Tuesday December 26th 2023

The overnight rain lingered into the day as mist and fog under a cloudy sky. It was about 2PM when patches of blue sky started to appear. By sunset it was clear enough for the sun to shine in the western sky. It was a humid day with a high temperature in the mid seventies.

The week between Christmas and New Years is filled with strange days. Lots of people are in Holiday mode, some are in Vacation mode and a few are in Work mode. For me the days are very similar to all the others during the year. I need a calendar to know what day of the week it is. It took until early afternoon for me to get motivated and leave my RV home.

I drove by Walmart on my way to Bennett park. If the parking lot looked reasonable, I would have stopped for some groceries, but it was very congested. Bennett park was also very busy. There were lots of walkers. Both the human kind and the K-9 kind filled the trails. I walked around several of the paved trails, before attempting to take one of the less developed trails around one of the ponds. The last couple of days of rain have made that trail impassable if you want to keep your feet dry. It wasn’t deep water, just very spongy grass. I retreated in another direction. Similar to conditions during the weekend the high activity at the park seems to have caused all of the interesting birds to hide elsewhere. The turtles were still taking the sun on the logs in the ponds.

In stark contrast to Bennett park the day use part of my home at Lake Manatee State Park was very quiet. There was only one car in the parking lot. The occupants must have been on one of the trails, because the day use area and the boat launch were completely empty of people. The campground remains full or very close to it. The activity level is consistent with weekend crowds. The winter school break has also brought a lot of campers with kids to the park.

Monday December 25th 2023

Merry Christmas

Light rain moved in with the rising sun this morning. It got stronger as the morning progressed, but never really became heavy. The rain gave way to a cloudy gloom shortly after noon. As the afternoon went by the weather transitioned to just cloudy with a few peaks at a blue sky.

I had considered a drive to one of the gulf beaches today. There is something satisfying being able to say you went to the beach on Christmas even though I wouldn’t have gone in the water. The weather just didn’t make the trip appealing. Instead I watched TV most of the day. Football and Basketball games kept me well entertained.

I took two walks today. The first one included the added precaution of a raincoat. A very large group was using the big pavilion in the day use area. There were more than twenty cars worth of people attending the gathering. It was probably a Christmas party, but I didn’t see any of the usual trappings of such a party. Later in the day I heard Christmas music coming from that area, so it probably became livelier event as time went by.

My second walk was around the campground. It finally seems to be full. I saw two or three new arrivals this afternoon. On my walk just before sunset I only saw one empty site that very much could be occupied by a van camper or something similar. It looks like the park will be full during the vacation week between Christmas and New Years.

Sunday December 24th 2023

It is hard to believe that this is Christmas Eve. I’ve been immersed in Christmas decorations, Christmas music and sappy movies since the beginning of November. Theme park visits, Sirus/XM radio and the Hallmark Channel are to blame. Christmas was just something in the distant future. Now it is less than a day away. Merry Christmas everyone.

Today was a warm day. The temperature climbed into the mid seventies. It would have been even warmer if the thick clouds gave way to the sun or if the consistent moderate breeze died down. Overall it was a gloomy day. Rain is in the forecast overnight into the first part of the holiday tomorrow.

Rather than my first walk of the day around the campground, I drove the eight plus miles to Bennett park for my walk. The wildlife is much better there. Today I actually saw two sets of people using the extensive Disc Golf course that is scattered through the park. It is a well constructed and maintained course, but today is the first day I’ve seen anyone using it. The trails were also getting a little more use today. There were lots of dog walkers and family groups in addition to the usual joggers on the trails today.

Probably because there were more people around, the birds weren’t as plentiful. I think many of the birds were on the backside of one of the bigger ponds, but I didn’t walk out that way. In the ponds, the ducks and turtles were doing their thing.

I didn’t push my luck with Christmas Eve traffic. I returned back to my RV home after about an hour and a half at the park. Lunch and a little TV followed before taking my second walk of the day. This one was the usual walk around the campground and out to the day use area. I observed an activity I hadn’t seen before. At the boat launch area a woman was sitting on the dock playing the violin while her companions fished. I think she was trying to learn something new. She would play a few bars of music then stop and repeat the lines and continue a little further into the piece. The playing sounded good to my untrained ear, but I have no idea what it was. I was still trying to get over the novelty of what I was seeing and hearing.

Merry Christmas!

