Koreshan SP (Dec 28-Jan 9)

Wednesday - We traveled the 85 miles south on I-75, near Ft Meyers, and got set up without any challenges. We will enjoy this site (#3) while we are here. The CG is full, with many families here enjoying winter break.
Thursday - The temp dropped into the low forties last night, but we stayed snug. We are doing some exploring today to find places to launch/fish.
We drove to Del Nor-Wiggins SP and Beach, which is about 10 miles from here. They have a beautiful white sand beach and a nice boat launch that gives access to some good mangrove areas. We fished the beach and pass, but caught nothing. However, this will make a good option for us to put the kayaks.
Friday - We put the kayaks in on the river at the campground and paddled out a couple of miles looking for fish. Unfortunately we never found them. Due to the mild weather we have been experiencing, they must not be up in the river yet. Many other kayakers have been enjoying the river also. John calls them Kamikaze kayakers.
Saturday - We had a great morning with our friends Judy and Laurel. We went out to breakfast and went over to their campground. They gave us a grand tour of their very nice motorhome and their park. We then returned here to do the same. It was great to see them again and catch up. Joan grew up with both of them in
Vermont.
In the afternoon we sat outside in our recliners and almost stayed awake. We then took a walk on the nature trail along the river and enjoyed the beautiful weather.
Monday - We had to decide between Corkscrew Preserve and Barefoot Beach, and chose the latter, to be on the water. We didn't know that there is a county park, which is just a long beach, and a large refuge. To get to the refuge, you must go thru a major residential area that didn't look open to the public. It was a couple miles, but was excellent. We stopped at a nature center and got info from the volunteers, then hiked the nature trail out to Wiggins Pass. This area is the other side of the pass from Del Nor-Wiggins SP, where we were the other day. We fished for awhile, but like others there, caught nothing.
Tuesday - The temps here have dropped and will continue to be un-Floridaish for the next couple days. We restocked our grocery supplies and got Joan a new gel seat for the kayak at the local dealer. We also got fishing tips from the adjacent bait shop. He said there has to be a tidal flow and the reds are way under the mangroves. Also, snapper can be found in the deep holes.
Wednesday - It got down to the low 30s last night, but we kept warm and nothing froze. In the afternoon, we drove over to our friends at Woodsmoke Campground and fished in their pond. John was the only one who caught any fish, four small bass.
Thursday - In the morning, we attended a program on cooking with cast iron that we really enjoyed. Most of the information we already knew, but we picked up several helpful hints and met some nice fellow campers. In the afternoon we drove to Lover's Key and checked out several great places to launch the kayaks or wade to fish. We fished for a short time at the boat launch and at a pass by the road, but it seems the cold weather still has them shut down. This will be a favorite area for us in the future.
Friday - We met Joan's cousins, Dave and Marty, who live in Naples, for lunch at Stir Crazy Restaurant. You ouch out the ingredients and they stir fry it for you. It is a nice place and we had a great visit. In the afternoon, we launched the kayaks on the river here and fished. Our results equalled others we talked to on the river who were fishing. Nothing! We saw a bald eagle close up, which sort of made up for no fish.
Saturday - We started the day by having coffee with the camp hosts, then went over to the Methodist church where we went last Sunday and had breakfast. Our holding tanks in the motorhome were full, so we disconnected and drive over to the dump to empty. The whole operation took about an hour.
Sunday - After a very nice contemporary worship service at Estero UMC, we went with our friends Judy and Laurel to Barefoot Beach Preserve. We had a nice walk both in the woods and along the beach. On the way back we stopped at Big Al's Sports Grill for dinner. We really enjoyed our grouper sandwiches. Finally, we returned home and watched Tebow and the Broncos beat Pittsburg.
Monday - We returned to Lover's Key state park and launched the kayaks. John caught a large pinfish and lost a nice mystery fish that put up a good battle and got unhooked. We had a great time and saw an Osprey and a Dolphin. The Dolphin came within 100 ft of John's kayak. This is a gorgeous area and great kayaking within a no combustion motor zone.

