Been there.........

We finally got to the Keys. It had been about 20 years since I'd been here and the old memory fades a little. I had forgotten how incredible clear and blue, or turquoise, the water is. How far you can see and ......the traffic. Mo was amazed at thr water color too, she thought it was only in the Carribbean that water could be that clear and that color.

This taken out the MH window and really, you just can't do justice with a snapshot.

We had reservations at an RV campground, 'Jolly Rogers", on Marathon Key which is about 1/2 way to Key West. We pulled in about 2pm and got set up. We were on the gulf side and the campground was right on the water, not our site, but we were close. If you looked out the bedroom window you could see the water between 2 other rigs. O well it was only about 75' away.

Here's Mo after we got set up. you can't see our rig but we were to the left of the tiki hut.  That's my beer on the table!

This guy just came in from fishing and the pelicans were waiting patiently for scraps. The lady would talk to them and they would act like they actually listened and understood.  ???

Our site was very close to rigs on both sides but we didn't really care since we weren't planning on being there much. So we jumped in the Jeep and checked out the area a bit, there was a State Park just down the road and a multi-million dollar neighborhood just up the road. The homes there were stunning?, breath-taking?, gorgeous?, whatever, it was cool to see. Each had it's own dock on a canal behind the house and most had yachts either moored or raised up on winches.

We headed back and watched the sunset from the same picnic table where we were earlier. It was a bit hazy but still beautiful.

The next day we headed to Key West. (Friday) We wanted to celebrate Mo's B-day on Key West but Saturday, which was her b-day, was supposed to be bad weather wise. We took the bikes and parked at Smathers Beach. We biked down Key West towards town where we locked up the bikes at the end of Duval St and started walking. We hadn't walked more then 50' when we noticed this establishment.A house of 'ill repute'! I had to get Mo's picture on the porch, the lady said sinxe it was Mo's B-day we could have a two for one !!

We walked on down the street and since it was just a little after noon we took a few side streets too. this market area was really nice, You can't see it but this guy is trying to get a BIG white parrot to get on the stick so he can get back to his cage/perch. The dumb bird got up yhe tree and couln't get back down!

Here's a picture of the other parrot, he was very colorful.

There was a huge sailing regatta going on that week and all the bars and retaurants were competing for the business. This was in "Sloppy Joes" where we ate lunch.

We walked in and out of shops of every kind imaginable. From big name brand to grubby, cheap t-shirt shops. We checked them all out! When it got close to sunset we high tailed it back to get the bikes and rode them back down to the area known as 'Mallory Sq'. That's where the street performers are and everybody watches the sunset and claps when it finally drops below the horizon.

Here was a huge bronze sculpture named 'The Ship Wreckers'. History tells that the first commerce on the island was salvaging anything of value off of the ships that wrecked on the coral off the coast. It was sold and also insurance companies paid to have the salvage to offset costs.

This is one of the street perfomers at the square.He;s on an 8' high unicycle juggleing a knife, a hatchet and a fire wand. As if thats not enough, about 2' behind him is the sea wall!

There were other performers too, a crazy black guy that did a whole gymnastic routine a banjo player that had a dog that collected money fromthe crowd, fortune tellers, bands and artists and craftsmen of all sorts.

Finally the sun set..................

We had some friends, Ed and Lyn, who met us down there. They also were staying at Jolly Roger, we had met them at a rally last Sept and had kept in touch. We all went and had coffe and Key Lime pie after sunset. Then we rode our bikes back to Smathers Beach and started the long, 50 mile, trip back to the MH.

Full Moon tonight......

Yep, it sure is and we're in the Miccosukee Indian Tribe Casino parking lot.

O yeah, the 'M RV Resort' in Moore Haven  was just fine. It was a bit tight getting into the site but very comfortable while we were there. I got some good runs in, Mo had a safe place to walk and we got the laundry caught up, filled the fresh water tank, cleaned inside and out and even cached a bit. We left this morning just before noon.

