12 Oakdale

We had cabin reservations for 2 nights at Jonathan Dickenson State Park. I decided to throw caution to the wind and just take coffee. We would eat out, not cook. I had GPT-Chat find restaurants and things to do. I have used free AI for trip planning, so I knew to check that sites were actually open and reservations were needed. We started with the Rembrandt and Friends show at the Norton Art Gallery, catching it on the last day of the run, with timed tickets from 11:00-1:00. Which I thought was entry time, but was actually our allowed viewing slot. We got there about 1:00, and I was surprised when the guard gave us a 10-minute times-up warning. Truth be told, we’d about exhausted ourselves peering at the 75+ paintings, including Young Woman Seated at a Virginal , the only Vermeer in a private collection. Time to check into our cabin, then an early dinner. (My Chat pal had recommended lunch at a nearby shop which was closed on Sundays. We ate homemade sandwiches before going to the muse...

Since we have forsworn tent camping, I am pursuing staying at cabins in all the Florida state parks that offer them and visiting all the parks I’ve never seen, especially the new ones. First up: 2 nights at Lafayette Blue Springs State Park (became a state park June 1, 2005) near Mayo. (I did have to cancel our original first night so we could stay home and see UM’s heartbreaking loss to University of Indiana of the national football championship, 21-27, on an interception in the final seconds. Just like my Ga Tech did in the PopTart Bowl. Ah, well.) We were the only people in the campground for the 2 nights we were there. Nobody else in the other 4 cabins, no one in the 10 walk-in tent sites, not even the campground host around. Eerie, but nice. The second morning, back from our walk, we did see a park employee working on cabin stairs and said hi. There was also a car parked which I think belonged to the kayakers we saw off in the distance on the Swanee. We drove to the north entrance...

One of the super powers I claim is my ability to sleep anywhere. Nice beds, wooden floors, camp cots, all are fine. While I prefer to snuggle down in sheets fresh off the clothesline, that isn’t necessary. I even made true believers of my companions on our Belize birding trip when I fell asleep in the van’s jump seat as we rattled home on rough limestone roads after a night expedition to find owls.  But my super power had been sorely tested this last year with all my aches and pains. For months I couldn’t pull up the sheets because my shoulders ached so bad when I tried to extend my arms. I was a human T. rex, with my elbows tucked in to my side, and only my forearms available to use. And forget turning over. Between my hips and my shoulders, that’s was misery. I was not happy.  But those nights are gone. I’m back! I was sharing a tent with Deb at the Full Moon Daughters’ winter camp out at Lake Griffin State Park. Spending a night sleeping on the ground and having my Thermare...

The vibrating massage ball being rubbed on my sore tendon at physical therapy seems to be helping. Or it’s a darn good placebo. Either way, I’m happy and have signed up for 6 more sessions over the next 3 weeks. I am also being sure to sit on a big, soft pillow every time I sit down, working in the yard, dragging it to restaurants, etc. I am actually starting to feel better. On Sunday, we drove to Weeki Wachee Springs to see Clara perform at Mermaid Camp, a 2-day affair at the state park. Her show was after the regular mermaid revue, this time the story of the Little Mermaid. Why, in this day and age, we have to still be celebrating a 15 year old wanting to change her body for guy is beyond me. I had hoped there would be a modern twist, but no. Well, Weeki Wachee was created in 1947, so I guess there is still a retro vibe, but still, really? In any case, the girls had fun and lots of exercise. Swimming as a mermaid is definitely a core workout. Because the attraction is now a state par...