This morning, Sandra and I attended a special event just for US Forest Service employees, volunteers, and partners. It was to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Ocala National Forest, which happened on November 24, 1908. 160,000 acres in north Central Florida were designated by President Teddy Roosevelt as public park space which is still being enjoyed bt Americans today. For more click here for Sandra’s entry at Florida Hikes!

To the left is an early water fountain in the Mill Dam section. Below is a windy spot of the park off a lake. It was rather chilly and the wind chill in the low 30s didn’t help the cold I’d developed overnight. Despite the runny nose, I didn’t want to miss this special event I got to attend.

We attended Ocali Country Days at Silver River State Park. The event celebrates the 1800s history of the northern Central Florida area. There are all kinds of re-enactors demonstrating everything from tatting to cane grinding to building a full-size cabin. Above is a sketch of a union soldier taking a break.

Over these few days the Florida Chapter of the National Cartoonists Society me in Boca Raton. We had a great time! One of the highlights was wandering Downtown Delray Beach with fellow artists Eddie Pittman and Dana Summers and his wife, Mary Jane. Most of the chapter made their way to the Downtown.

One of the stops we made was to Hands Stationers, which is mostly art store and has been in business in Delray Beach for 75 years. Liz Hughes there was a huge help with putting together the groups goody bags. We all were pciking up items there and just about all of us could make the claim of finding supplies we couldn’t find any where else. Helping that was Eddie Pittman who introduced me to a common item to the painter and uncommon to me: The paintbrush with a water cartridge that feeds the bristles.

We also stopped at The Blue Anchor British Pub. There’s quite a history to this bar involving England and Jack the Ripper. Best to click here to learn more about it. While there I tried out that paintbrush from Hands. Above is a sketch of books in the restaurant/pub.

The best highlight was everyone indulging in, comic book artist and one of my former teachers, Jose Delbo’s Argentine cookout skills Saturday night. Another highlight  was Florida troubador, Val Wisecracker, who entertained us that night. She was a HOOT! Above is Jose and Val.

Here’s Jose drawing Batman on a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey stick that attendee Robert Giordano is going to display at his Arts Center in St. Petersburg.

I got a chance to further try out that brush mentioned above when Jose’s wife, Mabelle, asked me to draw a caricature of her friend. Fellow cartoonist George Peiper asked if I’d draw an alligator picture. So I further, further tested that brush. Above is me, George and the watercolor painting I made for him that night.

Val’s music had us all drawing! Here Tom Armstrong, the cartoonist for the comic strip Marvin, and Linda Gialanella, who forecasts and cartoons the weather for Channel 10 in Tampa, sketch away!

I just finished three books on transportatiion in Florida: The First Seventy-Five Yearws of School Transportation in Florida, The Railroad that Died at Sea and a book that was written by our friend, Bob Bass, When Steamboats Reigned in Florida.

The school tansportation book was very interesting in that the idea of helping children to school started as neighbors helping neigbors to get to school. Not long after the car was manufactured, bureaucracy set in and parents found thier children being ripped from the local school to a new consolidated community school to save money and help implement the need for bussing, The author writes as if this was all needed to be done. Overall, the book is very, very interesting and very well written for a self-published book.

The Railroad that Died at Sea is THE book on the subject of Flagler’s Folly to build a train to Key West. Les Standifrod’s version in more illustrious, but the facts are better presented in this long out of print book

Bob Bass’ new book really brings you to the indivdual steambats. Where they travelled and how they were used. He covers the Kissimmee, the Ochlawaha and the Apalchicola specifically.

I made my way to Eckerd College for an event that is part of their 50th anniversary. There are some very neat buildings within the campus of Eckerd. You can see those at Genuine Florida by clicking here. The sketch above is of a stairwell.

I left from there and took some photos of some really great Genuine Florida locations. Watch for those over the next few months. I made stops at Pinellas County Republican HQs. Both didn’t need any volunteers to help. So I ran off and took more photos.

Photos of a couple of the caricatures I drew are below.

Sandra and I drove to Dunnellon for a ‘Gallery Hop’ that included our friend Jeanne’s ‘Our Florida Books & Art Gallery’. She was able to get ,Florida landscape painter, Charles Rowe to appear. He rarely does personal appearances.

We did get there early and Sandra wanted to sit on the front porch of ‘Our Florida Books’. I ran around taking photos. I decided to make the mile walk to Vogt Springs, where phosphate was first discovered. Above is the wooden sign designating the area. There is also a historical marker. You can read more about this at Genuine Florida.

