Gulf sand and windy shores

A long drive from Brooksville to Cape San Blas brought us to another remarkable Florida State park, St. Joseph Peninsula.  This park is right on the ocean at the end of a white sand peninsula. Our campsite was just steps to the boardwalk and to the beach.

We relaxed in the sun, reading, surf fishing, and soaking up vitamin D to take back home with us. We have some friends who were staying near the park so we met up with them and went to Apalachicola for a wonderful gulf shrimp dinner.

Nancy and Jann, Clover, Magic, and Journey, it was great seeing you.

 

 

Then came the storm. The panhandle was to be hit with gale force winds, possible tornados, and rain. We toyed with the thought of heading home but Michigan was under a winter storm warning. So we hunkered down and the wind rocked us for 48 hours. We made it to the beach to see the most powerful ocean  we have ever seen. Honestly, we have only seen waves that huge in movies. We could only stay near the beach for a few minutes as the previously soft sand was blasting us, head to toe.

The ocean left treasures on the beach after the storm.  Good photo ops too!

MICHIGAN MY MICHIGAN

We finally got on our way home on Friday, February 26th.  There is no easy way to get to an interstate from the peninsula so Ella “the Intrepid,” drove through Deep South back roads for two hours before we got on the expressway.  We loved seeing rural America and the confederate flags flying everywhere didn’t scare us a bit.

Atlanta proved to be a challenge traffic wise but also because we stopped at a rest stop and realized that our tow car had no battery power.  In trying to start it we put the gear in park and couldn’t get it Back to neutral so we called AAA and they sent a truck out to give us a jump.  A friendly tow truck operator tried to jump start it with a portable machine but it was “real dad”. He said, ” ah pit sum beeg fur init”. I asked Ella what he said and then watched him jump start using his truck. “Oh,put some big fire in it,” I get it now.

The next day we started out early, cruising up I 75 when we were shuttled off the interstate on a detour through the Kentucky back roads.  It seemed that a bad rockslide had closed both north and south bound I 75.  Ella, the “road warrior”, drove 27 miles of hairpin turns and narrow coal roads with sheer drop offs, her hands cemented to the steering wheel.  I took pictures.

 

We made it home in three days with only two service calls.  One was near the Atlantic to fix the air conditioner and one near Atlanta to jump start the car.  Those of you who followed our adventures last winter may be wondering… How many tires did you need to replace on this trip?  Well, let’s just say we caravaned with plenty of tires.

No tires needed on this trip!!

 

We saw more of this beautiful country and met wonderful people on this winter trip of 2016.  Life is good.  Beauty surrounds us if we look with honest and hopeful eyes.  Thanks for reading these ramblings and allowing us to share the journey with you.  Living this life is an adventure to be embraced with your heart and soul.  The rewards are priceless.

 

PS.   For sale:  2013 Four Winds RV.    32 feet of adventure on a Ford chassey.  😉

 

The Michigan Side of Florida

We arrived in Bradenton on Wednesday afternoon, February 4th.  The campground was huge and we had a nice sight right by the dog walk area.  Lily was in heaven.

We met my brother Jim, his wife Genny, and daughter Tammy and her son for dinner and started to plan our visit.  We wanted to touch base with some MI snowbirds, visit family and soak up the sun.  The weather was blue jeans cold until the 12th.

We explored Anna Maria island.  It’s wonderful.  We took a walk on the beach and because of a bad red tide, we started sneezing and coughing.   Through runny eyes we saw a beautiful shoreline with white sand and crashing waves.   There are some very cute shops and restaurants on Anna Maria island so we enjoyed popping in these stores.

We ate a nice dinner at “Sign of the Mermaid” another red snapper for me and gulf shrimp for Ella.  We traveled down Longboat Key to Armand Circle.  We had a nice lunch there and walked around to see all of the interesting shops.  The people watching was fun. We saw an older man on a motorcycle with a side car full of Shitzu’s.  Armand circle has an electric kind of vibe to it, rich, funky, and high energy.

We took a ride to Sarasota and Siesta Key one day.  Very beautiful.  The sand is so fine, almost a powder.  Siesta beach is rated number one beach in the US.   It is huge, seemingly endless sand that kisses the ocean.  It’s as a warm sunny day so we saw lots of people at Siesta Key beach.  One of the more memorable sites was a line of  Mennonite women wearing the same kind of bonnet, pastel dresses, and each of them were carrying a beach chair over their shoulder.  It looked like a picture you would see in Life magazine.

