We actually went to this park on two different occasions while we were visiting my brother, Vernon, in Sebring.  The first time we took a tour on the tram to sections of the park that are closed to the public.  We wanted to see the museum but it was closed so we returned for our second trip.

The park encompasses more than 9000 acres and is known for its old growth hammock, “Hammock” was.  After the tram ride I realized it was the covering of the old growth trees.  When riding through the park you are covered by the trees and often can’t see much of the sky.  However due to Hurricane Irma, they lost a lot of the “Hammock” when trees were toppled by the winds.  It was still awesome and beautiful to see.

There was one really old tree that had been there for a long time.  At one point, years ago, the tree was damaged and they tried to keep it from dying.  They tried to mend the rift in tree by pouring in cement and rebar.  The tree still stands and you can still see that cement and rebar.  Due to the shadows under the hammock my pictures are not too clear but I hope you can still see the cement.

We saw so many different types of wildlife on the tram ride, alligators, turtles, birds, and more.  I don’t remember all the names that we were given, but I will try to describe what we saw as best I can.  Kiana, I hope you enjoy the alligators, since I know that you are very interested in them.  Hope you enjoyed the pictures your grandma brought back.

The alligators like to sit out in the sun to get warm.  We saw several different types of turtles.  There are baby alligators that have stripes.  So look for them in the pictures below.  They are often in the water or right at the edge.

There were many different types of birds in the park, egrets, cranes, and more.  The black ones in the trees need to dry their wings out after diving in the water for food.  They seem to congregate together in the trees so look for a lot of black birds sitting together on the limbs.  I wish I remembered the name of these birds, but I don’t.

This park is also a popular wedding destination.  They actually have an outdoor chapel that is often used for these wedding.  We saw a wedding party taking pictures in the park and we took a walk through the chapel.

Since we were there just before Christmas we saw them setting up for a Christmas event with Santa Village with lights and food vendors.  Looked to be quite an awesome event for the children.  They even were giving a nighttime tram ride to enjoy the lights.  We didn’t stay for this but I did take a picture of the setup.

On our second trip to the park we saw the museum and also took a walk around some of the swamp area of the park on a wonderful boardwalk.  This made the walking so much easier for me.  We saw quite a few beautiful butterflies but didn’t see any alligators.  Oh well, we saw plenty on our previous tram ride so I wasn’t too disappointed.  LOL

The Florida Civilian Conservation Corps Museum was very interesting.  The CCC was started by Franklin D Roosevelt’s New Deal.  It was one of the most popular New Deal agencies and was operated from 1933 to 1942.  It was created for young men between the ages of 17 and 25.  They earned their pay in a variety of ways such as, planting trees, fighting fires, constructing public parks, restoring historic structures, and controlling erosion.  They also had the opportunity to receive vocational training and academic training.

The CCC had a total of 86 camps operating in Florida.  Together they planted 18,924,000 trees, constructed 3,620 miles of trails and roads, built 2,736 bridges, spent 97,993 worker-days fighting fires, and developed eight state parks.  In Highland Hammock State Park the CCC constructed the concession building, visitor center, roads, and bridges.  The CCC Museum highlights a lot of the accomplishments of the CCC “boys” and also their living conditions.

While at the park we happened to see an armadillo running around on the grass.  Since this was the first one I had ever seen in the wild I had to get pictures.

Our next adventure is a ride on Lake Istokpoga on an air boat…  Bye for now

Lake Placid is just a short distance from where we were staying at my brothers in Sebring.  They took us to see the murals in this town.  At first I wasn’t really interested in seeing murals.  But after seeing the first one, I was hooked.  These were not just good murals, they were great.  The first one covered the side of a huge building.  It was so awesome and life-like.  There was a total of 47 murals in town along with painted trash receptacles and small paintings of wildlife all around town.

Each one of the murals had things hidden in them.  The city sold guides to the murals with information about the artists and what to look for in the murals.  These are so awesome and I will show you some of them here.  But I would recommend that you check them out if you are ever in Florida.

We also went to the local museum in their train depot.  Saw so many things that remind me of my childhood.   Iron irons that we heated on the stove, old school desks, and so much more.  Here are just a few of things we saw.

Lake Placid also has a clown school and museum where many famous clowns were trained or taught.  They showed a movie about the school which was very interesting.  There were pictures on the wall of many different clowns and even some that were painted by the clowns themselves.  Red Skelton painted a lot of them and they were really good.  They had shelves and shelves of clown memorabilia.  Some of them were very valuable and some even had gold on them.

