Feb. 14, 2014  Happy Valentine’s Day!  It’s another very busy, fun filled day in The Keys.  Because we have been coming here for so many years we have established “traditions”.  It would not be a visit to the Keys without trying to see a Key Deer … or two or three. I’ll bet it took four or five years before I saw my first one.  I’ll never forget the first time I saw one.   My Grandson, Rowan, was with us.  As we were going  over to No Name Key, we prepared Rowan telling him we were going to try,  but might not see one.  We didn’t want him  to be disappointed. He must have thought we were fooling with him.  We saw a lot.  Rowan was our lucky charm!

Today as we were driving along very slowly we spotted our first, then second.  The second has this beautiful rack.  Cousin Nancy and David got out of the car to take pictures.  They got so close they could almost have pet him. The deer are just so darn cute.  They have free rein of the area.  You never know when you’ll see one, but the only place you know you might is No Name Key.

The No Name Pub is on No Name Key in Big Pine, Florida.  I know that sounds confusing. It’s even more confusing trying to find the Pub. It’s a hole in the wall restaurant that is housed in a building with lots of Key history.  It’s in a residential area and if it wasn’t for the tons of cars parked up and down the street chances are pretty good you’d drive right by. The food is good, but the schtick is all the dollar bills stapled to the walls and ceilings.  It’s a decor designed by the patrons. Put your dollar out on your table and the waitress will bring you over a marker and a stapler.  You personalize your dollar and try to find a spot to staple it.  Then it’s fun to come back the next year and try to find your dollar.

Tonight E T saw her first Keys sunset. She liked it:)

The weather here is still cool for The Keys. We are still using heat at night and wearing sweatshirts.  The wind is a bit calmer, but still pretty strong.  I just feel very, very lucky to be up north.

Feb 13, 2014    We are all settled in at Fiesta Key Campground.  It is crowded here. People are saying they have never been to Florida (any part) and seen it this crowded.  Traffic is horrendous.  The mainland is much worse than here, but when anything happens on U.S. 1 gridlock occurs quickly.  David tried to go out to the parts store today in Islamorada and turned right  around and came back.  Something had happened and traffic was at a standstill.   The weather is not any where near as nice as I’ve experienced in the past.  tonight we went to Bingo at the rec hall and it’s long pants and sweatshirt weather.  The wind is blowing at least 25 knots.  David said the winds may be close to gale force.

This afternoon John and Nancy took me shopping for a new bike.  The cold and wind really limits you to what you can do and shopping is always fun.   We’re headed into Marathon and I thought it would be fun to take them to walk through the garden at The Church of San Pablo. It’s one of Marathons hidden treasures here.

I really want to be particular about what kind of bike I buy and my choices here are very limited. I considered a bike rental, but they average about $15 a day.  I need a bike for the rest of the trip. We end up at KMart and I get a 15 speed Huffy for $102.00.  It’s a pretty blue so I’m cool with it.

We walk the garden at The Church of San Pablo and it’s so pretty.  Flowers are in bloom and we even see a small barracuda in a pond.

Tomorrow we are going to the Flea Market in Big Pine and having lunch at The No Name Pub.   We’ll cruise around a little looking for some Key Deer. We are creatures of habit when we’re here and do a lot of the same things over and over, year after year.  It’s always fun and never boring.

Feb. 12- 16, 2015   We can’t just leave Jonathan Dickinson without an “experience”.  No, not an alligator.  After a wonderful evening spent with Lorraine in Stuart we head back to Jonathan Dickinson late.  David takes E T out for a walk, but she’s doesn’t do “anything, but sniff around.   David is already in bed and  I take E T out for one more try.  She has this great little spot, to go,  right in front of some brush and a tree in our front yard (see Photo).  I have her on a leash, hooked to her collar.  She is just about to squat when she’s gone in a flash into the brush. AAAAAHHHHGGGG!  I’m holding tight to her leash and in an instant the leash goes limp and she’s gone. I’m screaming like a banshee!  I run to the camper door screaming for David. I like a fool had taken her out without a flashlight.  He grabs a flashlight and before he gets out the door, E T is standing beside me.  I have no idea what happened. She was gone and then she was there.  Her collar was hanging from a branch on the tree and the leash was dangling from it. She did not have a scratch on her, what was weird was she didn’t even have a leaf or pricker any where on her fur.  David checked the area and it was a mystery. In the morning there was evidence of raccoons everywhere.  She must have caught sight of one and darted. I had held tight to the leash long enough for the raccoon (wild boar or panther) to run away.

