MetalDad

That's funny. I have been playing Be Our Guest at the beginning of the meal at most gigs I play for well over a decade, actually since about '95. I always thought it was funny that the lyrics said "try the grey stuff, it's delicious!". Now I know...there's Grey Stuff!

It said 9998 when I clicked and there was someone else in, I was either 9999 or 10k! Nice shootin' Tex!

Christopher Robin was a bit scary... just saying.

One of the inherent problems of having humans in character costumes, is that they all are relatively the same size.

I know there's not much way around it.

It's kind of comical seeing Piglet and Pooh the same size.

I love the detail of Christopher's uneven socks.

You gave up free tix for USF/UConn for this? What, are you new?

And a parking pass???

You missed a chance to eat a Subway Cold Cut Combo on the tailgate of my truck for this?

They serve Kronenborg...I'm OK with that. They're theming, it's not like they're tossing out Bud Light for the sake of selling beer.

BTW, USF won, the Subway was great, and my son hit a woman with a football during tailgate catch.

She deserved it, she was sitting within 100 feet of an 8yo!

You had better double check YouTube to be sure no one posted a video of a half drunk Dad on a scooter being dragged through a state park by a puppy!

Come to think of it, if someone did catch it on video, you could probably make a tidy little profit!

I laughed at the canoe comment. That would be some swim! Creepy though. Those flooded subways in NYC came to mind.

In college, we called it "ta kill ya". And boy did it!

I knew it was trouble when the tequila bottle was plastic, the brand name was Tortilla, and they said they lost it in their old camper several years ago, but found it when they went to sell it. I'm a dumbass.

Awesome trip. And love the PJ's

Thanks. I wear them on the 4 cold days we have each year. This is still the only place where you use your camper's heat and AC on the same day.

We're heading to Ft. DeSoto Park for 4 days of camping with our group from church.

Yes, I'm the MetalDad, and yes, I do go to church, but we're on the other side of the CG from the other 39 families, they're scared of me.

Something about the devil's music...

I should have a good TR out of it...if you're interested. It's a Fort trip...just a different Fort!

Enjoying your TR! The reenactment was interesting, hope your shoulder's okay!

All is well, thanks, ready to get it going again, packing the dog and the scooter for a 4-day trip!

That baby gate made me laugh.

Me too. It set the tone not to take it too seriously!

Me too.

Baby gates, baseball hats and basketball hoops :)

I also thought the look on the faces from the crowd were interesting.

It was interesting to say the least. we were somewhere between Dances With Wolves and Duck Dynasty.

Gee, come late to party and you can't be the first to comment on a baby gate....

Sorry about the shoulder.

Did I miss the blue agave?

Why is it always booze related with you...and me?

I had to LOL at the Brady Bunch comment. My kids watched that episode today. Yes, I am raising themon the classics! :D

Looking forward to more (I think).

I love me some Brady Bunch. I came from a big family (, so I can relate. Plus they camped in a popup.

Oh, I missed commenting on the Brady Bunch.

That is one of my favorite episodes too.

I have always wanted to put beans in my flashlight.

TCD

I didn't even like beans as a kid, but I always thought that they would be awesome in one of those old school silver Everready flashlights.

I might go to the dollar store, get a bunch of cheap flashlights and serve some Bush's Bobby & Cindy style!

Great update and great report!

I laughed out loud when reading about the scooter ride.

Can't wait for your next report.

It's funny til someone gets hurt, then it's hilarious. Reading back on my TR's, I realize how irresponsible I am. Ya' know that "Don't tell mom" commercial? That's so me...

Preach on MD, Preach on!!!!

LOL about the scooter being pulled by Josie. Brings brack memories of my late Doberman Clemmy and a kids regular scooter. She could pull and pull, but like you the turning was a ...........

I'm really enjoying having a big dog. She's great camping. Just as naughty as me, and she too pees in the woods!

:lmao1:

I would have paid an admission to see your high speed scooter run!

Those camp pictures are phenomenal! I'm sure the blur occurred in the upload process.

Another great MD family weekend! Thanks!

We need to organize the Spartacus Fiend Invitational Scooter Dog race around the Fort. Down the WL trail and back. Winner buys (my dog is too easily distracted!)

Some random thoughts...

It seems we have a run on TR hideous pajamas lately. That's what I love about campers. Comfortable in our own skin, salt of the earth!

PBR...being a beer snob, I thought this was my dirty little secret, like dating a girl from across the tracks. I see I'm not alone!

HOB...great venue, I saw a great Metal show there a few years ago.

One of my favorite reggae bands is playing there for New Years Eve, and I know a certain fiend that will be there at the Fort (pssst...it's me!)

The cool part is MetalWife and I can take the bus in to DTD, but wonder if the kennel will take the kids for a few hours?

Rebel without a sitter....

Now that the war was over, the dog relaxed a little, and I was reunited with the family, it was time to check out the rest of the park.

Meahwhile, Ben was still furiously texting me with fishing questions.

I sent him this!

This bridge was built by hand in the 30’s.

It was suspended by cables.

Let that sink in… 80 year old cable!

It was also not very wide, certainly it was not built with today’s average girth in mind!

This is the Santa Fe River.

It passes through the park, and at one point goes underground at a place called River Sink.

It travels 3 miles underground then, pops back up at a place called River Rise.

Don’t fall out of the canoe, right?

John II finds the steps under the bridge.

Some more shots of the river.

These shots are the beginning of one of the several hiking trails.

But, since we didn’t want fried guts, and hadn’t eaten yet, and had no water, we headed back towards camp.

Gracie took a shot of me coming back over the bridge.

This sign is the same on both sides, and it was a tough shot because the sun was getting low in the sky.

Good luck reading it!

I tried to get some loop shots to give some perspective.

From the entrance.

To the left is the first site, the right side is where it starts to go uphill.

This is the next little rise.

It did this three or four times so that when you get to our site, we were actually up on a hill.

Big deal, right?

This is Florida.

The closest we come to a hill is the odd dune here and there!

We were starving, but only an hour shy of the big potluck get together.

So what else do you do?

We cleaned up the site a bit, prepared our food for the gathering, packed the mini-cooler.

Then, Annie yaks!

Headache.

A bit dehydrated.

The lack of humidity threw us all off our game.

So MetalWife stayed behind with the youngest, the rest carried on!

Me, the two oldest, and Josie!

The campground had an empty site by the comfort station, and they let us use it as a gathering spot.

Here are some photos of the Saturday gathering/potluck.

I couldn’t resist taking her picture back!

And him!

Everyone started taking pictures of people taking pictures.

Look in the background, you’ll see gifts on a table.

We get several sponsors to donate goods for the event, and some are given as door prizes. We won a washer toss game.

Here’s some shots around the site.

The beer was starting to kick in. Some of these are blurry, but they looked just fine when I took’em!

The campground host was quite helpful, so they invited him to join.

He brought his guitar.

Ever see the film Role Models? Reminds me of that scene.

“I hate camping. Camping blows. It's dirty, and I don't like sleeping on rocks. There's always a guy with an acoustic guitar that doesn't quite know how to play it.”

Cut to the camping scene

Kumbaya, my... (fumbles through the chords)

Wait. I know it. Kumbaya, You know. Wait. I know it. Wait. Kumbaya, my Lord

No. Wait. Oh, yeah, I got it. This is it.

After eating a ton of great food, sharing a little fellowship, we headed back to camp.

Annie had come back around.

I took the scooter out, but it was running out of juice.

Then I did perhaps one of the dumbest things I’ve done… since my last Fort trip.

Remember that bit with the ranger/security/cart?

This time was dumber.

Way dumber.

As I said, the scooter was out of juice.

Josie needed a good run.

So….

I tied her leash to the handle bars and had her pull me around the loop.

Two things to remember. No three…

One, she was antsy, anxious, and 49 lbs of pure puppy muscle!

Two, there was nothing between me and the ground but ¾ inch of flip-flop!

Three, since my site was at the top of the hill, we had to head DOWN in either direction.

We were flying.

Way faster than the thing goes on it’s own power.

As long as it’s going straight!

We passed our friends site, and I saw them through the blur cracking up laughing as I started to yell.

Then, we hit a steep drop in the road.

The flip-flop skid marks lasted the length of two and a half camping sites.

The dog must have seen a squirrel or something.

That’s when a sudden turn occurred.

I bailed, and Josie dragged the scooter off into the woods.

Holy crap.

We somehow worked our way back up the hill to the campsite for a well-deserved rest.

Our friends came by for a variation on the smores concept.

A giant marshmallow with a hunk of chocolate inserted, roasted over the fire, and eaten like that, no crackers!

Last two photos of the night!

The family headed off to bed.

My friends from the group invited me down to hang out at their site for a bit.

I had no beer left.

They said "don’t worry, we’ll hook you up."

FAmous last words

Enter the blue agave.

Why I drank tequila, I will never know…

I can tell you that it made packing up (waking up for that matter) a tough go of it.

Nothing a little Egg McMuffin can’t fix.

Sunday morning, we packed and departed, took another route home, listened to the new Mumford & Sons record on the way.

We had a great weekend, looking forward to the spring rally.

But now, I have to pack, as we head out for another adventure tomorrow!

See ya’ real soon!

BTW, Stef the same ownership has a very similar location in Sarasota called Fun n Sun. http://www.sunnfunfl.com/

We definitely need to put together a locals trip! Check schedules! Let's pick a place!

We camped our coldest trip ever there between Christmas and New Years 2010. I like that CG, we'll be back!

Looks like fun!!!!

It was. I'd do it again some time!

I don't know, call me a purist, but I am anti-baby gates in TP's.

And also, couldn't they have found a better place to dance than under a basketball goal?

The whole thing has a very weird vibe.

But, thanks for sharing.

Because I never had seen a TP With a baby gate before this one.

TCD

There was a lot of funny details like that. Like one kid dressed in full native garb and a Lakers hat!

The locals were into it, and it sure looked like a lot of care went into the war and the dances, but they had so much room, the choice of dancefloor was definitely off.

One guy had a huge wolf on a leash. The only animal we've met that Josie was content not to play with!

After the dances, they asked us to walk through the woods until we saw a rope…stop there!

On the way, I noticed that our neighbors in the RV were behind us, carrying their big box of arms.

I had to snap a photo of the kids with them, but couldn’t stop traffic, so I snapped this whilst jogging backwards through the woods!

We came to a rope strewn through the trees.

That’s where we stopped.

There was a slight path that ran the length of the rope.

From the rope on in to the end of the clearing was the battle grounds.

It was a section about 100 yards deep, and 300-400 yards long.

We waited for a bit, and then these fellers happened by.

A little bit more of a wait.

The group toward the center of the battlefield let out a big yell.

Apparently a very large snake came out of a log and crossed the path.

Next, they sent out several Indians and spaced them about 50 yards apart, so they could address the crowd.

We were closest to this gent.

He told us how the “Alligator Warrior Festival” is named after an old Indian chief, ‘Alligator Warrior” that fought the US troops from advancing into Florida in the Second Seminole War.

Apparently the Seminole, Creek, and other Florida tribes were able to keep thousands of troops from advancing into the state by making a lot of noise in the bushes and scaring the soldiers.

The soldiers assumed that there were thousands of Indians, when in reality it was about 200.

The troops reported that they were overrun by hostile Indians and were losing soldiers.

Apparently there was really only one casualty, a soldier was crushed by his own horse.

The re-enacted battle, occurred about 2 miles away from where we were.

He finished by inviting us to one of their “stomps”, like a club meeting.

It felt like that Brady Bunch scene where they all get their Indian names.

For today, the war started when two farmer/settlers came by pulling that cart that you saw earlier.

They were chased by two natives, and that snowballed into the troops attacking.

Somewhere in there, I gave the camera to MetalWife to snap some photos.

She’s very into this.