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Oscar Scherer SP (Dec 18-27)

Sunday - We got the place cleaned up and left about 10:30. We arrived here a out 12:15. We got set up and had lunch. We are back in site 91, which has worked well for us in the past. We walked around the campground and noticed a lot of little kids and teens. It is quite busy here. We walked over to the lake and fished for awhile, but there was no action. It is great to be back out in the MH again and be closer to the water.
Monday - Today was explore day, with a little thrown in. We drove south thru Englewood and really liked a huge place called Blind Pass Park. We decided to put the waders on due to the high winds. About one and a half hours of fishing yielded no fish. It was great to see some new areas and enjoy beautiful weather.
Tuesday - We really enjoyed coffee time this morning at the Nature Center. We had the opportunity to meet some people who are here and share experiences. In the afternoon, we launched the kayaks here in the park and fished both in the park and in the flats and channels just outside. John caught a couple of small mangrove snapper and a very nice sized lady fish. Because catching has been so slow, John had said that he would be happy with a nice sized ladyfish.
Wednesday - We had a couple of warranty issues we needed to have taken care of at RV World down the street, so we disconnected and drove there this morning. We walked around the dealership and admired the new rigs while the work was being done, but concluded we were still happy with what we have. We drove back to the campground and got set up again, then drove over to the jetty for awhile. Finally, we went to Fratelli's Pizza and Brew for a delicious dinner. The weather continues to be wonderful, which is much better than last year at this time.
Friday - Our tide apps said the flows would be good mid-day today, so we decided to take the kayaks out again. We went out to a shallow flats area where we have caught reds before, and saw a lot of activity, but came up empty. The mullet were really putting on a jumping show, but are vegetarians. We each tried a few different flies including a crab pattern and topwater to no avail. We moved to a deeper area in the same bay and John began catching on a red/white fly. He began with a lizard fish (junk fish), but then caught a keeper sized sea trout (out of season now). He then began catching lady fish, which are fun to catch, but not good eating. Joan tried the same fly, but today would prove to not be her day.
Christmas Day - Joan's brother Skip and his wife Shirl came down for the day. We decided to go out in the kayaks and fish awhile after dinner. John caught the only fish, bringing a too small flounder and a good sized ladyfish to the boat. We were in an area where mullet (vegetarians) were abundant. Usually there will be trout and redfish mixed in with them, but we could not get anything to bite, despite trying many different flies. Skip trolled around in his Hobie kayak, that is peddled instead of paddled, but was unsuccessful.

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Pine Island Park

Dec 1 - Our search for Seatrout and Redfish continued to an area where we have been successful in the past. We were a couple days into a cold front, but were hopeful anyway. Sadly, however the only fish we caught are commonly called "junkfish" or "bait". It was a beautiful day anyway, with temps in the 60s. We donned our chest waders and started close to low tide hitting the holes with Clousers and a crab pattern that John recently tied. We hoped that when the tide changed and began coming in that our success would change as well, but it was not to be. Next time!

Country Oaks Campground - Kingsland, Ga (Oct 29)

The drive was longer than our usual at 240 miles, but not a bad trip. This is just an overnight here, and we got a nice pull-thru that didn't require us to disconnect the Envoy.

Petersburg COE (Oct 22-28)

It was a very relaxing 91 miles here from Twin Lakes. We were glad we were not heading north because of the monstrous traffic heading to the Clemson game. The take their football very seriously in these parts. We have a beautiful site once again and the weather is perfect.




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Wednesday - Joan's brother Skip and his wife Shirley joined us today.

Friday - The wind finally calmed down enough for us to get the kayaks out and do a little fishing. Skip caught a small perch and a better crappie and John caught a nice perch on a chartreuse Clouser.

Twin Lakes COE Campground on Lake Hartwell

We set up on Site 26, which is just gorgeous. It is dry and sunny, about 80 degrees, with a nice breeze. It took a couple of hours to come over the mountain to get here. We are truly in Clemson country.





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Tuesday, October 18 - We spent most of the day with our friends Tom and Jane at their beautiful home near us here. We took their boat out on Hartwell and did some fishing. We could see schools of bait fish which were being targeted by bigger fish, so we casted towards them. Joan managed to hook and land a nice spotted bass near one of these schools. John hooked one but it jumped as he set the hook and managed to get free. Tom and Jane liked our Regency so well, they drove to Montana to pick up one for themselves. We plan to get together in Florida this winter when they come south.

