Now THIS is a RESORT!

We had heard about Sun 'n' Fun RV Resort from our friends Nick and Ritchie when they came to Bradenton last week...We decided to go ahead a book a week since Eldy's family was coming for a visit this week. It's a little above our budget, but that's why we stay in cheap campgrounds with our zone membership so once in awhile, we can splurge...This campground resort is 250.00 a week..depending on whether you get a standard, premium, or deluxe site. Sometimes these pricing schedules are a little confusing. We had inquired previously about a monthly rate in which they quoted a spring special four weeks for the price of three, and it came out to 785.00 a month, which INCLUDES electric and taxes...not bad for this part of Florida!

This is truly a resort....I don't know about you, but all the RV parks in Florida claim to be resorts and most of them should be fined for making that claim! So many parking lot style parks, with rigs all jammed in together, no shade and no amenities...THIS one is a wonderful exception, so here we go....Sun 'n' Fun RV Resort:
It's a HUGE park, 600 sites in four classes all with full hookup....a HUGE outdoor pool.....

There's a restaurant and bar at poolside with daily two for one happy hour specials...Last night we listened to a Cajun band at poolside called "Gumbo Boogie". They were terrific and we danced up a storm! It was really fun to have live entertainment beside the pool and to watch everyone having fun in the pool at the same time as some toe tapping Cajun music was being played. In a few days, they are having a steel drum band poolside...Sparky LOVES steel drums music!

They have a Fitness/Wellness Center with state of the art equipment and an indoor pool for adults only.....

Here's the fitness room...there are two levels to the fitness center and ANOTHER fitness center in another part of the park!

They have an exercise/dance studio in the fitness/wellness center.....offering all sorts of classes like Zumba. Unfortunately, most classes ended in March.

The park is really kid friendly, which is great for visiting grandchildren....

This is a jumping "pad" instead of a trampoline for the kiddies....

They have a computer classroom complete with computers!

A short disc golf course with mini golf.....

A butterfly garden complete with a little bistro table and umbrella....

There's a beautiful lawn bowling court.

They even have a pet bath and several dog parks!

The sites are roomy and spacious...Here's ours...You don't get to choose where you want to be or what orientation the sun is on your rig. It would be too complicated in this park to get everybody where they need to be if that were the case! We are not in a shaded part of the park but they are available elsewhere.

Some parts of the park are VERY shady....

Of course they have nice tennis courts and pickleball courts...Too bad Sparky pulled a back muscle doing a dumb thing like loading and lugging firewood into the car last week. Her back hasn't been the same since, but IS getting better.  (Another reason to throw out that wood! We've been carrying it around in the car waiting for a park to let us have a campfire, fusses E.)  We'll save it for when we get to Michigan, honey. And before anybody chides Sparky for carrying firewood across state lines, it's barkless. Ok, the courts....

And one of the nicest things about this park? They have a full service SPA with deep tissue massage, facials, microdermabrasion, and all kinds of stuff offered! Wow!

And that's the park....great wi-fi--fast and free, great cell phone signals...we're good to go, er, STAY...maybe longer than a week, who knows?  We'll have to find out what the monthly rate is...We'll keep you informed...see you at the pool, at the spa, at the fitness center, wherever! Or, at the beach with the grandkids...The beach is about 20 minutes from here, we think...More later....

Bye Bye Peace River, Hello Sarasota!

We spent three days at Peace River, and although it was FREE with our Thousand Trails park membership, it just was a little too old, a little too dated, and the sites were in very poor condition. It reminded me of staying at an old campground in Rhinelander, WI many years ago which was a nice memory, not a bad one. It's just that Wauchula is a very depressed area, and there's very little to do there...We will say that there is a very good little restaurant there called Billy's. It looks like a little ramshackle old building painted blue and it's very small inside. They have EXCELLENT home cooked food and good steaks but don't get the catfish!

The sidewalk outside the park for biking and walking led into a very poor part of town, and it's not pretty at all. Sparky still managed to get some exercise riding her bike so that was good. We were ready to leave and head to Sarasota, our next destination. But first, we needed to wait for Eldy's son, Brian and his family to arrive from Indiana and follow us to our next park destination. They had to wait several hours to get into their vacation rental in Sarasota, so they stayed with us for awhile this afternoon. They had driven almost all night from northern Indiana to Georgia, and couldn't find a motel room. There were no vacancies all the way so they ended up in Ocala having to spend the night in the rest stop which was jammed with travelers who also could not find motel accomodations. They were pooped! But the kids still had plenty of energy, as they slept better than their parents!

