Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet.
All about Nature, about the outdoors<>I love it, photograph it and protect it.
Cassady Brewer’s Blast Helps to Power UCF past the Bears in Sunday Softball Action
Our UCF Knights knew that the Baylor Bears were going to be a handful. They were sporting a 22-4 record as their bus motored down I-75 toward Orlando last week. They were ranked 15th nationally and had bested some very good softball squads in the first half of the 2017 season.
The Bears pretty well mauled the Knights in game one on Friday night. Game two Saturday was closer and at some point the home team knew that beating Baylor was, indeed, possible.
The contest Sunday was a whole different thing; the Knights played pretty darn good defense, Freshman hurler Alia White gave up just two runs to the Bears and first baseman Cassady Brewer went 2 for 3 from the plate including a solo homer in the 4th. It was White’s first-ever win against a top 20 team in her short collegiate career.
I snapped a pic of Brewer’s blast just after the ball leapt off the bat. I just had to use that pic as the featured foto this time around. Brewer is a bona fide local product, coming out of Apopka High.
Baylor was a very good team. On Wednesday the Knights will face a great team when FSU comes to town. The Noles are ranked nationally at no. 2 at the moment; this one is going to be intense!
Tickets are still on sale but won’t last long. For tickets to any UCF sporting event, call 407 823-1000. Operators are standing by…
A big fan of UCF Athletics, I am,
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Making Final Preps For a Return to Moss Park
In spite of their very aggressive raccoons — one of whom had the stones to rummage through my car last time — I truly do love Moss Park. Headed back this week and I promise to get some good pix. Battery’s charged and I’m just about ready to roll.
Here’s one photo from my last visit that I haven’t posted until now. So much to like about this spot in the southeast corner of Orange County.
I’ll be checking in again soon.
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
FBI Director James Comey Confirms the Bureau is Investigating Russian Interference and Possible Trump Campaign Collusion
That the Bureau is conducting the investigation is not a surprise. This is breaking news as Director Comey is still giving his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee at the time I’m typing this but anyone who has even the slightest awareness of what’s been going on in this country for the last six months or so knew the FBI was looking into Russian interference in the just-concluded Presidential election. And into whether #DonTheCon or any staffers jumped on board with Putin and his underlings.
Our Trumpenfuhrer can call the story fake news all he likes, this story and this investigation are NOT going to go away.
The FBI will get to the bottom of it. Someone’s going to be indicted. Our unPOTUS will be impeached or removed from office by other means and the results of this inquiry — the existence of which was just explicitly confirmed by Director Comey — will most likely be a big part of why.
I still do not know whether the Director’s testimony will address Herr Drumpf’s ridiculous accusation about being wired tapped by President Obama; I’ll pass that along here in the very unlikely event that you have not by then heard/read about it from 16 other sources.
Outdoor activities, amateur photography and restaurant reviews are still the main topics here but this is a YUGE story and I decided to chime in.
I hope your Monday is off to a good start. I’ll be checking in a little later.
Still spreading contempt for our scum-bag unPOTUS, I am,
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Visited Downey Park in the Union Park Neighborhood Today
One of the nicest spots on Orlando’s east side is Downey Park. It’s off Dean Road and can be seen from East Colonial Drive, a major artery in the O’do metro area. You get a great view of the park if you’re headed east bound on Colonial.
Today I took it upon myself to familiarize myself a little better with it; I’ve gone by a jillion times but I don’t think I’ve ever gone all the way through it in the more than half a century I’ve been in Orlando.
Very glad I did. Lovely place. It’s not one of our four parks in Orange Co. that feature camping, but it’s a very nice all purpose park and I know I’ll be visiting again.
Got several photos. Only fond of one of them right now, truth be told. So it’s the featured foto with this post. This was with my LG cell phone, will get more before long with the good cam. I will be back there in the near future.
Hope this posting finds you well. And I hope you’re taking some time to visit your Mother these days…
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Bulldog Played with Bill and Eli Perras at Will Fest and Had a Ball!
I did indeed get to Brooksville for the 2017 Will McLean Festival, which is often simply called “Will Fest”. It’s always a pleasure to play with Bill and Eli Perras and this outing was a good one.
The Fest was well-attended and the camping was fine. The Sertoma Youth Ranch is a cool spot and I’m definitely planning to go back. I opted for the primitive camping; I usually do fine without hook ups. It was a nice spot. I had one of the very few fire pits and the event had this amazing fire wood vendor who delivered to your site. How cool is that?
And I saw a friend from the First Unitarian Church of Orlando and made a couple of new friends. So much to like about this year’s event!
