Silver Springs, next to the Ocala National Forest, is the home of Silver Springs Theme Park where numerous commercials and movies have been shot due to its crystal clear 99% pure spring water. The Tarzan series of movies with Johnny Weismuller, Sea Hunt with Lloyd Bridges, Legend with Tom Cruise, one of the 007 James Bond movies, the commercial of a family living and eating underwater, etc. were filmed there. It is also an animal rehab and sanctuary as well as an excellent concert venue. The glass bottom boats and concerts are what  brought me to stay for 5 weeks at Wilderness RV Park nearby.

Wilderness RV Park has been very nice with all the amenities including a pool, hot tub, exercise room, laundry, propane, a lodge and meeting hall for nightly activities, lots of planned activities, river access with kayak and canoe rentals, etc. The sites are wide open so no issue with my satellite TV though they do also provide cable TV free. My site was level on grass while some sites have a concrete pad. I highly recommend using a water filter on the incoming line. The water is loaded with both sulfur and chlorine so it smells pretty bad.

I had no problem finding things to do and entertainment in camp. I got on a treadmill for the first time and found I can actually do it despite my health issues and with no pain whatsoever. It is wonderful to do at night wih a TV available to watch while working out and a chair to sit in afterward to cool down and get over the dizziness it causes. There is also a sauna and shower provided while the bathhouse is right next door. The pool is unheated at this time but some folks still refresh in it on hot days. I gave the hot tub a whirl. I managed get in on a group campfire, a spaghetti dinner, Mardi Gras parade, a Space Shuttle launch, a corned beef and cabbage dinner for St. Patrick’s Day,  several games of cards with very nice folks, wii bowling, and gator races (no kidding!). I loved game night with the bowling and races. I lost 75 cents betting  on the gators but I also won twice and I ate at least that much in free nachos with tons of cheese and piquante sauce along with lime punch.

Silver Springs Theme Park has 3 different boat rides and I just had to ride the glass bottom boats . The fishes and turtles nature danced underneath them for us and the guides were fun folks who gave us the history of the area and made a point of spotting animals for us. I enjoyed seeing the 3 greek statues left behind under the water from a movie shoot. The wild monkeys on the shore were great. We even got to see an alligator working on downing a lunch of a huge black fish.

I checked out the animal shows and displays afterward. At the small zoo, I got a huge surprise seeing a male llama working very hard on top of a female who seemed rather apathetic about his attentions. The most fun was watching the embarrased parents trying not to explain what was going on as children asked what they were doing and if the male was sick. LOL! Ah nature. I can also report that giraffes stink… bad. The jeep ride was pretty good and the bears were fascinating. One bear was playing in the pool with a plastic can. I also saw some otters playing, a white alligator, flamingos and lots of other birds, ponies, a donkey, and more.

The concerts were excellent and well worth going there. I had purchased a season pass for only $50 which included free parking, all the concerts, and admission to both the theme park and WildWaters water park there which unfortunately does not open until April darn it. The concerts are loads of fun on Saturdays. While they don’t start until 3pm, folks show up early in the day, stake out a spot on the lawn in front of the southern mansion themed pavilion with their chairs, then wander off to enjoy the rest of the park, get some food which is decent, or even play cards together. There is a pre-show band that plays around noon and draws part of the crowd back to the pavilion for a bit. The band is usually one of the locals. It’s a great day in the sunshine with plenty of shade provided by oak trees dangling spanish moss. There are no bad seats though having setup my chair in the direct sun one time, I will never do that again. It got way too hot and I only survived it by grabbing the kerchief I carry, dousing it in the water provided outside the petting zoo, then hanging out under the arbor as long as possible before showtime. I saw 4 concerts while there with Mark Chestnutt, George Jones, Kansas, and John Michael Montgomery. Every one was wonderful! Kansas was particularly exceptional with their highly complicated music that sounds like a full orchestra, the extra set they came back on stage to throw in at the end when we couldn’t stop applauding, and of course they played their signature song “Dust in the Wind”.

My only gripe was with the audience. Frisbees, beach balls, tshirts, hats, etc were thrown out into the audience at the beginning of the show. The balls were meant to be batted around over our heads for fun all during the concert but instead, people just kept them at every concert. What a waste of some real fun.

TIP1: Not only is there parking up front, there is also parking to the left front of the main lot with a separate entrance that is closer than the front entrance to the stage.

TIP2: An absolute must if you plan on going more than one day is to purchase their large $6 souvenir drink container. Refills are only $1 and you can keep bringing it back all season.

