I’m in Dade City for my last build of the year.   It’s just an hour from Ocala, so I’ll probably come down once a week and build with them as a local volunteer.   The campground is actually a field in a neighborhood.   There were houses here once, but they came down and a Habitat neighborhood was built.   This affiliate gets most of their work done in the winter, by Care-A-Vanners.   They have 6-8 spaces and they are full during the winter months.   We spent the 3 weeks I was here building a house with 2 showers, a kitchen and laundry room for the RVers.   The front of the house has one large room that will be used by a local volunteer to live in.   They actually have a pretty nice set up here, the house will have a pavilion out back and they have a large BBQ/picnic area overlooking a pond that is home to a lot of different birds.   Once this house is done, they will remove several sheds and double the camping spaces.   One side will b...

When I arrived in the park in Ocala, I was surprised to find that I was the only camper there.   It’s a very small campground, only 23 sites, but I thought there would be more people there.   The reason this is one of my favorite places is because its right on the Florida Greenway, a series of hiking trails connecting to the larger Florida Trail.   So of course bright and early the next morning, I went for a long hike.   On the way back, there was a guy behind me who struck up a conversation of sorts.   Apparently he was lost, as in, on the wrong trail.   He said he should have ended up at a completely different trailhead then the one we were headed to.   Rather then turn around, he kept going.   He also told me he was hunting mushrooms,   the kind that cures cancer. He walked on the trail for a while then I let him pass me while took a water break.   The rest of the hike he would appear out of the woods with mushrooms in his hand, the...

I had a great two weeks in Nashville, for most of my visit the weather was great and there were so many sights to see.      I headed to downtown Nashville with a long list of things to do.   As I was looking for someplace to park, who should walk in front of my truck but Trace Atkins!   I just stupidly sat there thinking this can’t really be him, can it?   All I can say, if it wasn’t, it was his twin.    After a quick stop at the visitors center, I had tickets to the Grand Ole Opry, Country Music Hall of Fame, Studio B and Ryman Auditorium.   Of the 4, I think the most interesting was the Country Music Hall of Fame.   I’ve listened to country music all my life, so I knew who almost all of the people were.   The biggest exhibits were of the old timers, like from the 50’s and 60’s.   They did have some cool displays like Elvis Presley’s gold piano and the car from Smokey and the Bandit.   I also took a tour of Studio ...

I was excited to get to Indiana for several reasons.   1. It’s the RV capital of the country, with plants of almost every major RV manufacturer in the US.   Who wouldn’t want to come here?   2.   I like being in the first group of Care-A-Vanners to visit an affiliate, and 3. I would be meeting up with several different groups of friends. When I was in Ohio, I was trying to get together with some past Habitat friends, as well as some friends from Michigan from my military days.   Most didn’t work out for various reasons, but I was really happy that my good friend Jeannie and her husband Jeff could come for the last weekend.   She was one of my best friends while in Alpena, and I hadn’t met her husband yet, so I was really looking forward to her visit. She had to work on Friday, so they didn’t get in till late.   I was having a hard time staying awake, so I was relieved when they finally got there.   After helping guide them into the site, no...

My next stop was Ohio, but I wanted to stop by Letchworth State Park in New York, which was advertised as some of the most magnificent scenery in the United States.   It comprises 14,350 acres along the Genesee River. Within the park, the river roars over three major waterfalls, one of which is 107 feet high. The cliffs, created by the river's path over thousands of years, approach 600 feet. I had heard this was the Grand Canyon of the East.   While it was a great park, I don’t know about Grand Canyon…   I arrived too late in the day on Sunday to really do any exploring.   Monday morning I got up early, excited to do some hiking.   But alas, it was cold and drizzling.   I waited a few hours, but it just got worse, so I thought what the heck, I’m headed out.   I decided to drive as much as possible and not hike the whole thing.   The park was really beautiful and low and behold the rain stopped as I reached the first waterfall.   I was ...

My friend Gretchen and I signed up for this Habitat build a few months ago.   We were both listed as team leaders, but Gretchen had never lead before.   She’s done many global village builds, mostly in Africa. We agreed that she would be the actual team leader and I would be there to offer assistance if needed.   I planned on enjoying this build as just another builder.   Our home for the two weeks would be a campground for the Seventh Day Adventist.   It was a really nice open field with electricity and water.   I think I got a bad electric pole because the power kept going out for the 30amp plug.   I finally just plugged into the 20 amp hookup and did just fine. I arrived a few days early because the campground in Connecticut was booked for the holiday weekend.   By Sunday the rest of the team arrived and I could tell right   away we had a good crew.   John and Teresa were from Kentucky and had been to the build in West Liberty. ...

I spent a week in East Hampton Connecticut and counted Rhode Island on my map of places I’ve been since it was such a small state and so close.   It didn’t make sense to switch campgrounds.   For such small states, both sure had lots of green space.   I found a great hiking trail very near the campground and decided to take little Beefcake along for the ride.   I have a pouch that hangs in front of me so he can see where he’s going.   I can’t believe how much he loves riding in it.   I thought he settled down and just went to sleep, but people tell me his eyes are wide open and he’s looking around.   There was supposed to be a waterfall that according to the guide was worth leaving the trail for.   Well, I left the trail and crossed several streams before the trail disappeared with no waterfall to be found.   I did see a really cool owl though.   It was sitting in a tree right by the trail and was pretty tolerant of me standing there t...

It was a long 9 hour drive from Toms River to Shelburne NH.   Last year I bounced all over the country, but this year I’ve been trying to stay in one general area (the North East) and make shorter trips.   So far I’ve done pretty well, but this was a long, uneventful day.   The trip is broken up by the all too frequent fuel stops.   Now that my truck is broken in, my gas mileage has gone from about 9 MPG to almost 12 MPG when pulling.   The biggest jump is of course when I’m not pulling.   That went from 10 to almost 19 on a really good day. Now that makes me very happy!!   The diesel prices up here are all over the place.   In NH, they must have lower gas taxes because it’s pretty cheap at 3.75ish.   Most other places have been closer to 4.25 and I’ve even paid more.   I find that when I’m driving down the highway, I like to fill up when my truck gets to ½ a tank.   Notice I said ‘like to’ not ‘I do’.   Sometimes I don’t l...