How Many Degrees Does It Take…

To assemble IKEA furniture? The answer, in this case, is six.

My main purpose in heading back to the Tampa Bay area was to meet up with my friend, Leigh, who had purchased a Florida house. It came furnished, but she was busy putting her special touches on it. Her friend, Linda, was staying with her.

We did get together and have some laughs. And dinner. I even ate fish! (Tilapia at Bonefish Grille – and it was delicious!) We only managed to squeeze in a little time together, though. Maybe next time.

I was staying at Lake Manatee State Park, about twenty miles away.

I was so excited! Maybe I would finally see a manatee!

I walked over to the lake, and saw a sign that explained that this was a man-made lake and no manatees got above the dam.

Damn!

I thought I would check out the beach that they mentioned in the camp brochure.

Hmm…an alligator warning. This doesn’t look promising.

Wait…you warn  me about alligators and then I have to wade through aquatic plants to get to the water?

And the water is brown?

Uh…I guess I don’t really need to go swimming.

I did have a nice campsite, though.

This is actually my second campsite. Campgrounds near the tourist meccas get booked up, and I managed to string together three days here by switching campsites. Now, this would normally have been easy enough, but my “check engine” light came on. When you are towing a four ton trailer, your truck is a very important thing to keep in shape. I managed to get an appointment the next day.

So, I vacated my first site and left the trailer in the parking lot over near the beach/picnic area.

I got over to the dealership at 8:45. I thought getting up and over there so early would be the painful part. Nope.

The $1300 bill was the painful part. I did get a “free” rental car out of the deal.

I retrieved my bathing suit from the truck and decided to go over to Anna Maria Island and enjoy the gulf. I did enjoy the beach, but the surf was too high for me to go into the water. So, I stood on the shore and let the water come to me.

After about an hour, I thought that perhaps I should go and see if Cora was okay. I had tried to park in an area that would be shady, but at least I could open the door and windows and get her a little air while I was waiting for the call that they had finished working on Bart.

The call never came, and I looked up when the service department closed. Damn! I had to get back there! So, I put my pedal to the metal and made it back before they closed.

The sun had set before they got the truck back to me. I rushed back to the campground and in the last gasps of twilight, I got the trailer on the hitch. It was pitch dark when I got to my campsite.

Talk about adventure! I stopped in the road by the site to check it out. I figured that I’d turn on the trailer’s patio light and if that didn’t do the trick, I’d line the edge of the site with my Christmas lights. I had just bought another string of them at the half-off after Christmas sale.

Luckily, the camp hosts noticed what was going on and they came over to guide me in! Bless them! Dan and Debbie were their names.

I wasn’t able to get together again with Leigh and Linda, but ever onward!

Next stop: Hillsborough River State Park and more visiting with friends.