More fun to be had in the area, particularly on a hot day, is to visit one of the many parks with springs for swimming. I would like to have gone to Juniper Springs but it is currently closed for renovation. I did stop by to take a look. I went on to Silver Springs Glen. It cost a $1 to get in and I was certainly not alone. It was quite popular that day. The water was 70-72 degrees which feels cold but gets better after you are in for a minute or two. With picnics, sun bathing, and swimming with the fishes, a good time was had by all.

Another day I went to Rainbow Springs, another popular swimming hole. I just went to look at the waterfalls and gardens. The azaleas were in full bloom and beautiful. It used to be a theme park similar to Silver Springs with glass bottom boats also but closed when attendance fell until the state took it over as a state park. It looks like a great place for kayaking or canoeing with rentals available. Be sure to bring water in a thermos or canteen rather than a plastic bottle if going out on the river. As with all the local rivers and springs, no disposable packaging of any kind is allowed out on the water.

Another day I got in some geocaching. There are 2 caches on the nature trail next to the Visitor’s Center in Silver Springs and another behind a barbecue place near the campground. All nice big fat containers! My favorite was Elvenwood near the trail. You have to leave the trail and look for an opening in the woods. There you will find a little elf village. To claim the find, you have to find the log book in one of the tiny buildings and you have to add to the village. I created a runway with a control tower and added a frog to the campsite scene. What’s camping without some wild life?

On the last Saturday night before leaving, I discovered a couple I had met at the KOA in Herkimer, NY were campground hosts at a park nearby. I gave them a call and we got together for hamburgers and a campfire. We got some catching up done. Very nice couple and happy kayakers.

Now I know you are all thinking that I had way too much fun while in the area. I did take a day to clean out the rain gutters on my trailer. Surprise! Trailers have gutters too. I replaced 4 of the gutter spouts at the top of the trailer. I did a bunch of other maintenance too that day. I took my previously shredded tire to a dealer and got it replaced. After one of the concerts, I had also found another tire flat. Thank goodness I carry tire goop with me, just in case. Without a spare tire yet, I had no choice but to use it and my air compressor I also carry. I had a faulty valve stem replaced on it and the last old tire on the car while at the tire dealer. At the same time, the car had started to get noisy up front so I had them check that out and they found a bad front bearing wobbling like crazy. It was a very expensive and stressful time.

For lots more pics click here.

King George RV Resort is a park that serves a particular need and should be taken that way. It is hardly a resort. The spaces are very close together, the pool is small, the “clubhouse” is closed during the evening, no campfires are allowed, and it is not the sort of place that engenders the usual RVer walk, stop, and chat. They lock the gates at 6pm so be sure you arrive before that. They provide the lock combination during check-in so you can get in and out while staying there.

What the park is, is an extremely convenient place to stop overnight on the way in and out of Florida and a good place to stay to visit both Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island National Seashore. It is very easy to find this park just off the I95, there is a gas station very close, Walmart Supercenter is only about 8 miles away, the seashore is about 12 miles and the swamp about 35 miles. It accepts nearly all discount clubs including RPI, Good Sam,  and Passport America so there is no reason for anyone to pay full price.

The prospect of seeing wild horses led me to St. Marys, Georgia to grab the ferry to Cumberland Island and National Seashore. There are currently no bathroom facilities or food sellers on the island so you should use facilities at St. Marys before leaving, bring water and a sack lunch. An expensive sack lunch and water can be purchased at a store nearby to the ferry dock. Consider also bringing a plastic poncho in case of rain, sun block, a heavy coat, hat and sunglasses. It can get very cold on the ferry and island with lots of wind. To park for this all day excursion, you must park down the street near the beige building rather than in front of the park and ferry dock. They make an exception for those with a handicapped tag displayed. Tickets for the ferry can be purchased in the Cumberland Island National Seashore Visitor’s Center.

On the island, I first visited the old Carnegie ice house. Most of the island was owned by the Thomas Carnegie family (brother of Andrew Carnegie). Before the invention of ice makers, they shipped large blocks of ice in from the north during winter for the summer. I then joined the ranger walk to the ruins of Dungeness, former mansion of the Carnegie family. It was a huge lovely home in its time and idyllic setting for the 9 children to grow up in. Poor Thomas died only a year after its completion leaving his wife Lucy to raise the children alone and run the home and lands. As they married, Lucy gave each money to build their own homes nearby. 2 of the boys never married and kept apartments in the indoor pool house. At one time as many as 300 people worked for the family as servants, grooms, running the livestock operations, etc.

