We arrived in Florida on Thursday and stayed in the Gainsville area. As we entered the state on Interstate 75 we decided to stop at the Florida Welcome Center and, walking into the center we were greeted by a woman behind the counter who asked everyone who walked in: "Hi. Would you like a nice cold glass of fresh Florida orage or grapefruit juice?" She was right. It was cold and delicious. It tasted like a glass of Florida sunshine. (Sound like an OJ commercial don't I?) Oh yes, the temps reached up into the low 80s ad it finally happened. Frannie and I put on our shorts.
On Friday we completed this leg of our journey when we set up our 2 week camp in the parking lot at Camp Cloverleaf, a 4H camp located in Lake Placid, FL and operated by the University of Florida. Several years ago when the local Habitat organization was trying to establish a place fo Care-A-Vanners to "hook up" they worked with the university, 4H and local leaders and set up a number of "hook ups" (electric & water) right in the parking lot of the camp. We arrived a couple days early so we set up at the end of the parking lot closest to the camps buildings and Lake June beyond. Since there is a private group there for the weekend we were unable to walk the grounds to take some pictures to share but they will appear in a future post.
On our journey through Florida we drove by many cotton fields, bursting with white and waiting for harvest. It was amazing and quite saddening to realize how many years the harvesting of these large fields were accomplished through slave labor. Isn't it interesting that just this past week our country elected the first African-American to the highest office in the land. Regardless of your political leanings, it is a huge step for a nation who, not that many years ago, held members of that race in such low regard and contempt. Scripture reminds us that, in God's eyes, we are all the same. The Bible says that He only sees two groups of people here on earth, those who are saved and those who are not. I hope that all of you reading these blogs are in the first group. If not, please email me at
As we drove further south in Florida we finally started seeing the orange groves we had been looking for. In the central Florida region there is so much new development taking over the former groves of citrus trees but as we got below Winter Haven we started seeing more of them. Actually, there is a large grove accross the street from our home at the 4H Camp.
Today (Saturday) we decided to look around the city of Lake Placid, Fl. It is a beautiful little town which is filled, and I mean filled, with huge wall covering murals. When I get the downloading problem fixed I will post some in this article.
They are amazing. As Frannie and I walked about town we discovered that every trash can was painted or shaped in some unique way.
Tomorrow afternoon we will be meeting with our Highlands Habitat for Humanity hosts. We expect that we will also be meeting our co-Care-A-Vanners before then. We are told that there are only 4 units for this build. In the past there were many more. We are hoping that through our blog and our sharing with others about this winter's experience that more of you may want to try out this interesting experience. We will, as always, keep you posted as to how things are going and what we are learning. In the meantime, thanks again for coming along with us on this journey and we look forward to seeing you "on the road".
No comments:
Post a Comment