Day 9 of Eastbound, with the Hammer Down … Not Really! – Florida, our last day!

We had a restful night at Homosassa River RV Resort. We stopped in the office as we departed, to say hello to Kim and Leigha. It was not the same stopping in Homosassa and not being able to see our friends, Bette and Terry. Oh well, time changes everything!









We headed toward home on US 19 S. In Homosassa, there is the Homosassa Wildlife Park. The official name is the Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State park. It has been a tourist attraction since the early 1900s. The 50-acre site and surrounding 100 acres was purchased in the 1940s and was operated as a small attraction. In 1964, the Norris Development Company bought the property and expanded it as Homosassa Springs "Nature's Own Attraction," with an emphasis on entertainment and with a variety of exotic animals and some native species. Ivan Tors Animal Actors housed their trained animals at Homosassa Springs Attraction for several years.

These animals were trained for television shows and movies. One of the most popular of these animals was Buck who was stand-in for Gentle Ben in the famous television series. Lu, a hippopotamus, was one of the Ivan Tors animals and still resides at the park after being declared an honorary citizen of the State of Florida by then Governor Lawton Chiles. The hippopotamus is still one of the favorite attractions, after the manatees. Norris owned the attraction until 1978. From 1978 until 1984, the land went through several changes in ownership. The Citrus County Commission purchased the attraction to protect it as an environmentally sensitive area until the State of Florida could purchase the property as a Florida State Park. Modern thinking about captive wildlife has influenced how the park is now managed.

We turned off US 19 S onto US 98 S. If we wanted to continue down the gulf coast, we could have stayed on 19. On US 98 S, just outside Brooksville, there is a large sign that says "World Woods." What is it? It is a place for those who enjoy golf, World Woods are courses you must play. Designed by Tom Fazio, the Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks Golf Courses are two of the ‘top 10’ public access golf courses in Florida. With them both on the same property, it is a golfers paradise. World Woods Golf Club was developed in 1991 by World Woods Corporation and opened in April 1993. World Woods Corporation purchased its land from Florida Crush Stone, Punta Gorda Isles and several privately held properties for a total accumulation of 2,100 acres. The pristine forestry with ample vegetation was a natural setting for two World Class Championship Golf Courses accompanied by the finest practice facility in the world. World Woods' name came from the concept of providing world class golf available for all to play. The first phase of World Woods Golf Club includes Two World Class Championship Golf Courses ( Pine Barrens and Rolling Oaks), a Nine Hole Short Course, Three Hole Practice Course, the Practice Park featuring the circular 23 Acre Practice Range, a 36 hole Two Acre Putting Course and an Iron Range and Putting Greens strategically located near the #1 tee of each Championship Course for last minute warm up shots. There is a plan for phase two, including a Third 18 Hole Championship Golf Course and On-Site Accommodations and Corporate Meetings Rooms that compliment the current facility.

We usually go right through Brooksville, but we decided to take the Truck Route for US 98 S. A significant portion of this truck route is within the Brooksville city limits, it still avoids historic downtown by traveling to the south and the west. The route exists in concurrency with two State Routes and one County Route, and never independently.

Papa Joe's Italian Restaurant is on the other side of Brooksville. It is a great family owned place. It is always busy, but recently had it's share of bad luck. The restaurant is located at the corner of State Road 98 and Spring Lake Highway. The 33-year-old landmark met a fiery demise. The owner, Joe Giarratana, emigrated from Italy to New York with broken English and an assumption that the restaurant business was the best option to make his way. He wound up in Brooksville because his in-laws lived there. He and his wife, Donna, started in 1981 with a pizza parlor at the end of a tiny strip mall.

Back then, the couple stood at the window wondering if anyone would realize they were there. Customers came. The Giarratanas bought out their neighboring tenant and then expanded the restaurant, which included a deli. The crowd on busy weekend nights could reach 300. The couple launched a catering business and opened Capricci Gifts in an existing building next door. The fire destroyed the 5,000-square-foot restaurant. To help the restaurateurs, other restaurants hired Papa Joe's employees, they held a yard sale that raised $15,000 and they printed and sold T-shirts to raise money. Rebuilding began after months of delay, but the restaurant rose quickly now and it reopened 15 months after the fire. The building is slightly larger, but longtime customers can breathe easily, it is the same family restaurant.

Between Brooksville and Ridge Manor is the Croom Tract at Withlacoochee State Forest. We passed several parts of the Withlacoochee, along this route. There are seven portions of this forest; Two-Mile Prairie, Homosassa, Citrus, Headquarters, Jumper Creek, Croom and Richloam. The Croom Tract has more than 20,000 acres of cypress and long leaf pine forests and includes 13 winding miles of the Withlacoochee River, which reaches its widest expanse and forms Silver Lake, a prime recreation spot. That is where Silver Lake Campground is located. We have never tried it, but the campsites are spread out under the open shade of large oak trees. Located on the northern end of Silver Lake on a gently sloping grassy area, most sites have a view of the water. We will have to check it out this year! Maybe it is somewhere the Carefree Sams, Good Sam Camping Club can go?