In the morning we take E T for a walk to say goodby to the horses. Some of you may  question this, but E T has learned to neigh.  she is not a barker, but she does whine. There were many times the past few days where her whine has sounded so much like a neigh that I really think she was doing it intentionally.

David and I are excited, we are headed to the Keys.  David has been coming to the Keys for 19 years, this is my 11 th. The Keys are a world of there own. It’s hard to explain, but from my view, everything there has a character in it’s own.  The views are to die for. The closer you get to Mile Marker 0 (the most southern point. the deeper you can emerge yourself  in a wonderful sense of timeless fun and relaxation.

We have established a routine when we get to Homestead, Florida. the last mainland before the Keys.  We have to stop at our Krome Ave pick your own fruits and veggies stand. Oh yeah! Pick your own in February.  Then of course there is shopping at Walmart .  This time we spot a new Aldi right across from Walmart.  Awesome! Traveling in a city driving an RV and pulling a car is challenging.  Parking is the pits.  Aldi has a huge parking lot with a  huge turnaround that you could probably turn a tandem tractor trailer around in. We are LUCKY! So we park our RV, unhook the car and go about running our errands. David drops me at o Aldi and goes to hook the car back up. We travel like a band of gypsies. I told you about the RV towing the car. In between the two are our bicycles.   Well, as I walk back I see only one bicycle.  As I get closer David is shaking his head.  Someone stole MY bicycle. I won”t say the words that comeout of my mouth, but I was angry.  David takes our seats off of the bikes when we’re traveling.  I have a “super soft cushioned seat”.  Davids bike and seat are brand new.  Someone “STUPID” very, very “STUPID” stole my 20 year old bike that had no seat on it.  How did they even ride it away. I hope they hit a big bump and did some serious damage to the “family jewels”.  While we were biking  on Jekyll Island I had mentioned that I’d like to start looking for a new bike. Seriously, the thief stole my old, scratched, wobbly, ancient bike and left David’s brand new one on the rack.  So what are we going to do???  Move On!

So we head on down Route One into paradise. I am excited, David is excited. We drive through Key Largo and over the first big bridge.  E T is laying on my lap. Suddenly, the air changes and the ocean scents fill the ear.  Up pops her head. She’s sitting up, nose in the air sniffing, sniffing everywhere.  She looks at me and I know she is saying “Mom, this smells good. Where are we going?  I like it already.”

As we pass by Robbie’s Marina I’m excited.  Robbie’s is pet friendly! E T will be able to go see the Tarpon!

We reach our first destination, Fiesta Key Campground on Long Key. All three of us are happy.

Feb. 12, 2015 Here’s some info for anyone thinking they might like to try RV- ing, or are just curious how much traveling this way costs.
We are traveling in a 35 ft. Tiffin Allegro 35QBA. If your really interested in stats you can google it. We are fully self contained and can stay, conservatively five days without needing water, electric or sewer. Our gas tank holds 80 gallons. We have both gas and electric heat and refrigerator. Our propane tank holds 20 gallons. Motel / Campground Stays to date
Motel 6 Carlisle, PA. $45. One night pet room no extra charge
We stayed at the Motel 6 our first night because we would have no water if we stayed in the camper. Our systems were still winterized for CT temperatures.
Lake Leamon Campground $35 one night Full Hookup/Pull Through. Full hookup, pull through sites are generally the most expensive. No hook up (dry camping) least expensive. Huntington Beach State Park $24.75 one night Water&Electric Back in Jekyll Island. $119.70 three nights Full Hook Up / Pull Through Fort Clinch $28 one night Water & Electric Back In
Anastasia State Park $92. 40 three nights Water & Electric Back In Jonathan Dickinson State Park $57.40 two nights Water & Electric Back In

Gas Stops
N.J. 72 gal $1.76
VA. 35 gal $1.89
S.C. 25 gal $2.29
GA. 57 gal $1.89
GA. 27 gal $2.02
FL. 40 gal $2.29
We are towing a car and we get about 7.2 miles a gallon we could get about 8 not towing.