Saturday December 23rd 2023

It was a nice day to rest at home. The temperature climbed to the mid seventies under a bright sky and a moderate east wind. The state park trails were a good place to enjoy the day and I didn’t see anyone else on them. Activity in the park was very low today. I didn’t see anyone using the day use area, but there were a few empty boat trailers in the boat launch parking lot.

Lake Manatee is a reservoir made from damming the Manatee River. It is popular area lake for fishing. The dam maintains the height of the water level in the lake. The current level is lower than it was on my March or September visits to this park and it may be as low as I’ve ever seen it. This region of Florida is currently under a severe to extreme drought condition. This area of the west coast of Florida didn’t get as much rain during the summer as inland areas.

The occupancy of this campground continues to puzzle me. The online reservation site shows no vacancies, but there are empty sites each night. When I walked around my camping loop just before sunset there were eight empty sites. I don’t know how many empty sites are in the other half of the campground or how many of the eight will be occupied later in the evening. When you book a site, you pay in full. To get a reservation in this park you have to book at the start of the reservation window 11 months out and plans do change in close to a year. They send a reminder about your reservation a few days before it starts. If people cancel then, the change may not get reflected on the booking site. Is the state getting revenue from the empty sites? Either way, there is something goofy about the issue.

Friday December 22nd 2023

The day began cloudy and dull. As the day progressed toward sunset, the sky got progressively brighter only to be replaced by darkness as the sun set. The temperature peaked in the mid seventies.

I made another enjoyable visit to Bennett park this morning. It wasn’t as busy today. Everyone seemed to be on the roads. I made the mistake of not going straight home after the park visit. Traffic was very heavy on all the roads. I thought it would be busy near shopping areas so I avoided those areas, but all the roads were busy. Today was the first day of winter break for most of the schools in the area. Some kids had all week off and return to school on the second. Those that started their break today seem to be out until January 8th.

Gas prices are also way up for the holiday weekend. When I departed the Orlando area last Sunday, the most common low price was $2.549 a gallon. Arriving in the Bradenton area the low prices were $2.699 a gallon. Different distribution methods and higher county taxes probably account for the difference. On Monday prices in this area had already gone up to $2.759 a gallon. As the week went by I watch the price go up to $2.959 a gallon. Today the average low price seemed to be $3.159 a gallon. Is it supply and demand or just gouging?

The reservation web site says this park is full tonight, but as I completed by second walk of the day as darkness arrived there were still empty sites. That has been my general observation all week. The sites seem to be booked and thus most likely paid for, but unoccupied. I don’t really understand. Something is broken in the process.

Thursday December 21st 2023

The temperature rebounded into the mid seventies today. It made a perfect day for some outdoor exercise. In addition to my daily walks around the campground area, I took another trip to Tom Bennett Park today. The park is about eight miles away near the intersection of state route 64 and Intestate 75.

There seems to always be a few birds and other wildlife around to provide a distraction while walking the trails around the various fields and ponds. Today was no exception in addition to a good complement of birds there were many turtles taking the sun on logs and stumps in the ponds. There aren’t many wildflowers in bloom, but I did managed to get a picture of one interesting blossom at the edge of a pond.

Walking around the campground later in the day, I didn’t see nearly as many birds and other wildlife. The most interesting creature I captured a picture of was a Gopher Tortoise.

Wednesday December 20th 2023

Shortly before the lunch hour I drove to Emerson Point Preserve. This is a county park on the north side of the Manatee River where the river empties into the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of Tampa Bay. It has trails and boardwalks through the mangroves along the water.

Today the park showed signs of having been partially under water during the weekend storm. The storm surge in this area was reported to be three and a half feet. Everything was dry today, but the debris lines were evident. There weren’t too many people out taking advantage of the park. The temperature got up to the high sixties, but the wind was still strong enough to make it a little uncomfortable.

Walking along the boardwalk on the Tampa Bay side of the preserve I spotted a fleet of White Pelicans fishing in the partially protected waters along the edge of the bay. The White Pelican is a true snowbird. It doesn’t hang around Florida in the summer like its cousin the Brown Pelican. The White Pelican is bigger than the Brown and it doesn’t search for fish the same way. White Pelicans feed in a group called a fleet and heard or otherwise corral fish for easier picking. The Brown Pelican can typically be seen diving from high above the water to capture its food. The White Pelicans seem to be more stately and less energetic.

Visibility up into Tampa Bay was very good when I arrived. It was overcast, but not cloudy. By the time I departed in mid afternoon real cloud cover had arrived. The sun was no longer filtering through the sky. I got my walking done during the best part of the day. My drive back took me through downtown Bradenton just so I didn’t return the way I came. It was a mistaken. Traffic was very heavy.

