Barracuda Races

Had a great dinner last night with a 2007 Seghesio Zinfandel, a wine that John knew had been rated as #10 best in 2008! It felt good to dress up and go out together.

This morning we rode our bikes down the road to Key Colony Beach to experience the "World Famous" Barracuda Racing! They have a trough with 6 lanes and they race baby barracuda fish. Most go about 1/2 way down then turn around and go back. It was really funny. There were lots of vendors and food booths and a very short parade. Big day!(HA) But we did ride almost 20 miles so at least we got our exercise.

Weather is still cool but getting better. At least the wind is dying down. We stopped at a dive shop to see if they could tell us what day would be best for diving. They said the wind would have to blow out of the east or south and that the Gulf Stream will have to move closer to shore and then we wait two more days for the water to clear. That may happen by Thursday so we may not get to dive -- we'll see.

Exploring

Today we drove up the Keys (that would be towards Miami) a few miles to Islamorada, did some exploring and had a picnic lunch at the Long Key State Park. It was very nice since it was on the lee side of the island, so no wind but lots of sun and warmth. They also had a nice nature walk. Tonight we are going to a fine dining restaurant not too far from here. Looking forward to not cooking.

Dolphins and Pigeon Key

I walked next door to the Dolphin Research Center and got to experience some training sessions with dolphins. This location was established for training dolphins in 1951 and has gone through several hands before becoming this research center. Remember Flipper? Parts of that TV show were filmed here and the 4 dolphins that played Flipper came from here. In fact, their descendants still live here.  They have 20 dolphins, 2 baby dolphins and lots of volunteers and trainers. I got a personal tour from a volunteer and watched people swim with the dolphins, training and feeding. Very interesting.

During the afternoon, we drove down to the Seven Mile Bridge. Under that bridge is the original road/bridge that goes over an island called Pigeon Key, a national historic place. We walked out to the island, about 2 miles one way, and got a personal tour of the island and the buildings and the history of Henry Flagler, father of Florida. Flagler built the railroad that connected all the islands along the keys from Miami to Key West. Flagler also built destination resorts to lure more people to Florida. This island was where all the workers lived that built the railroad. That railroad bed eventually became the roadway, and was eventually replaced by new wider bridges which you can see in the background of the picture.

Windy and Wild

Look back at the picture in the last blog of John in the water -- see how clear and calm it is? Now check out this picture. See all that seaweed on the seawall? That was blown up by wind and waves overnight Tuesday and all day on Wednesday and into Wednesday night. This morning the wind has finally died down some. It was a wild night. We could hear the water from the gulf hitting the RV and the wind rocking us about. Wed. morning we surveyed the result which was tons of salt water all over the RV and Jeep!

We found some stuff to use that will take the salt off the vehicles but didn't use it until the wind died down today. We also decided that we were way too close to the water so we moved inland a couple of rows. We also decided that this was as good a place to stay as any along the Keys so we extended our stay here another 5 days.

After cleaning the vehicles, we tried out the municipal 9-hole, par 3 golf course. The longest hole was 130 yards so the only clubs we took were putters, wedges, a 9 and an 8 iron. The funny part is that they provided us with a golf "bag" to carry the irons. It was actually a PVC pipe, closed at one end with an attached handle for carrying. LOL

Don't know what we will do with the weather getting cold again and the wind still blowing.

Marathon

We packed up the RV and moved a short ways north up the Keys to Grassy Key, staying at the Jolly Roger RV Park. We are parked right on the Gulf with only a 4 foot sea wall between us and the water! And it is beautiful looking out over the sea.

This is where we are camped for the next week.

Monday was a nice day and after we got settled we rode our bikes for about 15 miles then went out to eat at The Wreck! Great frog legs! At 6 PM or so before the sun sets every evening, quite a few of the people in the park gather along the seawall to view the sunset. Sometimes there is food and always a cocktail. We visited and got to know a few people (can't remember their names but . . .). One couple has been to Alaska 3 times so we will be picking their brains, getting lots of tips for the trip.

