Our Day Trip To Key West Florida......

We headed South early, since it was about 150 miles, from where we were staying, to Key West.  It was a perfect weather day, not to hot or muggy, and just a light breeze.  Key West was busy, as we expected, since it was spring break for the local schools, and there were still some remaining college students partying.  We spotted the smallest bar in town, so we decided to grab a cool one and walk around.

Just down the street we found The Original Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville.  Since we already had a drink in hand, we only managed to purchase about 3 T-shirts and a tank top.

 

 

Funny thing about Key West, the Chickens/Roosters, and the Deer, are treated as locals, and you must stop if either are crossing the road, and it doesn't matter if they are not in a crosswalk.  There is a $500 fine if you hit either of them, so you need to be alert at all time.  The chickens are quick, and almost impossible to see.



Duval Street is affectionately called the longest street in the World, since it goes from coast to coast - from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.  It is really only a little over a mile in length, and the Gulf Coast end (West End) is mostly shops, restaurants and bars. 

 

Near the Gulf Coast end of the Duval Street is Mallory Square.  All roads in Key West lead to Historic Mallory Square, and is the center of Key West’s waterfront. The City of Key West and Duval Street share their beginning along this deep harbor waterfront.

 

The Atlantic Ocean end (East End) is a mix of early Key West Victorian mansions and bungalows’ dotting the neighborhood.  Art galleries, boutiques, inns and Bodega’s line the wide sidewalks. Although this end of Duval is more residential and less filled with tourists, the sidewalks are still busy with activity.

 

Near the Atlantic End of Duval Street is the buoy marker for the southern most point in the United States.  Here is an Amazing Fact:  This point is closer to Cuba, only 90 miles, than any WalMart.

 

And since we managed to find the Southern Most Point of the Continental United States, there we also found Mile Post "0".

So as the sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico, we pointed the old truck North, back to Pompano Beach.  We all had a wonderful day in Key West, and Roberta and I might have to make another visit one day soon.

Until next time, thanks for looking at us,

Roberta and Steve

Fun In The Florida Sun With Our Friends

The past few days have been a BLAST with Roberta's sister and brother-in-law, Margie and Tom.  Our first adventure, after hanging out at the beaches for the weekend, was to seek out Alligators.  Off we went, down highway 41, also known as Alligator Alley.  We weren't sure if we were going to see any alligators, since the weather has been a little cooler than the usual down here, and we hear that gators like warm weather.  We were pleasantly surprised.



The girls spotted a few gators, laying alongside the river bank while we were driving, so we pulled over at the first available wide spot in the road.  One of these gators decided to jump off the bank into the water toward Roberta, which made Roberta jump back over the guardrail for safety.  We all got a good laugh.

After a few hours of Gator excitement, we headed down the highway to Everglades City for an Airboat Adventure.  We arrived a bit early, so since it was 5 o'clock somewhere, we decide to quench our thirsts with a nice cold beer, or two.  Who's counting............

 Margie and Tom

 





Since we didn't have to drive the Airboat, we were ready for some more excitement.  Our tour guide was Captain Gary, with Everglades City Airboat Tours.  This was the only tour company that had headsets, where you could communicate with the boat captain. Captain Gary was awesome and had lots of experience on the Everglade Canals.  If you ever get down this way, we would suggest taking a tour with them.

 

 Don't go to Captain Doug's, go to the Yellow sign in the background.

Do you see the Pelican on the top of the airboat...???

 

 

 

Captain Gary managed to find us one last Alligator, and a hungry Pelican

 

On our way out of the canals we spotted a thirsty Raccoon, so Captain Gary shared his bottle of water, so we could get up close for a few pictures.

 

Our trip down Alligator Alley was Amazing, but all Great things must end, so we pointed the truck back to Pompano Beach, for a good nights sleep.  Tomorrow we plan to head way down South to Key West.  Check back in a few days for an update.

 

Thanks Again for looking at us,

 

Roberta and Steve

Margie and Tom Have Arrived.......

