So long to the Florida Keys

Today, we left the Keys. We have been there for 3 weeks, but it was time to leave.

However, before we left, we visited the Turtle Hospital on Marathon Key. The Keys are home to 5 different species of sea turtles, and this place rescues, rehabilitates and releases turtles that need help.

It is housed in an old gulf-side motel. The rooms have been converted to staff housing. The staff is on-call 24x7, and will go anywhere, anytime to retrieve a turtle who needs help.

Public Service Announcement:  Though adorable, turtles are NOT bright. They will eat anything that they think might be food. Several of the "patients" were brought in because they were "floaters" - that is, they had so much intestinal gas built up from foreign body obstruction that they could not dive below the surface (where the food is located). Some were found to have balloons, grocery  bags, six-pack loops, and other objects in their intestines. The message: PICK UP YOUR TRASH!!!  

Several were here because they had become entangled in fishing line or nets.  

And, several more were here due to the fibropapilloma virus, which started as a land-based virus. But due to water pollution from land run-off, it has invaded the oceans. It causes debilitating vascular tumors, inside and out. It affects Green Turtles primarily. These tumors have to be removed by laser surgery, and the turtles must then be observed for one year before being released.

Finally, some turtles are here because they had a run-in with a boat propellor. They either have fractured shells, or internal injuries. Their spinal cords are attached to their shells, so damage to their shells transfer damage to their spinal cords. 

Anyway...it was a really interesting tour, and a remarkable sanctuary.

A youngster, recovering from an intestinal blockage

An adolescent, recovering from an entanglement with fishing line

An adult, after surgery repairing an intestinal blockage

The "deep end", where turtles who are either ready to be released, or living here forever, live

This was a really impressive tour, and incredibly valuable to the ecology of the Florida Keys. 

Merry Christmas from Big Pine Key

This is Irv, our beloved home on wheels, decorated for Christmas with colored lights and wreath. 

We are so blessed to be able to take this trek across America. But today, we are missing all our girls, and their families, and our friends. We love you all so much.

Christmas Eve, Bahia Honda

Yesterday, Christmas Eve, we drove to nearby Bahia Honda State Park, home to the only natural sand beach in the Keys. It was really gorgeous, and the weather was a perfect beach day. (Though I will say that Southern California's long, wide beaches kind of spoil a person.)

Bahia Honda State Park from the old bridge.

The beach, though narrow, was absolutely beautiful! Water had to be at least 78 degrees. And, yes, it really IS this color.

The Bahia Honda wildlife was beautiful, too.

As Stacy has written, the Keys are just a lot of small islands connected by a series of bridges. Back in 1905, entrepreneur Henry Flagler decided to extend his railroad all the way to Key West - no small feat given the geographic remoteness and technology of the time. Flagler evidently felt Key West could become a major shipping port to and from South America. So, in a seven-year-long project, he laid the tracks to make it possible.

Today, most of Flagler's original rail bridges are still there, right alongside today's modern "overseas highway". Years after completion, they actually built a highway for cars on TOP of the old rail bridge on the stretch at Bahia Honda. You can actually walk a half mile or so out the old bridge, which affords an unequalled arial view. 

The new bridge from the old bridge

From the end of the accessible portion of the old bridge, this view shows the roadway built atop the railroad bridge...all of it in a serious state of decay. (Also note the pipe used to take fresh water out to the Lower Keys.)

Last night, we got all dressed up (which here means clean shorts) and went to a lovely Christmas Eve church service. 

Mile Marker 39, Florida Keys

We have been shirking our blogging  duties....falling into the Florida Keys lackadaisical lifestyle.

I'll do a little catch up today.

As Jack mentioned last time, I spent a week in Seattle visiting my daughter, Evan. I left 81 degree Miami, traveled through 12 degree Detroit, and landed in 41 degree Seattle. My thermostat was very confused! We did some shopping, went to see "Oliver!", ate lots of Christmas cookies, went to Pike Street Market, and spent a day in Portland, where we were able to briefly visit with Becca and Tara, and their families, and tour Portland State University, where Evan has applied.

Jack languished in Key Largo, and was a bronzed god when I got back.  Tough duty, but someone had to do it.

Hanging out in Key Largo

We rented a couple of kayaks and paddled through the water trails traversing the mangroves, hoping to see some cool wildlife. We didn't, but it was really nice to be out on the water.