Today was really beautiful but weather warnings predicted a severe thunderstorm and rain for the afternoon. We planned accordingly and goofed off in the morning and then planned to do grocery shopping and laundry while it rained. The area near the seawall is roped off for snorkeling so John had to see what it was like despite the cold water. The water is still murky so he didn't see much more than one lobster and one fish! Then it thundered twice, rained 14 drops and that was it for the storm! John rode his bike about 10 miles and I washed clothes.

Sunset was cloudy but the group gathered anyway. The wind has picked up a lot, blowing the water over the seawall and rocking the RV. We won't be snorkeling or diving until later in the week when the forecast is better.

Adventures in the Keys

Ah! The weekend! Bright and early Saturday morning we boarded a fast cat to the Dry Tortugas. This little island is home to Fort Jefferson that was built early in US history to protect the gulf from pirates and to watch out for trade coming and going to New Orleans. Most ships would have passed this area because of its proximity to the Gulf Stream. It's a huge fort and was actually never attacked but you can still see canons, light house, and ruins of barracks. It was also used as a prison during the civil war to hold Rebels as it was held by Union forces. All around the fort is a moat and past the moat is the sea where there is good snorkeling. After lunch on the boat we donned our wet suits and snorkels and went out into the water. It was cold but the wet suits helped. We saw some neat fish right along the moat wall but the water was not real clear so we moved to some old pier pilings. John went down thru the middle of the pilings and saw some pretty neat fish right up against the pilings. I wasn't comfortable going down the middle so I hung out on the edge but didn't see much. The water is really not very clear here either.

The birds love this area. It's mostly birds that stop here along their migration route. This is home to the Magnificent Frigatebird and Sooty Tern. Both of these birds spend most of their life in the air, rarely landing. Also lots of pelicans, gulls, and terns.

This is where the fort is located, we were closer to Cuba than mainland USA.

It was a long day so when we got home we took a fast shower and headed out to dinner in Key West, ending the day at the wine bar!   

Sunday afternoon we tried to go SCUBA diving. We got on the boat with three other men and rode 7 miles out to a reef near a lighthouse. I was really nervous about doing this and we both required a lot of help getting our gear set up for diving. But the dive master and other passengers were very nice about helping us and giving us advice. I hyperventilated after jumping in and it took a bit to get me calmed down and ready to dive. Poor John was really worried about me, not knowing how to help. But I calmed down. The bad part is that visibility in the water was ZERO! Couldn't even see my feet. The other three divers were very experienced divers and even they said there is no way they wanted to dive. We were in a protected marine sanctuary so could not touch the coral and if you can't see where you are going, you are very likely to break coral. So the dive ended before we even went under. We have a rain check so will be going out again when the water clears.

I'm writing this on Monday morning -- too tired the last two nights to do anything!

Key West Lifestyle

Thursday dawned sunny but cool -- seems to be the way of the weather in Florida this year. Late in the morning we decided to ride our bikes into town to find a scruffy place the locals like for lunch. As we are by-passing a lady, John stops and asks her where she likes to eat and she told us about B.O.'s. This place is a dump but had great fish sandwiches that looked like po-boys. Hopefully the picture tells you more than I can with words.  

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.

Snorkel Day in Key West

We awoke to rain this morning but it cleared out right after breakfast. We didn't do much today (computer, grocery shop etc.) until we decided to go over to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park where they have a place to snorkel and try out our new gear. Too much stuff to carry so we drove the Jeep over. It's a nice beach with some rocks and reef right off the shore. The water temp was 69°! I just could not get in past my thighs -- it was too cold for me but John toughed it out and claimed that once he got used to it, it wasn't too bad.

For the first time ever, John's mask did not leak! The snorkel has a bobber on top so that if water washes over the tube, it closes and you don't drink sea water. John's worked perfectly. In fact, he found he could dive down to the bottom without drinking any water. And the fins fit fine, were not the least bit loose and propelled him pretty fast. All in all, he is VERY happy with his gear. Now we will rent wet suits and find a place to snorkel all day.

