April 12, 2016

Day 61

We spent the morning at the Dolphin Research Center.  When it’s time to leave, E T does not want to go.  As soon as we get near the exit she stops and won’t walk.

After lunch David dropped Rowan and I off at the Bus Stop.  The Lower Keys Shuttle (bus) system is great way to get to Key West without driving.  ($1.50 one way senior /  $2.00 student).   No trip to the Keys is complete without spending time in Key West.  David and     E T will drive in later and join us for a trip to Fort  Zachary Taylor Historic Park and dinner. After all the years we have been coming to the Keys this will be our first time at the Fort.

First Stop … Mallory Square and the Key West Historic Memorial Sculpture Garden.

Next Stop Ernest Hemingway’s House ($13 per person CASH only)

Then across the street to tour the Key West Lighthouse (88 steps to the top) and Keepers Quarters Museum. ($9 senior / $5 student).

Fresnel Lens

We met David and E T at the corner of Truman and Whitehead a couple miles from Fort Zachary Taylor.

So, here is my story of the day!  There is a very nice partially shaded hiking trail around the Fort.   As we’re walking, David spots this very cool bird in the trees. I’d never seen one like it before.   It’s a little climb down and between some branches, but I finagle my way to a good position to take a photo.  David and Rowan leave me there.  They have both had enough of my “birding”.   I’m getting the camera ready and I feel something on my head (hat).  It’s not slithering,  it’s kind of like a tapping.  I step away and look up.  It’s another bird, just like the one I’m trying to photograph.  It was was pecking at my hat.  Well,  I was a bit startled and did kind of a hop and jump move down into the rocks and brush.  Nope,  not a snake … Iguanas.  I don’t know how many,  but they took off every which way.  They scared the dickens out of me, but I didn’t run.  I wanted a photo of the bird that was pecking on my head 🙂

We decided not to stay in Key West for dinner.  On the way to Marathon, in Big Pine, there is a VERY dog friendly restaurant, Boondocks.  Rowan and I had the best Mac and Cheese ever, David had a Burger and Fries, E T had 2 Bacon Beggin’ Strips 🙂

Another Fabulous Day !

April 10, 2016.
Days 60

Rowan is an  early bird and was up at dawn every morning to catch the sunrise from his favorite perch.

This is Rowan’s third time coming to the Keys with us.  Like us,  he has his favorite things to do.

While Rowan and David took care of some business on the beach, I did some bird watching.

Rowan and I biked a portion of the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail.  This is a 106.5 mile asphalt rail trail that goes from Key Largo to Key West.   We were always on the lookout for what I call Iguanas and Rowan informed me  were “Pigeons of the South”.

During both of Rowan’s  previous trips to Marathon we took him to The Dolphin Research Center (DRC) to swim with the Dolphins.  This time he passed on swimming with them, but had a lot of fun introducing E T to them.  DRC is VERY dog friendly.  We went back twice with Rowan and ET.  It is a wonderful refuge center and College.  Louie, my favorite dolphin was rescued from the BP oil spill in Louisiana.  He had a 5% chance of making it and today is thriving at DRC.   The Dolphins were as interested in E T as she was in them, as you’ll see in the slideshow.

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After dinner,  we relaxed on the beach at Curry Hammock and were entertained by a couple of Kite Boarders.

April 6 – 10,  2016.
Days 55, 56, 57, 58, 59
I missed my family, friends, washer, dryer and dishwasher.  It was time for a break.  Leaving on a Jet Plane,  David and ET drove me to Miami International Airport.  They stayed in sunny Florida. I was only going home home for a few days.
The GPS tells us it’s two hours from Marathon to Miami.  If GPS says two hours, it’s at least three hours Florida Traffic Time.  We leave at 5:30 a.m., cruise through the Upper Keys and then BAM, hit the mainland traffic.  Three hours and twenty minutes later we’re at the airport.
Flying has never bothered me.  I’ve been up and down the East Coast many times, to the West Coast and Canada a few.  I have a one stop flight from Miami to Charlotte, N.C. and then on to Hartford, CT.  By the time I get to Charlotte I’m All Shook Up!  The plane was Shake, Rattle and Roll -ing most of the flight.  At one point a teenage boy got up from his seat and started walking toward the back.  Someone SCREAMED “What are you doing? Get back in your seat!  It’s DANGEROUS to be walking around!”  My first thought after hearing that was “I hope that was one of his parents not a flight attendant.
From Charlotte to Hartford wasn’t much better. Hartford arrival time 4:30 p.m.  It was a looooong tedious day of travel and I still had another hour ride home.  RVing has really spoiled me.
The flight was worth it!  I spent the next three and 1/2 fun filled days with family and friends.  I recharged and headed back.  My 17 yr old Grandson, Rowan, flew back with me for Spring Break.  It was a nice traffic-less 1/2 hour drive from her house to Bradley International.  Our non stop flight from Hartford to Miami was nice and smooth.  We even arrived 15 minutes early. What A Difference A Day Makes!