Michigan Trip (Jul 31-Aug 19)

July 31
We left Trackrock at 11AM after attending the chapel service and saying so long to friends. The drive was about 140 miles, most of which were quite curvy and hilly. The MH did a great job handling them all. We arrived at Volunteer Park about 3 PM and set up on a level, pull-thru site, so we didn't have to disconnect the Envoy. This should serve us well for a one night stay.
Aug. 1
We left at 8:30, drove 169 miles, and arrived at Whispering Hills RV Park about noon. This is a new park and good enough for a nite on the road, but probably not a destination campground, unless you were interested in something in the area like the horse museum. The sites are level, although not shaded, and the roads are paved, but rough. The restrooms are the best we've seen in awhile.
Aug 2
We drove 140 uneventful miles and pulled into Hidden Paradise Campground about 11 AM. There is a swimming quarry here with inflatable slides, trampoline and rafts that gets a lit of use. The campground has a lot of permanent sites, but also ample sites for nightly use. The facilities are not new, but seem clean. We are in another pull-thru site, so we didn't need to disconnect the Envoy. We plan to be here for two nites.
Aug 3 We woke up to a thunderstorm this AM and much needed rain. We are hoping it doesn't add humidity to the heat.
Aug 4
We decided to stay on I-69 instead of secondary roads and after driving 220 miles, we pulled into Waffle Farm Campground. The CG is on a chain of lakes and is huge. We got another pull-thru site and will stay here one night. It is well maintained and even the seasonal RVs are clean. They have a well-supplied store and the washroom facilities are adequate.

Aug 5

Made it to our final destination near Hersey, Mi. We got set up and made a much needed Walmart run to Big Rapids about 15 miles back south. The campground is nice, but quite open and sunny. It is warm here, but not as hot as we have been experiencing. The best news is that we are right on a designated trout stream, Hersey Creek. We added a trout stamp onto our license and will try it this evening. We drove about 190 miles today and were glad to be in one place for awhile.
Aug 6
After fishing the river next to the CG in the AM with no results,
We had a great afternoon with John's boys, GF, and spouse. We hung out at the CG for awhile, then drove to Big Rapids for pizza and wings. It was fun to catch up with stories and get to know Brett's GF, Nellie.
Aug7
We took a ride to Luddington and enjoyed the Lake Michigan shore, drove up to Manastee, then back to Cadillac. On the way we stopped at several NF Recreation Areas to check out fishing opportunities, but were created with hordes of mosquitoes. After dinner at The Dawg House, we met Brett, Nellie, and Brian at Mitchell SP.
Aug 8
Margaret, Jake, Josh, and Rosie arrived at the campground and we hung out here for awhile. After dropping Rosie off at her grandparents house, we took Margaret and the boys out to dinner at Chase Creek Smokehouse. We had a great dinner and better conversation.
Aug 9
Margaret, Jake, Josh, Brian, and we took a day trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Seashore today. What a beautiful place!! The boys had a great time climbing the dunes as we tried keeping up with them. We hit torrential rain on the way, but the weather cleared, and turned out perfect. We finished the day with dinner at Red Lobster.
Aug 10
We took advantage of the cooler temps to take a bike ride on a local bike path. We passed a Methodist campground and stopped to check it out. The campground part was not too impressive, but the grounds and facilities were. Later in the day we drove to the farmers market and picked up some peaches, strawberries, and corn. The were excellent. John fished the river nearby and caught a small rainbow under the bridge on a white wooly bugger.
Aug 11
We had a great dinner and time at Nellies place with her, Brett, and Brian. Nellie prepared an outstanding goulash.
Aug 12
We drove around the area and checked out other campgrounds in the area. We liked Merrill Lake County Park, but we are still not sure what we are going to do when we leave here on Monday.
Aug 13
Rain in the area all day so we hung out in the campground.
Aug 15
We are on the way back to Trackrock and stopped at Potawatomi Recreation Area fir the night. We launched the kayaks on the chain of lakes here, but were limited to a couple bream. The evening was gorgeous. This is an excellent campground with many seasonals that are very well kept.
Aug 16
Happy Birthday Brett & Brian. We are back at Lost Paradise, between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. We stayed here on the way up and found it ok for an overnight.
Aug 17
Reprise at Whispering Hills. We got settled, had dinner, then took a refreshing swim. Another overnight stay. We are getting a whiff of a skunk that was on the side of the road on the way into the campground. Nice drive today of about 136 miles.








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