Living Our Dream

More De Soto National Memorial

Bushnell, FL - Events of Friday, February 21, 2014

After we watched the video about De Soto and his expedition at the De Soto National Memorial visitor center and watched a presentation by a costumed interpreter, we headed down the nature trail. The trail starts out as a boardwalk through the mangroves.

Alan and Marilyn at the start of the nature trail

The boardwalk ends at the Manatee River. There are openings in the dense mangroves where visitors can walk along the water, fish and even swim.

Margery along the shore of the Manatee River

De Soto National Monument is only a few hundred yards from where the Manatee River empties into Tampa Bay. Consequently, we saw a good many boats on the river heading out into the bay.

Large sailboat on the Manatee River

We rounded the tip of the peninsula on which the national monument is located and headed around the other side and back toward the visitor center. The tip of the peninsula is called De Soto Point.

View near De Soto Point

We thought we might at least see some shore birds along the nature trail, but we didn't see any wildlife at all. However, we did see some interesting plants. Although there are red mangroves in the area, we saw mostly black mangroves, which are characterized by hundreds spiky projections that stick up out of the water to allow the roots to breathe.

Root spikes of a black mangrove

In contrast, red mangroves have prop roots extending out from the main stalks extending down into the water.

Red mangrove with prop roots

There were also some attractive brown-eyed Susans. Note the colorful wasp on the leaf below the flower.

Brown-eyed Susan

And there were several sharp, spiky plants that appeared to be some type of yucca. The bright green color was attractive, but the tips of the leaves were very, very sharp.

Spiky, yucca-like plant near the water

The De Soto National Memorial isn't a spectacular attraction, but it is definitely worth a stop. We found it very interesting, and we learned a lot. De Soto made it all the way into the Carolinas and into Tennessee and Arkansas. We had no idea Spanish explorers ventured that far north in the eastern half of North America. Although the De Soto expedition didn't find any riches and it didn't find a suitable place to establish a colony, it did have a profound effect on North America.

• The brutal treatment of the Indians by the De Soto expedition contributed greatly to the hostile attitude of the Indians toward Europeans going forward.
• Pigs that escaped from the De Soto expedition are the ancestors of many of the wild razorback hogs in the southeastern United States.
• Diseases carried by the animals and members of the De Soto and other expeditions decimated the populations of the indigenous people of the Americas.
  
• Although De Soto claimed large parts of the eastern part of North America for Spain, his lack of success led Spain to re-think their exploration of the New World. Subsequent exploration north of Mexico was limited to Florida and the southwest.
• On the positive side, De Soto contributed greatly to the knowledge of the geography, biology and ethnicity of North America.

In addition to all the things we learned about early Spanish exploration of North America, we loved, loved, LOVED the nature trail. We'd like to go back with lawn chairs some day and spend the afternoon just sitting at the water's edge watching the boats go by.

From the national memorial, we headed west and took a short drive along Anna Maria Island, which is one of the barrier islands out in the Gulf. Traffic was heavy leading to the island, so we didn't go far once we got out there because it was starting to get late and we were hungry. After driving south on the island a short distance, we headed back east to the mainland and stopped for lupper at Anna Maria Oyster Bar where we stopped last year on our way back from visiting Marie Selby Botanical Gardens.

Anna Maria Oyster Bar

Alan, Marilyn, Margery and Paul at Anna Maria Oyster Bar

Lunches at Anna Maria Oyster Bar are around $8 to $12. We both had fried clam strips with two sides for $8.99. Margery had cole slaw and onion straws ($1.99 upcharge), and Paul had cole slaw and red potatoes. Portions are generous. The breading on the clams is nice and light and crisp on the outside, and the clams are sweet and tender on the inside. The clam strips at Anna Maria are second only to those at the Ipswitch Clambake Co. in Ipswitch, MA.

Fried clam strips with cole slaw and onion straws

With our bellies full, we headed back to Blueberry Hill. There were several days of rain in the forecast, but we plan to get back out for more sightseeing when the sun reappears. Stay tuned.

De Soto National Memorial

Bushnell, FL - Events of Wednesday, February 19 to Friday, February 21, 2014

Last Wednesday, we headed a few miles north of Bushnell to Alliance Coach in Wildwood to have the brake system on the motor home flushed. Because brake fluid can absorb moisture, flushing the system is recommended as routine maintenance every several years to avoid the kind of problems we had a couple of years ago on our old Saturn Vue when one of the front brakes kept hanging up. With our bank account several hundred dollars lighter, we were back in Blueberry Hill and had the motor home set up again shortly after noon.

