Sunday, January 16, 2011
The Everglades
On the road - again - across the Tamiami Trail, that thin, forever long ribbon of cement that cuts thru the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Everglades National Park, from west to east. On either side are marshes and tall swamp grass lined canals – no doubt, dug with that metal monster – the Bay City Dredge!! Even on this cold morning there were alligators trying to warm their armored backs in the hopeful rays of the sun. And throngs of wading birds, out looking for their first meals of the day! Our first stop was the Visitor Center where we walked the boardwalk and joined the rest of the tourists watching for more “gators” and long graceful Great White Herons. On down the road we stopped again at Shark Valley Visitor Center. It was way too cold and windy to even think of getting the bikes down from their rack on the back of the trailer even tho the blacktop road was inviting as it lead along yet another canal, decorated with more egrets, green herons and what ever else the rest of those birds were! H and I bundled up and managed to walk a ways into the park before our ears were froze and ready to break off. Maybe on our next trip across the Glades we’ll make it to the observation tower at the end of that road.
As cold and windy as it was in the middle of the day, we K N E W we needed to find some electricity for the coming colder night! (We have become very attached to our heated mattress pad and chilled at the thought of having to go without it!) Thank You, LORD - - it was provided when we came across the Midway Campground! A very clean, well-groomed National Park Campground that has electricity, and nice facilities but no showers. We will survive! Once settled in, we had the afternoon to go exploring . . . again. We all know that H cannot stay at rest for too long if there is new territory to conquer! The Glades map showed a “scenic” loop road but the folks at the visitor center said it was really rough and that folks had trouble even with 4wheel drive and skid plates. If you know H – you don’t tell him that! It was rough – and it had a lot of sharp rocks and big muddy potholes and it went on forever because in spite of the posted 25 mph speed limit signs – nobody could ever go that fast! The area was partially Indian Reservation homes and then wilderness – mangrove forest, Cypress swamp and pinewoods. We drove it, so you don’t have to!
On H’s return from his evening trip to the men’s room, he insisted that I come see this huge moth that was clinging to the outside wall of the cement block building. What a beautiful dark brown creature he was, about 6 inches from wing tip to wing tip, with dark blue spots on those velvet wings. I looked in my “Readers Digest Wildlife” book that travels everywhere with us but to no avail – I cannot find out what this moth is. If anyone can tell me – please email me and let me know!
We left the Glades on Tuesday morning and turned south to Homestead and Florida City – the towns that are the gateways to the Florida Keys and to the Biscayne National Park. We parked in a “vintage” midtown campground in the middle of Florida City. Once again – we did it so you don’t have to! And we won’t again either!
Beautiful blue Biscayne Bay is just south of Miami and the National Park is comprised of 95% water, which provides sanctuary for many birds and marine animals. We watched a movie about the area and the devastation it endured from the direct hit of hurricane Andrew in 1992. The visitor center was just being built then and is one of the few buildings that sustained those 200 mph winds. We walked the balconies of the center, enjoying the grand view of the snug harbor and the vast water that lay outside its protective walls. We also walked its wide walkways that rimmed the waters edge and led to a long narrow peninsula that jetted out along the entry to the quiet harbor. Out on the choppy waters, churned by the ever present winds, several wind surfers were racing - flying along at 35mph - darting back and forth, throwing spray as they went.
Thursday morning meant it was time to find the Keys!! As H always says: At one end of 75 is a Lock (the Soo!) and at the other end is a Key! It was time we got there! We had breakfast in Key Largo and then a stop to check out the Fiesta Resort that was recommended by B&B. H decided to take a chance and stop at Long Key State Park to see if they had any openings for first come first serve folks. One! We’re here!
