Crystal River Trip 4/4-7

Thursday 4/4

Ozello…(or as the locals pronounce it Ozelluh) is a small community of about 400 residents.  It is a collection of small keys connected by the Ozello Trail. Straight line from US 19 Ozello is 5.3 miles.  By the Ozello Trail that becomes over 10 miles. I have been on mountain roads with less twist and turns than Ozello Trail.  One curve is marked at 10 MPH.  At one point I could see the nuclear plant seven miles away, on the right side of the road and later it was on the left.

The big draw to Ozello is Peck’s Old Port Cove seafood restaurant.  I don’t recall anything on the menu that wasn’t seafood.  We were told about this place by our campsite neighbors Scott and Shelly.  So we went to check it out.  The place was packed.  License plates from all across the country in the parking lot.

 

We had to wait about a half an hour to be seated.  The food was fantastic…the staff friendly and they really hustled.  Linda had the scallops and I went with the fisherman’s platter.  Very large portions with reasonable prices.  This is a “buid it... they will come” type of place.  A bit of a bonus was I got a pearl in one of my oysters!  Albeit smaller than a BB, it was a pearl.  Linda put it in her change purse for safe keeping.

https://youtu.be/3h1wTTrp1Cc   This youtube video is a 16 minute motorcycle ride on the Ozello Trail

Friday 4/5

They lied!  All the weather forecasts said that there may be a chance of showers after 11 AM.  So, if we get an early start we can have the boat loaded up while it is still dry.   At 3:00 AM we had thunderstorm after thunderstorm until nearly 5:00.  No need to hurry now.  After the boat cover dried out  we  loaded up and were on the road for home around 1 PM. We spent the night in Kingsland, GA.

Saturday 4/6

Good traveling today.  Spent the night in Lumberton, NC.

Sunday4/7

Arrived home around 5PM.  Got the trailer unloaded and put it in the storage lot.  We had a great time except for what seems like thousands of no-seem-um bites.  Linda says “Never Again”.

Thanks for riding along.  Will see you on our next adventure.   Oh yeh... The “itichey cream” is in the medicine cabinet!

Crystal River Trip 4/3

Wednesday 4/3

One of the attractions in Crystal River is Three Sisters Springs State Park.  We hadn’t seen it yet so, today would be a good opportunity.  Have you ever heard of a state park without a parking lot?  Well now you have.  You have to find your own parking at one of the nearby shopping centers, then walk several blocks to the park and pay $7.50 a person admission.  From parking to the springs is a half mile walk.  We passed on that one.  Linda is dealing with Planters Facetious and that might be a bit too much walking.

If you arrive by canoe or kayak there is no charge.  You just go under the floating rope where you can get in the water and you can snorkel with the manatees.

So, we drove to a different park on Kings Bay and what a treat that was.  It’s a public park with $1 per hour parking.  We were only there an hour but what an hour it was!

I’ll let the pix do the talking.

  In about a 30 yard radius there must have been a half dozen manatees.

 A diving boat picks up its load of snorkelers.

Then a family came by and used the kayak launching rails and paddled around the manatees.  

 

 Views from the pier.

 

What does a baby gator do on a beautiful afternoon?  He just  hangs around!

When we got back to camp I cleaned everything that goes back into the boat.  Then Linda helped me put the cover on.  She’s all ready to load up.

Dinner tonight is delicious genuine Italian cuisine. Beef ravioli straight from the kitchen of the famous Italian chef, Chef Boy-Ar Dee!

Crystal River trip 4/1-2

Monday 4/1

Woke up to the sound of rain on the roof.  There’s nothing like the sound of rain on a metal roof to make you want to roll over and go back to sleep. 

Rain.  Breakfast.  Rain.  Game of Minus Five.  Rain.  Lunch.  Rain.  Game of Ten.  Rain.  Nap.  Rain.  Supper.  Rain…Oh did I mention it rained?

Tuesday 4/2

Today is the day to get some chores done.  First is Laundry Day!  Then we hit Winn-Dixie for some groceries. 

In the afternoon we took the boat to the car wash and gave her a good scrubbing inside and out.  After supper I decided to give her a wax job. (the boat not Linda).

We are trying to make a list of everything we need to do so we can be ready to pack up and leave on Friday morning.  Also writing down directions for heading north.  GPS keeps wanting to take us through downtown Jacksonville.  It's so much easier to take US 301 up to the FL line then pick up I-95.  Ain't teknolegy gran?? 

Linda is doing a lot better.  The scabs on her elbow and arm are just about gone and her knee is doing well except for climbing steps.

Sunlight through the pines

    

Crystal River Trip 3/30-31

Saturday 3/30

Linda lived the life of leisure while I got skunked fishing.

Sunday 3/31.

Linda voiced that she feels she should be taken out for breakfast.  Her bistro of choice…Huddle House.  Well we got a late start and arrive there after 10 AM and there was only one parking space left and all the seating was full.  And no one was in a hurry to leave.  So I remembered seeing the Breakfast Station next to Winn-Dixie.  We got there between rushes.  The whole place is decorated in railroad memorabilia.  The food and service was top notch.

After breakfast, Linda was ready to go fishing.  Near Shell Island, where Crystal River meets the Gulf, we saw a camp set up on one of the small islands.  With a nuclear power plant as a back drop, they are totally off the grid.

We had a good ride out to the oyster beds near the nuclear station.  But no bites.  The wind was steady and there was a bit of a chop on the water so we headed back to calmer seas. 

The further we got the slower the motor ran.  Usually with two of us in the boat we should be doing nearly 20 MPH.  By the time we got back full throttle was just a tad over 11.  After talking with our son, a small engine specialist, he believes the new fuel filter may have filled with water from some bad fuel.  Hmmm, sounds very possible.

We decided to pull the boat out of the water since it’s going to rain for the next couple of days.  Now what to do with the two dozen shrimp we had for bait?

Jeff Foxworthy here’s new one for you… If you cook your leftover bait shrimp for supper…You just might be a Redneck.

They are healthy Gulf shrimp so I just cut the heads off and put a little water in the griddle pan and voilà… boiled shrimp! Surprising what a little Old Bay seasoning will do.

Linda did not partake. So we went to Winn-Dixie where you can fill a bucket with a verity of chicken wings, strips and pork ribblets for $9.95.  A large container of mac-n-cheese and a small cup of hushpuppies got us a delicious dinner for $12.