Because we weren't sure how long the work would take, we had previously made plans with Marilyn and Alan to go to Coyote Rojo for lupper just in case we got back too late for Margery to cook dinner. Coyote Rojo is a Mexican restaurant located right across the main road from the campground.

Coyote Rojo

We started off with the traditional corn chips and salsa. The corn chips were especailly good - nice and thin, hot and very crisp. We also like the salsa at Coyote Rojo because it has fresh cilantro in it.

Prices at Coyote Rojo are very reasonable. Dinners range in price from around $6 for combo specials to $13 for fajitas. Marilyn and Alan shared a steak and chicken fajita combo, Margery had a pick-two combo with a chile relleno and a chicken burrito, and Paul had a supreme chicken burrito. Everything was yummy!

Margery, Paul, Marilyn and Alan

With beautiful weather in the forecast for Friday, we decided to head out for some sightseeing. One of the things we wanted to see while we were in Florida this year was the De Soto National Memorial down in Bradenton, FL.

Hernando De Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. During our visit to the memorial, we learned he was the first European to explore deep into the eastern part of North America.

De Soto was born in Spain around 1500. He was influenced by other explorers like Ponce de Leon, Balboa and Magellan who had gone to the New World before him. In the 1530s, he joined with Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of the Incas in Peru.

After returning to Spain, De Soto was granted the governorship of Cuba. Drawn by legends of cities of gold and untold wealth, De Soto departed Cuba in early 1539 and headed for Florida. He took with him 9 ships, over 600 men, over 200 horses, a herd of pigs and all the arms they thought they would need to sustain their exploration, conquest and colonization the eastern part of North America.

The expedition landed on the west coast of Florida on May 29, 1539. Although the exact spot of the landing is unknown, it is believed to have been somewhere along the southern side of Tampa Bay near the mouth of the Manatee River. In 1948, a small peninsula near the mouth of the river was designated as the De Soto National Memorial.

Admission to the De Soto National Memorial is free. There is a small visitor center that has a few artifacts and that shows a video with the history of De Soto's expedition. Camp Uzita is a replica of what the original camp may have looked like, and from December through April it is the location of talks and demonstrations by costumed interpreters. There is also a nature trail that winds through the mangroves along the banks of the Manatee River, and there are several small beaches that can be accessed from the trail or from the water if you happen to arrive by boat.

We headed to the visitor center to get oriented. On the way we passed one of several gumbo limbo trees on the site. The trees have attractive red bark and long, low branches that sometimes parallel the ground.

Gumbo limbo tree

The gumbo limbo tree is native to the southern part of Florida, the Caribbean Islands and down into Central and South America. The tree grows well in coastal areas because it is tolerant of salty soil and it is wind resistant.

Also outside the visitor center was a reproduction of a ship's boat that would have been used by the Spanish to row to shore from the larger sailing ships.

Ship's boat

Contrasting the ship's boat above was an Indian dugout canoe.

Dugout canoe

We watched the video on De Soto's expedition in the visitor center. De Soto left about 100 men behind to guard his supply base at Tampa Bay and headed north with the rest of his expedition. The response of the Indians ranged from friendly in the early part of the trip to hostile later on as news of the harsh treatment of the Indians by the Spanish began to spread among the Indian villages. There were many skirmishes, most of which were initiated by the Spanish, and punishment for resisting was severe. The expedition also captured Indians and forced them to help carry supplies as De Soto searched for the ever-elusive gold, which the Indians always told him was in the next village or over the next hill.

By the summer of 1540, De Soto had passed through present-day Georgia and had reached the Carolinas. With still no city of gold in sight, they headed west into Tennessee, then south into Alabama. They built rafts and crossed the Mississippi, then headed into Arkansas.

In 1542, De Soto was stricken by a fever, possibly the result of an infection caused by being wounded by an Indian arrow, and he died along the banks of the Mississippi in either southern Arkansas or northern Louisiana. He was buried in the waters of the Mississippi in order to hide his death from the Indians because the Indians believed he was an immortal sun god.

