Perry, FL to Zolfo Springs, FL., DeSoto Nat'l Park, FL Int'l Museum, Tampa, Sebring

After spending one night at Perry, I continued on to the Escapees Park in Zolfo Springs. This park is smaller than most of the SKP parks and is a co-op which means it is owned by the lot holders. When I arrived it was mostly empty as the majority of the folks had left for destinations north to escape the summer heat. This location is about 50 miles east of Tampa/St. Petersburg and 20 miles west of Sebring.

Took a drive over to The Tampa, Bradenton area and visited DeSoto National Park. This is reported to be the site where he first landed and began his exploration of the southern part of the USA.

In Tampa, I visited the factory of Thompson cigars and found too many cigars on sale and as a result, stocked up. In St Petersburg, I toured the Florida International Museum.

They have a fantastic display of President Kennedy's memorabilia. Coming from Massachusetts, I was quite interested in  seeing all of the things on display. Room after room of origional things from his childhood to the end of Camelot. I don't mind telling you, it brought tears to my eyes to see so many things that brought back memories of those days. The museum has a minute by minute display of all of the events that took place during the Cuban missle crisis. If you have a chance, don't miss this museum. It's quite an education.

I ate in a small resturant near the park that seems to be a local hangout. Sitting in a corner, it was interesting to hear the conversations and trying to understand what was being said. The accent in central Florida is very heavy and hard to understand.

If you have ever watched King of the Hill TV show, they have a character that talks just like them and you are lucky to get one word out of 5 or 6.

Being so close to Sebring, I decided to go over to see the famous race track there. It is a huge facility with several driving schools with some students taking some fast labs on the track. Sure would be fun to do that. Looks like the track was built on a WW 2 airfield.

Summary:

Elks Lodges - 6     Escapees Parks - 5     Public RV Parks - 4                             National Parks - 5     Battleships - 1     Forts - 2

Expenses:                                                                                                                        April, 2002 -  $1755

May, 2002 - $2056