The next blog will be from Highland Hammock State Park in Florida.  Alligators on the way!!

My brother, Vernon, lives in Sebring with his wife Jeannette.  They were missionaries in Africa for many years and are now retired.  They are living in a SIM missionary retirement community in Sebring.  We really enjoyed our visit with them.  We spent time sightseeing together, playing games, and making puzzles.  Their community is so very beautiful.  They live in a 2 bedroom 2 bath duplex right beside a small man-made lake.  They had Christmas lights all round the lake and it was so beautiful at night.

They used to have a resident alligator but it became too friendly so it was removed.  They do have a lot of turtles and birds.  Near their house the community has a small gazebo with chairs.  During our stay there the weather was warm and sunny.  We really enjoyed our time there.  In future blogs I will share more about the sightseeing we did, but this one will be about Sebring and my visit with my brother.

The town of Sebring is located around a couple of good-sized lakes.  While driving around the largest of the lakes we noticed so many of the docks were totally destroyed.  Hurricane Irma came though within 5 miles of town and winds were 115 miles an hour.  There was a lot of damage on the lakes and on the roofs of the homes and buildings around town.  Blue tarps are still covering a lot of homes in the area.  There are just not enough roofers to go around so people just have to wait for their repairs.  There are still downed trees all around that have not been removed.  My brother says they were without power for a week and even longer had water on the roads.  Here are some of the damages that we saw.

My next blog with be Lake Placid, Florida.  See you soon…

We decided that a short journey on the historic SAM railroad was our next adventure.  This trip started in Cordele, Georgia, stopped in the home town of Jimmy Carter, and then returned to Cordele.  This particular trip just happened to be the Santa Claus train.  We got to meet Santa Claus and his elf while enjoying the scenery.

The trip was made in a vintage rail car along the route of the SAM railway of the 1880’s.  They have different trips during the different days of the year, such as Valentine’s Day, Christmas, and others.  They have a concession stand that sells hot dogs, ice cream and other snacks.

During the ride we went by lakes and rivers on the way to Plains.  I got some really great pictures of the plants, clouds and their reflections as well as surrounding cities and parks.  Hope you enjoy.

I also took some interesting pictures of the cotton bales in the surrounding fields.  They have the large round ones and then they make a bale of an entire cotton trailer.  They have special trailers to allow them to wrap and drop the total load.  Coming from a farming family that raised cotton this was very interesting to me.  Thought some of you would enjoy seeing these bales.

The train stopped in Plains, GA.,  and almost everything we saw was about Jimmy Carter.  Glad to see a large nativity in the park near the depot.  There also was a large peanut in honor of the states famous crop.  They have a museum in the train depot that showcased Carter’s campaigns.  His main headquarters was in Plains and he still lives in this town.  His brother, Billy, used to have a gas station in the town and it was turned into a small museum.  There is an old Coca Cola vending machine outside that shows the cost of a bottle is 5 cents.  Wish they were still that price today.  Jimmy Carter and his wife come to town every Christmas season to light the town Christmas tree.  It was happening the evening we were in town but we could not stay.  I was glad to avoid the crowds.

Our next adventure takes place in Florida.  Heading to see my brother, Vernon, in Sebring.  If you are enjoying these blogs please let me know.  Talk again soon.

The day we spent at this prison site was a life changing experience.  The feelings that the displays, movies, and prison site invoked were mind-blowing.  Seeing the prison site and knowing that at one time 33,000 prisoners were on a plot of land 26 1/2 acres, brought a profound feeling of heartbreak that a “civilized” country could treat people in this manner.    Walking around the site is ONLY a 1.1 mile loop.

Nineteen feet inside the stockade was the “deadline” marked by a simple post and rail fence.  Guards stationed in sentry boxes shot anyone who crossed this line.  Today this is marked by white posts.   There were no buildings on the land so they had to use whatever they brought with them to put up some kind of shelter from the winter cold.   Many of them did not have any shelter at all.

The only water that they had was on the bottom of the hill at one end of the site and it was just a creek.  This was used for all their daily needs, drinking, bathing, and the latrine.  It was estimated to have adequate water for 10,000 prisoners, but proved insufficient for the 33,000 men.  Contamination from human waste led to thousands of cases of dysentery and diarrhea, and produced a horrendous stench.  One prisoner called the muddy creek bed, “Death’s Acre.”

