April 26th, 2021 … Summer of Fun begins!

We enjoyed our last Monday morning coffee in the clubhouse with our friends before heading out on our Summer of Fun Adventure!

Zephyrhills is our home, it’s known for pure water, rolling topography, gentle breezes, and our senior population. It is also home to the headquarters of the Zephyrhills bottled water company. Zephyrhills began as the town of Abbott on April 18, 1888 and consisted of 281 acres. The town was named for Dr. Abbott who ran a drug store and practiced medicine in the area. The primary industries at the time were turpentine production and lumber. The Seaboard Coastline railroad established a depot in Abbott. In 1909, Captain Howard B. Jeffries, a Civil War Union veteran from Pennsylvania purchased 35,000 acres and created the Zephyrhills Colony Company with a plan to create a community for Civil War veterans, and the land sales industry became a part of the Zephyrhills story. It is said that Jeffries wanted to name the town after the soft, gentle breezes or “zephyrs” that blew across the rolling countryside. In 1910 the town of Abbott voted to change its name to “Zephyrhills” and was incorporated in 1914.

We took CR 54 to US 301, we will be on US 301 for most of our travel day! 

Dade City is the town next to Zephyrhills, it was named after Major Francis L. Dade, who was a Major in Company B, 4th Infantry of the United States Army during the Second Seminole War. Major Dade was killed in a battle with Seminole Indians that came to be known as the "Dade Massacre".  He is buried at the Saint Augustine National Cemetery in Saint Augustine, Florida in St. John's County. Dade City was originally established on December 23, 1836 as "Fort Dade", a year after the "Dade Massacre" and the death of Major Dade.  In 1845 the Fort Dade post office was established in the home of James Gibbons, who served as its postmaster until his death less than a year later.  This post office was later abandoned and a new one was erected in 1884, located on what is now Church Avenue.  The community of Dade City was incorporated into Pasco County in 1889. In 1944 Dade City was the home of a prisoner of war (POW) camp, constructed by the US Military, which housed over 200 German prisoners of war.  The camp was just one branch (No. 7) of the 22 prisoner of war camps that were in Florida at the time.  The headquarters was located at Camp Blanding in Starke, Florida. The use of the Dade City camp was short-lived, with the closing and demolition of the camp two years later, when the camp was no longer needed.  

The city of Bushnell was our next big town, we passed through Ridge Manor first, but there is not much there. Bushnell was established in 1884, named after railway surveyor John W. Bushnell. By 1886 there were more than 100 orange growers in the county. The freeze of 1894-95 practically destroyed the citrus industry. Many of the farmers converted to cattle ranching. The success of that new industry brought more people to the county, and its population nearly doubled within ten years. The cattle industry became the most important industry rivaled only by the vegetable industry. The county courthouse in Sumterville was destroyed by fire in 1909. The loss of the courthouse along with nearly two decades of county records set off a round of political infighting that eventually led to a 1912 county-wide vote to establish a new county seat. Votes were cast between the towns of Wildwood and Bushnell. By a margin of only nine, Bushnell was selected the new county seat for Sumter County – Bushnell 657, Wildwood 648 votes.

Coney Island Footlong Hot Dogs is coming to Wildwood Florida! In 1960, Darrell and Gertrude Todd and Family from Brooksville opened Coney Island Drive Inn in an old boat manufacturing building. Elvis Presley was in Inverness, Florida in 1961 filming a movie and legend has it he ventured down to Brooksville for one of the Famous Footlongs. In 1971, Coney Island Drive Inn was purchased by Ralph and Gene Collins. In 1972, the movie Death Dream was filmed in Coney Island for a day and was the highlight of the movie. In the Mid 1970's, Walt Disney World was the only other institution that used more footlong Hotdog buns in the state than Coney Island Drive Inn. Their iconic mascot, Diggity Dog was born into the Family in the mid-seventies and has been the Brooksville Icon since. Previous owners include, Tom Collins, son of Ralph and Gene Collins, purchased the family business with his daughter Daiquiri. The Hensley Family purchased the Drive – Inn and an old tradition was kept in place. Sally Lee purchased Coney Island Drive-Inn with her son Carter Lee. They purchased old turpentine building in Zephyrhills for their second location. Then they opened a location in Crystal River and Wildwood makes their fourth location.

Who does not love to get fresh citrus from Florida in the dead of winter in a northern state? In Oxford, Florida you will find Jennings Citrus Packing. They are currently closed for the 2020-2021 season, but will start taking orders in the fall again! Houston and Grace Jennings, moved with their five children from Alabama to Florida in 1949. They started sending citrus by train to family and friends for the holidays. As word spread, their business started and grew, and they continue the tradition today. 

In Callahan Florida we took FL 200 east toward US 17. The Florida Georgia State line is actually the St. Mary's River. It is a rambling stream of black-water that separates Florida & Georgia on the east coast. It starts in the Okefenokee Swamp and winds along a 130 mile path leading to the Atlantic Ocean & the Cumberland Sound. Total distance "as the crow flies" is about 40 miles.

The first town in Georgia is St Mary’s. St. Mary’s, Georgia originally began as a town, established by the British in 1787. After St. Augustine, Florida, St. Mary’s, Georgia is the second-oldest continually inhabited city in the US. Local inhabitants of Camden County gathered on Cumberland Island and signed a charter for "a town on the St. Mary’s" on November 20, 1787. There were twenty charter members who each received four town lots and one marsh lot; each lot was 4 acres square. These twenty city founders are named on an historical marker in downtown St. Mary’s: Isaac Wheeler, William Norris, Nathaniel Ashley, William Ashley, Lodowick Ashley, James Seagrove, James Finley, John Fleming, Robert Seagrove, Henry Osborne, Thomas Norris, Jacob Weed, John Alexander, Langley Bryant, Jonathan Bartlett, Stephen Conyers, William Keady, Prentis Gallup, Simeon Dillingham and Richard Cole. 

Today the city is home to The National Seashore's visitor center and boat access; the annual St. Mary’s Rock Shrimp Festival; the St. Mary’s Submarine Museum, and Crooked River State Park. It is bordered by Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base, home port for several Ohio-class submarines. 

We arrived at Crooked Island State Park, to meet up with our friends. The park is on the southern tip of Georgia’s Colonial Coast, this park is the perfect spot for enjoying the Intracoastal Waterway and maritime forest. Our campsites are surrounded by palmettos and Spanish moss-draped oaks, near the tidal river. 

Nancy and I walked to the boat ramp and the barnacles are plentiful! There is a nature trail that winds through forest and salt marsh. You can see gopher tortoises, fiddler crabs, herons and other birds. 

I was able to capture the first of only two supermoons of 2021. The Super Pink Full Moon. Supermoons are full moons that appear bigger in the sky than usual, though the difference may not be noticeable to the casual observer. During a supermoon, the full moon can appear up to 14% larger and 30% brighter than when it is at its farthest from Earth. That’s because it coincides with the moon's location at the closest point to Earth in its orbit.

Stay tuned for more, as our Adventures Continue!