It's always fun to be around kids when you haven't seen any for a long time...Sparky got into teacher mode right away..."Hey, guys, let's go for a nature walk and see if we can see any alligators or snakes!" Unfortunately, Papa, a.k.a. Eldy or Eldo, happened to mention that there were several poisonous snakes in the area and if you got bit by one, you could die. This was true, but YOU DON'T SAY THAT TO A SEVEN YEAR OLD without significant repercussions. It's surprising that Trevor, the 7 year old, even consented to going on a hike after that revelation! Here we are, ready to go "hiking" with the necessary essentials--everybody's got their cell phones!

"Snake Boy"

Cate, his sister, and her friend, had no fears about going on the hike, but for the next half hour, Trevor was all over the snake issue..."Jeannie, if we see a snake, is it going to bite me?"  "Do they crawl up your leg and then bite you?"   "Cate, you're gonna die today."  "I'm gonna walk between the girls and they'll protect me."  I kept reassuring Trevor that snakes are afraid of him, that the vibrations from their feet would more than likely cause a snake to slither away, and to just keep their eyes peeled for them in case they might be sunning themselves on the path. We went looking for the alligator that I saw the other day, but no "Stumpy"--the three legged alligator that's supposed to be living along the banks of the Peace River in the park section. After awhile, Trevor says, with gaining confidence, "I don't care about the alligators, I'm just here for the snakes!"  !!!!!!!!  Atta boy, Trevor!

After our nature hike, we headed back to the rig to pack up and head for Sarasota, about an hour's drive. We have reservations at Sun 'n' Fun RV resort while the grandkids are visiting. Wait till you see this resort! We'll show you tomorrow!

Love Those Lipizzaners!

Did you ever see that Disney movie called "Miracle of the White Stallions"? It was based on the true story about those beautiful white stallions, the Lipizzaner horses, how they were rescued from the Germans during WWII with the help of General George Patton....The Lipizzaners were originally bred as war horses, then as horses of nobility, and now they are continuing to amaze and impress people from all over the world, performing in shows as a form of equestrian art.

Well, their winter training grounds are in Myakka City, FL, about 40 miles from Peace River Preserve, the campground we are staying at, so we decided to go see them. They don't charge admission, they hope that you will appreciate their efforts to give the retired stallions a home and help them keep their operations going through donations.

Now, I'm not a horse fan, never had an intense interest in them like some girls do when they are young....I was always somewhat scared of them. Had some bad experiences at camp when I was young. I went for rides where they gave me the "most gentle, docile" horse, only to have the horse do what it wanted to do when it wanted to do it, and then the camp leaders would say, "I don't know why Bessie is acting this way, she never does that!"  The horse probably figured out very quickly  that THIS rider had no clue what to do and it was PARTY TIME! But I do appreciate equestrian ability and well trained horses that do what they are supposed to do! These horses were magnificent creatures.....Except for Zack, who dissed me when I went to visit him in the barn.....He sort of reminds me of Mr. Ed, that talking horse on TV....

When you go to the Hermann farm/training center in Myakka City, you can see a show that demonstrates the training that the Hermann family do with these horses, and it looks like the family members are just about all girls!  The girls take the horses through their paces while people watch in grandstands set up around the arena....

They have the horses demonstrate the war horse moves...these horses would strike fear on the battle lines with their rearing up and kick backs with their hooves....

This horse below was the youngest stallion and boy, did he cause the others to get a little rambunctious as the family members put the horses through their paces....And that long mane, just like a teenager who doesn't want to get his haircut! :-)

It was impressive to see what these horses could do....

Not being a horsewoman, it was hard to know exactly how difficult these moves were....

At the end of the show, the family brought out the youngest members that will train to be riders of the Lipizzaners.

All in all, it was an interesting afternoon spent at the Hermann family farm and training center for the Lipizzaners....We were glad half the grandstands were under the shade of an immense old oak tree, it was a hot day! We really enjoyed seeing these beautiful horses, it was something very different from the usual touristy things we do.....See you later!

America's Taj Mahal-Bok Tower and Gardens

That's quite a claim to fame in the garden's brochure....America's Taj Mahal...But after seeing the Tower and the gardens today, we have to say, it certainly is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen in all our travels in the United States. It is located north of Lake Wales, Florida. It's a botanical garden, bird sanctuary and it has a "singing tower"--the 205 foot tower has a 60 bell carillon, one of the most famous set of bells in the world. It's so famous it's a national historical landmark. The 250 acre garden is spectacular, the visitor center gorgeous, and the tower amazing. There's even a nice cafe on the grounds. The view around the grounds is fantastic, peaceful and a sight to behold.

