Kev n Jens Adventures

Friday, March 11, 2022

Manatees!

Monday, March 7, 2022 - It was a 2.5 hour drive from Jim and Jeanene's to Manatee Springs State Park, where we will be camping until next Wednesday. We got there in the early afternoon and had time for a quick hike before dinner. There was a nice raised path that went out to the Suwanee River and a spot to swim in the spring.

Our first manatee sighting this trip

a hike out to the Suwanee River

this manatee seems to be hanging tight to the dock

The Suwanee River

Tuesday, March 8, 2022 - The rain is coming later this week, so we had to be sure we did something fun for the next few days. We decided to take our bikes to Chiefland (which is only 5 miles from the park). We parked at the trailhead and rode the Nature Coast State Trail to Fanning Springs State Park. It looked like it would be about 6 miles, but once we started on the trail it was more like 9.5 miles. So it turned from a 12 mile day to a 19 mile day. The park was great, once we got there....it had a big pool area where the spring was, with crystal clear water. As we were getting ready for a swim, we got some great pics of a manatee that was swimming through. It was cool to see it so clearly and up so close. The water was 72 degrees, which seemed really cold to me, but I did get in for a "refreshing" swim.

The Nature Coast Trail (A 30+ mile trail between Chiefland, Old Town, Trenton, and Cross City). We're hoping to check out the rest of the trail early next week.

Fanning Springs - the manatees spend the winters here for the "warm" water

The ranger allows people to swim in the spring with the manatees, as long as the manatees aren't mating.

Wednesday March 9, 2022 - Today we had an appointment at Sunshine State RV, to get recall work done on our RV. We have 2 AGM batteries that Coachmen is replacing with 2 lithium batteries. Here's hoping it all goes smoothly!

We left early this morning for our 1 hour drive to Gainsville

Our new BIM 225

One of our 2 new Battle Born lithium batteries

Thursday, March 10, 2022 - It was going to be a rainy day, so Kevin thinks that means he gets to play poker. We drove to Oxford Downs, just north of the Villages and he played in a tournament and I caught up on reading, TV and chatting with Mom.

Rainy view for the afternoon

a weird cloud formation went overhead, right before sunset

Sunset in the van

Tuesday, March 8, 2022

Hillsborough to Davenport

Tuesday March 1-4, 2022 - We were at Hillsborough River State Park for only 4 days, and we were happy about that because there wasn't as much to do here as most of the other state parks we've stayed at. This park, like many of the parks, does not rent kayaks. The river looked like it would be a great river to kayak on, so I guess we will have to wait until the next time we're here (and hopefully before our next Florida trip we can figure out what kayak will fit in/on our little RV). One of the days we were at Hillsborough we hiked the 3.5 mile Seminole trail that followed the river. It was a nice trail with very few people on it. The park is on a busy road without a bike lane or sidewalks, so we couldn't ride our bikes out to explore the surrounding areas. There was a two mile road that circled the park that we did most days, but it was rough after having such great places to ride to at Curry Hammock.

The Hillsborough River

We only saw one alligator while we were at Hillsborough

Site 52

Seminole Trail

Not sure what kind of tree this leaf is from, but they have rained down on us any time the wind was blowing.

Friday, March 4-6, 2022 - Today we headed to Davenport (only an hour and a half from Hillsborough) to spend the weekend with Jim and Jeanene. It was a fun weekend filled with walks around their subdivision, hanging by the pool, watching the sunset over the golf course and playing lots of games.

Front row seat to the sunset

For the first time in almost two months we slept in a bed instead of in the RV!

lots of pool time

another day, another sunset

game night

lunch at the clubhouse

Sunday night sunset

We love the sunsets

Bye for now...we'll be back!

Monday, February 28, 2022

An Unexpected Trip to Key West

Thursday, February 24, 2022 - We had decided we weren't going to go to Key West this trip. It's an hour and a half drive from Curry Hammock and we were there last year for my birthday. So after pickleball at the Marathon park we headed south to spend the day at Bahia Honda State Park for the day. When we got to the state park there was a line to get in, so we just kept driving south...and ended up in Key West! We parked about a mile from Duval Street, so we didn't have to find a parking spot and rode our bikes downtown. There were a lot more people in Key West this year, and since we're vaccinated and the pandemic is in a much different phase than it was last year at this time, we were happy to hit a view of our favorite bars, and then watch the sunset at Mallory Square before heading back to Curry Hammock.

We were looking for a spot to have lunch, on our way to Key West and ended up on No Name Cay, at the corner of No Name Dr and No Name St

Fred, the tree on the Old Seven Bridge. I read somewhere that "elves" decorate him every year for Christmas

Can't get enough pics of the Old Seven Bridge

Mallory Square before it gets crowded for the sunset, and yay, no cruise ships are here!

Hog's Breath Saloon, an old favorite. Kev loves their slogan "Hog's breath is better than no breath"

We hadn't been to Irish Kevin's before, but thought it seemed like a spot we ought to have a beer!

Love this beautiful tree on Duval St

Kev's new baseball hat, from Irish Kevin's

Smokin Tuna Saloon...

with lots of chickens and roosters running through it

We got to Mallory Square a little early for the sunset

So fun to be at Mallory Square with everyone to watch the sunset

And it was a good sunset, with a few clouds giving it some reflections

There were a few tiki bar boats out watching the sunset

Friday, February 25, 2022 - We had a low key day today. After pickleball we rode our bikes to Coco Plum Beach, which is only about 4 miles from Curry Hammock. It is a city beach, but not nearly as busy Sombrero beach. We loved sitting under the shade of a tree while enjoying the view...heaven.

I seem to take a pic of the sunrise from our campsite every morning.

Lunch under the shade of a tree on Coco Plum Beach

Someone caught a quick nap

We walked down to our beach at Curry Hammock for sunset

Saturday, February 26, 2022 - So sad, it's our last day at Curry Hammock, we really loved it here! We considered going for another kayak, but ended up at our favorite bagel shop for lunch and headed to Coco Plum Beach to watch the kite surfers and enjoy the view. The perfect ending to our 2 weeks at Curry Hammock.

Kev's favorite breakfast PANCAKES

My favorite lunch BAGELS.

and Marathon Bagel shop has some pretty awesome coffee cake.

We weren't lucky enough to get to sit under one of the trees on the beach, but Kevin thought to bring our beach umbrella.

Another perfect day

One lone kite surfer to watch before dinner

Hanging out with our great view, before we have to pack up so we're ready to leave first thing tomorrow

Sunday, February 27, 2022 - We left early for Aunt Shirley and Uncle Wally's house, in Cape Coral (a 4.5 hour drive). We were on the road 25 minutes after our alarm went off, gotta love the quick site take down with our favorite RV. I was sad to be leaving, but we got to watch a beautiful sunrise as we drove north through the Keys. We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon catching up with Shirley and Wally while we watched the boats on the canal in their back yard. Aunt Shirley made a wonderful home-cooked meal and Chris and Mitch came over for the evening.

here comes the sun

A quick Zoom call with Bob and Debbie

It was so fun to get to see Chris and Mitch

Monday, February 28, 2022 - We had breakfast with Aunt Shirley and Uncle Wally and played a few rounds of Rummikub before heading to Hillsborough River State Park (an hour east of Tampa). We did a quick hike before dinner and settled into our new campsite. It's a little chillier here than the Keys!