Key Largo; Key West

We were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the RV Park in Key Largo. We were assigned a “camp” spot right on the water, with a tiki hut, coconut tree, deck, and boat dock all set up. Too bad we don’t have a boat we could go out into the ocean right from here! So after getting set up and exploring the area, we sat on our deck and watched the sun go down over the water with our wine and cheese. Although it was a bit cooler than normal, it still had that tropical feel.

The next day we drove to Key West – about 100 miles from Key Largo. It was amazing to see the various islands all connected by bridges. The Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean were on either side of us all the way, even if we couldn’t always see them because of the buildings in the way part of the time. The water was a beautiful blue-green. We saw more marinas, boats for sale, and people fishing than I’ve ever seen.

We were ready for lunch by the time we got to Key West, and had been told there were 300 restaurants on that small part of the island. We found a place on the marina that was just great. I remembered hearing when we were in Maine that lobsters were also raised in Florida, although they weren’t supposed to be as good as in Maine. So, of course, when I saw lobster tail on our lunch menu in Key West, I had to decide for myself! Since I haven’t had enough lobster to be a critic, I thought it was as good as any I’ve had! I guess I would order lobster (at a reasonable price) just about anywhere to do the taste test!

We enjoyed walking around Key West – the most south eastern part of our trip. We went into the Audobon House and Gardens, built in the late 1800’s. Although Mr. Audobon didn’t actually live in that house, he did many of his bird drawings or floral pictures from that area. We also learned that life wasn’t easy in that area in earlier days. Hard to get fresh water. Hurricanes were destructive, including wiping out the railroad that was the first connection for the islands more than once. We learned that the local people can tell when hurricanes are coming because of the birds start leaving.

Another day we went to a State Park nearby, and went on a snorkeling boat tour over the coral reefs. It was lovely with the beautiful fish, the blue-green water. Saw several baricuda along with the many smaller, colorful fish. John is a much better swimmer than I am, but somehow I am always ready for a snorkeling outing when available!

We are continually in awe of God’s amazing diversity of creation, whether under water, on ground, or in the air, or outer limits of space. What a blessing to be able to enjoy this spectacular world.

Everglades National Park

We spent several days in the Everglades National Park. Very flat, with an elevation of 3-4'. Just a few inches means there is different vegetation, though -- bald cypress trees in one area (no needles this time of year so they looked like dead trees), lone pine trees in another area; many palm trees; fields of marshy saw grass or mangrove trees with water surrounding them that made them look like islands. Everglades means "grassy waters."

It was very warm and muggy and... buggy the first couple days. (We were glad to be there in the winter -- the summers are terribly hot, humid, rainy, with mosquitos galore.) But I certainly found out what mosquitos and no-see-ums (that's a real name for tiny almost invisible flying insects that bite) are all about -- I have tons of bites that keep me perpetually scratching! But John must have thicker skin -- he doesn't have any. Not fair!

After sweating the first couple days, the third day became windy, poured rain and turned cool. You should have seen John and I trying to get our awning down on the trailer in the pouring rain. We were drenched. That was our cold shower for that day! Since we didn't have hook-ups, and the bath house only had cold showers, we were quite "refreshed" after the warm days.

We were glad we spent time in the Everglades, though. It's a fragile environment, partly because of the water management further north that has diverted water necessary for the balance of nature in the Everglades. The wildlife was amazing. Only 30 mammals in the whole park (including endangered panthers, which we didn't see), but 350 different bird species. We had fun with our binnoculars and water walks. The large water birds are beautiful -- great blue or white herons, ibis, wood storks, white or brown pelicans, anhingas, roseate spoonbills. We identified only one eagle sitting on its nest near the road, but probably others were flying, along with the many turkey vultures.

We rented a canoe one day. As we were getting started a crocodile was pointed out near where we were paddling, but that's the only one we saw. We prayed we didn't tip the canoe over so we could "swim with the crocodiles." Also saw many alligators. This is the only place in the world where crocodiles and alligators co-exist.

We saw some beautiful sunsets. Just hope this isn't the sunset-time for the Everglades.

