Family and Friends in Georgia

March 12
Daylight Savings!!! A cool and damp morning. Connie, Rudy, and I just took a stroll around in the woods with one of the dogs.

There used to be a lake out back, then highway work...

When Mark was home from work, the four of us went to Lanes Southern Orchard for peach and pecan goodies - kind of in between seasons, so just some baked and preserved treats. We next went into Columbus to eat Mellow Mushroom pizza - good stuff - lots of fun and tasty options. In the evening, Connie was inspired to make pie from fresh pecans she recently received, and we played lots of cards!

March 13
Nothing too exciting today - more cool and damp weather - lots of chilling out and visiting - an easy run for me - just leftovers for dinner, followed by fantastic pecan pie! Cards, of course.

March 14
Pi Day! I was the only one festive enough to have pizza for my breakfast. Cool again, but less rainy, so Connie took Rudy and I to Calloway Gardens. Some pretty fun spring blooming was happening, and the butterfly house was awesome, as expected.

 
 

We met Mark back in Columbus to eat (and drink beer!) at The Cannon Brewery. After that, we enjoyed pecan pie and playing cards.

March 15
Another hang out day. Big activity was visiting Georgia's place for dinner. Connie put in all the work making shepherd's pie and Irish soda bread and pecan bars - lots of experimenting with the recipes, but all turned out well! Eventually it was time for Georgia's little ones to get to bed, so we headed back to Connie's for yet more cards.



 March 16
Connie was busy for the day, so Rudy and I went to Flat Rock Park in Columbus. There were pretty decent trails, a few spots where following the trail was tricky, but overall a nice park and better mountain biking than I would have expected. In the afternoon, Connie and Mark hosted a fire with all the family over. We finally got to meet Tony's girlfriend, a Southern girl that treated us to scrumptious collards and black eyed peas - NBD for them! Everyone departed early enough that we got in a final game of cards!







March 17
Happy St. Patricks Day! A bit more visiitng with Connie in the morning before we drove to Atlanta to visit Alicia (former Duluthian that I know through ultra-running) and her husband Divesh. We just had time for a little hike before Divesh was home from work and we sought out some corned beef and cabbage. We only stopped by one place with a two hour wait before we bailed on that plan and went to one of the local's known favorites, Lucky's, for burgers and Guinness. Just a bunch of visiting, then slightly earlier to bed - ahhhh!

March 18
Overcast and a little rainy. We had a mellow morning before getting out for running and hiking along the Chattahoochee River. The afternoon was more chilling/visiting, and a little excursion by me and Alicia playing with running form drills. Dinner was pizza, followed by a bit of gaming - Sequence and 3-13.

March 19
A big fun day that required an early wake up to head for Red Top State Park for some running, hiking, and orienteering practice for Alicia (the rest of enjoyed following her around in the woods!) Next was a couple of hours of indoor climbing. I mostly tooled around on the easy routes, Rudy mostly bouldered, and Alicia and Divesh did all the real climbing. Finally, we made it to a brunch buffet of Indian food - the reason for the early outings, and well worth it! After that, more hanging out, a little dinner of rice and dhal, and cards.

Florida

February 28
Happy Birthday Rudy! An overcast, warm and muggy morning, gradually sunnier through the day. We spent a good amount of time at Pensacola's University of Western Florida trails, which were actually pretty nice! Rudy got in a solid 38 miles (probably closer to 40) of riding for his birthday - thoroughly enjoying himself. I tried another longish run, but shouldn't have been so greedy, it was a little too much for the right calf, which had a nasty tight spot for the second half of the run and a few days after. Biking was OK, so I got in a little ride too while Rudy was on his second 20-ish mile loop. We went out for dinner at Marina Oyster Barn - good food, but no birthday specials - sad! We were treated to a few verses of the Happy Birthday song from a little stuffed bear though. We got out of town somewhat late and just camped at another big rest area a little east of Pensacola, not too noisy - good for just spending the night.

