Saturday January 14th 2017

It was another above average winter day in Florida. The high was around 80 with scattered clouds.

My only plan for the day was to watch the NFL playoff games. Since both games were late in the day, I had the morning and early afternoon for errands and touring. I was up in Apollo Beach so I stopped at the Manatee Viewing area to see if the manatees were visible for a change. They were still too far away from the viewing areas to get a good view.

Some of the fish visible from the boardwalk along the cooling canal.

Today was a popular day at the viewing center. The main parking lot was full. I had to park in the overflow lot a little more than half a mile up the road. They provide a shuttle to the main area or you can walk the nature trail back to the main viewing area. I took the hike. Even though the manatees aren’t up close and personal, other aquatic life is still visible. Schools of fish, an occasional stingray and birds are available for up close viewing in the wild. There is also a “touch the ray” exhibit for the kids and a museum.

When I got back to the campground they were having a “poker run”. The people who signed up to participate were walking through the park stopping at each of five stations to pickup a card and have a beverage. I don’t know what the winner with the best poker had got, but it was clearly designed as a social event. The “run” seemed to be followed by horseshoes and shuffleboard. The event was open to all of the residents in the park. I could have signed up, but I have the feeling most of the participants have been coming to this park for several years.

One of the indicators that this park has a large number of returning residents is the dog policy. Dogs are not permitted unless they stayed here before January 1st of 2015. Just about every park model trailer and a good number of the others have dogs. That means this is at least the 3rd or 4th year for all of the pet owners.

None of this is a large problem for me. I’m not likely to join in these events. They are just my observation of what’s going on around me.

As I finish this blog entry it is half time of the Patriots Texans game.  The Texans have been playing well and have got lucky a couple of times.  The Patriots lead isn’t big enough at half time to satisfy this Patriots fan.