I purchased my tickets for Guatemala to fly out of Miami. What does this mean? One hell of a road trip for my Dad and I!

My flight was early in the morning on Saturday, Nov. 6th, so we decided to leave on Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, and enjoy some sights along the way.

This road trip is chock full of experiences so I'm breaking the days down into different entries. Here is Wednesday - 11-03-04.

We left Wednesday morning pointed in the direction of Homosassa Springs. On our way down we took any side road or detour that looked interesting. I love that kind of trip!

We visited Horseshoe Beach. This place is beautiful and some of the homes are spectacular. Since this community is built on the beach all the houses are on huge stilts. Two of the homes were of particular interest. One was made from an old boat. The owners had put the boat up on stilts and made it there home overlooking the ocean....but not on the ocean. Another home was made out of old grain storage siloh's. These homes were the coolest. They were round, windows in the side of them, and varying in size. There was a large, medium, and small. I loved it!

Then we stopped at Fanning Springs. This is a natural spring that Florida State parks has taken over. The amenities here are fabulous. Camping sites, covered picnic areas, beautiful views and a boardwalk. The really neat part though is the spring swimming area. The state of florida has equipped the spring with walkways, a lifeguard, diving area, and anything else a family swim outting would need. The swim season is over for this spring and the water has risen extensively but the blue, clear water is still stunning to look at.

The weather was just enough that I had broken out in a really good sweat by the time we reached the swimming area. I considered taking a dip but quickly found a reason not to. A simple black and white sign stating "Alligators seen in this area. DO NOT SWIM!" and that was that. Enough of a reason for me to not take a dip. ha ha

We also stopped by Manatee Springs area and that was beautiful and equally equipped for swimmers, campers, and picnickers. Florida has done a wonderful job of protecting these areas for users and supplying a wonderful resource for weary travelers. I am really impressed with the efforts of the state to do so.

We reached Homossassa Springs in the early evening and got settled into our hotel. By the way.... this hotel has free internet service and offers a free game of bowling at the local bowling alley. Sorry I can't remember the name of it.

Dad and I were both hungry for a steak dinner and had seen a sign for the Ale House. We decided that must be the place for a good beer and an even better steak. After a cocktail of our own, Sheila had packed a cooler complete with Corona's and their necessary limes - THANK YOU SHEILA!, we went to the front desk to inquire where the Ale House was.

The front desk lady was very happy to give us perfect instructions and to inform us that is was "steak night" at the Ale House this particular night. Wonderful!.... whatever that meant.

Turns out the Ale House is a locals place to dine. We discovered this because only locals know that this restaurant entrance is located between a hotel and its front desk. hmmmmm..... I was kind of leary but Dad felt this would be a good choice so we followed thru with it.

We both noticed that the special of the night was a Delmonico steak with all the fixings for a nice price. OHHHHHH so that is what the lady meant by "it is steak night tonight"..... see.... locals eat here. ha ha

We enjoyed the dinner, the live band that was playing muzack tunes, and the fact that everyone dining around us knew everyone else by name. The abundant amount of silver hair found here also tuned us in that this was a hot spot for snowbirds as well.

After polishing off the steak dinner... we were exhausted and slept quite wonderfully. Off to find Manatee's tomorrow!