Today the island is a combination of enchanting forest and white sand beaches with wild horses, pigs, turkeys, etc. calling it home. The horses were brought there by Spanish explorers and some are from the Carnegie stock. They are wild and not to be petted no matter how gentle they seem grazing in the fields. Be careful if you hear the thunder of hooves. A horse came bounding past me and whinied while I was there. I also spooked a wild pig while walking through the forest. The flock of turkeys completely ignored me as they chatted. There are numerous snakes there, though I did not see any, so be very careful in the brush or around rock or concrete which they love. On the beach, you will see lots of unusual shells and crabs. I saw my first horseshoe crab. The water is warm and inviting.

The Carnegie family cemetery is on the island and still actively used. However, it is gated and locked off with high brush keeping out all peeking. There is also a small cemetery of cars formerly used by the residents. Though severely rusted away, the luxury cars and roadsters of another era are clearly identifiable.

There is tent camping on the island if you are willing to hike. To have a car on the island requires a special permit and is only for residents and other special use.

Do not miss the last ferry back. They don’t wait or come back for you. I am told the cost to get a local to take you back to the mainland by boat is $200 or more and there are no hotels.

I went back to St. Marys later that week to do some easy geocaching (scored 4), get pictures of the numerous pumpkin scarecrows around town  for the Scarecrow Festival, and to tour a typical southern antebellum home in the Greek style, Orange Hall.

For more pics click here.

Ahhh. My very first rally. I have heard about these for years but this is the first one I attended. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was hoping it wasn’t just another RV show as I have attended numerous of those and I truly love living in my current trailer with no desire to change. Happily it wasn’t.

First thing I learned was that when they say just follow the signs, don’t count on it. They did have signs at the freeway exits and turns from there but if you come in another way, no signs at all. I managed to find my way in any way. Muwahaha.

Registration was very well laid out and handled. I got my packet full of goodies and a new lanyard to keep with a badge hanging from it that tells everyone my name, state, and emergency info if I decided to drop dead while walking around the enormous fairgrounds. They also had free open computer terminals setup in there if you needed to check your email or browse something. For fun, another station was giving out stackable ribbons to add to your badge to show what groups you belong so such as Good Sam, Coast to Coast, Camping World President’s Club, Trailer Life Magazine, etc. They made it pretty easy to get to know one another fast.

They had seminars scheduled all day every day which is what I was looking for. Experts, including people who have been full-timing for 45 years, came in to teach us the basics like maintaining tires and tank systems and how to handle banking and mail on the road as well as more interesting subjects such as how to travel Canada and Alaska and what to expect, what Tracks tours are like, and so on. I believe I saw an RV cooking class and arts and crafts class on the schedule as well. The speakers were excellent and backed up their presentations with books (many of which they had written) and DVDs which you could purchase afterward.

Outside on the grounds I quickly learned that I could have and should have brought a bike or scooter. I had no idea you could bring your own and ride everywhere easily. There were bikes, scooters, ECVs, and golf carts everywhere. I will definitely bring something next time. They did have a tram running between the fairgrounds and the camping area and I managed to flag down the handicapped golf cart for a ride once.

Food was plentiful. Of course they had to have Georgia peach cobbler there. Mmmm. I managed to drive several people crazy by walking around with my Philly cheese steak sandwich loaded with onions, peppers, and muchrooms. Snicker. One stand that was doing humongous business was Wild Bill’s Soda Pop. For $10 you get a lovely barrel shaped steel mug and all the root beer, orange soda, etc. you can handle all day straight from kegs and taps on the side of the stand.

There were lots of games to play and contests with nice prizes. When you register, they give you a big sticker with a number on it. Find the 3 other people who have your same number and win a prize. I didn’t find even one of them though someone did find all of them. They also had casino day where I finally got to play casino style blackjack with dealers in tuxes. No money needed since we just played for chips which you traded for contest entry tickets. Texas Hold’em Poker was available, roulette, craps, and slot machines.

The State of Nevada Tourism Office ran a geocaching contest one day there. They gave us the coordinates to hunt up 8 coupons to win prizes. I got there late but still managed to find some and get a small prize. It would have helped to know that most were hidden inside the new motorhomes on display when I started. My good manners training from my parents interfered with my hunting at first until I found that out. We were opening up all the cabinets and looking under the beds in $600,000 and more Class A motohomes!

On the last day they had a carnival day with lots of carnival games. All during the rally, they had a youth area for kids to enjoy themselves safely.

At night they had high class entertainment and a tried to break the world’s record for most couples dancing at one time. I have no idea if they succeeded since I had to leave every afternoon to sleep before working all night again.

Out on the grounds were numerous RVs on display, scooters/golf carts/ECVs for sale, and car manufacturer booths. I got a great metal cup from GMC and a nice toy RV from Ford. Fleetwood gave me a very handy new backpack I used the entire time there.

