Alexander Springs, Ocala 2015

As I sit down to write this post it occurs to me that as a child altho I loved reading, I hated writing, fast forward 30 plus years and what am I doing (well at least attempting to do)? Writting a blog and a column on a magazine, all about things I'm passionate about, like the outdoors and safety. Both things have also led to making friends from all walks of life and from places as distant as Alaska.

If you have been following this blog you may have noticed that every February myself along with some friends go to the Ocala National Forest for a weekend of camping and driving thru the forest. What does any of this have to do with my writing or anything else? Well it's because of blogging that I've "ventured out" online seeking like minded people to get ideas or inspiration if you will, for more trips and adventures, whether a day outting to the Everglades, or a multi week trip to Utah or Alaska.

This latest outting included some new friends (met thru instagram of all places), along with some familiar faces like Ludy, Amanda and Derek (who by now should probably be a co-writter of this blog). So there we were, Alexander Springs waiting for the arrival of Mike and Tiffany (their blog you, me and the dogs) on a cold (for south Florida standards) night.

Alexander Springs offers many outdoor recreational opportunities like canoeing/kayaking, snorkeling and scuba diving.

Impromptu photo op anyone?

The Gopher Tortoise

When visiting Ocala it's almost mandatory to go riding thru the forest at night, I mean how else are you supposed to stumble upon the "deliverance" type community bonfire?

This picture is brought to you by Nightsun 4x4 , you can see the difference in lighting between the Jeeps, tell Mark I sent you ;-)

After having survived the Saturday night wheeling, Sunday was off to a slow start over a fire, coffee and breakfast, before those leaving would hit the road, and Derek and I (like many other times) remained behind.

 Derek and Amanda where exhausted from all that eating breakfast and excitement of checking out the Gopher Tortoise (Mike and Tiffany's rig).

 Back on the trails one more time because, why not?

Our much refined beer drinking taste while camping as seen on this bottle caps, lol.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures here (which some were taken by the talented Amanda Burns TheEditGal on Twitter), and that maybe you get inspired to go out there and see the real Florida and meet new and exciting people.