Traveling North to the Florida Georgia Line

Gunny and Pinky thought they got the front seats!

Today is the first day of our 150 plus days of two lane adventures! We left Zephyrhills with two of the six Geek-E-Birds ... but that is a story for another day! We headed north on US Hwy 301. We are going to stay on 301 for all of today. We are on this road every day, but do you know that you can follow US 301 north all the way to Glasgow Delaware. US 301 travels about 1,100 miles, it passes through the states of Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It goes through the cities of Annapolis, Maryland; Richmond and Petersburg, Virginia; Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Fayetteville, North Carolina; Florence, South Carolina; Statesboro and Jesup, Georgia; and Ocala, Zephyrhills, Brandon, and Sarasota, Florida.

On US 301, you travel by a great deal of railroad tracks. Here is some of the history of those tracks. In 1887, narrow-gauge track was laid and a wooden depot was built for Peter Demens' Orange Belt Railway, which passed through the greater Dade City area on the way from Sanford to St. Petersburg. Henry Plant bought it in 1895, converted it to standard gauge, and sold the railroad to the Atlantic Coast Line in 1902. The original depot was then torn down and replaced with a new one in 1927. The Atlantic Coast Line merged in 1967 with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, forming the Seaboard Coast Line. Rail service to Trilby ceased in 1976. The depot was taken by trailer to the Pioneer Florida Museum in 1978, and is on display with a 35-ton steam locomotive used by the Cummer Sons Cypress Company.

As you pass through the many small towns, Croom A Cooche, Sumterville, and Coleman you can see so many typical Florida "cracker" houses. They were so named because of the sound of the whips used by early cattle-raising settlers. Originally, most were lumber construction, with a four-room hipped-roof attached to a kitchen and dining room by an open breezeway.

We love the picturesque sights on the two lane roads. We love to watch the scenery along the roads. It is a much more relaxing way to travel than to feel the swish, swish of the 18 wheelers passing you by on the interstates. Don't you agree? 

In Oxford, we passed through the intersection of US 301 and CR 466, which takes you into the heart of The Villages. It made us think about a friend of ours who is relocating to The Villages this fall. We can’t wait to head there to visit her. If you have never been to The Villages, google it sometime you will be amazed! It can be compared to a Disneyland for seniors … there is everything there to do, but it all shuts down at 10pm!

In Belleview we passed by the west side of Paradise Springs. It is a privately owned site that boasts a huge cavern area perfect for Florida cave diving. There are prehistoric fossils embedded in the walls and the strata of prehistoric limestone that was once beneath the sea are clearly visible to the divers. It offers clear water and 72 degree constant water temperature making Paradise Springs a year-round destination where you can enjoy this amazing geological wonder set under the shade of beautiful oak trees.

In Citra Florida you can find The Orange Shop, set in an orange grove. You can also see Florida's Largest Peanut Farmer, Gene Waldron. His journey as a peanut farmer began fifty years ago. He quit school and went to work farming at the age of fifteen. He began with one hundred acres of peanut fields in 1959. He would sell these peanuts to the Jacksonville Farmers Market. Fast-forward fifty years and Gene Waldron now farms 7,000 acres of peanuts across the state of Florida. He owns 3,200 acres near Citra and leases the remaining land farther south where he has a longer warm season for growing. Waldron Farms are particularly well known for their "green" peanut. The green peanut has reached its full maturation size, but is not allowed to completely dry out. This creates a taste that most peanut connoisseurs prefer. Green peanuts are also harder to come by; because they are not completely dried out and cured like dry-roasted peanut varieties they have a shorter shelf life. Most green peanuts are eventually boiled to become the southern road-side snack favorite "boiled peanuts". During Waldron’s busy months, they produce 5,000 bushels of green peanuts a day. Waldron sells these peanuts from as far south as Homestead, Florida, to as far north as Boston and Canada and all the way out to Texas.

In Island Grove, Alachua County Florida, you can find the Island Grove Wine Company. They specialize in fine blueberry wines using the freshest blueberries from Florida plantations. For decades, Alachua County has been the heart of Florida blueberry production and remains so today producing 25% of the entire state’s production of this flavorful fruit. The blueberry wines are made from 100% blueberries with no grape juice or flavorings used and are very low in sulfites. They also produce several tantalizing fruit wine blends to appeal to any occasion.

In Hawthorne, Florida we saw 301 Blueberries. It is the biggest blueberry farm we have ever seen. The fields seem to go for miles and miles and miles. We just missed the annual Blueberry Fesitval, it was held this past Saturday. They start u-pick blueberries in March or April, depending on how warm the winter season was.

 

This is the first time we passed through Waldo and were not in fear of the speed trap. Yes, you read that right … in this day and age there was corruption in government! The Waldo City Council voted to disband its small police force following the resignation of the chief and interim chief resigned because of state investigations into many issues, including an illegal ticket quota. The move follows a revolt by five Waldo officers, who said that they were forced to meet an illegal ticket quota by the department's interim chief. CBS reported that Waldo's seven police officers wrote nearly 12,000 speeding tickets in one year, collecting more than $400,000 in fines - a third of the town's revenue. The town used to have six different speed limits in just a couple of miles. Drivers entered the city at 65 miles per hour. It then drops to 55, 45 and then 35.