Now we are in Big Pine Key, another 60 miles deeper into the Keys. As we travel South, it gets less crowded, with more open water, and flatter. The highest point in the Keys is 17 feet above sea level. I prefer this area down here to Key Largo, which was a little too "Southern California" for me.

We are in Sunshine Key RV "Resort", which is a far cry from our personal paradise we had in Key Largo. Most of the RV parks in this area are flat with densely packed RV spaces and a few palm trees, which is what this is. But, it is surrounded on two sides by the Gulf, and is quiet and clean. We are on a small island between Big Pine Key and Marathon Key, so wherever we go we cross bridges.

Throughout eastern Florida, from St. Augustine on down, we have heard the name Henry Flagler.  Mr. Flagler was the founder of Standard Oil and quite a visionary. In the early 1900's, he built the Florida railroad system, extending it all the way to Key West.  Much of the old railroad causeway and bridges still are here, paralleling the Overseas Highway.  One of the weirdest parts is across from where we are staying.  They actually installed an automobile highway ON TOP OF the railroad bridge. It is not in use today, but still stands.

Railroad bridge with highway installed on top.

Big Pine Key is home to the Key Deer Refuge. These deer migrated down here from Virginia during the Ice Age, then got stuck here when the ice melted. Because of the limited food supply available to them, they have evolved into their own separate species, and are just white tail deer in miniature.

Key Deer, probably about 40 lbs

We saw a full grown buck with antlers that was only slightly larger than our old friend, Mandy the dog.

All traffic stops while he decides what he wants to do....

Key Deer are federally protected, so they simply wander where they want, and are not timid at all.

There is also an area on the island called "The Blue Hole". It's an old quarry that is now the only fresh water lake in the Keys. Of course it has the requisite alligators and turtles, but a few years ago, one of the Hurricanes (I forget which one) actually washed a couple of Tarpon fish into the Hole. They adapted to the fresh water and they were jumping and splashing in the sunshine.

This guy was lazing in the sun, about 2 feet from where we were standing

Yesterday we drove the last 39 miles to Key West. As expected, it was rather touristy, but fun. There are some beautiful old buildings, scenic waterways, and a somewhat tacky "devil-may-care" attitude. We enjoyed our visit.

Key West outdoor dining. Pretty, huh?

A beach at Key West

We ate lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville (of course, look who I 'm married to...) and walked Duval Street.

Jack, channelling Jimmy Buffett at Margaritaville

We had to get a photo of the large buoy which marks the  southernmost spot in the USA. There was a line of about 30 tourists, just to get close to the buoy. A bit of a zoo. Excuse the poor pic.

90 miles to Cuba (closer than the 125 miles to Miami)

We had planned on staying in the Keys through New Year's, but we have kind of had enough. Those of you in cold climes will laugh, but we are sort of tired of the never-ending sun and humidity, and are ready for some variety. So we are planning our next move. Not sure where, so stay tuned!

Key Largo...the Ides of December

There is not much to report this week. On Thursday Stacy braved snowstorms sub-zero temps in the midwest and flew to Seattle to spend some pre-Christmas time with her daughter Evan.

Stacy is thrilled to see Evan! Tonight they go to see the musical Oliver in Seattle. Tuesday they drive to Portland for Evan's appointment at PSU, and to pay brief visits to Tara, Becca and their lovely families. (To say I'm jealous is a colossal understatement.)

Evan, Becca, Tara, J.J., Thomas, Hardy, Henry and Lucy... I MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU!

I am spending the week hanging out in Key Largo doing...well...mostly nothing. And it's hell here. Weather is sunny and in the low 80s, but forecast is for a c-o-l-d front tonight, bringing tonight's low to 73, with a high tomorrow of a frigid 75! I'm not kidding when I tell you that the local TV weather people are covering this like one of Portland or Seattle's big, dramatic snowstorms.

Anyway, not much more to report. This morning I'm hopping on a bus for the 98-mile ride across the causeway to Key West, the southernmost point in the continental U.S. for lunch, to look around, and head back home.

We'll be back on track with our blogs after Thursday when Stacy gets back!

Key Largo

Jack and I have settled into our little waterfront nest on Key Largo.  It's beautifully warm, breezy, periodically humid, but no complaints here! No sir! Not when we hear how cold it is elsewhere.
We have hung colored lights on our awning, and white lights on our dock. It's almost Christmas!!!

