I feel
that I should start this entry off with a bit of advice....
#1 Do
not store you rain boots “out of the way” under the toolbox in
the bed of the truck because when there is a downpour and the site
you are trying to back into is 3 inches underwater, it is not the
time to have to dig them out.
#2 Buy
waterproof walkie talkies that way when you drop them into the 3
inches of water, they still work
AND #3
NEVER trust that your children have turned of the shower water and
not just the sprayer. Because if you do, and they didn't, then you
wake up in the morning and step into water that has filled up the
grey tank, then the shower pan and then started traveling across your
floor.... and THEN you spend several days trying to dry out your
things in the wet, cold weather.
I am not
saying we were silly enough to let any of those things happen to us,
but just thought I should pass along some wisdom ;) (wink, wink)
LOL
Now, on
to the campground:
Paynes
Prairie is known for the American Bison and wild horses that roam the
prairie. We ventured along the Bolen
Bluff trail in the
footsteps of explorer, Hernando
De Soto in 1539 and had
hopes of seeing Bison but no such luck. We did, however, see a wild
horse resting under a tree. It's really cool that there are no
fences between you and the animals.
The
campground was nice andt was definitely our reintroduction to the
sand of Florida. Guess I will just have to get used to it since we
will be in Florida for a few months. Maneuvering through the
campground was a little tight, with a lot of trees, but we managed.
The shower houses were good and I never ran out of hot water (bonus
points!)
One day,
we drove to Ocala to go to the Golden Flake Factory Tour. It was
great and the kids gave it 5 stars! We got to put our hair in
hairnets and really go INTO the factory. We saw the potato and corn
chip making process, but I think they may also make salsa and one
other thing. We watched the process from potato to shipment and
amazingly, it only takes 12 MINUTES!!! Each person on the tour got a
free bag of chips and the tour guide opened a bag right off the line
and we got to test them out. They were still warm! It was so fun
and it was also FREE ;) Sorry there are no pictures, but cameras
were not permitted.
That
same afternoon, we visited the Discovery Center of Ocala. They
generally have scheduled programs for groups of kids but also had a
few exhibits to view any time. Totally gross and cool were these
Giant Cave Cockroaches that get up to 4 inches long with a wingspan
of 5 inches! I am soooo thankful they are not native to the United
States and I really hope they do not escape and begin multiplying!
They
also had a few other animals like skinks, frogs and scorpions which
were fun to check out along with a temporary exhibit on water
conservation.
Across
the street from there was a great playscape. We played there awhile
and generally I wouldn't even mention a playscape but the kids had a
great time on this... (me too!)
On
another day, we went to the Florida
Museum of Natural History. It
was located on the University of Florida campus and free to the
public. They had some
unique displays. In this exhibit, there were very small,
quarter-sized crabs on the ground that really moved! Very cute and a
little startling
My
favorite was the butterfly exhibit. They have a butterfly rainforest
but since it was cold and raining, we did not enter because we were
forewarned that the butterflies really were not out and moving.
Below is a
viewing area where you could see the staff pinning their collections.
They have over 9 million specimens making it the largest collection
of butterflies and moths in the world!
There
was also an area to view the cocoons waiting to hatch. It was fun to
watch the ones that were moving. We hoped to see one hatch, but I guess we would probably have to sit there for more than 5 minutes. Ha Ha.
And
one final fun thing was building this mastadon. Jacob was so proud
of himself.
And,
of course, a little silly...
At the end of the week, the kids had a fantastic surprise. Grandma and Grandpa pulled into our campsite. It was a speechless, jaw dropping experience for them. The grandparents were going to be spending the next week with us.
Next stop is Orlando. I wonder where we are all going....
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