Food
We got Domino Pizza Deliver at the Motel 6 2 Artisian pizzas, one veggie, one meat. $21.00 + $4 tip for driver. It should have been a bigger tip. Our ferocious dog came up behind him and squeezed between his legs. The look on the poor guys face was priceless. We didn’t have any more small bills or I would have tipped him more.
Last night we went out to dinner at TooJay’s in Stuart, Fl with Lorraine. Dinner for three was $45 plus $7 tip.
Otherwise, we’re grocery shopping just like we would at home. I think our grocery bills on the road are less, because we have less storage.

We stopped at a Flying J in Georgia and filled our propane tank it took 14 gallons $44.

I hope that was interesting for whoever read it. We’re on the Florida Turnpike headed to The Keys. It is very, very difficult to get reservations at any of the State Parks here. You have to be on line 11 months to the day prior to when you want to arrive. The only way to get a site in Jan. Feb. March is Luck of the draw. We have reservations at two private campgrounds. I think one is around $60 a night and the other $70. I’ll put “statistic” updates at the bottom of my blogs.

Feb 11, 2015  Warning … You are about to be attacked by photos.  This morning  David and I took a ride to the Ranger station asking for “safe places” to take E T in the park. David is a bit frustrated with me, because I’m still being “alligator conscious”.  There are a lot of alligators here (100 + counted). Jonathan Dickinson is considered part of the Everglades.  I am reassured that as long as we follow the posted signs she (we) should be fine. Alligators don’t attacked without being provoked or having their territory infringed upon. There is plenty of food here that the alligators don’t go looking to eat people or dogs. Phew!

The trail I walked yesterday with E T is well marked. If the water temperature is exceptionally cold, we may come upon an alligator sunning itself on the pavement.  We would see the alligator well in advance.  The Ranger said “watch where you are walking” and implied use common sense.  I interpreted, don’t walk with your head up your butt.

One of the suggested places to take E T was the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower.  Awesome … we can run her up and down the boardwalk.  It is a ten minute walk up to the tower, I think 200 steps, with plenty of landings.

Then we took a couple mile hike on one of the many trails here.  If you are a mountain biker they have a fantastic course here and lots of trails. We saw tons of wildflowers.

In the afternoon we took a tour boat on the Loxahatchee River to Trapper Nelson’s Interpretive Site. He was known as “The Wildman of the Loxahatchee”.  My kind of guy 🙂

David and I had canoed the Loxahatchee River on a previous trip.  We had rented a canoe and left the dock at sun up. It was the best kayak trip we have ever experienced.  We did not find Trapper Nelson’s on that trip.   This trip we decided to let the guide take us and we were glad we did.  We both want to come back, with our kayak and do it again. The photos don’t do the scenery justice.

Last and very not least we met our friend, Lorraine, for dinner at an excellent restaurant in Stuart, about 12 miles north of Hobe Sound,  TOO JAYS Restaurant and Deli.  They have restaurants in about 25 locations in Florida.  If you ever have the opportunity to eat at one, the food is great and the prices are very reasonable.

Next stop … The Florida Keys

Feb 10, 2015   It was hard to leave Anastasia State Park.  There is so much to do there and it is so beautiful.  As we were leaving I had to snap a couple of more photos of “my friends” before we left.  It was as if they flew by just to bid us farewell.

We are on our way to one of mine and Davids favorite Florida State Parks, Jonathan Dickinson.  We have no reservations.  We tried, but they book up months in advance.  You can book Florida State Parks 11 months to the day, prior to arrival.  In January, February and March it is a real challenge to reserve a site. There are a few first come sites and “specialty” sites that with a great deal of luck you can drive up and get.  We got lucky at Jonathan Dickinson.  We are staying for two nights at the riding stables.  There is a campground called Eagles View. It only has five sites which are held for equestrians.  Our neighbors are beautiful horses. E T is mesmerized by them.  I should record how many hours she spends sitting in front of camper starring at them.

