War Breaks Out, Donkeys Fly: A Typical MetalDad TR!

[MetalDad 33]

Day One

Sounds: A dreamy blend of 70’s Soul, Disco, Black Sabbath, Bluegrass, and the Hunger Games Soundtrack

Smells: The woods and canvas

Tastes: Orange Crush and Wally’s Brews

In as much as I’m a loyal Fiend, I also on occasion participate in a camping forum for folks that own and camp in pop-up campers.

I originally got involved looking for a copy of the owner’s manual for our unit when we purchased it several years ago.

After a few months of the odd post here and there, I stumbled upon a group loosely based out of the southeast, mostly Florida, that discussed local campgrounds, tips and tricks, and camper modifications.

Before long, we were invited to a rally, a grand gathering of sorts, except they’re all complete strangers, and it’s in the middle of nowhere!

Safety!

We went to our first Florida rally in Ocala last fall, had a great experience, tried to make the spring rally, but the school schedule interfered.

This year we returned to the roster of the fall rally, held at O’Leno State Park in High Springs, FL.

It was not too far from Gainesville, maybe 25 miles.

The group generally agrees right after a rally where the site of the next one will be, and when, based on the greatest number of available participants and campground availability, it’s tough to find a place that can shoehorn in 30-40 families!

So we booked within days of the announcement this past spring, and looked forward to our trip to northern Florida!

So, I figgered that I would share the experience with you dear reader!

Since several of you know me and my family, I thought you might enjoy some recurring themes of a proper MD trip report!

We took the day off of work and school on Friday so that we could have an early departure, and enjoy an almost full day of camping!

I’m not so nutso of a parent that has to have immaculate attendance for the kids, considering where we were going and what we were doing.

First things first, we had to pack.

I enjoyed the minimalist approach last time… the whole ‘less is more’ bit.

So we scaled back this time as well. And without the benefit of Ben’s trailer…no bikes…and no Ben!

An early wake-up, and I had the truck loaded up before the kids were up.

I even shopped for last minute food, beer, and ice before I hitched up. Even brought in breakfast instead of eating behind the wheel!

Then, it was time for wheels up!

And, for those of you that have been on this ride with me before… Look who’s making her first camping trip!

It’s Josie!

She’s doing well. She’s gained about 15lbs. since we've adopted her, her coat is healthy, she’s happy, and loved!

And, she loves a roady!

Just a boy in his truck, with his wife and kids and dog, pulling a camper. ‘Tis a good day indeed!

And, MetalWife…

We took the scenic route!

While there is an interstate that runs north, and drops you 6 miles from the campground, we decided to drive through a bit more of the state’s rustic vistas.

My kids have been watching RV a lot lately, have been singing Route 66, and were sort of enamored with the idea of a local route.

As we crossed into Citrus county, I mentioned that we were in Stef’s part of the world, but we didn’t see her.

The kid’s didn’t notice, shortly after we saw the mermaid sign for Weeki Wachee, they assumed this pose.

The map said 3 hours and 150 miles, sing it... a three hour tour... it was exactly 150 miles and 3 hours 9 minutes when we saw this.

Which made me miss the turn in, so I backed the rig up and tried again!

I know, not as ornate and iconic as the Fort sign, but we were here, check in was a breeze, proceed to site #44.

There’s 2 loops at O’Leno, the Magnolia which is near the park, river, and day use areas. Smaller and closer sites.

And the Dogwood, which is none of those.

Remote, all woods, built on a hill, and a bit more expansive.

When we went to book, the Magnolia was full, so I had my choice of the entire Dogwood loop, so I researched, based on one sole criteria…real estate.

I wanted the biggest site on the loop.

First order of biz was the comfort station. And the path to it!

Yes, we were indeed camping. The path to the bathhouse was a trail through the woods.

No mulch, no pavement, no signs, no trimming, no light, I feared what may be at the end of this labrynith!

That was a close one!

Great facilities. Clean, quiet, comfortable. Lots of info about local wildlife and camping hazards on the bulletin board.

Apparently ticks are big up here on account of the high deer population.

It was a pretty cool weekend, temp-wise, so we didn’t see any, although we were prepared!

Our way back was tough, we had to remember which path was ours.

From the bottom of the hill by the bathhouse, it was the third path from the left, and stay left every time it splits, otherwise you end up in someone else’s site.

It was uphill, and the tree roots acted as natural stairs at the steeper bits.

Back to the site for set-up! And a quick walk to survey our new digs!

