Suwannee River, Florida

Entering Suwannee River Campground
Canoeists on the Suwannee River

Our tree shaded site - bikes out to have tubes replaced

Spirit of the Suwannee Gospel outdoor music venue

Our RV is on the road again. What a lovely feeling to have the road rolling underneath our wheels once again. We said our goodbyes to Rainie & Tom, and on Saturday we drove 3 hours north to meet our New Orleans friends, Cindy & Mike at the Spirit of the Suwannee Music Park (SOSMP). Yes folks, this is the famous historical 'Down on the Suwannee' River, and you may recall we stayed in this area on a previous visit. Different campground this time though, as we wanted to attend a gospel singers Jubilee which was held at the SOSMP campgrounds. The weather was hot & humid but thankfully we got a great site under some shady trees. Cindy & Mike took us for a drive around the huge campground (it is over 600 acres) and stopped by the Suwannee River for a photo shoot. I timed my photo just as two canoeists were paddling past. Can you see them? Then it was back to Cindy & Mike's Airstream trailer for freshly made margaritas (with tequila & triple sec liquer) accompanied by nachos with all the trimmings including sliced jalapenos and zesty salsa. At 7pm we headed for the outdoor music arena and set up our chairs ready for the gospel music show. We got to see the first act of the night before the heavens opened and thunder, lightning & rain descended upon us. A lightning bolt right above us gave us a terrible fright and had people grabbing each other - well, Murray grabbed a woman and it wasn't me! - and kids were screaming. The storm knocked out some of the music equipment but running repairs got the show back on the road. The main group, The Dixie Echoes took on a new singer 6 months ago - he is 19 years old and has the most amazing bass voice. He stole the show as far as I was concerned. I captured him on video, and I will try and upload it to the blog. Check him out on the far right of the stage.

Sadly the storm also knocked out cable TV to the park, and as Murray hopes to watch as many World Cup Soccer games as he can over the next 4 weeks, we moved on. Making our way north-west we left the lush environs of Florida, and found ourselves in drier and not so pretty Alabama. The contrast between the top part of Florida and the lower part of Alabama was quite startling. However, we found an RV park that offered free cable TV & wifi, plus all the hookups for $22 night. They gave us a good spot with rear shade and we backed in. We had enough groceries for 2 days, so only paid for that time. When we discovered a super walmart just a 15 min walk away, we decided to stay for a week. When Murray was in the air force he would take several weeks leave while the world soccer was on, so now that he is retired, he doesn't want to miss a game. Can't say I blame him. Retirement is all about doing those things you want to do. While he is occupied with the soccer, I can blog, write, read, sudoku, travel plan & bead to my heart's content. I am loving retirement.