NBNC>Florida: February 27 2014

Biscayne Mangrove

Weather was partly cloudy-partly sunny-partly warm so we did some partly shopping at Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohl’s and Wal-Mart. 

And then we relaxed and picnicked for the afternoon at Biscayne National Park, just a few miles down the road from our campsite. 

Picnic with a View

Biscayne’s elevation is sea level and of its nearly 175,000 acres only 5% is land. We stayed on the land. 

The park is a scenic shaded area with picnic tables and stationary charcoal grills. On weekends the park is crowded with families. Not so much on this weekday. Across the bay the skylines of Miami and Key Biscayne float on the horizon of blue waters and appear almost as mirages as the sun’s rays break through the cloud cover. 


The small islands, which make up the upper Florida keys, are accessible only by boat and are surrounded by coral reefs. Enthusiastic kayakers and canoers launch from this park to see colorful fish in the crystal clear shallow waters that include parrotfish and angelfish. We may be those enthusiastic canoers next year. Stay tuned!

NBNC>Florida: February 26 2014

White Ibis Nibbling

At mile marker 102 there is an entrance to the John Pennekamp State Park. Pennekamp’s is known for its glass bottom boat tours, extensive coral reefs and mangroves that prove to be ideal for snorkeling and scuba diving. However, today we headed to a quiet loop where a shaded picnic table was waiting for us to enjoy some fresh veggies, and the peacefulness of the bay. A few people duck-walked with their fins into the clear, shallow water of the bay to snorkel. 

Row of coromants

The park was named for a Miami newspaper editor, who helped with the establishment of Everglades National Park and the protection of what would become the state park. We enjoyed several hours of gentle breezes, quiet stillness in the shade and stirred ourselves to go to The Shipwreck Restaurant, nearby. We enjoyed the drive but not the restaurant. The building, located along a canal in a residential area is in need of a good scrubbing; the food is non-descript and the wait staff is less than personable and adequate.  After the too-long-at-the-restaurant experience, we began our way back to camp via Card Sound Road. Passing by Alabama Jack’s we had to look twice because there were less than six cars parked along the roadway and it did not look like the bar area was busy. As we drove the 11 miles on the Card we were passed several times by those roadies who would have clocked at a mere 80 mph, if not more. We wonder why the troopers are not staked along this speedway, as it would seem their budgets would be met with the summonses that could be issued on any given day. 

NBNC>Florida: February 25 2014

A week from today we will be adieu-ing to our site 935 and venturing northbound to Frostproof Florida and leveling out at site 400 at Rainbow Resort. Here we will bide days and evenings with our good friends, The Browns, and reacquainting with others we have become hi-how-are-you residents of Rainbow.  We will begin our trek back to New Bern during the last week of March.

In the meantime, we have been keeping busy here in sunny southern Florida; shuffling on the shuffleboard, checking out coves where we may find manatees (haven't as yet), spending time with fellow rvers, and of course, our nightly happy hour with the Torberts. A great group of rvers from Michigan again hosted a fish fry that was absolutely scrumptious. The jalapeno hush puppies were made perfectly; Judy is the hush puppy queen. The fish was caught by these guys when they were enroute here via Mexico Beach on the Gulf. Everyone brought their favorite dish to share and had a great time. The sun was hot, hot, hot. Next year we will make sure we set up our chairs at 5 a.m. to grab the little shade there was to be had. As the afternoon mellowed and everyone was pretty much wilted we were treated to a jam session of a couple of guys who were really good.


This last week here we will be going to the Everglades for a twilight ranger-guided tour, taking our marine flashlight to watch the gators as the sun goes down and the moon and stars show us the other side of survival in the glades. We will also be heading to Alabama Jacks and Key Largo for one last trip.

NBNC>Florida: February 21 2014

During our lazy drives among the palm-treed nurseries, the acres and acres of ripening tomatoes and summer squashes, the rows and rows of sweet corn beginning to tassel we have found some really beautiful homes (mc-mansions). 

Several have made us curious enough to turn around and take another peak. But none as intriguing as a mansion on Tennessee Avenue in Redland, just a few streets from the main drag of Homestead. 