De Soto died about three years into the expedition that was originally planned to last four years. By that time, almost half the men had been lost to illness or to Indian attack, and those who remained were in poor health. There were few supplies and there was no will to carry on, so De Soto's second in command decided to abort the expedition and find a way home. They headed southwest intending to cross present-day Texas and end up in Mexico City.

As they crossed Texas they eventually realized there was little water and there were few Indian villages for them to raid for food, so they were forced to turn back to the Mississippi and to began building boats. They finally completed their boats in the spring of 1543 and set off down the Mississippi in July after waiting for the spring floods to subside.

The expedition encountered hostile Indians who pursued their boats in canoes and shot arrows at them most of the way to the mouth of the Mississippi. The Spaniards then sailed south along the Gulf coast of Texas and finally reached a Spanish settlement along the Mexican coast. Most of the expedition's survivors remained in the New World settling in Mexico, Cuba and other Spanish colonies. Some even volunteered for a later expedition to La Florida.

From the visitor center we headed over to Camp Uzita and were just in time for the next presentation. The costumed volunteer told about how difficult life was on the expedition.

Consumed interpreter talking about life during the expedition

The volunteer also described the weapons used by the Spanish and by the Indians. The Spanish had crossbows as well as an early version of a matchlock musket called an arquebus. The arquebus took about 30 seconds to load, wasn't very accurate, and tended to clog up and require cleaning every 10 or 12 shots. By contrast, a skillful Indian warrior could fire off 20 to 30 arrows a minute with his long bow. However, the noise and flames from the muzzle of the arquebus were very frightening to Indians who were seeing that type of weapon for the first time.

Camp Uzita also had a display of reproductions of Spanish armor visitors could try on. There was a breastplate, chain mail and helmets.

Display of reproduction Spanish armor

Margery and Paul trying on Spanish armor

Wow, was that stuff heavy! We can't imagine tramping through the woods in the heat and humidity wearing all that extra weight, not to mention how cold all that metal would be in winter.

After the presentation at Camp Uzita, we headed down the nature trail. We will continue with that part of our visit to the De Soto National Memorial in our next post.

Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center

Bushnell, FL - Events of Thursday, February 13 to Friday, February 14, 2014

Paul has gotten Margery a red rose for Valentine's Day ever since we were first married. This year, he found a small florist in Bushnell called Martha's Flowers and Gifts. They are so small they don't even have a website. A couple of weeks before Valentine's Day on one his trips to the hardware store in Bushnell, Paul stopped into Martha's to place his flower order. The people at Martha's were very friendly and helpful, and their prices were very reasonable.

Since we usually go out to lupper on Valantine's Day, Paul arranged to pick up Margery's rose the day before (Thursday). Margery always likes fresh flowers, and she was pleased with her rose. Freeway liked it, too.

Freeway checking out Margery's Valentine rose

This year, we planned to go to Texas Roadhouse for our Valentine's Day lupper on the way back from visiting the Tampa Electric Manatee Viewing Center. We invited Marilyn and Alan to go along.

On Friday morning, we all hopped into the car and headed about an hour south of Bushnell to the Big Bend Power Station, which sits on the eastern side of Tampa Bay near Apollo Beach. The first coal-fired unit at Big Bend was built in 1970 by Tampa Electric Co. (TECO). The fourth and latest generating unit at the site came on line in 1985. In the winter of 1985-6, large numbers of Manatees were seen in Big Bend's new cooling water discharge canal.

Manatees are aquatic mammals, and they can't survive long in water temperatures below 68º. In winter, they look for warmer water by swimming up Florida's spring-fed rivers, and in this case, up the power plant canal. The temperature of spring water is around 72º, but the water from the power plant is discharged at over 80º.

The viewing center has a nature center, viewing platforms, a nature trail and a long walkway called the Tidal Walk that goes out into the discharge canal. Admission is free. After parking, we came to the Tidal Walk first, so that's where we started our visit. The Tidal Walk passes through mangroves on the way out into the canal.

Walkway through mangroves

We got a good view of the Big Bend Power Plant from the walkway, but there were no manatees within close proximity.

Big Bend Power Plant

Manatees can weigh up to 1300 pounds, and they eat 10% of their body weight a day. They are herbivores, and their diet consists of mangrove leaves, grasses and algae. Because so many manatees hang out in the canal there is little food there, so they must venture out into the cooler waters of Tampa bay for short periods to search for food. The only manatees we could see from the walkway were farther out in the canal either on their way to or from lunch out in Tampa Bay. We could see their paddle-like tails break the surface of the water occasionally.

