Wednesday, January 30: Florida City, Day Two in Key West

We awoke to the sunshine and 80 degree temperature of Key West.  While breakfasting we once again charted our day together and consensus was to head to the southernmost tip of Key West and work our way back up Duval Street.

After parking on Whitehead Street in front of the Post Office, we strolled the Truman Annex district. Within its premiere neighborhood we walked around the Little White House, was originally waterfront when it was built in 1890 as the first officer's quarters on the naval station, and was then converted to house the base commandant twenty years later. The residents lost their waterfront views when the base built more buildings on its shores.

Truman was not the only to stay in this home. Others included Eisenhower, JFK, and Thomas Edison. This two-story white-clapboard home is quite simple in its appearance and resembles a northeast lakeside cottage. Restoration to its original 1949 appearance continues today and is a state historic site & museum.

We returned to the Conch Train near Mallory Square to take advantage of our two-day pass and debarked a few blocks from the southern buoy.

Cameras were focused and clicked as we stood by the landmark which indicates the southernmost point of Florida. The brightly painted concrete buoy is one of the most visited and photographed attractions in Key West. The experience was enhanced when we dodged the waves cresting the retaining wall  and the salty breezes re-arranged our hairstyles.

We then began our Duval Crawl, albeit zigzagging along a few side-streets to see the Key West Lighthouse, Hemingway’s home, the Butterfly Conservatory and a few shops to shop.  Along the way we stopped to peer between wrought iron fences at some stately homes, and walked past  “shotgun” houses and “conch style” homes.

We refreshed our dry throats at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville, where we had their delicious house Margaritas and some of the best chicken wings we have had. Then we continued our wandering along Duval Street and stopped at Sloppy Joe’s to once again quench our thirst and be able to check this attraction off our list as well.  

One of Sloppy Joes most famous patrons was Ernest Hemingway.  The name of the bar has nothing to do, however, with a Manwich.  It was named from a bar/seafood place in Cuba owned by a guy named José (Joe) García Río and apparently during the hot summers the ice would melt and the seafood would become unfavorable; it is then the patrons said Joe ran a sloppy place. Every year there is a Hemingway look-alike contest and there are photos over one of the standing bars to show the winner.

We strolled our way back to the car and we all decided we would definitely return to Key West for an extended stay to enjoy more of its quaint and colorful villages and by-ways. About 3 o’clock we began our northern trek to Florida City. These two exhausted couples shared favorites of these past two days and agreed we all had a fabulous time together in the Conch Republic.

The closing of our day was a stop at Gilbert's in Key Largo to enjoy the new Black Crown by Budweiser and see another magnificent sunset.

Tuesday, January 29: Florida City, Day One in Key West

On this last Tuesday of January we began our change in latitude and change in attitude (apologies to Jimmy Buffett) to the casual and comfortableness of Key West with Rita and John.

Traveling in temperatures of the high 70s we plotted our course on the Overseas highway, over 42 bridges and passing beautiful waterways.  Along the 126 mile US 1 we were framed east and west by the blue waters of the oceans and bays, tropical mangroves and palms.

We began at the Upper Keys in Key Largo, considered the diving capital of the world, and the nation’s only living coral reef, and where the “African Queen” is permanently berthed.   Next island to the south is Islamorada, known for its sport fishing. There is a wonderful Bass Pro shop here that caters to the fisherman.

We passed through the Middle Keys and Marathon, a small town with water, sunshine and water birds.  At the southwest entrance to Marathon is Pigeon Key, a tiny island that once served as a construction camp for the Flagler railroad workers. 

Entering the Lower Keys we see the tropical wilderness and birds of flight and pass by Flagler railroad bridges.  Before Miami was Miami, Henry Flagler pictured a railroad across the sea that would further a connection with Cuba, Panama Canal and South America. The railroad changed the wilderness of the Florida Keys into a viable destination. The remaining 23 railroad bridges standing have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We continue our way south across the Seven Mile Bridge, through the Key Deer Refuge, which is a conservation area for this distant relative of the white-tailed deer, but having adapted to this area are all of two feet tall and are said to resemble large dogs. We looked and looked, but were not lucky to see any.

