Hello Sunshine - From Oranges to Rainbows

“I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya

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After our ten-hour trip from Raccoon Mountain Campground near Chattanooga to Florida, in which we survived the assault on Atlanta (see The Road Not Taken-A Hoosier's Florida Route Choices), we arrived in sunshine at 5:30 pm at our Harvest Host in Weirsdale, Florida. For northerners, simply stepping into warmth is a wonder!

Our Harvest Host was Hilltop Grove near Weirsdale, southeast of Ocala. I'm sorry I'm not able to provide a link as I can no longer find them listed on HH. Maybe they withdrew from the program after our visit. Anyway, Hilltop comes under the farm category as it's an orange grove, and we simply set up camp between the rows of trees. A Canadian couple arrived earlier in the day and camped near the entrance to the property, but upon our late afternoon arrival, the manager directed us down a service road and gave us free run of the grove. We picked what looked level as we meandered the wide rows. With the soft, fertile soil, we didn't have the best options for tweaking the leveling process, but we made the best of our unique surroundings. Our traveling partners, with their automatic levelers, had an easier go of it, but still, the soft soil presented some limitations. Without levelers on our unit, we did our best to find the right incline and finally found a spot within reason. On the joy side, we were in the heart of the grove, far from any others, with clear skies above us.

Our grandkids, ages 7-12, had a blast running between the rows, and no wonder-they'd been in the RV for the last ten hours. The adults set up and soon had the camp site in order. Our portable fire pit came in handy and became the focal point of our evening meal and visit. We enjoyed my daughter's Tex-Mex crock pot meal and settled in for some story telling and star gazing in the clear night skies. Our LTV Wonder was perfectly situated to take in the beautiful Florida sunset. With no one else nearby, it was one of the most peaceful nights we would enjoy on this southern trip. We had the whole orchard to ourselves.

Beautiful Florida sunset and our Wonder RL as captured by my daughter

The custom of the Harvest Host program is to leave your space as you found it, learn something about the operation, and spend a little something in their shop (if applicable) as a "thank you" for their accommodation. As this was a citrus farm, we were anxious to shop for fruits and such in the small market near the entrance. The manager was a jovial fellow in his 60s, accompanied by his wife, forty years younger than him. The significant difference in years must be a common subject of conversation in the shop, as he was the one to let us know, otherwise we would have just figured she was a young gal working a part-time job. He told us the history of the farm, the issues of dealing with cold weather periods, and the harvesting and processing aspects of the grove. We filled our baskets with a selection of jams, jellies, and assorted oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines.

After an easy breakfast, including fresh fruit, we leisurely left and made our way west. We had a hearty lunch at First Watch in Lady Lake, Florida, near The Villages, while my son-in-law got a massage to loosen up his back, which had tense up from the long drives of the previous two days.From there, on a route that felt like "You can't get there from here," we finally arrived at Rainbow Springs State Park near Dunnellon.

We quickly fell in love with the Florida State Park system. We found an efficient check-in, a clean park with ample-sized lots and level parking spots. We enjoyed the unique configuration of the sites that were surrounded by thick foliage, providing extra privacy. While we couldn't park next to our partners, we were just a short walk through a brush-lined pathway to their site. I'm sure camping in Florida mid-year is a different experience with the heat and humidity, but we found the winter season to be a great time to tour the parks. That night, we enjoyed burgers on the grill and some frisbee throwing and ring toss.

As we settled in for the night, we heard cows aggressively mooing in the distance. We thought it might be someone temporarily disturbing their space, but it went on and on into the night. The next morning, at check out, we learned the calves were being separated from their moms and that was the reason for the distress.

We loaded up and drove the short distance to the lagoon and picnic park at Rainbow Springs, known for its swimming hole. A large area of the lake is cordoned off for swimmers and we found it a delightful place for a winter swim.

The warmth and sunshine made for a great start to our year-end Florida trip. We were so pleased with our first experience with the Florida State Park system and we're looking forward to our next encounter with them as we travel Along the Pooka Trail.

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PS: As I was preparing this post, I received a letter from the State of Georgia for a toll violation. This was my first notification. It included a photo of our RV going through an Atlanta toll station (I'm assuming). I'd purchased an EZ Pass transponder through the Indiana Toll Road that covers the southeast and, I thought, Georgia. I learned the hard way, however, that this is not the case. Georgia does not participate in EZ Pass. If you happen to have a Florida pass with which Georgia does participate, you still have to register with the state of Georgia for the transponder to qualify. While I tried to plead my case with Georgia, I quickly learned that as my plates were out of state, I was immediately turned over to a collection agency, which slapped on a $25 fee on top of the $2 toll. The State of Georgia only deals with Georgia-registered vehicles.