Silver Palms RV Resort - Okeechobee, FL

Happy New Year! It's the first, but I left off on the 20th of Dec. So, here goes....

Well, since we both have had the flu and haven’t been up to much more than some tanning by the pool, it has given me lots of time to work on tours for the 2019 World Cruise. My goal is to have most all of them done before we leave on the South America cruise since as soon as we return we will be RVing and spare time will be at a premium. (as I type this I have most all "done") 

Silver Palms is nice and offers quite a few things to do. 

 now that's a fancy sign?

 entry

 view of the pond

 our spot

 in front of the tennis courts next to the clubhouse

 entry of the clubhouse

 pool area

 there is a small bar that also serves some food by the pool

 entry to clubhouse 

 there are also card rooms and a nice gym

 this is an undeveloped area of the park they are starting

Red-shouldered Hawk

Silver Palms offered a Christmas Eve dinner, but we opted not to go. It’s Prime Rib and Greg is still on less chewy food until he returns to the dentist.

For Christmas, we drove to the Universal Studios area near Orlando. We often have gone to Islands, the restaurant at the Royal Polynesian Resort. It never disappoints. 

To get there we passed through Yeehaw Junction. In 2010 they registered a population of 240.

Yeehaw Junction is one of those great old Florida places that doesn't look like much unless you know the history of it. Located about an hour down the turnpike from Orlando in Osceola County, Yeehaw Junction is about 30 miles from Lake Okeechobee. We always heard about it on traffic reports when we lived in the Orlando area. If we'd blinked we would have missed it.

The Dessert Inn sits in the corner of the intersection and has a state historical marker. The marker reads:

“The Dessert Inn was founded as a trading post in the late 1880s. The present building dates before 1925 and served as a supply and recreational center for cattle drovers, lumber men and tourists during the era when much of Osceola County was still undeveloped wilderness. Cowmen working the free ranging cattle on the palmetto prairie and lumber men cutting timber in the nearby pine lands came to the Desert Inn to eat, drink and dance at this "oasis" where they could enjoy some relief from their arduous labors. Local patrons of the trading post and restaurant included African Americans and Seminoles, who had separate dining facilities in the era of segregation. The construction of roads in the 1930s brought tourists to the area, and a set of overnight cabins were erected behind the original building. Today the Desert Inn continues to be a popular destination for tourists and local residents. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.”

The food was good at Islands and I told Greg it was the first time I didn’t freeze to death due to the A/C there. He said he was sure my fever had something to do with that.

 entry of the resort

entry to the restaurant

We went for a short walk along the water, but turned around before we got to Universal City Walk which we normally like to wander around after we eat, but we were still feeling pretty weak and didn’t want to push it.

I think we are both starting to feel human again. Both of us going stir crazy with resting and drinking lots of fluids for entertainment.

We need to start getting things organized for the 60 day South America, so will drive to Port St. Lucie tomorrow to start that process.  

Since we travel so much we keep up Yellow Fever & Typhoid vaccinations and have had Hep A&B (Twinrix).

We both needed to get Typhoid vaccinations which wasn’t easy here in Okeechobee. They last 5 years and it was time. The first time we got the shots, but they are only good for 2 years so the next time we got the capsules as they last 5 years. We had no problems getting them 5 years ago at the Walgreens in Port St. Lucie. No RX needed, they just had to order it. This time, the Walgreens here insisted we had to have prescriptions. That was after the lady working there had to ask several people what it was. So, we each messaged our respective doctors and mine easily called mine into Walgreens. Unfortunately, despite me telling them exactly where it needed to go, they defaulted to the Port St. Lucie Walgreens. (who had no problems transferring it to Okeechobee). Greg’s doctor called in the wrong vaccine. (shot not capsules) They eventually corrected that and even called it into the right pharmacy.

The adventure continued when I went to pick mine up. The register wouldn’t let her sell it to me. It kept saying not available in our state. Huh?!? The pharmacist came over and worked on it for a long time. We were there almost 45 minutes. Finally, they got it all worked out and I hand them my yellow shot card for them to log the Typhoid shot, but they refuse to do it. They said since they aren’t there to watch me take the capsules they can’t sign it. Guess we just log it ourselves…. There are 4 capsules and they need to be refrigerated and taken 1 every other day 1 hour before a meal and taken with a cold glass of water. Greg should get his soon. When I called and spoke with the pharmacist in Port St. Lucie to have them transfer it to here in Okeechobee I mentioned that they insisted we needed a script and he says. Not really…..  I think the laws have changed on it and it probably does require the RX now. 

We need to find some time to take some photos of the town here. Lots of murals painted on buildings and military things in the center of town. One of these days we need to get out to see the Lake. 

For New Year's Eve went to the Tin Fish Restaurant (not a lot of choices in the town). It was actually quite good. I had very good garlic shrimp tacos and Greg had Mahi. While we were eating Greg got a text that his Typhoid capsules were in so we picked those up on the way home. Took another 45 minutes to pick them up this time too. Guess they didn't learn anything from doing mine. 

We both are finally "among the living" having finally kicked the weird bug we had and other than a cold front that has come through, things are getting back to normal for us. Normal? Us? Stop laughing now.....