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January 20 through January 29, 2004
Tuesday January 20:
The preparations to leave were hectic after the busy holiday season, and with weather moving in we decided to leave two days early rather than risk driving through ice and snow. As always we were concerned about forgetting stuff, but with the accelerated schedule the risk is greater; we clogged the dining room with everything as we thought of it, and kept adding to the "punch list"...those last minute things that must not be forgotten. We rented the car, a Pontiac Grand AM, at 8AM, as soon as the place was open, and proceeded to load. The loading was slow in the cold weather, and some things that could be damaged by freezing needed to be loaded last, and inside the car instead of in the trunk. At 11:50AM we were set to go, and I felt I could sleep in back after all the exertion. There was not even room for my shoulders to lie flat on the seat, with all the stuff crammed into this little car. We had not gotten out of Worcester before Purry mewed loudly, then was car sick, big time... :-( Claire had to clean the mess up, and we stopped on the turnpike where I washed off my new Christmas winter jacket. :-(( This is not a good start to 24 hours of driving!! As we reached the Connecticut line, I heard Purry mew again, and opened my eyes to a long red cat tongue sticking out over my face...YIKES! As Purry's belly heaves, a quick kitty pass into the litter box in the front seat saves most of the cleanup, but this is getting REALLY old, and with 23 hours still to go. We had food and water for Purry, but quickly decided the best thing we could do is run him empty stomach this trip. The car had a bit of vibration when driving that was bothersome even to me. Purry soon found a place on top of a plastic bag full of clothes where he seemed more comfortable, and other than turning around, he spent most of the next 23 hours right there, just turning head for tail, but not leaving that bag. I think it isolated him from the worst of the vibration. At least he kept any further discomfort to himself and we completed the trip without incident, while keeping an ear open for more mews! :-))
Wednesday January 21:
Tuesday ran into Wednesday as we drove, stopped for fuel and relief, and switched drivers. We found the RV as we left it, but were glad we'd found the storage contract on our way out the door; the desk clerk could not find our file in the computer...GEEZE! There were details to be taken care of to re-commission the RV; check and connect batteries (70 % charge remaining), unload bikes, pick up mouse poison and ant/roach poison, remove light protective aluminum foil from roof vents (gee, the roof has picked up mildew!), remove the plastic sheets keeping insects out of the furnace and water heater exhaust stacks, and remove the filter screen from the fridge air vent. There was 1/4 tank of stale water in the tank that did not look bad, so we decided to take showers before emptying and refilling it. Better to use it that way than run it down the drain. We started the generator and used the vacuum cleaner on the car. We finally moved the RV forward in the space to allow the bikes and rack to be mounted on the rear ladder without standing in water, and we were ready to go. Barrie drove the RV and Claire the rental car, as we proceeded to the dump station. I missed the dump station and had to back the RV around in close quarters ... nuts! Oh well, we get there with the help of an annoyed campground employee, and find the water pressure is LOWWW. 40 minutes later we are still loading 65 gallons of water.... Finally we depart the campground, and I find it hard to keep up with that red Pontiac....fortunately we had the family radios, and I found Claire in the gas station. We returned the rental car and moved the 5 miles to the Lehigh Acres Walmart for the night. The restaurant we picked was way too busy to give even adequate service, and we took our pie out with us from the cashiers booth....not good for the evening after an all night drive. :-( Sleep came easy and long though, as expected.....
Thursday January 22:
After arising late this morning, we shopped, then cooked up some food to get us going (left overs are essential). We drove to Clewiston and found the Walmart lot crowded, so stayed in the closed Kmart parking lot next door. We continued our resupply efforts in that Walmart, preparing for a weekend in Everglades National Park with our friend Doris. A couple in an RV from Michigan pulled in next to us and asked if we were staying overnight...When I said yes, they decided to stay also. I washed the windows to get the storage grime off, but the roof mildew and road dirt from the fall trip would have to stay for now....
Friday January 23:
I walked across to Walmart this morning and bought muffins for Doris' visit, then we headed out to John Stretch state park to dump and top off water. The trip to Miami was easy until I got us going the wrong way on SR826 expressway, and we had to turn around; that blew 5 minutes. Oh well, guess I am still TIRED? :-( We found our destination where we were to pick up Doris; Carol & Colin's home in NW Miami, and were only five minutes late. Hmmm, a correlation with my bad navigation? :-) What a beautiful spacious property inside the Miami city limits! We could drive the RV through the gate into the yard, and park in the front yard. Donuts and coffee in the house, tours of the property (with a large garden), house and RV, then it was time to leave to avoid getting stuck in Miami's Friday afternoon traffic. The trip to Everglades Park was a bit slow down Rt 1, which was under construction, but we found the park's Coe Visitors Center interesting, and it made the remaining 40 mile drive to Flamingo pass faster. The campground at Long Pine Key was worth a drive through, in case the bugs were overwhelming at Flamingo. It was not our preferred choice, as we were looking forward to the Florida Bay shore at Flamingo, but there were still a few openings available. The campground at Flamingo was listed as "Full" but they were extremely efficient at processing our week old web reservation. We were shortly on the way to our site that turned out to be in a sunny mowed field, thankfully bug free, and with the awning was VERY comfortable with a brisk breeze blowing through open windows. We walked to the shore and enjoyed the view across Florida Bay.
