The suburban area of Pasco County
where we are staying is called Port Richey, but often it is difficult to tell
where Port Richey and New
Port Richey (and previously Old
Port Richey) begin and
end, as in reality they seem to be one and the same. In the early 1900's a
"new" part of Port Richey built up around Orange Lake,
and residents began to refer to this neighborhood as New Port Richey.
Eventually this designation became official with the establishment of a Post Office,
and over time, New Port Richey surpassed Port Richey in both geographical size
and population. The downtown area of New Port Richey wraps around Orange Lake,
which is surrounded by parks and neighborhoods of pretty lake houses, but what Dan
and I found most interesting were the murals painted on several of the
buildings. One afternoon we took the time to walk through the heart of the city
and take pictures of the historically themed murals, as well as enjoy the
surrounding area. Here are pictures of our visit.
On November 10, 2014, we left Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,
and drove to Savannah, Georgia where we stayed for a few days before
finally arriving in Port Richey, Florida.
(The trip to Savannah
was a second visit for us, the first being in 2011, which I blogged about here.) In
the past we've spent our on-the-road winters in different South Texas Towns,
and various Arizona locations, but this year
will be the first year we spend an entire winter season in Florida. Five other RV'ing couples we know
who also like to come to warmer southern climes this time of year will comprise
our small neighborhood of friends and golfers in the RV Resort we are staying
in. In addition to golfing and reconnecting with old friends, Dan and I like to
explore what the area has to offer for biking and hiking, and here we found the
J.B. Starkey Wilderness Preserve. This gem of a park nestled in the middle of a
very busy city is filled with miles of walking, hiking, equestrian, and biking
trails that wind through forests of pine flatwoods, cypress domes, freshwater
marshes, stream and lake swamps, and sandhill and scrub covering an 8500 wetland
ecosystem. We've been to the park a couple of times to ride our bikes, and plan
to make this a regular destination while in Port Richey. So far we've spotted
deer, a red rat snake, an armadillo, lots and lots of lizards, and a variety of
water birds. On our first visit we stumbled into a winter Christmas Wonderland
as well, very fun and timely!
.JPG)