The campground uses fallen trees to create the borders between sites and natural bench seating for site guests and the random shoe tie!

Once we were settled in, put the food away, took stock of what we forgot (eggs, garbage bags…) we had a little time to relax.

Meet this trip’s special guests

Perhaps a bit of a pedestrian choice, but here’s the skinny. Foster’s is the best cheap beer on the shelf. It’s $10 per 12 here.

The Beck’s Oktoberfest is something we look forward to. Usually not a Beck’s drinker, but the seasonal is very malty and amber, and is currently MetalWife’s favorite, so she’s happy, I’m happy.

Lastly, Henry Weinhard’s Redwood Flats Amber. They were a small local brewery in Oregon that went national in a big way, picked up by Wal-Mart!

Since that’s where I was, I picked the only stranger on the shelf (that’s how I shop for beer!).

They have 3 brews, the other two being a Lager and an IPA.

We ran into some friends from our group and hung out a bit at their camper.

There’s a couple from the east coast of Florida and a couple from southern Georgia, luckily, we were all within a few sites of each other!

Josie made the rounds.

She’s still a puppy, so she’s not ready to run free yet.

Pretty confident we’d never see her again!

Here she’s on a training harness. Within 2 hours, she chewed it off.

I caught her out of the corner of my eye and jumped on her like an NFL linebacker. I never knew I could move that quickly!

The opening ceremony so to speak, was a cocktail party at the wagon master’s site, that’s the member that was the host.

We had to hop in the trucks and drive to the other loop, over a mile through the wilderness.

We parked in the day use lot and walked the rest of the way.

We visited with the rest of the group. They had crafts for the kids, adult games.

I won a koozie with a pop-up on it whilst playing plinko. The wagon master got some great sponsors and did a wonderful job.

Here he is now!

The kicker is, just before the trip, he and his family got a new hybrid.

He contested that at least it pops out, if not up.

The last wagon master missed the rally, because they bought a travel trailer that weekend.

But like here, all great folks to camp with, no matter what vessel they sail!

Back to the camper to eat.

We prepared the crockpot buffalo chicken that someone shared somewhere around here, I think Stef.

We cooked it over night and brought it with us. It was kind of nice not having to cook on the first day.

As usual, here’s Annie with the Vanna hands to show off her wares.

And a rare shot of us eating inside. It had gotten dark, and I took it easy on the lights this trip.

We got the kids to sleep, and the wife and I settled in by the fire.

I took this picture, so here it is now...

It was pretty cool out, for us anyway, around 60. We had every panel in the camper completely unzipped, which is essentially like sleeping in a birdcage.

We could hear part of our group down the way a bit making some noise, playing some cornhole until about 1am.

I managed to fall in and out of sleep around 10:30 or so.

Then I was awoken out of a deep sleep at around 1:30. There was animal sounds afoot!

Ya’ see Timmy, there was an animal that had never been this deep in the woods.

All the sounds and smells of nature were overwhelming for a 10 month old puppy.

I can only imagine a deer passing by 30 yards away would be almost too much for Josie to handle, so I stayed up with her…all night.

Before long, I could hear every animal in the woods.

Wolves and coyotes... which during daylight I calculated that it was dogs from the nearby farms.

I heard birds of species I’d never encountered.

There was a moment when I heard a donkey.

Then I heard it go across the sky, and judging upon the Doppler effect, I’m guessing at a high rate of speed.

My two other neighbors heard the donkey fly by as well.

So now we know there is a donkey bird living in the woods of North Florida.

As I lay there, calming my dog, waiting to be eaten by Bigfoot, I noticed that between 3 and 4am, it dropped to 51 degrees.

It never occurred to me to zip up the camper!

Eventually Josie was too tired to sniff, and I was too tired to go on, so I surrendered my spirit to Bigfoot, the donkey bird, or the early morning kid trip to the comfort station, whichever comes first.

See you in the morning! Keep your powder dry…we’re going to War!

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

And, for those of you that have been on this ride with me before… Look who’s making her first camping trip!

It’s Josie!

She’s doing well. She’s gained about 15lbs. since we've adopted her, her coat is healthy, she’s happy, and loved!

And, she loves a roady!

I thought you might be in big trouble at first. Thought Josie might be MetalWife until I got to the part where she was adopted and her coat is hearthy. I almost thought MD would be :mort1:

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

You are off to a great start!

Props to you for sporting the FW shirt on the trip.

That is a big campsite!

Donkey Bird?

