Sun - 26 Feb/17

Another lovely weather day in store for today.

While watching CBS Sunday Morning (our usual TV on Sunday) I began frying bacon for our breakfast omelet. Then I added the ingredients and we enjoyed it while watching the program.

Then we were off on a "Road Trip"!

I planned out a route that kept us on the "Back Roads" to the Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings State Park in Cross Creek, FL. Her old Florida homestead and orange grove is a walk back in time to 1930s, displaying farm life as it was when Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings lived and worked in the tiny community of Cross Creek.

Her "Cracker" style home and farm, where she wrote her Pulitzer prize-winning novel "The Yearling" and other wonderful works of fiction, has been restored and is preserved as it was when she lived here. Her 1942 memoir "Cross Creek" chronicled the idiosyncrasies of her "Cracker" neighbours whose white southern "Frontier Mentality" and close connection to the natural world has recently sparked scholarly interest.

This year, 2017, marks the 75^th anniversary of the publication of two of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings most memorable books: "Cross Creek" and "Cross Creek Cookery". Charlotte purchased the "Cross Creek Cookery" which is more than a just regional cookbook; it is a collection of stories about the recipes with anecdotes and thoughts that make it a "Novel Novel" (grin)

The State Park, the Friends of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings Farm group, and the surrounding communities will be celebrating Rawlings and these two books throughout the year with talks, cooking, theatre and art exhibits. Today we enjoyed a small part of this celebration as several "Friends" (in period attire) were in attendance today. They actively aiding in "Informing" visitors on the history of the estate. This also included a glimpse into the historical significance and finer points of creating the biscuits of which we would partake after the tour.

We arrived a few minutes after the 1 p.m. tour began; however we were fortunate that the "Tenant's House" was open today for viewing.

The sturdy; but bare, domicile was typical of the area and era.

It was fun to see "Free Range" chickens roaming all over the property. There were more outside their coop than inside.

The 2 p.m. tour would start from the nearby barn. We only had to wait a short time before joining the group.

The tour started outside with an extremely well versed and humourous guide and a large interested collection of visitors.

The group size led to it being split in two once we arrived at the house.

The majority of the furnishings (90%) are original including this table that Marjorie wrote at in her porch.

This authenticity included the Pulitzer Prize for "The Yearling"!  (I expected a trophy of some sort).

If you want to find out why there are always roses in the toilet you'll have to take the tour (or google it). (grin).

At the end of the tour we enjoyed ample samples of several types of biscuits and jellies (all made from ingredients grown on the property) that correlate to the "Cross Creek Cookbook".

The biscuits, like the tour, made today's visit a real "Treat"!

On leaving our next destination was Micanopy, FL about 10 miles away. The town (Pop. 600) was named for Seminole Chief Micanopy. The historic district is on the National Register of Historic Places. It is affectionately known as "The Town That Time Forgot". It was the first "Town" constructed in "Florida Territory" (circa 1821) ) after Florida was ceded from Spain (to the USA). . Today it is considered a "Mecca for Antiques" which is rare in Florida as most "new" residents sold or left everything where they lived when they moved south.

Charlotte's only purchase was two "Cat Pics" to add to her card collection.

We then followed the route (in reverse) that we took today and headed back to the motorhome. It was still warm with clear blue skies, sunshine and little traffic making it an enjoyable ride.

Once we entered Marion County we were getting closer to the motorhome and even closer to suppertime. I decided to "Follow My Nose" and turned onto CR-464C which headed SW. That took us right to Ocklawaha, FL and "Gator Joe's" in time for supper.

The place was packed. Folks came in by Seaplane, Powerboats, Pontoon Boats, Wave Runners and Kayaks.

The beach on both sides of the deck was also packed.

We both decided on our usual meal - the "Fish Basket".

We watched the last few laps of the Daytona 500 before departing for the motorhome. Having been there for a race a few years ago my thoughts went back to how "Crazy" it was leaving after a race (and I shuddered). It was an exciting experience; but once was enough! The crowd and ensuing chaos is indescribable.

The "Low Fuel" light came on a few miles after leaving Gator Joe's. I figured I could make it back to the closest gas station to OMS that was on our route (at Altoona, FL). Thankfully I was right. Hey! That's 400 miles on 9.6 gallons = 41.7 mpg. The Del Sol is still running fine after 500,000 km. Wow! (It's a Honda). Just breaking in - Eh!

A few minutes after filling up we were  back at the motorhome. It was ust TV until bedtime.

That wrapped up a really interesting day.