NBNC>Florida: March 8 - 11, 2014

Saturday, March 8

We traveled with Avis and Jim westward along 640 and 672 today: destination #1 is Balm Florida, where we will lunch at Goodson’s Farm Market and feast on their scandalous strawberry shortcakes and Cuban sandwiches. We find the strawberries nearing their peak harvesting in the uncluttered, nearly weedless acres and acres of berry plants.



On the way to Goodson’s we pass through Fort Meade, a quiet village that dates back to 1849 and also the location of an 80 million dollar golf resort investment by Mosaic, the seventh largest landowner in Florida. The golf resort, Streamsong, recently opened on land long ago mined for its phosphorous.  The remaining sand piled up over five decades ago and resembling dunes now has become a golfing destination.

Sated seriously with strawberry shortcake (say that fast five times) we continue toward destination #2-Tampa Bay-where we will cross over the 4 mile long Skyway bridge. The cable-stayed bridge spans Tampa Bay and is a popular spot for filming car commercials. Running parallel with the new Skyway bridge is the old bridge, which is now the longest fishing pier in the world and is a great area for reeling in tarpon, grouper, red sea bass and (holy) mackerel.

We ventured to destination #3, the seven mile long Anna Maria Island, which makes up well-known towns including Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach. We stop at Anna Maria to wiggle our toes in the warm sandy beach and find a few shells to commemorate our brief visit.

Further down the road, after trafficking through Bradenton, Longboat Key and Sarasota and real estate that proves that there is life after earning your first 5 million dollars. At the southern tip of the barrier island we stop at South Lido Park and enjoy the sapphire blue of Sarasota Bay and the majestic Australian Pines.

  Driving through Sarasota, the streets are lined with expensive cars parked in front of even more expensive shops and restaurants.  We worked our way over to Sun n Fun to check out this nearly 200 acre rv resort, only to be told we could not check out the park unless we first met with a salesperson (for the pitch) and then to be guided through the park by said salesperson. So, we graciously accepted their color brochure and said ciao.  Time to eat! We returned to Anna Maria Island to Anna Maria Oyster Bar. The place was packed but we got immediate seating and enjoyed a delicious meal. Our return to our campsite was guided by clear, starlit skies.

Monday, March 10, 2014

In the early afternoon we met Dave’s cousin, Gerry and her husband, Ron, in Lake Buena Vista, enjoying a few hours of conversation and being determined to see one another next year. After lunch Dave and I gazed across the man-made lake and realized this was the first area we were at in 1981 during our first of many visits to Orlando.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Our roadtrip today led us to a rural town named LaBelle, about 75 miles southwest, to meet Pam and John Sage. Dave and John have known one another for over twenty years as a result of their working association while Dave was with Anheuser-Busch.  The Sage’s live near Green Bay and during the cold wintry days of Wisconsin they take to the road and stay in Naples.

Our path today took us to the crest of the everglades where the landscape is noticeably changed from inland to marshland.  Along the roadside are silver oaks delicately laced with Spanish moss. Traveling southbound we find ourselves following the ridgeline that runs about 150 miles north and south. The ridge is considered the highest elevation in Florida, reaching up to the clouds by 312 feet. The ridgeline is where orange groves spread out for miles and miles, acres of acres.

LaBelle, settled in 1889 by cattle drovers and trappers, remains a small rural town surrounded by large beef ranches, including the Lyke ranch that has been family-owned for over a century and spans over 330,000 acres. Along the highway fence-lines we see Brangus calves and heifers graze on bahiagrass lands. The Brangus is a cross between of Angus and Brahman, that has developed into a breed that are all black and a sturdy heavy beef cattle.

Heading south, and then north, we see road signs indicating bear are in the area; previously on the list of threatened species, the black bears live mainly in the forested areas. We didn’t see any so I guess they were “bearly” there!