Flight was good. Traffic wasn’t bad, maybe because it was a Sunday 🙂   We arrived in Miami at 2:15 p.m.  Still plenty of daylight to Let the Good Times Roll!
In this case Catch a Little Fire Under Our Feet!   Our first stop was Everglades National Park in Homestead, Fl.  We wanted to take Rowan for a short (.8 mile) hike on one of my favorite trails The Anhinga.  At the entrance to the park we’re told the trail is closed because of a fire.  We were disappointed, but I had a back up plan.  Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park in Islamorada, Fl.  We arrive at 5:15 p.m. and the park is closed.  We are Striking Out big time!  It’s supper time anyway!  What can go wrong here?  It’s called “Authentic Mexican Food”.  Not a good choice for a 17 year old that considers Taco Bell five star cuisine.  We did score a run with doing take out and making dinner a Picnic at Anne’s Beach 🙂

Everyday is a new Adventure!

Days 52, 53, 54

April  2 – 14, 2016

There is only one Florida State Park that we like better than Curry Hammock,  Bahia Honda in Big Pine, FL.   Each have their own character.  Curry is very laid back and relaxing.  Bahia Honda is activity filled.  Both are very, very difficult to get campground reservations.  We were very, very lucky to get site #20 in Curry Hammock for two weeks.   This is one of the best sites we’ve ever had in any campground.  It is huge, private,  level,  partially shaded, mostly gravel.  It is L shaped and has a special area for our  screen house and picnic table.  It is also close to the showers and dish washing station.  We do not have full hook up.  Water and electric only ($38 a night).

We do have a strange green neighbor.

The beach/picnic/kayak areas here are  beautiful.  The water is 80 degrees and crystal clear.

As in all Florida State Parks, Dogs are not allowed on the beache or in the water.  Less than two miles away is  Dog Friendly,  Cocoa Plum Beach.

One of our favorite places to walk E T is the Seven Mile Bridge.  On this visit we were entertained by schools of Tarpon swimming in  and jumping out of the water.

We stopped at the Salty Dog to check on fishing charters and met some friends. Polly is real,  the pirates aren’t 🙂

April 3, 2016

Last year we saw the Blue Angels perform at the Pensacola Naval Base.   We were very excited when we found out that they were going to be at a show in Key West,  when we were going to be in the area.  This was a full blown Air Show featuring the Blue Angels.   It was our first Air Show and won’t be the last.  We had a great time.  It was an all day affair with Vendors,  Sponsors,  Advertisers … David and I enjoy Women’s Roller Derby.  A couple of Key West Derby Dames were at the show promoting an upcoming event.  Unfortunately, we won’t be in the area on the 23rd otherwise we would have gone.  But, I did get a photo with a couple of the Dames!   It’s in the slideshow below,  as well as,  only a few of the highlights of the show.    It was another hazy, hot, overcast day so the air photos aren’t anywhere near as representative of the spectacular maneuvers.  The wing walker is a female Police Sergent.

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March 30 – April 2,  2016

Days  49, 50, 51

We are in the “Keys” my number one vacation destination.   Yes,  there is traffic here.  Yes, it’s hot here.  BUT none of that matters.  We’re in the KEYS!

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (mile marker 102.5) is the premier tourist attraction in Key Largo.  The campground lives up to our Florida State Park expectations.  It  is not our first time camping here, but it’s been a couple of years.   Both of our campsites, 44 and 45 (we had to change sites for one day of our reservations) are huge and partially shaded (full hook up, 50 amp $38).   We have all the windows open and are breathing fresh Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico breezes.

The campground host and hostess are bigger and uglier than I remember!

Snorkeling and Diving are the big attractions here,  but the kayak trails are pretty “cool”!   We couldn’t have had better conditions with slight breezes and very calm water on the mangrove trails and on the ocean.  It was so nice there were quite a few paddleboarders out.  The water is crystal clear.  I wish I could have gotten photos of the dozens of  Parrot Fish that we saw.  They are the prettiest fish.

