Lake Wales, FL – Feb 2022

When you think of Feb, you may think of Mardi Gras.  But in Florida?  Actually, Lake Wales has a long history of Mardi Gras parades.  More on that below.  Otherwise, it has been a pretty hectic month.  Lots of normal life events (doc appointments, truck oil changes, and the like) sprinkled in with plenty of friends, family, and fun events.  I also completed all my trip planning for my upcoming nomadic life re-launch.  Again, lots of details on all of that follows.

Friends & Family

My cousin Marcel and his wife Heidi (pictured at left, top) were vacationing down here in FL, visiting with Mickey and the  rest of the Disney gang.  They had some extra time, and I was able to convince them to come to Lake Wales for a visit.  After showing them my little RV life (to which Marcel does aspire – Heidi, not so much), we went into town and had lunch at the recently relocated Granny’s Kitchen.  Same great quality meal, in a larger facility.  It was really nice seeing them again.

I also had the opportunity to catch up with an old friend I’d not seen since 1978.  Mike and I not only went to High School together, we also both enlisted in the Air Force following graduation, and actually went to basic training together in the same flight.  After basic, he went off to Air Traffic Control school at Keesler AFB, MS, while I went off to Lowry AFB, CO.  We lost touch at that point, but recently reconnected many decades later via what else but Facebook.  He recently purchased a winter home on the west coast of FL.  So, I made a day trip to drive out there to visit with him.  After his AF tour, he worked full time with the FAA in the MA and NH area.  He’s now retired enjoying the good life.  Great seeing him and catching up on over 40 years of life events.

I also had lunch with my brother Dick, sister-in-law Kathi, and Kathi’s mom Rahrie.  But like a dummy, I forgot to get a picture.  We enjoyed a nice lunch at the recently opened downtown restaurant Wales Pointe – which is becoming one of my new favorites.  After that, we did a visit to St Anne’s Shrine, which I’ve written about before.  However, some new information that my genealogical brother shared this trip, is that we are distantly related (4th cousin, 4 times removed) to Napoleon Pelletier – the founder of the shrine, who also happens to be buried therein.  Who knew?

Local Events

Lots to do and see this month in the Lake Wales area.  First up was a Wine Downtown event.  With ticket purchase, you got a goody bag and a wine cup, and followed the included map which highlighted business and retail participants throughout downtown Lake Wales.  At each stop, a wine sampling and a bit of food accompannied an introduction to their business.  Restaurants, law firms, spas, real estate office, antique stores, bakery, and many others participated.  It was a fun night wandering through town participating in this event.  I also got to see my second rocket launch this month.  This was another SpaceX launch, putting upwards of 60 more low earth orbit Starlink Internet satellites into space.  Truly fun to watch!

I’m planning on dedicating a future blog post to the history of the Saddlebag Lake Resort community – where I live.  I’ve recently connected with the local historian Jean who is an absolute wealth of knowledge, and very, very accommodating with sharing that knowledge.  She has given me access to the History room, and I’ve been pouring through pictures, documents, and many summaries that Jean has produced.  So, stay tuned for a future story about all that.  In the meantime, I thought I’d share a little history of the mannequin on the tree.  This is the doing of a wonderful woman named Helen – who actually happens to live directly behind me.  She loves fashion, and shares this love with all in the community.  She has a life size woman mannequin attached to a palm tree on the outside of her home.  On a regular basis (I think weekly or so), she changes the outfit.  She reports that she has closets full of clothes, which seems evident in all the wardrobe changes I’ve witnessed so far.  Anyway, a cool little hobby making up an interesting story.

As mentioned, Lake Wales has an annual Mardi Gras celebration each year.  Actually, it was cancelled last year due to the pandemic, so this year is the first time that I’m getting a chance to see and experience it.  It turned out to be quite the event.  It actually started in 1984 when Vinton Davis, owner/operator of Vinton’s New Orleans Restaurant, passed away.  He was reported to be quite the character and thoroughly enjoyed carnivals – in particular Mardi Gras.  So much so that his now widowed wife attempted to have a traditional New Orleans funeral with parading the casket, jazz band music and a cast of mourners.  Unable to obtain proper approvals to do so, they opted instead to have a parade in his honor, and called it the Lake Wales Mardi Gras.  That initial parade consisted of one band, four Krewes, and several marching revealers, performing before a couple hundred spectators.  Today, the event is a full weekend long, with a parade of over a dozen floats and Krewes and in front of upwards of 15,000 attendees.  There was even a Polk County Sheriff’s office float featuring non other than the ever popular Sheriff Grady Judd (pictures at right, top right).  Including evening live music and lots of food, this is one of Lake Wales most popular annual events.  It sure was lots of fun experiencing it.

Roadside & Other Events

I also did a couple Roadside America visits, as well as attending an area fest.  I love to visit “Tiny Home” communities since I also live in a relatively small home.  Western Orlando has such a community, so I headed up there one day for a visit.  I was not disappointed.  This lakeside community is filled with lots of wonderful tiny homes where minimalists enjoy small scale living.  The community was nicely landscaped, and featured lots of varying shapes and styles of homes.  The community features 40 lots to park owned homes, and also 13 tiny homes used for vacation rentals.  It was fun wandering around this wonderful and charming community.

Many, many years ago, I used to attend Ham/Computer festivals in the MD area.  While I’m not a licensed Ham operator myself, I do enjoy the aspects of the hobby and wandering around an open market seeing lots of radio equipment.  Often times, computer equipment is present as well since some of radio operations has been computerized.  Orlando has an annual very large, multi-day outdoor fest that I found out about, so I got a ticket and spent a late morning and afternoon checking it out.  It was a lot of fun, and brought back lots of memories.

