of governance, well before Europeans arrived here.  The Apalachee, of the northwest, and the Calusa, of the southwest, were powerful, savvy and industrious people, pre-dating the great council-oriented Creeks, who became Seminoles, once they came down to Florida, with the British, in the 1700’s.

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My attention was spotty at this point, so while I read and absorbed some of the remaining information about the Native Peoples, I needed nature.  So, off to the Butterfly Rain Forest it was.  The following pictures, presented without comment, represent a cross-section of the Lapidoptera and their surroundings.  See how many butterflies you can spot.

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Butterflies are vital, in a variety of ways.  There is some attention here to Monarchs, but also to Swallowtails and Blues.  I recommend this to all residents and visitors to the Gainesville-Ocala area.  After such a rejuvenating afternoon, I headed north and spent a restful night in Bainbridge, GA, north of Tallahassee.  Glen Oaks Motel and a salad from Zaxby’s, served by another pretty, congenial young lady, capped the day.  Actually, a Zalad can make three meals, for someone like me.