March 1
The start of another month! A few hours of driving brought us to Tallahassee, and Tom Brown Park - right in the city. A pretty nice sunny day in the 70s !!! but a bit breezy, not an issue on the wooded trails. Just a little biking for me, trails were a little confusing, but the few miles I got in were fun. I found a nice little spot for yoga while Rudy got in more of the trails. We didn't go too far to camp in Apalachicola National Forest. Dinner was grilled mushroom and swiss sandwiches. Entertainment was Trivial Pursuit - two wins for Rudy.

March 2
Early morning storminess - was done raining by the time we woke up.

standard forest

A little strolling around for me before the three hour drive to Ocala. We biked from Santos Trailhead, which had a nice little skills park and well maintained, fun trails too.

A little different forest

After a couple hours of biking, I just escaped some afternoon rain, but Rudy got poured on! At least it was warm. We headed to Lake Panasoffkee for the night. Ate some pasta and played some Trivial Pursuit - two wins for Leslie.

March 3
There were some issues with our camp permit (a lot of places have free camping, but you need a permit) so we needed to move to the day use area before 7am. We opted not to check out trails at the park (seemed pretty geared toward horses) and headed to Lakeland and Loyce Harpe Park. I hiked and Rudy biked the nice little network of trails. This area was more jungly looking - what would be expected in Florida.

There was a little gator there - I was too slow

I only saw one baby gator, but Rudy got onto more remote trails, closer to the water, and did see a couple bigger ones. We finally headed to Zolfo Springs, where my Grandparents spend winters, for nearly a week of visiting, Grandma's cooking, and lots of cards!

March 4-8
Our time in Zolfo Springs included a lot of relaxing and games. A few highlights were visiting Solomon's Castle - highly recommended!

All re-purposed materials!

Lots of orange blossom aroma encountered

Some regional specialties, like Mexican Bacon (pork jowls), tamales, and of course citrus fruits! And checking out nearby Pioneer Park - small, but interesting little trails, and other fun family things, like a zoo!

 

There was pretty fantastic weather for March - a little muggy, but lots of 70s and sunshine.

March 9
A little jog for me, some delightful scrambled eggs with local peppers, and a little more visiting before we departed Zolfo Springs and headed north. We stopped at Ocala Santos Trailhead again to enjoy more of the trails on a nicer day. There was a lot of setting up for a mountain bike festival over the weekend, so more people, but really not too crowded. We found a spot to camp in the nearby Ocala National Forest, ate some bean burritos, and played a game of cards (3/13) Leslie win. And we were tired!

March 10
A took in a little stroll, back to more woodsy, and less jungly Florida, still feeling a little sluggish, and like there something flaring up allergies in my head!

not logged

logged

We continued on to Tallahassee, stopping in Apalachicola National Forest for the Munsen Hills trails. A run for me went better than expected, but still feel like I'm not up for more than ~10 miles yet. Rudy biked pretty much all the trails there. The area was recently burned and fairly flat, so not the most exciting trails, but still good to get out. We found a camp spot within the National Forest, not far from the trailhead, ate grilled cheese sandwiches, and watched Man on the Moon.

March 11
The morning was cool and breezy, but clear and sunny. I enjoyed yet another short stroll before we checked out another trail system in Tallahassee at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park. There was some sort of cross country equestrian event happening (the joys of Saturday!) so a lot of traffic getting into the park, but the biking trails were not too crowded at all. The trails were twisty and rooty, but not super technical, and pretty fun.

I like this new-to-me sign

Lots of poison ivy - luckily, a lot of the Florida parks we've been to have little showers to at least rinse off right away. Next, a few hours of driving in to Georgia, where I have more family near Columbus. Visiting, yummy chili and cornbread, hanging out, watching soccer and rugby, and a couple games of cards made for another chill evening with my lovely relatives!

Gulf of Mexico

Four inch wide butterfly in Austin!

February 21

I got in a final Austin stroll while Rudy finished up the plumbing project at Joe's, then we headed south to the Gulf of Mexico. We made it to Freeport, TX just before dark and camped at Bryan Beach. A quick dinner of pasta, then a little Trivial Pursuit, with two wins for Leslie.






