1 Apr 2014 - Packing to go home

Fort Meade, Florida

BACK OFF!! GET YOUR OWN SANDWICH!!

Fort Meade, Florida

The trucks pull in, filled with grapefruit and dump them onto a conveyor belt.

The conveyor belt fills these cages and then..POOF..grapefruit juice!

Hello Daytona Beach...I've missed you!

Low tide on Daytona Beach

All good things must come to an end and our time in Naples is done. Lucy the Landlady came over Wednesday night to give us back our deposit, talk our ears off, and thank us for taking such good care of the condo. She could obviously smell the bleach and cleaning solutions we'd used on the place in preparation for her visit...but still didn't reduce the cleaning cost on the deposit.

We'd had a fairly quiet week previously and I know that at one point I wrote 'stayed home...just lazy' on the calendar for one day. I did get to the Botanical Gardens on Tuesday morning for one last day (photos posted on FB) and it was obvious a good number of snowbirds had left Naples as it wasn't crowded at all. It has been unseasonably hot in Southern Florida this winter and honestly, both Wayne and I said it was almost getting too hot to be at the beach. We've always headed home from the beach around 3 pm but any time after 1 pm is really hot now...especially if there is no breeze. I think I was in 'organize and pack' mode anyway.

Thursday - on our way North.

I knew we had brought far, far too much stuff with us and combined with the amount of stuff we have acquired in Naples to bring home, packing the car was like doing a complicated jigsaw puzzle. Wayne is an absolute master at it after all these years of moving and travelling but we are loaded to the gunnels! I can't remember the route we took from Orlando to Naples but Gertie took us back on another route, off the Interstate, and it was so nice. Note to self: we went Hwy 31 and 17 and that's the route to take from Orlando to Naples next year.

We drove through the 'heart' of Florida's citrus farms and passed endless 18-wheelers filled with oranges or grapefruit. We went through a series of small towns and at Fort Meade stopped for lunch at a wonderful park built by the town in 1972. It consisted of 2 very small lakes connected by a land strip that had gazebos, small piers, tables and barbecues, all under huge old trees dripping with Spanish Moss. The town gets a overwhelming vote for also having clean, clean washrooms to boot! We like to travel with a cooler and have lunch at rest stops or parks and as soon as we drove into this one, geese from all around the parking area started to congregate. I walked away to look at an Osprey nest and when I turned around they were all following, hoping I'd share my lunch. Clearly, many others have shared!

We got to Bartow, just down the line from Fort Meade. As we slowed down going through town I spied a citrus processing plant. The sound of my screech signaled Wayne to do a 'U-turn' as I needed a better look and a photo to go with it. I've never seen anything like it and couldn't begin to estimate how many pounds, or garga-pounds of grapefruit were there but it was L-O-T-S! Mind you, we nearly got arrested as Wayne had pulled right into the plant lot so I could get a real close-up and the security guard was there to let us know we were trespassing. The little old grey-haired lady wasn't at all mollified by Wayne's charm and we got out fast. He said it was probably the best day she'd had in years!

About that time we decided we take the Interstate to Daytona Beach and then go along Hwy A1A and take the ocean view drive to St Augustine. It was a great decision except that we made the mistake of stopping at Daytona for a quick walk on the beach. Well, the sun was shining, that wonderful Daytona breeze was blowing, and we felt like we'd just taken this big, deep breath and didn't want to let it go. All that to say, we got a hotel room on the beach, went to an old favourite restaurant for supper and can't wait to see the sun rise from our balcony in the morning! Actually, I'm going to head to St Augustine early in the morning and visit a zoological park and Wayne will enjoy the beach. However, we may have to stay an extra day so that I can do the same thing.

The weather is certainly cooler here and it reminds me of why I love Daytona....always did and always will...but this is not the place to be in January and even some February's. It's just that bit further North that makes it cooler but at this time of year....it's delightful. Mom and Dad used to love to come here in April. In all our travels I have yet to find the soft, silky sand that makes up Daytona Beach. In short, I'm glad I'm here!

I know the deep-freeze is ending in Ottawa but I'm content to meander my way home vice driving like mad. There are still a few nice, warm beaches and other places to visit...perhaps the sun will get real hot, in a real hurry at home and entice me but I'm thinking the snow is still pretty deep in my back yard!

That's what we've been doing. Hope all is well at home and until next time, love and hugs to all. xx