Just as we were leaving the beach, the skies opened up and it poured for the rest of the afternoon and evening. And it is suppose to get cold! But our neighbors don't seem to mind. We have a party crowd right behind us. I think they started the morning with Bloody Mary's and beer and haven't stopped all day. Nice folks, but a bit loud and rowdy.

Biking Key West

Whew! I'm tired! We spent all day on the bikes in Key West. Best weather we've had on this trip - near 80°, little wind, sunny. We left the RV around 10:30 AM (lazy morning) and rode into town, an easy ride with bike lanes all the way. We wondered around a bit then found a place to lock the bikes and walked all around Mallory Square and the wharf area scoping the bars and restaurants and watching the tourists. We found a neat roof-top place overlooking the boats for a nice lunch break.

We rode the bikes some more stopping at the Southern Whitehouse -- a vacation spot favored by Pres. Harry Truman; rode past Hemmingway's home, looked at Coast Guard cutters, and found the beaches where we might be able to snorkel tomorrow. We also got lost (sort of) and rode in an unsavory part of town.

Around 5 PM we headed back to Mallory Square where all the people gather to watch the sunset. We got a Margarita and watched street performers until the sunset but we didn't really get to see the sun set as a dense fog rolled in about 5:30. It was really weird. There were acrobats, cat performers, fire eaters, musicians, and magicians. Lots of jewelry, art, and junk being sold.

By the time we rode our bikes back to the RV it was after 7 so we went to a local place called Hogfish for supper and had to wait over an hour for food because they were so busy! Good night!

Down to The Keys

We left Umatilla after having coffee with the Rally group and saying our good-byes. Our friends, Ray and Judy from Colorado, were camping in a county park in south Miami so we planned on joining them. We decided to take the Florida Turnpike instead of the hassle of driving on I-95 in Miami traffic. Right now we are not sure it was worth the $44.65 in tolls but we made the trip in record time. It was a very nice campground with great bike paths and they let us dry camp in a field for half price! That takes some of the sting out of the tolls. We had a delightful afternoon and evening with Ray and Judy catching up on what we have been doing since last summer.

As we were visiting, it started raining and it doesn't want to stop! We got up and headed out in the rain. It rained all the way down from Miami to Key West. It was still raining while we set up camp in Boyd's Campground at noon. It rained while I did laundry and John worked on his iPhone. It finally stopped when I took my shower at 5 PM! John found a fresh seafood market so we had great tuna steaks for dinner then drove into Key West to get oriented with the town. We plan to ride our bikes the 5 miles into town tomorrow and seek out the local, non-tourist restaurants and hidden beauty of the city.

We are here on a tiny little campsite.

Umatilla

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!

But we did it and we have learned some valuable new lessons. Number one -- sand is soft and even the Jeep sinks in fast! Number two -- I now fully understand what 'high centering' really means.

This is our location through Sunday morning.

Ponce Inlet Lighthouse

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 also found a dive shop and got our own face masks, snorkels, and fins. Now we have to find a local 72° spring to try them out and make sure each piece works before we head to Key West early next week.

Tour de Loop

Today we took our longest bike ride ever! The Daytona Bicycle Club has established 3 loops along this coast. We took the shortest one around Ormond Beach.

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.

It was a beautiful ride. We saw lots of sloughs, river, snowy egrets, great blue Herons, terns and robins. We crossed a draw bridge, a crabbing bridge, and a fishing bridge. We rode along the Atlantic Coast and had lunch with the locals. It was cool (53°) and slightly breezy but we were dressed for the chill so it didn't bother us much.

We might be ready for the Katy Trail!

Tomoka State Park

We drove from Lazy Daze park to Ormond Beach in about 3 hours -- the slowest leg was thru Orlando. The traffic jam in the middle of the day must be a common occurrence. We wouldn't want to live there! Ormond Beach is just north of Daytona Beach.

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.

