APRIL 13 - FRI. & APRIL 14 - SAT, 2012

FRI.- We were told that on the western side of Fl., the gulf side, that the water is warmer than on the ocean side. A lady that was on the boat cruise we took yesterday in Tampa Bay told us that Lido beach in Sarasota, Fl was really nice. So today we decided to see for ourselves. Sarasota is about 160 miles away. It was a nice ride & when we got to Sarasota, we could tell that it was a very high class city. We had to park our car a distance from the beach & walk through the sand (which is very hard to walk in) carrying all our gear to get to the beach. But when we got there we were surprised. The beach is very fine white sand and the water is a beautiful aqua color, and the best part was that the water was warm. The waves were not as large & strong as the beaches we were to on the ocean side, so I was able to take my chair right down by the shore line (without the possibility of a wave knocking me over again!!) We also were able to walk quite a ways out into the water & it was only up to my waist. The water is crystal clear. Richard did his detecting and had a great find - 43 cents, 2 pocket knives, a nice men's pewter bracelet, 2 tent pins & a pocket full of "junk"! We stayed there until about 6:00 p.m. & didn't get back to our RV until almost 10:00, but it was a great day & well worth the 300 mile round trip. The only down side was that you couldn't take your car on the beach & had to walk from the parking area. If someone was moving to Florida, I would tell them that Sarasota is the place to go, but I would imagine it is very expensive to live there, judging by the area we saw around the beach. We asked a lady jogger to take our picture which is posted here.

SAT. - Today we went to the flea/farmers market. We needed some fruit & veggies, and a post to hang our new Pauper's Pride sign, we will post a picture soon.Then we stopped at a camping world for some supplies. We went to church at St.Joseph of the forest (it is actually set in the forest) & after mass they had a ham dinner. It was a delicious meal for only $6.00. As I mentioned in an earlier post, this is a very small church. The meal was made by the ladies of the parish. We were sitting at a table with a couple from PA. & a lady who lives here in Silver Springs. She told us that last night her dog was barking & seemed upset & she looked out in her back yard, which has motion sensored lights, & there was a huge black bear going through her trash! She said she has lived here for 8 years & has on occasion seen bears, because her home is right by the forest, but this is the first time one was actually in her yard. We have seen a lot of signs warning about the bears, but we thought it was just for safety purposes. we didn't actually realize that they were that close. I would like to see one, but only if it is from a distance!