Lake Manatee SP ( Dec 29-Jan 11)

Tuesday - We had a good trip here, which took a little over an hour. This is a very nice, large site (42). We got mostly set up, then went to O'Briens Farm for our traditional BLT and a strawberry shortcake. Wonderful!

Wednesday - We had to return to Conibear RV to have them put the correct break-away switch on the Canyon. They ordered and installed the wrong one. We visited Skip and Shirl, then had lunch with Sheryl and Hayward. He is looking better. John fished alone in the evening because it was too hot for Joan, but only hooked one shell cracker.

Thursday - We took our coffee down to the fishing pier, but we only managed one small bass. We stopped and talked to our friends Dave and Pat at their site and got caught up. It was another hot one today, but the first one in a long time we didn't have to run the air. 

Saturday - We got rain in the AM and welcome cooling. We had lunch then went down to the piers to fish again. John caught a nice 15" bass on a minnow that a nice young fisherman loaned him. In return John gave him the fish. When we got read to quit a fisherman came in that we got talking to and getting tips from. He was going to let two nice crappie go, so he asked us if we wanted them so we accepted. They were delicious. 

Sunday - We returned to our Sun City Center church and were richly blessed with a great worship service and message about "resolving" to be about our Father's business. Afterwards we had a nice breakfast at Sun City Center Cafe. We had a chilly/rainy afternoon to enjoy football.

Monday - It was sunny and warmer today, but the wind still had a bite. We drove to Bennet Park on the other side of I-75 near Walmart and fished a couple of the several lakes there. The first lake did not produce, but the second one gave us each a small bass plus a few smaller fish. 

Tuesday - We visited our friends Dave and Pat and took a walk with them. We then drove into Parrish to mail RX forms, then went to one of our favorite places, Ft. Hamer Park. We were disappointed to see a new bridge under construction a stones throw from the park, that will sadly increase traffic near the park. We fished from the piers, but no hits. 

Wednesday - Skip had heard about an area where the fishing was supposed to be excellent, called the Kitchen, so we drove to north of Apollo Beach to see if there was a place to launch the kayaks there. We checked every road that looked like it could go to water, but never found any place to launch. We decided to go to Apollo Beach to fish from shore. It was very windy, so only John finished near a few other folks who were fishing from a small peninsula. After several casts, he hooked into a really nice snook and managed to land it. It turned out to be about 23 inches long. Next we went to Circle's Restaurant for dinner and had shrimp and grouper. It was a little pricier than we are used to, but good. 

Thursday - We had some errands to do towards town so we decided to go back to Bennet Park and fish a couple of the other lakes. We only managed a few rather small bream. We also checked out the kayak launch there, which was very nice. You have to call ahead to have them open the gate for you. There is a channel that goes out to the Manatee River. Take it to the right. 

Friday - we fished the dock in the morning and only caught two small bream. Skip & Shirl showed up in the afternoon, and after they got set up, we headed to O'Briens for strawberry short-cake. We shared spaghetti using their spiralizer and zucchini to make the noodles. It was very good. 

Saturday - We launch the kayaks about 7:30 and fished the cove here for a couple of hours, but never got a hit. Skip fished twice as long and managed one crappie. 

Sunday - It rained all evening and into the night. We got up early again and went back to UM Church of Sun City Center and were blessed. Skip & Shirl fished by the fish camp, but never got a bite. We all went back to O'Briens and we had our usual BLT and strawberry shortcake. Yum! In the evening, Dave and Pat joined us at S&S's for a nice campfire and fun.

Monday - No one is catching anything on the lake. John tried one last time at the docks, but never got a hit. The four of us went thrift store shopping. Joan found some nice yarn and a pair of pants and Shirl found a nice three speed fan for their camper. We ended the day with another campfire.   

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Oscar Scherer SP (Dec 15-28)

Tuesday - We had a good trip here, but the traffic is getting worse every year. The folks on our site evidently wanted to get their money's worth, so they didn't leave until the last minute at 1PM. Skip & Shirl will also be here until Saturday. We met our neighbors Lee and Sharon, and they graciously asked us all over to share there campfire. It is nice to be away from the no-see-ums. They killed us this morning packing up. Even our old standby Skin-so-soft didn't help.

Wednesday - The four of us drove about 85 miles south to Estero to meet Joan's cousin Dave and his wife Marty for lunch at Stir Crazy. We had a nice lunch and an even nicer visit with them. When we got back we checked out a couple of parks here in Osprey, on Blackburn Point, that have been very nicely improved. They will provide very nice places to launch the kayaks. Next we drove to North Jetty Park to watch the sunset and let John fish. A nice young man was catching Jack Crevalle and wanted to see John catch one on a fly rod, so he invited him to use his spot. It didn't take long before John hooked a five pounder, which gave him all the fight he could handle. 

Thursday - After the pancake breakfast, the four of us launched the kayaks at Blackburn Park where the skulling boats are. It was too windy at the new park on the other side of the road. John got some action with a small mangrove snapper and had a nice blue fish on for a little while before it spit the hook. Shirl had better luck with hers landing a 22 incher that gave her a great fight. We ended the day with a campfire including our neighbors, Lee and Sharon. 

Friday - Since it was windy and cool, we went thrift store shopping. We each found treasures we couldn't do without. For lunch we stopped at Wendy's. 

Saturday - It was much cooler today., and windy. We said goodbye to Skip and Shirl and mostly hung around camp. 

Sunday - We hiked over to the observation area for the eagles nest. There was one on the nest and we could see just its head. We watched some football in the afternoon and joined our neighbors in the evening for a campfire. Camp hosts Pat and Tony joined us for a really fun time. 

Monday - Joan did a load of laundry super early, then we went to Wally to pick up groceries. In the afternoon, John tried to figure out why the new lights Conibear put in the rear light housing are so dim. He replaced them with Sylvanias that are supposed to be much brighter. We'll see. 

After dinner we walked over to Lake Osprey and John fished while Joan relaxed. On the way there we saw a bobcat. John caught four fish, all small, a tilapia, a bluegill, and two bass. 

Tuesday - We went to the coffee at the nature center and had a great time meeting other campers. After lunch we wheeled the kayaks to the picnic area launch and fished for awhile. John caught a big ladyfish and Joan caught a Jack Crevalle that gave her a good fight. We enjoyed watching an Osprey in a tree eating a mullet. 

Wednesday - We got up early, had breakfast, and wheeled the kayaks to the picnic area to launch. We caught three mangrove snapper, but only one of John's was big enough to keep. We had it for dinner along with chicken. It was delicious. John used his new (thrift store purchase) electric knife, which worked quite well. Joan lost a nice fish while not paying attention. 

