Tag Archives: FL-24

2014/02/05 (W) Jacksonville (FL)

Prevost Service Center, Jacksonville, FL.

Prevost Service Center, Jacksonville, FL.

Prevost Car Inc has a major service and parts facility in Jacksonville, Florida and had the (one way) check valve I needed in stock.  Jacksonville is a major metropolitan area in the northeast corner of Florida, about two hours northeast of Williston.  We took FL-121 to Gainesville where we picked up FL-24 over to US-301 northbound at Waldo.  US-301 runs up to the west edge of Jacksonville, but the Prevost service center is in the southeast part of town, so the GPS routed us onto FL-16 at Starke and then onto FL-21 and up to I-295 eastbound.  We found the facility easily and ended up having a nice chat with Dann Wiltgen, the VP of Pre-owned Seated Coach Sales and New Key Accounts, who we bumped into at the coffee station.

At the parts counter Service Advisor Jennifer Beardslee got the check valve and also pulled the new auxiliary air filter assembly for me to see.  I decided to buy it, but had to order the mounting bracket from Canada as it was not in stock anywhere in the U. S.  This was the first time we had been to any Prevost facility so I took a few pictures of the exterior before we left.

Looking north from North Beach at Little Talbot Island SP (FL).

Looking north from North Beach at Little Talbot Island SP (FL).

Our business concluded at Prevost we got back on I-295 headed north.  Just after crossing back over the river/bay we headed east on FL-105 (Heckscher Dr.).  We crossed Little Marsh Island, Pine Island, and Fanning Island before Ft. George Island and Ft. George Island State Park.  Fl-105 joins up with FL-A1A which runs along the coast and includes a ferry to the south side of the inlet.  But we were headed north to Little Talbot Island State Park, which occupies the entire Little Talbot Island.

Us on the boardwalk at North Beach, Little Talbot Island SP (FL).

Us on the boardwalk at North Beach, Little Talbot Island SP (FL).

We stopped at the Little Talbot Island ranger station, trailhead, and beach area, parked, and walked out to the shore on a boardwalk across low dunes.  The weather was pleasant enough and we had a nice stroll down the beach and took a few photos.  We continued on to Big Talbot Island, most of which is Big Talbot Island SP.  We parked at the trailhead for the Big Pine Trail and hiked out to the marsh through a beautiful forest.  This area had been most for a while and was very green. I took a few photos, but it’s difficult to capture the nature of such a place which is both grand and intimate at the same time.  Lenses do not “see” the world the same way our eyes do.

The Big Pine Trail at Big Talbot Island SP (FL).

The Big Pine Trail at Big Talbot Island SP (FL).

 

 

From Big Talbot Island we crossed to Amelia Island, the southern tip of which was Amelia Island SP and the location of the George Crady Bridge Fishing Pier SP.  The GCBFPSP is the former bridge connecting the toe Islands.  When a new bridge was built the state left the old one, closed it to vehicle traffic, and made it a state park.  Thus was another example of why the Florida State Parks system is the only two-time winner of the award for best state park system in the U. S.

 

 

The marsh at the end of the Big Pine Trail, BTISP (FL).

The marsh at the end of the Big Pine Trail, BTISP (FL).

As we left Amelia Island SP for the Nassau area we suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a very high-end resort community.  FL-A1A eventually joined up with FL-200 headed west towards Yulee and across I-95 to Callahan where it becomes US-301/FL-200 headed SSE through the west edge of Jacksonville and then on to Gainesville and Ocala.  Along the way it passes through the little town of Lawtey.  About 5 miles north of Lawtey there is a billboard warning drivers of the “Lawtey Speedtrap.”  We thought it might be a gimmick ad for a restaurant, but it turned out be an actual warning.  As we entered Lawtey there were dings saying “Speed Strictly Enforced” and a Lawtey police car checking vehicle speeds.  We don’t speed when. We drive, so we were not at risk of being trapped, but I don’t understand why states permit little towns to do this sort of thing.  Law enforcement should not be a major source of revenue for any municipality; it distorts the whole purpose and process of law enforcement.

Fungal growth on a dead tree along the Big Pine Trail at BTISP (FL).

Fungal growth on a dead tree along the Big Pine Trail at BTISP (FL).

I had received the Feb 2014 issue of Bus Conversions Magazine a couple of days ago with my article on the Arcadia Bus Rally as the cover/centerfold story.  Many of my photos were used for the expanded digital edition and I had several e-mails going back and forth with Gary Hall, the owner/publisher, and Mike Sullivan, the editor, as is often the case.  Starting with the January 2014 issue they are producing three separate versions of the magazine.  The print version is currently 32 full-color glossy pages.  Gary would like to up the page count, but needs to build the subscriber/advertiser base to do that.  The digital edition now cones in two versions, SD and HD, both of which have expanded content over the print version, especially photographs.  The SD (Standard Definition) version is e-mailed to subscribers and can also be downloaded by online subscribers.  The HD (High Definition) version has the same content as the SD version, but the photographs are much higher resolution, and can only be downloaded.  The SD version for Feb 2014 was ~10 MB while the HD version was ~ 25 MB.  They can be viewed online or downloaded as PDF files.

