QC31-14 Starting North

March 24, 2013  (Sun) Ocala National Forest (6) 70/82° - As fast as they came, they left. There was much activity around the campground this morning as the folks around us packed up and, one by one, headed out. And we were practically alone here again - for a whole. Then more came to take their places. Ebb and flow. These seem to be mostly families though - little kids running around and bicycling all over the place. Easter week. School is out.

March 25, 2013  (Mon) Ocala National Forest (7) 60/72° - Joy's smartphone was having trouble with the camera close focus. i.e. it wasn't doing it. So a trip to the Verizon store in Silver Springs before their no cost exchange policy expired was in order. They said they couldn't help! They were a retail store, they said. We bought it from a corporate store. We'd have to go one on them. How does one tell the difference? Try to exchange something I guess. Anyway off we went to a "corporate store" west of Ocala where after intense questioning (the guy apparently couldn't believe there could be anything wrong with an iPhone) and much testing, rebooting, software updating and phone calling (help line?) he gave us a new phone - that focuses!

March 26, 2013  (Tue) Ocala National Forest (8) 43/59° - Weather. Everyone's talking about it but no one is doing anything about it. It just keeps getting colder. It's almost April in Florida and they are predicting possible frost tonight! The folks in tents, and there are a lot of them this week, are going to be shivering tonight. We remember many a night when the penetrating aspects of the cold made for very uncomfortable nights for us as we gained our camping legs. We learned to be prepared. The feather bed comes out tonight!

March 27, 2013  (Wed) Ocala National Forest (9) 35/62° - No frost this morning but we debated where we'd take our showers. At 35° we turned the furnace and water heater on, waited for things to warm up and showered on board. It was actually 1° colder here than at home, 1000 miles north!

We met Mark's sister Dorcas and Mike in Mount Dora and poked around in some of the shops of this touristy little town for a while. Lunch at The Frog and The Monkey with time to catch up on family and other news was a welcomed relief from walking and elbowing our way through crowded shops. It was so good to see them again and to hear more detail about their grandson's serious health incident. Thanks, guys for sharing and for our time together. Maybe next time we can find a campground closer for both of us.

March 28, 2013  (Thu) Ocala National Forest (10) 36/67° - It's been a long time since our last Costco fix - oh, and we needed some things we can only find at Costco - so we took off for Altamonte Springs this morning. It was also a way to get away from a cold campground and sit in a nice warm car for a while. On the way back we checked out the Wasabi Buffet Restaurant, a new for us (and maybe actually new) place south of Eustis. It turned out to be one of the best we've eaten in. The selection was smaller than most but the quality was excellent.

We welcomed Rudy Rooster to our family today. He is a most colorful traveling companion.

We spent the afternoon enjoying the relative warmth of our campsite. We are assured by the forecasters that the worst is over. (We've heard that one before!)

March 29, 2013  (Fri) Ocala National Forest (11) 39/72° - It's interesting how campground atmosphere changes. During most of the winter season solid sided RVs (trailers, motor homes, 5th wheels etc) prevail. But as the weather warms (most years!) the bigger rigs begin to thin out and tents take over, families with children replace retired senior citizens. And in the last few days rigs hauling dirty ATVs have invaded this part of Juniper Springs campground. And for some reason these groups seem to consist of at least two haulers with trailers and lots of children. We saw a sign on the road not too far from here advertising a "Mud Fest" - what ever that is. Could that be what it's all about? Anyway, the traditional camping season has begun in spite of the weather. We like the nontraditional kind better.

March 30, 2013  (Sat) Ocala National Forest (12) 42/81° - A cold start but the showers were hot. Our laundry trip to Silver Springs was uneventful except for learning how much the price of gas has dropped since we last ventured into Silver Springs - down to $3.59 in most stations. Our last afternoon in Florida was a gift, warm and relativity bug free. We took advantage and got a lot of reading done.

We spend tomorrow night in the Savannah, GA Walmart parking lot. Woo Hoo!

Q088566 Juniper Springs CG, Ocala National Forest #13 dry (x12)