 After further exploration we learn that this eight bedroom-eight bath, house is built on a 14 acre lagoon by a Miami architect. There are two gazebos jutting far out to either side of the lagoon/moat that are used for dining and sleeping, respectively. 

And if anyone is interested, the home is on the selling block for a mere 12 million; seems the builder is bored.

NBNC>Florida: February 19 2014

Three weeks from today we will be awakening in the heart of orange-groved Florida. As we count down our days remaining here in southern Florida we decided to go a ranger-guided tour of the now decommissioned Battery A Hercules Missile site in the Everglades, just outside of Homestead.  On our way through this most eastern area of the Everglades the temperature was in the low 80s with a nice cool breeze, crayon-color blue skies with cotton candy clouds.

HM-69

The missile site is now operated by the National Parks Service and was the last fixed air defense missile system to remain in operation until it was ordered to stand down in 1979. There were four additional missile sites operating in southern Florida as part of a larger air defense system and at one time there were 248 missile sites strategically placed throughout the country.  This site, surrounded by swamp and grasslands, originally had 22 buildings and housed 145 service personnel. It is a reminder of the 13-day standoff between the then world powers of Kennedy, Khruschev and Castro during the early 1960s and the involvement of our country and Russia in the Bay of Pigs crisis with Cuba.  The Hercules’ were intended to intercept missiles in the event there were any fired from Cuba. The good news is that no one made the ultimate decision to set off a missile in protection of our country or perceived threats.

Missile Barn

Of the original buildings the remaining intact structures include a missile assembly building, three missile shelters, barracks and a guard dog kennel. A restored Nike-Hercules missile is on display at the site. The HM-69 launch site consisted of three above-ground launch units, each with four missiles, some of the missiles were armed with nuclear warheads. Above-ground units were required in the Everglades due to the high water table.  The missiles, about forty-one feet long and weighing close to five tons, were capable of traveling up to mach 3 if launched. This site was our first line of defense against the threats of Russian missile bases that had been installed just 90 miles south on the island of Cuba. The personnel of Battery A received a meritorious unit commendation from President Kennedy, which was one of the few times the award was presented for a Cold War deterrence mission.

Re-contructed Hercules Missile on display

The park ranger presented a reader’s digest condensed version of the build-up of the necessity of the missile sites and insights shared with those veterans who had been stationed at this post. Even though Florida has become a tourist mecca, in the late 50s early 1960s this part of Florida was still pretty much wilderness with alligators, crocodiles, panthers, poisonous snakes and mosquitoes, the size of pigeons, which the Army personnel had to contend and live with.  Barracks were primitive settings of olive green canvas tents sans air conditioning. It is, in all likelihood, that uniforms were heavy wool and not blended cotton that would have been light weight and cooler to wear. 

The soldiers and technicians, housed in the glades, were close in distance, but yet so far in their respective duties. The highly restricted base was no doubt in perpetual high alert and the troops lived with the knowledge that they would receive little, if no warning, of an impending attack. A mere fifteen minutes was the timeframe to sufficiently launch a missile from the time of radar sensing to the manning of the launchers. If the “Battle Stations” alarm was issued, the soldiers responsible for launching the missiles went into a small room in a bunker and waited.  They would listen for the radio communication and the order that would have probably incited World War III. That order was never announced. And now, in this gladed wilderness one cannot help but be moved by the eerie silence as the breeze dances through the sawgrass and at the same time the nearness of the fate of one decision that would have affected our country and the world forever.  

NBNC>Florida: February 4 2014

No chance of rain, no chance of fog, no chance of snow…lots of chance of sunshine so we packed a picnic and headed  to the furthest point south on the mainland to Flamingo Florida. The road that leads to this furthest edge passes through many subtropical wilderness prairies including habitats of freshwater, saltwater and hardwood hammocks. 

The Everglades spans nearly two million acres of water, marshes and land.  Following the park road for nearly 40 miles to the end we pass through the Dwarf Cypress Forest. Seen from a distance it appears that the trees are captured in an ice storm. Some have described these trees as ghosts of the Everglades.  We arrived at the campground in Flamingo which is hosted by the National Park. There are four loops that are available for motorhomes, trailers and mostly tenting sites. The sites are well-spaced and the loop for motorhomes are long pads with grassy areas and offer electricity.  We selected several sites for consideration to stake on next year.  

