Day 1 of the Southeast Rhombus Caravan with Friends - Florida to Georgia

Southeast Rhombus Caravan ... I know an interesting name ... why? Well, this summer we did the "Grand Circle" Caravan ... so, we can't do a circle again, even though it was more like a horseshoe! I was thinking of a "Triangle" caravan, but we have four stops, more like a diamond ... so, what is another name for the diamond .... a rhombus! Just ask my 2-year old grandson!

We departed our home base at Majestic Oaks onto Chancey Road, heading toward Dade City and US 301 and 98. There was a beautiful start to a sunrise as we headed toward Dade City.

I love the Majestic Oak trees that are in Florida. The look they have with the Spanish Moss hanging from them is both eerie and beautiful!

And in the morning light, or lack of light is even better! US 301 continued north, we stayed on Route 98 heading west, just a little. Our goal is to get to Perry Georgia quickly. so we are heading toward Interstate 75 North!

There is still plenty to see along the way and new facts about Florida to learn!

 In Bushnell, there is the Red Oaks RV resort. It is a great place to hold a mini-rally or chapter camping event. It is a park that was part of the Carefree portfolio, it is now a Sun RV resort. It makes me sad, because 3 months ago, I was working with these communities on their home sales. Now, I am unemployed, the end of employment was swift and unexpected. I am enjoying being able to travel more ... that makes being unemployed a good thing .. but missing all the Carefree people!

There are 147 cemeteries with the designation of a United States National Cemetery. A national cemetery is generally a military cemetery containing the graves of U.S. military personnel, veterans and their spouses, but not exclusively. There is one of these National Cemeteries in Bushnell Florida. We have had the privilege of enjoying a Memorial Day service there one year, amazing. Sad for the deaths of these service members, but amazing the patriotism that is shown to remember them.





Wildwood is home to a great old time Florida style park and an American Favorite! Lake Okahumpka Park offers paved walking and biking paths, The paths are shaded by the majestic Oaks and Spanish moss. The American favorite is chocolate ... the Russell Stover Factory is a great stop for the choclate lover ... and admit it ... everyone likes a little chocolate! It used to be just a big warehouse of discount chocolates. If you don't mind eating Valentines Day candy at Easter, this is the place for you! They have remodeled and there is now a store with full price items that match the current holiday, but the warehouse section still is there ... just smaller.

You don't normally think of dairy farms in Florida, until you are following a milk tanker, especially this far north in Belleview, Marion County. Lafayette and Okeechobee are Florida’s leading dairy counties. The state’s more than 130 dairy farms are primarily owned and operated by second and third-generation farmers. Most of the dairy cows living in Florida are Holsteins, the black and white cows. The Florida dairy herds generally range in size from 150 to 5,000 cows. There are about 123,000 dairy cows in Florida that collectively produce about 2.34 billion pounds of milk a year. That represents 277 million gallons of Florida-produced milk in the grocery store.

Only in Ocala can you see the Museum of Drag Racing. It is more like a private collection. Big Daddy Don Garlits Museum Of Drag Racing is special. It's a car museum for people who usually don't like car museums, because, dragsters aren't really cars. They're rockets, fired horizontally. Crazy people, like Big Daddy, strap themselves into them and hope to survive. Don Garlits did this so many times, and he did it so well, that he was voted the #1 drag racer of the last half of the 20th century.

Silver Springs State Park has been a natural landmark since the 1870s. As Florida’s first tourist attraction and one of the largest artesian springs in the world, the park quickly became renowned for the Glass Bottom Boat tours. A guided boat ride where guests could travel around the spring on a vessel with a clear bottom in order to view life underwater. Today, visitors still enjoy the Glass Bottom Boat tours on top of the same crystal springs that have been inviting for decades and sustaining a wealth of aquatic life. Silver Springs is often called the gateway to the Ocala National Forest, the second largest, most southern National Forest east of the Mississippi. The springs feeds into the Silver River, flows east from the springs to the Ocklawaha river. Designated as a National Natural Landmark in 1971, the park and the surrounding areas offer a wealth of cultural and historical significance. Dating back to the 1500's, when Indian settlers resided around the springs. A tangible reminder of their presence is a dugout canoe, that can be seen resting on the bottom of the Silver River. Years later, Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto moved to the area, his visit is thought to be the first European to experience the area.