After  we get settled, David takes the Volvo to get gas and a few groceries.  He runs out of gas.   He gets chauffeured to a gas station by a Florida Police Officer. The Officer is a car guy. Is that a surprise!  If the officer wasn’t on duty I’m sure they would have gone for a ride. David would probably have even let him drive. I would have!!!  When he gets back there’s some guys card on the windshield. Is the car for sale?  If we’d been in Miami it probably would have been gone.

While David is gone, I took E T for a walk on one of our favorite bike trails.  Ooops! It’s an alligator pond trail. You’d think I would have remembered that. I’m sure I would have if we’d ever seen any alligators.   We were fine until some guy rode by us on his bike and spooked me.  He said “Wow!  you made it by two ponds without a problem.”  We hopped a fence and walked back on the road.  I really don’t think alligators hang by the paved bike trail waiting to eat dogs or people.  I do believe in jerks being jinxes. I wasn’t taking any chances.

I know the north is getting slammed with cold and snow and some people might not want to here this,  but it’s hot and sticky here. I actually mentioned to David that we might want to use the air conditioning tonight.  The weather at Anastasia was my kind of weather, high 50’s mid 60’s with gentle breezes.  It’s funny,  but  just like in Connecticut there is a fine line of where the weather changes.  In a few days we will be in my favorite place in Florida, maybe in the whole U.S.A., The Florida Keys.  I’m going to reserve judgement on committing to my favorite place until I’m too old to travel anymore and then I’ll choose 🙂

This is a wonderful country we live in with many, many magnificent and majestic places.

Feb 09, 2015  Today has been an amazing day.  It’s only 4:00 p.m. and I’m so tired that I’m ready for bed.  It was suppose to rain today so we were up early to go kayaking.  We talked to a gentleman yesterday on the boardwalk that recommended the Sea Bean Trail.  We have an awesome Sea Eagle inflatable kayak that holds three “people”.  We kayaked with   E T in it when she was a 20 pound puppy and now that she is 62 pounds, it’s a tight fit.  David took her for a ride and then we put her back in the RV and then just the two of us went out.   It was a good thing.  I would never have been able to take such fabulous bird photos.  If you are a birder, or not,  this is a paradise.   Another good reason we didn’t have E T  with us, there were so many fish feeding in one area that at times they were jumping two feet out of the water.  It was like watching pop corn pop.  I was laughing out loud so much my ribs hurt.  If you’re a fisherman, or not, it was great fun.   We would never have been able to keep E T still.  She would have wanted to catch them and we would have been swimming.  I wouldn’t have minded, but the water is 51 degrees.

After kayaking we walked several miles with E T.  We are teaching her to walk between us without a leash and come when she is called.   One boardwalk here is a little over 1/4 mile. There is fencing that is close enough where she could not jump through if she wanted to.  There were hardly any people at the beach today so when we tired of walking with her, David stood at one end of the boardwalk and I at the other and she ran back and forth on call.  E T is ready for bed too 🙂

It is beautiful here and very quiet.  We didn’t make it into town yet, might not depending on weather tomorrow … here’s a tip for seniors, there is a “Red Train Tour”, more like a trolley than a train that tours the town. You can get on and off as many times as you want. Seniors get buy one get one for $10 pricing.  I hope we get to do it, but there’s always next time.  We also didn’t get over to tour the St. Augustine lighthouse, 229 steps to the top!  We did see it on our kayak ride.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                Feb 8, 2015  We could only stay at Fort Clinch one night,  We were lucky and happy to get that without having made a reservation.      Anastasia allows overflow camping.  For $22 you can stay  in the beach parking lot.  If at 5:00 p.m.  there is a site available they will put you in it ($30.25).  We were hoping to stay in the parking lot,  the views are beautiful from the boardwalks.  David does an awesome job driving through downtown St Augustine and over the Bridge of Lions to Anastasia Island.  We are now officially Island hopping. The road here is not bad, but the tourists are not watching where they are walking, they will walk right out into the street without looking.  It makes me very nervous.

We are here for 3 nights which will give us plenty of hiking and kayaking. One day we will go into St. Augustine.  We have already been there, but it is a beautiful town with lots of history.  We like it.