The tour schooner was out, quite beautiful with her red sails catching the late afternoon sun. When sunset approached the bugs ventured out; we beat a hasty retreat before feeding too many, returning to the RV for dinner of southwest pumpkin soup (made with our ever present butternut squash). The evening passed quickly, catching up on the two years' events since we had last seen Doris, but I noticed the batteries were not performing as I had expected after being in storage. They had showed over 70% charge remaining when we had reconnected them upon our return, but seemed to have a large internal voltage drop when placed under load. We did not watch TV this night fearing dead batteries. It was too late for the generator; there was a bit of reading for the night owls...lots of sleep for me... :-)
Saturday January 24:
This was the day to hike the trails. The first one led along the bay's edge and was well shaded most places. We carried bug repellant on the walk, but all of us fed a few mosquitoes before we returned.
When in sunny areas, there were just NO BUGS!
We were overjoyed at the lack of mosquitoes in our campsite overnight. Now we appreciated the mowed grassy field we were camped in even more; shade here equals more BUGS! I had requested the least buggy site when reserving, so they DO listen... :-) After lunch we hiked to the lodge and visitors center, and of course felt the need for a refreshing cold drink in the bar. :-)
We returned along the scenic bayside trail. This cormorant was not alarmed by our presence.
Dinner was a light snack, and TV; we felt we had been eating a bit too much recently.... :-) The battery seemed to be recovering a bit. I guess there was some sulfation taking place during storage......batteries, like people, need exercise. All of us seemed to be willing to turn in early tonight; seven miles hiking is evidently enough for our unexercised bods....
Sunday January 25:
This morning started slow and relaxed, as we planned to canoe after leaving the campsite. We dumped and took on water before leaving the campground, the moved to the visitors center parking area and Doris rented us a canoe for a paddle down the canal.
This worked for a while...then some guy passing in a motorboat asked if we were Mormon... :-))) We managed to change positions in mid water without spilling....remembering earlier training where it was emphasized that, strange though it may look, one person MUST straddle the other and climb over to keep the weight balanced.
This technique saved blisters and shared the work well. It also brought a remark from the dock attendant when we returned in different positions and with dry clothes... :-) On the way back to the RV, we saw what we had hoped to see from the canoe; manatees swimming slowly in the marina lagoon.
After returning to Miami, and parking for the night in Carol & Colin's yard (where they generously offered to plug us into their electricity), we visited Doris' new apartment in Aventura.
The view from the balcony over the lagoon was pretty too. :-) We then all went to dinner with Carol, Colin, and grand daughter Casey. Casey is a DELIGHTFUL bright 11 year old young lady who is destined for good things. We especially enjoyed hearing the CD she made playing Christmas carols on bells....really professional quality work! We rode back with Carol, Colin and Casey while Doris went directly home to get ready for her next day's work. Casey had school the next day too, so she had a brief tour of the RV, an introduction to Purry, and we all retired for the night... I had lots of Internet activity to catch up on before retiring, as we had only analog cellphone service in Everglades park, and some business that really needed doing. It was near midnight before I could join Claire pushing out zzzz's.
Monday January 26:
We were late arising again, but found Carol busy tending her plants in the yard. We were headed west across the Everglades, and did not want to start too late, but did enjoy the ambience of this large yard, garden with numerous green tomatoes showing promise for the future, the swimming pool, and the tree house Colin had built for Casey. Before we departed Colin presented us with a tender fresh cut cabbage! This will be a yummy dinner in the near future! We left our e-mail address and this website URL, and departed reluctantly around noon. This is such a pretty place with such generous, hospitable folks! :-) On the way out we shopped and fueled at the Super Walmart in Hialeah Gardens (N25d 51.454', W080d 19.430'), which we noticed going south on SR 826. I could not buy the plumbing stuff or hose we needed here. We asked and were told that Walmart security does not allow RVs to park overnight here, although the only sign said "no truck parking". We had no need to stay here, as we intended to stop in Big Cypress National Preserve tonight. We thought we might find a Home Depot or Lowes on US 41, but did not, and abruptly we reached the end of civilization. :-) We stopped at Shark Valley visitors center (N25d 45.410', W080d 45.969') and briefly toured the grounds and major resident wildlife before deciding the 15 mile bike ride was something for a full day. This Little Blue Heron was not noticing my presence at all.
The 8 foot gator here was disturbed by people, and opened his mouth and hissed.....clearly in defensive mode.
I decided that piece of grass was not valuable enough to hiss back.... :-) We found a free campground (10 day limit) at Midway in Big Cypress, by asking rangers at Shark Valley.. It is really pretty for a free campground, and although there is no dump or water, it has a trash dumpster and a pretty clear pond with a ? friendly ? 8 ft alligator that approaches folks talking on the bank.
Obviously he has been fed.... :-( Time to pick up Purry! When he got close enough to the shore to place his feet on the rocks, it was time for me to retreat! These guys can run 35 mph for short distances.... and it's illegal to feed them. I agree totally with that principle...especially when the intended food is me, my wife, or my cat! Dinner is warmed over squash soup with some Italian soup added....not at all bad, but we will not lose holiday fat this way. :-) There is also a large flock of Tree Swallows that flies low over the pond, actually touching the water.
I thought they were catching insects, but someone said they were drinking the water on the fly. The campers here are quite friendly.
With companions like these, they GOTTA be friendly! :-)) The chap from central PA next door showed pictures of his home as he blew out the snow to leave ....brought back memories of the -10 degree weather we suffered through before we left MA. Gee, it's good to be in this WARM climate...even if it does rain tomorrow. There was a campfire across the loop which we were invited to, but sleep somehow seemed more interesting this night....
Tuesday January 27:
Slept late today, after 7AM. There is no rain, despite Miami's forecast for rain overnight diminishing by noon, but skies are gloomy. We relaxed totally, enjoying the luxury of nothing to do. It might take DAYS to get bored with nothing to do in this climate! :-) The rain started by noon, and I got the bright idea to wash the RV and let the rain rinse it off. Borax on the roof will at least kill the mildew that started growing there in the storage lot. This might have worked better if the rain had been heavier...but I finally used the window squeegee to get the dirty drops off the sides, and we hope the end result is better than it started. We used less than 5 gallons of water in the attempt, so not much was lost except the effort.....and we need the exercise, don't we, even if the guy next to us thought we were making the rest of them look bad....? :-) Dinner was pork cooked with the fresh cabbage Carol and Colin had given us as we left their house; it was SOOOOO sweet and delicious! There is NOTHING like fresh veggies picked just before eating!! :-))
Wednesday January 28:
It cooled off a lot overnight; temperature under the RV was 53 at 8AM. The sun shone in the windshield, we opened the curtains, and it will soon warm up inside; the furnace will not be needed despite the brisk northerly breeze…. The morning passed quickly as we debated the wisdom of the 15 mile Shark Valley bike ride; half the trip would be against the brisk breeze, and we are not well conditioned to biking after the 9 week holiday break. We decided to go in the afternoon, as the winds were forecast to diminish then. The campground host suggested we leave a chair in our space so it would not be taken, and we drove the 16 miles back along the Tamiami Trail (US 41) to the Shark Valley Visitors Center. There were some Miccosukee Indian villages (tourist attractions) that seemed pretty deserted, and airboat rides along the canal on the north side of the road. The trail looked pretty much as we remembered it from nearly 30 years ago, when we regularly used it between Venice and Miami, except there seemed to be more wildlife. It is about the only place we've seen in Florida that has not changed dramatically in that time, and that can be credited to the parks and Indians resisting the explosive development taking place everywhere else. Perhaps the mosquito population in summer helps keep that pressure down a bit here too.... :-) Shark Valley was most interesting; it could have been more accurately termed "Alligator Valley" by our observations.
Here it is obvious why the tire remnants thrown off along the highways are termed "alligators"; only THESE are not made of rubber. :-) In the distance at the end of the road is our destination, the observation tower. There were lots of birds along here too, but they were not as willing photo subjects, and even a small snake scurried across the paved bike/tram trail to avoid my wheels. The ride south along a canal was easy and warm, with the wind at our backs. As we neared the tower I saw an alligator amble briskly cross the road UP ON FOUR LEGS, then flop down on the far bank to soak up sun! I had thought the weather cool enough to make them pretty inactive, but this guy said otherwise! I locked our bicycles to the bike rack, then turned abruptly as the couple coming in behind mentioned "alligator"....less than a foot from our bikes, on the opposite side of the rack was the tail of an 8 footer resting against the rack...
HOW could I have missed this guy? I guess that is why I am not interested in being an explorer of new lands... Well, the crow did not seem to feel threatened either....but then he can fly better than I do. The gator was missing a few tail plates, and a few others were white rather than black, but recognizable he should have been....DUHHH! The view from the observation tower was revealing; this gathering of the threatened, protected alligators tickled my funny bone, although I can recall trips along US 41 30 years ago when I was eagerly seeking to catch a glimpse of one...and never did.
I count 7 in the picture; how many do you see? As far as the eye could see, for 360 degrees was a sea of tall swamp grass with it's roots in inches of water, punctuated every so often by small "hammocks"....higher ground with clumps of trees.
Some hammocks were even named, like "Pops hammock" shown on our GPS map. It is hard to believe people trekked out here in earlier days and lived in these wet lands among the insects that are DENSE here most of the year. We count our blessings that the bugs are few and far between now, due to cooler and drier winter weather. We snacked on trail mix to fuel for the return trip against the wind, then reluctantly started back. The gator still guarded our bikes, and it was impossible to heed the warning sign to stay 15 feet away from them, unless we left our bikes...and 8 miles is a LONG way to walk back. Oh, well, it was really no different when we did not see him, was it? Claire resisted the urge to touch his tail through the bike rack when rangers came along; PERHAPS the bike rack would have protected her...who knows? :-) The trip back was NOT easy; our speed dropped from 11.5 mph to 7 mph, and we worked much harder pedaling against the wind. We did see lots of birds here too, despite the emphasis on the gators. This wood stork is rare most places, but quite common here.
Eventually the radio tower along US 41 came into sight, followed by the RV parked in a bus slot...HOME!! We drove back, past the "full" sign at the campground, and parked in our site. Dinner was spaghetti with eggplant sauce and chicken breast from the freezer; so much for losing the holiday weight. :-( After the news, I did dishes while Claire retired early. We called Matt to wish him happy birthday, and deliver him a message that a prospective employer was trying unsuccessfully to reach him. It says much about modern cellphone communications that such a message could be relayed from Massachusetts, through this remote campsite in the Everglades, back to him in Massachusetts within minutes. We cannot complain for one minute about the $35 a month we spend for cell service; when we did much the same thing living on the boat 30 years ago we were essentially out of contact for MONTHS on end, until WE decided to call someone from a hard to get to pay phone or over ham radio. Now, the cell phone just sits here for weeks or months not ringing, but when someone wants to reach us, they almost always can. We get unlimited free weekend calling too, including Internet connections; such a deal! :-) I was so ready for some sleep this night, that I really do not recall my head hitting the pillow....
Thursday January 29:
7:20 sunrise, time to pull the front curtains and warm up inside from the cool 48 degrees under the RV. There is little wind today, so I do not start the furnace; the warm sun's rays will soon have us considering open windows and door, putting out the awning, and even air conditioning, I'm sure. I slept LATE this AM too, probably brought on by the 15 mile bike ride of yesterday…but it felt soooo cozy under the quilt. :-) The mist on the pond looked picturesque, so I walked the campground loop trying to capture it.
Our Seabreeze motorhome is visible, windshield toward the pond, 3/4 way across the picture. The loop around the pond that was reputed to be 1/2 mile is really 0.39 miles by GPS. I guess all the folks walking laps are being shortchanged 20% in their exercise programs. :-) We decided this should be a day of rest after the biking of yesterday. I wanted to fix some cracks in the toilet seat before they ran all the way across and required expensive replacement, so used the picnic table under the awning for that job, using 24 hour epoxy reinforced with sections of metal washers for extra strength. While the glue was mixed, I repaired a thermos bottle top that keeps slipping apart too. 24 hours of inconvenience, but hopefully permanent repairs. Again there was a campfire across the pond, but sleep seemed to meet my needs much more than smoky clothes to store in the RV, so I turned in while Claire watched TV.
Plans: We plan to spend next weekend in Venice FL, with old friends Ralph and Reni. We'll leave Midway campground here on Wednesday, heading that way. The following weekend, Feb 14, we are considering a trip to Atlanta, GA for Claire's TaeKwonDo official's re-certification; how we do it depends a bit on the weather....if it looks good we will make a quick run in the RV, moving as close to there as weather permits before the final dash Friday the 13th...(ooops, I wonder about the wisdom of that plan now....<s>) :-( If the weather looks bad, she will rent a car and stay in a hotel there. Beyond that, we plan to visit more relatives and friends here before heading west along the gulf coast to New Orleans and Texas.
Until next time, ENJOY! We are!