Medieval Times is located just off the 192 near the Wal mart. Your journey begins by walking around the old medieval village which has 8 cottages and you can see a display of crafts, tools and especially memorable torture devices. There is a moat and a drawbridge, then you enter the castle and you are greeted by King Alfonso and the Princess Esperanza and you receive a colored crown corresponding to area of the arena you will be seated in and the Knight you are cheering for during the show.

Once you are seated you are served with your meal, by the serfs and wenches. It is a meal fit for a king, first course of garlic bread followed by vegetable soup which is served in the old style pewter bowls. The next course is roast chicken, spare ribs and a baked potato, there is no cutlery and you have to eat with your hands, there are plenty of serviettes. The atmosphere is great and whilst you’re eating the tournament begins.

There are 6 brave knights and they are competing for the Princesses hand they are riding fantastic Andalusian horses which are magnificent. When they first come into the arena they all have flowers and they come over to their area of the arena and through the flowers to the crowd. Everybody cheers for their Knight and the Knights stand in front of their areas and encourages their supporters to cheer and boo the bad knights. They have to compete in flag tossing, ring piercing and javelin throwing. Finally they compete in the Joust they are in full armour and when they are knocked off their horse they have to carry on fighting with their swords. It is really good fun for all ages.

Once the show is over you can visit The Knight Club which has a full bar, lively music and a dance floor.  This is where you’ll meet the Royal family; they sign autographs and pose for pictures. There are suits of armor, highly detailed swords, shields and medieval banners line the walls.

An excellent show and it is within walking distance of our villa Sunny Seasons just down the road.

I went with my wife Maria, cousin Barbara and her husband Robert. We left Highlands Reserve for a trip up the west coast and to see what we could find.

Firstly we went to Denny’s on the 192 for a hearty breakfast and to pick up a copy of “Roomsaver.com”. This is a web site but is also published so that people like me who have only a very limited idea how to use a computer can get the same deal. In fact I personally think that its got even more hotels in the book than on-line. So after eggs, very thin bacon, links (sausages to you and me) and a pile of pancakes 3 feet high (smothered in syrup and cream) we set of on our trip of discovery. I had to readjust the car seat so that I could get in behind the steering wheel.

We travelled north on highway 27 to Clermont, then headed west on the 476, then the 40 to highway 19.

Luckily I had in-car navigation and elected not to go on any toll roads. No we didn’t decide this route because we are stingy, but hopefully to see rural Florida.

On the way we stopped off at a country market, where you could buy anything from a pig to a magnum pistol to a tractor. I think the magnum was to put the pig down.

We drove past Homosassa heading north to Crystal River. We came across a road called West Fort Island Trail (highway 44) so heading west we drove for what seemed like miles and miles. The drive was worth it, we discovered a beautiful beach with hardly anybody on it. So after a dip in the sea and an ice-cream we returned back to highway 19.

Then onto Homosassa. As we approached I thought that we had better depart as it was full of Hells Angels and not the place for 4 rather boring adults, who’s idea of a wild night out was going to a restaurant or a bar for a quite drink.

Well we booked into a hotel (one of only two) and went to a bar on the river front.

On approaching the bar, rock and roll music was playing at such a loud volume we could hear it from ¼ mile away, but in need of some refreshment we pressed on.

On arrival we were greeted with lots of old people in leather gear dancing for all they were worth, and boy could some of them dance. One guy was in a wheel-chair and he was moving around the floor with his sweetheart far better than I could with all of my appendages intact. The music was played by a rock band and boy could they play.

At the bar it was useless to attempt to ask for what you wanted to drink, it was a system of point and hold your fingers up to indicate how many you wanted.

We then went to the furthest table from the band to enjoy our beer on this hot and humid October afternoon.

During a lull in the music some of the dancers returned to the table we were sitting at and invited us to share the table with them.

And so it was that we met Billy-Joe and Claudette. Billy-Joe was 57 from Missouri and Claudette was 61 from Jacksonville, Florida. Both were dressed in the same fashion as the other 98 OAP, Jeans, leather jackets or waistcoats and bandannas.

Gee you must be from Australia with that accent they declared.

No! No! I shouted, were from England and then explained that we were from Southend in Essex, no we didn’t know the Queen and not all English people shopped at Harrods.