Manatees farther out in the canal

From the walkway we did see a school of small blacktip sharks in the shallow water. They were only about 18 inches long.

School of blacktip sharks

While we were on the Tidal Walk we overheard someone say there were loads of manatees near the observation decks behind the nature center so we headed there next. We started seeing manatees as we approached the nature center.

Several manatees in the canal near the nature center

Manatee calf in shallow water near the nature center

Behind the nature center we climbed the steps and headed toward the observation deck.

Margery heading to the observation deck

From the elevated deck we could see dozens of manatees just floating there in the warm water.

Power plant canal full of manatees

Mother and calf

Groups of manatees floating in the warm water

More manatees

Manatees have large lungs which enable them to remain submerged for periods up to 20 minutes. When resting in the canal, they just float suspended in the warm water. Most of the time they just raise their heads enough for their nostrils to clear the surface so they can take a breath.

Manatee exhaling

Another manatee farther out in the canal raising its nose above the water to breathe

We stood and watched the manatees for a fairly long time. It's hard to believe animals that are doing so little can be so fascinating. While we were watching, a larger blacktip shark swam close to one of the small manatees that was in the shallow water near the shore.

Larger blacktip shark

Sharks, however, pose no threat to manatees. In fact, manatees have no natural enemies. The only natural threat to manatees are red tide algae blooms that occasionally happen in the Gulf. The algae gives off toxins that are harmful to the manatees as well to fish and other aquatic life.

The biggest threat to manatees is from humans. Because of the natural curiosity of the manatees, their slow movements and their presence in shallow waters, there are frequent collisions between boats and manatees. Many of the manatees have scars on their backs from boat propellers.

Manatee with a large white scar from a boat propeller

Inside the nature center there are displays about manatees that include information about their size, habitat and diet. There was also a manatee skeleton on display.

Manatee skeleton

Outside the nature center we paused for a couple of tourist photos before heading to the car.

Marilyn and Alan

Margery and Paul

On the way back to Blueberry Hill, we stopped at the Texas Roadhouse in Zephyrhills for our Valentine's Day lupper. Most Texas Roadhouse restaurants have an early bird special (before 6:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday and before 3:00 p.m. Friday through Sunday) featuring 8 or 10 entrees for $8.99. To make things even better, they had a Valentine's Day special that included two of the early bird specials for $16. Because it was a Friday, we made a point of arriving before 3:00. We all had the 6-ounce sirloin Valentine's special.

Alan, Marilyn, Margery and Paul

After our delicious lupper at Texas Roadhouse, we headed back to Blueberry Hill. The weather looks promising for more sightseeing, so we're hoping to have another report soon.

Tarpon Springs

Bushnell, FL - Events of Friday, February 7 to Monday, February 10, 2014

A few days ago we received an e-mail from our friends, Marilyn and Alan, saying they were headed to Florida and would be spending a few weeks at Blueberry Hill. Marilyn and Alan are full-timers who were from Little Rock and who introduced us to a bunch of great things in and around Little Rock like Cotham's Hubcap Burger, Larry's Pizza and the Mean Pig Barbecue.

We haven't seen Marilyn and Alan since we made an overnight stop at Branson Lakes RV Park where they were workcamping in 2011. We had a great time catching up with what they have been doing when they pulled into Blueberry Hill on Friday. We also got together for a while Saturday afternoon, and they went to church with us on Sunday at Fairway Christian Church in The Villages.

The weather was cool and rainy when they first arrived, but it cleared on Sunday and started warming up. Monday was a beautiful day with a high in the mid-70s, so we piled into our car and headed south to Tarpon Springs. Tarpon Springs is one of our favorite spots in this part of Florida. We always like to visit Tarpon Springs at least once while we're here for the winter, and we also think it's a great place to take first-time visitors.

Tarpon Springs is located a little over an hour south of Bushnell a few miles up the Anclote River from the Gulf of Mexico. In the late 1800s, rich sponge beds in the Gulf of Mexico attracted Greek sponge divers to the area to search for sponges. Today, Tarpon Springs has the largest percentage Greek-Americans of any city in the United States, and the whole city has a unique Greek atmosphere.