In 1764 the British Privy Council gave a Scots merchant, Richard Oswald, 20,000 acres of land in this part of East Florida. Oswald established 4 plantations along the Halifax River where he grew Indigo, potatoes, red peas, cotton, and rice with indigo being the main cash crop. They also shipped out timber, hides, molasses, rum, sugar, and oranges. Slaves were used for much of the labor and Oswald never resided here, preferring the cultured life of Charleston, SC. Oswald's knowledge of the colonies were important in reconciling British and American differences at the end of the Revolutionary War. Oswald was sent by King George III to meet with our founding fathers to draft a peace treaty.

This is our campsite for the next 3 days.

And you call this "sunny" Florida???

Friday was awful. Not only was it cold and rainy but the RV's battery died and it was so dead that we had to call a tow truck to come jump start it. That caused a two hour departure delay and Disney folks were not happy but tuff! We drove 7 miles to the next park which was on the seedy side but they had one site left -- sort of. It was on a hill and we could not get real level. But the manager took pity on us having to set up in the rain and only charged us $10 for the night. Poor John got drenched!

The bright spot of the day was dinner with my mom and step-dad. They and two other couples from St. Charles rent a house in Kissimmee every winter for a month. We had a delightful evening with them, even playing a card game called 3-13. We neither one won but we did share in the pot of dimes and quarters. They invited us to join them Saturday morning for breakfast at the Eagle Lodge. Problems arose when all the street were closed off for a 5K race and we couldn't find the building until we cut thru a parking lot and found ourselves there. Mom and Bernie weren't so lucky and John had to guide them in. Breakfast was worth it though. We had bacon, eggs, fries, grits, toast, biscuits & gravy and coffee for only $10 for both of us.

We moved again to the Lazy Daze Rally Park near Tampa (only an hour drive). It's a very nice park run by the largest RV Dealer in Florida. We spent the afternoon looking at RV's and pointing out all the things we don't like about them.

We had dinner Sat. night with John's VP of Sales, wife, and son. After stopping at two restaurants and finding them full, we ended up at a nice sushi place. We thought they wouldn't like sushi and they thought me might not like sushi or this would have been the first stop!

Today I did laundry and John caught up on computer work. We then rode our bikes about 12 miles looking for a nearby state park and finding only RV and trailer parks. But it was good to get some exercise.

The weather has been very chilly. The weather report noted that temperatures in Florida have been about 20° below normal this month. But it's still better than 23° and snow! Hopefully by the end of the week it will be back in the 60's. At least the sun is shinning!

This is our location.

Disney's Epcot

We were scheduled to have dinner with Mickey and Dave on Wednesday evening at the Fort Wilderness Lodge so John and I explored the area on our bikes, found the route from the campsite to the Lodge and had it all planned to ride our bikes to dinner but then Dave called and they both were experiencing a 24 hour flu! So John got to BBQ chicken for supper.

We did go to Epcot on Thursday. Not a whole lot has changed in the World Showcase but they do have some new experiences in the Future World area. We especially enjoyed Soarin', Test Track, and Mission:Space. Why we carried the camera around with us all day I'll never know because we didn't take a single picture!!

It's a good thing we went to Epcot yesterday as today it is to rain all day! Yuck! And we have to move as Fort Wilderness is full up.

Fort Wilderness

Yes, we are at Disney World but we have not (yet) gone into any of the parks.

We departed the FMCA rally on Sunday morning with only a 2 hour drive ahead of us we stopped at Camping World (they love us there!) where we got a new converter to replace the 3 year old non-functioning one. It took all of Sunday afternoon but John got it installed before the big Super Bowl game. ( YEAH!! Saints!!!)

Monday morning was a little chilly in the RV so the coffee was steaming pretty good, especially when I threw the hot grounds in the trash. About that time John looked up and saw what he thought was smoke coming from the converter! He about had a heart attack and then realized it was just steam. All I could do was laugh, I couldn't help it! He had such a terrified look on his face!

