Time to Depart Orlando and Find Some Nature

On March 16, we finally left the Florida Camp Inn (FCI). FCI turned out to be exactly what we needed. We were only 20 miles from Universal. We were even closer to Disney. It is an older place, but it worked out well for us. There is a really good swimming pool. The place is mostly seniors, but it is not a senior only park. Even though it is right along a busy Hwy 27, it is fairly quiet because of the sound wall that has been erected in front of the park.

Hwy 27 has been under construction, which caused some congestion issues, but once that is all done, access to FCI will be easy. I enjoyed riding my bicycle while we were there. The type of riding I was doing was very different from what I normally do on trails. This was urban mountain biking. Mostly on pavement, but if I see a place to jump off a speed bump or a curb, I still have to go for it.

Kim has been talking about returning to Orlando at some point in the future. I would certainly consider staying at FCI again. This is not the kind of place that we normally stay. We like state parks, COE, NFS and other more nature oriented campsites. We also like good spacing with a good view of nature. FCI certainly does not have that. I was dreading spending a month in that environment, but it turned out fine and although I was ready to leave, it was not any more urgent than normal.

We have decided to head back to Missouri by way of Arkansas. We were thinking about going to the Carolinas, but we have been concerned that we did not have enough time to see all that we wanted to see and we were ready to get back to see our other grandkids. We also really love the spring at the ranch in Missouri.

So, I looked for a good place to get back to nature that was a little over a hundred miles north of Orlando. I found a good option in Oleno State Park near High Springs, Florida. Many of the SP's in Florida are full and it is hard to find a spot. I found two nights were available at Oleno and made a reservation. We seem to be doing that a lot on this trip. When we arrived, I asked if they could allow us to stay longer. They had room for us in a large site for 4 days. We have now extended it to 5 days and tomorrow, I will try to add a 6th. That is just like us when we are living the way we like.

It is a nice park with good spacing on all of the sites.

The Santa Fe River flows through the park and then goes underground and comes up in another part of a neighboring SP. They have hiking trails and plenty to see and do in the park. I spent Wednesday afternoon and Thursday checking the place out. It is a really cool place and it felt so good to get back in nature.

I spent a bunch of time walking on trails like this one.

Here is my first view of the swimming area at the river.  

When I wasn't hiking, I spent time getting everything together to get my taxes done. Shannon and Brian had brought our mail, which had some tax documents we needed. Thanks again Shannon. Kim spent some time taking care of helping Mark sell his car. His old car was still in our name, so we had to sign the title. They shipped it to a UPS store near us and she went there and then sent it back out. I was successful getting our taxes done. That is the first time I have done that from the road. I am glad to know I can do my taxes without going back to Missouri. I do use a CPA in Missouri.

It rained off and on most of Thursday and Friday. We got up on Saturday to more rain. I went for a hike. It was a bit wet, but not too bad. By the time I was done, the skies were clearing. We decided to get the boat on the water for a short paddle. Here are a few shots of our trip.

Beautiful Santa Fe River

Lots of very large water turtles

We had to take a selfie. It was a really fun paddle. 

There were lily pads in many areas of the river. We had fun cruising through. We did hear some large splashes, it could have been gators or maybe turtles.

Our moves will now be determined by a combination of the weather, how much we like where we are and when our tanks get full. Just like we prefer. Come back to see where we end up next.