Christmas Animals

(you can click on pictures to enlarge if you want)

Christmas in Sanlan was not bad at all. We enjoyed the Moscow Ballet Nutcracker at the Lakeland Centre on the 21st. It didn’t even take much convincing to get John to go! (Bucket list?) We thoroughly enjoyed it and it seemed so Christmassy! The Lakeland Centre (partly shown in this picture) is a big venue for entertainers and productions of all kinds. We are fortunate to be able to take advantage of it while here. Shows that are seen in Toronto at home tour here but it is much easier to get to!

On Christmas day we got together with 4 other couples, also braving a Southern Christmas, and played Shuffle on the big courts and Horseshoes of all things! It was fun and very relaxing.

Dinner was a joint effort; I did the turkey. It turned out well. Necessity is the Mother of Invention: I had no gravy boat. While looking for somewhere to put the gravy to keep warm and also to use to transport it over to Ken and Kathy’s where we were eating, I had a eureka moment. I put it in my stove top stainless steel tea kettle. Voila! I was able to keep the gravy warm and then it worked perfectly to pass and pour.

I missed family and northern friends but I have to admit it is quite peaceful and relaxing having this type of Christmas. It is low key and Christmas Chaos is nearly non-existent. Everything is downsized. The key is to stay out of the stores at peak hours too! It has been wonderful enjoying the great outdoors in summer weather at Christmas! It is beautiful here and the wild life is amazing. The wild life I am talking about is not of the human kind although we are enjoying a great social life.

Imagine walking nature trails through jungle-like terrain (live oaks, palmettos) around Banana Lake and 100 yards down the path you see a bobcat! People at Sanlan RV Park have told us about them but we really didn’t believe it until we saw one the other day ourselves. It seemed frozen on the path when it saw us. We froze too. John looked through the binoculars as I fumbled to get the camera on it. The cat hunched up and stared and then sprung off into the dense foliage. Too late for a picture. It was a beige or tawny colour with blackish fur around its ears and face. I was a little nervous at first but soon realized it was more afraid of us. This picture shows the area of the trail where we saw it.

The other day we were biking the Fort Fraser Trail to Bartow and a couple of miles down smelled something horrible. We looked over at a field and in the distance saw a large dark lump on the ground. I immediately thought dead cow. John got out the binoculars and sure enough that is what it was! Ick! We continued to the end of the trail and by the time we passed it on the way back it was covered with buzzards. I hope it has been cleaned up by now! Surprisingly Florida has a lot of cattle and they graze in the strangest places.

Until now I have only seen opossums as road kill. At dusk the other day we were sitting in the screen tent beside our RV with friends. A possum was only a few feet from us. It was really ugly! The fur was splotchy and the white face and tail looked hideous. To make matters worse it was staggering and even falling down. It must be sick or rabid! I haven’t seen it since but have been on the lookout. Our neighbours are keeping a close eye on their dog. (since then we have heard that possums have poor balance so maybe that was normal behaviour)

Sanlan is unique in that it has large natural areas as well as a golf course, RV park, ponds and trails but it is on the edge of Lakeland and easy access to shopping, theatres etc. With all the birds and wild life around here you would think we were in a jungle; but not at all. It is the best of both worlds. Now that Christmas is over the park is getting busy and filling up. We are looking forward to the New Year’s Dance. A large group of us have tickets together. They only cost $5 and you bring your own preferred drink. Can’t go wrong!

Not for wimps

December 7th to 16th

(You can click on pictures to enlarge them)

The pre-amble to Christmas in the South is very similar to what it is in the North! Fir trees, poinsettias, twinkling lights, Santas, snowmen decorations and nativity scenes abound. When I am in a store it looks and feels like I am at home in Ontario. But, when I walk outside and am hit with the heat and sunshine I feel a bit disoriented! You can see my attempts to make it "Christmasy". I think it's working!

We did some geo-caching this week with Ron and Mary from Southampton. They have wanted to try it for some time and when they found out we’ve done it we made plans together. We went over to Circle B Ranch (Polk County Nature Preserve that used to be a cattle ranch but is being restored to Wetlands) and found a dozen caches. They were mostly along the paths. You wouldn’t want to wander far off the path in there considering all the critters that are around! Many were on the path called Gator Alley.

We did have to go off the path to find one in a forested area and a huge spider landed on Ron. John knocked it off him with his binoculars but that was enough to send me back to path. Once I got there I noticed big spider on my arm…all fuzzy and as big as a twooney! I swatted it off and had a hissy fit…screaming and jumping around. I even got goose bumps. I felt like Little Miss Muffet! Most embarrassing and of course now everyone knows the spider story. Ron was really good at spotting the huge webs which were up in the trees. I zoomed in and got a picture of this one. I was glad we were not close to it but of course that was before one landed on me!