Thursday - We went to the pancake breakfast and met a lady and her two sons from Blairsville. She's a realtor there. In the afternoon we had lunch at Casey Key Fish House. Joan had grouper salad and John had Cod and chips. Both were excellent. After we fished from piers close by, but didn't catch anything. Joan had something big take a couple of swipes at her fly, but couldn't hook up. 

Christmas Day - We hope your day was awesome. We drove the 90 miles to Zephyrhills to be with Skip, Shirl, Bruce, Cheryl, and Hayward. We had some laughs, video called family, and enjoyed steak on the grill. It was a great day. 

Saturday - We drove to Deer Prairie Creek Preserve and fished from shore. We first tried the Kiyose rods for bass, but no success, so we switched to 4wt fly rods and small squirmy flies, but the result was the same. It is a really nice park though. 

Monday - After breakfast, we made a Wally run, then came back to camp and put the outside things away. It was time for us to have pizza, so we drove to our favorite spot here, Frankie's. We then took our very full tummies to the jetty to enjoy it one last time for the year. We opted to not fish due to the large crowd of people enjoying their Christmas break.

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EG Simmons County Park ( Dec 13-14)

Sunday - The truck did great following behind and we got into the same site (90) we had last year, with Skip and Shirl next to us. We also met our friends Joanne and Bill who have been here for awhile. We (mostly Joan) had more to do than normal, but typical for the first day getting things put it their proper places. We enjoyed a fire at S&S's.

We got up early, ate a breakfast bar, drank a slug of coffee and walked down to the point hoping to fish. The tide was out making it impossible to cast beyond the rocks so we walked back and drove over to the other side by a sand bar. The fishing was slow with only a small Jack Crevalle that John managed, but we had a nice outing anyway. We saw white pelicans, an osprey gathering nesting material, manatee, great blue heron, and cormorants working. We also talked to a young man named Mark, who showed us how to catch mangrove crabs to use to catch sheepshead. We had a minor disaster when a nearly full bottle of car washing soap fell over and leaked most of its contents onto the back seat carpeting it the truck. We got most of it up, but there was still some that remained. We went to a local car wash and detailer and their awesome manager took car of it for us and wouldn't accept any money from us. Thank you, thank you!

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O'Leno SP (Oct 25-Nov 1)

Sunday - We received disturbing weather reports and since we are situated on the tip of a narrow peninsula on the panhandle, we decided to go to our next stop early. Thankfully, we were able to get a spot for tonight (Site 16) and move into our reserved spot (Site 15) four days early. We treated ourselves by going out to the Great Outdoors Restaurant in High Springs and joyed a good dinner.

Monday - We woke up several times during the night because of acorns falling on the roof. We moved over to our new site, but were unsure if we could get level, as the site really sloped down in the back and towards the entry door. Even with ramps under the passenger side rear wheels it meant having the wheels off the ground. John went to the office and got us moved to site 21, which worked out much better. 

Tuesday - It sprinkled off and on all night and thru the day. In between we walked down to the river and John fished without getting a bite. 

Wednesday - We wanted to see where the Santa Fe comes back to the surface, so we drove over to River Rise SP, but being so humid we decided to not hike the 2+ miles to see it. Instead, we drove over to Ichetucknee Springs SP and checked out both the North and South areas. This is a popular tubing river in the summer and kayaking other times. It is a very clear, spring generated river, which makes it very interesting. Sadly, there is no fishing. On the way back we stopped at Alice's Restaurant for excellent fried chicken. 

Thursday - We decided to stay local today and hiked to the sink, a place where the Santa Fe River drops below ground and reemerges about 3 miles away. The last time we saw the sink it was very slowly turning, but today the turtles were not going for a ride. John fished a few places along the way with the Kiyose and a plastic worm, but only got a couple bream hits. It was a beautiful day and this is a very beautiful area. 

Friday - We went back to Alice's for a nice breakfast, stopped at the post office to mail a package, and picked up a few items at Winn Dixie. We brought them back and hiked the yellow trail that goes by the Sink and makes a large loop back to the other side of the suspension bridge. We went over to Butler, Fl to be with our friends, the Masts, and had a cookout with them in their yard. Four of the brothers and their families were able to be there to celebrate LaVaughn's 40'th birthday. We had a wonderful time with them as always and the food was great too. 

Saturday - We took a coffee walk down to the river and sat for awhile. We also did some packing and getting things ready for our return to Zephyrhills. 

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St. Joseph Peninsula SP (Oct 23-24)

Friday - It was a pleasant and uneventful 140 mile trip here, mostly on Fl 20 and 73. We saw two bald eagles on the way. It is sunny and quite warm, but our site (72) is shady. After dinner we walked over to the beach side and fished. John got broken off, then caught two good sized lady fish. We also enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
Saturday - We put the kayaks in at the picnic area and fished until the wind came up and chased us off the water. John caught a few pinfish that were too small to be anything but bait. We fished an inlet with the tide running and caught a bunch of pinfish, which was rather fun. We had to put a small piece of Gulp on a small nymph, and used the Tenkara rod. In the evening we watch USF in a disappointing loss to Georgia Tech.

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Topsail Hill Preserve SP (Oct 16-22)

Friday - It was an easy drive today, mostly thru Alabama, that was about 169 miles. We got in, set up and took a walk around a couple of the many loops here. This is a very nice campground with many fishing ponds, access to the gulf, and extensive bicycle trails. We are in the oldest section, yet the sites are quite nice. Sites in the newer sections are even nicer. We went to Stinky's Fish Camp for a very nice fried fish/shrimp salad for dinner. John had to call to change his supplement medical, which is like a root canal, so no fishing this evening.

Saturday - We took our coffee and walked the final loops and marked down sites we like. The new loop is wonderful. We then did a load of clothes at the really nice laundry and hung them on our First-Up. Next we rode our bikes on a paved bike path to Campbell lake hoping to fish, but the shoreline is too shallow. We can put the kayaks on the shuttle. Finally, we rode over to the beach, but didn't stay. It is very nice and about a mile from the campground. 

Sunday - Since it was cool today, John took the opportunity to replace a roof vent that had gotten brittle and cracked. We have had the part for awhile. Joan also cut John's hair. There have been many units leave and others come in to replace them. It is really pleasant here today. 

Monday - We drove to Destin and fished at a park by the bridge. It was very windy and difficult to cast a fly rod. There were several others there using natural bait, but we only saw a few pinfish caught. We consoled ourselves by stopping at Crust Pizzaria for thin crispy pizza, which John likes better than Joan. We needed to restock our supplies, so we stopped at Walmart. When we got back to the campground, John felt a need to fish some more, so he tried a couple of the local ponds. He talked to someone who had caught a bass yesterday, so felt challenged. After going almost all the way around the first lake, he landed a nice bass. Soon after he caught another smaller one. 

