Live Oak, Florida

Happy Easter!!!

Today we are in the beautiful small town of Live Oak, Florida. It’s near the Suwannee River. I drove here from Destin, FL yesterday. That’s about 250 miles. I got here sometime after 7 p.m. We gained another hour somewhere in Florida, maybe at Tallahassee.
Judy’s friend, Sandy, put us in touch with her friend, Mary Ellen. Mary Ellen is another Roadtrek owner. She had very kindly offered to let us stop at her place on our way to Crooked River State Park in Georgia, where we will be with a small group of Trekkers for two weeks on a rolling rally along the coast of Georgia and South Carolina.

Judy had gotten here a little bit ahead of me. This fantastic home is hidden behind a lot of trees. Judy had a little trouble finding it, so she and Mary Ellen were waiting out in the road for me to come along. Mary Ellen directed me to a covered area where her Roadtrek usually lives.

After I got tucked away, she helped me hook up. We were not sure whether or not I could turn on the air conditioner, but I gave it a try and I haven’t had any problems. I sure didn't want to blow out her electrical, even if it is easy to remedy. I only needed air conditioning for part of the night, but it was great to have it. It’s pretty warm and sticky here. Luckily, I’m starting to adapt to the weather (as long as I don’t move).

Lacey was delighted with her new “home” away from home. Even though I still haven’t taken care of putting some flea and tick protection on her, I let her off the leash to run around… and around… and around. There are lots of leaves on the ground and she loved running through those. Strangely, she found the garage to be the most intriguing place. I suppose she could smell the other dogs that live here. They were still inside the house waiting to meet her.

At one point, Lacey disappeared. Judy and Mary Ellen assured me that she’d come back, but I wasn’t as sure. She is not very good about coming when I call her. I imagine she could be enticed to run off, if she discovered a rabbit or a squirrel. As it turned out, she was only in the garage.

Finally, Lacey got to go inside and meet Mary Ellen’s dogs, Casey and Penny. Casey is an elderly Golden Retriever and Penny is a three year old Dachshund. Casey is a very sweet old girl. She seemed a little uncomfortable with the sudden change in her household, but she enjoyed the attention. Penny is a Mama’s girl. She growled at Lacey and kept her distance. Lacey didn’t take the hint for a long time. She kept trying to get close to her. Finally, Penny gave up and went to bed. Casey found a cool place to relax and Lacey settled down.

Judy and I got a chance to visit with Mary Ellen for a while. She told us she has lived here in Live Oak for over thirty years. Fifteen years ago, after losing her husband, she had this house built. She was born and raised in South Carolina, where she lived until she went away to college.

At the time, Mary Ellen’s daughter is living here with her and her brother has added on a suite to the house. Apparently, he visits from time to time. It’s a very nice suite with a bedroom and bathroom. It doubles as a guest room. It was difficult to pass up Mary Ellen's offer to sleep in a real bed, but since I have Lacey, it's best for us to stay in our own little place.

After visiting for a while, about 10:30 p.m., we all headed off to our personal quarters. Lacey hated to go back to her tiny little dog house, but I eventually convinced her that it was time for bed. She curled up on the seat and I curled up on my bed. We had a very restful night. Judy and Mary Ellen had plans to go to an Easter Sunrise Service, but I opted out of that. I didn’t even wake up until they were already gone.