We arrived in Key West, an island at the southernmost tip of Florida, just in time to lunch at Bo’s Fish Wagon, a little hole in the wall place that served good fish sandwiches and fries. So once again, we charted the remainder of the day until our return to Mallory Square for the sunset horizon show.

We all agreed that we needed to get an overview of the island, so we boarded the Conch Train Tour near Mallory Square, which has been in business on the island since 1958, that guided us for ninety-minutes through neighborhoods including Duval Street, Truman Annex, Fort Zachary Taylor, Solares Hill, and Bahama Village. We passed by beautiful old homes with mixed architectural features, some with brightly painted shutters and lush tropical landscape, which make these neighborhoods very charming and inviting.

We found ourselves back at Mallory Square in time to settle ourselves on the outdoor patio of the Westin to enjoy some chips and salsa and some cold, refreshing Bud Lights as we waited for the sun to meet the horizon.

Crowds gathered and numbered as we counted down to sundown. And we were not disappointed with the display of color and radiance as the sun disappeared below our horizon.

We checked into our hotel, had a round of breakfast at Denny’s and said goodnight.

Monday, January 28; Florida City, Coral Castle

These last few days of the first month of the new year finds us relishing the warm days of southern Florida.  


We learn from family and friends of the wintry temperatures and frozen precipitation from the coastal North Carolinas to upstate New York and we wonder if Floridians take for granted the azure blue skies, the sound of the breezes rushing through palm tree fronds, and the donning of shorts and flip-flops as every day wear.

We became ‘winter tourists’ when we visited The Coral Castle in Homestead. This remarkable coral sculpture garden was built over the course of twenty-eight years by a Latvian man, Ed Leedskalnin, who was all of five foot tall and barely weighed one hundred pounds, yet he was able to carve this park of coral by hand using primitive tools.  Each section of the wall is eight foot tall, four foot wide and three foot thick; and weighs about 13,000 pounds.  Leedskalnin carved and moved over 1100 tons of coral without human assistance. Thwarted by his fiancé at the altar rail, he was determined to build this structure for his “sweet sixteen”.  She, however, never saw the testament of his will and endurance.

On the North Wall there is the Polaris telescope, which was perfectly focused on the North Star. 

And nearby is a sun dial, the only known of its kind, with engraved numbers from 9 to 4, to indicate the hours that a man should work; all other time was inconsequential to the builder.  

Throughout the grounds are tropical flowers and trees including the Trumpet Flower, Staghorn ferns, bougainvillea of several shades, and we were entertained by colorful African Rainbow lizards, who reside in the coral walls as they are sit-and-wait predators and feed on ants, spiders, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and katydids. The lizards we saw have a near-smile on their faces and bravely pose for photographers before they skitter away in a nanosecond.

Thursday, January 24: Florida City- Key Biscayne

Today we are reminded why we retired to New Bern, a small, quaint town versus retiring to a metropolitan area like Dallas, Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Chicago, Miami ---TRAFFIC!

On the spur of the moment we, with Rita and John, decided to steer the Jeep north to Key Biscayne. After a preparation of lunch-to-go-in-the-cooler, we headed northbound; Dave did a great job negotiating US 1 through the traffic and lights and more traffic.  After driving through towns dressed with buildings and homes tinted in lavenders, fuchsias, turquoises, and greens we arrived at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, which is about fifteen minutes from downtown Miami.  

The state park hugs the Atlantic shoreline and Biscayne Bay.  We are not the first visitors to Cape Florida. Ponce de Leon stepped ashore on these very white beaches in 1513, but guessing he did not have a picnic lunch like we had.

After lunching under a beautiful palm tree and watching another group of picnickers use an entire container of lighter fluid to get a charcoal fire going, we meandered to the 95-foot tall Cape Florida Lighthouse.