The Bok Tower was the brainchild of a man named Edward Bok...who came from the Netherlands to the U.S. at the age of 6. This man went on to become a Pulitzer Prize winner, and an editor of the Ladies Home Journal, steering it to one of the most influential magazines of the day. He refused to put "snake oil" ads in the LHJ. He used the highest quality paper, color and photos to make the LHJ the classiest magazine of its time. He was quite the man and left an amazing legacy. He was a leader of the Arts and Crafts movement at the turn of the century, he promoted a new architect at the time whose name was Frank Lloyd Wright by putting his house plans into the Ladies Home Journal Magazine. He was a pioneer of sex education, prenatal education and childcare, and this was back in the early 1900's! He was also an environmentalist and a key player in the saving of Niagara Falls- another story in itself.

view at the back of the tower overlooking acres of orange orchards

In addition to the tower, a visitor center, there is a nature trail called the Pine Ridge Trail, and the Pinewood Estate. The mansion was closed today, so we toured the grounds and listened to the live carillon concert played today by Geert D'hollander, one of the top carillon musicians in the world. Live concerts are performed daily at 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM and last a half hour. You are not allowed inside the tower, but you can view the performance by way of a video screen in front of the tower with benches for sitting and enjoying the concert.

koi in the moat

There is a 15 foot moat that surrounds the tower that serves as a koi pond....at the south end of the pool, the construction of the tower was planned at the highest point on the grounds so that you can see the reflection of the entire tower in the pool.

The architectural details of the tower are amazing....the stone used was native Floridian stone called coquina.

There are all kinds of birds and animals in the grill work and in the tower sculptures--geese, swans, fish, pelicans, storks, tortoise, hares, baboons, Adam and Eve and the serpent, cranes, herons, seagulls flamingoes and the list goes on and on....The great brass door on one side of the building depicts the Book of Genesis.

The sun dial is a bronze rod supported by a bronze snake, the ancient symbol of time. Hours are marked by the 12 signs of the zodiac.

There are many, many places to sit on benches and in the shade.....Besides this shelter there were lots and lots of comfortable benches under shady trees to sit and enjoy and contemplate this beautiful place.

There are several beautiful ponds to see and sit by....

Here's another one....

There were many paths to explore the trees, the palms, and the beautiful plantings....

You'd turn a corner and see some unusual flowering plants you've never seen before...

This was the path through the outdoor atrium with the air plant curtain off to one side....

We could have easily spent all day here, admiring the flowers, listening to the music--(the music randomly plays during the day, but the live concerts are at 1:00 and 3:00), and we still didn't see everything there was to see...there was a "Window by the Pond" path that we didn't take. It was an inside observatory with a nature observation window where you could watch the animals in their natural habitat...We'll definitely have to come back to explore this marvelous place again...Thanks for visiting with us today.....at the Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, FL.

Bye Bye Bradenton, Hello Wauchula!

After having one last dinner with our friends Nick and Ritchie at Woody's River Roo Pub and Grill in Ellenton, FL, we saw them off this morning--they were heading to Georgia, on their way home to Grand Rapids, and we were heading to Wauchula, FL this morning....Bye, guys! Safe travels!

We headed to Peace River Preserve which is a Thousand Trails park in Wauchula, FL...only about a 40 minute drive from Bradenton...We stay here for about three days and it's FREE with our Thousand Trails zone membership that we paid for back at the Tampa RV show. We would probably stay a little longer at this TT park, but Eldy's son and family are coming to Siesta Key this weekend, so we are moving back to Sarasota for when they get here...I'm not sure I'd want to spend a lot of time at this park for the following reasons:

1. It's a very dated, old park...sites are very unlevel and in bad shape, some with very bad dried up ruts. Parts of the park are big rig friendly, other parts are not. Some of the roads around the park are in very bad shape--potholes and extremely uneven. Our site and how it looks is quite common throughout the park...There are not many sites with concrete patios and if you are lucky enough to get one, it's probably in pretty bad shape.

2. The facilities are very small for this size park (454 sites)....The pool and meeting hall are quite small.

....the recreation hall is a small mobile trailer....But at least they have one!

3. There is some highway noise from SR 17, but it's not all the way through the park as far as we can tell. These side lots are pretty and have lots of shade, but the road noise is very pronounced here.

4. Wauchula is a small town which appears to be hard hit by economy woes...Not much to do here, but if you are willing to drive a ways, there are some interesting things in nearby towns--like the Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, the Lipinzzaner stallions in Myakka City...

Are there some positives? You bet! We try to look for those when we are in an older park....The positives of the park are:
1. Lots of shade in some sections
2. A river runs through it--the Peace River....right now it's very low and kind of yucky...But you can canoe and kayak and launch off the park boat ramp. Sixty-seven miles of paddling if you want!

3.There are some little, self-guided nature trails that volunteers worked very hard to make for a pleasant little hike....you just have to be careful if you decide to go on a walk...

4. There are some nice little cabins on the premises--sized small, medium and large...it kind of gives the park a little more of a "cozy" feel....

5.The office has lots of porch swings to hang out on on a hot day.....

