Getting away for Thanksgiving{Wildlife, fire dancers, drunks with television and Nerf fights}

 The big Thanksgiving holiday has now passed and we are only three weeks from Christmas - this year has seemed to fly by yet had it's moments of dragging.  How is that I wonder.

We stayed away from people even though we were camping at Manatee Springs state park.  We walked a lot but didn't speak to too many people and those we did, we all kept our distance.  So I think, I hope, we did okay.

The weather was much warmer than we expected but when you make a camping reservation you take your chances on weather.  In spite of warm days there were enough cool evenings to have a camp fire.

The spring is so clear and beautiful.  We did not go swimming but we did see some hardy souls brave that cold water. 

I liked this photo of the spring, mirroring the trees in the water.

The squirrels aren't afraid of anyone at the park and let you get so very close.  Probably looking for a  handout.

We watched this little lizard on our rug, trying to eat a bug larger than it's head. It finally ran up the tree next to our awning.

As for the out of the ordinary things that happened we had a few annoying neighbors and I took a tumble one day, tripping over a looped root which I clearly did not see. 

The first camping neighbors on either side of us were great; that was the first two days.  Then a couple came in who were....interesting.  The young man doused the camp fire with gasoline which sent up an enormous roar, scaring their poor dog half to death as he was tethered to a post not too far from the fire pit.

Then the fun began when it got dark!  The man had some sort of flaming nunchucks which he lit on fire and twirled around and around.  At one point he dropped them and we thought he'd set his pants on fire.  The tent was in danger of being ignited judging by the way he was dancing around with flames.  This photo below can't do it justice but the flesh colored thing here was the guy and the bright spots were the flames.

Maybe he was in a circus or some sort of show because the next day before they left he was twirling a machete.  We watched this and thought about the future in the hands of the young. Oh my.

After FireBoy left they were replaced by a couple who watched television most of the evenings - outside.  They looked to be about 65ish, friendly to wave to but once it was dark they had the TV blaring a game show then a music competition show.  Meanwhile they started a good campfire but had their chairs turned so their backs were to the fire as they watched TV.  Thankfully they turned the volume down after the first night.

The campsite to our left had a family with 3 teenaged children. Our only disruption from them came when the parents left the kids alone for hours so they could visit at another site with friends or family.  The teens' cousins joined them after dark and they immediately took up Nerf swords and started smacking one another in a war.  

If they'd left it to their own campsite we wouldn't have cared but they flailed and smacked and yelled at each other until it spilled into the front of our camp. Doug went inside and turned on the headlights of the RV, spotlighting them so they scattered like roaches up the road.  

Those stories make it sound like we didn't have a good time but we did.  The first nights were the best though.  We could hear owls calling out fairly regularly, we saw deer grazing close by, the temperatures were nice and we had 4 great campfires.  All of our meals were cooked outside and we were able to read the latest Tana French novel, The Searcher.

My fall did not result in a break but once back home I ended up at Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic and have this sporty new hand brace.  Apparently I tore a tendon but at least we don't have any broken bones. 

Funny thing about the camping is we do the same things at home.  We eat outside when we can, Doug grills quite a bit and when the weather permits we sit by a fire and listen to the nightbirds calling.

But it's always nice to get away and walk in a new area, check out trails and look at the other camping rigs.  We will probably give Manatee state park a rest for next year and try something new but we're planning to still get away somewhere next year (knock on wood!)

I hope the upcoming holidays are good for everyone and we all stay safe and healthy.