Dispatch from the Road 2016: Orlando Thousand Trails, almost like going home


Manatee Hammock to Orlando Thousand Trails

March 1 2016

We drove 65 miles up rt. 27 to the Orlando Thousand Trails Campground. The 850 site campground was nearly full but we have reservations and had no trouble picking out a spot (B-31) to park for our fourteen day stay.

I have to say I like this campground. The campsites are spaced well apart, it is well maintained and there are lots of activities. Thousand Trails is a time share membership, having over 80 campgrounds throughout the US. Millie and I have been to about 25 of them and so far as we've experienced, Orlando is the crown jewel of the system.

We spent a couple days settling in, making the obligatory Walmart run, getting some coffee from the new WaWa and greeting our friends Clay and Rebecca. They arrived the same day as us, them coming from the west coast of Florida.


At the Plant City Strawberry Festival

On Wednesday March 3 the four of us went to the opening day of the Plant City Strawberry Festival. We spent a couple hours of the gloriously warm and sunny day walking through all the exhibits and vendor areas. We had a carnival food lunch from one of the many food trailers, I had Chicken on a stick and French Fries, mighty good eating!


Charlie Pride

At three o'clock we filed into the Wish Farms Sound stage to our seats about 15 rows back from the stage. During the festival they have two headliner shows everyday, one midday and one evening. The show we had selected was country singer Charlie Pride. He has been performing for fifty years, in fact I had the pleasure of seeing him perform in Savannah Georgia way back in 1971. While we did enjoy the show, Millie and I agreed that it's probably time he thought about hanging it up. There's a lot of truth in the saying about quitting while you're on top. There were more than a few times Charlie forgot the words and his band had to help him out.


Local entertainer Lou Renshaw at Thousand Trails CG

Back at the campground on the next two consecutive days we saw two shows. Lou Renshaw is a troubadour who makes the circuit down here in wintertime Florida. He puts on a good performance playing a variety of tunes, most of them dance-able.

The following night we saw Then and Now, a female singer (I forgot her name) and Mike Thomas on Keyboards. It's an OK show, I've seen it before, too much Neil Diamond music for my tastes.


At Mt Dora flea market

On Saturday morning Millie and I drove up to Mt. Dora, a town about 30 miles north. The primary objective was Renninger's Flea Market, Lake county's largest with 1000 vendors. We walked and walked and walked, I don't remember buying anything, but it was interesting.

Many years ago I visited downtown Mt. Dora and remembered it as having a quaint little village atmosphere. The tourist area is larger than I remember but it was very vibrant with lots of activity. We enjoyed lunch at a Victorian (circa1883) hotel on the bank of Lake Dora called the Lakeside Inn.


The front lawn of the Lakeside Inn

After our meal we meandered the manicured lawn past a family playing ball and further on, workers setting up for an outdoor wedding. At the waters edge a group of about 12 senior ladies was boarding the lake tour boat. This was the same group that was seating near us in the restaurant. They had a great time during their meal and was sufficiently lubricated for continued merrymaking on the lake tour.


Larry and Millie after our ride in the seaplane

We walked on to the long dock where the seaplane was tied up. It was there that we met John Justad, the owner and pilot of the 1957 Dehavilland Beaver. You would never guess its vintage because it is in pristine condition.

He usually makes customers wait until he has five or more passengers but it was a slow day so he agreed to take a flight with just Millie and I. He explained that it would be a shorter tour than if the plane was full. We were genuinely interested in the airplane and his tour commentary so we kept asking questions and he just kept flying and talking. As I had said it was a picture perfect day for flying and I think John wanted to be up there as much as we did, it was a great experience.

After the airplane ride we walked to a small park and caught the end of a car show, most of the cars had left, but they didn't charge us anything to get in.