We’re planning a get away back to Key West.  Not doing any camping on this trip, we’re going to spend a week in a rental just off of Duval Street.  We were down to the Keys last summer with the camper (yes, I know, I should have blogged about it), but this time we’re getting together with some good friends and we decided that we could use the extra space that a rental will provide.

We always enjoy our trips to Key West, and this particular trip should be a blast.  This will be our friends first trip to the Keys, so we’re planning on taking in all the sights.

More later…

I’ve been giving our web site (Grove Camp) some time to cook after making a variety of changes to the software that powers this site.  A few weeks ago I logged on to write a new post or two and found all kinds of advertising links, especially at the bottom of the main page.  It only took but a couple of seconds to realize what had happened: I’d been hacked.

I immediately put the site into ‘maintenance mode’ (which essentially locks the site down to just me) and then scanned all the files on the site for changes since the last update.  I located two files that had been altered, so I proceeded to look at the contents of those files.  It was then I saw that there were links added to the web page that would display random content every time the page was revisited.  I removed the malicious code and then hardened the site to any further type of compromise.

It took a few days to go through all the files with a fine-tooth comb, well, actually a couple of weeks since I was unable to dedicate myself to working on it fully (like many of us, I have quite a few other commitments).  But it was interesting to perform all the research and attempt to figure out where the vulnerabilities existed in the first place.  Typically only a network security engineer (i.e. me) or a hacker would get a kick out of doing this level of research.  I would like to think the site is more secure now than it was prior to the compromise.

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve reinstated access to the site, and so-far-so-good.  Now maybe I can get back to adding content specific to the site’s intent: camping… and I suppose other interests.

Made another trip to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve a ham radio event (Florida QSO Party).  Good trip, weather was very nice, wind was brisk.  Plenty of turkey and deer walking through the campsite all weekend long.

A very nice gentleman came by one afternoon and mentioned he was setting up a telescope that evening and was asking all campers to come by for a demonstration.  I’ve always been interested in Astronomy so I took him up on his offer.  For about an hour that evening he pointed his telescope at several very interesting sites: Saturn (always impressive), globular and open clusters, Messier 81 and 82 (Bode’s Galaxy and Cigar Galaxy), and a few other objects that don’t immediately come to mind.  He pointed out several constellations and starts, and discussed their importance to various people (e.g. the North Star guided many a sailor across the sea).  I was really impressed at his knowledge of the night sky, and how kind and genuinely caring he was of the several people that attended his presentation.  I wish I had caught his name; I thoroughly enjoyed his demonstration.

Right Side

I’ve added some new wheels to my garage: a 2008 Yamaha V-Star 1300.  Great bike; plenty of power, looks good, and came with Cobra Dragster pipes already installed.  Its great to be back on a motorcycle again.  I grew up on bikes, started with a few mini-bikes, then onto a DT (Dirt/Trail) bike, then a couple of motorcross bikes (yeah, I made several attempts at racing motorcross back in the day), then finally on to road bikes.  My last bike was a Virago, which I rode for about 10 years before finally selling it.  Then I went into a 10-year hiatus before finally getting back in the saddle with this bike.  I almost forgotten how great it is to be on a bike; it was way too long.

Left Side

Now I need to figure out how I can take my bike with me when we go camping.  This would make a great mode of transportation to/from the campsite.  The bike weighs nearly 700 lbs. dry, so what ever I use to support it will have to withstand some weight.

Camping trips aren’t happening often enough for us lately, in part due to the busy lives we have.  But for a few short days we found some time to get away to McKinney Campground, located on Lake Allatoona in Georgia.  The campground was very nice; paved driveways that backed up to the lake, and stone-covered outdoor area immediately beside the camper that included a picnic table, charcoal grill, and fire ring.

McKinney Campground

The view was very nice.  We spent several hours sitting and watching the wildlife around the lake, and the occasional boater heading out to do a little fishing.  Evenings were spent with a fire in the ring.  We really felt like we were a long way from anywhere, but actually we were only about 30 miles outside Atlanta.  Because of this, a few hours each day were spent driving/sightseeing around the area.  And of course we had to go into town to watch the UCF Knights defeat Georgia 10-6 in the Liberty Bowl on New Years Eve (UCF is my Alma Mater).

Lake Allatoona

When we first arrived, there was still some snow on the ground from a Christmas Day snowstorm that moved through the area, but unfortunately the snow didn’t last long.  Most days were overcast (as shown in the pictures); one day was sunny but I failed to take pictures on that day.

If your looking for a nice camping spot around the Atlanta area, give one of the campgrounds around Lake Allatoona some consideration, especially McKinney Campground.  We were very pleased with the park and hope to camp there again one (or several) days.