~~~ The Caves ~~~

We love spelunking down onto caves but we only do the guided tours... Nothing ever on our own. We have visited many caves across the USA and even though we had been to these before we wanted to take Alyssah down into them. We went over very early hoping to get into the first tour of the day.... but it was totally booked so we ended up on the 9:30 tour which was very lucky for us... We had the best guide whose name was Bill... He was a little older then most of the guides but he had a great deal of knowledge about caves. There were a few steep stairs to go down and some areas as low as 4 feet high and 2 feet wide to waddle through but everyone in our group made it... Our guide was 70 and there was a charming couple there that were in their 80s... we also managed to have one very loud toddler around 3... we stayed away from him needless to say... I am posting some pictures of the caverns and hope that you enjoy looking at them...
To see any of them larger just double click on the picture...

Thanks for coming by and I hope you enjoyed all the pictures of the caverns...

Until Later

~~~Here we are at Florida Caverns~~~

We arrived safely at the Florida Caverns in Marianna, Florida and set up Tassie in her little nook in the woods... They have sites that are big enough for big rigs, 50AMP and water but no sewer. There are a lot of trees and TV, phone and Internet are hard to get if not impossible. But going to the caves are well worth the inconvenience. We'll be here for 3 nights and plan to go into the caves one day and ride around town to see some of the historic homes the next day... and of course make our weekly visit to Wal-Mart to load up on groceries and necessities...

Entrance to park and Miss Tassie all set up in her little site

Poppy & Alyssah taking the garbage to the dump and

a little friend we saw in the swamps

Here are a couple of pictures of Florida swamps

We are going for a hike down the dirt path to the old swimming hole

Alyssah & Memaw on the boardwalk to the swimming hole & at last the swimming hole. What a beautiful shade of blue it is...

A spring fed swimming hole that stays at 72' all year

Look at this cute little turtle... no bigger then 2" in diameter

& one of my little feathered friends

Tomorrow we are going down into the caves...

It will be a fun adventure for our Miss Little Sunshine...

Until Later

~~~ Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park in Florida ~~~

This was our last night in Olustee & Lake City... We decided to go into town to the Mexican Restaurant and meet up with my cousin to say our farewells... She is so sad to see us go, however I think it is Alyssah she'll really miss the most... She spoiled her as much as her Memaw would... Here is Aunt Mary & Alyssah at the restaurant and Alyssah sporting the Beach backpack with a towel, goggles, frisbee, skim board and other beach goodies in it... Uncle Tuck brought her over a pair of swim fins so she'll be able to swim in the gulf & ponds we visit... And of course I had to show you my yummy dinner... Oh and the Margarita (2nd one) that I sucked down...

I wanted to share with you the pictures and a brief history from our day at the Olustee Battlefield. It is a very haunting place to visit as are many of the Civil War Battlefields

Olustee Battlefield Historic State Park

This park commemorates the site of Florida's largest Civil War battle, which took place February 20, 1864. More than 10,000 cavalry, infantry, and artillery troops fought a five-hour battle in a pine forest near Olustee. Three U.S. Colored Troops took part in the battle, including the now famous 54th Massachusetts. The battle ended with 2,807 casualties and the retreat of Union troops to Jacksonville until the wars end just 14 months later. In 1912, when many living Civil War veterans still attended reunions, the battlefield became the state's first historic site. Olustee Battlefield has a visitor center with historical information and artifacts. A reenactment is held every February and a Civil War Expo takes place in late summer. Scenes for Civil War movies, including the 1989 movie Glory, have been filmed during the reenactments. You can take a walk along a mile-long trail that has interpretive signs describing the events of the battle. Located two miles east of Olustee on U.S. 90.

Entrance to the park and the memorial monument

Entrance to cemetery and the cross where they buried many Union

Soldiers whose bodies where never claimed

Fence around battlefield and the burial place of the Union Soldiers again

Field in the park with a cannon and Gates into the park

The reenactment is held in February the weekend before Presidents Day every year. There is a parade in town (Lake City) on Saturday, entertainment and booths with crafts & food... Then out at the battlefield (Olustee) there is 3 days of battles, an encampment set up for both the grey & blue sides... It is all so very interesting to see how the camps were set up and how they lived during those times. You can purchase many items including clothes from that era. If you have never been there for this historic re-enactment you need to go... Also in September they have a Civil War Expo where you can visit with the reinactors and see the ways of the life back during the civil war... Very entertaining and historic.

Here are some pictures we took when we were here a couple of years ago during the weekend of the re-enactment...

Hope you enjoyed this post... Our next stop will be at the

Florida Caverns State Park in Marianna, Florida.

There we will be spelunking into some caves .

Until Later

~~~Ocean Pond in Olustee, Florida~~~

Our second stop is at Olustee, Florida. We are staying at Ocean Pond in the Osceola National Forrest. This is a great little jewel of a national forest campground which is not very well known but very nice to visit... and it is just a few miles to my cousins house which is nice so we can visit with each other. There are a total of about 50 sites. There are only about 15 sites with 50 Amp electric & water, and around 25 with just water with the rest being primitive. All sites are paved, level and the restrooms are clean. They also have many trails and paved (not traveled much) roads to walk or ride bikes on. Then there is the pond which you can go fishing, boating, skiing and swimming... However just like most Florida water you need to watch for the Alligators.

This is our campsite at Ocean Pond ~ Home Sweet Home for a week

Alyssah is really enjoying the RVing life... She is always out playing

The road in the park and "Our Little Tiffy" always looking for us when we are outdoors or gone

For past couple of years I have been putting bird feeders out to see what I can attract in different states and areas... I keep a journal of what birds I see and where I see them... It is a fun little past time. I attracted few beautiful humming birds here and a few mockingbirds which is the state bird of Florida and 1 Redwing Blackbird... Just thought I would share a few pictures of my little friends...

Here is the super duper xtra large pizza we had over to Mary's house...

It is about the biggest I have ever seen other then the ones on TV

We are really enjoying the time with Alsyssah and she has been a joy to be with.

Until Later