This blog will be unlike any we have ever done in the previous four+ years. Because I have been remiss in not keeping up-to-date, I will simply attempt to combine several events during our last month or so at Dade Battlefield Historic State Park (DBHSP) up to and including our visit to Ohio to see my siblings in early May. Above, an early morning pic in the Park.
Swallowed-Tail Kite and a Blue Jay in the Park...
Lunch in Celebration with a few of our RV friends that were on our trip to Alaska summer, 2013.
"Eggs in the Park" is an annual Easter weekend event in the Park, and this year drew over 500 kids and parents into the event.
Above, the winners of the egg hunt, and below, the egg (real and raw) toss is always a favorite.
It's about the children...
...and of course the leader, Ranger Kristen, event planner and organizer, and Erin, one of the volunteers...
Did I mention the eggs being raw?
Miss Judie and Miss Kristen at the monthly Dade Pioneers meeting...
And our annual volunteer trek over at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Golf Course in Orlando.
Graham McDowell and Rickie Fowler, two crowd favorites...
A couple of old pics I used, permission of the Sumter County Historical Society, for a power point slide show I presented to the same society at their monthly meeting. These two slides represent the Army's constructing the airfield for the Bushnell AAF during the war, 1943, that was used for training the pilots and other personnel in the deployment and handling of dangerous chemical weapons.
Above, a pic of the old entrance gate to the park, circa 1922, and below, an artist's (name escapes me, sorry) rendition of what the battle looked during the Massacre of Major Dade's Command at the Park in Dec, 1835.
Golf with a couple of friends at International Golf Club on Deer Island, near Mt Dora, FL
Golf at El Campeon near Howey-in-the-Hills, FL with my cousin Larry.
And our last event of the spring, on Saturday, April 17, the ribbon cutting, so to speak, of the placing of an historical kiosk at the site of the Black Seminoles (also referred to as "Maroons") village of Abraham's Corner. The village was home to several hundred people from the very early 1800s to around 1840.
Above, past president of the Dade CSO, Jean McNary and Porgy Smith, volunteer, and below, past president Steve Rinck and Sam Culverson, retired educator and very good source of history of Sumter County.
Above, Black Seminole John Griffin being presented an early excavated bead from the site of a Seminole warrior. Below, the group posing for a memorable photo of the historic event.
We departed Sumter County right after the ceremony at Abraham's Corner, and headed for St Augustine and a visit to the National Cemetery. The marker and mass grave pretty much tell the story of the massacre at Dade Battlefield. Oh, I forgot to mention, that we did spend a couple of hours at the RV Collision Shop in Bushnell trying to get our dash A/C unit fixed. No Go! We need a new compressor. Will get a new one installed in June in Coburg, OR
While in St Augustine, we visited bot Forts Matanzas and De San Marcos. These forts were built in the 1700s and 1600s respectively, protected the south and north entrances into the city.
Below are the pics from Fort De San Marcos.
Some of our many Azaleas in our yard in Virginia Beach and our beautiful Daughters and Grandchildren on their visit to Busch Gardens. Back row: Ali, Margaret, Mason, Maxwell, Austin and front row, Natalie, Maile and Jennifer.
Above, Max & Mason playing cars & boats in a puddle after a shower, and below, Austin taking a little batting practice before his game in Great Falls. Below that, Ali shagging balls during practice game.
And while visiting my Sister Debbie in Ohio, we went to my Aunt Norma's house to see her and my Uncle Bob. Also took a pic (not a good mind you) of my Sister Brenda, below.
Above, a pic of a pic, my Maternal Grandfather, Charles Simpson, circa mid 1940s, and below, a pic of a pic of my Aunt Norma and Uncle Bob with their four daughters, Karen, Barbara, Vickie and Diane, circa mid 1960s.
Below, my maternal GGrandmother Susie Puckett and other relatives unknown to me, but only to God.
Well, that brings this blog to a close, but I have many more to do before I will be caught up to the present. This blog was written in Riverside, CA at the March Field ARB, which itself is a historical gem, but more on that in a later blog. RVing Beach Bums signing off.
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