Sanibel Island

Once again, I am way behind in posting this blog and I am again blaming it on too many pictures.  I took so many pictures of the sun rise and sunset that I have yet to figure out which ones that I like best.  So I finally decided that I just need to post some and move on. 

I was on Sanibel Island for 4 weeks in December.  For the first time in a year, I had a bed not on wheels.  I rented an ocean-front condo.  One of my favorite activities was sitting on the screen porch – relaxing, reading, watching for dolphins…!

Most of my days consisted of walking 5 – 8 miles in the morning, biking 12 – 28 miles, swimming, reading and relaxing.  It was a great 4 weeks!

Sanibel does have one campground that I have stayed at previously.  I happened to be biking through the park when they were putting on a bird talk, so I stopped and listened for a while.  The lady talking was very educational and showed us how they clipped a bird’s wings.

A highlight of the talk was to let kids (and some adults) hold some of the birds.  This particular bird liked to climb up braids or whatever it could to get to a high point.

I visited Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge many times.  Most of the time I did the loop on my bike. 

Roseate Spoonbill and Reddish Egret -

Lunch?-

Close-up of Juvenille Yellow Crowned Night Heron -

Adult Yellow Crowned Night Heron -

2 pictures of Spoonbills feeding -

One day while riding my bike in the refuge I watched this pelican, it looked like he was doing his morning exercises.

And then some just relaxing -

I have too many pictures for one blog, so the next blog will have pictures of interesting beach creatures, sunrise and sunset pictures…

Catching up–The drive from Michigan to Georgia

I am very behind in blogging so I am going to attempt to catch up with one post. (It seems like I always start these blogs with “I’m behind in blogging”)

From Michigan, I headed to Mountain View, Arkansas for a regional Lazy Daze Get Together.  Before going there, I took a detour in Indiana and went to the RV/Motorhome Museum.

Above is a 1931 Model AA Ford Housecar, below is the interior.

As I have stated before, I don’t typically go for museums, but this one was worth it for those of us into RVing.

After a stop or 2, I made it to Mountain View for the Get Together.  We had more than 20 Lazy Daze RVs from the 3 different Lazy Daze groups.  It was held at the Sylamore Creek Campground.

Views from the campground--

I enjoyed hiking a couple of times at nearby Blanchard Springs. 

From Arkansas, I headed to Memphis.  Last time I was in Memphis I decided not to go to Graceland, but after talking with some folks at the Get Together I decided to give it a try.  I enjoyed it, except that I kept humming Elvis songs all afternoon.

The house was not as big as I expected, but the interior was a bit too much for me.

One of many wall of Gold records and other awards -

Elvis and family graves (and crowds)

From Memphis I headed to Huntsville, AL.  While there I stayed at Mont Sano State Park.  From my campsite I could not get phone or internet service.  But a quick walk to the overlook before gave me great service.

While in Huntsville, I visited the U.S. Space and Rocket Center for a few hours.

Apollo 16 Command module -

Gemini Suit -

Saturn 5 Rocket -

Then I headed to Winder, GA for a week, where I stayed at Fort Yargo State Park.  I have stayed at this park several times in the past. 

As soon as I got there, I noticed an unwelcome visitor -

While I like birds, I didn’t like this one pecking on my mirrors and dirtying up my car.  I ended up putting bags over my RV exterior mirrors so the bird would not peck at them.

I had never walked around the lake at Ft. Yargo, it is a 7 mile hike and became my daily walk while there.

On the walk (or you can drive to it), I passed this 1793 log blockhouse which was part of Fort Yargo.  Also behind the blockhouse was an interesting beehive oven.

After Winder, I headed to Mountain City, GA.   I stayed a month visiting with my mom, going to doctor appointments and visiting friends.  My mom and I went hiking a couple of times to Tallulah Gorge and were surprised to learn that they were letting the water thru the dam, so the kayakers and rafters were going down the river (they only do this a few times each year).  We enjoyed watching them. 

If you remember the last time I was in GA, was when the tornadoes hit and did a lot of damage in several states.  We drove around Lake Burton (or is it Lake Rabun – I get the 2 confused) and looked at the damage and construction (or reconstruction – depending on the damage to the home). The picture below is the remains of a house that blew down the hill and into the garage. 

While there, my mom showed me what she bought for her Shih Tzu – Gabi, a Christmas dress!  Other than coats to keep her warm, I think this is her first outfit.

Well, that is the Condensed version of my trip from Michigan to Georgia.  While in GA, we had several nights that got below freezing – I don’t like it that cold. So for most of December, I am in warmer weather.  

I am currently on Sanibel Island in SW Florida, where it was 80 degrees today!  I’ll blog about this later.

Grand Haven State Park–Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park

I went to Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park one day while staying in Grand Haven.  I like some gardens, but I wasn’t sure about the sculpture park.  I’m not really into art.  But I enjoyed this Park!!  This Park is huge, it’s 132 acres and has 1000 volunteers. 

I first visited the indoor gardens and particularly enjoyed the Pitcher Plant Room.  I have always found carnivorous plants interesting. 

They also had many beautiful orchids -

Thirty or so years ago, I was camping and trying to take a picture of an armadillo but could not get a good picture.  The armadillo’s kept moving, so all my pictures were blurry.  So I rather enjoyed one of the first sculptures I saw.  (I eventually got some good pictures of armadillo’s)

After the indoor garden, I walked outside and decided I was going to like this place.

First Sculpture I saw, Mad Mom -

I think this was my favorite – Espaliered Girl.

Some of the sculptures were small, while others were huge.

Neuron

Most of the sculptures I could understand or at least enjoy, but some of them are a bit bizarre.

When I first saw this, I thought it was some type of box for utilities.  Nope, it’s a sculpture called For J. W.

I didn’t really understand this next one either.  While I am sure many people appreciate it, it looked to me like some kids made it.

Woman and Bird -

I ended up walking about 5 miles around this park.  What a great place to spend a day.

One last sunset picture taken from Grand Haven State Park --

 

In case you can’t tell, it’s a reflection of the lighthouse and sunset in the rear window of my RV.

Grand Haven State Park, MI

Well, I thought I would catch up on my blog while in GA, but I have not touched it for several weeks!!  I am going to try to catch up during the next week.

After Lake Leelanau, Mi, I headed to Grand Haven State Park in Grand Haven, MI.  The State Park is on Lake Michigan, but the sites are very small.  I knew about this before making the reservations, but was still surprised.

The spots were basically wide enough for my RV and car.   Some of the RVs with slides didn’t have room for their car.  But as you can see, that is Lake Michigan behind my RV.  So small, paved site with a nice view.   The picture below was taken just a few feet from my campsite on a windy day. 

There is a nice board walk that led from town to the campground and on to the pier above.  I walked it several times most days. 

I enjoyed watching all kind of water sports from my site.

Wave Runner -

Surfers -

Another Surfer - Taken from the Pier, looking back at the campground and my RV.

Sailing at sunset-

Kite Boarding - I also saw kayaks, and whatever it’s called when they stand on a surf-like board and paddle. 

And one more sunset picture -

One day, I drove into Grand Rapids and went to the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.  I enjoyed it so much that I am going to blog about it next.