 

Ben arrived on Friday the 12th to warm sunny weather.  My brother Jim took us by the NY Yankee Spring training stadium.  We got out and took pictures.  It’s a beautiful stadium.  We also visited Tropicana field and McKechnie Field, the Spring home ballpark for the Pirates.  Ben loves anything to do with baseball.  He and his uncle Jim discussed the upcoming season and players.  One of these winter visits we get to Lakeland for a game.

Jim took us to an amazing place.  It was right by the electric power plant.  The water is very warm and in the winter hundreds of Manatee’s gather there to stay warm.  The Manaree’s were stacked up on one another and side by side.  I was speechless, pictures couldn’t capture the sight.

We went to the Mote aquarium and research center on Valentine’s Day.  What an excellent aquarium.  We watched the researchers fix up fish smoothies for the sea turtles.  Ben loved the Sharks.  What a guy.

We had dinner at a very good Cuban restaurant which Ella and I loved.  I also loved my very first Mojito.  Ben liked the salad.   I had a Cuban coffee after dinner and didn’t sleep for a couple of days.

Jim made sure we were shown the sites and more importantly, spent time with he and Genny and the kids, big and small.   Thanks!!!  We finished our stay in the Bradenton area with a wonderful lunch at the Moose lodge on Anna Maria island.  Imagine, my brother the moose.

Time to move on.   Stay tuned for the next blog.

 

 

 

 

 

Changes in latitude, changes in attitude

The KEYS!!! It’s sunny, it’s warm, it’s happy! We are at the “Jimmy Buffet” of RV parks. It’s beautiful, right by the water in Sugarloaf Key. They have an open Tiki bar that is rocking every night. Unfortunately we are old and just want peace and quiet after 8:00 but when in the keys…..

This trip to the Keys was better than the last trip because we have a car so we can travel around the area.  We spent the first two days in Key West.  We took an open air trolley tour of Key West which was fun.  We had a nice lunch at Fogarty’s and Ella had her conch fritters.  Sitting  at the outdoor dining watching all the people and hearing the roosters crow etc. inspired Ella to write;

“I’m overwhelmed with the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Key West…a true feast for my senses.  It’s truly a tropical island town with a unique flavor that calls to me.  I am once again reminded of Ernest Hemingway and his abiding influence on this town that remains even today. I am also, once again reminded of the space he occupied that gave him such inspiration to write.”

The second day in Key West we shopped and ate lunch at Pepe’s, one of the oldest restaurants in Key West.  It was so quaint and fun.  I had a sloppy joe sandwich that tasted so good.  Ella said that was because it reminded me of a school lunch.  Hmm, perhaps, but none the less delicious.  We had a drink near Mallory Square and then wandered through the sunset happenings.  Watching a guy eat fire and swords made me hungry so we headed back to RV base camp.

A few rainy days allowed us to read, play computer games and clean up the RV.  Then we went fishing.  We went out on a charter boat called the Sea Dog with six other people.  We went about seven miles out and dropped our lines in.  Whoa, we started pulling in yellow tail snapper right and left.  (I caught the first one)  It was a blast!  Beautiful blue and yellow parrot fish surrounded the boat, the sun was shining, the water an unbelievable aqua blue and fish, fish, fish.  This was also something on my bucket list and it was everything I hoped for.  Near evening we headed back to the dock escorted by dolphins keeping up with our boat.  The mates cleaned our fish and we went home with fresh filets and happy hearts.

We had a very nice brunch with a close family friend and his wife.  He owns the True Value store in Marathon Key.  Stop in and ask for Andy, he’s a great guy.

Ella and I both wanted to take a trip to the Dry Tortuga National Park.  We have read so much about it so we booked a day trip on the Yankee Freedom out of Key West and headed out to sea.  On this small island is the 19th century Fort Jefferson that was built by slaves on a coral reef.  There is no drinking water on the island, hence the name “dry” and there are many sea turtles out there so “Tortuga” became part of the name.  The sea was so beautiful out there (about 70 mi. from Key West).  We ate lunch on the boat then I went snorkeling while Ella explored the Fort.  The snorkeling was the best I have seen.  The sea fans, coral and fish were awesome.  I paddled around for over an hour.  When I tried to stand up to get out of the water I fell forward causing a small tsunami for the visitors on shore.    This was a spectacular day.  If you get a chance to go there, please take it.