As cold and windy as it was in the middle of the day, we K N E W we needed to find some electricity for the coming colder night! (We have become very attached to our heated mattress pad and chilled at the thought of having to go without it!) Thank You, LORD - - it was provided when we came across the Midway Campground! A very clean, well-groomed National Park Campground that has electricity, and nice facilities but no showers. We will survive! Once settled in, we had the afternoon to go exploring . . . again. We all know that H cannot stay at rest for too long if there is new territory to conquer! The Glades map showed a “scenic” loop road but the folks at the visitor center said it was really rough and that folks had trouble even with 4wheel drive and skid plates. If you know H – you don’t tell him that! It was rough – and it had a lot of sharp rocks and big muddy potholes and it went on forever because in spite of the posted 25 mph speed limit signs – nobody could ever go that fast! The area was partially Indian Reservation homes and then wilderness – mangrove forest, Cypress swamp and pinewoods. We drove it, so you don’t have to!
On H’s return from his evening trip to the men’s room, he insisted that I come see this huge moth that was clinging to the outside wall of the cement block building. What a beautiful dark brown creature he was, about 6 inches from wing tip to wing tip, with dark blue spots on those velvet wings. I looked in my “Readers Digest Wildlife” book that travels everywhere with us but to no avail – I cannot find out what this moth is. If anyone can tell me – please email me and let me know!
We left the Glades on Tuesday morning and turned south to Homestead and Florida City – the towns that are the gateways to the Florida Keys and to the Biscayne National Park. We parked in a “vintage” midtown campground in the middle of Florida City. Once again – we did it so you don’t have to! And we won’t again either!
Beautiful blue Biscayne Bay is just south of Miami and the National Park is comprised of 95% water, which provides sanctuary for many birds and marine animals. We watched a movie about the area and the devastation it endured from the direct hit of hurricane Andrew in 1992. The visitor center was just being built then and is one of the few buildings that sustained those 200 mph winds. We walked the balconies of the center, enjoying the grand view of the snug harbor and the vast water that lay outside its protective walls. We also walked its wide walkways that rimmed the waters edge and led to a long narrow peninsula that jetted out along the entry to the quiet harbor. Out on the choppy waters, churned by the ever present winds, several wind surfers were racing - flying along at 35mph - darting back and forth, throwing spray as they went.
Thursday morning meant it was time to find the Keys!! As H always says: At one end of 75 is a Lock (the Soo!) and at the other end is a Key! It was time we got there! We had breakfast in Key Largo and then a stop to check out the Fiesta Resort that was recommended by B&B. H decided to take a chance and stop at Long Key State Park to see if they had any openings for first come first serve folks. One! We’re here!
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Collier-Seminole State Park
Monday was moving day, alright - - moved to Wal-Mart in Sun City Center to purchase a portable air compressor and some “Slime” because one of the trailer tires was losing air again! That problem fixed, H vacillated between staying on Rt 301 or getting on I75 and fighting the growing volume of wind and the growing number of vehicles on the highway Rt 301 won for awhile but the stop and go traffic in Bradenton got on his nerves so he grabbed the steering wheel tightly and got on the expressway to do battle with the force of the winds as they beat on us from 3 different sides – and of course never a tail wind!
Collier-Seminole State Park is nestled on the edge of the Everglades and just south of Naples and east of Marco Island. I’m not sure if you would call it a woods, a forest, a hammock, or a JUNGLE! We rode our bikes on some of the paths and ended up on a really rickety, rotting old boardwalk that rattled and clanked when my tires went over them. It felt like that movie where the fishing pier was being blown up behind them and falling in as they drove over it. I wasn’t sure whether it was falling apart behind me or falling in UNDER me! Whew! I did make it. The park is named for the Seminole Indians who used to live in this area and for Barron Gift Collier who was instrumental in building the roadway from Tampa to Miami and is know as the Tamiami Trail today. The park has on display The Bay City Walking Dredge, built in Bay City Michigan in the 1920’s. This monstrous big black metal creature was operated 10 hours a day, 6 days a week through the swamp to dig up limestone and mud which was piled into a bank to form the road bed, after the fill was compacted. Can you only imagine working in that sweltering heat with swarms of hungry angry mosquitoes and stinking slimy muck with no Avon bug spray or Skin So Soft?