February 22
Beach stroll! I went along Quintana Beach and found a nice little fishing pier complete with a portapotty!

Welcome to the Gulf!

Lots of water and industry

We relocated there for a day of sunbathing, more beach strolling, and subsequent sun burning. Lovely, sunny, 70s, but the breeze picked up in the afternoon, actually felt a little cool! I got in a nice little run and Rudy a bike ride, and took the requisite dip in the ocean. Dinner of beans and rice, followed by cribbage, with three wins for Leslie.

February 23
A little breezier morning, nice for me to bike and Rudy to run. Rudy swam after, but I was cool and salty enough already. We headed toward Galveston along the Bluewater Highway, with one little stop for the Kelly Hamburg Nature Trail - a cool spot showcasing the now rare Gulf sand dune landscape.



There is actually a free ferry to get to Galveston Island, a fun little experience.



We continued on to Holly Beach near Cameron, Louisiana. We took a short sunset stroll, then made pearled sorghum with red sauce.

Jellyfish?

Lots of little conches to listen to

Entertainment for the night was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

February 24
Cloudy, but still warm! I got in a short run and some good yoga. We spent most of the morning chilling on the beach as the weather became sunnier and windier. Eventually we continued east, stopping in Lake Charles at Steamboat Bills for crawfish boil. The four pounds of crawdads was definitely good, but we weren't blown away, especially since the tray only came a measly little spud and ear of corn.

Fun and tasty lunch

Rudy got to drive in some horrid traffic around Lafayette and Baton Rouge, and we made it to Mississippi later than planned. The Welcome Center was actually pretty nice, larger and more spaced out than most rest stops, so the big truck traffic was a little more muffled. We just put together wraps/sandwiches for dinner and got in one game of Trivial Pursuit - Rudy win!

February 25
A coolish morning. We did more checking out of the rest stop, then continued on our scenic drive along the Gulf.

Spring blooms!

A moon landing 'trainer' used by Apollo 13 crew

Welcome to Mississippi!

There seemed to be more sandy, calm beaches than we saw in Texas and Lousiana.

 

Our destination for the day was Desoto National Forest mountain bike trails out of Bethel trailhead, a bit north of Biloxi. We were pleasantly surprised to find plenty of nicely maintained, relatively easy trails that I enjoyed - Rudy liked them too, he worked on going really fast!

A lot of the area had controlled burns the week before

Surprisingly piney

There were plenty of people out, but it wasn't crazy for a Saturday, and by late afternoon, the area was pretty quiet with just a few other campers around. We decided spending another day at Bethel would be a good idea. Dinner was shells and cheese, which led to the discover we left the ketchup at Joe's! We were still able to choke it down. Then cribbage - two wins for Rudy!

February 26
40F! An extra relaxed morning as we waited for warmer temps to get out on the trails again. I got in a longer run of two hours - no big protests from the feet and legs. A couple good bike rides for Rudy during the day. Other than that, lots of hanging out in the sunshine and some good chatting with our camping neighbors - one group local and another family of Canadians. With no travel, it was easy to have black beans and rice soaking all day for dinner. I need to remember to do that more!!

February 27
Warmer and muggy - supposed to be a stormy day. I got in a nice stroll and we had a little more chatting before heading further east. We stopped at Chickasabogue State Park, north of Mobile, AL for biking. The trails were twisty, rooty, and not too technical, but some nice challenges for me - some were hard to follow though. After the riding there was lots of chatting with the friendly park ranger - pretty quiet at the park with Mardi Gras happening in the nearby cities. We just escaped biking in the afternoon rain. More driving until we hit camp just north of Pensacola, FL at Cotton Lake as it got dark. Sauteed some sweet potatoes and mushrooms to go with the leftover beans and rice, got in some Trivial Pursuit - Leslie won 2/3, and tolerated some increasingly noisy neighbors until they departed just after midnight.