April 20-26, 2014
Little Manatee River State Park
Wimauma, FL
Sunday-
Happy Easter
We drove down to North Port to spend the
day with my parents.
Monte took
advantage of my dad’s power washer to clean off the LOVE BUGS from the
Jeep. During the ride down, at one point
the bugs were so thick I thought it was raining.
Mom made delicious veggie lasagna for
dinner.
Monday
I didn’t have anything tasked to me
but Monte and one of the other volunteers were asked to drive up north of Ocala
to pick up a new sign for the park. They
left at 8:30 AM. They took a wrong turn
coming back and didn’t end up returning until 7:30.
I took advantage of the beautiful day to
sit outside alternating between reading and doing crossword puzzles.
Tuesday
Sharon and I began painting the
back room of the maintenance barn that will be used as an office.
Monte did several jobs including cutting
the grass in the volunteer village.
When my dad's pressure washer stopped working he bought a new one-Monte took the old one to see if he could fix it--and of course he did. It is really coming in handy cleaning the love bugs off the jeep.
I think Annie sleeps 90% of the day. I just happened to catch her awake for a few minutes.
Wednesday-
I began my training in
the Ranger Station beginning at 8AM. I
woke up with the beginning of a sinus infection that had half my face
swollen. It didn’t really hurt but there
was a lot of pressure making it difficult to concentrate of my training.
At 12:30 I went out to lunch with a couple of
the other volunteers, Darlene and Sharon.
We went to Bob Evans and I had such a nice time that I forgot to take
any pictures. Darn.
While I was gone Monte did some
more grading in the Equestrian Campground.
In the late afternoon, Monte and
I took one of the mules down to the fishing area near the Youth Camp. This spot is a little “hidden” gem.
Thursday
Day two of training in
the Ranger Station for me. Working in
the ranger station is not going to be difficult but there are a lot of little
details to learn. The method of learning
something new that best works for me is taking notes. Later on, back home, I typed up the notes and
sorted the pages into my own manual.
Monte continued working in the equestrian campground.
Annie in one of her favorite spots.
Friday
We had the day off. I sat outside alternating between doing
crossword puzzles and reading
while Monte worked on his truck
and cleaned the
tail light assembly of the rig.
He removed the assembly and wire brushed the the little bit of rust.
Painted and hung on the fence to dry-
Assembled again-all nice and shinny.
After dinner we took a bike ride
down to the campground and then up to the Ranger Station.
Saturday-Anna Maria Island
Anna Maria Island, on the coast
of Manatee County is a barrier island bounded on the west by the Gulf of
Mexico, on the south by Longboat Pass, on the east by Anna Maria Sound and on
the north by Tampa Bay.
We drove around trying to find a parking spot. We finally found one in the parking lot of a thrift store only a block away from the pier. Monte found this 13 foot fishing rod that appeared brand new. A real bargain at only $10.
At the end of the pier is the City Pier Restaurant
Back in the car we drove around the island
admiring some of the beautiful homes.
while he continued to circle the lot.
The beach had wall to wall people. We didn't stay long because the sun was pretty intense. I wished we had thought to bring along our suits.
