December 9, 2019, Monday
December in Florida is very different from our memories of December in New England. Strings of Christmas lights wrapped around palm trees look like tall columns leaning at odd angles; flowering bushes draped with blankets of lights; an anorexic looking Santa Claus hanging from eaves; a blow-up Santa wearing a bikini. Projected moving lights look like colored ants crawling all over a house. Another house appears to have huge dreidels floating around a garage door. During the day, huge, deflated blow-ups sit in puddles of plastic being rained on by year-round irrigation. Gotta keep the grass green!
Here in OTOW there are more unusual decorative creatures in gardens besides garden gnomes: ducks; geese; deer; a cow; turtles; rabbits; two giraffes that I know of and even a hippopotamus. And of course there are the perennial flamingos. Many of these creatures wear red Santa hats or are otherwise decorated.
The weather is beautiful – the sun is shining and the temperature has hit 80°F — a perfect day to eat lunch at Gator Joe’s in Ocklawaha. We had not been here for at least a year, possibly two. We walked through the building, along the walkway out to the covered deck. The tiki-style grass roof over the deck has been replaced by metal – probably due to one of Florida’s many hurricanes.
The first thing we noticed was the water level. Last time we were here the deck had very little water under it but today the shore line was all the way up to the restaurant itself. There is a small sandy beach next to Gator Joe’s and several small rental cottages. Lake Weir is less than 6,000 acres and is about 20 feet deep. Apparently, Gator Joe’s has been at this location since 1926. The rest of the country first heard of Ocklawaha in 1935 after the famous shootout between the FBI and the Ma Barker gang. The house was just down the street from here – bullet holes and all – until 2017. It had been in the same family since the 1880s and was finally sold to a developer who donated it to the county. It was floated across Lake Weir on a barge to its permanent home in Carney Island Park to become a museum.
There were fishing boats and water skiers out on the water and Christmas lights on the water-level pier beyond the deck. Birds are everywhere – flitting around the rafters, walking on empty tables or standing on railings eyeing our food. The food here is adequate – one comes to Gator Joe’s for the ambiance, not for the food. The humidity was low and there was a slight breeze. Beautiful.
The reason we were over near Gator Joe’s was because we were dropping off three plarn mats. I had heard of making these mats for the homeless, watched a couple of how-to YouTube videos and started to collect plastic shopping bags from my neighbors. (Al and I use reusable shopping bags.) The bottoms and handles of the bags are cut off and the middle is cut into strips/loops. The strips are looped together and can be rolled into a ball, like yarn. I had never crocheted with anything other than string, so it was a challenge to work with 2-inch strips of plastic and a huge hook. Anyone who does this kind of handiwork knows it can be boringly repetitive, but I like keeping my hands busy while watching TV. Ideally, the mats end up 30-inches wide and 6-feet long with a carrying strap and two more straps to wrap up the bedroll. They are lightweight, provide some insulation and can be easily rinsed off. They are also indestructible. Each mat takes 500-700 bags that will not end up in the ocean and in the stomachs of sea creatures. It is a win-win situation for everyone and when volunteers bring them out at a free lunch area each Sunday, they are gone in minutes. The word “plarn” is a play on words meaning plastic yarn.
I could go on and on about the homeless situation in Marion County. We have multi-million dollar horse farms with million dollar horses, while the school system has identified over 4,000 children who have been deemed homeless. Some are living with their large families in one motel room, couch-hopping with friends/family, or living year-round in tents in the Ocala National Forest. There is something seriously wrong with this picture.
I 
had not planned on writing about these mats, but Maddy has really taken to them and sleeps on them whenever she can. However, she sits and glares at it when I am working on one when she wants to sleep on my lap. I have a new favorite picture of her.
December 12, 2019, Thursday
Yesterday, Al brought the Roo up to our driveway to start the refrigerator and start packing. Before we could leave this morning I had a doctor’s appointment. While there, the TV screen installed to amuse waiting patients, regaled us with a video showing all the joys of eating cabbage. Health benefits aside, I think thumbing through a two-year-old magazine would have been more entertaining.
We were finally off, driving past the OTOW gate shortly after noon. The sky was overcast and the temperature was 68°F. We are heading south to another ham radio fest. I have written about this route so many times I think the Roo could find its own way there, so I won’t detail the whole trip again. We did notice that the Hindu Shree Swaminarayan Temple is still being built on the road next to I-75. And we cracked up laughing at the sign on a meat market in Wildwood: Best Meats, Tasty, Fresh and Well Hung.
We decided to stop in Dade City for lunch. There is one restaurant there that seems jinxed. There have been several name changes over the years: Doc’s Pub and Grille; Gators Crossing; etc. Today it is Martha’s Grill and Bar. Parking is important to us. The restaurant is beside the driveway to a large distribution center (I think that’s what it is), so we were able to park across the driveway from Martha’s. We did not know what to expect. The interior has not changed significantly, but the food was wonderful. Martha was in the kitchen and our waitress, Christina, was professional, friendly and attentive — everything a waitperson should be. We only ordered basic burgers, but they were wonderful. I am not a big burger lover, but these were exceptional. The free chips and salsa were unexpected. However, the salsa with added jalapeños was some of the best we have eaten. Yes, it was hot. We like hot.
This final picture shows Martha’s sign and behind the ”U-HAUL” to the right is where the Roo was parked.
Finally, we arrived at Lazydays RV in Seffner, a suburb of Tampa. We have stayed here many times. It had sprinkled a bit, but the sun finally came out and we were able to open the windows and door. This pleased Maddy no end.
Total miles for the day: 96.1.
December 14, 2019, Saturday
The 44th annual Tampa Bay Hamfest opened yesterday at noon. Al didn’t stay long because although it was officially open, many of the tables were not yet set up and of course the weekend tailgaters weren’t there. He left here shortly after 6:00 this morning. I didn’t expect to see him until mid afternoon, but he surprised me by coming back in just a few hours.
Last time we were here we found the Cazador Grill in Temple Terrace. It serves authentic Peruvian food and it is wonderful. The owner/chef Richard Diaz opened the first Cazador Grill in Arequipa, in southern Peru. He specializes in grilled meats. He is also an avid diver along Peru’s 1,500 mile coastline. Al had Lomo Saltado, a traditional Peruvian dish with sautéed beef, onions, tomatoes peppers, white rice and fries. He loved the taste but the beef was extremely tough. This was true at another Peruvian restaurant we have eaten at. We don’t know if that is due to the cut of beef they use. I had ribs marinated in orange juice that were some of the best I have ever eaten. They came with a large portion of “potato cake” — thinly sliced and layered potatoes baked in a white sauce that tasted like scalloped potatoes. The salad had a dressing that I could not identify, but was very good. We would recommend the Cazador to anyone. They also do vegetarian and seafood. All the desserts looked wonderful. We chose to take the Alfajores home with us. Each of the two heart-shaped Peruvian cookies were filled with what we think was caramel. They were excellent.
The weather is beautiful and I hate the thought of going home tomorrow.
December 16, 2019, Monday
Be careful what you wish for. On Saturday I wished we didn’t have to go home on Sunday. Sunday morning dawned beautiful and sunny, but I woke up to one of my “nausea days”, so we were not going anywhere. Please do not worry about me. I have been having these episodes for several years and they have been medically investigated. I have been poked, x-rayed, MRI, throat-scoped, needled, diet checked and tested for airborne allergens for the entire southeast U.S. At least these episodes only happen occasionally now and they usually only last one day.
This morning I am fine and we drove home uneventfully.
Total miles for the day: 98.1.
Total miles for the trip: 194.2.