QC01-11 Some forest time

February 26, 2010 (Fri) Lakeland, FL to Alexander Springs CG (88/3072 miles) 36/59° - We didn't have far to go so there was no need to get off early. We took showers and Joy did a small wash before pulling up stakes and pulling out of Ed and Kathy's yard. When we stopped here at Alexander Springs on the way down we told Bill and Margret, who spend their winters in this campground, that we would be back when the weather warmed up. We couldn't imagine that it wouldn't, but it didn't. Our favorite site is occupied so we had to settle for finding another. Site C45 seems to have some sunshine, for warmth and for our solar panel, but turns out to be quite close to our neighbors. We'll probably try to move after the weekend.

February 27, 2010 (Sat) Alexander Springs CG 39/50° (2)  - It was a slightly warmer start to the day but the light drizzle makes it seem a lot colder. It's not very pleasant weather, and generally hasn't been all winter, but it sure beats being home with what they have had this year. The Northeast is in the midst of shoveling out of their third major snow storm of the season and expecting another next week. It rained most of the day here, which put a damper on outside activities:-\ The sun did come our in the late afternoon for a short time - very short! By the time one of us said, "There's the sun." it was gone. The temperature managed to make it up to 50° - for about five minutes just before the sun came out the first time.

February 28, 2010 (Sun) Alexander Springs CG 38/64° (3)  - It sure is great having our own on-board shower. It saves having to suffer 38° in an unheated public shower. We just turn the furnace on and wait until it warms up to a mild 52° in here. The sun was out most of the day so it's not been all that unpleasant. It would be nice to have the use of the chairs now locked away in our storage bin.

Site #31 opened up about 11am. Mark biked up to the gatehouse to let them know we wanted to move. Unlike the last time we were able to do that right away. It's really so much nicer here - open and sunny. There are times when shady sites are the best but not in weather like we've been having this winter.

It's Bike Week in Daytona so there are quite a few motorcycles in the campground. Some are here as transportation, some as dingies, and some as toys (big toys!). We can also hear them going by on the highway. Late this afternoon a royal blue class A diesel pusher came by and stopped to study the site across the road from us. The sides of the motor home were decorated with large photographic images of a man and woman from waist up. A sleeveless leather jacket showed off his heavily tattooed arms.  She was blond, beautiful and similarly dressed though without tattoos. They were apparently singing a duet as he held a microphone. Another similar image was on the back of the motor home. A black trailer with "Harley-Davidson" emblems on the side tagged along behind. The driver had long hair and a beard and wore a sleeveless shirt prominently displaying his liberally tattooed arms. We have found that motorcyclists tend to be good neighbors and there was no reason to think that this fellow would not be, but we were glad when he moved on.

March 1, 2010 (Mon) Alexander Springs CG 38/69° (4)  - It's official. Last month has been declared the coldest February in recorded history, averaging 10° below normal for Orlando and Kissimmee, and the second coldest in other surrounding areas. Something similar was said about January. And we were here to witness history being made! Today turned out to be a pretty nice day. We got a few odd jobs done around the motor home in the morning and walked down to the spring and hiked the trail along the other side in the afternoon.  There were a couple of young people swimming in the spring, brave souls, and vehicles of every stripe going by our camp site but we have the campground pretty much to ourselves - the way we like it!

March 2, 2010 (Tue) Alexander Springs CG 53/71° (5)  - Rain was forecast for today and we got it just before we got up. We had some shopping that needed to be done and a rainy day seemed like a good time to get it done, even though we could have waited another day or two. So after breakfast we locked our bikes to the picnic table, to indicate that our site is occupied, and took off for Umatilla. The laundromat that we've used for years has been depreciating recently. It had gotten so bad that, last year we hunted up a different one. It is under new ownership this year and what a difference! They've cleaned it up and put in new machines. There is a play area for kids and a "lounge" area for adults (folding chairs arranged along the three walls of the space). The attendant, who does not appear to be the new owner, is very friendly and went out of her way to help a couple of single fellows struggling to figure out how to load the vertical machines - they hold a lot more than one would think.

Joy got her hair cut in a shop a couple of doors down from the laundromat and was well satisfied with the result. She told the guy she'd see him next year. Then we went to the outskirts of Eustace to a Publix for groceries. The Pizza Hut in Umatilla still has a buffet for lunch and we couldn't resist.

March 3, 2010 (Wed) Alexander Springs CG 48/57° (6)  - The campsite across the road from us is huge! It could accommodate a whole scout troop in individual tents with the leader in a big class A motor home towing a supply trailer. If it weren't for the regulation limiting site occupancy to 8 persons we would have some worries that a large group will move in. Actually 20 boy scouts would probably be better than 8 college kids on spring break. But we haven't had to worry so far because it is being occupied by a middle aged single fellow from Quebec in a minivan. He has thrown a blanket over the windshield and sleeps in the van - until noon. He has a couple of towels hanging on a clothes line strung between two trees and a small Styrofoam food storage box in the table. That's it. It seems kind of a waste of a big site - the folks in the big units that pause to look at it probably think so too - but the quiet works for us.

The normal (avg?) high for today in this area is 77°. It got all the way up to 57° for fifteen minutes this afternoon - with the sun on the same side of the motor home as the thermometer probe. Wind too cold to sit out. We expect no sympathy from our friends in the Northeast, or even the central Atlantic, but that's life in Florida these days.

Q057046 Alexander Springs CG, Ocala National Forest. #45/31 dry $9.50 B-