As an educator, she covers sections on Florida native tribes.

This was in her wheelhouse.

My kids thought the smoke and yelling and screaming was awesome.

Then it happened.

My neighbor joined the fight with a monstrous cannon blast.

Guess who was tied to my wrist?

Guess who dislocated a shoulder?

Josie pulled me across those leaves so fast it looked like I was water skiing.

I lost the family at the battlefield, and went back to the park where I soothed the dog and waited for the war to end.

Day Two

Sounds: War Dance and gunfire

Smells: southern cooking and gunsmoke

Tastes: potluck, and blue agave juice.

Everyone was full, bathed, and bug sprayed.

We were on our way to the Alligator Warrior Festival.

But first, a run for some provisions.

We needed Ice, Tums, and some more Dr. Pepper!

Winn Dixie was 6 miles away.

On the way, MetalWife and my son played Haunted/Not Haunted.

I secretly kept track, and they saw more buildings that looked haunted than not.

I had to ask…

Why does a bunch of crap piled in the yard make it look haunted?

It’s not like ghosts need more room?

Back at the park, Gracie showed that she is the one in our family most in touch with nature...

Once we left the parking lot, we entered the day use/historic part of the park.

The first thing we saw was this old Cracker-style building.

About this time, I started getting texts from Ben asking me all sorts of questions about fishing.

Finally I snapped a photo to prove that we were on a river. Unfortunately, the zoom on my phone really screws up your pictures.

As we got closer to the festival, the walk-in was lined with food booths selling all sorts of southern fare like catfish, collard greens, okra, pulled everything, deep fried everything, and an assortment of cooked guts and intestines.

And boiled peanuts.

We spotted our first Indians.

One approached and said that one of the girls ponytails would look good on his lodge pole.

What a perv.

Who says that?

The baseball hat with the spirit catcher embroidered on it looked authentic.

Here’s some random artifacts and demonstrations. Some photos didn’t come out so well, so we re-took them, but I’m posting them all.

Ever see a teepee with a baby gate?

Now you have!

I tried to think of something clever for this.

The girls wanted a Teepee photo

There was also some displays of the early Florida settlers. A blacksmith cart.

Notice Junior’s shirt!

This cart was used in the first scene in the war, just noticed we snapped this photo before we knew that detail!

Next, all attention was focused on the basketball court.

The drum started to play.

In between songs, they would pick up a handful of earth or a satchel of spices and spread it on the drum.

Eventually it all fell off from the rhythm, but I really appreciated the symbolism.

Next they had dancers come up and do celebration dances. Right under the basketball hoop!

Some of our group was on the other side of the circle.

Us.

Josie was with us too!

As I mentioned she ate her training harness, so it was just her pink camo collar and some good luck!

I’m not sure why, but I love this next one!

She just learned how to “shake”.

Notice how much leash is wrapped around MetalWife’s wrist.

The sights and smells had her on high alert, The drums kinda freaked her out.

Seminole War? Man, this report keeps on surprising.

After growing up HATING hash, I have developed a love for the stuff. Yours looks really good. They also had some excellent corned beef hash on the Disney Dream. At this moment, I'd go back on that ship just for the hash. If spending several thousand bucks on hash wasn't really stupid.

I do mine in the iron skillet, healthy dose of garlic and Old Bay, nice and crispy. Next time I'm thinking of shaving a little onion into it. We've since switched to iron skillets at home as well as a result! Also...Everything gets hot sauce!

Cool trip report. Can't wait or more.

Thanks for reading along!

Great update! I love the Josie duty comment. We actually have an unspoken game with our dog. It's called try to ignore the fact that she needs to go for a walk the longest to see who wins. The loser gets walking duty. Thankfully the dog walking torch has been passed to our oldest boy on our camping trips :).

I LOL at the scooter comments and the pictures of you having a blast on it.

Looking forward to the re enactment!

I look forward to my son being big enough to walk her. That will be almost as sweet as hearing him mow the yard from the comfort of the couch!

The scooter thing is that typically this camping group usually hosts a race, all the old, big guys on the little kiddie scooters, but due to the layout and distance of the loops, it didn't happen.

Loving the TR and great photos... also a huge fan of Doc. Hollywood... never knew where it was filmed so thank you for the information, can't wait for the update !

I'm thinking of a non-festival trip there to explore. There's also a festival called "Doc Hollywood Days" that happens each spring.

Lovin the report!

Thanks. Did you notice I captured a t@b in one of the hammock photos?

MD- I am a bit behind on my TR reading, but just read your latest update.

Very good.

Love the Bucs p.j.'s. LOL that they're high-waters!

And, nice save on breakfast with no eggs.

I am also a fan of corned beef hash, but no one else in my family is, so I am limited to grabbing a spoonful from the occasional buffet.

TCD

Because of my lack of height, I had to cut the legs down, I cut a little too much, and they're frayed, kind of a shipwrecked look!

We've been trying to keep the crackers and chips to a minimum, and found that the kids all like hard-boiled eggs, so we always seem to have them.

We just haven't developed a system where they're marked as such!

CB Hash is a staple camping meal for us! And, we always have extra!

Day Two

Sounds: New records by Soja (reggae) and Old Crow Medicine Show (string band)

Smells: southern cooking and gunsmoke

Tastes: CB Hash, potluck, and blue agave juice.

Wake up…said the bark!

Apparently I’m the only one that hears a giant black lab bark at point blank range, so I got Josie duty!

And, I just noticed, we have neighbors in a big RV next door.

After the dog walk and feeding, I started to prepare for one of my favorite camping elements…breakfast!

I don’t normally eat breakfast, or just a lite snack, as my regular lunch time is 11am during the week, so it’s just another treat that camping offers.

Pulled out the iron skillets, popped a Diet Dr. Pepper, turned on some Rolling Stones (I cook breakfast to Beggar’s Banquet, it’s become a bit of a tradition.)