6. They have pickleball courts and a bocce/molkky court...Have no idea what molkky is!

And that's the latest on the Peace River Thousand Trails park.....We're heading to the Bok Tower Gardens tomorrow...it's a beautiful place with a carillion (bells) performance....

Beach Bums

(Who, me? says E.) Yes, you! And Sparky, and Nick and Ritchie--we were all beach bums for the day at the Lido Key Beach today. Kelly and I checked it out when we did our excursion to the St. Armand Circle in Sarasota yesterday. We thought it looked wonderful! She is now back home, hard at work...It was a wonderful visit and too short of a vacation for her!

Lido Key Beach is about a 30 minute drive from the Manatee RV Park in Bradenton in good traffic. We had to go in two cars because Eldo and Sparky had more junk to take to the beach than a family with kids....Beach mats, beach chairs, cabana, towels, picnic lunch, cooler, magazines, tote bags, you name it, we had it! But first, we had to set up the cabana, which is Sparky's baby. For some reason, if there are people watching, it takes her twice as long to set it up!

But we got it.

It was an extremely hot, intense sun kind of a day at the beach today. At first, the water was totally calm.

It was 74 degrees!  We dunked ourselves repeatedly to stay cool......We ate our picnic lunches...We people watched...the guys were on bikini/thong watch...Not too many of those today even with the crowds at the beach.  Later, the wind picked up and we got some mini waves.

It was our last day to visit with Nick and Ritchie...Tomorrow, they head towards home which is Grand Rapids, and we head to Wachula, FL for a few days.....We'll really miss them, they are wonderful people and friends to treasure.

On the way home, we saw the "Colossal Kissers" or as some Sarasotans call it, "The Big Smooch".....It's about a 20 foot high statue designed to withstand a force 3 hurricane. Apparently, the statue used to be in San Diego and now it's here...Residents either hate it or love it...Interesting, at any rate!

If you ever get a chance to look around the St. Armand Circle, not too far from the Mote Aquarium and the Lido Key Beach off the St. Armand Circle, it's a very cool area-- tons of restaurant cafes, cool boutiques and a unique quadrant layout around a roundy round...one of those roundabouts that send you off in different directions.

We had a fun day at the beach today...Best wishes to Nick and Ritchie as they make their way home for a few weeks. They have a trip planned to Alaska. Wish we were going with them!

Ocean Blues in Sarasota, FL

With Kelly's visit, we get to experience things other than what we normally do... Normally, we watch the weather, watch TV, watch nature, take photos, do outdoorsy things, travel around and blog...She's great for coming up with different ideas for things to do...She has some friends in the entertainment industry that are ROCKIN' blues singers. They often play in clubs along the Florida coast and they were in the Sarasota area, close to where we are staying. Did we want to go hear them sing? Does Sparky like taking nature photos?  Heck, yeah!

Off we went to the Ocean Blues Club on Hillview Street in Sarasota, FL,  for some top notch entertainment. The Ocean Blues Club is the kind of place that makes you think "supper club"..It had an intimate atmosphere, tin stamped ceiling, dark wood, cozy booths and tables, romantic lighting, and good bar food...The top notch entertainment was Rebecca Bird, vocalist and Steve Arvey, vocalist and guitar player along with their drummer (sorry, I didn't catch his name) and female bass player, Patty. They put on a tremendous, high energy show at the club this evening.....Steve is one of those guitar players who plays the blues with his heart and soul...he WORKS that guitar...the constantly changing expressions on his face were priceless as he wholeheartedly got into his music. It was fun to watch him....Rebecca is a terrific singer who puts an equal amount of heart into the lyrics, and together, they worked magic on the crowd....Kelly has known the duo for some time and seen them in several different locations around the country. Steve and Rebecca are the kind of entertainers who remember their fans and are genuinely interested in the people who follow them, and they gave Kelly (and family) a nice shout out for being there this evening.

Rebecca, Steve and Kelly

At one point, they brought out a guitar player, a young man from Lithuania, who had only been in the U.S. for three weeks. His name was David Smash. His English was excellent..He played the electric guitar, harmonica and sang, and he was AMAZING!  At one point, he was playing the frets of the guitar with his TEETH! The energy generated from his performance got the crowd onto the dance floor, and Kelly and Mom boogied for a bit! Eldo was a bit under the weather, fighting a chest cold, or he would have been out there, too!

We had such a great time listening to Rebecca and Steve, we stayed up WA-A-Y later than normal...It was a great time and a wonderful experience jammin' to the blues this evening at Ocean Blues in Sarasota....We've got just a couple more days of visiting with Kelly before she goes back home...Tomorrow, we plan to shop till we drop at the St. Armand Circle area in Sarasota...eat a little brunch, window shop and check out the beach at Lido Key....