We found a picnic table near the marina and enjoyed sandwiches and chips. During our munching we saw a crocodile resting on the boat ramp just a few feet from us. Of course it became a Kodak-moment and it looked as if the croc smiled a few times.  

We meandered over to the marina where we happened to be treated to a presentation by a park ranger, Nicole, who versed us on the crocodiles and alligators who reside in the glades. Nicole was very interesting and entertaining in her schooling us further on these prehistoric reptiles.

 During her talk it there was a crocodile lazily floating near the dock and would seem quite interested when people would put their canoe in and start paddling up the canal; once the croc was happy to see the travelers leave his territory he would return to his floating.  

On our return we stopped at some of the turnouts which lead to canoe and walking trails. There are several boardwalks that lead over and through the saw grass wilderness. One of the boardwalks, Mahogony Hammock, is about a half mile of meandering through a lush canopy of mahogany and strangler fig trees. 

One mahogany, which has endured many hurricanes, is nearly 90 feet tall and 12 foot in circumference and is estimated to be over 500 years old. If only I could look this good at 65! There are many trees downed as a result of Hurricane Andrew, and are host to air plants and bromeliads.  We checked out the Daniel Beard Center, where the Nike Hercules Missile Site, part of the defense system built during the Cuban Missile Crisis, remains.

 We will be returning on another Tuesday for a ranger-guided tour.  We ended our Glades-day on the Anhinga Trail at Royal Palm to see if the gator club was there. The gators had just left their resting area for the evening and we headed back to camp.

NBNC>Florida: January 31 - February 2 2014

The weather today has been iffy so we iffy’ed our way out of the motorhome and decided to take a brief ride to Key Largo. Taking US 1 to Kay Largo leads us through the most eastern edge of Everglades National Park, where mangrove swamps and sawgrass rivers border the fence line and stretch out as far as the eye can see. 

Card Sound Bridge

 The brackish waters we see are not hospitable for alligators, but crocodiles live to tell the tale in these waters. Noted sadly are the place-markers of those who were fatally injured in accidents. Florida has markers that read, “Drive Safely” with the deceased name included on the signage. There are too many to count.  We did the usual visitor center stop and learned there are no maps for Key Largo, but if you would like to book a day on a boat or go snorkeling or swim with the dolphins there were plenty of people to take our money. NOT! So, we aimed for a few side streets on the bay side; some were not of the caliber expected with a mailing address of Key Largo. And then we found the area off Laguna on the oceanside, where million dollar homes lined the canals with just as expensive sea yachts moored at their backyards.

At the northern end of Key Largo on route 905 is an exclusive, may I say again, exclusive resort, Ocean Reef Club is located on a peninsula with one road leading into the club. Not to be name dropping, but really am, Kathie Lee Gifford reportedly has a mc-mansion in this very secluded, very private enclave where real estate prices start at $300,000 for some of the docks and condominiums and intensify to over of 15 million. To accommodate your yacht, if it is like up to 160 you will be spending between 2 and 4 million. But I guess if you have a “boat” half the length of a football field then the dockage fee is probably small change. There is a lovely home with an asking price of 10 million…would be worth considering BUT property taxes tally at 70K per year! Thanks, we will travel in our motorhome

Don’t forget your Keys! Great sign that we read when at the toll booth on Card Sound Road on the way back to camp after a leisurely drive in and around Key Largo. The toll is all of one dollar-wondering what they do with all that money? Is there a Save the Croc Society? From the crest of the Card Sound bridge you can see for miles and miles. Miami skyline is to the northeast and Florida Bay to the southeast, with its thousands of islands dotting the waterways.

The week rounded out to more precipitation, so we hunkered down and stayed nearby. On Sunday we watched a Super Bowl game that was similar to a Roman gladiatorial contest.