Tuesday - We drove over to Grayton Beach State Park and first tried to cast on the beach. Joan had a small one on that she lost, but since that was the only action after an hour, we decided to launch the kayaks on West Lake. We saw some mullet jumping, so we figured there might be some saltwater fish to catch. Wrong! We enjoyed our paddle despite the wind, but no hits. This is a beautify area and the campground is nice too. We think we still like where we are better, but this will make a good 

backup. 

Wednesday - We fished the stingy ponds and had little action. John had a nice bass take, but not hooked. John talked to a ranger and found out that you can only launch kayaks from the park at Campbell Lake and not our own, because of their fear of invasive species being introduced. We always clean ours, but understand that not everyone does. 

Thursday - We made a run to a very nice local Publix and stocked up for our next stop that had nothing nearby. Joan fixed some chicken salad and cleaned up the inside while John worked outside.

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Cottonhill COE (Oct 14-15)

Wednesday - We had a good trip down with no surprises and got set up in site 29 about 2PM. We ate the bass we caught yesterday, which was delicious. We used a seafood seasoning our friend Laura sent us. Yum! We fished in the evening, but only managed a few small bream. The mornings have been cool and afternoons perfect.

Thursday - We tried to watch tv in the morning but an armadillo had rooted around the site and bumped the dish, knocking it off the door stops we use to level it. We drove down to East Bank Day Use area to fish. The weeds were thick here too, but we figured plastic worms would allow us to fish around them. Even though we saw bass, we couldn't get them to bite. To console ourselves, we had yummy steak for dinner.

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Whitetail Ridge COE (Oct 12-13)

IMonday - We started out with some fog, but it quickly burned off and turned beautiful. It was a nice, but a little long trip here, but well worth it. Our site (48) is awesome, and the lake is even more beautiful than we remember. After dinner, we took our Kiyose rods with plastic worms to the boat launch area. We both had action, but John managed to land two 12" spotted bass. We listened to a pair of horned owls in the evening.

Tuesday - We had a front roll thru during the night bringing showers and some thunder, but it didn't last long. We drove over to the  Horace King Recreation Area that is next door to the campground. Joan caught a bunch of bluegill on the Tenkara and a small wooly bugger while John caught a couple of spotted bass on a plastic worm. After dinner we went back to the boat launch and continued the same, except this time John used a yellow/white Clouser and the fly rod. We kept all (5) spots and one rock bass and fileted them for dinner tomorrow. The weather was perfect today.

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Smokemont Campground GSMNP (Aug 24-27)

Monday - We had a good trip over and came through the Nantahala Gorge, encountering more 18-wheelers than we remembered. Maybe we will return through Franklin on US 441 to US 64. We met up with our friends Bill and Jean and they invited us over for delicious Low-Country-Boil. It was quite warm in the afternoon, so we put our chairs on the creek bank and watched the water go by. The water is very low, so our expectations for fishing are not very high.

Tuesday - We put our wading boots and inserts on and wet waded up from our site. John caught a nice brown trout in the first five minutes, which raised our hopes, but probably shouldn't have, with only a small rainbow and Joan losing one as the only action for the day. We met our neighbors Bill & Kay across the road, who are from Okeechobee, Fl., and chatted with them. In the evening we had Bill & Jean over for chicken & rice we prepared in the Dutch oven. It has cooled off nicely, which is making for great sleeping. We are running the generator for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, which seems to be working. 

Wednesday - We got up early, put our boots on and hiked to where the road crosses the Oconalooftee River and comes into the campground. We fished a nice hole under the bridge and saw a few trout, but could not get them to bite. We fished a few other promising areas, but had the same result. We are not seeing other fishermen, which is very telling.

Thursday - We went on a hike this morning on the Bradley Fork Trail that follows the creek of the same name about two miles up from the campground. We saw some bear signs along the way, but no bears. John brought the Tenkara Rhodo and tried an olive Woolley Bugger in a few good spots and only got one good hit for his effort. 

Friday - We had a good trip back to Trackrock, but this time avoided the gorge and took US 441 to US 64. There were a couple of steeper and longer hills, but we didn't have to worry about 18-wheelers not staying in their lane. It is good to be gone, but always great to be back.

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Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan (June 22-July 28)

The Monday, June 22 - We got an early start and arrived at Raccoon Mt. RV Park & Campground about 1PM after driving 144 miles. We had one detour near Jasper due to a bad wreck involving an oversize loaded truck and a car that lost most of the drivers side. We pray no one was injured. This is a nice overnight spot, but not a destination, although there are many permanent spots. We decided to go on a cave tour they have here on the property. It was quite nice, with interesting formations. This the first one we've done together, and the 60 deg temperature was welcome on a 90+ day.

Tuesday - Today we made it 174 more miles and are sitting in Clarksville Campground, which coincidentally is in Clarksville, Tn., but only about a mile from Ky. It is still hot, so we are inside with the air on. Again, this is a nice one-nighter, but would not come here for a destination. 

Wednesday - It was only 143 miles today to Marion RV Park, so we pulled in before noon. The lady who greeted us was very friendly and this seems like another good stopover place.  are more shaded than yesterday. We were fully set up by 11:45. Our stomachs began growling, so we walked over to Casey's General Store a couple blocks away and shared a pepperoni pizza. Not bad. 🍕🍕

Thursday - Even though we drove a little farther today (192 miles), it was a fairly easy trip. We are at Tincup Campground in Mahomet, Il, not too far from Champaigne. The gravel roads coming in are quite rough, but the sites are not bad. The lady in the office was quite helpful and friendly. We rode our bikes to a nearby park named Lake of the Woods and enjoyed the cool breeze while sitting under trees by the lake. It was a very pretty setting. It is cooler here. 

Friday - We had a good 192 mile trip here to Lehman's Lakeside RV Resort. It seems Ike a nice place with friendly and helpful staff. We are on a site with a concrete pad and full hookups. We were in, connected, and lunched by 1:30PM. We made a Walmart run, brought it back and put things away, then went to RR Steakhouse for dinner. In the evening, John took the Tenkara rod and Joan took a "cane" pole down to one of the ponds here. On her second cast, Joan brought in a nice bass, then caught a larger one later. John wore out the bluegill on a gold foam hopper, and also caught  17" inch LM Bass. What a battle. Later we walked around the big lake that has seasonal campsites, but we're not impressed. The highway noise is very loud and many of the campers and sites not cared for. We fished one area, but not much happening.

Saturday - We fished around the other smaller lake in the AM, but no bass were willing. John caught a catfish and we had numerous bluegill try to take our plastic worm. We went over to the Peskuski home and visited with the kids and grandkids. Jeff cooked up burgers and sausage which was yummy. 

