Adios Lazydays! - Tuesday - January 28, 2014

Our time at Lazydays has finally ended :o)) 
 
We hope we got the battery issue resolved…   Time will tell!?!? 
 
Originally we thought we would be released yesterday, but the paperwork was not completed until almost 4pm and we decided to stay one more night and not travel during rush hour!!!
 
 
So, early this morning,
we traveled 30 miles south to E. G. Simmons County Park where we got site 9 for the night.
00- Site 9 E.G. Simmons County Park, Ruskin, Florida  00b - Site 9 E.G. Simmons County Park - backyard 
Tomorrow,  we’re heading to Midway Campground in Big Cypress National Preserve for 4 night:o))
 
 
We did a quick set up and headed out to see the Manatees at the Tampa Electric Company.
 
The manatee viewing center is only a few miles north.
 
We finally had some shorts weather :0)01 - TECO Manatee Viewing Center
 
 
The viewing center is free and has a nice platform and boardwalk.01b - TECO Manatee Viewing Platform
 
 
The extremely cold winter has brought hundreds of manatees to the warm water.
 
Every dot you see in the water is a manatee!!02 - Large number of Manatees02b - Large number of Manatees closer
 
We spent some time watching these amazing creatures.
 
 
Then we headed out the boardwalk through the Mangrove Tunnel.03 - Mangrove Boardwalk
 
In warmer weather, you can see the manatees swimming in and out of the channel.
They need to leave to feed and then return to the warm waters near the electric plant.
 
Today, they hadn’t started to move yet, but we did see a little nature!!
 
04 - Great Blue Heron under the mangroves05 - Mullets in the sunshine06 - White Pelicans



 
Back at the campground, Bill got our bikes out while I made some lunch.
 
After lunch, we headed out to explore the park.
 
Bill headed off to find Howard and Linda of RV-Dreams who are camped here.
 
Since we only are here for one night, I wanted to check out the park.
 
 
Great roads and a beautiful canoe launch…
07 - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride  07b - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - Canoe Launch

 
A view of the Tampa Electric Company where we just visited the manatees…07c - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - View of TECO
 
 
Large boat launch area into Tampa Bay…
07d - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - Tampa Bay Boat Launch Area  07e - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - Pelicans enjoying the sunshine
 
 
Nice little beach area and view of Tampa across the bay…
07g - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - Beach Area  07h - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - City of Tampa across the bay
 
 
 
There are Osprey EVERYWHERE…
08 - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - Osprey08b - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - Osprey08c - E.G. Simmons - Bike Ride - Osprey
 
I could have spent hours watching the Osprey,
 
but first, I needed to find Bill, Howard and Linda!!
 
 
Just a short ride and I found the 3 of them enjoying the sunshine!!
 
20 - Visiting with Howard and Linda
 
It is always great to spend time with them:o))
 
We’ll see you again at the Boondocking Rally in February!!

8 comments:

  1. We've been to the power plant many times, but I never seeing so many manatee. What a great picture.

    I guess by now you're at Midway. We were there Monday night and sure appreciated the warm weather. It was warmer there than it is here in the Keys.

    Linda might kill you for posting that picture of her. :)

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  2. Glad you have the battery problem figured out and fixed. You have your lives back!

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  3. Wow, can't believe how many manatees there are there! Nice to run into H&L :-)

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  4. That park looks fabulous! What a great shot of all the manatees.
    Have fun at Midway! Hope all your battery problems are behind you.

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  5. Saw you guys on Howard's Journal yesterday . . . glad you're finally getting some nicer weather! We're going to have a couple of cool days this weekend (67 - 68), but then back into the 70s next week. It's supposed to hit 81 today -- might set a record! Enjoy your time at Midway, and hopefully you're done with those battery issues!

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  6. We're so anxious to see everyone at the boondocking rally. We'll be there for an afternoon, just not sure which day. Love the pictures of the manatees, we have to get up that way.

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  7. We enjoy EG Simmons and the manatee. It's been a cold winter so they have been up the creeks to stay warm. Hope the batteries have finally been fixed. I don't know how that could have happened to begin with.
    Syl

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  8. Amazing picture of that manatee convention! We've got to get down there and see that, just love manatees. :c)

    Keeping our fingers crossed your battery problem has been solved once and for all.

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