Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ocala National Forest - September ATV Trip
In a prior post I talked about our visit to Ocala National Forest and the ATV trails. We had such a good time, we decided to go back for our vacation in September. I was able to find a mobile home close to the trailheads that was available for rental for much less than a hotel would have cost us. Since it had a full kitchen, it made for a very practical and inexpensive vacation since we were able to buy groceries and make most of our meals instead of eating out (although we did splurge on Outback for dinner the first night and Bob Evan's for breakfast the last day...yummy!). The biggest plus about this rental, though, had to be that it was pet friendly, so Doom got to go on vacation with us!
The first picture was taken the first day after we had been on the trail for all of 5 minutes. That black thing on the opposite side of the mud hole is a black bear (keep in mind, most Florida wildlife is much smaller in size as compared to other areas of the country...the only things that are larger in Florida are the mosquitoes!). The bear was already in the middle of the trail as we came around a bend so we were quite surprised (we hadn't seen any wildlife our previous trip). We expected the bear to take off into the woods when he saw us, but he actually got quite comfortable and laid down! Just as Dave and I were ready to put the ATVs in reverse and head down another trail, the bear got up and headed into the woods. 
These tracks in the mud were about 30 miles from where we saw the bear. This trip, we saw lots of tracks...mostly bear and deer.
It was much drier this trip and the trails were very dusty. What made the matter even worse was I had applied sunscreen that morning so the dust was really sticking to me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to ride like this all week, so we made a trip to Walmart so I could buy some T-shirts and bandanas.
This is how I dressed for the remainder of the trip when we were riding. The bandana actually worked out really well (I could finally breathe!) because it also covered the bottom of my sunglasses and helped to keep the dirt out of my eyes. Notice the half grin on Dave's face... he called me the "masked marauder" for the rest of the trip. He did, however, give me credit for being such a trooper and finding a way to deal with the situation.
Even with the bandana, this is how I looked after a day on the trails. Dave wouldn't let me look at myself in the mirror before he took this picture. Funny guy! The really funny thing is I believe I made a comment like, "Wow...I didn't really get very dirty"!
A shot of one of the trails while we were taking a break in the shade.
See all the dust behind me? Dave's ATV throws up twice as much 'cause he's got these gnarly new tires that really dig in. Some may ask why I didn't ever get to lead...well, it was by choice. For one, lots of these trails (we covered about 130 miles during the trip) hadn't been ridden in quite some time so there was lots of overgrowth (low hanging branches, bushes, etc) and lots of banana spider webs. I decided I'd rather put up with the dust and dirt than getting smacked in the face with branches and spider webs!
The three of us on our way home!
The first picture was taken the first day after we had been on the trail for all of 5 minutes. That black thing on the opposite side of the mud hole is a black bear (keep in mind, most Florida wildlife is much smaller in size as compared to other areas of the country...the only things that are larger in Florida are the mosquitoes!). The bear was already in the middle of the trail as we came around a bend so we were quite surprised (we hadn't seen any wildlife our previous trip). We expected the bear to take off into the woods when he saw us, but he actually got quite comfortable and laid down! Just as Dave and I were ready to put the ATVs in reverse and head down another trail, the bear got up and headed into the woods. These tracks in the mud were about 30 miles from where we saw the bear. This trip, we saw lots of tracks...mostly bear and deer.It was much drier this trip and the trails were very dusty. What made the matter even worse was I had applied sunscreen that morning so the dust was really sticking to me. I knew I wasn't going to be able to ride like this all week, so we made a trip to Walmart so I could buy some T-shirts and bandanas.
This is how I dressed for the remainder of the trip when we were riding. The bandana actually worked out really well (I could finally breathe!) because it also covered the bottom of my sunglasses and helped to keep the dirt out of my eyes. Notice the half grin on Dave's face... he called me the "masked marauder" for the rest of the trip. He did, however, give me credit for being such a trooper and finding a way to deal with the situation.
Even with the bandana, this is how I looked after a day on the trails. Dave wouldn't let me look at myself in the mirror before he took this picture. Funny guy! The really funny thing is I believe I made a comment like, "Wow...I didn't really get very dirty"!
A shot of one of the trails while we were taking a break in the shade.