 We were able to climb its 109 circular steps to the top and be awed by its 360 views of Miami‘s skyline, and the blue waters of Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.


The history of this lighthouse began during its completion in 1825 and was damaged during the second Seminole War; being repaired by 1846 it was then re-damaged during the Civil War.  


Interestingly, the island we were enjoying today was at one time a port for runaway slaves and black Seminoles for escape to the Bahaman Islands.  The lighthouse stood abandoned for nearly one hundred years until the state restored this building to its original splendor.

The stark contrast of the brilliant white on the lighthouse, the crayola blue of the skies made for postcard-like photos.In 1992, Hurricane Andrew destroyed most of the trees on the island. The forests and hammocks have been restored to its natural environment where loggerhead and sea turtles nest on the beaches, and over fifty kinds of butterflies flit and fly.

Wednesday, January 23: Florida City-The Everglades, Flamingo

These past few days we have explored the Everglades National Park. This experience has been so educational for us; we have learned so much about this million + acre of subtropical home to over 600 species of birds, the American alligator, crocodiles, and Florida’s national bird-the mosquito.

What is very interesting is that the Everglades began as a 50-mile wide slow, very slow, moving fresh water river that covered the southern area of Florida from Lake Okeechobee.  While traveling along the boardwalks and drive-ways we were not beyond a sea level of four foot.

We checked out each of the trails and overlooks on our 40 mile drive along the Coastal Prairie Trail to the most southern tip of the Everglades known as Flamingo. Flamingo is a remote, desolate area, which, after several attempts to establish as cotton plantations, fishing industry, town place, has become a campground and limited visitor’s center. A hurricane in 2005 severely damaged the 1950’s buildings and remains unrepaired due to lack of funds.

Standing at the shoreline we looked out to a bay of keys, similar to being at the Thousand Islands in New York.

Some of the trails we checked out were named Snake Bight, Alligator Creek, and Pa-hay-okee.  Along these trails we were treated to seeing and capturing on film great white herons, wood storks, ibis, bald eagle, black vultures, snowy egrets, Anhingas, alligators at rest during mid-day, when they are pretty much lethargic as they are lying in the sun and allowing their digestive system to break down their dinners from the night before.  At all times we respected the gators territory and resting space, as they did us. It’s interesting to continually see signs to alert us that fines will be incurred for harassing alligators. 

There are beautiful areas of dwarf bald cypress forests, which from a distance from the trails resemble trees that had just been through a severe ice storm. The contrast of the white woods against the blue skies and green pine hammocks is a beautiful artistry in nature.

While meandering on the raised boardwalks we captured on film the zebra butterfly, mangroves and hardwood hammocks. One of the interesting facts we learned from a park guide is that about six miles down, under the glades and bedrock, is the water source for much of southern Florida. Although at eye level the glades appear to be nothing more than a saw grass marsh, it is a vital resource.

Saturday, January 19: Florida City- Everglades, Royal Palm Trail

Our forwarded address for the next month

 It is hard to believe we have been on the road for sixteen days now. Weather has been favorable for us, except for a few drizzly days of rain.

Everglades morning glory

We are enjoying every day and feel quite blessed to be at this point of our lives where we are able to enjoy these days and this country we live in.

Today we traveled to Everglades National Park and again were amazed at the number of alligators just lazing wherever they want to.


The alligators slumber during the day on the banks of the saw grass marshes and seem to be unimpressed that we humans are ooohhing and aawwwing at their size and boldness.

Of course, every one respects their space, as they seem to respect ours.  These monsters seem patient while we click our cameras and phones as they silently pose.

Little Blue Heron fishing

In the Everglades we also have been treated to many beautiful and unusual birds and flowers.  Driving to the Everglades we passed many crop farms, with corn earred out and  summer squash blooming. Acres and acres of tomatoes being harvested by hand.

Our mini-rv club down here met for dinner nearby the campground at Captain's Restaurant. Fresh fish, and good company.