Annie loves the song Dear Doctor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STjASYx9a9k

I wave to my new neighbor, whom has emerged from the RV, strikingly dressed like a cross between Amish/Pilgrim/Plantation owner.

A brief conversation reveals that he mans the cannon for the cracker/settlers!

Cool! How do you top that?

I immediately wanted to pop down and go home.

First, the dang Doppler-effect donkey bird, bigfoot, and now ghosts of a rogue branch of the confederate army.

Ya’ see Timmy, today is Saturday, and the park is hosting the Alligator Warrior Festival!

One of the highlights of the festival is a re-enactment of the Second Seminole War.

Holy flying donkey birds…we’re going to that!

And a little recon reveals that, since we’re already at the park, it’s free!

Gold star!

First things first. We brought a little Fort with us!

Everytime Ben goes to refill his Fort mugs, he gets one or two with hot chocolate for the kids, and brings back a bunch of extra packets.

So we are loaded down with genuine Fort cocoa (presented by Nestle).

Here’s the kids getting all hopped up on cocoa!

I also got the fire going again so MetalWife could read whilst I was slinging hash!

I took a break while the hash crisped, no one rocks the purple solo cup and red Buccaneer hi-water pajamas like me, especially fireside with a Guiness hoodie on!

Back to the stove.

Honey, where’s the eggs?

What eggs.

I immediately had at least 4 wiseass answers.

How do I answer that without ruining the day?

The ones we packed, dear!

The hard-boiled ones?

Apparently we packed a dozen hard-boiled eggs for snack purposes.

Lemons, Lemonade

I served leftover chicken sandwiches, corned-beef hash, and hard boiled eggs.

All were happy!

We brought along our electric scooter, more on that later. Here’s Gracie!

Notice that between her legs is Annie, in her pajamas, totally improper, somewhat dangerous, and the dumbass dad taking the picture!

Back down the trail to the comfort station. These middle of nowhere scenes are rare around my house, so this was a novelty for me!

No Kenny carts this time, so I had to create a new re-purposed washing-up area!

While washing breakfast dishes, I met my neighbor on the other side. In a pop-up, but not in our group.

They were from Pasco county and had come up for a fall festival at Micanopy, which was like 30 miles away, but the CG’s the closest thing available.

The town of Micanopy was where the Michael J. Fox film Doc Hollywood was filmed.

In the film, Micanopy is the town of Grady, SC, and this festival is sort-of a nod to the Squash Festival in the movie.

I’m a big fan of the film, so that’s going on the list.

Later, he told me it was so packed, you couldn’t move.

Maybe a little lower on the list then!

Then, I got a rare few minutes in the hammock!

Stop! Hammock Time!

I didn’t call seat check, so Annie jumped in!

Notice the fiend cup!

The absolutely chaotic and unzipped MetalCamper, complete with MetalWife putting on her war paint.

I had the scooter plugged in behind the camper, so I commandeered it for a spin!

See my son waiting patiently for a spin?

Next, we posse up and head to the festival. War is approaching!

Random thoughts:

As far as parking lots go, that looks like a small one, unless they go up and build a huge monolithic garage.

That looks like tracks from a deer that wears a left flip-flop. Same brand as yours!

I wonder if they took the calliope away for some theming at the 4 Seasons or Fort DVC, wouldn't that be a slap in the mouth?

The calliope button just goes to show you how dumb they think we are!

I love the half log benches. That will be sad if they go!

More homogenous campground stuff, they seem to be slowly but surely stripping away a lot of the Fort's character.

Cool - I made it on page 1. First time in more than a year that I'm not late in joining a TR!

Like the TR so far, and that you mention the music for the trip. Going to have to test drive the soundtrack from Hunger Games, always looking for something new to listen to while driving.

Thanks. I always mention the music, a priority for sure. I'll take 45 minutes to plan the music for a 30 minute car ride. The soundtruck is kind of sullen, but interesting.

Pretty dog! And nice site! Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks!

Love me some MD reports!!

I wish I'd known you came through my neck of the woods. I would have stood out and :wave1: or at the very least :sarc3:

Annie's Vanna hands are outstanding!! She made my buffalo chicken look even better than it tastes. Way to go Annie!

I have a lot of friends who visit O'Leno SP, but I've not been there. Now that you tell me there are flying donkeys, it's on my must do list.

I'm going to be "unplugged" for a few days, but I'll be back my wayward son. (Yes, I am also singing Kansas :clint: )

Yes, we zipped right up 19. I should have gotten in touch, could've met the fam!

Sounds like I need to hit up that Neighborhood Market.

Did they have any more of those chairs left after you bought yours?

TCD

They have 1 or 2 of the green ones marked down to $15, which is good, I have one of those green ones, it's in the same photo above. It was $30, marked to $15.

I thought you might be in big trouble at first. Thought Josie might be MetalWife until I got to the part where she was adopted and her coat is hearthy. I almost thought MD would be :mort1:

You're correct. Which one do you think answers when I ask "Who's my good girl?"

You are off to a great start!

Props to you for sporting the FW shirt on the trip.

That is a big campsite!

Donkey Bird?

I need to get me some of that beer you drank.

Sorry about the no sleep.

TCD

A very cool park, site was amazing. Beer is at Neighborhood Market on 580. Donkey Bird was real. The shirt goes everywhere!

Awesome start!

I've received email invites from that site for their rally's in the past but have never been able to go. We love RV and watch it several times a year. The kids love the "Big Rolling Turd".

Looks like we are in for a great report!

By the way that Coleman "inclined" camp chair is the best. It is so much more comfortable than the normal camp chairs.

I found that chair maked down to $25 at Wal-Mart Neighborhood market, just got a second one too. I've been looking at it for years now. Now that I have them, love them. you'll notice most of our gear is Coleman, even the truck has a Coleman sticker.

Love RV, hate how nasty the family is to each other.

Join up on the rally, good group!

Bigfoot? Donkey Birds?? Wow. I don't know what to say.

And Hunger Games soundtrack, huh? Glad I'm not the only one who enjoys that. Punch Brothers, Civil Wars...not too shabby.