See all the dust behind me? Dave's ATV throws up twice as much 'cause he's got these gnarly new tires that really dig in. Some may ask why I didn't ever get to lead...well, it was by choice. For one, lots of these trails (we covered about 130 miles during the trip) hadn't been ridden in quite some time so there was lots of overgrowth (low hanging branches, bushes, etc) and lots of banana spider webs. I decided I'd rather put up with the dust and dirt than getting smacked in the face with branches and spider webs!
The three of us on our way home!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
What I've Been Doing This Week
I'm on vacation from my full-time job this week and have been getting a lot of things done. Monday was a doctor's appointment. Three of the six spots I had biopsied in May came back as skin cancer (all basal cell carcinoma...not melanoma thankfully), so I had to have them removed. I'm also thankful that this time I didn't have any on my face. I've really been making more of an effort to wear sunscreen (SPF 70) if I'm going to be out in the sun for any length of time, especially since these were numbers nine, ten and eleven to be removed. Unfortunately, this is all damage from years past. Funny thing is, I was never a sun worshipper, grew up in New York, and can never remember anyone ever saying, "Hey...nice tan"! I guess it's just the harsh South Florida sun, and the fact that I'm fair skinned and have light hair.
Tuesday I ran several errands...nothing really exciting, just stuff that needed to be done.
Wednesday was spent in my studio (sounds so fancy...really it's just the spare bedr
oom where all of my beading stuff is!). It was in major need of some attention. I had to reorganize my beads...make room for some new ones, which now requires shuffling of supplies since I'm trying to keep them organized by color. Sorted through some other strands that I'm going to be listing for sale either on Etsy or Artfire and just some general straightening up of the place. I did manage to make a pair of earrings!
oom where all of my beading stuff is!). It was in major need of some attention. I had to reorganize my beads...make room for some new ones, which now requires shuffling of supplies since I'm trying to keep them organized by color. Sorted through some other strands that I'm going to be listing for sale either on Etsy or Artfire and just some general straightening up of the place. I did manage to make a pair of earrings! Today, I'm painting the hallway bathroom. I actually don't mind painting...it's the taping off of everything that I can't stand! Dave and I seem to take the longest time to decorate, but once we get started 
we really seem to get on a roll. We've been in our current home almost 7 years, and all of the walls are still white!!! For me, the hardest part is picking out colors. I tend to be very neutral in my color choices...including my wardrobe and my cars (my last 4 vehicles have all been silver!). But we finally decided on a color for the bathroom, and while picking up that paint, we made a decision on the two colors for the greatroom and the kitchen. All of the walls have rounded corners and the rooms are really like one big open space so I thought it was going to be very difficult. However, we found some really nice 
rustic, westerny colors. Not sure when I'm actually going to start that project yet...want to get through the bathrooms first!!! I have about another hour before I can start the second coat. I'm also going to try to get all of the trim in the main room painted today. Not sure that I'll be able to finish it all, but there's still tomorrow. I was actually hoping to get some yardwork done tomorrow morning, so I'll have to see how this all works out. It's just been so darn hot lately that any outside activities have to be done 
by 10:00am or it's sweltering! I was complaining to Dave about the heat yesterday, and asked him to remind me of that when it gets to be 40 degrees (which normally only happens about 5-7 times a year)!
we really seem to get on a roll. We've been in our current home almost 7 years, and all of the walls are still white!!! For me, the hardest part is picking out colors. I tend to be very neutral in my color choices...including my wardrobe and my cars (my last 4 vehicles have all been silver!). But we finally decided on a color for the bathroom, and while picking up that paint, we made a decision on the two colors for the greatroom and the kitchen. All of the walls have rounded corners and the rooms are really like one big open space so I thought it was going to be very difficult. However, we found some really nice 
rustic, westerny colors. Not sure when I'm actually going to start that project yet...want to get through the bathrooms first!!! I have about another hour before I can start the second coat. I'm also going to try to get all of the trim in the main room painted today. Not sure that I'll be able to finish it all, but there's still tomorrow. I was actually hoping to get some yardwork done tomorrow morning, so I'll have to see how this all works out. It's just been so darn hot lately that any outside activities have to be done 
by 10:00am or it's sweltering! I was complaining to Dave about the heat yesterday, and asked him to remind me of that when it gets to be 40 degrees (which normally only happens about 5-7 times a year)!
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