Wednesday, January 16: Florida City, The Everglades, Snake Valley

Our first full day in southern Florida brought us up close (real up close) and personal with American alligators in an area of the Everglades National Park known as Snake Valley. We enjoyed a two-hour tram ride through these acres and acres of saw grass marsh. The tour guide was very informative and did not rush us through areas where birds and gators were.  We traveled with Darlene and Jack, who have been coming to southern Florida for many years, and picnicked after our tour. 

It was incredible to be so near these gators, that, when we see them on TV are so aggressive, but while passing by them on the tram, and even strolling on the sidewalks, they lie in an almost-comatose state and did not seem to be affected by anyone's talking or clicking of shutters. Our guide said that because they are nocturnal and dine alfresco all night, that the mid-day (when we were there) is when they are vegging out and the foods of the night before are being digested. Interestingly, alligators fear humans more than we probably fear them because their instincts are that we are dangerous to them. Ergo shoes, purses, luggage, etc... It was funny while going down the paved tram pathways to look at a distance and see what looked like tire treads on the road side... NOT.. they were resting gators!
We also saw some beautiful birds, including the Great Egret, Little Blue Herons, Snowy Herons, Ibis'es, Great Blue Herons, and Wood Storks. New birds we learned about and saw were the Anhinga and the Cormorants. If you find yourself in this area of Florida, we recommend this tram tour of Shark Valley; but do not go in summer as you will not see much because the summer temperatures send the gators and birds to the cool, shaded hammocks. (LOL...not our kinds of hammocks!)

Monday, January 14: Melbourne, Port Canaveral

 On Sunday we traveled A1A north to Port Canaveral to our favorite spot to lunch, sit outside and watch boats, birds and cruise ships. Rusty's is a very relaxed environment and yesterday we were entertained by a guy who sounded very much like John Denver. We made our way further north to check out a campground, Jetty Park RV and have added this to our list of campgrounds. It looks to be a nice area, with roomy sites, full-hook up and within walking distance to the beach. Too bad NASA  no longer putting space ships up, because this park looks the place to see launches. While at the campground we parked and watched three cruise lines embark on their journeys to sea.

 Today, Monday, we vegged out at our campsite. Dave and our neighbor, Brian, who is from Quebec, have struck up a friendship and have shared future travel plans. Tomorrow we break camp and continue our journey southbound to Florida City.

Saturday, January 12: Melbourne FL, Ft. Pierce, Vero Beach

We have acquired somewhat of a pattern these past few days; one day is discover the area in the Jeep, the next day we discover the area on our bikes. Needless to say, our bike excursion miles do not exceed our Jeeper's miles! Traveling either north or south on A1A leads us to some wonderful over-the-dune paths to the blue, blue sea. We saw a baby whale today frolicking in the surf. The purple and yellow flags posted on the beaches at each stop show rip current hazards and dangerous marine life; there were not many in the waters. But it is cool watching the pelicans fly in military formation as they are cruising the coast line. A few more days here on the coast and then we begin our travel to the southern inland area of Florida City and Homestead.

Thursday, January 10: Melbourne FL

Blue Heron fishing in Indian River

Wading Blue Heron

We have turned off the heater and turned on the a/c! Coastal Florida is warm and sunny. Today, in and around Melbourne and Sebastian we enjoyed temps in the low 80s.

Yesterday morning we made our way from Jacksonville to St. Augustine's Camping World, where we drummed our fingers for four and one half hours while waiting for an upgrade installation of our in-motion satellite (which was only supposed to take no longer than 1.5 hours) and securing the flange on one of the slide-outs (which was completed during the first hour). Which begs to ask: Why 4.5 hours? We don't know, but we have the aisles of Camping World memorized and can tell you exactly what is on sale until February 2nd!

We are at site 106, Long Point Park, Melbourne until January 15th and plan to do alot of biking and watching the waves of the Atlantic. Ah, yes, retirement is worth the wait!