The Wandering Disciple

Lake Placid, Florida: Located on the western banks of Lake June in Central Florida lies a state park that is trying to preserve a dwindling Florida ecosystem. Lake June-in-Winter Scrub State Park is one of the few remaining homes of the Florida scrub communities and its mix of unique plants and animals. Opened in 1999, Lake June-in-Winter Scrub State Park was developed to help preserve Florida’s desert, the scrub community. Here you will find 845 acres of scrub community and its resident animals. It is here amongst the thick palmettos you will find the Florida Scrub Jay, gopher tortoises, raccoons, rattlesnakes and more that live in this delicate habitat. As you approach the 3, 500 acre freshwater lake June, the ground gets wetter and the wildlife more abundant. Here you will find egrets, herons, bald eagles, alligators, ospreys and more. The rich variety of birds found here led to it being designated on the Great Florida Birding Trail. The park only features one permanent trail,...

Sebring, Florida: A short drive outside of downtown Sebring will take you to a place that will make you feel like you are in the middle of the wilderness. With over 9,000 acres of native vegetation, Highlands Hammock State Park is a haven for those looking for an escape to the great outdoors. Created in 1931, the park is an early example of nature conservation. During this time, the agriculture industry was at its peak and expanding rapidly. As the farms started inching closer towards the hammock, a grass roots effort to save the hammock led by Margaret Roebling began. As a result, the citizens group purchased the property in hopes to have it become a national park. Although it never became a national park, it became one of the original Florida State Parks in 1935 when the state park system was created. During the Great Depression, the Civilian Conservation Corps were assigned to the park and helped to develop the park into much of what visitors see today when they tour the park. They...

Sebring, Florida: With the baseball season fast approaching and the heat and humidity starting to return to Florida, we decided to squeeze in one more camping trip. We have been watching Highland Hammocks State Park for availability and it has been booked each time we checked. However when we returned home from our last trip to Lake Manatee, we checked the website and were lucky enough to learn that a spot had become available at Highlands, so we quickly booked it. So within a month, we went from never going camping to going back-to-back weekends. Although Highland Hammocks is a pet friendly campground, we decided to board the dogs for the weekend so we could enjoy some of the parts of the part that were restricted to the dogs like the boardwalks and tram tour. So after we dropped the dogs off at the kennel, we hit the road towards Sebring. Sebring is located about an 80 mile drive north east of our home in North Port. But to make the trip a little more interesting, we tried to s...

Bradenton, Florida: Lake Manatee in eastern Manatee County is the main freshwater reservoir for thousands of people living in Manatee and Sarasota counties. In addition to being a source of water, it also home to the Lake Manatee State Park. The 526 acre park extends along three miles of the lakes southern bank. The park opened as a campground in 1986. In addition to being a popular spot for camping, it is also known for great fishing, canoeing and hiking. Today thousands of visitors travel to the park to take a break from reality along its tranquil shores. Much of the parks amenities surround the large freshwater lake where it gets its name. The 2,400 acre lake is popular for fishing and is home to bass, perch, bluegill, shell cracker and catfish. You can fish from the dock or from a boat as long as the boat’s motor does not exceed the 20 HP maximum set by county ordinance. The lake is also popular for canoeing and swimming. The park also has three nature trails to enjoy, all...

Bradenton, Florida: After our rather successful camping weekend a few weeks ago, we decided to take another one this weekend. This time we went to Lake Manatee State Park located in eastern Manatee County. We have never been to the park, but the campground had great reviews so we made a Saturday/Sunday reservation and loaded up the truck. The park is located on State Road 64, about nine miles east of I-75. It was close enough to a Publix and fast-food restaurant in case we forgot something or needed to grab something other then hot dogs and S'mores. When we arrived at the park, there was a distant sound of loud engines, and with a county ordinance allowing just 20 HP motors on the lake, it wasn't the boat traffic on the lake. Turns out the campground was just a mile from Desoto Superspeedway, a big plus for a race fan like me, however we did not go to a race this time. We checked into campsite 46 and began to set up camp. The campsite we had backed up to wildland and had...

Dick Gothner of Skyscraper Tours has sent along a spectacular deal for the largest cruise ship on the seas, the Oasis of the Seas. The cruise is a 7-Night West Caribbean Cruise departing from Fort Lauderdale on 5/14/11. The ship stops at Labadee, Falmouth and Cozumel. This is the newest line of ships in the RCI fleet and features the same great amenities that Royal Caribbean is known for as well as a Central Park, Boardwalk with carousel, zip line, Rising Tides bar, Aqua Theater and much more. The first special rate is for Police, Fire/EMS or Military personnel. Inside cabins start at $766.89 and a boardwalk balcony is $916.89. The second special rate is for Senior Citizens or Florida Residents. This rate is $916.89 for an inside cabin and $1086.89 for a boardwalk balcony. As with all cruise rates, these rates are subject to change and availability. For more information on these or other cruise options, contact Dick Gothner with Skyscraper Tours .

Osprey, Florida: In addition to great hiking and wildlife opportunities, Oscar Scherer State Park is also a popular camping attraction. Under the thick canopy of trees, there are campsites that can accommodate anything from a tent to an RV. The park features 94 sites with some on the water of South Creek. They range in size from small tent sites through large RV sites with everything in between. All sites feature water, electricity, a picnic table and a fire ring. Campfires are permitted and firewood can be purchased at the Ranger Station. There is also a group campsite that can hold up to fifty campers for group outings. Pets are allowed but only at select campsites. The campground also features five bathhouses and a playground. There large campfire circle where the staff of the park puts on a campfire presentation on select nights. There is no restaurant or store located in the park, but there are plenty within a short drive from the park. In addition to the campgrounds ameni...

Osprey, Florida: We decided to plan a last minute camping trip for the weekend. This was our first family camping trip and my first time camping since growing up in Pennsylvania. Since this was the first time camping, we picked a state park close to home, Oscar Scherer State Park. We checked in and were assigned Site 55. We made our way back to the campsite and began to set-up our camp. The tent we had was a breeze to set-up. It was a Coleman Instant Tent and only took about 5-10 minutes to get ready. Even though we were camping, we still decided to eat out for dinner and breakfast to limit the amount of stuff we needed to bring with us. So after the camp was set up, we left for dinner. We ate dinner at Gator Tails near Sarasota Square Mall. The sports bar had a menu that had something for everyone. I had a cheese steak, my wife had fish and chips and our son had a cheese quesadilla. The food was very reasonably priced and filling. After dinner, we headed back to the park....