Here we are, still in Florida.  Margie and Tom, Roberta's sister and brother-in-law, arrived early Friday evening, for a week of fun in the sun with us.  Today we took a drive down to Deerfield Beach, just a few miles North of Pompano Beach.  Friday afternoon Roberta and I were at this same beach, but it was a cloudy day.

 

Friday Afternoon, Just a few people

Saturday Afternoon

 Pretty much a totally different place when the sun comes out.

The drive along the coast highway is littered with beautiful homes, right on the beach.  Across the street is a canal, with even more amazing homes, and almost everyone of them has a small boat to enjoy the water.

Not much else has happened since our last post, but we just wanted to keep you up the date.  More to come in a few days.

Thanks for looking in on us.

Roberta and Steve



Enjoying The Sun In Florida

So, here we are, still in Florida, just laying back and enjoying the SUN.  Early last week we were looking for someplace to use the Internet, so we had Garmin look for a Starbucks.  There was one only about 5 miles from where we are staying, so off we went.  While driving there, we traveled through what appeared to be a new housing development being built, but it looked like it was just getting started.  Turned out to be just an expansion of what we found next.  About 2 minutes later, we turned a corner and stumbled across what appeared to be the "Secret Society of Golf Carts".

Everywhere you looked, there were Golf Carts, being driven by a whole community of gray hairs.  What we found was an active 55+ retirement community.  It is called "The Villages", and is over 30 square miles in size.  Currently there are about 92,000 people that call this area home, and they are selling about 150 homes a month.  There are 21 golf courses, and if you live here, you can play all of them for free.







There are over 60 swimming pools, numerous recreation centers and over 1900 activity clubs like a Classic Car Club, Knitting Club, Line Dancing, etc, etc, etc.  There are 2 different Softball Arena's, similar to Delta Park, where they have numerous leagues.  They also hold senior games here yearly for all sports.  It is like a Geriatrics Club on Steroids.  You name it,  it is probably here.  There are separate roads in most of The Villages for the Golf Carts, and tunnels that go under the main streets, so the carts don't slow down traffic.  Where there aren't separate cart ways, they have slow moving cart lanes, that share the road with autos.



 

There are 3 town square areas, where there is shopping, restaurants, movies theaters, banks, health clubs, bowling alley, doctors, etc.  Every evening, from 5-9, there is live entertainment at all 3 town squares.  We have been to these events almost every evening, and let us tell you, they are hopping.  Lots of people dancing, visiting and enjoying a cold beer, a mixed drink or a glass of wine.



A few evenings ago there was a Golf Cart Rally, in one of the Squares, and you would be amazed at how much money some of these people have put into their Golf Carts.

 

 

 

 

Pretty COOL for Golf Carts

 

The homes here seem to be reasonably priced, and every housing area is gated, and most of them have a guard house.  We took a few days to look at some of the homes for sale, and we found that you can buy something from $80,000 up to a million.  We found a few homes that we really liked in the $150k range.  No, we are not moving here, at least for now, but this place has really got our attention.  It might be a place where we end up wintering, and spend our summers back home.  Only time will tell.

 

We will be hitting the road on Sunday, working our way to Fort Lauderdale.  Roberta's sister and husband are flying in for a week of Fun & Sun with us.  Should be a CRAZY week, since it is Spring Break and the college students should be out in full force.  We'll let you know just how crazy it gets.

 

So, until our next post.......

Thanks for looking in on us,

 

Steve and Roberta

Kennedy Space Canter In Orlando

Here we are in the Orlando area.  We are staying at an RV Park about 30 miles West of Orlando, but only 14 miles from Universal Studios.  Yesterday we ventured out to the Kennedy Space Center, which is probably the furthest attraction away from us, about 90 miles.  We have found that almost all the freeways in, and around, the Orlando area have a toll.  We jumped on the freeway, paid our $1.50 toll, and were on our way.  3 minutes later, PRESTO, another toll both wanting another $1.25.  Another 10 minutes later, another $1.00 toll.  In total, our 90 mile drive to the Kennedy Space Center, had 6 toll booth's, totaling $6.75.