We spent Monday cleaning the coach inside and out, doing laundry, and riding our bikes and enjoying the almost warm weather. Every night there is a fireworks display from Fantasy Land so we sat on the beach to watch -- I'm such a kid! I oohed and ahed all the way thru it. Have you ever seen star and heart shaped explosions?! WOW!

We played golf with Dave and Mickey on Tuesday but had to finish the last 5 holes in rain! I still did pretty good, John did okay (I'm not allowed to give the scores). We then had a pretty good meal at the Yachtsman's Steakhouse at the Yacht Club Resort. The bus ride to get there took 1 hour 15 min while a car ride would have been only 10 minutes but we didn't have to drive!

Today we are spending the morning in Panera's catching up on email and internet stuff while fixing John's iPhone -- it died yesterday.

We are camped right here.

FMCA Rally

Tuesday morning (2/2) we were up at dawn and on the road by 8:30 AM. We drove to Brooksville, just north of Tampa, and met with 25 other Born Free's to drive onto the rally grounds as a group.

Family Motor Coach Assoc. has many chapters around the country and this rally is sponsored by the South East Area (S.E.A.) chapters from Florida. They expect over 1700 coaches for the 5 day event. Everyday they start with coffee and donuts then open up the vendor tent, the display coaches and food vendors. There are anywhere from 15 to 30 seminars presented each day such as RVing in Alaska or Canada, info about electricity, water, fans, glass, tires etc in your RV, various crafts and cooking tips, email and satellite instruction and much more. The grounds are located on inactive runways of the airport and are so big that buses shuttle people around. We walked to the end of one really long row and back and figured we had covered one mile!

Each night we have cocktails or potluck with the Leap'n Lions and then there is professional entertainment. I have played the kazoo and laughed at an impersonator. Tonight we'll see "The Central Florida Rat Pack" perform (take off on Sammy Davis Jr, Dean Martin, and Frank Sinatra) and Saturday night is a talent show and rock band.

We took the day off today (Friday) from seminars and got a new windshield cover, had the Blue Ox people service our car tow bar system (on site for only $25), fixed my bike and walked 2 miles to lunch at a Cuban Cafe. We walked back in pouring rain! It is expected to rain until about 8 PM tonight then clear up for the next few days.

The picture shows what 26 Born Free's lined up looks like -- pretty impressive!

Here is where we are parked, on the taxiway at the airport.

7 days Ft Myer's Beach area

Saturday we played golf and we are both still struggling after the winter time off but I'm struggling a little less than John (translation - I did better than him again).

I went to church Sunday morning and then we had a very lazy morning but at noon we again joined Rick and Libet for a 15 mile bike ride and lunch.

Since my Aunt and Uncle live on Captiva in the winter months and since my mom and step-dad came down today, we had dinner with them. Aunt Shirley and Uncle Harold have a lovely condo and we had a great visit with them.

Today was a cloudy, rainy day made for grocery shopping and laundry washing. But we also rode out to the shrimp boats for more seafood. The scallops here are so sweet! Can't wait to cook them up again.

We have watched the sun set into the gulf all but 2 nights that we have been here and tonight's was the most beautiful. Just at sunset the clouds cleared on the horizon and the sun set in great red ball of fire in a red sky!

Fun in the Sun

The beach is very wide and quite hard -- hard enough to ride our bikes on. We put in about 10 miles round trip. Did you know that sand is very hard to pedal thru? We got a real work out. So, of course, we have to rest and lay out on the beach and soak up the rays! It is actually very nice out on Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and . . .

Since we are this close to fresh seafood we ride our bikes over the bridge back to the mainland and to the shrimping docks where there are several places selling fresh shrimp and scallops. Oh, they are so good! Wednesday afternoon we drive over to Sanibel to visit our friends Rick and Libet. They take us out to the end of Captiva where we watch the sun set into the gulf and then have a scrumptious seafood dinner. On Friday we ride our bikes to "Heavenly Biscuit" for breakfast and meet Rick and Libet for lunch after which we go kayaking in the bay. For supper we ate at the Blu Sushi & Martini Bar. Had a great evening!