Snowbirds 2021
Departed from Aurora December 20th 2021 for Florida. Arrived at Sundance RV Resort December 23, 2021 with the motorhome and motorcycle to begin our new adventure.
Sunday December, 26, 2021
Went southbound, crossed the Skyway bridge, and made our way over to the Everglades on the 41.
Went to Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours for an airboat ride.
We saw wild alligators.
Our airboat operator told us all about the Everglades and how the water is now 50% salt water.
Then we had a long ride back and we crossed the Skyway bridge at dusk.
Tuesday, December 28, 2021
We took a ride south on the Alt 19 through Clearwater to Indian Rock.
Beautiful, sunny day again today and it was 28 degrees Celsius.
We stopped for lunch at The Original Crabby Bill’s.
Met some young ladies at the gift shop who had never seen snow before!
Sunday, January 2, 2022
We went on a ride with new found friends from our park.
John led the ride to Perk’s Old Port Cove Restaurant.
I tried gator and hush puppies for the first time! Yummy!
Temperature got up to 30 degrees on the way back.
Thursday, January 6, 2022
We went on a ride south to Madeira Beach. We stopped at John’s Pass at Crabby’s Restaurant for crab fritters and a bowl of clam chowder. The couple beside us told us to go see the sand sculptures on Treasure Island beach. So after eating we rode down to the beach and parked. Sadly there was a backhoe there smashing up the sculptures! We missed seeing them by minutes.
We walked around on the beach a bit then along the paved pathway.
So beautiful here!
Sunday, January 9, 2022
Our ride with the group today took us to Homosassa Springs where we stopped at Crump’s Landing for lunch. We had the gumbo which was delicious. Was a beautiful spot on the water. You could see Monkey Island but it was a little too far over to see the monkey’s clearly.
The temperature got up to a toasty 30 degrees Celsius!
Wednesday, January 12, 2022
We were invited to go out on a ride again today.
Mark and Karen lead the ride to The Freezer, a fresh seafood restaurant up in Homosassa Springs. The clam chowder was excellent and so was the steamed shrimp! After lunch we stopped at Monkey Island to watch the monkeys! Perfect temperature for a ride at 23 degrees Celsius!
Thursday, January 13, 2022
We picked up a nail in our tire the other day so we found a shop that had a new rear tire in stock for the bike.
We rode down to St. Petersburg on the old tire with a plug in it.
The guys at BARNEY’S MOTORCYCLE AND MARINE were very accommodating. They took the bike in as soon as we got there and they gave us a discount for being GWRRA members.
We had an hour to kill so we walked down the street to Kahuna’s and sat outside under the covered patio.
Saturday, January 15, 2022
We went on another group ride and we ended up in Dade City. Lunch was at Del Carmen for Mexican food. The restaurant didn’t look like much on the outside but the decor inside was beautiful. The chicken flautas with Mexican rice were good. The ride there and back was excellent today with lots of twists and turns and hills too!
Tuesday, January 18, 2022
The temperature started out at 5 degrees Celsius when we left to meet up with a new group for a ride. We had to wear our heated jackets and turn our seat heat on.
We went down to Clearwater to meet up with FL1-M, a Florida GWRRA Chapter, to celebrate Jim ‘Pops’ Jackson’s 102nd birthday!
(That’s not a typo!)
Jim just stopped riding a motorcycle last year. They had arranged a flight for Jim in a 1946 Piper J3 Cub plane at Airport Manatee. Jim learned to fly in the same type of plane back in 1941. Afterwards we had a bite to eat at Popi’s Restaurant. It was the first time I had ‘grits’ with eggs Benedict. We were pleased to see the temperature get up to 15 degrees Celsius for the ride back!
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
We met the riding group in our RV park at 11am. The temperature was 13 degrees Celsius to start. Much warmer than yesterday! Carolyn and John led the ride today. We took the long way down to Anclote River Park. We went out on the beach for 15-20 minutes then back on the bikes. We arrived at Miss Vicki’s on the River and had a delicious blacked fish and chip platter for lunch!
Thursday, January 20, 2022
The temperature was already 15 degrees Celsius when we all met at 10am. John led the scenic ride north & east up to Roy ‘Bug’ Story Park on the Gant Lake Canal. After a short break we continued to the restaurant for lunch. We found it closed permanently so we continued north to Kelly’s Box Lunch in Bushnell. Someone suggested we go to the Russel Stover Outlet. So of course we continued north to Wildwood to get ice cream, chocolate, and candy! By then it was 26 degrees Celsius. We were worried our chocolate would melt so John took us back ‘home’ on a faster route.