For just a mere $106 admission price, and an additional $10 for parking, we were able to enter the Kennedy Space Center.  A small bucket of popcorn, and a small bottle of water was about the same price as going to a movie.  We took a tour out to the launch area where there was a lot of preparation for the SpaceX launch the next day (Today-Friday).  SpaceX is a private company, using some of NASA's facilities to send material to the Space Station.  The Space Center was interesting, but we feel that it is a bit over priced.  Oh Well, enough complaining.

 

The Space Center closed at 5:00 PM, and after they kicked us out about 5:45, we decided to make our way down to Cocoa Beach.  Lots of Hotels along the beach, and beautiful beaches, but we didn't see much to do.  We are guessing that this is not a big Spring Break destination, but a very nice place if you want to just relax on the beach.  We took a couple of Sunset pictures, looking over the Atlantic, for you to enjoy........  ;-)

 

 

So after checking out the beach, we decided to take a different way back, and avoid the toll booth's.  The one hour trip down, only took two and a half hours to get back.  So we guess the toll on the freeways are the best way to go.  Maybe the locals know how to avoid the tolls, but we didn't have much luck with that.

 

A cold front has moved down this way, just for the weekend, so we have postponed our trip to Universal Studio until next week, after the weather warms up.  Yea, we can see you all laughing about "Poor Us and the Cold Weather."

 

Not much else going on at this time, so check back next week.  Thanks Again for looking at us.

 

Until Next Time,

 

Steve and Roberta





Daytona 500

When we left Vancouver Washington in September, we knew that we needed to be in Florida by the end of March, so we arrived a few weeks early.  We were looking at the map the other evening, when the realization of just how far we have traveled became apparent.  It is a long way across the USA.

 



 

When we left Panama City Beach we made it as far as Lake City, Florida, where we decided to just kick back for a few days, do some laundry, get some groceries, give the old RV and truck a bath, and recover from the colds we had acquired.  Panama City Beach is a gulf coast beach town, but we don't think it will be one of those places we plan to return to.  Don't take that wrong.  It was nice to see, but it was just another beach town.  Very pretty white sand for as far as you could see.

 

We would have to guess that this is a huge Spring Break PARTY area for the college scene.  Many hotels on the beach, and lots of fun and crazy things to see and do.

Somebody even built an upside down building.

So we said goodbye to Panama City Beach, and pointed the truck east, toward the Atlantic Ocean.

We found a place to park the old wheelhouse in Daytona Beach, just a few miles from the Daytona Speedway race track. We had originally plan to stay in the Orlando area, and drive up for the race on Sunday, but this worked out so much better. We arrived in Daytona early Friday afternoon, and went out exploring. We headed down to the beach to get our first glimpse of the Atlantic Ocean, and hopefully find something to eat. The first beach area we found you were able to drive on, park and spend the day if you wanted. We found a nice beach Bar and Grill to quench our thirst and feed our bellies.

We bet that this beach is CRAZY during Spring Break

The weather here in Daytona is very warm and muggy during the day, but the evenings a perfect to sit outside, or go for a walk.  Saturday was our day to check out the Daytona Speedway, and figure out where we were going to park on Sunday for the race.  Daytona has this race business under control.  There is a free parking area, about 2 miles from the track, and they run school bus shuttles all day long back and forth.  We didn't have to wait at all for a shuttle.  The raceway grandstands are enormous, and when we first arrived, they were pretty much empty.
 

But just a short time later, when the cars first came out of the pit area, it was packed.
Not a seat in sight.

So we must say that our NASCAR experience was very COOL.  The weather guessers were all predicting rain for the race, but not a drop showed up.  The cloud cover helped to keep the temperature pleasant, and Roberta didn't have to lather all up with sunscreen.  We were able to bring a small cooler in with us, so we loaded it up with some beer and water, and didn't have to spend 6 bucks for a beer, or 3 bucks for a water. And to top off a perfect day, Jimmie Johnson, Roberta's favorite driver, crossed the finish line first, to win the Daytona 500 . We are thinking about attending another race, later this year, maybe Talladega, Alabama, if our timing works out.  We'll have to see.............

