We went to Silver River State Park September 5-7 2008 for the months Gold Club campout. Silver River State Park is located on the Silver River near Ocala, Florida.
Arriving Friday afternoon we checked in and went to our spot and set up for the weekend. We went to the pavilion at 5:30PM for the Meet and Greet. At 6:30PM we had our Pot Luck Dinner. As always the Pot Luck was great. After the Pot Luck the Pie Baking contest took place. All pies had to be made from scratch. I went to the store to buy some scratch and couldn't find any so didn't make a pie for the contest. The judges tasted all the pies and chose the winners. After the contest we got to eat the pies.
After dinner and the pie contest we went back to the motorhome to chill for the evening with TV.
Saturday morning started with a continental breakfast at the pavilion. I went over for coffee and donuts and Marilyn slept in. They had crafts at the pavilion later in the morning.
Saturday afternoon we loaded up to go canoeing on the Silver River. We had to go to the ranger station to get paddles, life vests and the keys to unlock the canoes at the launch point. Marilyn didn't want to go because of the mosquitoes which were plentiful. We had bought a thermal mosquito repellent machine but forgot to bring it. Of course it would have not have worked on the canoe trip. At the ranger station we paired up for the canoes. I was put with Joe since his wife wasn't going because she was afraid of the gators. Once we had our gear we headed for the launch point. We parked and hiked down the River Trail to the launch point. Found our canoe unlocked it and carried it to the launch area. All aboard and headed upriver from the launch area. The headwaters of the Silver River come from Silver Springs which is a Florida Attraction that has been there a long time. They are famous for their Glass Bottomed boats so you can peer at the springs and fish. A tarzan movie starring Johnny Weissmuller was filmed there. Joe and I paddled all the way to Silver Springs. Only about three canoes made it all the way there and back. After getting back to the launch area we hiked back to the parking lot. Joe called his wife to pick us up and take us to the ranger station to return the gear and pay for the canoe rental. Then back to the motorhome and chill until time for dinner.
We had a catered dinner that evening at 6:30PM at the pavilion. The dinner was Pork and Beef kabobs, rice, corn on the cob, rolls, iced tea and sheet cake for desert. A nice dinner and fellowship with the other club members. I was wearing my Miami Hurricanes cap and this happened to be the night they were playing the Florida Gators. One of the fellows asked me if I was watching the game that night. I told him I was and he asked how and I told him we had satellite tv. He said he was located close to me and had a 100ft. cable. He asked if he could tap off of my signal and watch the game over in his area. I said sure. So when I got back I connected the satellite output so it would go to my external connector that is usually used to hook to cable tv at rv resorts. He came over with his cable and we hooked it up so his group of "Gator" fans could watch it. So everyone enjoyed the game but of course I was disappointed since the Gators won!!!
Sunday morning we slept in and around 11:00AM packed everything up and headed home. Another fun weekend with the Giant Recreation World Gold Club.
Below is a slideshow from the weekend at Silver River State Park.
