Our two fixed destinations in Florida were the Everglades and the Keys. They are both well to the South of the state so we had a fair bit of driving to do.
There is a tourist information centre on the interstate highway. Very obvious signs and a separate desk announced that there was much to learn about Florida's toll roads. We generally avoid toll roads, since we are never in a tearing hurry, and tolls for motor homes are sometimes equivalent to those for trucks rather than the modest tariff for cars. Most of Florida's toll roads have a cash payment option, but some are totally electronic, and if you get on one of those by mistake and don't have the technology you can be subject to a hefty fine.
A Boat-tailed Grackle. There were lots of these at the visitor centre and at many other locations in the state.
Our travel preparations had not alerted us to just how flat Florida is. The highest point (Britton Hill in the panhandle) is only 345 feet (105 meters) above sea level. The highest point in the peninsula is Sugarloaf “Mountain” at 312 feet (95 meters). Our house is at 153 meters, and that's only half way up a hill!
The lack of elevation does not deter wildlife. We saw quite a lot along the way.
We pulled into a park (the camera's GPS reckons it was the Ocala National Forest) for lunch. There seemed to be nobody else around so we had a very peaceful meal then went for a walk. We came upon a turtle laying eggs. She ignored us completely and carried on. After each egg was deposited in the hole she tamped it down with a hind leg.
Freshly laid.
Probably another Yellow-bellied Slider.
An unwelcome feature of Florida was the refusal of most Walmarts in the state to allow overnight parking. Apparently there are a lot of impecunious travellers who head to Florida because it's warm in winter. Some of them have garnered a bad reputation for panhandling (begging) and all of us suffer in consequence. Luckily all the Cracker Barrels we approached did allow us to stay. A Cracker Barrel is a “country store” with a modestly priced dining room and a shop that sells a range of goods.
A coloured fountain visible from the Cracker Barrel RV parking area in Kissimmee.
Our name gets everywhere. This is in Kissimmee.
From the map the road around the Eastern side of Lake Okeechobee looked as if it would provide good views of the water. But what we could see instead was mile after mile of levee. We pulled off the road at a point where a canal reaches the lake. We couldn't see the lake itself behind the levee and the lock, but there were a lot of birds on and around the canal.
These are White Ibis. The dark one is an immature bird. There were also Black Vultures, a Great Blue Heron and several Gulls.
At the Southern end of the lake we lunched at John Stretch Memorial Park. Not only does this park have lots of picnic areas with tables and barbecues, but a free dump station for RVs.
An unknown fruit growing on a large tree. Please leave a comment if you can identify it.
The park was not right on the lake, but beside this canal. Notice the billiard-table flatness of the land.
The nice lake in John Stretch Memorial Park. During the summer Florida gets very humid so you can imagine how refreshing it would be to have a dip in the lake.
And you can play 'tag' with the resident alligator. ;-)
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