Yes Dave, anything with Punch Brothers is good with me. Plus with Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert, my daughter got her tweener fill...and the Pistol Annies are cool! Kidi Cudi track sucks Donkeybird balls!

Sounds like a great trip, can't wait for more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool, thanks for joining!

Did Josie stay back there or make it up front with the adults? She only hopped up front whilst parked on the way home at McDonald's!

I know Savannah dosen't stay in the back of our quad, all 60#s of her is lap dog on whoever is in the passenger seat. :banghead:

Didn't you forget to mention some peeps? :beathorse: I'm not sure what that meant!

Nope, never mind. :whew: :beer: Again, what?

I've never of of kid's nonalcoholic craft beer. Cool :clint: I didn't get this either, but sampled some of the Blue Moon winter pack... now it makes total sense! My kid's don't even want to pinky taste, they think it's gross...I'm cool with that!

Could the flying donkey sounds have been frogs?

Only if they were thrown by a centerfielder trying to make a play at the plate. They were in the air moving at high speed. They sounded just like a Tusken Raider from Star Wars when Obi Wan rescues Luke on Tattoine. What?

Man I love me a MD TR. And I love FL state parks! Great to get insight on one we've never been to.

You have the. cutest. kids.

We never had the chance to unzip the pop-up when we had it, but I always wanted to do that to see what it was like.

My favorite picture so far:

Carry on!! (aw geez now I have a Kansas song in my head)…….

Cool. Thanks! That's funny. My son, at 8, loves Kansas. Ever since that commercial that used "Point Of Know Return" with that Asian kid singing "How long...." He listens to the Leftoverture/Point of Know Return CD as lullaby...only in the MetalHouse!

The park was a winner. We'd do it again, but there's several more on the list before we return.

Day One

Sounds: A dreamy blend of 70’s Soul, Disco, Black Sabbath, Bluegrass, and the Hunger Games Soundtrack

Smells: The woods and canvas

Tastes: Orange Crush and Wally’s Brews

In as much as I’m a loyal Fiend, I also on occasion participate in a camping forum for folks that own and camp in pop-up campers.

I originally got involved looking for a copy of the owner’s manual for our unit when we purchased it several years ago.

After a few months of the odd post here and there, I stumbled upon a group loosely based out of the southeast, mostly Florida, that discussed local campgrounds, tips and tricks, and camper modifications.

Before long, we were invited to a rally, a grand gathering of sorts, except they’re all complete strangers, and it’s in the middle of nowhere!

Safety!

We went to our first Florida rally in Ocala last fall, had a great experience, tried to make the spring rally, but the school schedule interfered.

This year we returned to the roster of the fall rally, held at O’Leno State Park in High Springs, FL.

It was not too far from Gainesville, maybe 25 miles.

The group generally agrees right after a rally where the site of the next one will be, and when, based on the greatest number of available participants and campground availability, it’s tough to find a place that can shoehorn in 30-40 families!

So we booked within days of the announcement this past spring, and looked forward to our trip to northern Florida!

So, I figgered that I would share the experience with you dear reader!

Since several of you know me and my family, I thought you might enjoy some recurring themes of a proper MD trip report!

We took the day off of work and school on Friday so that we could have an early departure, and enjoy an almost full day of camping!

I’m not so nutso of a parent that has to have immaculate attendance for the kids, considering where we were going and what we were doing.

First things first, we had to pack.

I enjoyed the minimalist approach last time… the whole ‘less is more’ bit.

So we scaled back this time as well. And without the benefit of Ben’s trailer…no bikes…and no Ben!

An early wake-up, and I had the truck loaded up before the kids were up.

I even shopped for last minute food, beer, and ice before I hitched up. Even brought in breakfast instead of eating behind the wheel!

Then, it was time for wheels up!

And, for those of you that have been on this ride with me before… Look who’s making her first camping trip!

It’s Josie!

She’s doing well. She’s gained about 15lbs. since we've adopted her, her coat is healthy, she’s happy, and loved!

And, she loves a roady!

Just a boy in his truck, with his wife and kids and dog, pulling a camper. ‘Tis a good day indeed!

And, MetalWife…

We took the scenic route!

While there is an interstate that runs north, and drops you 6 miles from the campground, we decided to drive through a bit more of the state’s rustic vistas.

My kids have been watching RV a lot lately, have been singing Route 66, and were sort of enamored with the idea of a local route.

As we crossed into Citrus county, I mentioned that we were in Stef’s part of the world, but we didn’t see her.

The kid’s didn’t notice, shortly after we saw the mermaid sign for Weeki Wachee, they assumed this pose.

The map said 3 hours and 150 miles, sing it... a three hour tour... it was exactly 150 miles and 3 hours 9 minutes when we saw this.

Which made me miss the turn in, so I backed the rig up and tried again!

I know, not as ornate and iconic as the Fort sign, but we were here, check in was a breeze, proceed to site #44.

There’s 2 loops at O’Leno, the Magnolia which is near the park, river, and day use areas. Smaller and closer sites.

And the Dogwood, which is none of those.

Remote, all woods, built on a hill, and a bit more expansive.

When we went to book, the Magnolia was full, so I had my choice of the entire Dogwood loop, so I researched, based on one sole criteria…real estate.

I wanted the biggest site on the loop.

First order of biz was the comfort station. And the path to it!

Yes, we were indeed camping. The path to the bathhouse was a trail through the woods.

No mulch, no pavement, no signs, no trimming, no light, I feared what may be at the end of this labrynith!

That was a close one!

Great facilities. Clean, quiet, comfortable. Lots of info about local wildlife and camping hazards on the bulletin board.

Apparently ticks are big up here on account of the high deer population.

It was a pretty cool weekend, temp-wise, so we didn’t see any, although we were prepared!

Our way back was tough, we had to remember which path was ours.

From the bottom of the hill by the bathhouse, it was the third path from the left, and stay left every time it splits, otherwise you end up in someone else’s site.

