February 1 – 28th, 2017
We found a place to stay for the month of February and part of March at Avion Palms RV Park in Bowling Green, Florida. Avion Palms is about 60 miles from Tampa, 80 miles from Orlando/Disney World and 30 miles south of Lakeland. It is located in the quiet and laid back heart of citrus and farming country.
Site #75 1113 Manila Lane
According to Avion Palms’ website they are the most beautiful park in all of Florida. We agree with them. It is very well maintained and a beautiful park with the most friendliest people in town. Avion Palms is an “age 55 and older” community with 233 lots that are owned and operated by its members. They have full time residents, as well as owners and renters who only spend the winter months here. Presently, they have RVs and park model homes on lots, as well as vacant lots for sale and for rent. Most of the members volunteer their time to maintain the beautiful park and to provide great meals and activities.
Avion Palms has the largest club house I have ever seen. They have a very large dance floor, kitchen, library, craft room, pool room with two tables and lots of tables and chairs. They have daily and weekly activities such as exercises classes, water aerobics, crafts, line dancing, bible study, golf, shuffleboard, game nights, Music Jam, scrapbooking, crochet, choir, pot luck, bingo and more. We had a hard time keeping up with these folks. lol
Kitchen and restrooms on the left, dance floor in the center and pool tables, craft room, meeting room and library on the right side of the building.
The clubhouse
They have a pool and spa and a large laundry room with 8 coin washers and dryers, iron with ironing board and a large clothes folding table in the center of the room. It only cost $1.00 for the washing machine and 75 cents for the dryer. We use their machines instead of using ours to save on the electric bill and wear and tear on our machines.
We have attended many of the their events such as the auction, Pickin’ & Grinnin’, bingo, a variety show, and the Valentine’s dinner and dance. I went to their ladies luncheon and fashion show which was a lot of fun. Ed likes having chili cheese dogs on Tuesday and having ice cream during bingo and on Sunday night.
Valentine’s dinner and dance
Billie Marie and Carole at the Ladies Luncheon and Fashion Show
We would come back to this beautiful park next time we are in the area. Such nice people and great community.
During our stay here we drove up to Riverview many times in the month of February to visit my brother Scott and mother Ginger. One day we spent the day with Ginger looking at modular homes in Riverview area and later celebrated her birthday at Circles restaurant in Apollo Beach.
Ginger, Ed, Scott, Michelle, Dee, and me
One of those visits Scott took us out on his boat to Tampa Bay. We saw dolphins playing in the water, two cruise ships, Beer Can Island, and a beautiful sunset. It was a very nice day to be out on the water.
My mother bought a modular home in Riverview, Florida and we decided to stay in the area to help her move in March. Being flexible is one of the many benefits of full-timing in a RV and of course being retired. lol
State Parks
Below is all of the State Parks we visited.
Little Manatee State Park, Wimauma, FL
Ed and I went for a little hike on the Oxbow and the Florida Hiking trail. All we saw on the trail was an armadillo. It was a nice little hike though. Actually we only walked half of the Florida Hiking Trail because we were running out of daylight. We took a cut through that divided the trail in half. Just as we were starting the trail Tracey’s mom called and wanted us to see a home she was checking out. Luckily it was only 20 minutes from where we were so we stopped exploring and drove about 12 miles down the road. After looking over the home we went back to the state park to finish our hike. Just another example of being flexible with our time…retirement is great!
Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, FL
It was 76 degrees and beautiful day to be out in the woods. We used to camp at this park when we lived in Jupiter and always loved this park. Surprising, Highlands Hammock has not changed much since the last time we were there. Some of the oranges trees have died off but the swamp and woods is just as beautiful as it was when we were there 25 years ago. I’ve always enjoyed Highlands Hammock SP and I am glad that area was preserved as a great example of the diversity Florida’s landscape. You change from flat, sandy pine woods to a luscious hard wood hammock to swampy cypress and cabbage palms all within an hours walk.
Here are some pictures.
The Cypress Swamp boardwalk trail is one of our favorite places to explore. It is very peaceful and serene.
My favorite scene of the swamp area
Interesting how the tree grew over the boardwalk instead of pushing the boardwalk away
On the Ancient Hammock trail Ed found a wild orange tree and decided he wanted an orange to eat. Good job Ed! It was very bitter and juicy.
The second to the last trail we took was the Fern Garden trail. It was mostly all boardwalk and a short walk.
The last trail we took in Highlands Hammock SP was The Alexander Run Big Oak trail. The only thing we saw was a very old large oak tree and it was huge. Sadly it is no longer alive.
Paynes Creek Historic State Park, Bowling Green, FL
This is a small historic park with a couple of trials. First we saw the reenactment of the murders at Kennedy-Darling Trading Post. That was a little interesting.
Those murders were one of the events that led to the third Seminole Indian War in 1853.
After the reenactment we walked a short trail to view Paynes Creek. It had started getting hot so Tracey did not want to walk the other trail. I took her back home and returned to the park to walk the other three trails. There is a nice suspension bridge that crosses Payne Creek where you can see a monument erected in the memory of those murdered there. I also walked down Payne Creek to point where it flowed into the Peace River.
Alafia River State Park. Lithia, FL
We wanted to camp here but they were booked and now we know why. It is a beautiful and very well maintained park. They have 30 campsites with water and electric hook-up. The 6,312 acre park is a former phosphate mine in southeastern Hillsborough County. The reclaimed mine altered the landscape and created new landforms such as several small lakes, and steep grades popular with off-road bicyclists who enjoy challenging trails.
The park offers 20 miles of equestrian and hiking trails through the hardwood forest, pine flat woods and rolling hills. We saw deer, turtles, hawks, white cranes and egrets along the trails.
Mulit-use trail is for bicyclist and hikers share the trail at your own risk. The bicyclist ride fast!
Can you see the turtle?
The park offers 20 miles of challenging off-road mountain bicycling trails, ranging from beginner to highly advance. The bicycle trails at Alafia River have the International Mountain Bicycling Association Epic designation. This park was very busy with bicyclist and the trails look very challenging. I would be scared to try out those bike trails. lol But I think Ed and Trevor would enjoy the challenge. I have been looking into replacing my road bicycle with a mountain bike for a while so after we got back from the state park I ordered a bike. After it gets here I will go back and ride a few of those trails. Stay tuned to next month’s blog to see how I do.
Ducks sitting on a dead tree
RV stuff
On other days Ed resealed most of the exterior joints on our rig, we got it washed and waxed, and bought a new water softener (Florida water is hard and I don’t like spots on my glasses. lol) I washed the screens and windows and Ed pulled weeds and mowed the lawn at our site which is one of the requirements of renting a site for a couple of months at Avion Palms. Ed thought he was done with lawn work. lol
Avion Palms offer lawn mowers and other equipment for owners and renters to use.
Well, that’s it for now. I am not sure where the time goes and but it is sure flying by fast.
See ya’ll later!
The Adventures of Tracey and Ed 