Wednesday we woke to another gorgeous day at Ft Desoto. The evening before we had been entertained by several racoons who tentatively encroached our campsite staying just outside the lighted area. We had been warned by the ranger a check-in that the park was home to some very smart racoons, and they advised keeping everything picked up and put away. So we were a little cautious about having them running through our campsite since we always worry about rabies and racoons up north. I kept the spotlight MaryAnne gave me for Christmas handy, and it proved to be very effective in keeping them away. But we got through the evening meal without incident and settled down to an evening of watching the Olympics on TV. Incidentally, we've discovered that there seems to be plenty of tv stations broadcasting their signals for free. Seems rather silly to be paying for cable or satellite. At this park I'm able to pick up 52 stations from my roof top antennae. There's not really much worth watching anyway. We've been on the road just about a month now, and I don't believe I've watched the evening news yet. It's amazing what you discover in life that you don't really need.
Ft Desoto was really the first park we've found where we can set up camp the way we like. Get the stove out / park the chairs / and watch the world go by. We like to get the coffee started in the morning on the stove and just let the day unfold. We found that we were soon joined by herons, egrets and white Ibis, all working the shoreline for breakfast. Occasionally a squirrel would come looking for something to steal, and Debbie would send them scampering.
Wednesday afternoon we were invited over to Cousin Mary's camper over near Wauchula. Cousin Evelyn and her husband Tom came down from Orlando which was really special. It had been several years since we had visited. We had a great visit with several of the Sutliff clan from the towns of Hadley and Day up in N.Y. Mary and Evelyn put on a great luncheon with some French hamburger rolls from Walmart which were absolutely delicious. We were amazed to learn that cousin Billy will be celebrating his 80th birthday in April, and since the VanDenburg's are involved, it will be a grand celebration. We stayed way later that we probably should have and left nearly at dark with a warning from everyone to watch out for the wild pigs in the road. Seems like they have a wild pig problem in that part of Florida. So as I was leaving I told Mary's husband John that if I ended up with a contribution for their upcoming pig roast on the bumper of my jeep, I would give him a call.
Now, my ramblings would not be complete if I didn't take credit for stopping at the outlet mall in Branden before going over to Mary's. That event needs to be documented cause I may be a few good deeds short on judgement day. I've also included a photo of the Skyline Bridge we had to cross to get to Branden. Debbie does not like crossing that bridge, but she knew the outlets were on the other side, so I think she just closed her eyes as we were crossing over. It was much more exciting in Weezy the day before. Debbie was good about watching the clock and making a quick sweep through one of the stores. I guess a little retail therapy does a body good!
Thursday was a nice relaxing day at camp, making preparations for our next excursion north to Gainesville.
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