We had gotten in contact with some folks we met last fall on the road and they're also heading to the Keys so we met here  for a night. They got here first but we pulled in shortly after. There are probably a dozen or more RVs here and that many truck rigs. We went in and registered with security and got our Player Club card...and... 2, 2 for 1 buffet tickets, $15.00 in slot money each, Mo got an additional $10.00 because it's her birthday this week, and we got 2 chances to win $500.00 every hour from 5-9pm . So we got busy at the slots right away. Mo lost all of hers right away but I was a bit luckier and when I got $54.00 up, I cashed out. Hummmmm..... that's like honest to goodness free money!  So we went out and set up the motorhome, they allow you to put down levelers and put out slides, plus security cruises all night. Then we went back in for the first drawing, we didn't win but people watching was great fun! Next we went to the dinner buffet. both dinners together cost us $11.00. We are stuffed....for free! Tomorrow morning we meet our friends for the breakfast buffet, then we finally head for the Keys...YEA!!!

BoonDocking

When we left Sumpter Oaks we needed to boondock for a couple of nights. We're working with a budget that allows 'X' amount for park fees.
So.........

Here we are in a WalMart lot in Palmetto, FL.
It was actually pretty quiet and peaceful.

Here we are at a Camping World in Ft Myers, Fl. We stayed there all day and then thru Friday night. We just hung around, didn't do mch at all.

We moved to this WalMart in Ft Myers Saturday morning. There were other rigs there and when we went in and asked permission they were very accepting. We did our grocery shopping for the next week and went back out, we were parked way out by the street. We locked up yhe rig and went to find a few caches on Cape Coral and go to Mass at 4pm.  That night it was like the NASCAR of rice rockets! I think every two stroke motorcycle and suped up japanese car was racing up and down the road outside. Not much sleep.......






Here is a picture from where we ate lunch on Pine Island
This little park was just tucked back from the road, the
water was crystal clear.
Wish you were here!

Tonight, Sunday,  we are in Moore Haven, FL at a campground. We'll stay here for a couple of days and then head for the Keys.

The Tampa RV Show

Well it's Thursday night and we're parked in a WalMart lot in Palmetto,Fl. The manager says she can't 'give' us permission to overnight but we can maybe stay there....unless the police ask us to move on.
Anyway, we had a great stay in Bushnell. It rained all day Monday so we just hunkered down until the Auburn game. It was a great game with a match that could have gone either way. Of course you know Auburn won it with a field goal in the last 2 seconds. We're in EST so the game wasn't over until a bit past midnight so we finally rolled out of bed Tues. about 9:30 am. We down loaded a bunch of cache sites and loaded up the bikes and went back to Floral City, FL. The town is really pretty with the old Oak trees with moss hanging down.

Driving into Floral City, FL










There is a rails to trail there 46 miles long w Floral being right at the mid point. The trail is about 12' wide and paved with mile markers painted on.

< The Trail

    

 

< Mike on The Trail

 

The first 2 caches were along the paved trail and the description said 'easy'. Well....I guess we're just new at this cause we had to search pretty hard. The others were in Ft Cooper State park down the trail about 3-4 miles. We entered the park and followed the GPS to the first one. The park was beautiful, pine and 'turkey oaks' with lots of palms and palmetto plants. The trail in the park was packed sand and rideable without to much effort. Lots of deer, turkey and raccoon tracks in the sand but we didn't see any. We didn't see ANY other people either! It was as though the park was closed just for us.