Robert then decided that he had enough of the well known beer that started with “B” and sounded Czechoslovakian. He returned from the bar with a Floridian beer called Landshark. We both agreed that it tasted like something that had been strained through a cat. Oh well onto the Margaritas.

The music had started up again so we went into shouting and hand signal mode. Now I must admit that my hearing is not as good as it used to be (so Maria keeps informing me) so I couldn’t understand all that Billy-Joe was on about, so I nodded when I thought that I should and smiled in the (hopefully) right places. Billy-Joe then shot off and returned with more of that “B” beer, enough for the other 98 bikers, but no this was for the 6 of us. Thank goodness that we didn’t have to drive. He and Claudette then returned to the dance floor.

What a sight, all these Hells Angels cavorting around the dance floor, as good as any twenty year old. Some of them I swear would be down the post office tomorrow to draw there pensions.

Now the main reason for coming to Homosassa was to see the manatees. But we were informed that it was to early in the year for them to be this far up-river. Come back late November to March we were told. How disappointed I was. I had to sit in the beautiful Florida weather drinking alcohol, listening to rock and roll music and getting to know the natives.

During a quite period I asked Bill-Joe why all the Harley Davison owners were so old. He explained that the bikes were so expensive, youngster’s could not afford them. The average cost was $30000, far beyond the reach of the less well to do. So for the last 6 years as I’ve driven around Florida thinking to-myself “look at that silly old twit trying to be young” I now know why only the older folks ride HD’s.

Anyway back to the trip, Homosassa is a beautiful place to explore, but stay on the coast side of Highway 19. There are old colonial homesteads and a disused sugar mill. The mill and plantation was owned by David Levy Yulee, a member of the House of Representatives. The steam-driven mill operated from 1851 to 1864 and served as a supplier of sugar products for southern troops during the Civil War.

We had dinner in the only restaurant in the immediate area the Yardarm, and were we lucky, had we come a day later we would not have been able to eat here, as it shut down that night for a 2 week refurbishment. The food was ok, but I have eaten better.

The next day it was south on US19 to Dunedin and St. Petersburg’s Treasure Island, but that’s the next installment.

This OrangeCounty park is built 248-acre around one of the Apopka area’s crystal clear springs. As its name suggests, Rock Springs bubbles up from a cleft in a rock outcropping and, instead of spreading out into a pool, becomes a swiftly running stream that quickly slows to a meander. The activity of choice here, and the major reason for the park’s obvious popularity, is riding down the stream in an inner tube or on a float.

Tubes are not available in the park, so unless you bring your own, stop at one of the tube rental shops near the park entrance. The cost is modest, about $5 for a day’s rental. You may have to be a little inventive as to how you carry the tube if your vehicle is full of passengers, i.e. carrying them outside the car

Our kids, and not a few grown-ups, jump into the headwaters and bob and splash our way downstream for about a mile. The trip takes about 25 minutes at a leisurely float. There are exits from the river along the way, and an excellently maintained network of boardwalks (with flooring designed to protect the barefooted) lets you carry your tube back to the beginning for another go. You can also go down without a tube but, for most adults at least, the stream is too shallow for swimming during most of its course. At the middle of the tubing course, the stream blossoms into a series of lagoons and pools that form the centrepiece of the park. This is the place to come for a cooling, if somewhat crowded, swim. Or join the sunbathers thronging the shores and islands. This is a great park for kids and, if you don’t have any, you may feel a bit overwhelmed by other people.

The rest of the park is given over to nicely shaded picnic tables, with lots of barbecue nearby. Take a picnic basket with you, along with charcoal to barbeque you meats.

The park also offers camping sites ($10 a night for OrangeCounty residents, $15 for all others); electricity is another $3. Your admission receipt lets you leave the park and return the same day. No pets are allowed in the park, and there’s no fishing here.

Nearby: C.A.R.E., Central Florida Zoological Park, Kelly Park, King’s Landing Canoe Rental, Rock Springs Run State Reserve, Wekiwa Springs State Park.

Admission: Adults and children $1, children under 5 are free.
Hours: Daily 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in summer; 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in winter
Location: Take Rock Springs Road north from Apopka; right onto Kelly Park Road and follow signs

Descriptions of all the aircraft are fully illustrated and Kermit has added his comments and conclusions to each one of them.
 
There is an art décor restaurant on the premises which is open from 11 am. to 3 pm. daily. Current admission prices are Adults $24.95 with a $2 reduction for seniors and children (6-15) $11.95