One large building housed the other product displays, most RV related and some like makeup and watches not related but still useful. Camping World was running a mini store there on one side of the building. Escapees, Good Sam, Coast to Coast, Trailer Life, Woodall’s, KOA, RV parks, RVing Women, and many others were well represented. It was great to meet them all and I managed to not go crazy with my wallet which is not to say that I didn’t buy anything. I did. The freebies were very useful and appreciated by all too.

My biggest expenditure there though it wasn’t entirely there was on a Coast to Coast membership and home park buy in. I met a park owner there selling memberships in his park which is required to be able join Coast to Coast, RPI, Thousand Trails, and other private membership campground clubs. Home park memberships often sell for thousands of dollars but his deal was much less. I also met a gentleman who brokers resales of these out of Florida. While they were offering a great deal at the show, I don’t do business with anyone without checking them out on the Internet first. Lo and behold, the resaler had auctions of the same up on Ebay for even cheaper. It never occurred to me to look on Ebay for these before. What a world! I snapped up one of the auctions and went to him at the rally the next day with what I had done. He was very nice about it and apparently I was not the only one who had stumbled on it. A couple was standing there who had done the same thing. He let me pay for the home park auction there as well as the Coast to Coast and RPI memberships, gave me my books and ID cards, and was even nice enough to give me the latest Passport America book which I had not received this year with my current membership. His name is Dan Monaghan from Clermont, FL. Check out his site at http://www.campgroundresales.com/ and his Ebay auctions . I’ll go more into these memberships in another post. I bought both Coast to Coast and RPI even though they tend to overlap at times to evaluate for a year for this blog and you my faithful readers (Yeah , yeah for me too. I ain’t that magnanimous.).

Next stop, Kieler Wisconsin. Why you might ask? Because it is right next to the Iowa state line and as close to Dyersville as I could get to go to the Field of Dreams and still have wifi for my work. In Kieler, I am staying at the Rustic Barn Campground. No sewer hookup here but strong wifi, excellent showers, lovely countryside views of surrounding farms complete with cows and corn, very nice owner, quiet with no trains or freeway noise for a change, good store and laundry, very nice “loafing” room in the barn and front porch with rocking chairs and chair swing. Lots of trees here and many cement patios though I chose a sunnier site for my satellite TV reception. Giving me directions in the first 5 minutes on what to do in case of tornado did make me a little nervous. Give me a good old fashioned earthquake instead anytime!

I went through Dubuque to the Field of Dreams in Dyersville yesterday. You have to have some clue where it is and watch closely for the signs since the owners do not want to commercialize it with big gaudy signs. First thing I did was buy a baseball to play with (they don’t supply equipment or organize anything for insurance reasons). I sat on the bleachers and watched fathers having a catch with sons and daughters or pitching to their little sluggers. Lots of giddy people, including myself, went out into the corn in the outfield to meditate which isn’t easy when a group of kids start talking about the movie, “Children of the Corn”. LOL.

I spotted a woman from North Carolina twirling on the grass and she jumped at my offer to play catch. Everyone was extemely friendly and offered to take each other’s pictures for them. People from all over the world have come there to play and share in the dream. Major League ballplayers like Reggie Jackson, Kirby Puckett, George Brett, etc. show up there now and then to play. The only organized activity is on the last Friday of the month when the Ghost Players come out of the corn to play once more and hold baseball clinics. Many of the players appeared as the ghosts in the movie.

I met the owner of the white farmhouse, Don, who was born there and has never left. He and his sister live there. The farm has been in their family for over 99 years. Now that is stability.

The field is actually owned by two farmer families. After the movie finished shooting, the other family plowed under their portion to plant corn again until the public raised a big outcry and they put it back. They have also licensed a Milwaukie firm to sell souvenirs on their side of the field while Don’s family and friends sell souvenirs on their side of the field to pay for field maintenance.

The house is a private residence so it is not open for tours. The field is open until 6pm but they have been known to come out for visitors and let them play later now and then. You won’t be disappointed going to this Wallyworld! (But try to be on time anyway and be a good tourist.)

Movie tidbits: There really was a Doc Graham and the story about his baseball career and being a beloved doctor after is true. The writer of Field of Dreams did go to Chisholm, Minnesota with a friend to talk to him and did learn he was dead for some time at the newspaper office.

When Ray (Kevin Costner) asked Shoeless Joe (Ray Liotta) if he could hit his curve ball, Ray Liotta was supposed to hit a long fly ball but accidently hit the hard linedrive at Kevin. Kevin still managed to deliver his next line and the crew found it so funny that they left it in the movie as is.

The porch swing is gone since it was actually rented for the movie from a family in Dubuque.