I took the day off Friday to have my 1998 Toyota Corolla serviced, as it will soon reach 90,000 miles.
For the Fourth of July weekend, the kids and I went camping at Flo and Mark's Tallahassee East KOA Campground at Exit 225 on Interstate 10. Unlike some of our previous primitive camping expeditions, we stayed in an air-conditioned cabin while temperatures neared 100, and swam in the campground pool and fished in the pond.
Flo and Mark do not sell beer or bait, but advise that their fish will eat almost anything that campers will, especially bread and hot dogs. Campground staff are friendly and eager to help and they serve complimentary breakfast. Firewood is $10 a load for the fire rings in front of each cabin. KOA Campground postcards are free, and a table and display stand just inside the main building's front door proclaim all local area attractions. Inside and in back of the building is a large living room area with a caged canary, pool table, jukebox, television, and books and board games. A spacious laundromat is attached, and long term storage units are located next door. The restrooms are as nice as any I've ever seen, including a superlative men's room with cushioned bench, green plants and framed art.
Dylan and Gabriel caught several fish and a baby water moccasin snake, which was the talk of the campground by evening. With the exception of a few families staying in the permanent cabins, there seemed to be only long-term campground residents still around for the heat of early summer, but there were plenty of children to amuse ours. Caleb spent hours in the pool and was very happy.
The most excitement I had was while at the pool watching an enterprising young toddler push her little sister in a Little Tikes Police car out of the playground and into the camp driveway with a parent running behind to catch up. Although the Interstate is visible from the campsites, there is a tall fence that protected us from the highway and they were in no real danger. The campground is a two-mile drive from the Interstate exit along a paved road that roughly parallels the highway, and at the corner of the immediate turn to the campground is the Sardis United Methodist Church and cemetery, and I idly wondered how many campground residents are interred there.
The pool was open until 10 pm, but no one asked us to leave, and we swam until 10:30 before walking around and visiting with the kids. We met Herman and his son from nearby Monticello, and Herman has been out of work for two years. We met a couple with several children who had just picked up their children from Florida Diabetes Camp and were staying at the KOA Campground on their way to Yogi Bear's Jellystone Campground in Madison, just over 30 miles away. We met a woman and her children from Hawaii, en route from visiting the children's grandfather to their great-grandfather, and she was attempting to re-hang the left eye of the campground's "face" on a tree. We located another camper with a pliers who was able to do the job.
We were home by July 4th and enjoyed a nice neighborhood fireworks show.
On Tuesday, July 5th, we all went out into the back yard at 9:15 pm to watch the International Space Station swiftly fly by.
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