Sunday - We met with Corey and Henny at Willow Creek Church for an awesome service. Afterwards we went to the Onion Pub & Brewery for lunch. Thanks you two for an awesome place. When we got back to the campground, Margaret, Jeff, Jake, and Josh were here to do some fishing. The boys caught a few, but Joan led the outing with three nice bass. Soon after they left the rain started. 

Monday - We met a couple, Reina and Oscar, via rvillage.com who have just started into rv'ing. We enjoyed sharing experiences and getting to know them. We drove into Rockford and met our friends Paul & Linda at Golden Corral. They have a place in our park in Florida. We had a great time getting caught up. 

Tuesday - Happy Birthday John! We started our day of celebration by going fishing in the little pond here. Joan totally ignored birthday protocol by catching the first four bass before letting the birthday boy catch one. We went back after taking a break with the Tenkara rods to check out the bluegill action. We each caught several, many of which were nice sized. John had some extra excitement while landing a bluegill, having a large bass swoop in and take it. When the bass felt pressure it let it go. In the afternoon we met M&J and the G-kids at Macianos for pizza. It was great!! We then went to see Josh play baseball. All the guys did a great job, with good hitting and some great plays. 

Wednesday - We braved the toll roads and visited John's sister, niece, and her two nearly grown kids. We had a great visit and lunch, and celebrated John's Birthday again with an awesome home-made apple pie. 

Thursday - We fished in the morning with Joan catching four nice bass and John sticking with bluegills. Later he fished in the big lake and caught four bass. In the afternoon we went over to M,J,J,&J's to visit and go out to dinner. We had super gyros at The Village Squire South and a great visit with the kids. 

Friday - We made an early Walmart run. Corey and Henny came over for dinner, which consisted of chicken and rice, salad, bread, and strawberry-rhubarb pie that M&J sent home with us which was for John's birthday. After dinner we went over to our pond here and guided Corey and Henny in our style of cane-pole and Tenkara fishing. Corey had the hot hand with three nice bass to hand, one being 13" and one of the others 18". Henny came close with two on, but she didn't quite have setting the hook mastered, so they got off. We had a great time visiting.

July 4 - Today Jacob was marching with his HS band, so we watched the parade. They did a super job. In the afternoon we went over to M&J's friends house for a pool party and cookout there was plenty of food, good conversation and babies. We had a great time. It was good to see everyone. 

Sunday - This morning we met John's life-long friend Denny and his wife of 50 years Laura at Willow Creek Church. We received a special treat in that the David Crowder Band was there. Another treat was that we got to meet three of their (D&L) grandkids who were with them. We had a great morning of visiting and worship. We hung out at the campground in the afternoon and enjoyed the quiet, since most of the weekend warriors had left. 

Monday - We fished the big lake in the morning and Joan caught several nice bass. John started with a hopper and caught some nice bluegill, then switched to a small plastic worm and caught a nice bass. 

Tuesday - We started our trip into Wisconsin in rain, but it wasn't long before it stopped. It was about 170 miles here to Vista Royalle Campground in Bancroft, site 25. This seems like a much nicer place than where we have been for the last 10 days and is in a pine grove. We went over to their fishing lake for about an hour and each caught a 12" bass. 

Wednesday - We were in and set up by 1PM after driving 134 miles, mostly on 4-lane. We are in High Pines Campground in Eagle River, Wi. It was challenge finding our site due to the really small numbers on the posts and needing to drive through other sites to get to ours. Joan had to get out and walk around to find it and then direct John in. 

Thursday - Today's drive was longer than the last one, at 167 miles, but the prettiest part of our trip so far. We are in City of Munising Tourist Park Campground, site 50. The campground is quite open, but we have a nice view of Munising Bay on Lake Superior. If you ever camp here, make sure you have plenty of electric cable and hose. There is some road noise. In the afternoon we drove into Musining, walked around town, and got information about things to see and places to fish from the Chamber and National Forest Information Office. We had dinner at Dogpatch Restaurant, which was quite good. In the evening we went on a Pictured Rocks Sunset Boat Tour. It was wonderful, and a great way to see the 15 miles of gorgeous bluffs along Lake Superior. We were glad we wore warm clothes as it was quite chilly. 

Friday - Today we viewed the same sites that we saw from the boat yesterday evening, but from land. This required a lot more work on our part. There was several miles of hiking and many stairs. We wanted to find some places to fish, but sadly the only places we found were in state recreation areas that require a $31 pass for entry. We have already spent $140 on licenses. Ridiculous! Also, if we were to purchase one, you have to find a park that sells them, since it takes a week to get one online. 

Saturday - We drove back west and found Lake AuTrain, and put the kayaks in. We fished it for about an hour with Clousers, but got no action. We saw one northern pike caught by someone pin a bigger boat trolling, but no one else seemed to be catching anything. We are hoping for better success at our next location. The only thing biting here are flies and mosquitoes. 

Sunday - In the morning we attended an interdenominational worship service at Bay Furnace on the other side of Christmas. Sadly, there were only five of us that attended. Anyway we had a nice time and God blessed us. We then got packed up and made the 67 mile trip here to Newberry. We are on site 33 at North Country Campground. There was some mixup about 30 vs 50 amp site, but it all got satisfied. We got set, had lunch, and even did two loads of laundry. Our site is grassy with a nice maple for shade and there was a beautiful breeze. 

Monday - We drove about 20 miles to the Tahquamenon Falls. This is a beautiful area and they have built awesome boardwalks and stairs for viewing. There is an upper falls and about four miles down river a lower falls. There are several smaller falls at the lower. We then drove to where the river empties into Whitefish Bay, where we had a picnic lunch. We fished at River Mouth, without any action. We checked out an area about 15 miles south where a fishing guide book said there was access, but it was wrong. Finally, we went back to the Upper Falls and had dinner at the Brewery. We had whitefish sandwiches which were ok, but not as good as grouper. We had occasional rain today. 

Tuesday - We wanted to check out an area that was in a book on fishing Michigan, but couldn't find it. We looked at and fished a couple of boat launches, but nothing. We also found a real pretty area by the Dollarville Dam than had a nice fishing pier, but not a bite. It was too windy to put the kayaks in and quite cool. On of the launches had Mosquitos that swarmed us as soon as we got out of the truck. 

Wednesday - We drove 168 miles and pulled into River Park Campground without incident. We got the same site (31) we had three years ago. We got set up and drove back to Gaylord and had lunch at Applebee's and did a Walmart run. Later we fished the AuSable here in the campground but caught nothing. 

Thursday - Our outing on the South Branch of the AuSable was disappointing. We fished hard for three hours, but only had two chubs and a couple of swipes at a fly to show for it. It was a beautiful day wading in the water, though.  