It was uphill, and the tree roots acted as natural stairs at the steeper bits.

Back to the site for set-up! And a quick walk to survey our new digs!

The campground uses fallen trees to create the borders between sites and natural bench seating for site guests and the random shoe tie!

Once we were settled in, put the food away, took stock of what we forgot (eggs, garbage bags…) we had a little time to relax.

Meet this trip’s special guests

Perhaps a bit of a pedestrian choice, but here’s the skinny. Foster’s is the best cheap beer on the shelf. It’s $10 per 12 here.

The Beck’s Oktoberfest is something we look forward to. Usually not a Beck’s drinker, but the seasonal is very malty and amber, and is currently MetalWife’s favorite, so she’s happy, I’m happy.

Lastly, Henry Weinhard’s Redwood Flats Amber. They were a small local brewery in Oregon that went national in a big way, picked up by Wal-Mart!

Since that’s where I was, I picked the only stranger on the shelf (that’s how I shop for beer!).

They have 3 brews, the other two being a Lager and an IPA.

We ran into some friends from our group and hung out a bit at their camper.

There’s a couple from the east coast of Florida and a couple from southern Georgia, luckily, we were all within a few sites of each other!

Josie made the rounds.

She’s still a puppy, so she’s not ready to run free yet.

Pretty confident we’d never see her again!

Here she’s on a training harness. Within 2 hours, she chewed it off.

I caught her out of the corner of my eye and jumped on her like an NFL linebacker. I never knew I could move that quickly!

The opening ceremony so to speak, was a cocktail party at the wagon master’s site, that’s the member that was the host.

We had to hop in the trucks and drive to the other loop, over a mile through the wilderness.

We parked in the day use lot and walked the rest of the way.

We visited with the rest of the group. They had crafts for the kids, adult games.

I won a koozie with a pop-up on it whilst playing plinko. The wagon master got some great sponsors and did a wonderful job.

Here he is now!

The kicker is, just before the trip, he and his family got a new hybrid.

He contested that at least it pops out, if not up.

The last wagon master missed the rally, because they bought a travel trailer that weekend.

But like here, all great folks to camp with, no matter what vessel they sail!

Back to the camper to eat.

We prepared the crockpot buffalo chicken that someone shared somewhere around here, I think Stef.

We cooked it over night and brought it with us. It was kind of nice not having to cook on the first day.

As usual, here’s Annie with the Vanna hands to show off her wares.

And a rare shot of us eating inside. It had gotten dark, and I took it easy on the lights this trip.

We got the kids to sleep, and the wife and I settled in by the fire.

I took this picture, so here it is now...

It was pretty cool out, for us anyway, around 60. We had every panel in the camper completely unzipped, which is essentially like sleeping in a birdcage.

We could hear part of our group down the way a bit making some noise, playing some cornhole until about 1am.

I managed to fall in and out of sleep around 10:30 or so.

Then I was awoken out of a deep sleep at around 1:30. There was animal sounds afoot!

Ya’ see Timmy, there was an animal that had never been this deep in the woods.

All the sounds and smells of nature were overwhelming for a 10 month old puppy.

I can only imagine a deer passing by 30 yards away would be almost too much for Josie to handle, so I stayed up with her…all night.

Before long, I could hear every animal in the woods.

Wolves and coyotes... which during daylight I calculated that it was dogs from the nearby farms.

I heard birds of species I’d never encountered.

There was a moment when I heard a donkey.

Then I heard it go across the sky, and judging upon the Doppler effect, I’m guessing at a high rate of speed.

My two other neighbors heard the donkey fly by as well.

So now we know there is a donkey bird living in the woods of North Florida.

As I lay there, calming my dog, waiting to be eaten by Bigfoot, I noticed that between 3 and 4am, it dropped to 51 degrees.

It never occurred to me to zip up the camper!

Eventually Josie was too tired to sniff, and I was too tired to go on, so I surrendered my spirit to Bigfoot, the donkey bird, or the early morning kid trip to the comfort station, whichever comes first.

See you in the morning! Keep your powder dry…we’re going to War!

MetalDad - I also do St. Baldricks. This will be my fourth year coming up. Last year a group of swimmers I coach came and watched me. They somehow convinced me to leave it in a mohawk. I kept the mohawk for about a week, then it finally had to go.

I started doing it after one of the swimmers I coached passed away from Cancer. I think the least I can do to help is to get my head shaved.

Also, no need to turn in your man card. Supporting your sister and all of the others that are out there running earns you plenty of points.

Best wishes to your sister and to all others.

Thanks. That's so great that you are involved. Good luck on this year's campaign!

MD awesome update, although I am waiting for BM to post the picture of you showing off your bra to return the favor. Being involved in events like this is great. I will be praying for your family in their battle.

Awesome. I tried to take one, but I couldn't get mine around my shoulders without destroying it. Ever see Chris Farley in the film Tommy Boy? "Fat guy in a little coat!"

Late to the party but loved the TR. Great Daddy/Daughter time, she's so cute and loved the "I'm eating your family" comment.

Looks like a loving and caring family you are a part of.

Thanks for your support to fight cancer. Prayers sent.

Appreciate it! And, thanks for bumping the TR! Another trip this weekend, so I hope to have a new TR soon!

Loved that Annie apologized to her piggy before she ate!

Thank you for all you and your family do to support cancer research and awareness. Most especially thank you for shaving your head for St. Baldricks in support of childhood cancer. I know many children who have been helped by your generosity.

Yvonne, I wanted to comment on yours seperately.

We spend a lot of time, energy, and effort in this fight. On behalf of my father and brother being survivors, losing my grandmother and mother-in-law, and other scares throughout my family, I feel like I can't do enough.

My sister is part of a group that helps patients and survivors year round. We perform at their big fund-raiser to prepare for the big walk.

We also are involved with a group that raises funds for the American Cancer Society and their big walk event this month. we performed for them this past weekend.

Here's a shot of Ben with the two hostesses/survivors.

As a gesture of thanks, they made us our own special pink bras.