John and I were on the nature trails around Sanlan and went to look in this “Gator Hole.” Wow! There was a huge mother alligator with 7 babies! My heart pounded as I got as close as I could and zoomed in for a picture. These babies were likely born in the summer and they will stay with the mother for 5 months. I still can’t get over the sight of it.

At dusk we are chased inside by swarms of mosquitoes. They don’t last long but unless you are in a screened tent it is difficult to stay outside.

Retirement is not for wimps!

Sunday, November 23rd to Saturday December 10th.


Sanlan continues to be good to us despite unseasonably cool weather at times. Mind you today was in the 80's. Of course it is all relative! It’s much warmer than the snowy north. We have been enjoying the golf courses, bike trails and friends from last year who have been arriving daily for their winter in the warmth. We have been seeing armadillos on the trail and today John almost stepped on a little snake. He did quite a dance to avoid it!

It has been wonderful meeting up with people from home as well. Grant and Gisele were in the area for 10 days and it has been great connecting with them. We showed them around Sanlan, golfed, biked and visited. They had a condo about 15 minutes from here with friends from home but spent 3 nights with us on either side of that.

Joanne and Hedge were in Lakeland when we first got here so we got together with them and had a great day. Joanne and I biked and John and Hedge played 9 at Bramble Ridge right here at Sanlan. We had a nice dinner and you can see the great sunsets we enjoy. Not quite as good as Kincardine but it will do! What kind of tree is this? I don't know but is looks amazing this time of year. Thanks for the picture Joanne!

It is hard to believe we are into December. We got tickets for the Symphony this week and for the Moscow Ballet Nutcracker on the 21st at the Lakeland Centre. We saw the Orchestra last night and it was wonderful. They played Christmas music and the Florida Dance troupe entertained us along with a couple of opera singers. I think that is my Christmas present to John since he has never seen ballet or an orchestra and I haven’t since high school. There is a lot to do and see in Lakeland so we are not sorry we have come back for a second year. It will be hard to beat.

Plans are being made for Christmas dinner with a few couples who are not going home for Christmas. I have offered to do the turkey. I used the oven to make a meatloaf the other day so it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. I used the gas oven in the Sundance occasionally and this one is pretty much the same.

We have put up the Christmas lights on the dining tent and I have a couple of other decorations out. It still seems strange to see all the decorations among palm trees and in the hot weather.

Thanks to Grant and Gisele we went to Circle B. Ranch Nature Preserve about 5 minutes from here. They toured it when they were here. It used to be a cattle ranch but has been taken over by Polk County and Florida something or other. The land was a wetland before it was drained for cattle cattle grazing and now it is being restored to wetland again. There are thousands of gators and the bird population is amazing. We really enjoyed walking through there this morning. It gives you the feeling of being in the wilds of Florida for sure. The birds love this area maybe because there are so many lakes for them to feed from. Highlights were a bald eagle and a roseated spoonbill, but there were tons of others. I also saw an otter and a rabbit with reddish fur not to mention gators! Look closely to see this swamp monster!

You can click on a picture to enlarge it.

Sanlan Home

I can’t believe how happy I am to be here at Sanlan in Lakeland Florida. Quite a change from the meltdown I had when we arrived last year and I wasn't sure if I could make this my home for a few months. This time I couldn't wait to get set up and tour around to see what was new and who was here! It didn't take long to make the place liveable. We have spent the last few days shopping it seems. Trips to our favourite stores have been keeping us entertained and setting us up in this home for the next 4 months. I saw this clock last year and regretted not buying it so snapped it up when I saw another one. So helpful in this busy life! We have biked to Bartow, walked the trails, picked tangerines (that is where John is heading in this picture but you have to look closely to see them on the tree ahead of him),golfed and met with friends so I guess shopping is not all we have done.


Yes, the plam tree is up and lit every night and we actually have a real one right next to us too!


I will have to try to get a closer picture of this fat alligator; this picture doesn't do him justice. To tell you the truth he is so big that I was intimidated to get much closer. Last year a gator often lay in the same spot (a small lake near the Park entrance) in the heat of the sun but if this is the same one he must have eaten a lot over the summer! No pets or people I hope!

Georgia Veterans State Park Nov. 8 -13/08

This is a great park to be visiting at this time since Veterans are being honoured and remembered here. On Saturday an interesting group set up World War 2 historical displays. They are called Kelly’s Zeroes. Historical re-enactment is what they do and it gave me quite a feeling to walk among them. Young men and women were dressed in period uniforms; firing old weapons, driving old jeeps and behaving as if at war. This gave me the feeling of a time warp. A Blackhawk helicopter had landed as well and I couldn’t believe the wind and noise it created when it took off. Hold onto your hats and plug your ears!