Tomorrow we are moving down to Orlando, about 60 miles South, for six days.  We aren't sure what our plans are for there, but we figure we will be able to find something to do.......  ;-)

Thanks for looking in on us.

Till Next Post,

Roberta and Steve

Goodbye New Orleans........ We Will Be Back.....

After two Exciting Weeks in New Orleans, it came time to hook up the old wheelhouse, and head on down the road.  We must say that New Orleans is a wonderful place to visit, even when it is Super Bowl and Mardi Gras Crazy.  We met so many awesome people, that gave us directions, asked if we needed help, and even opened their homes to us.  We can not say enough about their Southern Hospitality.  We have all heard, and read, that New Orleans may never recover from the Katrina Devastation, but we are here to say, New Orleans is already back.  We will return to New Orleans someday, and if the timing is right, we would even return during Mardi Gras.  Yes, it was overly crowded, but even with the crowds, it was a BLAST.

 

 

Just a few fun facts about Mardi Gras that we learned.

1.  Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday

2.  Lundi Gras is French for Fat Monday... The day before Fat Tuesday, and another day to PARTY

3.  Fat Tuesday is a State Holiday in Louisiana, and everyone, in every neighborhood, has a PARTY

4.  LSU's colors of  Purple, Green and Gold were chosen because they are readily available.

(The official colors of Mardi Gras)

 

We attended more parades than we ever expected to attend in one week....... 11 of them in all.

 

 

And as we mentioned in our pervious post, we are overloaded with beads, so be prepared to be presented with some of them when we see y' all.

 

 

There is also a tradition about King Cakes, that dates way back.  Apparently a figurine of a baby is baked inside the cake, and if you get the piece of cake containing the baby, you get to bring the next King Cake to the next party.  Well, we had to purchase a King Cake to see what they are all about.  Basically, it is a Cinnamon roll, rolled into a giant donut, covered in icing and sprinkled with Purple, Green and Gold colored sugar.  Very Good, and we both gained 5 pounds sampling it.

 

 

Notice the Plastic Baby on the cake.

Hummmm......were we suppose to hide it in the cake ourselves..?

Guess we will just have to return and purchase another one.

 

We heard about a floating casino up on Lake Pontchartrain, so guess what.....?

 

Three floors of casinos, and the entire 3rd floor was Non-Smoking.

We had a good time, but we were not winners this time.

 

So anyway, our plans have changed.  We had mentioned that we were going to head up North, to the Memphis / Nashville area, but the weather up that way has turned COLD, so we are now on our way to the Florida Panhandle, to find some warmer weather.

 

We made it as far as Mobile Alabama, and stayed for 2 nights.  As Luck would have it, the disabled Carnival cruise ship, "Triumph", was being towed into the Mobile Harbor.  We drove out, as close as we could get, to the Harbor entrance to see if we could see this "GREAT" event.  (Well, the Media thought it was something spectacular)

 

The"Triumph" is the dim lights, just to the right of the bright light, in the middle of the photo.

Ya, we know, not much to see.

By the time it got to where we were, it was dark.



 

We are currently in Panama City, Florida, and will be about 100 miles from Orlando tomorrow evening, and then staying in Orlando area for a couple three of weeks.  We just realized yesterday, that this week was the beginning of the 2013 NASCAR season, and the first race of the year, The Daytona 500, is next weekend.  Ya, you guessed correctly, we went online and got tickets.  Should be FUN, since Steve has never been to a NASCAR race.  Can't Wait.!!











 

We both managed to acquire the dreaded "COLD BUG", which has slowed us down for the past few days, but this morning we are both feeling much better.....  "YAHOO"

Thank God it wasn't the flu.

 

Thanks for looking in on us..........

 

Steve and Roberta