Here's mine laying across the mixing board.

One of my sister's may be sporting it for the walk!

Here's Ben's...kinda looks like his 'stache!

I personally have been doing the St. Baldrick's for a few years now.

The first year that I did it, was just a few days before my daughter's Firts Communion.

Big family event...photos...

I asked her if she minded that I would be bald for her photos.

She asked me why, I told her, and she said it's OK because I'm helping sick kids, and she would always remember that when she saw those photos!

From the mouth of babes.

I thought I'd share a 'before and after' photo!

Before

After

I'm looking forward to it again this year, I'm thinking of hosting an event at the pizza bar this time, try to encourage some others to participate!

Like Eeyore says "Thanks for noticin'"

Great trip report! Annie is quite the little helper. :)

I think I may have a little crush on your brother, don't tell Mike. :rofl2:

Last but not least, I will be adding you and yours to my prayers.

Thanks! He looks tough but he's a mush. A good man to be sure!

I just read the end and I can't wait to take my daughter on a weekend or send my hubby out with her for a daddy daughter weekend.

Awesome, I hope a TR follows!

Thanks--love Dory & her funny names for Nemo.

my favorite line from your report: “Sorry Piggy Joe, but I’m gonna eat your family!”

What a sight you three must have been playing mini golf.

Awesome that your mom came & prayers for your sister. She looks like a strong woman.

You'll be so glad you took pictures to remember your trip & especially that you have one of you with your daughter.

Enjoyed reading about your trip.

Dory

Thanks. I'm blessed to have wonderful women in my life! My mom, sisters, wife, and daughters.

Great trip! Your daughter will have such wonderful memories of it.

Thanks, she already is rehashing stories.

Awesome TR - will send prayers for your sister and your family. Keep that man card. Your family looks awesome and I bet the stories around the campfire are priceless.

I hope you don't mind, but your TR reminded me of a You Tub video linked below. Cool musical score by Eddie Vedder It's a video a dad did of his first overnight backpacking trip with his daugher, and I thought you might enjoy it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwGOcHL4rs8

Thanks. I watched that with my wife. Great video. I need to get a video camera, the one I have is still the old tape model. Haven't even seen it in years.

Well done, John.

Thanks so much for sharing your report.

I hope it inspires other dads to do what you did.

This report will be something for you and Annie to treasure in the future.

I think we should take a vote on who has the best 'stache, your brother or Ben?

It would be close, I bet.

TCD

Many thanks sir, in all fairness, my brother has had a full-on ZZ Top beard, a goatee, clean shaven, fu manchu, and that thing he currently sports (who knows, maybe a little Rollie Fingers handle-bar wax next!)

Ben, on the other hand, has remained true to his 'stache since the day I met him. It's always been that huge and absurd, and unwaivering!

How nice that some of your family came by! Sounds like a really fun trip!

It was. Mom wants me to camp more, since she's only 5 minutes away!

I am SO booking a trip to that campground. Those waterfront sites look great!!

Favorite picture by far is Annie delivering drinks. She looks like "Is this good?" :heartsmiley:

Adorable!

Double adorable that she's sassy and admits to her beloved piggy that she's eating his family!

Be careful... that sassy, brutally honest young girl with off kilter humor will only grow up to be an adult girl with those same qualities.

Great report. Thanks for sharing your father/daughter trip.

Right on! Let me know if you really end up going there, we'll meet up!

I loved the trip report, and I'll be praying for your sister and family ! I especially loved that mom stopped by. You deserve an awesome dad medal !

Wow, thanks, I'll take it.

This was awesome! There is nothing like the bond between a Daddy and his daughter! Love that your Mama joined y'all! I bet your family was fun with all of y'all!

Rita, it's always fun. With a family of our size, you have to have thick skin...cuts down on the drama!

Ode to MD:

What you may like:

What you understand:

The End.

That is classic! We always keep a G2 stash available (grape, no less! Good taste!).

Honestly, a quicker fix is Pedialite! Or, McDonald's breakfast!

After I posted that last bit, I stopped at 3 places to find the Participation Pack. Ben came over to help me set-up a network printer, so we sampled!

Hocus Pocus has a note of rosewater, unique! HIPA is very hoppy, Hex is quite nice, 9 is Biblical!

So glad to hear the keys were found. Love happy endings! (yes that is bait for Stef)

MD - Magic Woody? so many comments come to mind. But I'll be on the lookout for that! Do you guys have any Broudy's on the gulf coast? They have a really good selection of craft beers.

Not familiar with Broudy's.

Apparently the Magic Woody is half MH #9 and half Woodchuck Cider, unless you have a really big glass, then just a bottle of each. I'm skeptical. Not a fan of fruiting the beer.

I can picture the exchange at a Fort site. Sat by the fire, wife is in the camper...

Me: Hey Honey, I'm having a Magic Woody!

Her: Great! I'm wearing my Haunted Bra!

It's a Disney joke. Looks dumb now, but was funny as crap in my head.

What?

What the heck?

Why am I just getting here now?

Especially since the beer is gone. Not only that...good beer!

I see the MH Participation pack...nice.

I'm a huge fan of Newcastle Brown, have been forever.

Now I know where to get Innis & Gunn!

Sorry we didn't make it up to say hello.

Fun report!

BTW, I saw a sign this weekend that you would've enjoyed.

It was for Magic Hat 9/Woodchuck Cider, they call it a Magic Woody!

Day Two and Three:

Music: Stones, Old Crow Medicine Show, Punch Brothers, 70’s Soul.

Drink: More Diet Dr. Pepper and Kool-Aid.Hat…and a guest appearance by Newky B!

Smell: Campfire and Chlorine

Early to bed, early to rise, so they say. I’ve said it before in my TR’s.

I’m not a morning person.

I don’t know why… When I camp? I’m up and down with the sun.

Since we had a killer waterfront site, I thought I’d share my first sight!

We were able to sleep soundly under natural conditions…

For pop-up owners…we were unzipped!