We have our own thatch-roofed dock behind our trailer

And this  little beach is about 10 feet from our trailer, not swimmable, but nice

And we look out on this waterway, where all the spaces have docks. Many of them have Christmas lights on at night, and it looks like a wonderland

We both like beach towns, having both spent some of our youth in Southern California. But the confusing thing here is this: there is no way we have yet discovered to actually get to a beach. There is John Pennekamp State Park a mile or so north of us, which has a couple of sandy beaches. We biked up there yesterday to get the lay of the land. It was pretty and uncrowded, but not terribly swimmable, and it costs $$ to get there. We made various attempts to get to the Gulf side of the Key, but that is all privately owned. Perplexing. We hear it gets better as we go farther south. Hope so.

The bay in front of us. That is  State Park land across the water

But the pool area is nice and comfortable, and the seafood is FANTASTIC! We discovered an outdoor cafe that is right behind the Key Largo Fisheries, so the fish is really fresh (as are the pelicans!). Our neighbors are from Tennessee and come down here for 4 months every year. They catch fresh blue crabs and shrimp from their boat. We are also plagued (kind of a dramatic term, but BOTHERED MIGHTILY) by the  tiny "no-see-ums", which are teensy tiny little black SOB's that bite!! We hate them.

So, call us bored, but we are bored in a lovely spot.

Life is grand!!!

Wandering through Florida......

It's been a while since we've blogged. Internet is hard to come by down here. Where to start...?

We left the West coast of Florida on Tuesday, 12/3, after a thoroughly enjoyable week-long stay.
We took an unplanned side trip to Everglades City in south-central Florida. What a great spot!  It is a little rustic town built right on the Barron River, and backing up to the mangrove swamps. We ate lunch at a ramshackle outdoor fish place where the stone crabs were fresh that morning and the fried clams were divine! As we sat there, dodging seagulls and marveling at pelicans, we decided to take an air boat ride through the swamp!

We have grown quite fond of these guys.

We are so glad we did! The waterways range from wide open pools, to narrow dark passages hacked through the mangroves. We saw dozens of different birds, a fairly large alligator, a whole family of raccoons, and some pretty assertive cat fish. Our guide and boat pilot, Captain Moe, is a native-born "swamper" and told us how he and his high school buddies used to catch a gator and turn him loose in the local Rod and Gun Club swimming pool. The manager paid them $100 to get him out. After 7 or 8 times, the club owners caught on and the jig was up.

Holding a little 'gator

These guys rushed toward our boat, eager to get some cat food that was being offered.

The mangroves.

An alligator...about 7 feet long.

We wer glad we had ear phones...those air boats are LOUD

After our whirlwind (literally!) tour of the swamp, we drove on towards Miami.  The park we had picked out (from a VERY limited selection) was in Miami, about 30 miles from downtown. Of course, we discovered that in Miami traffic, 30 miles takes over an hour to drive. 

Miami was a pain to get to, but interesting and beautiful to tour around.  We opted to take a hop-on/hop-off tour bus, rather than trying to drive. We were treated to a lot of history and culture via the very knowledgeable guides. We went out to Miami Beach, where the people are beautiful and the restaurants expensive.

Art Deco district

From the causeway linking Miami and Miami Beach

Miami Beach. Air 82. Water 75. 

Yes, that sangria ended up costing $45...but when we complained, they comp'd us the $30 beer. Caveat emptor.

We took a boat tour of Biscayne Bay, which cruised by the port area and the cruise ship docks, and then around the islands in the bay where really REALLY rich people live.  These islands were man-made in the 20's and 30's, and are quite exclusive.

This is Usher's boat...the big one, I mean.

Now we have finally made it to Key Largo....more on that later....

Bonita Beach, florida

We finally left the Atlantic coast of Florida and headed west. Bonita Beach is located between Naples to the south, and Fort Myers to the north. It really is a lovely spot. Naples is a bit too congested, and Fort Myers is a little too industrial. Bonita seems just right.

Our campground is small, with lots of "regulars" who keep their rigs in the park all year, and either live here full time or spend the winter months here each year. Our neighbors, Art and Mary, have been coming here from Massachusetts for 7 years, and our other new friends, Betty and Lou from Michigan, came here for years before finally settling here. The facilities are clean, and well-maintained. It is quiet, and we are near a beautiful lake at the back of the park.