Sunday was another beautiful sunny day and we set out walking and biking exploring and getting reacquainted with this wonderful park. At this time of year the lake is partially drained and the cypress tree roots are more exposed. Also, their leaves/needles are a deep rusty orange colour, something we have never seen before. We saw a red-tail hawk catch a frog and later a small buck ran along the driving range. We left the park on a rainy and foggy morning and a doe and 2 fawns were crossing the tracks.

Actually we have not had any rain or even cloudy weather since we left home! We golfed here and took a power cart for $25 each. It was great and I was able to swing fairly well considering 3 weeks ago I could barely walk.

It is very peaceful and beautiful here, overlooking Lake Blackshear. The golf course is wonderful. Walking and biking are not too strenuous but extremely enjoyable in this setting. It has been cooler than usual for this time of year but our site gets the afternoon sun and heats up really nicely. Life is good.

Sam Shortline Excursion Train Nov.7/08

We first saw this train at Georgia Veterans State Park last year and ever since have thought it might be fun to take a trip. The train left Cordele at 9:30 and we didn’t return home until 5. It was a long day but entertaining. There is nothing fancy about the train; it is mainly run by volunteers except for the engineer and mechanic. It makes about 90 runs a year. Americus is a town with 2 restored buildings; the Windsor Hotel and the Rylander Theatre. There are restaurants and shopping. We had lunch at Forsythe’s a typical small town bar/restaurant.

Then we went to the Habitat for Humanity Visitor Centre. That is the other (only?) claim to fame of Americus. There is a Global Village there with sample homes built by Habitat in countries all over the world. A replica of a tin shack community typical of poverty stricken Africa has been built there as well. It was quite an eye opener.

Plains Georgia was our next stop. I think it is about the size of a blink and that may be generous. Of course this is Jimmy Carter’s home town and he still lives there. There are a few shops catering mainly to antique hunters and you can buy all kinds of Jimmy Carter souvenirs and books. I didn’t realize he had written so many books. Oh, don’t forget the peanuts! I had some delicious peanut flavoured ice cream! We were only there for an hour but any longer might have been monotonous.

Would you want to live on the other side of the tracks? This cliché took on more meaning for me yesterday. As we chugged along through small town America I was struck by the, homes, trailers, shacks, industries, and small businesses that were in ramshackle condition. You do see some of this while traveling back roads by car but not to this extent.

The train had at least 8 cars and it was about half full. Churches, schools and other groups arrange to take this excursion along with a handful of brave tourists like ourselves. We were sitting near the most fun group of all; I think from a group home. They loved the train: clapping when lights came on and off, imitating the choo-choo sounds and grooving to the train style Chatanooga Choo-Choo music that came over the P.A.

All in all it was day of getting real!

More Georgia!

Georgia on my mind again!

John and I can’t seem to stay out of Georgia! This is the Southwest part of the State and we are seeing places we haven’t seen before. Driving south from Atlanta we headed to Pine Mountain, a village, and also the name of the RV Park here. It looked interesting in the brochures and we are not disappointed.

We did a scenic drive on a ridge road through nearby FDR State Park. The valley views of acres of forest in full fall colour were spectacular. Three years after contracting polio in 1924, FDR discovered Warm Springs (real springs and now a town) where he bathed with hopes to be cured. He fell in love with the area and built a home here. He came often to the area in future years to enjoy the beauty of nature and the peaceful rural life. Many important decisions were made by him in this inspiring setting.

Nearby Callaway Gardens is described as a 13,000 acre “natural four season playground.” The land used to be farmed, mainly cotton of course, but the Callaway family bought it and rejuvenated the land, transforming it into forests and gardens. To me it was the highlight of this side trip. We set out this morning with bikes and a picnic. Gardens are a major feature of this area with acres of azaleas, magnolias, a horticultural centre, vegetable gardens and much more. At this time of year we couldn’t appreciate it all but there is still plenty to see even in November. Native trees and fall flowers are in full colour and the horticultural centre also houses plants, flowers and trees from all over the world. Amazing!

The butterfly conservatory is beautiful. Most species are imported. I loved walking around the jungle-like environment with colourful butterflies silently flying inches from my face. Parrots are housed there as well as hummingbirds.

Birds of prey also flew around us! There was a show at the amphitheatre where trained raptors swooped around us flying freely. The trainers commanded them but they seemed so free. Today we saw a red-tailed hawk, a barn owl and a great horned owl performing. Incredible.

We visited this chapel in the woods. Real people do get married here. It is stunning.