As I lay there, enjoying the quiet peaceful bunk-end panorama, the gentle lapping of the water a few feet away, I noticed how infrequently life offers this level of serenity and, I don’t know…calm…

And at the KOA no less!

I laid there almost two hours basking in the non-glow of the stillness… new territory for a father of three!

Normally, it’s Camp Chaos!

Here’s a close-up of the bay!

You can tell by the screen that it’s a PUP.

Annie’s finally up, and we gotta go to the “comfort station” (to borrow a familiar term).

I turned and took a shot of the site.

Fogged-up camera again.

We took another one on the way back.

Annie wanted to be in the shot this time.

Notice how sparsely set-up our site is thus far.

Ben if you’re reading along.

She wanted to do ‘Mommy’s camping jobs’, and who am I to deny a girl looking to do chores!

While I prepared to cook, Annie got our drinks…

I made eggs and corned-beef hash.

Paul Jr, made the sausage.

Annie set the table.

Notice that we stopped by the camp store for our chocolate milk. Now, an important camping staple!

Also notice the Hat!

The camo one!

Breakfast is served.

Al fresco!

And some of our customary Johnsonville sausages.

Now, there’s 14 in a package.

I ate 4 and we saved 3 for my brother, Annie ate the rest… you do the Math!

Annie yelled back at the camper to her stuffy “Sorry Piggy Joe, but I’m gonna eat your family!”

My kids are nothing if not realistic.

My oldest has had pet crabs and ghost shrimp in her tank, and still says shrimp and crab are her favorite foods.

Cute and delicious, a double-threat kinda creature!

Stef, I told you she has colorful names for her stuffies.

She has a donkey someone won for her in a “claw” game she named Clark, and a purple monkey dressed like a wizard named Michael Mahoney!

BTW, Notice the autumn oven mitt.

One of my favorite camping details is the randomness of our camping gear.

We have Thanksgiving serving wear

a huge Halloween tub we use for dishes

Christmas tree lights for our tacky lights

a Fourth of July table cloth and plates

totally 90’s color scheme on the camper

a fancy serving trivet that I use for my cooking utensils (it’s fake, from the dollar store!)

A hand-me-down motel fridge.

Nothing matches.

It’s awesome…like a total world of leftovers.

After breakfast, we hung out, quick bike-ride, and my brother stopped by.

He had the weekend off, but got a cabin so he could hang out with us.

I’m the youngest of 8, he’s number 2.

We’re a really tight group.

He’s a good guy, rides 2 massive Harley’s, although not at the same time.

I had him snap a photo so I had one of Annie and I.

Plus you guys don’t get to see much of the storyteller in a TR, as the writer is usually the photographer and you see the trip from their eyes.

Now, a big surprise was this visitor…

That’s my big sister! She’s 3 of 8!

She is a big supporter of all the cancer foundations and events. She trains 5-8 miles a day for October, as this month has the big 3-day walk for Breast Cancer and the other walk for the American Cancer Society.

She kicks ass at it and I’m very proud of her.

Today she was training and happened to come down the trail to the campground!

Last year the 3-day walk went right past the KOA, and we happened to be there camping.

We all stood at the side of the road waving and crying.

I’ll turn in my man card now!

Keep her in your prayers if you got’em, recent bad news.

All I’ll say about that.

Ben and I will also be busy with those causes this year.

We donate our entertainment services for fund-raisers.

We help raise a ton of money, and have fun doing it.

In fact we’ll be doing two this weekend!

I can’t walk like that, but I do the St. Baldrick’s and shave my head for children’s cancer research each March!

Anywhoo! Back to our Father/Daughter weekend.

Annie wanted to play mini-golf in the worst way.

As you can imagine, it’s more like mini-hockey, as 6yo’s don’t wait for the ball to stop.

Picture MetalDad, little Annie, and a big biker playing mini-golf.

God does indeed have a sense of humour!

We spent the rest of the day in the pool and hot tub, another bike ride, a cart ride, hot dogs, a little Scrabble Apple, and a nap.

I get a phone call, MetalWife,

The air is broken. $400.

My son was at little league and threw-up on home plate during batting practice.

My calm and serene weekend was turning abruptly.

Then… My mom shows up at the campground.

Better than that, she shows up with steaks, salad, and a 6-pack of Newcastle Brown Ale.

Affectionately known as Newky B to those in my circle of degenerates.

I have some Brit friends that got me into it about 10 years before it was widely available, and I’m still loyal.. It’s number 2! Sorry Genia!

As the sun gets ready to set, Annie takes a crack at fishing.

The second or third cast gets caught in the tree and ends that!

We get the fire going, some smores, some BSing, some random visitors, cool music, and then...

Color!

We burned every piece of wood we had.

Mom hung out until 10:30pm. Amazing!

Please understand, she just turned 84 and celebrated 60 years of marriage a few days prior.

She’s awesome, and a good sport!

We stayed up until 1 am, which I haven’t seen in awhile.

Then, we tottered off to bed.

Annie put a hurtin’ on our Kool-Aid supply, so I set-up the porta-potty, paper, and hand sanitizer for her.

We’ve had it for 2 years, unused, and I wasn’t going anywhere!

The next morning, we woke up, around 8am, started putting things away in the camper, and made our comfort station/chocolate milk run.

Now, it was Annie and I, and we left the other two at home with MetalWife.

What do we see outside the bathhouse?

A newspaper headline that reads “Mother and 2 Children Found Dead”.

Wow, drag.

I had to call and make sure.

They were fine.

Back to the site.

That glorious conflagration that we had the night before, came back to life!

It was time to pack up and clean up.

Annie works the patio mat.

We folded, un-popped, packed, hitched, and hit the road in short order, Stopped at the golden arches for a little sustenance, and headed home.

Two hours later, I had the system set up, rocking a birthday party in Tampa!

Which means, I camped over three days with only one day off. I think that’s how the math works.

Anyway, thanks for reading along.

We have two more trips coming up, then...

To the Fort for New Years!

See ya’ real soon!