In Starke, you can see the old Bradford County Courthouse; it was originally built in 1870. If offers a Romanesque architectural style and is located on the National Registry of Historic Places. It is actually part of a historic district in Starke.

Being big on Fairs and Festivals we saw a sign for the Northeast Florida Fair in Callahan. It offers educational and agricultural entertainment for the entire family to enjoy. The theme for the 2015 fair in October is Let's get "moo-ving" to the Northeast Florida Fair. We will still be in South Carolina in early October.



In Callahan Florida, we say many piles of dirt, all different kinds of dirt. What is that, a dirt farm? No, it is George B Wittmer Associates Agri-cycle Farm. GBWA recycles hundreds of thousands of cubic yards of various industrial discard streams and supplies millions of pounds of soil amendments, soil blends, and potting soil materials. Every day, they recover, recondition, process, and ship (by truck, rail, and barge) a very wide assortment of recovered residual streams. Such as papermill organic sludge, fly ash, precipitated carbonates, flume grit, wood yard waste, off-specification boiler fuel solids, stockpiled bark, shives, knots, butts, and other materials previously landfilled. Wittmer eliminates waste stream management, handling, storage and liability by efficiently transforming industrial residual streams into commodities for use by other industries. Now that is going green, actually brown, but no it is very green!

Outside of Hilliard we found the Little Boggy Creek Quail Preserve. It is a place to train or hunt with your dog. It is a privately-owned, licensed quail hunting preserve in northeast Florida. They are open in the fall and run through the first week of March. They have multiple courses open to the hunter and trainer with each course having a different look and challenge. If you need to start, finish, or practice for an event (hunt test or field trial), this is the place for you. We have seen quail in the northeastern states, but never in Florida.

We crossed the Florida Georgia line and headed into Folkston. There was a sign for the Newell Lodge Bluegrass festival. Since we love Bluegrass, I had to know … it was this past March. But we did learn that following this past year’s festival at the Newell Resort in Folkston, GA, it was announced that the festivals there will be run going forward as a partnership between the Carter family who owns the property, and Ernie and Debi Evans, who manage a string of festivals in Florida and Georgia through their company, Evans Media Source. We go to another one of the Evans Media Bluegrass Festival at Sertoma Youth Ranch in the spring. The next bluegrass show at Newell Lodge will be October 8-11, 2015. Too bad for us, as we will be on our way to Pigeon Forge … maybe next year!

In 1864, a critical river crossing for trains near Jesup, Ga., became one of Major William T. Sherman’s targets on the March to the Sea. Strategic planning and the swampy terrain helped the Georgia militia defend the crossing, in a rare Confederate victory on Sherman’s March.  The Altamaha River crossing in the area known as Doctortown -- a name that may have been derived from a Muskogean Indian word, “Alekcha,” meaning doctor -- had been used for hundreds of years. In 1857, the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad built a 100-foot trestle across the river, turning the town into a transportation hub where freight carried by riverboat was transferred to rail cars. Because of its important role in transporting goods and materials in a direct line to Savannah, Doctortown became a target of Sherman.  Confederates prepared to defend the area, they dug into the south bank of the river at the trestle and mounted two 32-pounder rifled guns overlooking the bluff on either side of the bridge. They mounted a third Campbell siege gun on a flat car pushed by a locomotive that could send a shot directly across the trestle and up the tracks. Their defenses were strong, aided by the marshland that surrounded Doctortown on three sides, thus preventing a Federal flanking maneuver. As Sherman’s armies were preparing to invade Savannah, elements of

cavalry along with infantry of General William B. Hazen were sent to destroy the railroad between the Ogeechee River and the Altamaha River and at Doctortown. After successfully burning a smaller trestle to the north at Lake Morgan, the assault on Doctortown began. A brigade of Federals mounted numerous attacks against the Doctortown trestle and its defenders. Though the bridge sustained damage, they were unable to gain the objective. Kilpatrick and Hazen withdrew for Savannah, with the Georgia militia still holding Doctortown. One of the guns from the engagement was later placed in front of the Ware County Confederate Monument at Phoenix Park in Waycross. Today, Doctortown is adjacent to the site of the world’s largest pulp mill plant, owned by the Rayonier Company.

 

Known the world over for old-fashioned goodness and traditional holiday appeal, 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 January on 1966, the Claxton Bakery was founded by Savino Gillio-Tos in Claxton, Georgia. He immigrated to the US in 1902. He lived in New York City, where he worked at a Brooklyn hotel as a master baker. He eventually took a job in Macon, Georgia and moved from there to Claxton. Mr. Gillio-Tos's Claxton Bakery was a successful maker of baked goods, homemade ice cream and fruitcakes. In 1945, he sold the bakery to Albert Parker, an employee, and he retired. Under Parker's leadership, the Claxton Bakery began to focus on fruitcakes; this eventually led the bakery to start selling fruitcakes for fundraising purposes in the 1950s. One of the bakery's earliest fundraising partners was Civitan International; since 1951, local Civitans have sold millions of pounds of Claxton fruitcake each holiday season in support of their work with the developmentally disabled. A little over a decade later, 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. Doesn’t everyone love fruitcake?!

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, dinner and the finale of The Voice!