Here’s the only down side to last weekend’s fun: I didn’t take a single photo. Did not charge the camera’s battery, so I missed out on that opportunity.
The featured photo here was taken by a friend of Bill’s and I’ll do my best to get his/her name so I can give proper credit.
Just one quick thing about the musical part of this cool event that is especially noteworthy to me: I know a lot of players on the folk/acoustic music scene in Florida, but I did see many very, very good performers at Will Fest that were new to me. But one stood out. That would be Mean Mary. If you get a chance to see her live, don’t pass it up. And, for what it’s worth, she’s not really mean. But she is an amazing songwriter and performer.
I’m not able to post a thorough piece on Will Fest right now; suffice to say it was — as usual — a smashing success and I had a good time! Sincerely hope to have the chance to do it again next year.
Krispy’s Chicken in Groveland is Heaven-on-Earth for Folks Who Love Real Food
I try hard to have lunch or dinner at Krispy’s anytime I pass through the town of Groveland. I passed right by this Mecca of awesome eats a couple of days ago, but alas, it was way passed their closing time. I was cruising down Highway 50 on my way to Brooksville for three days of camping and great music and was making the trip at a rather odd time. I will get back there soon to atone for the great sin of passing a top-ten best Florida eatery without stopping to chow down.
I could boil down my whole review to two terms near-and-dear to the hearts of all of us who love Southern cooking. Those would be: “fried chicken” and “buffet!”
Now, I know that some buffets are not worth the $8.95 and they depend on patrons who are drawn in by the “all you can eat” part but who haven’t actually sampled the product. They rate high in quantity but miss the mark completely in the quality department. Krispy’s is NOT like that.
If you stop by once, you’ll become a regular. Like me, you’ll feel like you’ve done something very, very wrong if you’re even in the same zip code and don’t stop in.
The chicken is scrumptious and you can go back to the counter to reload whenever you want. Their amazing sides are on that delectable buffet and I swear if I hated fried chicken, I’d go there for those side dishes alone.
I love the collard greens. The black-eyed peas are choice. The chicken salad has become a fave of mine; this is the only joint I’ve ever been to that throws jalapeno bits into chicken salad. You’ve got to try it. And get this: the mashed potatoes are in a steaming-hot hotel pan right next to — can you believe it — a pan of chicken gravy! No, I wouldn’t kid you about that!
For those of you who have read my blog before or know me from social media know that I do like the national chicken chain where most of us have dined a thousand times. I do. But it’s always bothered me that the gravy served with their mashed potatoes is beef gravy. Well, Krispy’s is the first restaurant I’ve been to that doesn’t engage in that awful practice. Beef gravy with fried chicken! Who ever heard of such a thing!? (No, this is NOT a knock on KFC. They stand head-and-shoulders above most fast food places, but the gravy thing annoys me to no end!)
Folks, I could go on and on. But I won’t. Just go to Krispy’s and be prepared to chow down. It’s got great vittles. In ridiculous portions. With good and friendly service. What more could any lover of down home-cooking ask?
Krispy’s Chicken ~ 307 E. Broad Street ~ Groveland, Florida ~ Call 352 429-4819
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Winter Park Fish Company. Big Crowd. Mediocre Food.
Finally had a chance to visit the Winter Park Fish Co. and I must say I was not impressed.
Whenever I get to a new Seafood spot, I have to order the Fish Tacos. I did and I was disappointed. I’ve sampled fish tacos from about a dozen different eateries, and liked ’em all. Struck out at WPFC.
Their approach to this usually can’t-fail dish is to scatter a ridiculous amount of cheddar cheese over the taco to finish it. I can’t imagine why. Didn’t like it. I was given a sample of some freshly-made chicken salad and crackers they had whipped up that day. That was tasty.
The service was about as good as the taco. In their defense, let me say that they were getting slammed at the time I was seated. But it was bad. Couldn’t get attention from my server no matter what I did and it took an eternity to pay my check and get out.
I hasten to add that this spot is very popular with folks in Winter Park. They have a great location and seem busy anytime I happen to pass by. The parking can be an issue, the lot is rather small.
I want to get back when I can and give them another try. I will if I can. And I’ll order something other than the fish tacos.
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Winter Park Fish Co. ~ 761 N. Orange Ave ~ Winter Park, FL 32789 ~ Call 407 622-6112
Latest Adventure: Manatee Hammock in Titusville. Nice Park, Horrible Weather!
This was my first foray into a very popular park and campground in Brevard County. That would be Manatee Hammock Park in Titusville. T’ville is a little north of Cocoa on US 1, for those of you who aren’t too familiar with East Central Florida.
