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Welcome to Our Photo Gallery & Travelblog
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January 2007: Snowbirds Wintering in Florida ...
31 January 2007: On Tuesday we took the ferry over to Key West. The weather was chilly and windy and we both came back with sun/wind burns on our faces. Tom really enjoyed the three hour fast boat ride over, but not so much on the way back because he was so tired. We took the Conch Train to get some historical perspective about the island. Recent hurricanes have taken their toll on property, residents, and tourism. Some reconstruction was going on, but there were many places for rent or for sale. The Conch Train Engineer told us that tourism was way down because of those recent storms. I enjoyed seeing so many healthy free-roaming cats; "many six-toed polydactyl cats from Hemingway's days still roam his Whitehead Street neighborhood." The free-roaming roosters also have a story of their own. First, they were brought to the island for food, then for cockfights. When cockfighting was made illegal, the chickens were "freed" and now they just wander the streets. Key West is mile 0 for Route 1 along the East Coast.
28 January 2007: We drove south to Marco Island this afternoon and came back feeling like poor trailer park trash. You have to be very rich to live there! We've got the winter blues and we're in sunny, warm FL. We're both tired of RV parks and wanting a house. Gotta wait until the end of the year though ... Spring flowers will cheer me up as we head west. 26 January 2007: On Monday, we visited some relatives in North Fort Myers and shopped at Camping World. On Wednesday, we went to the Everglades then I had nightmares about alligators and walked into the bathroom door. Ouch! I've had a headache ever since. There were so many alligators in the canals that I couldn't even count them. 'Gators were everywhere! I did get some good photos of more water birds and 'gators. We met a German couple from Bavaria at the Big Cypress National Preserve. She called the 'gators "monsters" and said that they tasted good. We joined Tom and Elaine for some fine German food last night at the Old World Cafe in Bonita Springs. On Sunday, we'll venture out to the Naples Botanical Gardens if the weather is nice and on Tuesday we take the ferry over to Key West for the day. We had a calm rainy day yesterday which lowered the humidity and temperatures to 70 today. The heat even came on last night! 19 January 2007: Busy week. On Tuesday, I did a ton of laundry, well 9 loads, at the America's Coin-Op Laundry where everyone spoke Spanish but me! Tom and I ventured out for lunch at Tin City, a tourist area in Naples. We also drove around "Old Historic Naples" which looks brand new. I think most of it has been rebuilt after the recent hurricanes. We did have a good seafood lunch at the Riverwalk Fish & Ale House and I enjoyed watching the pelicans visiting the bay. We also went to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary on Thursday. I got some great photos of waterbirds, red shouldered hawks, and a two-year old alligator. On the way home, Tom spotted an alligator sunning on the banks of a canal running along a county road! There's a sign in the RV park by the canal that that says: "Allligators No Swimming." Tom jokes, "Hope those alligators can read." Next week, we'll take a guided tour of the Everglades and the following week, we'll take the ferry to Key West for an overnight stay. 13 January 2007: We spent 12 hours yesterday with Tom and Elaine hunting for shells on Sanibel Island, photographing waterbirds at Ding Darling NWR, eating, and laughing. We had a great time! I did get some very good photos of waterbirds today. 11 January 2007: We met Tom and Elaine at the Naples Tomato where we ate a very tasty meal and drank some fine wine. They have not changed much in five years! We will go to the beach on Sanibel with them on Saturday. I'm very interested in going to the nearby Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary a few times to take photos of wildlife there. Weather is sunny and near 80 F. Our campground may not have a great view, but it is very quiet. 09 January 2007: We arrived in Naples FL safely. We have Site B which is in the overflow lot with very little space on the sides and a view of the RV and boat storage lot, all for only $950/month! At least we are as far away as possible from the road, so it will be quiet, and our satellite works here in the Kountree Kampinn RV Resort. Many of the folks in this campground live here full-time or 6/6 meaning they live here 6 months out of the year and pay a storage fee to keep their RV on the same site for the other 6 months. The further south we go, the more expensive the campgrounds are because it's winter up north so this is "high" season. We got in touch with Tom and Elaine and hope to schedule a play date for this weekend. We do need to rest and relax for a few days after several days of towing. 06 January 2007: Harry Cat really likes the Tallahassee RV Park. We took some walks last night. He likes the deck near the rec center which may remind him of his deck in Driftwood RV Park in Brookings OR where he was allowed to be the campground kitty. This morning, as we were getting ready to go, I gave him his freedom so he could get some exercise. Bad idea. He decided to go exploring under the fence in the woods. As usual, he came back in his own good time. We have learned that Harry Cat will come back home IF he can and WHEN he wants to. We had much better weather for towing today, partly cloudy, partly sunny, only a few rain drops, and 80 F. We made a pit stop in Perry, FL at a Ford Dealer to get the clogged air filter replaced. Nice folks. No charge for labor to put it in. We drove along part of the historic Suwannee River through some very poor areas with sugar cane plantation shacks and single-wide trailers. I think that I saw some raw sugar cane in the back of an old beat-up pick-up truck. We've stopped for the night at Turtle Creek Campground in Homosassa FL for the night. Turtle Creek really has turtles and some waterbirds, too. I saw a few cormorants, a pair of egrets, and a great blue heron. Now, I hear tree frogs and that may be all of the entertainment we have tonight because there's no working WiFi nor cable TV. 05 January 2007: Poor Tom. Hitched-up the RV in a thunderstorm with lightning. Got soaked. We drove for hours in downpours from Destin to Tallahassee. Got to the RV park and set-up in the rain. Got soaked again. I washed and dried all of the dripping wet clothes. At least the tornadoes stayed away from us. Today, we want a house real bad. 03 January 2007: Weather has been cool and gray. Tomorrow, we pack-up and prepare to move on toward Naples, FL, where we'll stay for a month. We have friends and relatives in Fort Myers to visit, and I am looking forward to visiting the Everglades National Park to photograph 'gators. The further south we go, the warmer the weather should get. 01 January 2007: It was a noisy night of partiers and fireworks followed by a rainy New Year's Day. I did manage to get 8 loads of laundry done yesterday. Today, I'll clean a little bit and wash the sandy rugs. I taped the New Year's Eve special on Fox and watched Chris Daughtry perform this morning. He's great and should have won last season's American Idol. His CD has already gone platinum. Good for him! Tom and I ventured out to Pompano Joe's Seafood House last evening and we ate very good grouper and coconut cake. This restaurant's deck and parking lot were destroyed by hurricanes and storms in 2005 and they are still rebuilding their beach front property. Today we will eat steak at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We wish good health, good friends, and good times for everyone this year. We are dreaming about buying a small house in Florence, Oregon then trading in our fifth-wheel RV for a Class C RV which is smaller and easier to drive. We'll see what the future brings ... |
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