A red tide algae bloom in the late 1940s decimated the sponge beds, and the use of synthetic sponges decreased the demand for natural sponges. Therefore, most of the sponge boats switched to shrimping and fishing, although there has been somewhat of a sponge diving resurgence in recent years.

After the demise of the sponge trade, many of the buildings near the waterfront were converted to tourist activities. Today there are many shops selling sponges and gift items, there are numerous Greek restaurants and several boat tours to see dolphins and to cruise around the barrier islands out in the Gulf.

If you arrive in Tarpon Springs before 11:00 or 11:30 a.m., you can sometimes find a free parking space on one of the side streets near Dodecanese Blvd., which is the main drag past the waterfront in the tourist area. This year we lucked out and found a free parking spot right away. There are also several lots on Dodecanese Blvd. that charge $2 to $5 for all day, so parking is reasonably priced if you can't find a free spot.

Many of the shops sell an assortment of sponges as well as Greek-themed merchandise, gift items and other souvenirs.

Alan checking out a selection of sponges

Quaint shops along Docecanese Blvd.

Restaurant on Dodecanese Blvd.

We stopped in at the shop called the Sponge Factory at the eastern end of Dodecanese Blvd. where they have a continuously-playing video on the history of sponge diving. They also have a large selection of sponges that includes utilitarian sponges for car washing and bathing as well as decorative sponges called vase sponges that are frequently used to house potted house plants.

Decorative vase sponges

The Sponge Factory also has gift items, olive oil soaps and lotions and seashells.

Margery checking out a seashell at the Sponge Factory

As we left the Sponge Factory, we paused for a tourist photo.

Margery posing for a tourist photo

We headed back down Dodecanese Blvd. and stopped at the sponge docks where numerous old sponge boats are tied up.

One of the old sponge boats at the dock

The Anastasi pictured above had a man on the deck sorting sponges.

Sorting sponges on the deck of the Anastasi

Across the river from the tourist area is where the pleasure boats and the commercial fishing and shrimp boats dock.

Commercial fishing boats docked across the river

Also at the docks is a statue dedicated to sponge divers who have lost their lives over the years.

Statue dedicated to sponge divers

As we mentioned, there are numerous Greek restaurants in the Tarpon Springs tourist area, and it's very difficult to decide which one to try. We decided to stop at Hella's Restaurant and Bakery a year or two ago, and we were very pleased with our meal, the prices and the service. Therefore, we decided to stop there again this trip.

Hellas Restaurant

The large windows along the sidewalk are open in nice weather, so we like to get one of those tables if possible because it's almost like being at a sidewalk café. Unfortunately, we were at the tail end of the lunch rush, so they said the wait for a front table would be long. The table we got was within view of the front windows, so it was still pretty nice.

Alan, Marilyn, Margery and Paul at Hellas Restaurant

The gyros (pronounced YEE-ros) at Hellas are excellent so that's what Marilyn, Margery and Paul had. Alan had pork souvlaki, which is similar to a gyro except it is made with marinated pork chunks instead of the beef and lamb gyro meat. The Gyros are $7.45 by themselves or $8.95 with fires. Each couple got an order of fries to share. Everything was yummy.

Hellas has a bakery with dozens of tempting baked goods, and we stopped at the bakery counter after lunch to get desserts to take home for later. Margery got a toasted almond torte, and Paul got double fudge cake (chocolate cake with fudge icing).

While we enjoyed a spectacularly clear day in Florida, the weather forecast for several other southern states was not as good. A second dangerous ice storm was predicted for parts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. The previous storm paralyzed Atlanta about a week prior, and it looked like officials were preparing for the worst this time because we saw dozens of Tampa Electric utility trucks heading north to be available to help repair electric lines that might be brought down by the ice.

We made our way back to Blueberry Hill where we relaxed the rest of the afternoon and evening. We also enjoyed our delicious desserts.

Double fudge cake and almond torte

Fortunately, the storm that is predicted to bring all the ice farther north will only bring one day of rain to this part of Florida followed by a temperature drop to the upper 50s. We'll have more sightseeing to report on as soon as the temperature starts to rise again, so stay tuned.

Silver Springs State Park (River Side)

Bushnell, FL - Events of Monday, February 3, 2013

From the Spring Side of Silver Springs State Park, we hopped in the car and drove a little over a mile south on State Route 35 to the River Side entrance. The $8 entrance fee we paid at the Spring Side was also good at River Side.

