From Fort Myers

I wrote the following last night...we are now in FM.

We did a side trip to Lake Okeechobee today. It is about 75 miles south of here. It is a huge lake and much to large to drive around for a day trip. We took the most direct route which is through a Seminole reservation. That was interesting. We didn’t stop, but they had a big trading post and, of course, a restaurant and casino. The speed limit was reduced while we went through…probably the tribe making a statement to the outside world. We were impressed with the condition of the housing. Most likely this is the result of the success of the casino.

Coming back we timed our trip to eat at the Sebring International Speedway. This is an interesting place, to say the least. I blogged about it after we first got here, but today the place was alive with activity. The last time we were there it was a day or two before Christmas. Today it was literally buzzing.

They have a buffet (senior friendly at $6.50) that is of a different nation every day. Today was American cuisine…wouldn’t you know…so we are going back next week for Italian. But the real action was on the track. There were 32 cars racing (practicing) when we were there. They were buzzing around the track shifting up and down and just ripping on the straight away. They have observation mounds at different locations. The track is 5 miles long and being a Grand Prix it winds around so is not just an oval. We watched for about a half hour standing on one of the grass mounds in the sunshine. Mmm, it felt so good. There is no cost for watching practice runs…again, senior friendly.

Tomorrow, we head for Ft. Myers again with Miss Dog. We will spend the weekend with Don and Bobbie and be back in time for the Steeler game on Sunday. We have no specific plans other than to visit with them and eat and probably go to a movie. As I said it is a nice drive over to the coast from Sebring; much like the territory we saw today: flat grass land with orange groves thrown in.

Speaking of football, I watched the entire Penn State game the other night…groaning every step of the way until the end. I did not watch all of the Rose Bowl and missed the best part, I hear. There were a couple of Penn State couples at the hot dog roast last night over here in the RV park. We had fun doing the “We Are” cheer. There are lots of “M” people, Buckeyes, Seminoles…you name it.

That’s it for now…time for bed.