Just past Ocala is one of my favorite State areas ... Paynes Prairie State Preserve. Paynes Prairie Preserve is biologically, geologically and historically unique. This park became Florida´s first state preserve in 1971 and is now designated as a National Natural Landmark. Noted artist and naturalist William Bartram called it the great Alachua Savannah when he wrote about his visit to the prairie in 1774. Doug Spears, a great Florida Folk singer and song writer wrote a song with Paynes Prairie in it. That was the first time I heard about it, and had to learn more! His song 'State of Dreams' is about the "real" Florida, not the commercialized sections. The vast, lush cypress, pine and oak hammocks, farm land, cattle ranches, citrus groves and beautiful rivers and lakes.  It’s the Florida that Gamble Rogers told endless stories of and about which Will McLean and Steve Blackwell sang so passionately.  State of Dreams celebrates this largely ignored and unsung Florida that so few even know exists. A portion of the lyrics are ... "When you see the sunrise out across Payne’s Prairie with the spoonbills and the loons." He is right about the sunrise!

Just of I-75 is Big Shoals State Park which features the largest whitewater rapids in Florida. Limestone bluffs, towering 80 feet above the banks of the Suwanee River, afford outstanding vistas not found anywhere else in Florida. When the water level on the Suwanee River is between 59 and 61 feet above mean sea level, the Big Shoals rapids earn a class 3 whitewater classification, attracting thrill-seeking canoe and kayak enthusiasts. The State Park also offers over 28 miles of wooded trails for hiking, biking, horseback riding and wildlife viewing.

Crossing the FL / GA state line on I-75, we noticed that Florida is spending more money to erect a new sign. The GA sign, is a simple metal sign. A new fancy sign when you are departing a state, seems like a waste of money!

Did I mention that a while back we switched drivers and Charlie is the navigator and picture taker and I am getting "behind the wheel" time ... feels good! Charlie is even closing his eyes a little bit, so he is relaxed with me driving, that is a plus!

Valdosta is a south Georgia town, rich in history, boasting six Historic Districts and two individual listings on the National Register of Historic Places.  The six districts are the Valdosta Commercial Historic District, Fairview, North Patterson, Brookwood North, Southside and the East End.  In addition to these districts, Valdosta City Hall, Sunset Hill Cemetery, the Lowndes County Courthouse, the Carnegie Library and the Crescent are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Their historical foundation is particularly proud of its efforts to restore the Wisenbaker-Roberts House, Valdosta’s oldest known house.

Tifton is a unique name, where did it come from? In the mid 1800s, Captain Henry Harding Tift left his home in Mystic, Connecticut for the piney forests of South Georgia to harvest timber for the family shipbuilding business. Little did Captain Tift know that the sawmill he built to prepare the lumber for shipping, and the train tracks that were laid to ship the lumber would be the beginning of Tifton, Georgia. As Tifts Town (as it was known until 1890 when the name was changed to Tifton) grew, Captain Tift and his associates adopted the same town layout that Mystic, Connecticut had, with even numbered streets running east and west as one traveled north from the center of town, and odd numbered streets following the same suit as one traveled south. Tifton had no town square and the City was crisscrossed with rail lines, all heading from the center of town like spokes on a wagon wheel. The town boasted the same grand facilities as many small South Georgia towns a courthouse, a town hotel, commercial buildings and other features. Many of these buildings featured interesting interior and exterior architectural embellishments of the times. As the town grew, Tifton built an opera house, several silent movie theatres, churches, and saloons. At the turn of the century, a thriving community had evolved from the pine forests and electrical lighting was the rage. The Myon Hotel, built in 1906 was billed as the grandest hotel south of Atlanta, entertained many a guest in splendid surroundings.

