Christmas with the south Florida Starks

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the south Florida Starks! We've had a great time here the last two weeks.  Ate a lot, visited a lot, and just had a relaxing time.  Oh, we also got in an air boat ride and saw the movie, War Horse. 

Tomorrow we head back to Alabama for the winter.  If all goes well, we'll get to Gulf Shores State Park January 2nd and plan to stay through March 7th.  More later when we get there.  David

Sawgrass Recreation Park Air Boat Tour

...and off they go!

Local resident - unsure if it plays for the University of Florida

Sunrise, FL

Markham Campground as seen from the Everglades Wildlife Management Area levy

Our spot

We've arrived Friday afternoon at the Markham Campground, Markham Park - part of the Broward Country recreation system.  Donna's brother David met us here, and it was great to start visiting while setting up the trailer.

This is a really a nice campground with biking & nature trails, gun range, large picnic areas, boat launches, and an airfield for remote controlled aircraft.  The airfield is active this morning, and it was fun to go watch the remote controlled jets in action.  I remember when those things were just a fantasy!  There was a guy trying to learn to do a loop with his helicopter.  Not sure you can really do that with a remote controlled helicopter, but he was gettin' real close. 

Just as you'd expect, the communities around the park are bicycle friendly, so we're out taking advantage of that, too.  Oh, and the personal watercraft are out running up and down the canals today keeping the gators away. Yea!

For our RV friends, this is a big-rig friendly park with FHU, 50-amp sites.  Some sites are paved and Markham does take reservations.  The only oddity is that the sewer hook-ups are an after-thought and are placed at the front of the campsite (see picture, above).  I'm told this is typical for Florida state parks.  Just bring plenty of sewer hose so you can park the RV where you want on the campsite..

So far we've spent a great weekend with Donna's brother David, Mary, and Katie (poor Doug has to work!)  We're here through Christmas mooching off her brother!  Later, other David

Everglades Wildlife Management Area (across the levy from the campground)

Last Day @ Walt Disney World

Quick update as this is our last evening at Walt Disney World.  If all goes well, we leave tomorrow for Sunrise, FL to spend Christmas with Donna's brother, David. I know I've shown you more pictures than you care to see on the camp site decorations, but I've just gotta give you one more that we saw.  Frankly, I believe it's the best one in the whole campground! 

More later from Sunrise.  David

Until next time...

EPCOT - SEA WORLD

This week was a couple of days in EPCOT.  Then a day at Sea World for a change of pace.  Monday still seems to be the best day of the week to visit EPCOT.  Just not sure where all these kids come from.  Either school's no longer in session are a lot of kids are skipping out of school. 

Sea World wasn't that crowded.  A mid-week visit  had us in mildly crowded pathways, but only half-full eating establishments and shows.

Weather's been fine, with a cold front passing through on Wednesday.  Good bike riding weather this week, and we've taken advantage of it.  Fort Wilderness is an expensive campground, but it's just a nice place to sit and enjoy for a while.

Santa, France, EPCOT

Still here for another week.  More bike riding is planned plus some reservations at restaurants we wanted to try in WDW. 

Of special note, Donna and I accepted a two-month volunteer position(s) at the Rainy Lake Visitor's Center, Voyageurs Nat'l Park next year.  A lot can change between now and then, so it could fall through.  But we're excited and looking forward to that. 

More pics of what we saw at Sea World, below.  Now - back to Disney World!

Later, David

Campsite Decorations @ Fort Wilderness, Walt Disney World

Since coming to Fort Wilderness during November 2010, we've been impressed with the private decorations people set up at their campsites.  Here's some photos of how this year's decorations have turned out.  David