Another excellent ride with a great group!
Thursday, January 27, 2022
The temperature was 13 degrees Celsius first thing this morning. The forecast was calling for 20 and mostly sunny so we got ready and went out to do a bit of shopping. It got near lunchtime so we stopped at Catches restaurant for a bite to eat. As we waited for our clam chowder and fish tacos our River view seating afforded us a glimpse of a pod of dolphins, a bald eagle, and various other birds.
Friday, January 28,2022
After stocking up on supplies in anticipation of cooler, windy weather we were feeling a bit peckish. Lunch at Sioux City Steakhouse was the restaurant pick of the day. We all had the Prime French Dip Melt sandwich. Delicious! I couldn’t resist taking a selfie with the ‘guy’ at the front door!
Saturday, January 29, 2020
We went out in the truck with friends again today as it’s far too windy to be out on the bike. We had fun at the Harley dealer in Crystal River. I found a bike that I could sit on and actually touch the ground! Beautiful bike, but no we didn’t buy it. Then off to The Freezer for a late lunch of clam chowder and steamed shrimp!
Monday, January 31, 2022
Got the call for the ride and in 15 mins we were all on our way! Beautiful temperature at 20-22 degrees Celsius. We went down to Lutz to grab a late lunch at Ford’s Garage. Good food with good friends…again!
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Part One - Lunch
Friends visited us today that we haven’t seen for some time. We took them for clam chowder and steamed shrimp at The Freezer. The temperature was beautiful 27 degrees Celsius! We got a picnic table outside at the water. The food was excellent as usual.
Wednesday, February 2, 2022
Part Two - Dinner
After a relaxing afternoon of catching up we went down to Catches for dinner. After Oysters Rockefeller to start two of us had all-you-can-eat fish and chips and two had Grouper Tacos. As the sun was setting the sky turned to yellows and oranges with pink clouds. The other side of the sky was purple with pink clouds. We saw some kayakers paddling down the river and to our delight we saw dolphins surfacing several times!
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Last few days were cool and wet so we got out the puzzle our neighbours gave us for Christmas. It’s 550 pieces but they are small and the picture is very busy so it was a good challenge. Took us 2 days and we had a blast!
Friday, February 11, 2022
It is sunny and warm today, 22 degrees Celsius, so a small group of us went for a short ride to go eat lunch. Jim kept it a surprise so we had no idea where we were going. We pulled into a plaza in Spring Hill. We ate at Gator’s Dockside Sports Bar. The restaurant doesn’t look like much from the outside but the food was good! Even though we were all full we stopped on the way back for ice cream at Dairy Queen. Another day with good food and good friends!
Saturday, February 12, 2022
Beautiful sunny day and 25 degrees Celsius.
We had a larger group of riders today with a few new faces. John led yet another great ride to another good restaurant. Cracker’s Bar and Grill in Crystal River was a great spot for lunch. It’s right on Crystal River and the shrimp we ate was delicious! Good food with good friend yet again!
Tuesday, February 15, 2022
We finally finished Gary’s ‘Valentine’s gift’ jigsaw puzzle today. The puzzle was small (11x14) so it fits on our little table. The pieces were tiny, the picture colouring was random, and all the pieces (except the edges) were the same shape so it was very challenging. We were in and out today all day today so when we were in we’d work on it.
Beautiful, warm weather today and we were finally able to open windows again. Sunset says tomorrow will be a perfect day!
Wednesday, February 16, 2022
Weather forecast was for sunny skies and 28 degrees Celsius. John and Carolyn led the ride today that took us to Crystal River for lunch at Cracker’s Restaurant. On our way back down the 19 we turned at Weeki Watchee and headed to Jenkins Creek Park. We had a nice stop by the water but no manatees today! Great ride, good food, great friends!
Friday, February 18, 2022
The day started out warm at 21 degrees Celsius, but was wet and foggy. We were going to go out with the group on the bikes but the forecast was fog was all day. We decided to go out in the vehicles to Miss Vicky’s for lunch. By the time we got there it was sunny and 27 degrees Celsius! We had a good lunch and a fishing boat came in. We watched the fisherman clean his fish and throw the left-overs to the pelicans! Then we went to Tarpon Springs on the Alt.19. We did some shopping and got some gifts. Then we walked over to the Tarpon Spring Distillery for some sampling! Another fun day with friends!
Wednesday, March 2, 2022
The weather was warm and sunny (high forecasted for 23 degrees Celsius) so we went on a road trip across Florida to Daytona Beach. We drove right onto the beach and parked the car. We walked in the cold Atlantic Ocean waves northbound along the beach. The ocean breeze felt almost chilly today! We stopped into the shops at the first pier north of the beach access for vehicles. We found a bunch of t-shirts for gifts and souvenirs. Then back across Florida to New Port Richey for a late dinner at Whisky Joe’s. Great fun with good friends.
Friday, March 4, 2022
Sunny skies and 28 degrees Celsius!
Perfect day for lunch by the water at Crackers Bar and Grill in Crystal Spring!
Excellent food as usual. Lots of fish and shrimp on our plates and in the water we saw lots of fish, a crab, needle fish (gar fish)!
Monday, March 7, 2022
The weather was hot and sunny…again!
Another road trip down to St. Pete’s beach to eat lunch at Crabby Bill’s Seafood. The crab legs were to die for! Beautiful view out over the white sand beach. We must come here again!
Friday, March 11, 2022
Very hot and humid today but enjoying it because the weather is supposed to get stormy and cool. After a morning of housework we went to a local restaurant called The Crab Shack (formerly known as Shark Bites) for lunch. Didn’t look like much from the parking lot but as you walk in it is a giant open-air tiki hut! We sat along the water with a beautiful breeze and a view of the river. We watched several boats going by as we waited for our order. Special of the day was grape sangria and mahi sandwich. The resident cats weren’t friendly but the shark was!
Monday, March 14, 2022
Beautiful sunny day with a high of 25 degrees Celsius. We were back on the bike again with the group from the park. Ended up at Marguerita Grill on the Halls River in Homosassa. Another first - catfish! Yummy!
On the way back to the park we went through Aripeka and along the Gulf. Yet another great ride with good friends!
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
It was a rainy night and we woke up to cloudy skies.
The temperature is 23 degrees Celsius so we took a chance and headed down to Tampa. We only had a tiny sprinkle of rain for the whole ride. After returning to Port Richey we stopped at Whiskey River on the Water for peel ‘n eat shrimp and for dessert…key lime pie!
Thursday, March 17, 2022
We woke up at 7am to 16 degrees Celsius and mostly clear skies.
We left at 7:45 am and rode down to Naples to meet up with Christina and her hubby Steve. We couldn’t pass up the chance to get together with family all the way over from England. Christina’s friend Dawn took us to The Boathouse on Naples Bay and we had lunch on the water. We saw dolphins and pelicans and many boats go by. The temperature was 32 degrees Celsius by the time we had to head home. We had an excellent time and we hated to leave!
Monday, March 21, 2022
It started out at a cool 9 degrees Celsius but forecast to go up to 28 degrees Celsius. We hopped on the bike and headed down to Tarpon Springs. We enjoyed walking up and down the street to do some gift shopping. Then we went into Hellas Restaurant for Greek food. I tried a Greek beer called Mythos. We had gyros for lunch, and for dessert…baklava chocolate cheese cake!
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
Beautiful sunny day and 29 degrees Celsius.
We went for a short ride down to Catches for a delicious lunch on the River!
Wednesday, March 23, 2022
It’s hot and humid today. We had a reading on the bike of 32 degrees Celsius! We took a quick ride south on the 19 to Roberts Smokin BBQ and had a beef brisket sandwich with a side for only $8 each! We will come back again because it was so good!
Saturday, March 26, 2022
We went out for an early dinner to Cody’s Roadhouse in Spring Hill up the 19. We had the tower of onion rings and a full rack of ribs. We had 3 take out trays to bring the leftovers back the RV!
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Forecast is sunny and a high of 24 degrees Celsius. This is our last ride with the group before we go home. John led a beautiful ride up through Brooksville, Inverness, and Hernando. We stopped at Stumpknockers on the River and had an excellent seafood lunch. The patio had a beautiful view that overlooked the Withlacoochee River. Great food with good friends!
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
We couldn’t resist one last ride with the group before we leave tomorrow. So we met up at John’s. He led us on the back roads down to OCC Roadhouse and Museum where they have a few of the bikes they built during their tv show. Then a bite to eat (of course!). After lunch we walked next door to Bert’s Barracuda Harley-Davidson where we looked at the huge inventory of bikes. It got up to 34 degrees Celsius on the way back to the park. Another great day with good friends! We are looking forward to riding with you all again next winter! Wishing you all a safe journey home! Cheers!