On Route 98, you skirt the town of Trilby. Did you know a Trilby is a soft felt hat with a narrow brim and indented crown. The history of this town is fascinating, as well as turbulent. Trilby once held an extremely promising future. It was the largest city in Pasco County and boasted the third largest railroad yard in Florida … until tragedy struck. It all began as a farm owned by Elijah McLeod.  McLeod obtained his 160-acre farm from the US Government. The area became known as McLeod Settlement and a post office was established there in 1885.  Soon afterward the name was changed to Macon. Henry B. Plant, the Florida railroad icon, renamed Macon while laying tracks here. Mrs. Plant supposedly encouraged her husband to rename the village after one of her favorite novels, "Trilby," a bestseller by George DuMaurier. When Plant platted Trilby, he named the streets after characters in the DuMaurier novel. In. 1902, Atlantic Coast line took over the Plant Railroad Systems. A freight depot, as well as a passenger station, was built.

Later, a water tower and coal chute were constructed. Trilby grew into a literally booming town with shootouts and "moon-shining." Once a group of troublemakers started a ruckus and shot out all of the street lights. Once two officers were ordered to search a two-story house in which area residents thought moonshine whiskey was being sold. The policemen searched the house and found nothing.  After stepping out on the back porch they noticed ropes going down into the water. They pulled the ropes to find jugs of moonshine whiskey. An asset to the growing community was the Trilby State Bank. Once while the whole town, was waiting at the depot for the mail train, a couple of robbers held up the bank. They forced the teller to open the vault and then locked her inside it, to insure their getaway. In May of 1925, at about 1:00 in the afternoon, a fire started upstairs in Bradham's Dry Goods Store, and the whole town, on the west side of the tracks, went up in smoke.  Bucket brigades were formed, but the stores were already gutted.  The Dade City Fire Department raced to Trilby in a Model-T fire truck to put our the fire. When they arrived, they found all the water hose had unreeled and had been left alongside the road. The fire was finally extinguished around 5:00 in the evening. GH Mills tried to start another store in the Masonic Temple and the post office was moved into the bank building, but it was useless.  Trilby would never again be the same. In about 1927, the Trilby State Bank closed because of bankruptcy and never opened again. It burned a few years later. The Trilby Depot was discontinued in January of 1976 and conveyed to the Pioneer Florida Museum Association. Trilby is now a quiet little community. There is still a post office and a modern convenience store was built a few years ago. Old homes and ruins give hints of Trilby's glorious past and a stroll through the Trilby Cemetery will take you back in time to a village known as Macon.

US 98 merged onto US 301 and headed toward Dade City. As you enter Dade City, you pass the Pioneer Museum. Pioneer Florida Museum and Village is an open-air museum that holds many events. The museum complex includes Overstreet House, a one-room schoolhouse, a church, a train depot (that was removed from Trilby and relocated here), a train engine, and a museum exhibition of tools, household items, antiques and farm equipment. One of our favorite events at the Pioneer Museum is the annual horse pulls!

We bypassed downtown Dade City and took Old Lakeland Highway, which turns into Chancey Road and takes us right to our home! On Old Lakeland Highway, you pass through a small town of Richland. Their biggest claim to fame, is the Richland Baptist Church. Each December, visitors to Richland Baptist Church can travel back in time at the church’s annual presentation of “The Walk through Bethlehem.” Each year volunteers transform a patch of land near the church into a city that feels like it is part of the first century town where the baby Jesus was born. When you take the tour, you will be guided through the reconstructed city, where they will see a census taker, city people of all ages, shopkeepers and Roman guards all in period costumes. As you make your way through the city, you’ll hear a conversation between their guide and the various shopkeepers, as the story of the birth of Christ is told, and then they will see a live Nativity scene.

We passed the Zephyrhills Airport, which is a public use airport. It is owned by the City of Zephyrhills. This airport is categorized as a general aviation facility. It was opened in January 1942. Back then the airport was used by the United States Army Air Forces, specifically the Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (AAFSAT) tactical combat simulation school headquartered at Orlando Army Air Base. The military use of the airport ended in 1944, and in 1947 the airport was deeded to the city. The airport covers an area of over 800 acres. It has two runways and no manned tower. This airport has a long history of skydiving, possibly the longest continuous history of skydiving at any U.S. airport. Skydive City, was founded in 1990, operates a skydiving center, or drop zone, on the southeast side of the airport. We can enjoy watching sky divers from our front porch almost 365 days a year!

Oh, the beauty of seeing Majestic Oaks .... home! It has been a great trip, but 117 days away from home is enough! Not seeing the "Carefree" on the sign is a bit sad, but we will see how it is to be a "Sun Community."