We are normally the take it slow in the morning kind of
travelers/ But today, it was all about getting out of Florida before the
lovebugs woke up. For our northern friends, love bugs are a May and September,
sometimes late April and late August pest. Twice a year, pesky, invasive
lovebugs swarm Florida. They are my least favorite clingy-pair that spend 12
hours having intercourse and at some point they splatter their gooey insides on
car hoods and windshields, flying into people’s faces, and even clinging to
your clothes, thus bringing a few inside with you, yuck! They traveled to the
Gulf Coast and Florida, from Central America. I wish the border had been
closed, when they crossed! They thrive in Florida, because of our warm humid
weather and our ample decaying plant matter.
All that being said, it was 4:30 am, yes, you read that
right! So, it was dark for the first hours of our two lane adventure. So,
pictures are limited and my narration will have to do. We passed through
Zephyrhills on US Route 301 N. Zephyrhills was once known as Abbott’s Station,
named after the railroad stop. It is now most famous for its pure water and Sky
Dive City. Where more than 70,000 skydives are performed annually. Sky Dive
City is the largest woman-owned drop zone in the world, founded in 1990 by
Joannie Murphy and Susan Perkins Stark.
In the 1870s there was a small town known as Fort Dade. In the 1880s, the railroad bypassed Fort Dade a few miles to the east; the whole town packed up and moved to be next to the railroad. In 1884, the town was incorporated as Dade City.
We took the 301 Bypass and skirted along the
south side of the town’s centerpiece, the historic Pasco County Courthouse. It was built in 1909 and has been restored a couple of
times and it is on The National Register of Historic Places. A prisoner of war camp was located in Dade City during World War
Two. The camp was for German soldiers who had been captured in North Africa as
part of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korp. The camp operated from 1942
to 1946. It old camp site is now the location of Pyracantha Park Civic Center.
We passed through Bushnell on 301. It was still dark, but
the large County Courthouse is still visible with its marble façade.
Interesting fact about the next town we came to Sumterville. It was the
original home to the first County seat and courthouse in Sumter County.
However, the only thing that remains of that original building is the
historical marker, located along side US 301.
Just up the road, you enter the small town of Coleman. It
has a gas station, an antique shop and a stop sign. But, just before you get to
this booming town, we could smell one of the sweetest crops in this area,
blueberries! It was amazing how strong the smell was. It was like the
blueberries were right under our noses. Oh, now I am hungry!
In Belleview, US 27 and US 441 joined us on Route 301. I
never noticed that US 27 was on this route before, and we have traveled this
route a great deal. In Ocala, we started to see our first glimpse of the sunrise.
We have been traveling about an hour and a half at this point.
Just north of Ocala, US 27 headed off to the west toward
Williston and we continued on US 441 and 301. About halfway between Ocala and
Citra, US 441 went Northwest and we continued Northeast on US 301.
Citra is known as the home of the pineapple orange, originally
it was called the hickory orange. The name Pineapple Orange was coined in 1883
for the orange with an aroma reminiscent of a pineapple. Citra is also home to
Grand Lakes, a Sun RV Community that Bonnie and I sell vacation rental and
model home furnishings to.
On the north side of Citra is another large
blueberry farm, but we can’t smell these.
In Baldwin Florida, I spotted this pig with saddle, not a
thing you see every day! Well, I guess it is if you live in Baldwin or frequent
Cousin Willie’s Smokehouse! Powell and Leslie (Willis) Peacock established
Cousin Willie’s Smokehouse in November 2016. Their vision was simple, create
great food at an affordable cost with a down home family feel. Their motto is “where
everyone is family.”
Charlie
was tired, from his early morning start, so we opted for a rest stop at a Shell
station with RV & Truck parking, just north of Folkston Georgia. We were
successful … we made it out of Florida without one lovebug dying on our
windshield!
After our rest, our luck ran out! In Nahunta Georgia, we had
lovebugs on our windshield and their guts starting to splatter on it too! The
good news is they are not as plentiful here in southern Georgia!
It was a great day to drive through Glennville Georgia,
today was the annual Sweet Onion Festival. It is in its 40th year! The festive
day celebrates the harvesting of the famous Vidalia sweet onion crop. The day
begins with a sweet onion run and walk and a downtown parade. Then the festivities
move to the State Farmers’ Market on Highway 301 for an array of arts and
crafts, delightful entertainment, children's rides and games, delectable food.
It includes everything onion … fried sweet onion rings, blooming onions, etc…
We missed the downtown parade, but caught these tractors
heading back to the farm. The one tractor driver is serious about bringing his
wife along, he even installed a second seat on his tractor!
The small town of Claxton Georgia, with less than 2,300
residents, is known the world over for their old-fashioned goodness and
traditional holiday appeal. The Claxton Fruit Cake is the "Choice of
Millions Since 1910." Sun-ripened California raisins, delicious pineapple,
crunchy Georgia pecans, plump juicy cherries, freshly shelled walnuts and
almonds, tangy lemon and orange peel blended into a rich pound cake batter and
baked to a golden brown. That is the recipe for the famous Claxton Fruit Cake. In
1964 and 1965, the company was part of the New York World's Fair. Mr. Parker
quickly took advantage of the success at the fair and came up with other means
to get his product out to the world. One such innovation came when he entered
several floats in the Orange Bowl Jamboree Parade in Miami and also the Cherry
Blossom Festival Parade in Washington, D.C. Today the Claxton Bakery, Inc.
works with over a thousand organizations throughout North America. Too bad, I
am not a fan of fruitcake, it has such an interesting history!
We stopped for the night just south of Statesboro at a small
RV park. Parkwood RV Resort & Cottages is located right on US 301. We are
on a nice pull through site with full hook ups. I give it 4 out of 5 stars!
Looking forward to relaxing ... it will have to be inside ... because Georgia has gnats!
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