There was a gang in the prison, the Raiders, that stole and murdered their fellow prisoners.  The six ringleaders were found and hanged.  Due to the  Raiders’ dishonorable actions, the prisoners demanded that they be buried separately.  These six graves are indeed separate in the National Cemetery.

Those prisoners on the top of the hill found it difficult to make their way down the hill to procure needed water so they attempted to dig wells with whatever they had on hand.  Some of them actually succeeded and hit water.  Some of them served as cover for an escape attempt.  Today those sites have fences surrounding each site.  During a storm in August 1864 a spring was discovered toward the bottom of the hill.  This was during a time of intense heat and thirst so this was considered prudential.  Therefore the spring was named Providence Springs.  Years later a monument was erected over the spring by survivors who brought their families back to experience the life-saving water.

There are monuments scattered all over the prison site that have been erected by state commissions and private groups in memory of fallen comrades.

Looking over the site of the Andersonville prison it is almost impossible to imagine that 33,000 people were in a prison just over one half the size of my dad’s 40 acre farm.  It kind of brings it all into perspective as I remember how large the farm actually was.  I have been in auditoriums that hold up toe 7000 people and they seemed so huge.  To think that it would take over 4 1/2 of them to hold the prisoners that were in Andersonville.

During 14 months over 13,000 soldiers died from their injuries and many from starvation and disease.  The conditions in the prison hospital were so bad that most of the people that were sent there did not return.  Most of the prisoners chose to remain in the camp with their comrades to die instead of seeking treatment for injuries or disease.  The prisoners were buried all together in long trenches.

Going into the POW museum you are greeted by walls with guns of all size and types pointed at you.  This was a really scary experience that the prisoners had everyday while they were in the prison.  There were rooms in the museum where the walls were covered with copies of letters and notes that prisoners wrote.   This was so heartbreaking and also so inspiring as some of them wrote of courage and bravery beyond our comprehension.   There was also some of the balls and chains that were put on prisoners that required discipline.  They were so large and very heavy so you know that this was a very painful experience.

The museum also had articles and information on all POWs and MIAs from all the wars in our countries history.  It was very interesting to see the different types of prisons and articles that were recovered from the different sites.  So sad to note that they all had one thing in common.  Most of the prisoners were mistreated and lots of them were even killed.  So sad to see the ravages of war in such horrific conditions.

After we toured the museum and prison site we went to the Andersonville National Cemetery.  Seeing to rows and rows and rows of markers for the people that died in the prison is enough to overwhelm you with sadness.  Many of the prisoners were never identified so the markers don’t have names on them.  Throughout the cemetery there are memorials put up by different states and private groups.

This experience has given me a greater appreciation for our soldiers and veterans.  So many of you have suffered untold agony due to being a POW and I want you to know that I will be praying for you that God will give you blessings and comfort.  Thanks to all soldiers that put their life on the line every day.

My next adventure is going to the historic SAM Shortline Railroad and Plains, Georgia, where Jimmy Carter lives.  Talk soon.

We went to Warner-Robins to visit Tony’s sister, Rebecca, and her family for Thanksgiving.  We have not seen her for many years and it was great to reconnect.  She put on a great spread with several Filipino dishes.  They were really great and I want to get her recipes and try them myself.   Her husband Jake is stationed at the Air Force Base  and was deployed one week after we left. Rebecca has three sons, 15, 13, and 3.  It was great to meet them for the first time.  They were so respectful and friendly.

We went to church with them both Sundays we were there. They attend a really great church where the pastor preached a great and unforgettable word.  He said instead of seeking God’s will in your life you should seek to be closer to God and you will then know what the will of God is for you.  Tony liked the grits that they have for everyone on Sunday morning.  After church we went to the Lane Southern Orchards for lunch.  I ate too much for desert so we took it to go.  The peach cobbler was so awesome.  Those that know me will remember how much I love peaches.

We also went to see a movie shown outside the church at night. They served popcorn and hot cider for free and also coffee and hot chocolate for a small price. It was cold but a lot of fun to be there with the family sitting on the lawn. Here are some pics of the family.

Tony and I spent two days at the Air Force Museum of Aviation. It was a really awesome place. They had three large building and then LOTS of planes just sitting outside. I don’t know what to say about this place except to enjoy the pictures. I know that Mike will enjoy the spy plane. These first ones are from the buildings.

These planes were parked outside and you could go right up to them and touch them. It was so awesome. There were a few of them parked behind a fence that were in the process of restorations. One of them was a former Air Force One. I hope you enjoy the pictures.