The beach at Amelia Island SP by the George Crady Fishing Bridge SP (FL).  (4x4 vehicles permitted.)

The beach at Amelia Island SP by the George Crady Fishing Bridge SP (FL). (4×4 vehicles permitted.)

I also had some e-mail correspondence with Don and Kim Greene of Harvest Hosts. We received the February newsletter a couple of days ago and read that they were extending subscriptions for subscribers who mentioned the program on their websites or in their blogs.  We stayed at four “hosts” in 2013 and blogged about each one of them.  We also have Harvest Hosts listed on our website as one of our travel resources.  The posts were a bit dated but I sent an e-mail with the direct links and they were kind enough to extend our subscription by four months.  They also requested one of the photos from Acres of Land Winery and Restaurant to include on their Facebook and Flickr sites.

It seems that when our days are full they are full right up to the brim, and that’s OK. We’re tired at the end of such days, but it’s a good kind of tired.

 

2014/01/20 (M) Cedar Key (FL)

[Note:  I had enough photographs from today that I put them in a separate Gallery Post with today’s date.]

With a forecast of sunny skies and high temperatures in the mid 60’s we decided to head to Cedar Key today.  Mid-morning I e-mailed Cherie that we were headed that way and would drop by the Sunset Isle RV Park and Motel mid-afternoon after checking out the town.

From Williston we took US-27 Alt WNW to Bronson and then took FL-24 SW to Cedar Key, a total distance of 45 miles and approximately one hour driving time.  FL-24 is the route of the old rail line.  Just before getting to Cedar Key we saw a sign for the Suwanee National Wildlife Refuge which is located some miles north of the Cedar Keys area.  When we got to Cedar Key we headed to the Cedar Key Museum State Park where our annual park pass covered the $2 entrance fee for each of us.

We had a nice chat with the park volunteer and learned about the vast amount of land, marsh, tidal flats, and water that is reserved, preserved, and protected along the Florida Gulf Coast stretching far to the north and south of Cedar Key.  We walked through the small but informative museum and then toured the Whitman house which had been moved to the Park as a well-preserved display of housing and domestic life from a bygone era in that part of Florida.  Mr. Whitman was an avid shell collector, and part of his collection was on display the house.

The park was small but had a nice trail that got us down to the shore.  The tide was out allowing us to see exposed oyster beds and large animal footprints leading into the water.  Probably just someone’s dog, but…  We also spotted a mature Bald Eagle soaring overhead.  We then met a woman walking a dog who told us that just down the street behind the museum was the Bald Eagle nest (aerie) up in a large pine tree.  We walked quietly and slowly in that direction.  Bald Eagle aeries are enormous and it was easy to see.  To our delight and good fortune there was an adult eagle clearly visible in the nest.  I took a few photographs and then we left the way had come.

Although the Bald Eagle has been removed from the endangered species list, it is still highly protected as our national bird.  Of more significance to us, however, is that the presence of Bald Eagles is still a marker of wilderness as they require a large area of specific habitat and generally stay away from populated areas.  While Cedar Key is certainly a very remote and relatively small community surrounded by a vast area of protected habitat, the fact remains that this aerie, and what we must presume was a nesting pair of Bald Eagles, decided to live in someone’s backyard.

We drove back to the main downtown/waterfront part of Cedar Key, parked the car, and explored on foot.  Cedar Key is not a big place, but it is old, and very charming, and even a bit “funky.”  We stopped at the only grocery store we had seen, bought some lunch munchies and beverages, and had a quick lunch in the car.  We then headed back towards Sunset Isle RV Park which is actually on a small island just before you get to the main island where most of Cedar Key is located.

We parked in front of the motel and walked around back to find Chris and Cherie’s bus.  (Chris and Cherie blog and write under the name a Technomadia.)  We spotted it right away, but before we got that far we spotted another familiar RV; a beautiful Spartan trailer that belonged to Forrest and Jeri Bone of the Tin Can Tourists.  We first met them at the Arcadia Bus Rally when we attended Forrest’s presentation on the TCT’s and later toured their Spartan trailer during the open house.  Forrest and Jeri actually hail from Gregory, Michigan not far from where our house is located.

We went on down to the Technomadia bus and Forrest came down shortly thereafter.  Chris and Dani then stopped by (they are part of the NuRVers group that converged at Sunset Isle this January) and we had a good visit, Cherie demonstrating a project that she and Chris are working on.  Forrest left to help Jeri do the laundry and Chris/Dani headed back to their rig (a Westphalia camper) to work.  We eventually wandered over to the Tiki Bar at the Low Key Hideaway three “doors” south and hung out there while the bar filled up and the sun went down.  The bar was neat, the people were neat, and the sunset was neat; long and colorful.  We bid farewell to our old and new acquaintances and headed back to Williston.  A quick stop at the Winn-Dixie supermarket for soy milk and the Sunoco filling station for fuel and we were home in time for dinner and some PBS before bed.