Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary - Tampa, Florida

Today we went to Tampa to the Big Cat Rescue Sanctuary with our friends, Morrie & Dixie, and her daughter, Michelle, who is visiting from Michigan. We had lots of laughs and really enjoyed the Big Cats. After we toured the sanctuary, we went to Smokey Bones in Tampa for dinner. More laughs and great food! It was a fantastic day...thanks Mo & Dix for inviting us!



Black Asian Leopard


Snow Leopard


Lion - you should have heard this guy ROAR!

Tiger

Bengal Tigers

Look at the size of those jaws!

Peacock

Brooksville, Florida Sunset

We arrived in Brooksville, FL on December 22nd. The weather was pretty good and on Christmas day it was beautiful. We had Christmas dinner at our friends', Morrie & Dixie's, and they had 2 other couples there as well. We had a lot of laughs and a delicious dinner. It was so nice to have someone to spend that holiday with! Unfortunately, since Christmas it's been COLD!!! Today was sunny and somewhat warm, so we decided to go to the Gulf and take some sunset pictures. We went to Bayport and then to Pine Island. Just as the sun was setting, the clouds started covering it, so it wasn't the best sunset to see, but it was pretty.



Palms & birds on Pine Island


Pine Island Sunset


Sunset

Birds flying by

Alrighty, then...we WILL not

go in this area...yessirree, we

avoided this area completely!

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

Today we spent the afternoon and early evening at the Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park in White Springs, Florida. They were having a Festival of Lights at the park and we also wanted to see the museum and other points of interest. We were amazed at what a wonderful park this was and to think that it is a state park! The museum was very interesting and beautiful. They have 10 dioramas depicting his most popular songs and they were amazing. They also have a carillon tower that houses the world's largest tubular carillon. The bells were playing Christmas carols for 15 minutes every hour. We drove through the campground and were very impressed with it. The only drawback would be that they do not have sewer hookups. The bath/shower houses looked very nice and the sites were huge and some were very secluded. It would definitely be an option if we are ever back in this area. We only paid $5.00 to enter the park and we really felt this was quite a bargain! The Festival of Lights was nice. Not as impressive as others we've seen, but very nice.

We arrived at our campground in Live Oak, Florida yesterday afternoon. It's called "The Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park" and it's one of our ROD membership parks. It's really quite different than any park we've ever stayed at. They have live music every night and they have shops and activities going on all the time. It is very wooded and we spent 2 hours today getting our satellite dish in. Yes, you did read that correctly! That's after trying for about an hour yesterday. :-) Bob was not satisfied with the free cable TV that the park offers. He has to have his satellite and his TiVO! It felt good to finally get to Florida...it only took us 9 1/2 weeks from the time we left Michigan, but hey...why rush! ;-) We are only here for 4 days and then we will be in Brooksville, FL for 4 months. Our dear friends, Morrie & Dixie, live in the park we will be at in Brooksville. They have invited us to spend Christmas with them and some other friends of theirs, which we truly appreciate!


The Museum


Campsites


The Carillon Tower

Some of the Christmas Lights

The Carillon Tower Lit Up

A blue tree

Savannah NWR & Hilton Head Island, SC

Today we went to the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge and then to Hilton Head Island, SC. The Refuge had several birds and turtles, but we didn't see any alligators. I'm glad we didn't find any when I was out of the truck taking pictures! I'm afraid I would have made a terrible mess if one came near me! :-)

This bird must have been

nesting...it never moved, except

it's head, while I was there.

One on the shore and one in flight

I think this is an osprey, nesting

Lots of turtles sunning themselves

Folly Beach on Hilton Head.

See any dolphins??? Me either!

Miscellaneous

Here are a few interesting pics I've taken this week:

A hooptie on Hilton Head Island

(of all places) with nice spinners and all.

Loved this sign at the

Santee General Store:

"Keep Your Pants Up

Around Your Waist or

Don't Come In!" All

stores should post this!

Saw this motor home at the Camping World store

near Savannah, GA. We've seen a few buses, motor

homes, vans, etc. with like messages during our

travels. I just don't understand what possesses

these religious zealots to do this. ?????

Savannahhhhhh, Georgia

We arrived in Savannah yesterday and drove into the city to check things out in the afternoon. Today we were up bright & early so we could get our reservation in at Paula Deen's "The Lady & Sons Restaurant". You have to be there in person at 9:30 a.m. to get your reservation in. We did find out that it's not as necessary to do this at this time of year as it is in the summer. We made our reservation and then went to the Camping World store to pick up some supplies. We also drove around downtown for a while. Savannah is a great city. It is a lot like Charleston, SC...very historic with big, beautiful old homes and buildings. Savannah does have several "town squares" that you have to maneuver around to get to where you want to go. They make the city that much more unique, though. Lunch at Paula's was incredible!!! (That is one more thing I can check off on my "Bucket List"!) I have never had chicken that tasted so gooooood! M-m-m-m-m-m! We also went next door to the Paula Deen Store and purchased a few things. Bob had a cup of Captain Michael's Holiday Blend Coffee and thought it was really good. After lunch we went to Tybee Island to see the lighthouse and the dolphins. Of course, NO DOLPHINS! The lighthouse was great. I collected a few shells on the beach and then we went to Fort Pulaski National Monument on Cockspur Island. That was extremely interesting and impressive. While there, we must have seen 25 - 30 deer. We both commented that we saw more wildlife there than we saw on Monday at the Santee (SC) National Wildlife Refuge. We saw 2 wild turkeys there and that was the extent of it. They supposedly have nesting eagles, alligators, several types of birds, deer, etc. We saw TWO TURKEYS! :-(

We're not sure what we're going to do tomorrow. We may go to a wildlife preserve near here. We leave here on Friday and go to Florida (finally!)



The Lady & Sons Restaurant


Savannah City Hall


The Atlantic Ocean at Tybee Island


The Tybee Island Lighthouse and
Lightkeepers Residence



Muzzle Loader demonstration
at Fort Pulaski National Monument


Bob with a cannon at Ft. Pulaski

A deer poses for me on Cockspur Island

Santee and Eutawville, SC Area

Yesterday we went for a ride in this area. We're staying at Big Water Santee Campground on Lake Marion in Summerton, SC. Across the lake is Santee, SC. We found some history and some nature on our drive. The nearby National Wildlife Refuge reopened today after being closed to install new interior roads. We are planning to visit there on Monday. We leave here next Tuesday and will be going to Savannah, GA for a few days. While there we will be having dinner at Paula Deen's "A Lady & Her Sons" Restaurant. After that we will be heading into Florida for the remainder of the winter.

Our campsite at Big Water Santee CG

Lake Marion

A Pair of Great Egrets

3 Sunbathing Turtles

Taking Flight

The Eutaw Springs Battle Ground

from the Revolutionary War

Found this gem at a campground

way back in the woods. We kept

humming the song from "Deliverance"

on the way back there. Obviously,

they've lost the blue tarp from their

patio area, but I loved the box fan

hanging from the center and the

patio lights. :-) You may be a

redneck if...