NBNC>Florida: January 27 2014

   
On Monday, the 27th, we joined the Torbert’s in a mile stroll through Royal Palm, a 4,000 acre portion of the Everglades; we only walked about a mile and a half along the Anhinga Trail, which is a paved walkway and a boardwalk over Taylor Slough and a freshwater sawgrass marsh.

 A slough, which is pronounced slew, describe areas of the Everglades where the water is a little deeper and there is a noticeable current.  

As always, there is an abundance of  wildlife that we see along the trail including alligators, turtles, wading birds, and tropical palms. 



And  did I mention alligators and more alligators, just lying peacefully along the boardwalk, but very aware of our footfalls nearby. We came across a gathering of gators as we were on the boardwalk and they were stretched out onto the sawgrass just lying there waiting for us tourists to take their pictures.

NBNC>Florida: January 10 - 26, 2014

With temperatures having been cool and well below normal these past few weeks, the weather has been our deciding factor for our activities here in southern Florida.  Jeans, long-sleeved shirts and jackets have been the wear-of-the-day.  

Our brief sojourns have included  a happen upon of Knaus Berry Farm in Redland, here we found freshly picked strawberries and beets and wonderful baked goods; local restaurants serving Cuban sandwiches; outlet malls with great deals; a movie theatre where we had freshly made popcorn and watched “Lone Survivor”. 

Several Fairfield Harbour RV club members have visited including the Pethybridge’s, Pettigrew’s, Butters’, and Spallanzani’s.  We are neighbors with Darlene and Jack Torbert, also fellow rvers from Fairfield and often meet up for casual cocktails at the end of the day.  Darlene makes a mean bloody mary! Jack has introduced Dave to Dewar’s!

We hosted a gathering of the group when the Spallanzanis’ were in town and joined Diane and Larry on their trek to Key West, where we enjoyed wings and ‘ritas at Jimmy Buffetts on Duval Street, photo ops at the southern most point, and toasted the sunset at Mallory Square.

We have spent each of our Sunday afternoons at Alabama Jack’s, a local bar on Card Sound, just this side of Key Largo, where bikers line up their Harleys, Hondas and Yamahas and the Card Sound Machine band echoes music from our pasts and we find ourselves tapping our feet, keeping time with our fingers and lip-syncing along with the guitarist. Sometimes our words are not the same as his but it doesn’t matter at Jack’s, because everyone else has their own lyrics, too.  The ambiance is a reminder of Florida in the 1950s; some of the regulars have been crossing its threshold since the first conch fritter was served.  It is common to see women in rhinestone-covered headwraps that coordinate with their significant driver, and black is the chosen leathered-gear color. 

NBNC>Florida: January 6 2014

Can you say Janudreary? Because that has been the weather for these first 8 days of the new year. The Floridian farmers are probably loving this weather; precipitation, cool nights, balmy-ish days. If someone’s name down here is Uncle Ben and has a rice plantation they are going to have a good year! Because the weather has not been conducive to tourism we have pretty much “weathered” ourselves on our site, as have the majority of the campground.  It wouldn’t be all that bad if it weren’t for the pretty much non-existence of wifi here in the park. But alas, it doesn’t matter how far you are from home there is always vacuuming and/or laundry to influence the time.

NBNC>Florida: Saturday, January 4 2014

On Saturday, January 4th we arrived safely in Florida City and have settled onto our campsite that will be our home until March.  Sunday and Monday brought us typical tropical afternoon showers but did not deter us from enjoying our days. The Pethybridge's, from New Bern, stopped in to visit before they began their return home; we will see them again soon.

 In the meantime, we plan to walk, bike, and relax.

NBNC>Florida: Friday, January 03, 2014

Well, we should have been 245 miles further down the road today, but glad we stayed at Jetty Park. Today’s weather, although nothing as severe as the negative degrees and snow-laden roads of the northeast, was still considerably cold for Florida, with rain and winds. 

So today was a laid-back and very relaxing. We did accomplish the programming of the tire pressure monitor and will finalize the installation of the repeater once we are settled in Florida City. Tomorrow we pull up stakes (levelers) and by day’s end will be set up on site 935 at Southern Comfort in Florida City. Hoping the dreary skies and rains don’t follow us.

