O'LENO STATE PARK (FL)

SUNDAY - For months now I've been looking forward to returning to Florida, but mostly I was looking forward to camping somewhere in the Osceola National Forest near Lake City.

It's 1 of 3 National Forests in Florida and the only one we haven't visited. We had planned a visit to the Ocean Pond FCFS campground for tonight, but at the last moment I looked online and sure enough the entire forest was closed to the public thanks to the hurricane damage from Helene and Milton.

Guess our visit will have to wait a little while longer.

Last night I got online to look for an alternate place to camp for the next three nights. We wanted to stay in the same general vicinity because we were expecting a visit from of friend who lives in Jacksonville.

I got lucky when I found a campsite at the nearby O'Leno State Park. Campsite #22 is the only pull through campsite in the park and was the only one available for the 3-nights we needed. I booked it immediately and then we left a message for our visitor that the she would need to drive an extra 30-miles to visit with us.

In the end everything worked out perfectly and 10-minutes after we finished setting up on the campsite our guest arrived.

One other benefit of entertaining a guest at our campsite is that we splurged and bought enough firewood to have a camfire each of the 3-nights. When it's just Tricia and I we seldom spend the money and effort it takes to have a campfire.

MONDAY - Nothing changed this morning just because we have a guest visitor, Tricia was still up early and out taking her morning walk.

The only thing that did change was instead of talking to her friend on the phone during her walk, she was talking to her in person.

Our guest for the 3-nights we're here is Heather, Tricia's friend from Jacksonville. Heather drove 2-hours across Florida just to spend some time visiting with us. She also was kind enough to deliver all the Amazon packages we have been sending to her home for the last few weeks.

The biggest item we ordered was a new Instant Pot with a built in air fryer. Tonight we'll see how well it does making Chicken Tenders and Tater Tots.

Here are a few photos from the girl's morning walk.

Here in O'Leno State Park there is a suspension bridge over the Santa Fe River.

The bridge is now "off limits" thanks to the damage it sustained from the recent hurricanes.

There is a hiking trail on the little island on the other side of the bridge.

I guess this squirrel didn't read the sign saying the bridge was closed.

It's kind of spooky looking with the early morning mist rising off the river.

TUESDAY - Today the girls are headed out to explore the Cedar Lakes Woods and Gardens in Williston, FL.

It's nearly an hour drive from here and is described as a century-old abandoned limerock quarry transformed into a 20-acre botanical garden. It sounds like something they'll enjoy, me not so much.

I stayed back at camp and took care of my "honey do" list.

CEDAR LAKES WOODS AND GARDENS

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In their greenhouse they had all the varieties of cacti we were familiar with from the SW.
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Even this ocotillo that was completely leafed out.
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There were metal art sculptures spread around the property.
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From up above you can see how large this property is.
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There were a handful of birdhouses also on the property.
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These are all cypress trees found all over Florida.
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There was even this very regal looking swan.
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There were several koi ponds to observe.
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This is the oldest living resident on the property.

The best thing for me about the girls day out was when they brought Sonny's BBQ back to THE POD for me (and themselves too).

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