While driving on I-75 to Florida you may want to stop at this small county park. It is the location where the only Confederate president was captured by Union soldiers. Most people believe the American Civil War ended on April 9, 1865 when Confederate Army General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union Army Commander Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. In reality, the war did not officially end until one month later when fleeing Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured by Union Troops at Irwinville, Georgia. When Confederate President Jefferson Davis and a few remaining staff members crossed the Savannah River into Georgia on May 3, 1865, they were headed for the Western theater of war where Davis planned to unite rebel forces and continue fighting for the “lost cause.”

On May 9, 1865, they camped in this pine forest, not knowing that pursuit was so close behind. At dawn, they were surrounded by two independent groups of Union cavalry who were unaware of each other’s presence. Gunfire ensued until the federal forces realized they had been shooting at one another, accidentally killing two soldiers. It was raining at the time, and Davis was wearing a shawl to keep his head dry, which gave birth to the rumor that he was trying to disguise himself in women’s clothes. Davis was eventually charged with treason and spent two years in prison before being released without a trial and given amnesty. Davis died in 1889 after writing about his capture in The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government. Today, a monument marks the spot where he was arrested. In 1939 in the midst of the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration completed work on the Jefferson Davis Memorial Museum and Park in Irwinville, Georgia, which features Civil war weapons, uniforms, artifacts and exhibits about Davis and the Confederacy. The park features a granite monument with a bust of Davis that is located on the exact spot of his capture. It's an interesting monument when one considers it commemorates Davis’ failed rebellion against the United States Government.

Cordele, also known as "The Watermelon Capital of the World", is a city in Georgia just 100 mile north of the Florida state line on Interstate 75. Held annually in June, since 1949, the "Watermelon Days Festival" celebrates the bountiful summer harvest. It is a month chock full of good, clean, watermelon fun! Residents and visitors come to enjoy events such as the 4H Dog Show, Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest, Watermelon Horseshoe Tournament, Watermelon Fishing Rodeo, Watermelon Decorating Contest, Watermelon "Wedding Game", Watermelon Chunking Contest, Gospel Singing and much, much more. I am sure there are a few people doing the 'Watermelon Crawl' too!

In Vienna Georgia, there water tower bears the familiar motto "Cotton, is the fabric of our lives."
If you are looking for the "ultimate southern experience" you will find it here. Founded in 1841. The city is named after the Austrian capital but pronounced "vye-anna". Why people ask? "Because we're in the South, that's why!" This small city offers a quiet, friendly small town atmosphere steeped with local culture and tradition. You'll easily find fine antiques at great prices, unique collectibles, beautiful historic homes, and prime hunting and fishing opportunities, both in and around Vienna, Georgia. Of course, you cannot forget the barbecue! Vienna is home to the "Big Pig Jig" Georgia's official Barbecue Cooking Championship. Barbecue is not our only call to fame. You can delve into a rich history and culture and learn about Vienna's most notables - from a Hollywood screen writer, an Olympic athlete, governors, senators, poets, authors, and artists. Vienna has produced its share of unique and famous individuals. You can see some of their homes on a self guided auto tour. In January of 2005, all of downtown Vienna and the older immediate outlying neighborhoods were listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That is a large area to be placed on the register!

Unadilla Georgia has a saying that is painted on their water tower that needs to be taken to heart more often, than just in one small town in southern Georgia! "Unadilla, where people make the difference." People need to make the difference, everywhere .... it would make this world a much better place!













We arrived just south of Perry Georgia, at the Georgia National Fairgrounds, for 5 days of Georgia Fall Good Sam Rally fun! Stay tuned for more about that adventure!