We are loaded up again with food and on our way to Lake Kissimmee State Park which is a totally a great find. The very large campsites are in a Live Oak forest with Spanish Moss hanging everywhere. Pete hung up our hammock and that was that! Our campfire made it just perfect. Reservations needed for this park. It is well worth the trip!
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| What a tree! |
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| End of a long day |
We went canoeing the next day--it was great heading out with the wind at our backs but a little less so paddling against the wind on our way back! It was a beautiful day with all the water birds and pond lilies. Then we hiked Gobbler Ridge trail which was 3 miles out to the lake. Then we took a long nap!
Florida Parks do "controlled burns" to prevent larger more destructive forest fires. As we were driving down the road, you see one side has been burned out and the other side is all green.
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| Road separating burned from unburned forest |
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The MOST FUN happened totally by chance! We were on our way to Blue Springs Park and Pete saw a sign for "Chalet Suzanne"! We turned the van around and went right back to re-live our past.
Thirty-six years ago (July 1979) we were in medical school doing a rotation in Florida and my Mother told us that we should definitely find Chez Suzanne and eat there. It is popular with the "rich and famous" with elegant food. We drove forever to this very isolated, run- down Chalet/Inn in the middle of nowhere. There was no one else there but we decided to follow Mom's advice and forge ahead. They let us into one of the rooms in the inn which was filled with antiques to change clothes. There was no one staying at the Inn. There were no prices on the menu. The first bad sign! We had a delicious meal--even the lima beans were good. Great service--we were the ONLY people there. The bill was $72 which was way over the top for two students in 1979. We have never forgotten the experience!
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| Memories from our first year of marriage |
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| The Inn |
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| Entry to fine dining in the 1980's |
It appears that Chez Suzanne has gone further down hill since then. It is now closed (August 2014) and the only reason we think it is still standing is because it has been designated as a "Historical Site". What fun to visit it again!
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| National Register of Historic Places |
Blue Springs State Park is a manatee refuge! You can view them through very clear water along a boardwalk which goes along the spring. Very nice side trip! $6 to get into the park. Camping fills up by 11 am.
We drove onto Osceola National Forest which is near Lake City. Our large campsite costs $6 a night and is on the lake! There were nice trails to hike on the "Florida Scenic hiking trail"--a little wet in places but well-marked. This has been a winter of record rainfall in Florida.
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| The Florida Trail |
We love taking pictures of unusual campers and the one parked next to us is in our top 5! This older couple had bikes and a kayak on top of this "space age" looking camper. The owner told me it is very highly engineered and efficient use of space. When they packed up to leave, it still looked very unusual!
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| Most unusual camper of the trip--this really is a camper |
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| Ocean Pond Campground, Osceola Natl Forest |
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| Recovering from the stress of the KOA |