River Side has picnic areas, numerous hiking trails, a museum, a cracker village and a campground. We drove through the campground, and it's pretty nice. Sites are spacious with palmettos and underbrush between them for privacy. There are about 60 sites with water and electric hookups. Most of the sites only have 30-amp electric, but there are a handfull with 50 amps. There were lots of empty sites.

Unfortunately, the museum and cracker village are only open to the public on weekends. They are operated by the Marion County School District in cooperation with the state park, and they are used for school groups during the week. There were two school buses in the parking lot when we were there.

Since the museum and village were closed, we decided to take one of the hiking trails. There are a couple of trails that end up at the Silver River, a trail called Swamp Trail, another called Sinkhole Trail plus a couple of other trails. We opted to do part of Sinkhole Trail.

The trails are fairly well marked, but we were apparently doing Sinkhole Trail loop backwards because all the trail markers were facing the opposite way. We picked up the trail at the main parking lot near the cracker village, and we could see some of the buildings in the village as we passed by.

One of the buildings in the cracker village

Cracker is a term that was applied to English and American settlers in Florida in the 1700s. There is debate as to where the term "cracker" came from; but in Elizabethan England, "crack" (or Gaelic craic) was a term that referred to superfluous or entertaining conversation. This is where we get the saying "to crack a joke." Early settlers in Florida raised cattle and were known as cracker cowmen. Therefore, the name "cracker" could also refer to the cracking of their whips as they rounded up their herds. Although cracker can have negative connotations in some circles, the term is still proudly used today by native Floridians to indicate their family has resided in Florida for many generations.

The sandy trail passed through pine and palmetto woods. Fortunately, the school groups were busy in the museum and at the cracker village, so the trail was nice and quiet with only bird sounds and the crunching of sand and pine needles underfoot.

Margery on Sinkhole Trail

Along the way, we saw a several feral pigs cross the trail about 50 yards ahead of us. Unfortunately, Paul couldn't get the camera out fast enough to get a picture before they disappeared in the underbrush. As we arrived at the spot where we saw them disappear, we could hear grunting and rustling in the bushes; but we only caught glimpses of their butts as they scurried deeper into the brush.

The section of the loop we were taking was only a little over a mile in length so it didn't take us long to get to the sinkhole at about the halfway point. The sinkhole is about 20 to 30 feet deep and about 200 feet across. Because of the relatively dense vegetation surrounding the sinkhole, it is a little difficult to see. We walked part way down into the depression.

Side trail as it drops down into the 20-foot deep sinkhole

Sinkhole Trail intersects with Old Field Loop Trail a short distance past the sinkhole. We decided to take Old Field Loop back to where we parked instead of doubling back on Sinkhole Trail. Old Field Loop is a narrower, less used trail. We didn't see any additional wildlife, but we did see several different types of plants.

Lichen

Toadstool

Yucca filamentosa

Yucca filamentosa (common names are Spanish dagger, Adam's needle, needle palm or bear grass) gets its name from the curly filaments along the edges of the leaves.

Closeup of the curly filaments of yucca filamentosa

The return by way of Old Field Loop was a little longer than retracing our steps along Sinkhole Trail, but we enjoyed the different scenery and the birds singing. We made our way back to the car and headed back to Bushnell.

We got back to Bushnell just in time for a late lunch at Beef O'Brady's. Beef O'Brady's is a family sports bar chain that has locations all over the south. They have burgers, a nice selection of sandwiches, wings, a large number of delicious-looking appetizers and various dinner entrées.

Beef O'Brady's

We have been hungry for a good burger, and Mondays at Beef O'Brady's is burger day where you can get a Build Your Own Burger for $4.99 (regularly $7.99). The Angus burger includes your choice of lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions and also comes with fries. Other sides are available for a $2 upcharge. Additional toppings for the Build Your Own Burger like cheese, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, bleu cheese dressing, chili, bacon or guacamole are available for $.75 to $2 extra. Margery had a burger with lettuce and tomato with onion rings for her side, and Paul had a burger with American cheese and poblono sauce with fries.

Margery with her burger and onion rings

The burgers were juicy and delicious. The onion rings and fries were also great - nice and crunchy.

After our late lunch, we headed back to the motor home. Now that we're into February, we're hoping the warm weather will hold so we can get out more. Stay tuned.