QC31-11 College softball

March 7,2013 (Thu) Lakeland, FL to Labelle, FL (131/2315 miles) 40/77° - We said good-bye to Ed & Kathy (and shelties) at about 9:00 - thanks again guys for everything - and headed over to the Publix to stock up for a week at Ortona Lock Campground. This and hooking up Lamont took about 40 minutes then we were off down US 98 through Lakeland. Although we had a cool start the temperature was up to a clear 53° at 10:00 and 59° by 11:00 when we stopped for gas (USA Murphy $3.65). Lunch was in-house (a sub we'd picked up at Publix in Lakeland) in another Publix parking lot, then it was back on the road. Smoke from several fires - we never learned the sources - made for hazy driving down SR 60 but it had cleared by the time we turned onto US 27 South. By 1:15 we were in our campsite and ready to enjoy our view of the Okeechobee Waterway.

March 8,2013 (Fri) Labelle, FL (2) 44/76° - When we bought our bicycles five years ago or so we were told that the tires were designed to not have flats. We knew that was probably an exaggeration but it seemed to be true. We've had no flat tires in all the time we've had them. As we were coming back from our ride out to the main road today Mark discovered that his rear tire was going flat! Since we've been so many years without having a flat tire, we didn't have a repair kit with us so we ended up having to walk the mile plus back to our campsite. It turned out to be a sticky valve. A little silicone spray may or may not have fixed it.

March 9, 2013 (Sat) Labelle, FL (3) 48/78° - It didn't fix it! The tire was dead flat this morning. On to plan B. It really needs a new valve but lacking the tools to remove and replace it Mark put in a whole new tube.

 A retired salesman(?) for Blue Ox (the RV tow bar people) gave a talk on RV safety in the pavilion in the late morning. We learned a couple of things.

We like being where we can watch the wildlife. As do most of the folks who spend a lot of their time one the road. At the end of our bike ride this afternoon, we took a spin up around the rest of the campground. We were curious to see if the site we will be moving into tomorrow is still empty - it was earlier today. As we approached the site we saw a crowd of people on the road taking pictures of a rather nondescript, rather uninteresting fifth wheel trailer parked near-by. It turned out there was a huge, maybe even super huge, swarm of bees covering one of the storage hatches. We learned this evening that the swarm has moved inside (the storage space?). The folks who live there have taken a room in nearby Labelle, FL.

March 10, 2013 (Sun) Labelle, FL (4) 54/77° - Moving day - for us and apparently for half the campground. We are now up in the eastern loop in the site next to the one we were in back in February. It's a clear bright day with a few clouds in the sky. We have a beautiful view of the waterway out our dining room window. In the afternoon the wind began to increase. We're told that a cold front is coming in, though the temperature won't drop much. I guess that's what the wind is all about.

A class A motor home just drove by with it's windshield completely covered. The driver must have been able to see out, apparently not very well because he was driving on the wrong side of the road, although it looked pretty opaque to us. I guess he was moving to new site too.

March 11, 2013 (Mon) Labelle, FL (5) 61/78° - The temperature this morning was the same as it was when we went to bed last night.  We took off for Lee County Sports Complex (about 50 miles West) at about 10:30 to watch Jackie's college softball team. They played 2 games, unfortunately won neither. Jackie played in the first game and got one hit in two at-bats. After the games we took her to a Buffalo Wild Hot Wings restaurant for nourishment. They are off tomorrow but we'll be going back over on Wednesday.

And speaking of wildlife, there was an osprey nesting on top of one of the ball field light towers. Every once in a while he would come swooping down over the field and glide off over the terrain beyond. It was interesting in that he came down so low he could well have been hit by a fly ball if the timing had been right.

March 12, 2013 (Tue) Labelle, FL (6) 63/71° - Took a walk out along the waterway to the east this afternoon. We've not thought to do that before - actually we're not sure we're allowed since there is a gate we had to climb over to do it. We followed a roughly mowed dual path (for vehicles) completely devoid of human habitation on our, the south, side of the canal. Farms and a small village decorated the north side. Mark worked on taxes and Joy mostly read in the morning and late afternoon.

March 13, 2013 (Wed) Labelle, FL (7) 49/68° - Cold this morning. Mark reports that the shower in the men's room barely got above lukewarm which didn't do much to improve his body temperature. Joy says hers was hot.

We spent another day in Fort Myers watching Jackie play softball. It was another disappointing day for them although it looked for a while that they would win the second game. As disappointing as it may have been, we could see considerable improvement demonstrating to us how beneficial the concentrated schedule has been for them. There were ospreys on the light poles in these fields too (we were in a different sports complex today) but they were more interested in talking with one another than buzzing the field. It was sea gulls who handled dare devil duty there.

It has been wonderful to be where we can get to watch a few of Jackie's ball games. And seeing her and spending some time with her was a real treat.

March 14, 2013 (Thu) Labelle, FL (8) 46/70° - Mid March in Florida isn't supposed to be this cold. Here we are camped beside a beautiful waterway with boats both large and small, power and sail occasionally going by, destinations unknown, on their way to and from the locks. We should be enjoying the view and the wonderful warm sunshine but the wind, gusty and strong sometimes, has a chill in it that makes 70° seem colder than it should. It's our last day here - tomorrow we begin our slow trek north.

The excitement for the day here was a fairly long confab outside the public rest rooms. The Park Ranger and three other rather official looking gentlemen with clipboards seemed to be discussing changes to the rest rooms. Although they are clean and in good repair, they could be larger to accommodate the number of campers in this area of the campground. We hope that expansion was part of the discussion.

Q088332 Ortona Lock Campground #36&26 e/w $12g (x8)