Friday - It was a short trip today to Evart, Mi, where we stayed at River Country Campground on site 117 on the Muskeegan River. There was much less shade because many of their trees have died. 

Saturday - We picked up John's twin boys who live nearby, and brought them back for chicken and rice on the cast iron Dutch oven. We had a very nice visit with them. 

Sunday We drove 180 miles and pulled into Potowatome Recreation Area on site 29. It is warmer here at 84 deg but feels like 95. The air is on. We braved the heat and fished the lake here from shore. Joan caught a small bass. That sums up our Michigan fishing, which was disappointing. 

Monday - We skipped a stop and made it to Oak Creek Campground, site 14, after driving 292 miles. This was about 100 miles farther than our usual limit. They have had a lot of rain, so the rivers are all full. We will be watching the weather closely, because we are on a creek and don't want any surprises. We had a great dinner at a family restaurant, but they allow smoking, which lessened its enjoyment. It is very humid here, but is supposed to cool down some. 

Tuesday - we had dinner with good friends from Trackrock and went with them to watch the kids practice football and cheerleading. 

Wednesday - We have been wanting to visit the Creation Museum for a long time and really enjoyed our time there today. The exhibits are very clear and impressive and do a great job of presenting a scientific argument of the Bible's account of creation. Of course we were already convinced before we came. We spent the afternoon at Alexandria Community Park and sat in the shade watching people fish. A couple were caught. We then met a small contingent of our friends at City BBQ and enjoyed really good BBQ. Not quite Jim's, but good. 

Thursday - We met our friends at Alexandria Comm. Park and took a hike, kids played on the playground and took turns fishing. A few fish were lost and Graham was the only one to catch a fish. We enjoyed getting to know Katlyn and Haley. Everyone had a great time, especially us. 

Friday - We spent a quiet day at the campground only going out to Krogers to pick up some necessities. We also did some cleaning. 

Saturday - It was a quick trip to Kentucky Horse Park Campground. We got set up, had lunch, and took a campground shuttle over to the park. We went to the Horse Museum and several other exhibits. It is very nice here. We then went over to Rolex Stadium to watch a jumping competition. Sadly, there would be none until 7:30, and it was only 6:00 and we had not eaten yet, so we went back ate, showered and had a relaxing evening. 

Sunday - We attended a worship service in one of the pavilions and met some nice folks. We then went back to the stadium and watched jumping. This is not well attended, but should be. 

Monday - We drove more than our usual limit of 200 miles and are staying at Best Holiday TRAVEL/PARK outside Chattanooga. We have a nice pull-through site, so we didn't have to disconnect the Envoy. It is hot and quite humid, like it has been for the last several days. 

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Whitetail Ridge COE (March 29-31)

DSunday - We got mostly packed up and attended a worship service in the pavilion put on by two men from a local congregation. They have been doing this for several years. Our 125 mile trip here was good, with pretty scenery along the way. We were in and set up by 2 PM. It is a cool, beautiful day with temps in the low 60s. The lake looks to be in mid pool.  After spaghetti dinner, we took the 4 wts and fished in several places from shore. Joan had a small bass on, but lost it and John caught a nice yellow-bellied bream. Perhaps the water needs to warm some.

Monday - Rain came through in the morning, so we took that as an opportunity to make a Walmart run. The sun came out in the afternoon and it turned out to be a beautiful day. John split some logs that wee left in a near pile from s tree that was cut down and although it was quite wet we managed to have a nice campfire. We took the cane poles down to the boat launch, but caught nothing. 

Tuesday - We tried the same place this time armed with the Tenkara rods. We had the best success with small hoppers, but nymphs worked too with the nice sizd bream. We got some things ready for our last stretch tomorrow to Trackrock. 

Cottonhill COE (March 27-28)

Friday - This was a longer trip today, about 225 miles and at times quite windy. It was cloudy with some rain, but it was sunny and cool when we arrived and got set up on site 29. We are up on a hill overlooking the lake, which this time is much less weedy. In the early evening we took our 4 wts. with small Clousers down to the lake to see if there were any willing fish. We ended up with a nice bass, three yellow perch, and a yellow-bellied bream. Not bad for an hour of fishing. 

Saturday - We took a nice hike in the morning, had breakfast, then hiked again so John could pick up firewood and Joan could collect huge pine cones for a fire later. Joan took her 4 wt. while John took the Tenkara and tried a couple coves. Sadly, not a bite. There is much more boating and fishing activity than we have ever seen here 

O'Leno SP (March 25-26)

Wednesday - We arrived about 1:20 and got set up on site 14. Nice site! The trip was uneventful and pleasant despite some road construction on I-75 making lanes uneven.

Thursday - We took advantage of a break in the rain to take a bike ride over to the other loop here and check out the sites there. We found several that would meet our needs if we find that we cannot get into this loop. In the evening we drove into High Springs to meet our Trackrock friends, the Mast family, for dinner at Alice's Restaurant. We had a very nice visit and got caught up with everyone. There were eleven of us there. It looks like the rain will continue during the night, but most of our things are put up and ready to leave tomorrow.

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Busch Garden (March 23)

We woke up this morning to rain and encountered more rain on the way to the hotel to meet the John's daughter, son-in-law, and the grandkids. We hung out at the hotel for awhile then took a shuttle over to the park. We armed ourselves with umbrellas and walked around the zoo part and enjoyed the wonderful exhibits. They are better than any zoo we have been to. The rain finally ended and turned out to be an awesome day. Even better, the rain kept a lot of people away, allowing the boys to get on rides without the usual wait. We enjoyed the sky ride that gives a view of the park from above. We got the package that includes unlimited food, which worked out great. The meals were quite good. We were quite tired at the end of the day, but it was super to be able to have a day with them.

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Lake Louisa SP (March 20)

We drove up to visit Jane and Tom with Skip and Shirl and fish one of the lakes there. We brought roasted chicken and enjoyed a nice lunch In their campsite. We launched the kayaks on the side of the fishing pier, which was a little muddy, but doable. This is a gorgeous lake and not too big. There are no bigger boats allowed. Joan led the day with two keeper bass and one keeper crappie, although we were not keeping today. John and Skip both caught undersized bass, while Tom lost a couple. We were using white/chartreuse mini-Clousers. This is a very nice campground with excellent fishing opportunities. We have plans to stay here for a week next year.

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Lake Griffin State Park (Mar 5-12)

Thursday - It was only about an hour to get here, but not an easy drive due to heavy cross winds. Site 17 is much smaller than the one we had at Rainbow Springs, but should accommodate us nicely. After getting set up, we biked down to the river and John fished with the Tenkara rod for a while. He did not even get a single bite. One thing we have noticed here that we don't care for much is significant road noise from Highway 441/27/25. We have heard sirens all afternoon and are hearing them at this moment.