We are listening to a rather fun novel entitled “ Nature Girl” which takes place in the Everglades and the 10000 Islands that border it. The main character is a rather goofy lady who lives in a trailer park in Everglade City. We HAD to go see that town. H said when he was there last it was just a hole in the wall spot where they built the Welcome Center for the Everglades. Now it is a classy collection of beautiful homes and condo’s each complete with it’s own boat channel behind it. At the end of the road is another small island, Chokoloskee, also mentioned in this book. We found the “Smallwood Store” a historic old Indian Trading Post and Museum, established in 1906 by Ted Smallwood. In 1982 when it finally closed, 90% of the original goods were still in the store. Ted’s granddaughter has reopened the store and has turned it into a most interesting museum. From there we went to explore another island – Marco Island – also a very upscale island. We found some free parking at the beachside Marriott Hotel and put our feet in the white sand and the gentle gulf waves. The beach was dotted with all kinds of shells and brightly colored sales on sailboats, patiently waiting to go for an afternoon sail. I even managed to grab up a few of those pretty shells before H got sand in his shoes and gave in to the urge to move on to find the next beach. In Naples the parking was not free but the beach was just as pretty and the view from the Naples Pier was of milky blue green waves washing up on white sand and colorful, grand old cottages snuggled down behind shrub-covered dunes.
We’ll be moving on again – across the vast alligator infested area called “ The Everglades” on Rt 41- the Tamiami Trail. The weather is to turn cold so we need to find a campground with electricity.
Collier-Seminole State Park is nestled on the edge of the Everglades and just south of Naples and east of Marco Island. I’m not sure if you would call it a woods, a forest, a hammock, or a JUNGLE! We rode our bikes on some of the paths and ended up on a really rickety, rotting old boardwalk that rattled and clanked when my tires went over them. It felt like that movie where the fishing pier was being blown up behind them and falling in as they drove over it. I wasn’t sure whether it was falling apart behind me or falling in UNDER me! Whew! I did make it. The park is named for the Seminole Indians who used to live in this area and for Barron Gift Collier who was instrumental in building the roadway from Tampa to Miami and is know as the Tamiami Trail today. The park has on display The Bay City Walking Dredge, built in Bay City Michigan in the 1920’s. This monstrous big black metal creature was operated 10 hours a day, 6 days a week through the swamp to dig up limestone and mud which was piled into a bank to form the road bed, after the fill was compacted. Can you only imagine working in that sweltering heat with swarms of hungry angry mosquitoes and stinking slimy muck with no Avon bug spray or Skin So Soft?
We are listening to a rather fun novel entitled “ Nature Girl” which takes place in the Everglades and the 10000 Islands that border it. The main character is a rather goofy lady who lives in a trailer park in Everglade City. We HAD to go see that town. H said when he was there last it was just a hole in the wall spot where they built the Welcome Center for the Everglades. Now it is a classy collection of beautiful homes and condo’s each complete with it’s own boat channel behind it. At the end of the road is another small island, Chokoloskee, also mentioned in this book. We found the “Smallwood Store” a historic old Indian Trading Post and Museum, established in 1906 by Ted Smallwood. In 1982 when it finally closed, 90% of the original goods were still in the store. Ted’s granddaughter has reopened the store and has turned it into a most interesting museum. From there we went to explore another island – Marco Island – also a very upscale island. We found some free parking at the beachside Marriott Hotel and put our feet in the white sand and the gentle gulf waves. The beach was dotted with all kinds of shells and brightly colored sales on sailboats, patiently waiting to go for an afternoon sail. I even managed to grab up a few of those pretty shells before H got sand in his shoes and gave in to the urge to move on to find the next beach. In Naples the parking was not free but the beach was just as pretty and the view from the Naples Pier was of milky blue green waves washing up on white sand and colorful, grand old cottages snuggled down behind shrub-covered dunes.
