After we ate we walked around the harbor area again and I picked a museum to go thru. There were several Pirate themed ones, an aquarium, an eco-informational one, a couple of garden walks, and of course Hemingway and Truman homes. I chose a Pirate themed one that was not all that well done but it did allow us to kill some time. We hung around town thinking we would try to catch a sunset on Mallory Square but all the bars were full (two cruise ships of people). We finally found a place to sit and have a drink while watching people go by. Since clouds were going to prevent a pretty sunset we pedaled back to the RV, stopped at a seafood market and got some shrimp for supper. Yummy!
Today (Friday) was very windy and chilly so we drove the Jeep up the Keys, exploring. We found one road that led down to a deer sanctuary where one could walk or ride bikes. We walked for about a mile out then back and only saw one bird, a lizard and smelled a skunk. Not much to see but it felt good to walk. We had lunch at the RV then rode our bikes into town again. We tried a different route that took us thru a residential area which I enjoyed -- quiet streets, neat homes and lovely flora.
Duval is the main street thru Key West where everyone walks and shops. The east end of the street is less crowded and has more of the art galleries and specialty shops. We found a Tapas Bar and a lovely wine bar where we stopped and tried two different flights of red wine and then went back for another glass. The porch protected us from the wind, the sun was warm and people were friendly. Seems to be a local hangout. We dragged ourselves away and made reservations for a trip out to the Dry Tortugas and for scuba diving.
We are camped at The Old Mill Stream RV park in a small town north of Orlando and on the edge of the Ocala National Forest. We are with 39 other Born Free Coaches.This is a small rally but they plan a lot of fun activities like a White Elephant Auction (anyone want a singing chicken?), Bingo, coach yard sale (got rid of some mugs and a jug of distilled water), Pizza and Wine parties and entertainment by The Amazzing Steel Drum Band (I loved the music!).
As we were driving into Umatilla we stopped at the National Forest visitor center and discovered they have lots of OHV (Off Highway Vehicle) trails and maps to show the way. We decide this morning to take one of those trails since there wasn't much going on at the rally. Of course, that meant totally unloading the rear of the Jeep so all the golf bags, snorkel gear, fishing box & poles and waders, bicycle bag, etc had to find a place in the RV. The first leg of the trip was down a sandy, well used road. We tired of that and found a very narrow trail that looked interesting. It went thru some very dense forest that closed in on the trail, a few very sandy areas and one big mud puddle and then "the log". We got out, looked it over, picked a path and then proceeded to go over "the log". But one thing we didn't count on was the sand, the very soft sand that we sunk into and high centered the Jeep on the log and we were STUCK! It took over an hour of gathering sticks, jacking up the front axle and forcing the sticks under the wheel so that we could raise the axle off the log and then drive off. We backed out!
Today we climbed into the Jeep to do some driving on the sand. There is approximately 6 miles of beach in the Daytona Beach area where you are allowed to drive a car (of course you have to pay a fee). So we did. Nothing really exciting, but it is beautiful to watch the ocean coming in on one side and the condos on the other. The 6 miles of drivable beach are not connected so every-so-often we had to get off and drive on a road.
That road led us to The Ponce De Leon Inlet Light Station and Museum. Home of Florida's tallest lighthouse, it is 175 tall, has 203 steps and a spectacular view of Daytona Beach and the Atlantic Ocean. It was built in 1887 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1998. It has all of its keepers' dwellings and outbuildings, each one filled with museum displays and information.
One building houses a collection of lighthouse lenses including two fully restored first order Fresnel lenses which are the largest lenses in a lighthouse.
We started at 10 AM and rode north along Bridge St, then east on Walter Boardman Ln, then zig and zag along Bridge Road to John Anderson Dr. which parallels the A1A Coastal Highway. Then South to Granada Blvd., across the Ormond Bridge and then north again to the state park. Total of 26.5 miles! And we were back at the RV by 3:30 PM.
The park is a lovely, secluded area right on the Halifax River and the Atlantic Intracoastal waterway. The park gets its name from the Timucuan Indians who first inhabited this area over 14,000 years ago. This is the name that the Spaniards gave them in the 1600's. They lived in round huts made from palmetto thatch, they hunted with bows and arrows or spears and wore very little in the way of clothing. The state park contains some of the most important archaeological sites in this area. Information about the indians is gleaned from burial sites and trash mounds.