Of course we had to keep E T entertained.  The closest dog friendly beach to us is one of our favorites in Islamorada, Anne’s Beach.

Next Stop … Curry Hammock State Park in Marathon.

We have been extremely busy during our nine days in the area.  It was my first Easter,  that I remember, not being with my family.  My son, Richie, and his family were vacationing in Orlando and our plan was to meet them.  It’s According to the GPS it’s about a 3 1/2 hour drive from here.  I drove 4 hours  to meet them in New Orleans without a second thought.  The traffic,  starting in Destin, Florida  traveling south has progressively gotten more congested.   If you’ve been reading my blogs we have changed plans many times  because of the traffic.  My daughter-in-law told me the Orlando traffic was terrible.  I am flying home the first week of April. Grandaughter,  Emily Rose, is performing in her first play, Peter Pan and Grandson, Rowan is flying back to the Keys with me.  So, I let traffic change our plans, AGAIN!

Easter Sunday … more traffic!  This time we did NOT turn around. We were on our way to Church, 7 miles from the campground. It took us over a half hour to get close.  We parked on the side of the road and walked about 1/4 – 1/2 mile to Our Lady of Light Catholic Church.  There were two 10:30 a.m. Masses being said simultaneously, one in the Church, one in the Community  Center.  Standing room only in both.  I counted over 600 seats filled in the Community Center.   My guess, well over 1,000 people attended this one Mass.

Besides dodging traffic we did a lot both in the area and at Koreshan.

We attended a concert at the Koreshan Arts Building.  During the winter months they have a concert series featuring local talent.  Singer, Songwriter Sarah Hadeka put on a fabulous show.

We have been doing a lot of local shopping.  Every Sunday there is a Farmers Market at Koreshan.  One very nice aspect of being in the South this time of year is the fresh fruits and vegetables.  One of our purchases is  this beautiful Hibiscus Tree.  It’s traveling well in the shower 🙂

If you want to have a great meal and excellent service bring your dog to the Shrimp Shack!  The food was great and every waiter and waitress in the place stopped by our table.   Quite a few customers too.  David and I were laughing.  Wouldn’t it be funny if we could get E T to sit up in a chair.

Florida is loaded with biking/pedestrian trails.  The tough part is finding one with shade.  We found one of the three trail heads for the 10 mile John Yarbrough Linear Park on Six Mile Cypress in Fort Meyers.  David and I laughed at how much having ET has changed our choices in what we do.  Before ET we would have biked the 10 miles.  Now ET has us walking and she lets us now how far.  When she’s ready to turn around she stops and holds her ground until we turn around.  My guesstimate was a three mile walk.

Captive Island is adjacent to Sanibel.  It is VERY “Hi Brow”!  The “shabbier” residences that we could see from the road resembled “Governor’s Mansions”.  David wanted me to take him to lunch at one of the “fine dining” restaurants.  I was quick to remind him how much he enjoyed picnics.

We did a drive through of Lovers Key State Park.   When David and I first started going to the Keys we took a side trip here with our bicycles.  It is a great park for biking and kayaking.  This time we couldn’t  find a parking place.  We put it on our list of “get there earlier’s”.

David was very disappointed that we ran out of time before kayaking the Estero River,  AKA the Mosquito River.  I’m not kidding, the original name of this River was the Mosquito River.  My guess is someone involved in “tourist attracting” changed the name 🙂    We had actually been all “sprayed” with insect repellant and on the way to the boat launch one afternoon,  when a  thunderstorm came through and turned us around.   Oh Drats!

Next Stop … Key Largo!

March 24, 2016

Days 44, 45, 46, 47, 48

Bridge Traffic … the first day that we tried going to Sanibel Island we were coming from Fort Meyers in the early afternoon.  We waited in bumper to bumper traffic so long that we finally turned around.