Friday - We met our kayaking friends near Silver Springs State Park at Ray's Landing and paddled the Oklawaha River ten miles to Gore's Landing. We all got soaked as it rained for the last third of the trip. This is a gorgeous section of the river, with all nature and no houses. Thankfully, we each had a dry pair of sweats to put on. On the way back we stopped at Stavo's Restaurant for the best pizza we have had in a long time. 

Saturday - It started off rather cool (about 50 deg), so we took our time getting going. After pancakes for breakfast, we took a walk down to the water and sat for awhile. We then hiked the nature trails here and saw the largest live oak tree we have ever seen. It was hundreds of years old and huge. We then returned to camp and got our wet stuff hung out to dry. 

Sunday - Perry and Julie came over today to kayak/canoe the Black River into Lake Griffin with us. We paddled about a mile and John stayed back to fish. He usd his 4 wt. with a small chartreuse Clouser, but after fishing several places shallow and deep, didn't get a single hit. The four of us then drove over to Red Oaks RV Park to have pizza with Judy and Laurel. We had a great visit and walk around the park.

Monday - Skip and Shirl joined us here for the day and even brought baked spaghetti for dinner. We took a walk, but mostly just visited and enjoyed the perfect weather. 

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Rainbow Springs SP (Feb 19-Mar 4)

Thursday - It was a good trip here, despite some very windy conditions on the way. We got in and set up on site 22 then went to the Front Porch Restsurant for dinner. We both had fried chicken which was excellent. We then stopped by Mike and Christina's to visit them and also met friends of theirs Susan and Charlie. They also enjoy fishing, so we had fun talking about our experiences with them. We are bracing for temperatures that are expected to get down into the 20s tonight. We are hoping there will not be anything frozen in the morning. We haven't seen temperatures that low for a very long time.

Friday - We have wanted to check out Crystal River Archaeologica State Park and Wildlife Refuge for a long time but just never got around to it. What a great area. There are places to launch kayaks, hike, and fish from shore.on the way back we stopped at Swampy's restaurant for dinner.

Saturday - We attended an open house at Three Sisters Springs for the new Boardwalk, and were treated to hundreds of manatees. We got there very early to avoid crowds.

Sunday - It was a nice service at Dunnellon UMC, with an outstanding message. 

Monday - We drove to Crystal River and launched at Hunter Park. Fishing started slow, and all we were able to get into were ladyfish and small mangrove snapper. It was beautiful out on the water and we saw a lot of birds, including osprey and brown pelican. On the way back we stopped for dinner at Swampys.

Tuesday - It rained off and on all day, so we made a Walmart run and got some things done here.

Wednesday - It rained some more off and on today, but we went out to Yankeetown anyway and fished a little from the bank. There were only a few people there and no one was catching anything. We quit after several minutes with no hits. We then checked out below the spillway and John used a flyrod then a Tenkara from the bank with no success. Next, we went over to the bypass park and again John tried the Tenkara, but this time caught several bream and tilapia. Finally, we stopped at Lombardo's for pizza, which was very good. 

Thursday - We drove to Crystal River and visited new friends Ed and Priscilla at their vacation home on a channel that feeds into the river. We had wanted to do a fishing trip, but the weather wouldn't cooperate. Instead, they drove us around to some of their favorite places to fish and then took us out for dinner at Charlie's Seafood. We had a great time with them and got to know them better. 

Friday - We met several of our northern kayak friends at Inglis Spillway and after setting up a shuttle to the Isaac Walton Lodge where we would end up for lunch, we put in and paddled down river. It was quite cool, but comfortable, and a very beautiful paddle. John saw many tilapia splashing on the way, but he was not fishing today. We had a very nice lunch at the lodge. 

Saturday - Today was the annual reunion in the Villages with folks from the area in Vermont where Joan grew up. We have been going to this for the last ten years. It is always great to see everyone. This year we met at Golden Corral in a private room. There were also several there who graduated H.S. With Joan. Afterwards, we went over to Julie's and Barry's home along with Judy and Laurel and visited in the afternoon. John usually fishes their pond but got rained out today. In the evening Mike and Christina brought his mother and her sister over to see the campground and our motorhome. We had a nice visit. 

Sunday - After attending another really nice service at Dunnellon UMC, we drove over to Rockcrusher Canyon RV park in Crystal River. We have always wanted to check that one out. The place is huge with over 900 campsites, but is well shaded, with a lot of trees around, and the sites are not on top of one another like so many RV parks we see. We drove together in Joe's truck to The Freezer Tiki Bar on the water in Homassasa. The place was really packed, and we had to wait in long line, but the food was great and you got a lot for the price. It was great to visit with Joe and Debbie, a fun, very active couple, we met at Trackrock several years ago.

Monday - We (mostly Joan) got some laundry done, then put in on the Rainbow River at the park by the 484 bridge. We paddled up river, then into a back area and fished with Tenkara and cane pole. The Tenkara had a chartreuse nymph and a small chunk of Gulp worm and the cane pole had a watermelon colored small plastic worm. The Tenkara proved to be the most effective, catching three small bream and stumpknockers (spotted sunfish). The cane pole struck out. We had a beautiful paddle and followed it with the fish we didn't catch sandwiches at Swampy's. It got into the low 80s, which felt great. 

Tuesday - We had great plans to head out early and put in at Ft. Island Trail Park, but when we got up it was very foggy. We waited to see if the fog would lift, but it looked like we would be socked in for awhile. We decided to inact plan B and put the wheels under our kayaks and walk them down to the launch here. We only got to fish a short while here before the fog lifted and the sun came out. We have come to the conclusion that we need to fish the first and last hours on this super clear river in order to be successful. We managed to catch a few stumpknockers (spotted sunfish) and one small bass.  

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Little Manatee River State Park (Feb 5-18)

IThursday - It rained hard in the night and into the AM, but we had put up most everything outside so we wouldn't have to put it up wet. We got out late AM and went to Walmart and gassed up both vehicles. We had not filled the MH since December 2 and it took only $78 to fill it. Nice!  We restocked and were in site 23, had lunch, and set up by about 3:30. We noticed the washers and dryers were not in use so we did a couple loads.

Friday - More laundry early followed by a walk down to the river. We decided we needed to check out a few areas to see if anyone was fishing and catching, so we drove to Ft. Hamer, Emerson Point, Terra Ceia Bay, and a bay in downtown Ruskin. The result was not encouraging. Looks like the water will need to warm up before there is any significant action. In between we had lunch.dinner at The Crab Shack on Terra Ceia Bay. We were disappointed in our meals, John expected a tuna fillet on a salad, but instead got tuna salad. Maybe he misread the menu. 