My next blog will be about Andersonville, the South’s prison during the Civil War. We’ll talk soon.

When we got back from Charleston we talked to our neighbor in our RV park stating that we were disappointed in the bus tour that we took. He said that we should go to Beaufort and ride the horse carriage. He said that he liked this one better than the ones in Charleston and we should really go there. So we decided that we would go there to see what this town had to offer. What a surprise, it was wonderful. The guide was fantastic and since there were only 3 people on the carriage we got to ask lots of questions.

We boarded the carriage at the docks and the scenes of the bay were awesome.

We only covered a small area in town but saw so many beautiful homes and learned so many stories about them. He said that the slaves were given a certain amount of compensation after the war and many of them went back and bought homes in the Beaufort area, some even bought their previous owners homes. One house slave, that had been owned by an elderly lady, bought her home. She had left during the war and later came back to her home to live. She walked in and assumed she still owned the house and no one told her different. The slave took care of her till she died without ever letting her know she didn’t own the house.

One doctor living in Beaufort had a really nice home but his wife wanted more room for a party. So he found a park that had enough space for her party. However, she said it was too far from the house so he built her another larger home by the park. Both homes were fantastic and it seems crazy to build a new home just so she could be close to her party in the park. Oh well, to each his own….

There were also some interesting churches and other buildings.  The town was just beautiful with street after street of houses, churches, beautiful gardens, and rivers or ponds.

Movies have often used Beaufort to film and some of them are “Forest Gump” and “North and South”. The house in Forest Gump is in the historic district right in town. The bridge over the river was the same bridge used in Forest Gump’s epic journey across the country even though it was portrayed as being over the Mississippi River. When they completed the movie they didn’t take the sign saying Mississippi down and visitors to Beaufort got confused thinking they had then entered Mississippi, even though it was all in South Carolina. So the city was forced to take the sign down.  One of the interesting buildings was the arsenal which had it roots in the Revolutionary war and used during the Civil War to hold all the ammunition for the protection of the city.

After our tour ended we decided to ride some more. I saw a sign stating Hunting Island State Park 14 miles, so we decided to go there. We stopped at the visitor center at the park and had to walk along a board walk to get there. The swamp beside the walkway was home to a mother gator but we did not see her. They said that construction was going on around the pond and she was temporarily hiding due to the noise from the equipment.

We then drove out to the beach on the Atlantic Ocean. There was a beautiful lighthouse, gift house, and wonderful flat beach. We walked out and enjoyed the view of the waves. There was damage from the hurricane farther down the beach but the area close to where we were was already cleaned off. There are so many trees that you can see that were downed by the winds and waves of the hurricane.

After we left the park we started back home but Tony wanted to stop for seafood for dinner. When we got done eating it was already dark. When we walked into the parking lot we saw a beautiful sunset with the moon showing. Couldn’t resist the pictures. Enjoy.

Out next stop will be Warner Robins GA to see Tony’s sister. Her husband is stationed at Robins AFB.

As we turned off the road toward the plantation we were amazed at the wonderful avenue of live oaks that were on both sides of the road and provided a canopy overhead. They are covered with the beautiful Spanish moss. It was an awesome experience to drive underneath these ancient trees and think about the people who had originally lived on this plantation, slaves and owners alike. So sad to think on the suffering that the slaves went through in a place filled with so much beauty and such pain. I thank God that slavery is no longer a part of our country. However, we can learn so much from the slaves and their fortitude and hope in God even during the hard times. I wish our country today had such hope and trust in God. I pray for revival of serving God in our country as I fear that is our only hope.

As we drove up to the house I saw small brick buildings on the left. I found out that those were slave quarters for the house slaves and those that the owners gave the most responsibility. These homes had wooden floors and were much better accommodations than the other slaves had to live in. The common laborers lived in huts with mud floors and were very crowded. The 5 small building here were each a small museum of some part of the slaves life. One was set up as a church and one was showing how they lived in these building. Another one showed things that had been dug up from the slaves quarters and some of the baskets and item they had made over the years.

The plantation had a Gullah theatre where they had a slave’s descendant tell the story of the slaves and their own special language. I recorded the entire 30 minute presentation so that I would remember it for the future. She explained that they created their own Gullah language so that they could communicate and the slave owners would not know what they were saying. They also used the Negro spirituals as signals to let the other plantations know what was happening. “Let us gather by the river” was to let them know that there was going to be an escape by river. When they sang the songs over and over it was considered the signal. Others were used to signal other activities and “Go Tell It On The Mountain” indicated the Underground Railroad was coming through that night. It was so interesting to hear these stories.

