Citrus Tower – Clermont Florida

One day last week, I took the car out to top off the gas tank with some of this cheap fuel. It only took about $7 worth as we are rarely driving during this stay at home order. Groceries are all delivered right to our door at the RV park. Pat has become very good at the Publix and Walmart online ordering. This just may be the way of the future.

To keep the battery charged, I decided to drive the 14 miles straight north on US-27 to Clermont and take a closer look at the Citrus Tower. We have driven by it many times, but never stopped to check it out when it was open. Alas, it is closed along with all the other non essential businesses in Florida.

The tower is just off the highway and rises up to 226 feet tall (equivalent of 22 stories). You can see it for miles going in either direction as it is also located on top of a small hill.

From their website, here is a full description: One of Florida’s first “attractions,” the Citrus Tower was built in 1956 on one of the highest hills in Florida’s ridge section. The original plans specified a tower 75 feet high, but when completed, the Citrus Tower rose to a lofty height of 226 feet .

The Citrus Tower stands unrivaled as a majestic and monumental tribute to Central Florida’s famed citrus industry and its lush subtropical groves. With the area’s changing economic climate, the Tower serves as a beacon guiding a burgeoning new business and population base to the scenic South Lake County region.

The glass-enclosed observation deck allows visitors to enjoy the panoramic view of the rolling hills of Florida’s ridge section and hundreds of spring-fed lakes in the surrounding 8-county area.

The cost is $10 to take a tour and may include the elevator to the top. We may have to check it out if it opens before we leave in mid-June. Then again riding a small elevator up 22 floors with some strangers may not be the best idea right now. Maybe a view from a distance is best.

This Mount Rushmore look alike is behind the small museum in the Tower’s parking lot.

Stay safe, take care and God bless.

Settling Down Again – Perhaps

Since we hit the road three years ago, the travel phase of our retirement dreams have been largely fulfilled. To be a fulltime RV traveler with no home base to tie us down. To explore each new state in a slow, no hurry mode. To seek out the lesser known local attractions, diners, and pubs. Hmm, sounds like the Star Trek mission. Anyway, now here we are at a bit of a crossroads. Our journeys have led us to 26 states and we have so much we would still love to explore. But with the current virus situation it is time to make that decision.

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Artwork Update – Keeping Busy While in Quarantine

The good news is that many areas of the country will begin opening up soon. We don’t know exactly what that will look like, but it is good news for the economy and for the people. I have stopped tracking the numbers in the pandemic and have really limited watching the news. It began to create overload with the inability to travel, staying home at our resort, and all the hype news. We also wonder if we can ever get back to our US travel as it was before. So, to clear my mind, I got my painting supplies back out and set to work!

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Bok Tower Tour

Bok Tower, Gardens, and Mansion Tour – It has been some time since my last blog update. We are doing absolutely fine, although in a virtual Groundhog Day repeat mode. Get up, eat breakfast, walk two miles, do a few chores, then lunch and dinner. And usually a 4:30 happy hour with our neighbors and good friends, Calvin and Sue while maintaining the legal 10 foot distance. All within our RV park. It is actually getting exceedingly boring. To help combat the boredom, I have written about one of the last outings we took before the proverbial wheels came off.

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Ham Radio Station KC9LC Now Activated!

I decided that it was time to activate a long dormant hobby, Amateur (Ham) Radio. With nothing but spare time on my hands, due to the Covid-19 lockdown, I sorted through our storage bins down in the RV’s basement compartments. Finding all the parts it was then just a matter of assembling and attaching the antenna, run the coax, and then set up all the gear. Finally, after a three year absence, I was able to activate ham radio station KC9LC!

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Covid Lockdown Day 29

Covid Lockdown Day 29 – We continue to be very blessed with our good health and a great location to weather this virus lockdown. The central Florida weather has been warm and sunny with only one day of rain since we arrived back on March 22nd. You might remember our prior RV park was quickly shutting down in Bowling Green Florida. We had planned to stay there until April 1st. But as the virus countermeasures swiftly grew more restrictive, it was time to move. Our move back to Clermont Florida was exactly what we needed.

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Virtual Summer RV Trip

I thought it would be interesting to take a virtual RV trip to our previously planned summer destinations. While I was staying in and hunkering down. These were our 2020 plans before we cancelled the entire summer due to the lockdown. So grab a beverage and fasten your seatbelt as we take our summer trip. Our stops will be to Virginia, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The virtual trip should have some great fuel mileage!

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Covid Lockdown Day 19

We are continuing to shelter in place at our RV resort just west of Orlando Florida. I feel pretty safe here, in fact we have had very little social contact and always maintaining the 6-10 feet. In fact, it has been over two weeks since we were inside of any brick and mortar store. Utilizing the online apps and curbside pickups, we simply park in the designated spot, call the store, and within a minute an employee loads the groceries into our truck. Then it is home to disinfect everything!

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We’ve Moved! RV Park Issues in Florida

During the week of March 15th, things kept getting crazier by the day due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida state parks were closing their campgrounds and many private parks were all but shutting down. Our RV resort, Pioneer Creek, announced they were locking all common area buildings, restrooms, and the laundry rooms. Would their next move be to actually close the park? Would the state hold people in place? Okay, it is time to determine what to do…

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