I attended the Orlando Remembered meeting this morning at the Citrus Club. Below are sketches. Above is Claude Hunter. Below is Corb Sarchet and, 90 years young, Mayor Carl Langford. He told the crowd that if you can reach 90, he reccomends it.

Here is what the great Bill Coleman is up to these days. Bill, after being a valiant warrior in WWII and a life of political work, he is now volunteering watching the streets of Orlando as a Citizen on Patrol. Go get ’em, Bill!

Also we got a photo taken of the group for the Orlando Remembered website, which is below.

Sandra and I headed over to Boca Grande and spent most of the day exploring the island. Amongst the stops was to the Boca Grande lighthouse historical site. I sketched two park employees discussing something over a railing.

Later that afternoon we joined the beginning of the Florida Outdoor Writer’s Association annual meeting in Punta Gorda. At the dinner that night we sat besides fellow artists Linda and Keith Johns. The speakers at the dinner kept talking about IGFA. Linda, Keith and I were trying to figure out what the letters meant. Linda came up with the International Golf Fishing Association. So I made the drawing below at the dinner. What does IGFA really mean? Click here to find out.

Our first stop during our Volusia County tour was Ponce Preserve. It’s a park that has a combo of opportunities to experience the original natural Florida tidal area of this part of the east coast. See the site for details. It’s a GREAT park and well worth the trip whether you take the boardwalk, the natural trail or head out to the beach.

Our next stop was Sugar Mill Gardens. It is the site of a sugar mill, a theme park, a Civil War site and a Seminole Indian War site. It covers it all. There is no doubt ‘Bongoland’ is the most interesting. I’ll let this site explain it as I run out of time to type all of this. By the way, I counted 7 dinosaurs. Above is one of them.

We continued our Volusia County tour with a stop at the Daytona Beach Museum of Arts and Sciences.WHATTAPLACE!!!!Everyting from greek statues (See right) to antique cars to Florida history to pirates to actual train cars to….It’s an amazing place!We made a stop at Zeno’s, a favorite of ours,

We next stopped at a favorite of our in Volusia County, Zeno’s. They have two locations. We stopped at the one on A1A. Got ice cream and salt water taffy. Above is cover of the box of the saltwater taffy we picked up. I love the historical photos.

After Zeno’s we wandered up A1A to Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area. The park, that includes beach access, is named for the Florida troubador, Gamble Rogers, who sang and told stories of Florida’s history, environment and a series of characters that dwelled in our state in the fictional area of Ocklawaha County.I got to meet and work with Gamble back in the ’80s when I was working with Florida music and storytellers festivals and groups. He was a sight to behold. A very calm and steady performer. I’m reading a number of books about Dean Martin. Gamble was the easygoing come-what-may Dean Martin on stage.It was a tragedy he died in the surf at the very spot where this park is. He was trying to save another person caught in the rough waters. We happened to be there when there was a red flag warning of the rough surf and dangerous waters at the beach as it was when Gamble died. The difference now is an actual red flag atop a pole flapping in the wind, see the sketch to the right. At the time of Gamble’s death there were no flags there. Too bad the story of Gamble’s death isn’t at the park. I felt like chasing after the people in the surf and warning them of the dangers and of the reason why the park area is named after Gamble.

We finished our trip in Marion County and had dinner at Lena’s Restaurant, where you can have a “whale of a meal”.To the left is the papertowel holder on every table.

Sandra, myself, my brother, Jeff, and our father made our way to Lakeland to the Florida Air Museum. I was feeling lousy, the illness still godding me. We purused the various planes and the history of air flight in Florida. This is a great historical compliment to combine with a trip to Fantasy of Flight. I did what slketching I could. There’s a plane above.

We had some time before dinner and wandered into Downtown Lakeland and settled for a bit in the Black and Brew coffee shop set in an historic building. Above is the inside doorway I sketched while we were there. We then went to dinner at Louie Mack’s Steakhouse.

We had lunch with Tom and Glenda Armstrong at the 1945 created Linger Lodge. Known for it’s fine Southern fare, it’s been recently bought by others and now has a “chef”. The food showed it. Worse, no fried chicken that I was looking forward to.

Though less than what was once there, the Linger Lodge can still boast quite a collection of stuffed critters that decorate throughout. To the left is a mounted water moccasin that hung near our table. Just above us on the wall was a ten foot gator. There is also a bar that has no mirrors from which to sit across. Instead various snakes and wild animals stare back at you. That seems like a great opportunity to me. One who gets tipsy might experience something else still.

Though the food was average we had a great time with the Armstrongs.