We then went down to the cotton dock where they shipped out the cotton bales. This building has been restored and is used for weddings and receptions. The dock is built on the river along one side of the plantation.

We went on a tour of the plantation house. They did not allow pictures inside the house since the owners still used the house as their private residence when they were in town. However it did have a beautiful flower garden and the back yard was a huge grassy expanse which ended up on the river on the other side of the plantation from the dock. Quite a ways behind the house we saw some white tents being set up and it looked like a wedding or party was going to be taking place in the evening.

After we went through the house we took a wagon ride around the working part of the plantation. They still grow vegetables and fruits for sale.  By where we got into the wagon was their old cotton gin.  It had been weakened by the hurricanes over the years but they could not tear it down because it was a historic site.  So they had to reinforce the brick walls with wooden scaffolding.  They we be working to restore the building soon. They also have had movies filmed on the property. There was a cabin on the far side that has been in several movies. I can’t remember which movies but I thought you might like to see it to see if you recognize it. After we left we stopped at the gift shop to see what we could find. They didn’t have any t-shirts in our size that we liked so we just bought some jelly.

Our next stop is Beaufort, a small town south of Charleston. We will talk again soon.

We had very good weather the day we rode to Charleston. We were planning on taking a bus tour around the town and then a harbor cruise if we had time. The bus tour was interesting but was not conducive to very good pictures of the downtown area. We got some but they were not always the best views. The historic district had so many very different types of architecture.

One of the first places we saw on the tour was the Citadel. It is a famous military school and was very large. There was a church and a central park surrounded with military canons, tanks, and planes. The most interesting thing on the corner of the park was a large class ring. It is the largest class ring in the world.

Then we saw a lot of different houses and the first African-American Baptist church. Most of the houses in the south have lots of porches on multiple levels. I love porches so much and would like to have one to sit on in the evening while waiting for neighbors to stroll by and visit. I have included several types of churches and lots of different style houses. Hope you enjoy them.

We also went by the marketplace where we saw many shops in converted long warehouses. One of the most popular items were baskets made from the sweetgrass that grows in the water. I was going to buy one, but the cheapest little tiny ones started at $25.00. Needless to say, I didn’t buy any. Oh well, at least I got some pictures.

Toward the end of the tour we went out by the battery which is where the canons were set up that were for the protection of the town. There is a very beautiful park at the end and the bus stopped for a few minutes so we could take pictures. There were also a large amount of beautiful homes across the street from the battery.

We then rode to the harbor to get on the harbor cruise. We rode on the Carolina Belle and had a wonderful guide who told us so many interesting stories. We got to see Fort Sumter and another fort whose name I can’t remember at this time. There were so many interesting building and bridges that we could see from the boat. Before we even got on the boat a large Coast Guard Cutter went by. Across the harbor was a very beautiful bridge that reminded me of the sundial bridge in Redding. Across from the dock was a aircraft carrier that is now a museum. There is also a picture of the two different colors of water where two water currents meet in the bay.  Enjoy the pictures.

The next stop on our adventure will be a return trip to Charleston the next day to see the Boone Hall Plantation.  Just so you know, I am really getting behind on my blog posts again.  We are currently in Florida visiting my brother Vernon in Sebring.  We are leaving tomorrow to visit my niece and her family in Zephyrhills.  I will try to get my blogs up to date soon.

The weather was cold and the fog had rolled in but we decided to take the ride to Greenville to see the last of the 4 accessible falls in the South Carolina upcountry. This fall is in the center of the city and cost 13.9 million to complete. The falls are natural but many paths and steps along with benches and swings along the way for people to sit were built. Grassy areas and a duck pond are part of the park as well. This one is in a valley surrounded by tall buildings and bridges. I hope you enjoy this park as much as we did. Between the two of us we took almost 200 pictures. I am keeping this narrative brief and leaving room for more pictures.

This blog catches me completely up to date as of today, November 14. Since we had such great 4G coverage here I used my phone as a hotspot so I could use my laptop to finish my blogs. Tomorrow we leave for Walterboro, SC, where we will stay in a WalMart parking lot for two days. I was not able to find a campsite for these two nights so we opted to just dry camp. We are going to unload the motorcycle and head to Charleston, SC, for our next adventure for one day. Will talk to you soon. Love to all my family and friends. God bless all of you.