(locations align with the map showing our route)
While staying in Bushnell, FL we decided to try a local Mexican restaurant that had been recommended to us – Coyote Rojo. The outside of the place doesn’t look like much, but the large number of cars in the parking lot confirmed that this was a good place to eat. It was!! Delicious food!!
Here’s my review of it on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/coyote-rojo-bushnell#hrid:I6C6kGgrkrLThHfYmEwZAQ
We were out and about on Saturday and I had some red ants climb up onto my left foot and leg and got some bites. Some on my foot where any kind of shoe rubs against them, and some up my leg. We counted 17 bites! And BOY DO THEY HURT! I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the kind of burning/stinging sensation that they have caused. It’s really painful. I’ve been slathering on the calamine lotion which helps until something rubs against the bites, like a shoe or pant leg. Then it starts up again.
Here’s a picture of a few of them on my leg:
Several people staying at the RV park we’re at have suggested we eat at the River Ratz Cafe just a few miles away. We decided to try it and we loved it! Here’s our review of the cafe on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/review_share/FPj49mhqYJyMRYTrm910lg/review/PI3oJeB6rDrkQeApGVW-Qg?fsid=VwM56MRiGN6IZTOHizjH-g
We’re back in Florida for our second winter on the road, and we again stayed for a while near the Kennedy Space Center. Our main purpose in staying here was to witness the launch of a rocket carrying a satellite into space, but alas, the launch was postponed at the last minute and we didn’t get to see it. We may head back when the launch gets rescheduled if possible.
While there we visited the Kennedy Space Center again. Last December we bought annual passes (which were just a bit more expensive than one-day passes!!) so we had an opportunity to visit again without paying any additional fees. Last year while we were here they were building a new section of the visitor center to house the space shuttle Atlantis along with lots of information about the shuttle program. This year, it’s open!
The shuttle is on display with the payload bay doors wide open and the robotic arm extended. It was a real exciting thing to be able to walk around it and under it and see it from many different angles. They also had some great videos in a huge IMAX type theatre and lots of displays about the program, the shuttles, the astronauts, the accomplishments etc. They even had a shuttle launch simulator that actually made you feel like multiple “G” forces were pressing on you, and then weightlessness. Not really, but it did feel like it!!
The Kennedy Space Center is just a couple of hours away from Orlando and Disney World, and I think it should be part of any family’s vacation to that part of Florida!
To see pictures of our visit to the Kennedy Space Center in December of 2012, when we took several “Up-Close and Personal” tours of the assembly building, the shuttle launch pad etc., click here.
Here are some pictures we took of the Space Shuttle experience:
We headed across Florida to time a visit to the Cape Canaveral area to see a satellite launch scheduled for December 12th. Unfortunately, it’s been postponed.
We’re going to visit the Kennedy Space Center while we’re here anyway, as they have a new section of the visitors center that’s about the Space Shuttle program.
We may come back to see a launch while we’re in Florida.
We saw a great Thai restaurant here in Panama City Beach and decided to try it. We both were very happy! We were surprised to find that they had as much Japanese food and sushi as Thai food.
Here’s my review of it on Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/review_share/30IuXOzU3mEaZ9gVbo0Q0A/review/UBQ71dLNw-l6_3ldzXMp7w?fsid=loLR24uhPrSJXGqQT9vpvA
We’re currently in Picayune MS with grandkids. It’s a real pretty area, and a very pretty property where they live. Jeff took some pictures of the pond area while running Laddy one day. Below are pictures of the pond area with the fall colors showing, along with several of our beautiful Laddy having a great time running free!
In addition, there’s one picture of my daughter’s house with our trailer right next to it…so convenient!! The large posts in the front of the house are for a front porch that they’re about to built – it’s not stonehenge!
For some reason I neglected to post our pictures from Yosemite in a timely manner. So, these will be out of sequence from all the other pictures of places we have been. But, here they are now!
Yosemite is truly a unique and wonderful place. The national park itself is mostly wilderness, with lots of hiking trails, meadows, rivers, lakes, and ways to get out into nature and away from civilization.
Yosemite Valley is accessible by vehicle, and it has a village with stores, galleries, a great museum, and even a medical clinic. There are lodges and several campgrounds. This small valley is also where Half-Dome, El Capitan and several of the waterfalls are located. So you don’t need to be able to hike great distances to see many of the beautiful sites at Yosemite.
We visited Yosemite in April, which is probably the best time to visit. It was still pretty cold and there was snow in the higher areas. But, the waterfalls were spectacular because there was plenty of water!
El Capitan is the largest single block of granite on earth. It has vertical walls that face the valley although the back side is more accessible to hikers. While in Yosemite we were able to see rock climbers on the sheer rock face.
Half Dome is accessible to hikers and they can get to the very top and look down the sheer rock face into the valley. No way was I going to do that!
The valley along with Half Dome and El Capitan were formed many millions of years ago by glaciers as they moved through the area, carving out the valley and sheering off the granite to form the sheer rock faces.
Here are pictures we took at Yosemite Valley:
We were planning on heading south along the coast of California, but we forgot that we had a holiday weekend coming up. By the time we started calling RV parks to get reservations for the holiday weekend, we couldn’t find anything available. We kept going inland further and further, and the only place we could find over the holiday weekend was in Mojave!
It was REALLY hot there, I got up early and took a walk before 6am each morning before it got too hot. We just holed up in the trailer with the A/C on during the afternoons and evenings. I was glad when it was time to head out.
We were able to spend a little time with our grandkids who live in San Diego while there. Here are pictures of them:
