Sopchoppy. /  by Dave Hileman

Sopchoppy is a small village on the “bend” of Florida a short distance to the Gulf. We camped nearby at a state park. Sopchoppy was a much busier place years ago. The railroad stopped here, there was a timber, turpentine and fishing industry. The town had a nice high school, community center, several churches, four streets of stores, groceries and farming supply stores and it was home to many more people than live here now. The name may have come from an Indian word for “long, twisty river.”

There is one store left in town, a grocery and I was there a couple of days before it too would close. I was wandering around taking photos - what a surprise, and decided to stop in the store. I did not know it was about to close for good. I worked briefly at one like this back in Springdale. During high school I filled in delivering groceries for a friend who was going a trip with his family. There were at least five of these in a 12 block area where I grew up. None now. As I went toward the store an 80’s era four door sedan pulled up and two women got out and headed for the store. I opened the door for them and the older of the pair said, “Thank you. Folks don’t do that much anymore.” The store’s shelves were nearly empty, the butcher long gone but they still sold biscuits for breakfast. You could sit at one of two tables with plastic checkered table coverings and have breakfast or lunch.

I met the two ladies on an aisle, hard not to, and began a conversation. Turned out Miss Euretha lived here her whole life and just turned 85. She was with one of her four daughters and they were looking forward to a family reunion in July in the old community building. She came to see the store one more time. She said she remembers when as a little girl she got to buy candy here once. I expect life was difficult here for a young black girl in the 1940’s but she has fond memories of this town. Euretha is the minister of the Church of Christ here and we talked about faith for a bit.

She and her daughter added a lot to my walk around a troubled old town with not much of a future. Sopchoppy has become a byword in Florida for a declining rural community. Their claim to fame is the annual Worm Grunting Contest. True.

Chefs de France - EPCOT /  by Dave Hileman

by Cadillac Moose, PhD, RoI

Ah, France. Le Tower de Eiffel, Le Left Bank, Le First National Bank, Le Pâtisserie, Le Arc de Triumph, Le Traffic, Le Fiat, Le Repair Shop. The world renowned nourriture au restaurant meets the world renowned critique. Of course, it would be much better if we were actually in France and the Great British Baking Show staff could just stroll over and watch me in action. It looks like just a short walk. Sadly, we are in faux France. However, the food is prepared by a master French chef cuisinier and served by aloof, surly, apprentice actual French wait staff. (ED NOTE: the staff were kind and helpful and there is no place for out-of-date stereotypes in TLT. Moose has been given two demerits.)

Now on to the food. Spectacular! We started with a lovely salad, crunchy actual French bread and a light chardonnay. Everything is done right. There is cream for the coffee, actual butter for the bread and a fancy glass for the wine. How cool is that, no paper cup like in the trailer. Next came the plat principal. PhotoNut had a filet, rice and haricots verts sautés. Superbly done but so ordinary that I will not show the photo. KindOne ordered brilliantly - Bœuf Bourguignon with buttered noodles. And then dessert. Magnifique. It was a chocolate tart, with chocolate mousse and crumbles and homemade vanilla ice cream or as I like to say, Tarte au chocolat, avec mousse au chocolat et crumbles et glace maison à la vanille. A simply perfect meal, perfectly done, perfectly served, and perfectly enjoyed.

Over all -  Five Antlers! Certain gagnant

Editor is not as accomplished in French as I. He tried to give me an award for merit but misspelled the French, it is “d’un grand mérite.”

One Morning /  by Dave Hileman

We were out to see sun rise a few times at the Ochlocknee River State Park but this morning was the only one where the sun peaked out and even on this day it was not for long. The mist rolled in about 5 in the evening and canceled sunset - one night a few rays shown across the grasses, and stayed until mid-morning. This spot was only a few yards from the campsite and made a great place to enjoy morning coffee even without the light show, the sky lightened and the river was still before the wind picked up for the day.

Muffin - Moose Mini Appraisal /  by Dave Hileman

by Cadillac Moose, PhD, REM

Ah, the muffin, a perfect accompaniment to a morning coffee. But what makes the ultimate muffin? It must be a tinge sweet but not overdone like a cupcake, it must have a golden brown domed top and served warm. A great muffin will be mixed properly and often includes a bit of fruit, some berries or nuts or a crumb topping and, of course, no frosting in sight.

One morning we trekked to the Poly and had a pot of pressed Kona coffee and a single mocha muffin. It was perfection in a fluted paper. I took a small crumb and expertly pressed it together to ascertain the moisture content, savored the spicy aroma and ate the whole thing, not leaving pieces on the plate.

Overall rating - 5 Antlers

Postscript: I hope the review was not to technical for the lay reader but I need to show the Great British Baking Show that I am not just a stare and a handshake like one unnamed host.

A Little Balance /  by Dave Hileman

We are in a slow area and striving to slow down a bit after the very busy time in central Florida. It seems as if we are either going too fast or not going at all. I would rather strike a balance but then, apparently, not to much cause I am the one who usually makes the schedules and packs the trips. Why, I don’t exactly know. But each day seems like things need to happen, places to go, photos to take or repairs and planning or….

Maybe next week.

DIY RV Repair /  by Dave Hileman

I am so pleased to have not only fixed my furnace with a new sail switch, hung a new mirror in the bathroom and, big applause, replaced my water pump. To add even more drama, this involved, pipes, water, wires, stubborn bolts and a big knife. Now, I will add I had an able assistant who handled tools, sought out parts, loaned a tool or two and offered both advice and encouragement - so thank you Rusty. But I do note he couldn’t keep a bit of surprise from his voice when I said “no leaks.” Understandable considering my level or fixitness. But I am tired paying 150 /189 dollars per hour labor charges, so I am learning. It is a steep curve. It is also my experience that many of the repairs done are not done that well anyway, so at least I know who to blame now:)

Funds to send me to RV College can be sent to: C. Moose, PhD and Dean of Student.

Camping Recap Fifth Week /  by Dave Hileman

We were in three campgrounds (four sites) on week five. We began the week at Lake Louisa State Park and were there also on Friday. In between we were at Fort Wilderness Campground, our last Disney days this trip. Then on Saturday and Sunday we were near Land O Lakes, FL at a Harvest Host called Landscape. Nice place and close enough for us to go and see some friends Sunday morning.

Fort Wilderness, site 20 in section 2100, Bobcat Bend

Landscape Place near Land O Lakes, FL

Lake Louisa State Park, site 45

Tarpon Springs - The Sponge Divers /  by Dave Hileman

This was an unknown place to us but at the Super Bowl party our host mentioned that Tarpon Springs is where she gets Greek Pastry. Then we learned about the town and the sponge diving industry begun about 1900. Greeks who had done this work were asked to come and start sponge diving here. They did and still do. The statue is to the man who began it all. More to come!

EPCOT Architecture /  by Dave Hileman

One reason to enjoy the “countries” in EPCOT is the little touches that make them unique to their place. And if you go before 10 there are not too many people filling the streets. These three were shot in Japan.

Beaches and Cream Disney's Beach Club /  by Dave Hileman

by Cadillac Moose, PhD, RSVP

No, I am not relenting, Mr. Hollywood. Steely blue eyes do not intimidate me. My magnificent antlers trump any stare and often induce flight. I will prevail and the Great British Baking Show will soon have an excellent judge of all things eatable.

Now on to yet another fabulous review: Beaches and Cream. This eatery associated with the Beach Club resort is always crowded. That is not necessarily a sign of great food. (Notice -GBBS- how I am not deterred by the prevailing crowds.) The food was more than OK but at the price should be a bit better. Photoguy had a burger and fries, no imagination at all. It was well cooked, served nicely and pretty tasty. The fries were underdone, inexcusable here. The Nice One had Tater Tots with chili, green onions and sour cream. Now that is how you order. She liked it, a surprising combination of ordinary ingredients that made a great lunch. The entire dish was appealing. Now on to the real reason to eat here, ICE CREAM. PicturePerson had chocolate ice cream in a dish with caramel sauce. I could have written this before he ordered. However, it was quite good. The one who knows food ordered a chocolate soda with coffee ice cream. Perfection itself and just like was served in ancient times.

Overall rating:  4 Antlers.

Tater Tots, Chilli, Green Onions and Sour Cream

Star Wars /  by Dave Hileman

Unlike other “star” franchises, Star Trek, A Star is Born, The Star Chamber, I have actually seen some of Star Wars. Thankfully I recall no details. Just a retelling of old stories with a space veneer. FYI for such an advanced civilization they have a lot of junk sitting around. Disney has invested heavily in the SW theme and fortunately for them not many people are like me. The lines are long, the $$ changing hands for light sabres and more is amazing. They have done a great job with the atmosphere in the SW area.

We Had a Good Time at Disney et al. /  by Dave Hileman

Disney was crowded beyond anything I have ever seen with wait times into 2 and 3 hours. But Cindy had reservations done a long time ago for food, we hit the parks when they opened, got one or two rides we wanted, then a couple more when the wait times slowed and still enjoyed the time but it is taxing. The heat, the crowds, the walking, (averaged 6.7 miles for the park days), the standing, the heat, the noise, the crowds and the long walk to the car at the end of the day. Many people pay extra on top of the steep prices to get on a couple more rides and spend less time in lines but I do not like that system, unreasonable to me. One day they charged $30 for that privilege, each person. Disney has other fairer systems but this is the one they choo$e. Campground is still an amazing place, the evenings are great, cool off quickly this time of year, and most folks you encounter are very nice.

We head north in a couple of days and will spend 10 days along the Gulf in Florida’s panhandle at three state parks and a couple of Harvest Hosts before we are off to Texas. Lots to photograph still to come.

German Biergarten /  by Dave Hileman

by Cadillac Moose, PhD, PbS -pledge drive division

So I am not going to talk about all the food. I plan to skip telling you about the bratwursts, the sauerkraut, the hot German potato salad, the sauerbraten, the excellent mustard, the pretzel rolls, the spatzle, the schnitzel WHY DID NOT A PERSON EVER TELL ME ABOUT THIS?, Beer Cheese Soup, mustard dressing on the salad, & roast beef. And it was ALL you wanted. You ate, got up, creaked over to the bar and filled your plate, ate and staggered over to the food and filled your plate and.., well it was endless. And then there was dessert. Not A dessert but plural, as in many like cheese cakes, apple strudel et al but there was one, oh my, it should be illegal, Black Forest Cake. As you might well imagine anything forest is close to my heart anyway, but this, delicate, flavorful, bursting with cherry goodness and you could have 26 if you wanted. Not that i counted. Paul Hollywood is clearly a fraud cause they never have Black Forest Cake on the Great British Baking Show. How does he keep his job?

Overall Rating 4.75 Antlers

Black Forest Cake 7 Antlers.

Black Forest Cake!!!!!!

Lake Apopka Walk /  by Dave Hileman

We enjoyed a nice walk on one of the coolest days around a bit of the north end of Lake Apopka. Lots of wildlife here but on this trip we saw no gators. But my biggest bonus was the Great Blue Heron on a nest. Not sure when I may have seen one of those.

Chipping Sparrow

Sometimes its NOT birds of a feather….