Day 86 of our 2025 RVing Adventure with Historical & Musical Interludes

It's Saturday July 26th, day 86 of our 2025 summer adventure. We spent our first night in Florida since we left home on May 2nd. We departed the Starke KOA enroute to home. We followed US 301, which is a familiar route to us.

We continued into Citra. Along US 301 is The First Baptist Church of Citra. In December of 1876, Florida was sparsely settled and Baptist were few and far between. It was originally built in 1880. The original church building consisted of one room with three windows on each side, and seated about 100 people. By 1893 the membership had outgrown the original building so a new house of worship was erected which forms the main part of the present structure.

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? Where US 301 and US 441 run together in Ocala, the roadway is designated the Rosa Parks Memorial Highway.  US 301 and 441 were selected to honor parks because it is a national highway. It is hoped that other communities along US 301, those north and south of Alachua and Marion counties, will move to dedicate the road to Parks and keep the designation going around the state and nation. So far, it has not happened. Although there are many other roads designated for Rosa Parks. It is here where US 27 joined Route 301. I never noticed that US 27 was on this route before, and we have traveled this route a great deal.

Between the booming metropolis of Wildwood and the sleepy town of Coleman is a new expansion of The Villages along County Road 470 near the Coleman Federal Prison. Sumter County commissioners approved rezoning about 35 acres on the northeast corner of US 301 and CR 470 to commercial from agriculture and another two acres on the southeast corner to heavy industrial. The Wildwood commissioners approved a new community development district south of CR 470 that will cover a neighborhood of 8,280 homes on 2,485 acres as part of the Villages of Southern Oaks.

In Bushnell along a half-mile stretch of trail that cut through pines, palmettos and tall grass, 180 Seminole warriors lay in ambush, an act of war for which the tribal leaders had been preparing for more than a year. Chief Micanopy fired the first shot, reportedly bringing down Major Dade himself, after that, the other Seminoles to begin firing. Within moments, half the American soldiers had fallen. The survivors regrouped and, under the command of Captain George Gardiner, drove the Seminoles back temporarily and managed to construct a makeshift battlement of logs. By the end of the day, however, only 2 Americans survived and the Second Seminole War had begun. The Dade Battlefield Historic State Park commemorates this battle and honors the participants on both sides. Every January features a reenactment of the battle, which is historically accurate and exquisitely detailed.

We arrived home shortly afternoon. Wow, is it hot! We got the RV plugged in and the house opened up. We received the new paperwork to purchase the other 2024 Entegra Coach that Lazydays had in stock that is not on recall. So, we are still set for our closing on Tuesday! We started to get some stuff organized for our unloading process. Our dear friends from Port St Lucie, Gary & Sheryl, came over and are camping at the Elks. They are going to help with the unloading and loading process. We are so lucky to have them! They came over to the house after they got settled at the Elks and after we got caught up on what has been going on for the last 2 months since we have seen them. We decided to get some lunch. We were all dressed for work, so no where fancy. We settled on Fresh Country Cafe. Where we all can get something we like! I had my standard, grilled shrimp with black beans and yellow rice. Charlie had the chopped steak, mashed potatoes and beans. Gary had a Salmon bowl, minus the Salmon (that is the vegetarian in him.) Sheryl had the fish and chips! We all enjoyed a small dessert, too!

After our lunch, we started on the "fun" of emptying the coach from our ten years of accumulation. Since it is over 100 degrees, we worked a little then took a break. Work a little and take a break. It is going to be a long process. I am not sharing pictures of what a mess our shed and living room is becoming! Stay tuned for more #TwoLaneAdventures