MON. - Today we decided to try another beach, (after all Florida has a lot of beaches) this one was in DeSoto, which is on the Gulf side where the water is warmer. It was about another 2 hour ride (we sure are putting a lot of miles on my car!) We got to what we thought was the beach area, parked in the parking lot & carried all our stuff to the water, which was a distance away. When we got there we realized it was more of a fishing area. There was a 1,000 ft pier where people were fishing from. The shore area was more of a shell/sand beach not soft sand. But there were people in the water . There were dolphins, about 6 of them splashing in the water not far from the shore. I didn't realize that they would come so close. Well, first Richard went to do his detecting & I sat up the beach chair & went to sit in it & it collapsed! I guess I didn't have it securely open, anyway luckily Richard saw what happened & came to help me get up (it is not easy to get up from the sand) I don't know what it is with me & beach chairs!! Then we decided to have lunch & opened our cooler and realized that we forgot to stop at Subway for our sandwiches, so all that was in the cooler were the ice packs! We saw that there was a little snack shop on the pier, so we walked up there. They had good hamburgers & fries, but expensive - for 2 baskets (burger & fries) and one large drink it was $21.00! I realized that we didn't have enough money with us because we left our wallets locked up in my car down in the parking area. The man was very nice when I explained that we would have to walk back to our car for the rest of the money. I just had $18.00 in my little coin purse & he said that would be enough. There are nice people in the world. When we went back down to the beach area we found out that a girl was stung by a sting-ray right there in the shallow water. They had her soaking her foot in some soapy bucket of water. Well that was the end of me going in that water!! We packed up our gear & carried everything back to the car & went farther down the road where a women on the pier told us that there was a nice beach. And she was right it was a nice sandy beach, but again we had to park in the lot & carry everything again, but it was worth it. The water was really nice & the waves were gentle & you could walk a distance out in it and it was only up to my waist. We stayed there almost till sunset & then had the 2 hr. ride back. We didn't get back to the RV till almost 10:00.
TUES. - Today we had plans to meet with Jack & Jan to go on a guided ATV ride.. It was about an hour ride there for us & about a 2 hr. ride there for them from Orlando. We had reservations for 8:45 A.M. It was an 18-1/2 mile ride which took 2-1/2 hours. There was a guide in front to lead us and one guide behind us. Besides the 4 of us there was one other couple also about our age. I tried to drive one myself (they had us practice) but I realized I could not handle it, it was hard for me to steer, the one I have at home is smaller, so we used a double with me on the back of Richard's. Jan could drive her own because she is used to driving them. The other couple also used a double, because the women said she could not drive one either, so I felt better. We had to sign insurance waivers & were instructed to make sure to stay on the trail as there are bear in this area (Ocala National Forest)! It was a winding, bumpy ride & the guide was going a little too fast for me. The trail was soft sand and we had to make sure to keep our face shield down on our helmets because it was very dusty. The only animals we saw were a deer, and a wild turkey & bear poop, but thank goodness no bear! We did stop about half way at a rest area. They gave us water & cheese crackers. I have to say that I was glad to see our car, which meant we were back (that sure was not my "cup of tea"!!) But it was something Richard wanted to do, but even he said the guide was going too fast , it was not a slow sight seeing ride like he thought it would be, but he said the ATV handled good on the soft sand. Afterward we went for lunch at this little restaurant the guide told us about called Square Meal. They had fried pickles which Jan & I thought were delicious, Richard & Jack did not, but the food was really good. After lunch we went to the largest Harley Davidson store east of the Mississippi in Daytona which Richard & Jack wanted to see. It actually is a shopping center in itself. We were tired when we got back to our RV because we got up early for the ATV ride. But I have to say, it was an interesting day.
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