Not all who wander are lost...

I had a dentist appointment yesterday that ended up a bit more painful than I had anticipated. To deal with a numb mouth and painful jaw I took a very long drive north. All the way up to Micanopy. Now, for those who do not understand some of our city names, Micanopy was a Seminole Indian Chief who lived in the area near Gainsville, Fl. You can zoom in to read a bit about the War and the battles in Micanopy, but that wasn't my reason for driving all the way up here. While Micanopy itself is a pretty little community, I came up here to go to Cross Creek, but first, some pictures of the historic downtown with it's cafes and antique shops. From Micanopy I drove over to Cross Creek, which is a landmark in Florida because of American Author, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Rawlings wrote several books aimed at young teens, but the most famous were Cross Creek, The Yearling, The Secret River, The Sojourner, and South Moon Under. She wasn't an easy woman a...

Since coming home, I decided I'd be a tourist in my own back yard. The humorous point being that if I drove the 2.5 hours from Wageningen in the Netherlands to the south I'd be in France, or north and end up in Germany or Denmark and here I'm still in Florida. So, let's see where I've been wandering, because you know I have. I took a drive south from my home base in Tarpon Springs to Myakka City, Arcadia, Myakka River State Park, Siesta Key, all the beaches north until ending at Bradenton Beach, then back up to St. Petersburg Beach where I went north along all the beaches until Clearwater and then back home. Gas right now is between $2.75-2.99 for regular and this little trip cost me about $30 when I filled up. The entry to Myakka River State Park ($4 for a single person in the car) and $4 in tolls ($1.50 each way over the Sunshine Skyway Bridge and $1 onto St. Pete Beach) was all I paid since I had brought a lunch and drinks. Myakka City and Arcadia are...