Here I am coming out of the woods after finding the next to the last one. We had one more and it was getting late and my Mo's legs were tired but she's tough and we went for the last one. It was along a lake and after that we headed for the Jeep We hadn't had any food or water for about 4 hours so we were bee lining it back!
It was a fun day and we both slept like babies.
Weds we went to the Tampa RV Show from Bushnell. It was 50 miles so we left about 10am. Now depending on who you're talking to, this is supposed to be the largest show in the USA. I'll admit, it is big, it's held at the Fl State Fairgrounds and it is packed with all brands, sizes and shapes of motorhomes, 5th wheels and trailers. There must have been 350 venders there also. We talked with a vender that repaired and replaced windshields in MotorHomes. We had a rock star fixed a couple of years ago and it started running up the winshield on this trip. To replace the windshield would be $2500.00, ouch, it hurts to even write that!. This vender said he could stop the crack where it is now for 50-60.00. Alright! We spent about 4-5 hrs there and had enough, it was ccoollddd. So today we brought the MH to the fairgrounds and let him do it. He said, of course, that the person that fixed it the first time did a lousey job and that's why it cracked. He fixed the crack and refixed the original star all for 60 bucks. I hope it holds. We went into the show and finished seeing the areas we didn't see Weds and left full of RV show for a long time to come.
So tonight we hope to get some sleep, uninterupted, and tomorrow we'll head south a little further. It's still cold !

Bushnell,FL

We're in an Escapees park in Bushnell, Fl, Sunday thru Thrursday.

 We left Tallahassee and went to the Ochlockonee State Park. We traveled down to it on state hwys that were well paved with little traffic. The trip was great, very senic, very Florida, lots of forrested land  with pines, palmetto and palms. We got to the park and the gate was about 14' wide, the MH is about 12, plus the mirrors, so it was a squeeze through the gate. Then it was a long drive down a narrow road to the ranger check-in. We could tell this was going to be a nice place. There were only 30 sites and it was an old park but they said they could fit ours into a back in site. Now, we're talking about a shoehorn fit but we got it parked and set up.

We went and looked around and it was just beautiful! There were trails every where and we were right along side of the river. We decded to look for a cache and explore around some. Here is a shot of the river and of me holding the GPS while on trail.

 We arrived on Friday about noon and as the day went on other folks came in, by nightfall the sites were all full. We found the caches that were in the park by 2pm and then decided to take a drive down to St George Island, it was about a 35 mile trip. Again the drive was fantastic, it traveled right along side of the gulf, I mean right beside, 10' or so from the edge! All along the way we were seeing signs cautioning for BEARS! the real kind. This was rural FL, no high rise condos, strip shopping cntrs or even gas stations. A town we went thru was Carrabelle, FL.It was a fishing/tourist town but really quaint and not over-done.

 

Carrabelle out the Jeep window, it doesn't do it justice.

We got back about dark and it seemed everybody had campfires going but we were tired and it was sooo quiet and dark. We had listened to traffic at night for the last ?? nights and we both had good books, so we just went to bed to read. We were asleep before we knew it.

The next morning was bright and clear, and warmer. We went for a walk...... we had found out that our friend, John Couch, had been diagnosed with advanced cancer Friday. We found a quiet bench overlooking the river and reflected and said some prayers. It was so peaceful that surely God was listening.

We continued our walk and found a childrens playground, canoe rentals and more trails. We had to check out at noon so we went back and broke camp and got on the road. We had been told that Hwy 98 was slow with many stop and goes, but we didn't find that to be the case, at least the section from Appalachiacola to Invervess.  It was actually a beautiful drive.

 We stopped in Perry, FL for lunch in a WalMart pkng lot. There were about 4-5 other RV's doing the same thing so we met a few, One couple was from New Zealand. They flew to the states and bought a motorhome and were traveling all around the country. They were haveing a blast and doing it dirt cheap, going from pking lot to pking lot. We had lots of time so we went and searched out 3 caches, We stayed overnight Saturday in a Lowes pkng lot in Inverness, FL. We went to Mass there Sunday morning and then traveled down Hwy 41. then got back on the road heading for Bushnell, FL. We passed thru a town named Floral and it was incredibly beautiful. The streets were like a tunnel through big oaks draped with moss. It wasn't to far from Bushnell so we decided right then we would go back and explore later.
We got here at Sumpter Oaks RV Park in Bushnell and set up. It's a real nice place with full hook ups, a heated pool and a great give and take library. Lots of activities to do but we were mostly concerned if they could get the Auburn/Oregon game. They assured it would be on in the Clubhouse and probably many people watching the game. GOOD !! We're set. We plan on going to the big RV show in Tampa Weds & Thursday. Today is Monday and it's raining but supposed to clear out in the late afternoon and be a high temp of 72. Think We'll read for a while..........