NBNC>Florida: Thursday, January 2, 2014

Tri-colored Heron

It is fortuitous that Dave keeps updated with the many college bowl games because this morning he saw that the Orange Bowl is being hosted in Miami tomorrow evening; which caused us to wonder why in the world would we place ourselves in the middle of ten more million people traveling southbound. So we decided to stay one more day at Jetty Park, and the campground is quite hospitable. 

On this pleasant day we chose to drive down the coast to Long Point Park in Melbourne. We have always enjoyed the A1A drive; the coastalscapes of the Atlantic and Indian and Banana Rivers, seashore towns scattered along the coastline with homes that were probably built in the 1950s to ocean-mansions. Passing by Patrick Air Force we saw some helicopters executing touch-n-goes. 

We arrived at Long Point in hopes of seeing Dave’s Canadian friend, whom we camped next to last year, but unfortunately we missed each other.  We leisurely began our return to camp after stopping at Publix for fresh fruit and veggies and Lowe’s for “stuff”.  The weather was still quite enjoyable so we grabbed our chairs and our new year’s bubbly and copped a squat at the jetty to watch the cruise ships navigate their way to the sea. 

 

We finished off the evening with dinner and the peace of knowing we won’t have to battle the masses on the roads tomorrow.

NBNC>Florida: Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Our first day of this new year we are greeted with rain, rain and more rain. Oh, and it is still raining. Perhaps we will be planting rice on our campsite tomorrow.

NBNC>Florida: Tuesday, December 31 2013

Atlantis

Today is the 365^th day of the year; at this writing there are less than six hours remaining of this year. Tomorrow we begin the first day of a brand new year. We have not been one of those couples, who feel we need to surround ourselves with music, voices of strangers, nor copious amounts of alcohol. 

And on this evening of our 43^rd New Year’s Eve together we continue with the tradition of quietness, togetherness and remembrances of our 15,330 days. By the late evening we decided tomorrow will be soon enough to greet the new year, so we bid adieu to 2013 about 10:45. In the meantime, during the day we enjoyed a driving tour of Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. 

Anole on Merritt Island

Merritt Island initially partnered with Cape Canaveral in 1963 and has evolved into 140,000 acres of sanctuary for wildlife from mosquitoes to butterflies to water fowl to mangrove to alligators to feral hogs living in the salt and fresh water marshes. 

Feral Piglets

Throughout the refuge the water levels are managed at a level not to exceed 18 inches, which helps to sustain the many habitats in the refuge. We did see a few “smaller” gators, enjoying the mid-afternoon sun and a mom feral hog tending to her three porkers.

Continuing on the theme of naturalism, we aimed for the Canaveral National Seashore with the hopes of seeing the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse, however, the park’s volunteer offered directions not quite accurate. But we did have a nice ride to Canaveral National Seashore and returned to our campsite before the celebrants hit the roads.

Merritt Island Walkway

NBNC>Florida: Monday, December 30, 2013

Jetty Park RV Park, Port Canaveral Florida

Is it just me or does it seem ridiculous that we are just two days from the end of yet another year?!  I am, at this time, wondering what happened to the month of May!! As we get older I wish there were a way to tivo our years. Today we drove a little bit down the coast to Cocoa Beach and walked out to the end of the pier. There were a few fearless (senseless) people in the surf and as we walked on the pier I thought that maybe today Cocoa Beach should be renamed to Co-Co-Cold Beach! We enjoyed an okay dinner at Grills at Port Canaveral and then strolled through the campground as another cruise ship departed the jetty.

NBNC>Florida: Sunday, December 29, 2013

Sunday, December 29, 2013

The luck of the journey continues as we awaken and get on the road early morning to torrential rains and a 25-mile traffic backup because of an “incident” at the on ramp of Ormond Beach. The incident was a semi truck hauling cars that caught fire about 8:30 in the morning, which shutdown 95 south for hours. 

The fire also charred many of the cars on the carrier, the driver was not injured. Continuing onward we arrived at Jetty Park RV Park in Cape Canaveral and set up (in the rain) on site 346. Just before dinner we watched the Disney cruiser embarking on its four-day excursion. We waved a bon voyage to Mickey and then settled in for the evening.