Also on the Roadside list was a visit to the grave of famed painter Bob Ross.  He is laid to rest in Woodlawn Memorial Park in Gotha, FL – west of Orlando.  Bob was raised in Orlando as a child, and spent much of his adult life in Daytona.  The grave site is frequented by lots of visitors, many who leave small mementos such as cards and letters, painted rocks, and other paint supplies.  It was a very large cemetery, but finding Bob’s site was significantly aided by simply looking for one that had lots of stuff around it.  It was very cool visiting the site of this famed television painter.

As reported last month, I spent some time at the Tampa RV show looking at Park Model RVs.  This is something that I would most likely put on my RV lot here in Saddlebag once I’ve decided to end, or at least significantly slow down, my nomadic lifestyle.  At the show, I met a reseller that was actually from Lake Wales, and is located a mere 10 miles from me.  I actually was aware of them, as I drive past their sales area frequently.  Recently, I noticed they had a couple of park models that I’m keenly interested in, and that were not present at the Tampa RV show.  So, I decided to stop in to get a closer look.  What I found would someday be perfect for my FL based retirement home.  About 400 sq/ft, one bedroom, kitchen, living room, with an expended loft on the top to allow for more comfortable accommodations for visitors – all in about 38 ft long.  They had two models, one a front living room, and the other a front kitchen.  I’m honestly now sure which I liked best, but they were both very nice and would be ideal for my RV lot someday.  So, while I’m not yet ready to go that route, it sure is nice to plan and dream!

Building Karma Points

Well, the month of Feb was certainly a month in which I have banked a few good karma points.  First, not pictured here, I helped a local resident by moving their 5th wheel RV from the storage area onto an RV lot for some renters.  They come from the far north and spend several weeks here in FL during the winter.  But neither they or the lot owner has a truck for the RV.  So, I was asked to do so – which was not a problem.  So, I moved it onto the lot when they arrived, and retuned it to the storage area recently when they left.  They were very appreciative.

Secondly, I usually take a daily bike ride through the community for a bit of exercise.  On one such occasion, I heard a woman calling out for help just ahead of me.  I of course stopped to see what was going on, only to find she was tending to her husband who was on the ground in their home, mostly unconscious, with inconsistent breathing.  While the wife was aiding her husband, I immediately got on the phone with 911 to get an ambulance dispatched.  Being a gated community, another neighbor called the front office to let them know of the inbound emergency vehicle.  After the paramedics arrived and were in control of things, I hung up with 911, and departed to give them room to work.  I was thrilled to have later caught up with Jim and his wife Patricia in much better circumstances (pictured at right, bottom right), and happy to report he has made a full recovery.

Lastly, about a week ago I went out for a scoot ride to downtown Lake Wales.  On my way there, and just a couple of miles down the road from our community, I passed a 5th wheel RV and truck along the side of the road.  There was no apparent sign of distress, and I assumed they merely pulled over to use the restroom or to make a sandwich.  So I kept on my journey and went into town.  About an hour later when I was returning home, the same RV and truck were still on the side of the road.  This time I was suspect of an issue, and pulled around and stopped to check on them.  Turns out their truck had died, and they were making arrangements for it to be towed.  I inquired about where they were heading, and turns out they were going to a campground about an hour away.  Having no other way to get their RV there, I offered to use my truck to take them and the RV to the campground.  They were extremely thankful as this solved a major issue for them.  Their truck is still in repair, and I actually went back to the campground a few days later to move them from one site to another to allow them to extend their stay.  I also took the opportunity to introduce them to downtown Lake Wales where we enjoyed a nice lunch together.  Needless to say, Corey and Krista (pictured at right, center left) are my new RV friends.  They hope to get their truck back later this week, and continue their journey back to Canada where they reside.  I look forward to our paths crossing again in the future – hopefully under better circumstances.

So, as noted, I’ve certainly earned a few good karma points this month.  But I really didn’t do anything that any other wouldn’t do in the same in similar circumstances.  I had always vowed to help other RVers who are caught in a bad situation, as I would certainly hope that others would do the same for me if I’m ever in a bad place.  One can only hope!

Nomadic Re-Launch

Well, I have finalized my spring/summer/fall RV adventure, and am once again heading west.  I leave on Apr 12th, will be on the road for 204 days, will travel over 6,100 miles, making 30 stops across 12 states along the way, and returning to FL on Nov 2nd.  I’ll be traveling through FL, MS, LA, TX, OK, KS, NE, SD, ND, WY, CO, and NM during this trip.  I’ll visit a number of National Parks and Monuments, reconnect with several friends and former co-workers, pay a visit to Area 51, and visit many cities and towns that I’ve not yet explored.  I’ll also undoubtedly rack up lots of stops to Roadside America attractions as well.  I have finalized virtually all the reservations along the way, so this trip is pretty much booked and done.  I’m really looking forward to getting back on the road and visiting new places.   I’ve still got plenty of boxes to check off on my  bucket list, and resuming the nomadic lifestyle is the method by which I get that done.  I have updated the “Where’s Bruce” page, accessed from the menu at the top of this page, with all the details of each stop, and the associated dates that I’ll be there.

Final Thoughts

March is going to be another busy month.  My former boss is coming up to the area for a couple days visit, the Saddlebag community will be having their annual Fun Day celebration, I may check out the Tampa Bay Airfest, and I’ll be busy making ready the truck and RV to prepare to get back on the road.  So I suspect this will be yet another month that flies by quickly.  I hope all of you, my friends and family, continue to do well, and wish upon my northerly folks some fine weather and an early spring.  Till next time, stay well and safe travels.

I only show a sampling of my adventure pictures here in the blog, and do so mostly in collage format for brevity and ease of reading. If you want to view an album containing individual full fidelity and hi-res images of all my travel pictures related to this specific blog, click the image below. Enjoy!