Saturday - We went on a hike with Ranger Kim this afternoon. It was great and we got to see a pair of bald eagles soaring overhead as well as learning about sand pine communities. Afterwards, John fished by the old kayak launch and caught a nice sized bream on the Tenkara. It warmed up a lot today. Hopefully it will continue to warm up the bay and activate the fish. 

Sunday - We went back to Sun City Center UMC and were blessed again. We feel right at home there. We had plans to have hamburger dinner with Skipand Shirl at our site, but were pleasantly surprised that our friends Dave and Pat and Bill and Joanna would be able to join us. After dinner we all headed over to S&S's for a nice fire. 

Monday - We knew rain was going to rain around noon, but we hoped we could get some kayaking and fishing in before it came. We put in and began fishing around Hunters Pass and began catching trout right away. They were all around 13", which is a little short to keep. It was fun anyway to get into trout again. The rain came, but we were able to get kayaks put back up before it got too heavy. We had lunch in the shelter there then headed over to Goodson's Farm in Balm for strawberry shortcakes. Yummy! The rain pretty much washed out the rest of the day. 

Tuesday - We bid farewell to our friends D&P and B&J this morning. It has been quite windy and cool today, but regardless we accompanied Skip over to Lake Manatee SP to see if we could catch some hybrid stripers from the dock. Joan landed one on her third cast, but after that it was all John with two stripers and a really nice crappie. Skip took on job to be the filleter and cooker. 

Wednesday - The four of us went down to Ft. Hamer and put the kayaks in. We headed to our back bay and hole and quickly caught a couple small snook and ladyfish and Joan caught a larger ladyfish. We tries some other back areas, but nothing. We caught a couple more, but nothing to bring home. We went over to S&S's for venison stroganoff. Delicious!!!!

Thursday - We said goodbye to S&S, then headed back to E.G. Simmons Park. We caught some small trout and a few ladyfish, but no keepers. We saw a bald eagle soaring overhead. On the way home we had dinner at Beanies. It was excellent and filling too. In the evening we met up with our friends Mary and Dave and enjoyed a fire with them. Sadly, Dave has to get back to work, so they are returning to Canada tomorrow. 

Friday - We went back to EG Simmons Park and saw folks (Rosie and Don) who we have met here, who also kayak. We fished from shore, but the cold front has shut them down. We found a protected spot and had a picnic lunch, then took a nice walk. It was a beautiful, but cool and windy day. 

Saturday - Happy Valentines Day. We mostly stayed around camp today. We walked to the lake where John fished, but only caught one little bream. We enjoyed a fire and conversation with Rosie and Don. 

Sunday - After another very nice worship service, we headed over to O'Brien's Farm for our usual BLT and strawberry shortcake. Yum! We returned to Lake Manatee State Park to see if the hybrid stripers would still be around dock, But sadly, they have found another place to be. We enjoyed visit while we were there with our friends Dave and Pat at their campsite. We hope to be able to visit them when we get back to Georgia since they live close by near Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Monday - Windy, but warm today, so we checked out a boat ramp on the Little Manatee River near Sun City to see if that might be a good place to launch. Not so much! We also checked out Hideaway RV park to see if that might be a place we would like to stay for a while while we are here in the winter. It is one of the nicer parks we have been to, but I don't think we're quite ready for this yet. State Parks are just too nice. We went over to EG Simmons County Park one more time, had a picnic lunch and casted from shore. No fish this time.

Tuesday - It was very warm today, but a front and rain will take care of that. We got the rest of the outdoor stuff taken care of and plan to hunker down tomorrow. 

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Lake Manatee SP (Jan 22-Feb 4)

Thursday - We arrived about noon, about the same time as Skip and Shirl, got set up, and did a quick run to Publix and O'Briens. We had spaghetti dinner and shared a fire at their site in the evening.

Friday - We had planned to drive over to E.G. Simmons County Park to launch the kayaks and fish, but it got very windy in the morning. We decided instead to launch at the fish camp down the road. We tried to get under the bridge into a back area, but it was too windy, so we fished in some sheltered areas for awhile. Skip and Sherl team caught one crappy while the John and Joan team caught a small bass. It was a good outing considering the wind was so strong.

Saturday - After the campers coffee, where one of the rangers mentioned that a great place to visit is Dakin Dairy near Myakka City, Fl. We first stopped by Jiggs Landing to show Skip and Shirl, then we had lunch at Linger Lodge, which used to be a fish camp, but now is a uniquely Florida destination restaurant. The food was quite good. We then went to the dairy and it happened that a tour was going to begin in a few minutes, so we decided to go on it. This is a 2000 cow operation and quite different from anything we had ever experienced. We found it to be very interesting and fun. 

Sunday - Super worship service at Happy Gospel Church @ Lakwood Ranch this AM. Very friendly people made us feel right at home. After BLTs at O'Briens, we put the kayaks in at the fish camp and fished for a couple hours. The weather warmed up nicely from a chilly 48 degrees this morning. Joan caught two tilapia that we brought home, but John's 13 1/2 inch bass was a half inch too short to keep. 

Monday - It was too windy to fish, so the four of us went into Bradenton and hit a few thrift shops. We found many Beany Babies that we put on Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Afterwards, we went to Neal Preserve and had lunch and hiked the trail there. 

Tuesday - We said goodbye to Skip and Shirl and hello to our former pastor, A.C. and his wife Kathy. A.C. married us 9 1/2 years ago. It was great to visit and catch up with them since they retired from the UMC. We had chicken and rice cooked on the Dutch oven, which seemed to be a hit. 

Wednesday - we got our errands done in the morning, including Joan's haircut, and fished in the evening. Things started off slow, but later, with some coaching from two men on the other pier, we began to catch nice hybrid striped bass. The secret was to keep the Clouser from going too deep. John filleted them when we got back, and their should be enough for a nice dinner. 

Thursday - We waited for it to warm up, then drove over to Ft. Hamer Park to put in there. We first went up to a hole we know about and got out of the kayaks and fished from a sand bar. Joan started things off with a small redfish, then a little while later, John caught a couple of ladyfish and a small snook. That was going to prove to be all we would catch for the day. When we got back to the camper, we cooked up the fish we caught yesterday plus the tilapia we caught earlier and enjoyed a nice fish dinner. In the evening, we returned to the fishing pier to see if the stripers would show up and Joan put on a show to the delight of some onlookers and the amazement of two locals. John caught a couple on the Tenkara, while Joan caught about 10 on the 4 wt We gave the fish to the guys there along with a Clouser that was the same as Joan's. 