The next time we left around 9:30 a.m.  We had planned to go earlier but  had waited for a thunder and heavy rain storm to pass.  Traffic was considerably lighter.  It might also have helped that the skies were overcast and they were forecasting more rain in the afternoon. Our first stop was the Visitors Center,  where we were pleasantly surprised to find the trail head for Shipley’s Trail to Pond Apple Park.   We didn’t make it to the Pond the tour guides were to slow (see slideshow below).  Next stop was Bowman’s Beach Park.  It was a good thing we got there early,  because parking was limited.   We picked up a late lunch at Jerry’s Foods which is tourist attraction in itself, as well as, Restaurant, Deli, Shops, Spa, etc.  The center courtyard is a beautiful tropical garden,  housing an exotic bird collection.  We had a delicious picnic at Causeway Island Park.   After lunch I gave E T her first swim lesson.  She loves the water,  but will only go in up to her belly.   I had this notion that if I was in the water, I could cox her.   What I’ve been waiting for,  is water that is warm enough and clear enough for my liking.  Today was the day.  I got more than my belly wet,  but not   E T.   Next Time 🙂

Sanibel Island gets Five Stars for Pet Friendly.  All the beaches,  many restaurants,  most hiking trails and the 20 plus miles of paved all purpose trails welcome well behaved dogs on an 8ft or less leash.

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My main reason for wanting to tackle the traffic back to Sanibel was the JN “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  This is a totally awesome place for anyone with any amount of interest in wildlife viewing.   We were not able to enjoy the indoor Visitor/Education Center, because we had E T with us.  The only places in the park that she isn’t welcome are inside buildings, on the tram and by the water (alligators).  We totally enjoy the outdoor Education Center, as well as,  the 2 mile Indigo hiking trail and the 4 mile Wildlife Drive.  David and I both agree, we would love to come back again on a Friday,  when they close Wildlife Drive to motor vehicles and only  allow bicyclists and hikers.  also, the kayaking looked great.   Our time on the  Wildlife Education Boardwalk and Observation Tower was spectacular.  The kids would love all the Poop on the boardwalk railings (see slideshow).

I FINALLY got to see a Roseate Spoonbill!  A Ranger had told us that one had not been spotted in over two weeks.  She came out to see us!!! This slideshow is all about  JN “Ding” Darling … snakes included!!!

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Lastly,  a few Hot Hazy Overcast quick stops.  David drove around the parking LOTS looking for spaces while I ran and got a couple of peeks of the Sanibel Lighthouse and Lighthouse Beach.  The weather did not keep the beach lovers away.  This is a lovely island, but while we were here there was too much traffic,  not enough parking and way too many people.  We tried to get lunch at a couple of pet friendly restaurants, Schapper’s Hots (we could not get into the parking lot) and Cip’s Place (the wait was over a half hour).   Next Time!  So we had another picnic 🙂

March 22, 2016

This is the closest dog friendly beach to Koreshan.   We got lucky and it was low tide when we arrived.   It is an off leash dog beach,  but  we are overly cautious and keep  E T on a leash.  She was not the only one.  E T is very timid and it seems overly aggressive dogs sense this.  Just like kids in a playground,  the timid ones often get bullied 🙁

I’m not sure who had more fun at the beach David or E T 🙂   Enjoy the slideshow.

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March 21 – March 30, 2016

Days 40, 41, 42, 43

Koreshan Campground is being closed April 15, 2016 for a much needed facelift.  The sites have been taken over by  vegetation.  It is so dense they need to do a controlled burn.  So we are living in a jungle, for nine days.   It’s no big deal, because there is so much to do in the park and nearby that we wouldn’t be spending much time at the site anyway.

The Historic part of the park is the Koreshan Unity Settlement.

A man named Dr. Cyrus Teed (Koresh is Hebrew for Cyrus) had an “illumination” to create a Utopia,  the “New Jerusalem”,  a life without crime, tobacco or drugs.  In 1894,  with a couple of hundred followers,  the community formed.   In 1961 the last few Koreshans donated 305 acres of their holdings to the State of Florida, as a “Gift to the People”.

The site today,  is a place of beauty,  peace and tranquility.   Walking onto the property,  the first thing I noticed was how good it smelled good.

Pathways made of shells, trails along the Estero River and bridges invite you to enjoy the beautiful grounds,  buildings, gardens and wildlife.  The settlement represents  the hopes and dreams of people that were not afraid of hard work and had a great appreciation for theater,  art,  music and education.  Their beliefs were a little weird in my opinion,  but to each his own.

There are guided tours everyday and scheduled events like,  garden tours,  music series, demonstrations,  a baking program at the Cast Iron Cafe and a Farmers Market on different days.  The grounds are open 8:00 a.m. til sunset everyday and pets on a leash are welcome, but not in the buildings.   It’s an easy bicycle ride from the campground.  I’ve taken to walking E T there at least once a day,  sometimes twice.