Within Callaway Gardens there are 2 golf courses, miles of hiking and biking trails, and several lakes including a swimming beach with water sports, lodges, inns, shops, restaurants, condos, homes and who knows what else! This is such a huge natural retreat and so beautifully laid out that you do not feel crowded. We didn’t anyway, but we heard that the Christmas Fantasy of Lights is a huge attraction. I would love to come here to see that but I think the spring or early summer would be best to see those seasonal flowers in bloom.
Check it out! CallowayGardens.com

Parry Sound September 2008

Parry Sound with C.C. (Cedar Creek) September 11 to 15/08

Parry Sound is an area we keep going back to visit for various reasons. We stayed at
Killbear Provincial Park several times years ago and loved it but went back last fall with our then new kayaks. The Park has beautiful beaches and trails but is hard to get into in the summer because it is so popular. It is worth the effort however. The 30,000 Thousand Island Queen Ferry is a tour worth taking. It goes daily in season from Parry Sound Harbour. We did that last year and I can’t describe how picturesque this unique environment is.

This trip we did not stay at Killbear because we knew we were going to be too busy to enjoy the park itself and I have to admit we wanted the full hook ups that the nearby KOA could provide. We stayed there last year as well so knew exactly what to expect. The area is typical “Near North” but is much more beautiful than that statement implies! Rocky outcrops are surrounded by forests and lakes, just what you would expect in the Muskokas, although there seems to be some debate about whether Parry Sound is in Muskoka or not. Thursday we arrived at the KOA around 1 p.m. and went for a good paddle in a nearby lake. It is a great way to explore the shoreline and admire the stunning cottages that are not visible from the roads. I always suffer a bit of envy when I see these gorgeous lakefront properties!

Parry Sound Golf Course is one of our favourites and we played it on Friday. Rain was in the forecast so we took a power cart but it turned out we could have walked. The rain held off until later. We met up with a couple of members on the back 9 and enjoyed their company as well as their tips on how to play the holes. The course winds among hills, rocks and forest making it very scenic. Challenging too! I did get one good “member bounce” when my ball hit the rocks and zinged forward into the middle of the fairway! Later, John and Linda arrived in time for happy hour and we prepared for our upcoming Saturday adventure.

It was rather horrid setting the alarm for 6:30 on a Saturday morning but we had to be at White Squall by 8:15 and it is a half hour drive from the KOA. White Squall is an outfitter/tour company that specializes in canoes and kayaks as well as outdoor gear. They have a small store on the main Street of Parry Sound and a second store on Cole Lake outside of town. It was here that we were signed up for a day of lessons. Thank goodness the rain held off and we actually spent a full day on or in the water.

In the morning the four of us went out on the Lake with Peter, an expert instructor, to learn more about paddling techniques and about what kayaks can do in general. It was excellent and we all learned lots. Kayaking is like golf, or any sport for that matter: there is always more to learn despite your expertise. We are not experts by any means! When you see someone with the skill level of Peter you just feel gob stopped!

We broke for lunch and met with Tim and 2 other instructors at 1 p.m. for a course in kayak rescue. John and I are particularly interested in this having seen alligators swimming along in the waters in the south where we have been kayaking. The locals don’t seem to mind them but we are intimidated. We thought this might help.

Here’s what I want to know; why would someone purposely tip themselves out of a perfectly stable kayak? That was the hardest part, forcing yourself to tip so that you could learn how to get back in. First we did contact tows which involve going alongside someone who is not well and having them hold on while you tow them to safety. This was a piece of cake compared to what was coming up next! We had to do a partner rescue and then solo rescue. I began to realize why we had to dump ourselves at the end of the lesson we took last year as well as this morning! (okay, I cheated...these White Squall pictures are from last year, no place for cameras when you are in lessons)

When you go upside down in a kayak at my level you do not miraculously roll and come back up looking unscathed. You panic while you try to get your bearings while hanging upside down holding your breath and thrashing wildly to find the handle to pull the skirt off the cockpit so that you can fall out and swim up for air! The first couple of times are a bit shocking but I can see how practice would make this a much calmer event. It actually only takes a few seconds but feels like an eternity!

After this ordeal I do feel like I could get myself back in and even help John to get back in but my plan is to avoid this scenario altogether. I may just be a fair-weather paddler. In reality, you never know when you might tip so I am glad it was not just for the thrill of it…the reason we did it was to get a comfort level and gain skill at getting the kayak righted and back in. The air was about 72 F and the water a little less so it was a good thing they provided wet suits. We were in and out of the water for 3 hours!If there had been gators in Lake Cole they would have had plenty of time to eat my legs off, especially during my so-called “solo" rescue.

It was an 8 hour day paddling in the morning and climbing in and out of our kayaks from deep water for the afternoon. We were pretty much done in by the end of it. A few muscles were complaining on Sunday so it was a good thing the weather was co-operating for a day of hunkering down and reading. It poured buckets from Sunday morning (when John and Linda left) to Monday morning. Once the rain stopped we left and have made it home again safe and sound. This was our last trip in the C.C. until we leave for the South on November 1st. At least this time we will feel more confident kayaking down there. I think.