November/December 2018 – Spending time in our Domicile State…
With our arrival at the Oscar Scherer State Park in Osprey, Florida we were excited to slow down and be stationary for the Holiday months of November/December. We were told we needed to set-up on Site 54 for the first few days and then could relocate to site 75 if we wanted to. While site 75, at first glance, looks great right on the river, and was highly recommended by others, we opted to remain on site 54 where we set-up on our arrival. Site 54 was deep, wide, very private, and didn’t have any pine trees with needles and sap falling on the RV. We were very glad we made this decision as it was also right across from the bathhouse that made things very convenient as well.
The first few days were spent working and staffing the 6th Annual Halloween Festival in the Park. We were told that it was a big event and trust me when I say they weren’t exagerating at all. We helped with set-up of props, the haunted trail, nightly volunteer registration and some logistics each night at the event. They had sold 1500 tickets for each night (Friday/Saturday) and the costumes, kids, and atmospsphere were very festive… The scary trail and haunted house were very well done! FOOSSP (Friends of Oscar Scherer State Park ) is an incredible group of volunteers that put many thousands of hours into the park every year with the Halloween Event; the park’s single biggest annual fundraiser. With the Halloween event completed we helped the next several days with clean-up which allowed us to meet and get to know many additional volunteers in the park including an eclectic group of mostly retirees that have been volunteering every Monday & Wednesday for over 10 years. They are fondly called the “Crusty old Curmudgeons,” though there was nothing crusty about their work ethic and skill sets. This group is an invaluable resource to the park and was great to get to know and work with.
With November 1st we began our camp-host duties which are pretty routine with camper do-outs, site clean-up, bathhouse inspections, and our favorite part (camper contact). Whether you know it or not camping is one of the most social activities you can ever experience. There is always someone to talk, share, help, or just enjoy a daily ritual of 4:00 cocktail hours or campfires. We have made friends from every part of North America here.
The nicest part of Oscar Scherer is the location! It is in a beautiful area with plenty of hiking trails, wild-life, kayaking, and bike-riding. In addition you are right next to Venice and Nokomis Beach, Siesta Key, Casey Key and Sarasota, FL.
In our spare time some of the things we have experienced/visited are:
- Nokomis, FL Jetty and Beach
- Siesta Key Beach Sunset Walk -(Rated the #1 Beach in the Country)
- Biked the Legacy Trail – often (12 mile trail connecting Sarasota – Venice) -which passes right through the park
- Kayaked in the park, to the inland waterway, and up North Creek
North Creek – Oscar Scherer State Park
- Hiked the Trails in the Oscar Scherer State Park
- Dinner at Turtles in Siesta Key
Turtles – Siesta Key
Turtles – Siesta Key
- Dinner & Happy Hour (several times) at Casey Key Fish house/Tiki Bar
- Breakfast at Blu Island Bistro (Venice, FL)
- Englewood, FL Farmer’s Market
- Venice Little Theater – South Pacific & Tribute to the King-(Excellent!)
- Wildlife – Gopher Tortoise’s, Deer, Alligators, Armadillo, Cardinals, Scrub Jays, Raccoons, Bobcats, Mulletts, Geckos, Snakes, & many Eagle sightings…
- “The Ringling”Holiday Spectacular Sarasota, FL – (The Circus Museum)
- Manatee Holiday Boat Parade Bradenton, FL
Our 3rd week of camp-hosting we decided to make a visit to our daughter Caitlin who has an apartment in West Palm Beach, FL for work. The Esteves’s hadn’t been over there so they opted to go as well and volunteered to drive the 3 hours. Crossing the state to the East Coast would be our first visit to Atlantic since being in Florida this year where we are on the Gulf Coast. Cait was a terrific host as always and the 2 days spent there couldn’t have been better (except if Bruce could have been there as well).
Thanksgiving was spent with our Florida family for the first time in many years. The Esteve’s hosted us at their home in Bradenton, Florida and as usual we ate far too much. Fortunately we saved room for the home made pumpkin & apple pie’s. We had a terrific day of laughing, giving thanks, and just enjoying everyone’s company…
As a camp host/volunteer we got to help at the weekly pancake breakfast on Thursdays…
The Pancake Breakfast …
The Pancake Breakfast …
The Saturday Drum Circle at Nokomis Beach…
Christmas was special with Caitlin, Bruce, Sean & Otis flying in and all congregating at MM (MomMom) & PP’s (PopPop) in Leesburg. FL with the rest of the family for the day. Although we were scheduled to work this day one of our new friends, Chuck (a floating volunteer) at the park, was gracious to cover for us on Christmas.
Our times at Oscar Scherer State Park brought so many memorable moments during November & December 2018. The Pot Luck dinners (with other camp-hosts/volunteers), Camp Fires with so many new friends, Pancake breakfast responsibilities at the Nature Center, Parking cars at events, Bike Rides, Karaoke (with Mike & Helen), the constant social aspects of the camping lifestyle, topped off with a Special New Year’s get together at our campsite (with nearly 30 hosts, friends, and fellow volunteers) to usher in the New Year…
With 2018 now in the books we are so looking forward to where this “Revolutionary Journey” will take us in 2019…
A New Year’s eve toast and the best to all our family & friends for a terrific 2019…