Adventures on Gulf Coast, Florida

There are so many outdoor adventures here in Naples, FL. We haven't "stayed home" all day any day since we've been here.

We went to the northern part of the Everglades National Park, (we'll go further south in the park and camp at Flamingo campground next week). Took a boat tour through the 10,000 islands. We only saw 99,999 of them! Right! (Actually, the number changes daily with the tides, so no one really knows how many there really are.) Lots of mangrove trees that grow in the salty water, and birds along the estuary. We saw dolphins, but no manatees (the state fish of Florida) -- a relative of the elephant, only they are mammals that live in fairly warm water. They surface for air every 2-20 minutes but they're hard to see because they are a brownish color, which is similar to the waterways here. The water isn't polluted, just looks that way because of the color formed by the tannic acid from the mangrove trees.


The boat tour guide told us about an area we could drive to nearby where we were assured to see alligators and lots of birds -- the "real Everglades," he said. My goodness--he was right!
We've never seen so many alligators! At every turnout along the waterway there were 3-4 in view -- some very close and personal! Obviously, we didn't get out of the pickup! We lost count at about 30 alligators! So now we feel like we've really seen Florida.

One of the rainy days we went to the Historical Museum at nearby Fort Myers. They had the Lucy Exhibit -- replica of bones of our prehistoric ancestors. Very interesting exhibit. We also learned a bit about the Seminole Wars here -- and the removal of the native population to Oklahoma! Part of our history that we're not too proud of!


That same day we went to Manatee Park, and we were able to see a few floating to the surface. Had to stand in the rain to see them! Luckily, they have shelters along the trails for those sudden downpours!

One of the sunny days we rented a kayak and explored one of the waterways that led out to the beach and the Gulf of Mexico, then later went to that same beach. So many shells on the beaches here -- piles and piles of them. We are loving the beaches here -- and the best tans we've (or at least that's true for me) have ever had.

We joined a group of people around 9:30 pm EST here at the Kountree Kampinn RV Resort to watch the lunar eclipse evolve. What an awesome sight as the moon became a transluscent orange-yellow-cream color. One of the men had a telescope and a camera attached. He took some gorgeous photos, but he wasn't willing for me to get a copy to add to this blog, even though I assured him I would give him credit. He said too many of his photos have been stolen that way. Too bad -- I would have liked to share them.

We also went on a Parade of Homes trolley tour today in a new subdivision that has golf courses, natural preserves, lakes. Many gorgeous luxury homes and condos, many with screened in swimming pool/hot tub lanai. A real indoor-outdoor living feel. But.... we're not going to settle in Florida! Just fun to look.

Naples

We are now in Naples, FL. It is a bit warmer the further south we go. We've enjoyed two days on beautiful beaches here. There are more shells on these beaches than I've ever seen in one place. Piles of perfectly formed shells. To get to one of the beaches, though, we had to wade through a river -- many of us not prepared to get wet up almost to our waist.

We enjoyed watching the fishermen at the pier -- and the pelicans that were like scavengers fighting over the fish leftovers. The fishermen had to reel in their catch before the pelicans got it first. Quite a challenge -- and fun to watch.

One of the state park beaches had an environmental display for families last Saturday -- lots of fun contests and activities, including a man holding a snake and baby alligator. (photo) That evening we joined others from the RV park where we are staying for a "sunset at the beach night" -- gorgeous sunset. We ate pizza together at CiCi's -- an all-you-can-eat pizza/salad buffet chain in Florida for $5.59. They had lots of different kinds of pizza. It wasn't very good, really -- just cheap!

We walked the 2 1/2 mile boardwalk through Corkscrew Swamp, an Audobon Society preserve. Lots of different kinds of vegetation and wildlife. (Photo has a turtle, baby alligator and bird drying it's wings -- a common sight here.) Only saw a couple alligators in the distance... but wait til I post our experiences going into the northern part of the Everglades yesterday. More alligators than you can imagine!!!

Leaving Sarasota

Tonight is our last night at the Sun 'n Fun RV resort park -- after two months of "residency." It has been great fun, but there is more to see, and many more miles to travel. We'll spend another month in various parts of Florida before heading west again. We've appreciated the warmer and drier climate of Florida, especially after watching the weather channel news about the rest of the country.