I need to get me some of that beer you drank.

Sorry about the no sleep.

TCD

[anolefan 8]

Awesome start!

I've received email invites from that site for their rally's in the past but have never been able to go. We love RV and watch it several times a year. The kids love the "Big Rolling Turd".

Looks like we are in for a great report!

By the way that Coleman "inclined" camp chair is the best. It is so much more comfortable than the normal camp chairs.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Bigfoot? Donkey Birds?? Wow. I don't know what to say.

And Hunger Games soundtrack, huh? Glad I'm not the only one who enjoys that. Punch Brothers, Civil Wars...not too shabby.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

Sounds like a great trip, can't wait for more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[SCTigerCock 171]

Did Josie stay back there or make it up front with the adults?

I know Savannah dosen't stay in the back of our quad, all 60#s of her is lap dog on whoever is in the passenger seat. :banghead:

Just a boy in his truck, with his wife and kids and dog, pulling a camper. ‘Tis a good day indeed!

Didn't you forget to mention some peeps? :beathorse:

Meet this trip’s special guests

Perhaps a bit of a pedestrian choice, but here’s the skinny. Foster’s is the best cheap beer on the shelf. It’s $10 per 12 here.

The Beck’s Oktoberfest is something we look forward to. Usually not a Beck’s drinker, but the seasonal is very malty and amber, and is currently MetalWife’s favorite, so she’s happy, I’m happy.

Lastly, Henry Weinhard’s Redwood Flats Amber. They were a small local brewery in Oregon that went national in a big way, picked up by Wal-Mart!

Since that’s where I was, I picked the only stranger on the shelf (that’s how I shop for beer!).

They have 3 brews, the other two being a Lager and an IPA.

Nope, never mind. :whew: :beer:

We visited with the rest of the group. They had crafts for the kids, adult games.

I've never of of kid's nonalcoholic craft beer. Cool :clint:

[Judy in Texas 150]

Could the flying donkey sounds have been frogs?

[fortpartyof4 108]

Man I love me a MD TR. And I love FL state parks! Great to get insight on one we've never been to.

You have the. cutest. kids.

We never had the chance to unzip the pop-up when we had it, but I always wanted to do that to see what it was like.

My favorite picture so far:

Carry on!! (aw geez now I have a Kansas song in my head)…….

[MetalDad 33]

I thought you might be in big trouble at first. Thought Josie might be MetalWife until I got to the part where she was adopted and her coat is hearthy. I almost thought MD would be :mort1:

You're correct. Which one do you think answers when I ask "Who's my good girl?"

You are off to a great start!

Props to you for sporting the FW shirt on the trip.

That is a big campsite!

Donkey Bird?

I need to get me some of that beer you drank.

Sorry about the no sleep.

TCD

A very cool park, site was amazing. Beer is at Neighborhood Market on 580. Donkey Bird was real. The shirt goes everywhere!

Awesome start!

I've received email invites from that site for their rally's in the past but have never been able to go. We love RV and watch it several times a year. The kids love the "Big Rolling Turd".

Looks like we are in for a great report!

By the way that Coleman "inclined" camp chair is the best. It is so much more comfortable than the normal camp chairs.

I found that chair maked down to $25 at Wal-Mart Neighborhood market, just got a second one too. I've been looking at it for years now. Now that I have them, love them. you'll notice most of our gear is Coleman, even the truck has a Coleman sticker.

Love RV, hate how nasty the family is to each other.

Join up on the rally, good group!

Bigfoot? Donkey Birds?? Wow. I don't know what to say.

And Hunger Games soundtrack, huh? Glad I'm not the only one who enjoys that. Punch Brothers, Civil Wars...not too shabby.

Yes Dave, anything with Punch Brothers is good with me. Plus with Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert, my daughter got her tweener fill...and the Pistol Annies are cool! Kidi Cudi track sucks Donkeybird balls!

Sounds like a great trip, can't wait for more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cool, thanks for joining!

Did Josie stay back there or make it up front with the adults? She only hopped up front whilst parked on the way home at McDonald's!

I know Savannah dosen't stay in the back of our quad, all 60#s of her is lap dog on whoever is in the passenger seat. :banghead:

Didn't you forget to mention some peeps? :beathorse: I'm not sure what that meant!

Nope, never mind. :whew: :beer: Again, what?

I've never of of kid's nonalcoholic craft beer. Cool :clint: I didn't get this either, but sampled some of the Blue Moon winter pack... now it makes total sense! My kid's don't even want to pinky taste, they think it's gross...I'm cool with that!