Friday- We had a peanut butter English muffin, and headed cack to the fishing pier to see if there might be a morning bite. Joan had quick success with a nice hybrid striper. Sadly, that was it for the morning except for a few hits. John tied some flies including a grass shrimp that he saw on YouTube. For dinner we went to O'Brien's for BLTs and strawberry shortcakes. In the evening, we headed back to the pier and this time John started it off with a striper on his first cast with the Tenkara. Soon he had another on, but it took the whole tippet. Joan had some hits, but the only real catcher this time was our friend Jeff, who was using minnows. Thanks to him, we brought home three and John cleaned them. 

Saturday - The pier was full when we got down there about 5 PM, so we just watched for awhile. We saw a group of folks catch a couple stripers. When they left, John gave Joan a rod set up with a Clouser he had tied yesterday. She casted in and hooked a nice striper, while John went and got a stringer, she had caught two more. By the time John had them on the stringer, she had another. John finally got a chance and had one on his first cast, and another on his second. We put 11 on the stringer and released at least six more. We had a nice pile of filets after John got them done. We invited friends, Jeff and Dawn over for dinner Monday. 

Sunday - Great service at Happy Gospel, then enjoyed Super Bowl. 

Monday - We took our coffee down to the fishing pier and once again Joan put on a clinic. Jeff was there too and caught a couple and John caught three, while Joan caught about nine hybrid stripers. Our friends Mary and Dave came over to visit and check out the park, then we went out for pizza lunch. Our friends Dawn and Jeff came over for dinner to help us eat fish. They brought over awesome potato salad and pecan bars that were like pie. 

Tuesday - It was too cold and windy to go out and fish, so we visited and got things done around camp. It warmed up enough by late afternoon to go down to the pier and fish. It was slower this time, but we caught enough to help friends we met earlier here fishing to add to theirs and have a nice dinner with their families. The sunset and moonrise were awesome. 

Wednesday - We have some rain coming in tonight, so we wanted to get everything picked up outside so it wouldn't be wet when we leave here tomorrow. We went to O'Briens farm and had our last BLT and strawberry shortcake while we are here. We went down to the fishing pier one last time and met some friends down there. Joan caught most of the fish once again, catching six, while John had to settle for one. We were able to visit for awhile with our friends Guy and Nancy, who came in today in the site right next to us.

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Oscar Scherer SP (Jan 8-21)

We got here at 9:30, which was in time for the pancake breakfast, but too early to get on our site, (17) so after breakfast, we went to Walmart and picked up some things we needed. By the time we returned, folks were off the site and the hosts had it ready for us. We needed the ramps for the right rear tires to get level.

Friday - In order to insure we would get a washer and dryer, we were at the restroom that has them at 6:15 AM. There are only two, so we were there for awhile. After we got that done, we went to Scrambles for breakfast. Joan had the idea to go over to the Venice inlet jetty for awhile. John decided to fish while Joan took pictures. We saw a man land a nice black drum, which was encouraging. In a few minutes, had one on as well. It put up a great battle for John using an 8 wt fly rod. Another fisherman offered us a net and Joan deftly netted it when it got close enough. Many fishermen commented they could not believe John caught a fish that big on a fly rod. We got it back to camp where John filleted it and we had it for dinner. Joan gave it a Perfect 10 score. It measured 23 3/4" and weighed 7.5 lbs. 

Saturday - Our day started with a return trip to Sarasota National Cemetery to pick up the wreathes we put out before Christmas. Again, many hands made light work, and we were done quickly. We had plans to meet our friends who are camping, but it was still too early, so we went into the park and explored. After checking out the lake, we hiked the Canopy Trail and the Nature Trail, which were very nice. On the latter, there was an observation tower where we could see in all directions above the canopy. Next we met our friends Tom and Jane and went down to the river to fish. We all caught fish, but not the big tilapia we were hoping for. We then went back to their campsite for hotdogs, beans, and chips, along with a nice visit. 

Sunday - It was a really nice service at Venice-Nokomis UMC. After, we went over to the jetty and had BLTs at the little cafe there. It was beautiful and calm there, and warmed up nicely. We didn't fish and didn't see any action by the dozen fishermen there. We watched NFL playoffs in the evening.

Monday - We drove back over to the jetty and fished for awhile, but despite the good tidal flow, we never got a bite. We moved to the other side of the park by the kayak launch but had the same result. Finally, we tried several places along the Intercoastal, but nothing. We decided to stop at Ace Hardware and Publix on the way back and just as we got back, the skies opened, so we watched a movie, then later, the Oregon - Ohio State game. 

Tuesday - We put the kayaks in here by the office and paddled out and fished on the way. We were not seeing action until we got into a bay on the other side of the Intercostal. We fished it for quite awhile, but only got some hits, no hookups. We may try this area again on Thursday. We put the kayaks up, showered, and headed to Franky's for pizza. We then took our full tummys to the jetty to enjoy the subset. We were too tired to fish ourselves, but saw one young man who had caught a black drum, sheepshead, and a flounder. 

Wednesday - Today we went to the Tampa RV Supershow. We went into at least 1M units, but saw nothing that spoke to us that we needed to upgrade. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in Bradenton on the way home. 

Thursday - We put the yaks in at the picnic area and fished South Creek here in the park. We caught several snook, two of which were decent sized. Our friends Christina and Michael surprised us by dropping by. We drove over to the jetty and fished, but no bites. They consented to stay for a few nites and have pitched their tent on our site. We are looking forward to having some time with them. 

Friday - Christina had some computer work to do, so the three of us went to the jetty early in the morning and fished from shore. Michael netted some bate and he used them, but had the same result as we did fly fishing and canepole fishing, zip. After a big breakfast, we got on bikes and peddled the Legacy Trail down to the Venice train depot. This was about a 14 mile round-trip but is not too difficult since it is flat.

Saturday - After another big breakfast, we said goodbye to our friends. It was wonderful having them here for awhile. We relaxed today by John tying some flies and Joan knitting. We could hear the bluegrass concert that was going on by the Nature Center from our site, which was great. 

Sunday - We attended another nice worship service, then after a Walmart run, went to the jetty and had BLTs for lunch. Too crowded there though, so we will probably limit trips there to weekdays. We watched championship games in the late PM and evening. 

Monday - We decided to put in here at the park and check out a bay on the other side of the ICW that looked promising last week. We saw a lot of bait and action. Sadly, today the area was quiet, so we returned to the creek and fished there. John caught a small snook and a small jack crevalle. The slight cold front we had yesterday must have been enough to shut the fish down. 
Tuesday - Our day started early (6:00 AM) with laundry, followed by coffee at the Nature Center. Since the weather was unpredictable, we decided to go to Casperson Beach Park and fish from shore instead of kayaking. We tried several places and John caught a nice jack crevalle on the ICW, while Joan lost a flounder on the beach. On the way back to camp, we stopped at Joseph's and had the best Gyros we have had in ages.  

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