We celebrated our last night with the weekly Thursday evening wine and cheese tasting, and then had a valentine's prime rib dinner at the restaurant at the resort.

Now that half of our year's travel is over, we'd like to share some of the books and movies we would recommend. Recent movies we've enjoyed: The Bucket List (great movie); Charlie Wilson's War; American Gangster -- others we can't remember just now.

Books that we've read recently that we would recommend-- some harder to read than others:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert; Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza; This Voice in My Heart: A Genocide Survivor's Story of Escape, Faith, and Forgiveness by Gilbert Tuhabonye; Saving Grace by Annie Lamott; A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini; Secret Daughter: A Mixed-Race Daughter and the Mother Who Gave Her Away by June Cross; Martin Luther King-I Have a Dream, writings and speeches that changed the world, edited by James Washington; Leaving Church by Barbara Brown Taylor;
(John): The Jim Plunkett Story by Dave Newhouse; Playing for Pizza by John Grisham

Recent Highlights

One of the highlights of our time in Sarasota, FL, has been the connection with St. Andrew UCC, and the friendship with the minister, Phil Garrison. We had a special dinner out with Phil a week ago, and then he invited us to his home for dinner with his friend/mentor/professor, Tex (and his wife Peggy--first photo on left) Sample last Sunday evening. (Yes, it was Super Bowl, but it didn't interfere too much!) Phil had invited Tex to be a guest preacher and lecturer at St. Andrew this past week. So not only have we heard fantastic preaching/storytelling/teaching, we were able to get acquainted in a more personal way with these special people.

Tex has written a number of books, and was a favorite on the Living the Questions video series that we used at Christ Church United Methodist, Santa Rosa. I have been impressed with his writings over the years, and my appreciation went up considerably this week. In his lectures here in Sarasota, I was impressed again with the breadth, depth, and passion of his faith, as well as his wonderful storytelling ability. The biblical stories are told in such a unique way you can really "get the picture." He is very involved in community organizing now in the Phoenix area, yet travels and speaks all over the country. He has a new book coming out soon about Mysticism and Earth (or something like that.) His lecturers this past week had to do with biblical and societal justice, economics, and the importance of the faith community to work toward a more equitable society.

Congregations need to be so vitally alive that they can work for the common good and change the character of the country.

We will be sorry to leave St. Andrew UCC -- it has felt good to connect with a local faith community. We've realized again we need to be engaged in a faith community with a justice ministry at some time in our future.

But in the meantime... we're still enjoying "Sun n' Fun" RV Resort. I finished a stained glass class, and my first project. (calla lily) We're getting better at tennis because of the tennis classes we've taken. We're a little better at ping pong. But we are in better shape physically -- John is pretty committed to going to the exercise room, but I can't say the same for me. We're sometimes better in the shuffleboard tournaments, although it seems the more we play, the worse we get! It's a big thing here, though, as are so many other active sports and activities. I've gotten a library card from nearby city library, so we've read a few books.

We have enjoyed some of the Sarasota area outside the park, also. We went to the new Van Wenzel theater (right on the bay) to see the "Broadway on Ice" show with Brian Boitano and the singer in Phantom of the Opera, Franc D'Ambrosio. We were definitely moved by the winning combination and impressed with the whole show.

We took in the Ringling Museum of Art and Circus Museum yesterday. Sarasota was the home of the Ringling Bros. and Barnam & Bailey Circus for a number of years. The museum has the world's largest miniature circus created by a master model builder, and lots of history and memorabilia. The home (elaborate mansion in the style of Venetian Gothic palace) of John and Mable Ringling is part of the estate that is now open for the public. Amazing rooms and decor. The grounds are also well kept with a rose garden and many banyan trees.

The art collection in the Museum of Art is valued among the top 20 museum collections in the US. Amazing collection of paintings and outdoor sculptures. Their special exhibit now includes paintings by Grandma Moses.

We planned to eat lunch there -- I was thinking hot dogs and circus-type food. Instead we walked into an upscale restaurant. I ordered alligator cakes, like crab cakes only with alligator. Pretty good, if I didn't think too much about what I was eating!

