Saturday

Florida Bound

 Saturday, March 9th

We left this morning on our way to Gainesville to see the area and ride bikes! Our home for the next three weeks is at the Santa Fe Palms Resort.


Week 1

Monday and Tuesday we rode bike trails. First the Gainesville-Hawthorne Trail which had beautiful views of the Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park.


Next we rode the Lake Butler to Palatka Trail through a canopy of trees with pretty marshland views!


One of our best friends in high school lives in Gainesville and we are really looking forward to seeing her!  Wednesday Sue and Jim came to the campground to chat, tell us some things about the area and make plans to do some things together in the coming weeks!


On Thursday we rode the Palatka-St. Augustine Trail, a ride through rural farmland and Hastings…The Potato Capital of Florida!


Micanopy is a small town south of Gainesville we wanted to see.  We arrived at the lunch hour Friday and could not resist eating at the Pearl Country Store and Barbecue.  

Gretchen with her Junior pork sandwich,
 huge but very tasty!


Downtown Micanopy is very quaint and an antique lovers heaven! Our next stop was Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park visitors center. There is a tower there that lets you see the extent of the prairie. The Gainesville-Hawthorn trail we rode Monday is on the horizon of the photo below.


Saturday morning we went to Devils Millhopper State Park to hike down the sink hole. We were expecting a full pool of water but it only had a little water in one spot. A volunteer indicated it was full in February but has been going down lately!


Our next stop was the Harn Art Museum at the University of Florida. What a wonderful museum. We learned a lot about Asian art forms!  Also, they had a surrealism, contemporary and Florida impressions exhibits.  


We had dinner with Sue, Jim, their daughter Katie and Herb (Sue’s brother).  It was so fun to chat with Katie and catch up with Herb, who we have not seen in five decades.  We might have chatted a bit about the old days in Schuylkill Haven!


Sunday was a riding day and we did the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross Florida Greenway just south of Ocala. It is a very smooth ride through pine forests in horse country!


It was a unique day! I forgot my wallet and was driving without a license! Gretchen normally doesn’t take her purse so we had no money. We were counting our car wash quarters in case we needed to get gas and we lost our bike keys.  Of course this had nothing to do with getting old!!  We did make it back to the campground with no problem!!!

Week 2

Monday, we went with Sue and Jim to the Florida Museum of Natural History.  In the lobby, you can stand by a little pond and watch wild animals come by for a drink.  It is very cool! The thing that impressed me the most was huge display (floor to ceiling) of butterflies from around the world in a long two story hallway!


Today we are heading to Trenton to ride the Nature Coast State Trail.  We planned  to ride the section from Trenton to Cross City. We rode to Old Town just beyond the Suwannee River bridge.  We turned around at that point since the towns were not on the trail.  We did ride to Fanning Springs which was about two miles south of the trail but there was no access to the town from the trail.

Suwannee River

Suwannee River Bridge on Trail

A beautiful, cool Florida day and we are heading north to ride the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail. It was a relaxing ride, mostly under a tree Canopy on smooth pavement! We logged 29 miles to the end in Baldwin and back.  Loved the trail!

Caboose in Baldwin Park.

Thursday was mostly a day for chores. We did go to center city Gainesville. It appears to have really gone down hill and they are just starting the process of rehabilitation.  

Today we went to see the Baughman Center on Lake Alice.  It reminded us of a chapel we saw in Kansas so we had to see it.  It is a stunning, elegant, contemplation space on the University campus.



  •   Across the street from the Center are the University Bat Houses.  Currently, there are 450,000 bats that reside in the Houses. Nightly, they  consume 2.5 billion insects (more than 2,500 pounds) including  moths, beetles, mosquitoes, flies, gnats, leafhoppers, midges and winged ants. No we didn’t go to see the fly out in the evening!

Tonight we went to a wonderful wine bar with Sue and Jim.  A food truck was offering a Venezuelan menu and our selections were delicious!  It was a fun evening with the Rolands!! AND, AND, AND….we got Jim to smile for a photo.  You can’t deny it Jim, I detect white teeth…a definite indicator of a smile!


Saturday’s weather called for thunderstorms so we decided to check out Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens. Sue and Jim said it was not that great but we needed something to do! It was not maintained at all. We drove in the entrance about a quarter mile and then turned around and left.  We did not think it was worth the admission fee. Good call Rolands! We did get to stop at the Williston town festival with food and craft venders!

Sunday we went to the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Gainesville. They have a beautiful campus and it was pledge Sunday!


In the afternoon, we went with Sue and Jim to the Kanapaha Botanical Gardens.  It was packed for the annual plant sale and fundraiser.  It was a beautiful garden to stroll around the trails with the spring flowers just beginning to blossom.

The Rolands came to the campground for dinner.   We had a fun time sipping good wine (thanks Sue and Jim) with Hors d’Oeuvres. Oh, Jim…what was that surprise beer you got? For dinner we had chicken stew and Gretchen’s chocolate chip cookies.

Week 3

Monday we rode the Ichetucknee Springs to O’Leno Trail. We liked the idea of a bike trail connecting two state parks! But it was in terrible condition; poor pavement and no hint of maintenance!  Tuesday we drove to Inverness to ride the Withlacoohee State Trail.  It was a wonderful ride with a host of cyclers, plus access to cafes and bike shops in the small towns. We rode all of the trails we planned to and looked 160 miles in Florida! Fun time!!