Feb 6, 2015 It was about a 45 mile ride from Jekyll Island to Amelia Island and what a difference. David and I are avid fans of the TV show Chasing Classic Cars. Wayne Carini, the star of the show, often takes classic cars to the Concourse De’ Elegance on Amelia Island. I don’t know where the road is that he drives down with the beautiful views, but they aren’t any of the roads that we drove down. When you drive over the causeway onto Jekyll Island it’s pretty. You feel like your driving onto an Island. When you drive over the causeway to Amelia Island there is a big ugly Paper Mill that when the wind is blowing in the right (or wrong) direction gives off a horrible stench.
If I didn’t know I was on Amelia Island I would have thought I was driving down any typical shopping strip road … Target, Kohls, Walmart, Ahhhhhh! We are in the south, Winn Dixie and Publix, lots of car dealerships, dilapidated buildings and a good ole pawn shop! I am SURE there are beautiful places on this Island, but I didn’t think it was going to be hard to find them.
Fort Clinch State Park is not a disappointment. It is a 3 mile ride from the main gate to our campground. We are not even a mile into the ride and we have to stop for 6 or 7 deer crossing the road. Our site (#31), in the Amelia River Campground is like a cave made from crooked old oak trees covered with Spanish moss. Best site in this campground is #29, it has fabulous water views.
E T is not allowed on the beach here, but we take her walking on a very pretty nature trail. We found Fort Clinch, which we will tour tomorrow. David and I catch a beautiful sunset and take a short walk along the beach, it’s cold and windy. Arrrgggghhhh! Here comes the biggest jelly fish I ever saw, right up on the beach Good thing E T isn’t here she would try to eat it!
Feb 7, 2015 Hurray!! It’s finally a nice day! Sunny, light breeze and should hit mid to high 60’s.
If you like history at all, you have to tour Fort Clinch if you’re in the area. Construction of the Fort began in 1847, it was never fully completed, it still served as a military post during the Civil War (Union), Spanish-American War and World War II. The first weekend of every month they have re-enactments of everyday fort operations. We’re lucky, it’s the first weekend of the month!
It was a fun morning. One of the neighbors told us we missed a pod of dolphins in the bay. Next Time 🙂 Next stop Anastasia State Park, just south of St Augustine, Fl.

Feb 5, 2015    For everyone getting my updates, you may have gotten some strange posts lately.  How I spent last night was learning to add photos to my posts.  I was emailed that some people didn’t get my photos. I think that’s because I updated previous posts.  So I guess if you want to see the photos I posted to the previous posts, you need to go into www.barbsadventures.com and see all the updates.

Today was another great day.  We bicycled around the island for about 2 1/2 hours.  That was all my poor lungs could take.  I left Connecticut with a respiratory virus that is taking what seems like forever to get better.  I probably should be resting more, but the places we are going are just too beautiful to stay put.

We bicycled the perimeter of the island last year so this year we decided to check out more inland portions of the bike path.  The top photos is of the bike path, showing the beautiful trees,  Spanish moss and some of the other greenery.  The bottom photo is of The Jekyll Island Museum located in the Villa Marianna (1929), located on Plantation Road.  There are several gorgeous Plantations with beautiful grounds that you can tour.  We also bicycled passed one of the golf courses on the island.  For a small island I guess it’s a golfers  paradise, three 18 hole and one 9 hole courses. I can’t emphasize enough how fabulous it is here.

                                          Another Hurray!  Mah Jongg is “BIG” on the island.  I played in the campground clubhouse today with a very, very nice group of ladies.  I was told there is a very active Arts Association and they welcome teachers. One of the ladies teaches knitting.  She said I could get a JOB, teaching Mah Jongg!!

David is no longer accusing me of trying to kill him with all the exercise. E T is now the culprit.  While I was playing Mahj they went for an hour and twenty minute walk to the beach.  E T met a boyfriend. His name is Guinness, he is a chocolate lab.  They walked tail to tail together along the beach.  Good thing we are leaving tomorrow, we may have had to change her name to Heinekin. If they had puppies together we could name them Bud, Miller,  Yuengling  …

Next Stop, Fort Clinch State Park Campground on Amelia Island. Florida.