Could the flying donkey sounds have been frogs?

Only if they were thrown by a centerfielder trying to make a play at the plate. They were in the air moving at high speed. They sounded just like a Tusken Raider from Star Wars when Obi Wan rescues Luke on Tattoine. What?

Man I love me a MD TR. And I love FL state parks! Great to get insight on one we've never been to.

You have the. cutest. kids.

We never had the chance to unzip the pop-up when we had it, but I always wanted to do that to see what it was like.

My favorite picture so far:

Carry on!! (aw geez now I have a Kansas song in my head)…….

Cool. Thanks! That's funny. My son, at 8, loves Kansas. Ever since that commercial that used "Point Of Know Return" with that Asian kid singing "How long...." He listens to the Leftoverture/Point of Know Return CD as lullaby...only in the MetalHouse!

The park was a winner. We'd do it again, but there's several more on the list before we return.

[disney4dan 68]

Cool - I made it on page 1. First time in more than a year that I'm not late in joining a TR!

Like the TR so far, and that you mention the music for the trip. Going to have to test drive the soundtrack from Hunger Games, always looking for something new to listen to while driving.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

Pretty dog! And nice site! Looking forward to hearing more!

[stefa70 205]

Love me some MD reports!!

I wish I'd known you came through my neck of the woods. I would have stood out and :wave1: or at the very least :sarc3:

Annie's Vanna hands are outstanding!! She made my buffalo chicken look even better than it tastes. Way to go Annie!

I have a lot of friends who visit O'Leno SP, but I've not been there. Now that you tell me there are flying donkeys, it's on my must do list.

I'm going to be "unplugged" for a few days, but I'll be back my wayward son. (Yes, I am also singing Kansas :clint: )

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Sounds like I need to hit up that Neighborhood Market.

Did they have any more of those chairs left after you bought yours?

TCD

[MetalDad 33]

Cool - I made it on page 1. First time in more than a year that I'm not late in joining a TR!

Like the TR so far, and that you mention the music for the trip. Going to have to test drive the soundtrack from Hunger Games, always looking for something new to listen to while driving.

Thanks. I always mention the music, a priority for sure. I'll take 45 minutes to plan the music for a 30 minute car ride. The soundtruck is kind of sullen, but interesting.

Pretty dog! And nice site! Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks!

Love me some MD reports!!

I wish I'd known you came through my neck of the woods. I would have stood out and :wave1: or at the very least :sarc3:

Annie's Vanna hands are outstanding!! She made my buffalo chicken look even better than it tastes. Way to go Annie!

I have a lot of friends who visit O'Leno SP, but I've not been there. Now that you tell me there are flying donkeys, it's on my must do list.

I'm going to be "unplugged" for a few days, but I'll be back my wayward son. (Yes, I am also singing Kansas :clint: )

Yes, we zipped right up 19. I should have gotten in touch, could've met the fam!

Sounds like I need to hit up that Neighborhood Market.

Did they have any more of those chairs left after you bought yours?

TCD

They have 1 or 2 of the green ones marked down to $15, which is good, I have one of those green ones, it's in the same photo above. It was $30, marked to $15.

[charitycase20....Charity 10]

Loving the TR so far! :jumpforjoy Can't wait to read more, it too cold to camp up here now, so I have to live vicariously through you Fiends in the deep south. :banghead:

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

You're correct. Which one do you think answers when I ask "Who's my good girl?"

Well that might depend on whether you are being a good boy or a bad boy.

[MetalDad 33]

Day Two

Sounds: New records by Soja (reggae) and Old Crow Medicine Show (string band)

Smells: southern cooking and gunsmoke

Tastes: CB Hash, potluck, and blue agave juice.

Wake up…said the bark!

Apparently I’m the only one that hears a giant black lab bark at point blank range, so I got Josie duty!

And, I just noticed, we have neighbors in a big RV next door.

After the dog walk and feeding, I started to prepare for one of my favorite camping elements…breakfast!

I don’t normally eat breakfast, or just a lite snack, as my regular lunch time is 11am during the week, so it’s just another treat that camping offers.

Pulled out the iron skillets, popped a Diet Dr. Pepper, turned on some Rolling Stones (I cook breakfast to Beggar’s Banquet, it’s become a bit of a tradition.)

Annie loves the song Dear Doctor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STjASYx9a9k

I wave to my new neighbor, whom has emerged from the RV, strikingly dressed like a cross between Amish/Pilgrim/Plantation owner.