Tuesday December 19th 2023

I don’t think there was a cloud visible in the sky all day. The humidity was low and the wind was strong out of the north. All of that added up to a Florida cold day. After a start in the forties the temperature peaked slightly above the sixty mark with the wind making it seem much cooler.

This was a very tranquil day. The most eventful activities of the day were my two walks around the campground and to the boat launch area. There are very few people active outside in the state park during the day. A few people appeared to be huddled inside their RVs keeping warm and others were away from the park. The wind seemed to keep the little boats for fishing off Lake Manatee as well.

Inside my RV home, I cooked some of yesterday’s grocery haul. One of the things I bought was a pot roast. It was today’s main meal and will likely be, in some form, the main meal for the next two or three days. Pot roast is one of those cold weather comfort foods that I was fixated on during yesterday’s shopping.

Monday December 18th 2023

I expected a cool morning after the weekend storm, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected. Tomorrow will be the cooler morning. It was a bright sunny morning with a strong wind out of the northwest. The air temperature climbed to the mid sixties, but it felt much cooler.

My plan for the day was to make my last grocery run to Walmart before Christmas. It will only get worse as the final week before the holiday goes by. If I need something specific I’ll stop at a dedicated grocery store like Publix. It might cost more, but will likely be a lot less hassle. Walmart wasn’t over busy today while I was there.

I entered the grocery store with a dangerous mindset. The plan was to acquire more than a weeks worth of groceries. I was also hungry and the cooler temperatures encouraged me to stock up on cold weather supplies. A box of Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate mix seems to have come home with me. Overall I probably over bought. Leftovers and a new stock in the freezer may soon follow.

The Walmart Supercenter I went to is near Tom Bennett Park. This is a county park with trail, ponds and other recreational opportunities that I discovered on previous visits. I took the opportunity of being the area to make my first visit of this trip. Things were a little damp from the weekend storm. This area got several inches of rain. Some of the fields had huge puddles and some of the ponds were out of their banks. The walking trails were dry and the big wading birds were plentiful.

Walking around the campground later today was interesting. I have stayed at this park at this time of year several times. It is usually full ever night, but not this year. Last night there were many empty sites near mine. Most of those filled up today, but there are still empty sites. Last week and particularly this past weekend there were sites available at my previous location as well. I was trying to justify it with thoughts about the weekend storm, but I’m not so sure anymore. There may have been a drop in casual camping that climbed during the pandemic. Time will tell.

Sunday December 17th 2023

Yesterday’s rain storm became today’s wind storm. Two to three inches of rain accumulated at various measurement sites around the area. The bulk of the rain storm seem to pass by about 1AM. It was cloudy and dry, but very windy when I got up to start preparing to travel. Just when I was ready to start on the outside tasks, the rain returned. It was mostly a heavy mist, but one gust of wind brought a line of heavy rain with it. I kept dragging my feet waiting for the dry weather to return. Shortly after eleven I was able to work outside without getting wet.

I pulled out of my site at 12:30, but spent a half an hour at the dump station. It was before Thanksgiving that I last had a full hookup campsite and I will not have one again until the middle of January. Consequently, when I don’t have anyone waiting in line behind me at the dump station, I take the time to flush the black tank a little more thoroughly. Still, it only took about half an hour. I pulled out onto the highway a few minute after 1PM.

Driving across the state was a challenge today. In addition to the normal heavy traffic, I needed to deal with the wind. The sustained northwest wind was strong and the periodic gusts were challenging. I managed to stay in my lane, but I rarely had less than two hands on the steering wheel. Once I turned south on Interstate 75 in the suburbs of Tampa the wind was more of a pusher. My speed going south was a little faster with the wind at my rear, but the traffic was still heavy. I arrived at my destination at about 3:30PM.

I’m at Lake Manatee State Park in Bradenton Florida until New Years Eve. The site I made a reservation for is an old favorite. I’ve been on this site many times before, but it was different this time. They have cleared out more of the brush around the edges and at the back. The two hammock stakes at the back of the site have been removed and the grading has been changed. All of these things improved the site, but really confused me. Backing in was a multi attempt challenge. Any of the locations I stopped at were acceptable, they just had a little nagging issue or two. One wasn’t aligned with the side of the site. Another didn’t leave enough room to park my car. Once I solved those issues, I was worried about having clear satellite access. Anyone watching was probably very confused or laughing their head off. Eventually I was happy.