History Repeats Itself

Our Location today is Bushnell, Florida.

The weather continues to be cold enough for us to run our furnace at night dipping down into the upper 30’s. When we get up and it’s that cold we try not to rush outside. After enjoying our second cup of coffee with our breakfast; we had read all our morning blogs we follow and it was time to head out. The temps were into the mid 60’s with clear blue skies and by 10:30 our escape from the park took longer than expected.

The Live Oak tree Kathy is in front of is nearly 400 years old.

A few of the park’s winter residents came over to talk with us. Everyone is so friendly here not only wanting to know where you’re from but also making suggestions of things we can do in the area as well as other areas of the state of Florida that we might find interesting.

Kathy walking on the ground that the battle was fought.

Mike Bennett told us of how he and his wife Rae-Anne had traveled around the country Fulltiming in a motorhome for a number of years. They now have a trailer as a winter residence here at Breezy Oaks RV Park as well as another trailer in northern Indiana where they spend their summers. He apologized for keeping us so long and wished us a good day of exploring.

Kathy still walking where the battle took place.

Leaving the park I noticed another vehicle also heading out. We headed onto the I-75 highway and so did they. Arriving at the 314 cutoff we exited the highway and so did they. After arriving in Bushnell we noted it was after lunchtime so we stopped for a quick bite at Taco Bell. As we turned into the parking lot so did they. We thought they were following us but this is where things changed. As we got out of the truck a little furball ran out from the back seat of their truck and headed for the nearest tree for some much needed relief. We went inside to eat but never saw them the rest of the day.

Artifacts recovered from the battle site.

With lunch completed we headed only slightly further down the road into Bushnell before making a southbound turn that would take us to our intended destination the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park. The entry fee is three dollars per vehicle up to eight people and it’s an honor pay system. Once parked we entered the visitors center where we signed the guest book and then sat through a twelve minute re-enactment video that gives you the history behind this battle that took place on December 28^th 1835.

Typical Woolen uniforms of US Army 1835.

Back in the early 1800’s as the settlers began moving into tribal territories that were home to Native Americans. The Seminole Tribes refused to give up their lands and started fighting back. On that fateful day only three soldiers of the U.S. army unit of 108 would live to tell of the battle.

Typical Seminole Indian clothing back in 1835

In 1921 the state legislature designated this as a historic site and created it as a State Park. Along with markers within the park explaining how the battle took place there are also relics in the visitors center that were found on the site where the battle was fought. There are also pavilions and washrooms on site for groups that wish to make a day learning about the history of the event and every year in late December or Early January the battle is re-enacted.

This guy is keeping a close eye on his beer cans.

On our return trip we stopped at Walmart for a few needed supplies. When we finally got back to our trailer most of the other RVers were enjoying Happy Hour. We decided to grill some hotdogs for supper and finished the Hawaiian Marshmallow Salad. There were no complaints from me.

Hotdogs with Hawaiian Marshmallow Desert. Kathy's Wine, my beer.

Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be better than it was today but we won’t complain about that. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

Office Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes

The cumulative time that office workers spent stuck in elevators in the last twelve months:

• New York……5.9 years
• Los Angeles….4.3 years
• Chicago………3.2 years
• Houston………2.9 years

IBM Smarter Buildings Study, 2010