Just getin' started

We finally got going, we spent a night in Robertsdale Camping World just 'cause we didn't want to drive in the rain. We left Thursday morning heading east on I-10 thinking we would stay over in the Tallahassee area. We found a Camping World and a Flyin J at the same exit so we had a choice. We went on past the F-J to see what C-W looked like and decided to stay there,(Camping World). We had a safe spot with electricity and water for free! AHHHHH this was ok with me.
So, we decided to try out our new toy. A GPS, get your mind out of the gutter! We had pooled our Christmas bonus money and purchased a Garman 60CSx handheld GPS with the intentions of geocaching while we were traveling. Back in Sept when we were in the north we talked with a lady who was about 75 y.o. and she started telling us about how she and her husband travel and geocach every where they go. She said it was the absolute best way to see an area and was lots of fun too. We looked into it online and decided that would be our Christmas to each other. Well we have been so busy that it was put on the back burner but now we decided to give it a try. Mo got online and put in our zip code at this CW and up comes about 200 caches within about 5-10 miles of us! We selected one close by that was listed as easy and gave it a whirl. We followed our GPS route in the jeep until we got to where we figured it went off road onto a clearcut natural gasline. We searched around as the GPS told us it shold be there somewhere close. Sure enough we found the cache . It was a small homemade 'envelope' made from camoflafed duct tape with a zip lock inside. Inside the small zip lock was a sheet that people who had found it signed with the date. As we were reveling in our success up drives a pick up truck and a big guy gets out. O no we're in trouble! But it was the guy, "BubbaMike" who had originally hid the cache! We had a good laugh with him and he told us he has about a dozen hidden in the Tallahasse area. We really had a blast so we went back and downloaded a few more. the next two we couldn't find, it was getting dark on one and was dark on the other but it was fun trying. We'll have to post our cacheing adventures as we go.
Next stop will be Ochlockonee State Park.

WHEW !!.......

We made it through the holidays and what a good time we had!  We stayed at Bella Terra to enjoy ringing in the new year with some great friends from all over the country. The place was fully packed with big, new, class A motoer homes from all over. We had Santa Claus come on the 23rd, a Christmas eve get together and then a dinner on Christmas Day with enough food to feed an army! Of course we got to enjoy it all even though we were working the events too. Ollie, Sam and Leah, Sarah, Josh and Samantha, Grandmommie and Debbie all came down to eat and see Santa. After Christmas we went to Atlanta to visit Michael's branch of the Hopton's, that was a great trip. We had Samantha with us and that kept everything lively and everyone on their toes. Michael and I got to spend the whole time together doing 'guy' things; it was great. Bella Terra had lots of festivities lined up for New Years eve and day. The eve started off with lots of food and meriment, about 9pm Billy, his brother and I went out to an area west of the pool and started the fireworks show. A couple from TN had brought down a truckload of fire works from their roadside fireworks stand. The three of us lit morters and 24/box roman candles as fast as we could for 20+ minutes and then did a grand finale! It was a blast! New years day was football on the big sceen with blackeyed peas, cabbage, turnip greens and cornbread. We ran out of food quickly, there were about 50 people that showed up, twice as many as we expected! We emptied the refrig and cabinets of all the cheese, pickles, olives, chips, dip, crackers, anything we could find and the party went on. Mo and I went down about 7pm and it was still going on! Bella Terra has got to be the greatest class A RV resort on the Gulf Coast! We totally enjoyed working and staying there, we hope we can return and visit with the wonderful family and friends we made there whenever we even come close to the area!
Now we're finally on the road, Mo has a friends funeral she would like to go to so we're staying local for a couple more days then we head for a leisurly trip to the Keys.