Very nice park. Old school. Allows folks to stay up to six months out of the year. That’s very unusual here in Florida, at least for a county park. Not talking about private RV Parks, that’s a whole ‘nother thang, as the saying goes…
Just to mention a couple of features real quick: lots are small-ish. There is laundry, that’s always a plus. No grill or fire rings on site. That surprised me. Many folks bring a grill, I will next time out. Not the end of the world for me, I’m mostly a propane guy.
I sincerely wish I could have tried this well-known spot for the first time under better conditions. The weather was awful. Just awful. Only a little rain, but the wind was savage. I’ve been in Florida for well over half a century, so strong winds are nothing new for me. But the last two days have been ridiculous. And, as many of you know, I’m a real camper — meaning a tent camper — not an RV’er, so strong winds are NOT my friend!
I hasten to add that miserable conditions have nothing to do with the park or its management. This place is as popular as any camping spot in the Sunshine State, but we just got off on the wrong foot. I will try her again. I promise.
Are you inclined to ask, “Ben, how windy was it?” Well, I’ll tell you how windy it was: I didn’t fire up a grill or any of my propane stoves for the whole two days. I’ve never done that before. Or NOT done that before, I suppose I should say. Never fired up my Tiki Torch brand skeeter keeper-away device, either. I love that thing and it works. Way better than citronella and all that other stuff. But I was afraid it would get blown over…
The soil — if I can call it that — on my site was so rocky it was next-to-impossible to drive a stake into it. I bent three stakes before I gave up and used gear and gallon water jugs as improvised stakes. Sorta like snow stakes in the winter or using sand anchors for a beach shelter. Kind of ironic that the worst winds I’ve ever had camping came when I was at a site where your tent stakes were unusable. Mother Nature does like to f*ck with you now and then! But I do love my Mother, nevertheless!
Breaking camp and putting away my tent this morning was quite an ordeal. Not even gonna go into that! But I promise to go to Manatee Hammock again before long and get passed this not-so-great first impression.
By the way, this park’s claim to fame is that it’s the one that gives park goers and even some members of the public (for a fee) an amazing view of space launches! Yeah, it’s THAT park! It was very hard (impossible) to book in the Shuttle Era, but now with private launches not quite so hard.
One other thing that was a bit of a surprise to me: they do not have an alcohol prohibition. Read the rules three times. First State or County park I’ve seen without such a rule. Not that I’m complaining, mind you! Just surprised me. In a good way.
Try Manatee Hammock Park if you’re anywhere in or near Florida’s Spacecoast. And tell me what you think. I will be booking again in the near future. There’s nowhere to go but up!
Sequestered safely inside now, I am,
“Bulldog Ben” Basile
Camping at Lake Mills Park in Beautiful Chuluota This Week
I am here in Chuluota, a small town in Seminole County. That’s on the eastern side of the Orlando metro area. Lake Mills Park is way more than only the camping area, which has 13 spaces and is smaller than most. I haven’t roamed around much yet, hope to do more of that today and get some good pix.
This camping adventure is really unusual in one particular way: Ol’ Bulldog here is the ONLY camper! Yes, you read that right. I’m the only one! Last night it was just lil ol’ me and the critters! Who mostly were keeping a low profile.
One cool thing about being the only one: they let me pick my space. The one I chose from a map at booking was next to a bridge on one of the trails that are popular with folks who come to the park. There is a sign telling people not to drive vehicles into the camping area, but they can walk through all they like. It’s kind of weird. And space no. 10 was right there in one of the best-loved and most visited parks of the whole park. But folks “just passin’ through” seems to happen all over the camping area. So I did choose another space, moved all the way up to no. 1! (This was a great lesson in the limits of maps!)
I’m not complaining, just noting that that’s very different. (Am I complaining? Let me get back to you on that!) Bottom line, I’ve never seen that before. In most of the parks I’ve camped in, the campers are in a much more remote part of the park and seeing folks not booked for camping walking into the camp sites — or even through — the camp sites would be pretty strange. I know I’m more into maintaining one’s “personal space” than most folks; perhaps this would be no big deal to some. It felt a bit strange to me.
Having said that, let me emphasize again, Lake Mills Park is beautiful. Truly. I can’t promise a bunch of pix, as I’ve let my camera battery run down and power and water are not a part of the deal in Seminole Co. Parks. If you lean towards the primitive flavor of camping adventures, try Lake Mills Park!
A more complete report coming after day two.
Hey, I wonder if I’ll spend night two all alone as well. We’re about to find out!
Have a marvelous Monday. I’ll be checking in again before too long.
Bulldog Ben in Chuluota, Florida
Photo credit Benjamin Lawrence Basile
Enjoy the Outdoors. Love the Planet. 
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