Our lake

But we are not sure what to make of this...

What the...?

So far the biggest menace has been several large Muscovy ducks who would love a handout. Mary, next door, chases them off with her leaf  blower. Art says they had "a couple of gators here 2 or 3 years ago. I don't know what happened to them."

We started Thanksgiving day with a bike ride to the beach, about 14 miles round trip.  Then we attended a pot luck sponsored by the park's management. It was DELICIOUS. Then we went to a movie.  Ah, retirement!

Yesterday we headed north to Sanibel Island, located on the Gulf of Mexico off of Fort Myers. Aside from some prime sun-soaking-up, we took a meandering drive through the nature preserve and guess who we found?

The true snow birds...American white pelicans

Yep! American white pelicans! If you have been following along with our travels, you will recall that we were impressed with the white pelicans found in Sioux Falls in August. Evidently, these great birds summer up there, and winter down here. They are NOT dumb! But, boy, are they ever big!

The preserve also has gators, and manatees (didn't see either one), butterflies (see above) and over 200 species of birds. We saw lots of those! And, strange to see, there were fish jumping out of the water throughout the park.  We were told they were mullet, and no one had any idea why they were flying around.

We ate lunch at a restaurant called Doc Ford's Rum Bar on the patio, under the palms, with Bird of Paradise and Plumeria, and listening to "White Christmas" and "Sleighride".

Mostly we have just relaxed here. We have spent 5 months bopping around, and it has been nice to spend an entire week in one place.

Hope everyone had a blessed and peaceful Thanksgiving!!

Titusville, Florida

On Wednesday, we left Orlando and the Magic Kingdom, traveling east to Manatee Hammock State Park in Titusville.

First, isn't that a picturesque name for a park? Although we didn't see any manatees (or hammocks for that matter) we really enjoyed our stay there.  It was right on the water, and very "Florida" with egrets and ibis birds wandering the pathways through the palms and palmettos.

The view from Manatee Hammock

We were also directly across the Intercoastal Waterway from NASA and Kennedy Space Center.
On Thursday, we spent nearly the whole day touring that facility. We went to one of the multiple launch pads (this one was where the Shuttle used to launch from).

That "cradle" on the left side is what kept the Shuttle safe before launch

This is the ramp that the "Crawler' had to climb, carrying the shuttle.  Took about 3 hours.

Jack, in front of the flame chute. At launch time the chute was filled with 18,000 gallons of water in 6 seconds, to muffle sound and cool the structure during launch.

We visited the Vehicle Assembly Plant, which is a MASSIVE building (53 stories high inside) where the various rockets and space vehicles go for final assembly.

One of 4 bays where TALL space vehicles are assembled. 

Vehicle assembly area. That crane can lift 250 tons!

Prototype of next generation manned capsule, due to launch in 2017.  It can carry four astronauts, but precious little cargo. For cargo we depend on Russia.

There was a multimedia presentation about the initial lunar landing, better than anything we've seen before. We walked through the "Rocket Garden", where all the different types of space rockets stand at attention...from today all the way back to the beginning of the space program. There is an entire building dedicated to the Space Shuttle program and the International Space Station.  

Central large orange liquid fuel tank, flanked by two solid fuel cylinders. The solid fuel boosters get the Shuttle off the launch pad, then fall away. The liquid fuel gets the Shuttle into orbit, burning half a million gallons in 8.5 minutes. The Shuttle itself is basically a glider after that.

The actual Atlantis, the last shuttle that flew. The open doors expose the vast cargo bay. Very, very cool thing to see.

We saw two different control rooms, one from the Mercury program in the 1960's, and one from the Shuttle. Quite different. From slide rules to computers...think of it.

Mercury control center, 1960's. Very crude with simple analog instrumentation. There was very little data available to "control" the mission from Earth.

Shuttle control center, 2000's.

Just two short bridges away was beautiful Cocoa Beach. And we were there when it was 82 degrees and sunny. The water was 74 degrees, warm and wonderful. This has been one of our goals since leaving Oregon in June...to bask in the Florida sun. It was all we had hoped for. We probably could have gone back for a second day, but had other things on the agenda...

Ahhh! Sunshine and surf. Perfect combination