We learned "big" news recently. John's daughter, Susan, announced her engagement to Scott Siebers. (Photo at end). They plan a July wedding in South Carolina, so we'll be crossing the country once again, but probably not with trailer in tow then!

family photo

Couldn't get this added to previous blog entry -- it is our family photo while on the Royal Carribean cruise -- before we gained the 5 extra pounds!

Wedding; Cruising; Parading

We've had such a lovely week. It started with a wedding near Tampa -- I officiated and remembered how to be a minister afterall! The groom is a friend of my daughter's from college days. John and I met with the couple (John & Elle) ahead of time and enjoyed getting acquainted with them--they were great fun. The wedding was at sunset on a wonderful beach, with a champagne, steak and lobster feast afterwards! Hey, someone had to do it! I was just at the right place at the right time!




Because Kristen was already here for the wedding, we had Jason fly out, and the four of us went on a 5-night cruise. There's nothing a mother enjoys more than having her family in one place for several days, especially since they can't escape! It was pure delight! We went snorkeling in Cozemul, and Kristen and I took in a river tour to a rain forest and Mayan ruins in Belize. The guide was so knowledgeable in every subject, (archeology, history, bird and wildlife, politics, culture) and helped us know a lot about the area on the bus and river ride. Local people served us a typical lunch (rice, beans, chicken--yummy). We saw many different birds, monkeys, crocodiles, and vegetation. Kristen climbed one of the tall ruins, but I, of course, had to stay below to take pictures! One afternoon John and I competed in a ping pong tournament -- I won the "gold medal!" (Only 5 actually competed!) Jason competed in the belly-flop contest, with lots of "drama". There was also added drama with a helicopter evacuation for a medical emergency one day. All in all--a fantastic trip. We had good visits, great laughs, more food than you can imagine, super entertainment, and mostly good weather. (The last afternoon was a bit rainy and windy, with a bit of rocking and rolling during the night, which wasn't so much fun.)

It's taken us a couple days to recover. We've returned to the Sun n' Fun RV Resort in Sarasota, Florida, for another month. We got back into the swing of things when we heard horns blowing Saturday morning, and poked our heads out to see what was going on. We had forgotten it was their 2008 Homecoming Parade and BBQ. Lots of creativity went into the costumes and decorating those golf carts! A youth group from Canada, the Calgary Fiddlers, provided the entertainment. They were great fiddlers and dancers!

We also attended a Ringling & Barnum Bailey Circus near where we're staying. Ringling Circus started in Sarasota. They were great, although we wished we hadn't read the blurb handed out by protesters before the show accusing the circus of cruelty to the animals (elephants, tigers, dogs).



Last night we buttoned things down after hearing a tornado warning for our area. They cancelled the bulletin later, but still had some wind, rain and lightning. Today it's back to the heater and winter clothes! Such drastic changes in weather within a couple days is something we haven't quite gotten used to, but then we're not in the sub-zero temperatures like a lot of places right now!

Happy New Year!

OK -- now it feels like winter! We woke up to 30 F weather and a frozen water line going into our trailer yesterday morning. It was the coldest day in Florida since 2003. It is quite unusual weather. Two nights ago it was so warm and humid we had our fan going all night. The last two nights we have had the heater going. It is supposed to return to the 70's by the weekend, though. Before the "chill" we did enjoy an afternoon at a beautiful beach in Sarasota -- along with a visiting raccoon.

We also had a great dinner out for my birthday -- alright, my 63rd birthday!!! We had heard about the Columbia, a Cuban restaurant from more than one person, and it was exceptional. It was crowded inside, but we had a great outdoor table with a terrific dinner (see photo holding menu) in a very upscale shopping area in Sarasota.

We also had a great New Year's evening. A prime rib dinner at the Boondocks, the restaurant here at the RV resort, followed by a dance party with a band. It did feel funny getting all dressed up, then going to a party on our bikes! (see photo) We had fun dancing on a crowded dance floor with mostly other 50-80-year-olds!

Here's wishing you a very Happy New Year!