We’ll be moving on again – across the vast alligator infested area called “ The Everglades” on Rt 41- the Tamiami Trail. The weather is to turn cold so we need to find a campground with electricity.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Tampa Area
It’s really fun being able to show all the sights to the new kids in town! Bruce and Barbee didn’t seem to mind either! Bruce drove and headed north to Tampa and Ybor (ee-bor) City, per directions from his co-pilot, H. Ybor City was founded in 1886 and is a restored old Cuban section of North Tampa, which is now full of quaint shops, restaurants and cigar stores where you can watch them hand roll cigars. To us northern tourists, it reminded us of New Orleans with all the wrought iron railings above the covered walkways of the old brick buildings. H saw a yellow trolley go by and we chased after him to climb aboard it and ride the beautifully crafted electric trolley all the way from Ybor to downtown Tampa, past the Tampa Aquarium, the convention center where the Ringling Circus was performing and the Cruise Line docks. While the trolley driver was busy changing the signs on the front of the trolley and switching the wires it was running on, H took a shot at pretending he was the man in charge! Poor B – he had 2 and a half back seat drivers (I tried to stay out of all the “direction giving”!) but we did make it to St Petersburg and “The Pier”. SPFB!!! This is the upside down pyramid building out on the long pier on the shore of downtown. Miss B and I had fun in the hat shop and then up on the 5th level to take pictures of the marina’s, airports, St Petersburg skyline and Tampa Bay. You could see the stacks from the power plant in Apollo Beach from there! Back in the big white tour “truck” we stopped for a view of the Sunshine Skyway Toll Bridge before venturing out over it. The clouds had been gathering and the sun was starting to set in the west but was pushing thru and acting as a spotlight reflecting off the vast waterway as we were coming over the bridge. That piercing ray of sun light cast quite a dancing reflection against the stark black shadow of the fishing pier and the many shades of gray clouds. Our day’s journey ended with a scrumptious “supper” of strawberry shortcake complete with a big scoop of ice cream and dollop of whip cream. Yes – since it was cold by then – we ate quickly and got back in the still warm truck and headed home!
Friday was laundry day and our BC friends had a travel day ahead of them. Hugs and goodbyes were given and we parted ways again. Laundry done, a yummy breakfast enjoyed and errands run, H parked himself in his lawn chair in the sun for “Happy Hour” that afternoon. A passing pickup stopped and asked him if he saw the pig that was behind him! This rather large black boar had wandered right thru the spot where B&B’s 5th wheel had been parked, munching acorns as he sauntered along. He went right behind our trailer and casually went the length of the campground looking for his afternoon snack. We told you there were pigs!
Today was the Red Barn Flea Market day where we bought a small box of big red strawberries intended for our supper. Fresh, warm Bisquick shortcakes and a new squirt can of Rediwhip made it complete!
Sunday is a stay close to “home” day with just a run to McD’s to borrow their wifi. Time to pack up and move south on Monday!
Friday was laundry day and our BC friends had a travel day ahead of them. Hugs and goodbyes were given and we parted ways again. Laundry done, a yummy breakfast enjoyed and errands run, H parked himself in his lawn chair in the sun for “Happy Hour” that afternoon. A passing pickup stopped and asked him if he saw the pig that was behind him! This rather large black boar had wandered right thru the spot where B&B’s 5th wheel had been parked, munching acorns as he sauntered along. He went right behind our trailer and casually went the length of the campground looking for his afternoon snack. We told you there were pigs!
Today was the Red Barn Flea Market day where we bought a small box of big red strawberries intended for our supper. Fresh, warm Bisquick shortcakes and a new squirt can of Rediwhip made it complete!
Sunday is a stay close to “home” day with just a run to McD’s to borrow their wifi. Time to pack up and move south on Monday!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
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