Aripeka, FL - Jan 19

Hi each of you,

Yesterday, after one weeks stay, we left NSB and drove directly across the state to the West Coast, Aripeka, FL. Aripeka is a sleepy fishing town, between Tarpon Springs and Homosassa. There's alot of lowland, dune grasses, and waterways here such that the area is susceptable to flooding. We will be here at Aripeka West RV Park till Saturday.

It's only a few miles from here to busy Highway 19 which runs north and south parallel to the coast, and has all the bells and whistles you could want, all the stores and restaurants. We went 15 miles on it today, and I counted 3 Wal*Marts. Out here tho, the village is quiet. Folks live along waterways and fish from boats and bridges. There are 3 small bridges on the Aripeka Road loop (which begins and ends on Highway 19) which have some parking spots allowing folks to stop and see the sights. Other than that main drag there are lots of back roads, many of which end at the ocean, of which we explored just a few so far. Many of the people who live here have their home on the water (whether it be a stream, marsh, or the Gulf of Mexico) and sure enough, everyone has a boat. Folks say Babe Ruth used to come here to fish. Ironically, he got married back in Elicott City where we stopped 2 weeks ago to see my sister. The man got around.

When we arrived here yesterday we literally drove out of hot sunshine a few miles inland into dense fog here on the coast. It was 10 degrees cooler when we stopped driving. Today the fog lifted early and we had a nice sunny day. We drove the loop and hunted for spots to go see sunsets. We got a couple ideas.

This is not a town anything like Clearwater or Tarpon Springs. There is no glitz. There is nothing here to attract anyone, just like I said, a sleepy fishing village, however spectacular property, water views, bird watching, dune grasses, and scenic vistas. There's a brand new home erected on stilts down the road, built on speculation, going for $155,000. Nothing like the million dollar properties in the ajacent towns. Kinda neat. There's only so much coastline, so I suppose someday these folks will have the opportunity to 'sell out' and write their own ticket as the demand for oceanfront property will never end.

Tomorrow's forecast is for a showers in the morning, clearing, and a sunny afternoon, so we hope to enjoy a spectacular sunset tomorrow evening and be ready to leave early on Saturday for Keaton Beach (The Old Pavilion RV Park) at the bend of Florida as we head off to the pan handle on our way to Alabama.

We have a few stops picked out between here and there. The next friends we're looking forward to visiting are in Decatur, Alabama, Gary and Amanda Knotts. G & A spent a summer living with us back about 10 years ago when Gary played for the Portland Sea Dogs. We love them, and have not seen them maybe since Olympic Stadium in Montreal when met them there to see Gary pitch for the Tigers against the Expos, maybe 6-7 years ago. Gary is now a police officer in Florence, AL, and Amanda is the mother of their 2 little girls.

Unfortunately, we keep forgetting we brought the camera !! More pictures coming soon I promise.