Wednesday morning we went with Jim to the Sweetwater Preserve and hiked the La Chua Trail. It is a beautiful, peaceful spot with many birds and we even saw a few alligators! We learned an alligator fact; above 93° F all eggs hatch as males, below 86° F as females.




For lunch we went to SweetBerries, one of Sue’s favorite cafes. Jim and I tried Cactus Chili for the first time! We still don’t know what cactus tastes like!!









 




















Friday

Gretchen’s Birthday and Valentines Day

  Tuesday 2/13

Gretchen is 76 years old today. Jenny joined us for dinner to celebrate the occasion! 



Wednesday

It is time for our annual event where the men cook dinner for their favorite valentines! This evening we are having olive and onion tapenade on toast, classic paella and an English trifle for desert!


Washing clams.

Making hors d’Oeuvres.

The trifle guys.


So glad Jenny could join us for our annual celebration!




Monday

Christmas 2023

Sunday 12/23

We followed the routine we adopted several years ago, going to Katie's for Christmas and then to Kelley's the day after. We had a quiet Christmas Eve with Katie. It was good chatting with her alone since the kids were at David's.  Christmas Day we picked up the kids, all of the presents were opened and Katie made a wonderful garlic chicken dish for dinner. Gretchen baked a vanilla cake with chocolate icing and pumpkin pie!


Tuesday 12/26

We made our way to Murrells Inlet and had dinner with the Hills! It was great to see Rachel! Kelley was excited about car shopping so they could get back to normal routines after the accident. Presents were opened and we called it a night!


Wednesday, Kelley found a car, a 2020 Chevy Equinox with only 33,000 miles and in excellent condition! We're so happy for you, it's just another step for you and Maggie to put the accident in the past! Of course we had to go for a ride and Maggie had to go shopping with her Christmas present money!

Thursday, I dropped Gretchen off with Kelley and Maggie and went to test ride an electric bike I was interested in buying.  We went to Myrtle beach for lunch and walked along the Boardwalk.  On the way home we stopped to walk along the Murrells Inlet Boardwalk. It was a beautiful day!


After dinner, we said our good byes since we'll be heading back to Virginia in the morning. Katie and Kelley, we appreciate you hosting us during the holidays.  It is great tradition for the old folks! Thanks so much for your hospitality! We love you all LOTS!

Grandpa's  new bike!








Friday

Thanksgiving

 Wednesday 11/22

We headed to Hillsborough to enjoy the holiday with Katie, Audrey and Henry. We arrived about 2:30 pm, got settled and then we went downtown for a walk.  Of course, since we were downtown, a stop at Whit's was necesary!


Back at the house we played games, one of which Audrey was very excited about; something about an exploding cat.  Grandpa thinks it exploded my mind!

Thursday

Before any one was awake, Henry left to run the Turkey Trot in Durham with his Dad and Laura.  He came in 2nd in his age group and tenth overall (with hundreds of runners in the race)!

We had a great day hanging around the house, playing games, walking around the neighborhood, cooking, calling Aunt Kelley and Aunt Sally, cooking and then we ate a wonderful dinner.  We had turkey, filling, brussel sprouts, sweet potatoes, green beans, chocolate chess and pecan pies! No shortage of food in the Alexander house. We are blessed!




Saturday

Maggie"s Confirmation Trip Nov 1st

 Thursday

We finally got our camper back following the slide replacement, so we are taking it SC to make sure all is well.  First we are headed to Suffolk to ride two rail trails which we will highlight in videos. The first was the Dismal Swamp Canal Trail.


It's a pretty great idea to turn an old road into a trail! It runs parallel to the canal through forest and farmland.  There are rest spots where you get a good views of the canal!


Friday

We rode the parts of the Suffolk Seaboard Coastline Trail that are completed. It will connect Suffolk to Chesapeake when completed.


Saturday

We drove to Myrtle Beach and went to the Hills for dinner.  Unfortunately, Rachel tested positive for Covid so she was isolating in her bedroom and will not be able to go to church in the morning.

Sunday

It is Confirmation Day.  We met Maggie, Kelley and Seth at the church.  The ceremony was very impressive. The photo below is the moment Maggie was confirmed as a member of the Belin United Methodist Church!


Note all of the girls wore white dresses and tiaras.  The stole Maggie is wearing she decorated at a retreat the class had.  The class also wrote a creed which the congregation read in the service!



After the service we went back to the Hills for lunch and cake with their neighbors.  Today was a very great experience for Maggie and a fun time for everyone.  So great to spend time with you guys, we love you all so much!
Oh, did I mention we had oysters on the grill that Jeff caught in a local creek today! Oh, and today I am 75 years old!

Monday

We drove home today safely!  But I do have to mention that our camper did not do well on the trip.  When Gretchen was putting out the slide, I heard a loud clank and the slide was damaged again.  On the way home we decided we had to get rid of the Lance and get a simpler trailer like our last one with no slides.  We do not want another trip ruined by a broken slide like our trip out west last spring.  So, we ended up trading the Lance for an InTech Sol Dusk.  We pick it up next week!