A brief conversation reveals that he mans the cannon for the cracker/settlers!

Cool! How do you top that?

I immediately wanted to pop down and go home.

First, the dang Doppler-effect donkey bird, bigfoot, and now ghosts of a rogue branch of the confederate army.

Ya’ see Timmy, today is Saturday, and the park is hosting the Alligator Warrior Festival!

One of the highlights of the festival is a re-enactment of the Second Seminole War.

Holy flying donkey birds…we’re going to that!

And a little recon reveals that, since we’re already at the park, it’s free!

Gold star!

First things first. We brought a little Fort with us!

Everytime Ben goes to refill his Fort mugs, he gets one or two with hot chocolate for the kids, and brings back a bunch of extra packets.

So we are loaded down with genuine Fort cocoa (presented by Nestle).

Here’s the kids getting all hopped up on cocoa!

I also got the fire going again so MetalWife could read whilst I was slinging hash!

I took a break while the hash crisped, no one rocks the purple solo cup and red Buccaneer hi-water pajamas like me, especially fireside with a Guiness hoodie on!

Back to the stove.

Honey, where’s the eggs?

What eggs.

I immediately had at least 4 wiseass answers.

How do I answer that without ruining the day?

The ones we packed, dear!

The hard-boiled ones?

Apparently we packed a dozen hard-boiled eggs for snack purposes.

Lemons, Lemonade

I served leftover chicken sandwiches, corned-beef hash, and hard boiled eggs.

All were happy!

We brought along our electric scooter, more on that later. Here’s Gracie!

Notice that between her legs is Annie, in her pajamas, totally improper, somewhat dangerous, and the dumbass dad taking the picture!

Back down the trail to the comfort station. These middle of nowhere scenes are rare around my house, so this was a novelty for me!

No Kenny carts this time, so I had to create a new re-purposed washing-up area!

While washing breakfast dishes, I met my neighbor on the other side. In a pop-up, but not in our group.

They were from Pasco county and had come up for a fall festival at Micanopy, which was like 30 miles away, but the CG’s the closest thing available.

The town of Micanopy was where the Michael J. Fox film Doc Hollywood was filmed.

In the film, Micanopy is the town of Grady, SC, and this festival is sort-of a nod to the Squash Festival in the movie.

I’m a big fan of the film, so that’s going on the list.

Later, he told me it was so packed, you couldn’t move.

Maybe a little lower on the list then!

Then, I got a rare few minutes in the hammock!

Stop! Hammock Time!

I didn’t call seat check, so Annie jumped in!

Notice the fiend cup!

The absolutely chaotic and unzipped MetalCamper, complete with MetalWife putting on her war paint.

I had the scooter plugged in behind the camper, so I commandeered it for a spin!

See my son waiting patiently for a spin?

Next, we posse up and head to the festival. War is approaching!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

Seminole War? Man, this report keeps on surprising.

After growing up HATING hash, I have developed a love for the stuff. Yours looks really good. They also had some excellent corned beef hash on the Disney Dream. At this moment, I'd go back on that ship just for the hash. If spending several thousand bucks on hash wasn't really stupid.

[mommy rainbo.....Bo 41]

Cool trip report. Can't wait or more.

[anolefan 8]

Great update! I love the Josie duty comment. We actually have an unspoken game with our dog. It's called try to ignore the fact that she needs to go for a walk the longest to see who wins. The loser gets walking duty. Thankfully the dog walking torch has been passed to our oldest boy on our camping trips :).

I LOL at the scooter comments and the pictures of you having a blast on it.

Looking forward to the re enactment!

[Big Kahuna aka John 71]

Loving the TR and great photos... also a huge fan of Doc. Hollywood... never knew where it was filmed so thank you for the information, can't wait for the update !

[wak648...Bill 94]

After growing up HATING hash, I have developed a love for the stuff. Yours looks really good. They also had some excellent corned beef hash on the Disney Dream. At this moment, I'd go back on that ship just for the hash. If spending several thousand bucks on hash wasn't really stupid.

At least you would get a free cruise out of it.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Lovin the report!

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

MD- I am a bit behind on my TR reading, but just read your latest update.

Very good.

Love the Bucs p.j.'s. LOL that they're high-waters!

And, nice save on breakfast with no eggs.

I am also a fan of corned beef hash, but no one else in my family is, so I am limited to grabbing a spoonful from the occasional buffet.

TCD