Last but not least I want to share some of the critters of the Keys.  From top to bottom we have a Mallory Square rooster, a pirates parakeet, and the beach iguana from our campground.

Love the Florida Keys!  Off to Bradenton and the gulf side beaches.

Atlantic adventures

Our last week in the Sebastian area was busy with exploration, fishing, and relaxing.   The weather was cool and stormy for half of the time.   We went to a couple of movies during the rainy times which was a fun diversion.

One of our fishing days was highlighted by a pelican rescue by Ella.  We were on the pier when we saw three goofy teenagers wrestling with a brown pelican to get a fish hook out of it’s back.  When they let it go the poor thing had a bloody back and wing.  He just kept walking back and forth on the pier, obviously in distress. One of his friends came by to see how he was doing.  It was sad.  Ella took off down the pier to get the park rangers.  The DNR came to pick it up and take it to a pelican rehab place.   Yea Ella.   The picture below is a picture of the injured pelican’s cousin.

Meanwhile, I kept fishing and watched this guy trying to reel in a big fish.  His kids were giggling and having a ball trying to help him. So cute!

One day we drove up to tour the Kennedy Space Center.  This has been on my bucket list since the 60’s.  Wow, we really enjoyed the tour.  It was so relevant to both of us having grown up during the US Space program.  I remember applying for the teacher in space program even though I get motion sick just watching a movie with car chase scenes.  Then there was the horrible tragedy of the Challenger mission.  I remember watching it on TV while at school.  We saw the bleachers where the families would watch the launches. Just imagine the thrill of a watching a successful launch and the devastation of seeing a disaster.

We also went on a simulator ride of a launch.  OMG!   What a blast!!!

The amazing technology and engineering that has been developed and is continuing to be developed is incredible.  Now, private industries like Boeing and Space X, are innovating and working toward the goal of trips to Mars and beyond.

 

O

E T goes to space!

 

We did try to get to the Atlantic Ocean almost everyday.   It didn’t matter what the weather was, we both were fed by the crashing waves, the constant rhythm of the ageless sea, and the blues.  The blues of all hues in the sky and sea.  Bracing ourselves against the wind with the roaring surf in our ears we felt small and strong and a part of something great.

We did have one very glorious and warm beach day.  I fished and read a bit.  Ella read and walked the beach.

Goodbye Atlantic!   We are off to the Florida Keys.

Fishing, fishing, everywhere.

We find ourselves settled in a funky RV park between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian River.  Our area is known as Sebastian.  The area is beautiful.  We can be at the ocean beach or the ocean pier at the inlet in 15 minutes.  We can fish off the Indian River docks in Sebastian or by the bridge over the river.

Ella and I have fished everyday.  We got some shrimp and sand fleas and headed to Sebastian Inlet State Park Pier.  It was a bit cool but we had a blast.   A Japanese woman was fishing right by us and caught an ocean crappie all striped and pretty.  She heaved it up and over our heads and it slapped on the boards of the pier.  She then dragged/walked it like a dog, still hooked, bouncing down the pier to her people.

I caught a little fish. I don’t know the kind of fish. I just threw it back.  What a fun evening

We have explored to Sebastian and Vero Beach area.  We have been to the ocean everyday.  In the early evening we go to the inlet bridge and watch the Dolphins playing in the coral rose sunset.

 

 

One day we went fishing off a fishing pier in Sebastian.  I felt a tug on my line and having learned from the Japanese woman, I threw it up over my head to land it on the pier.  I couldn’t believe my eyes!  It was a puffer fish and it kept on “puffing”!  I thought it was going to pop.  We both struggled to get it off the hook and back into the water.  Ella was grossed out by its bulbous body.  Sure enough, the  next fish caught was Ella’s… Another puffer fish.  At first it looked normal then it grew to an amazing size, looking like a balloon.  We got it off the hook and kicked it back into the water.  Ella later read how poisonous these fish are if you touch its spine.  Good thing we quit fishing that area.

We found an amazing garden store nearby and enjoyed seeing flowers again.  We ate fresh seafood and saw a movie on a rainy day.  We have one more week here so there will be more fishing reports to come.

No more ice fishing!

We traveled down I 75 scrunched in between semis trailers of all sizes.  The roads were ice free and safe so we made good time to the northern suburbs of Atlanta.  We pulled into a LOVE’s truck stop and found a space near the drive through window.  (Spent the night hearing, “do you want fries with that?”. )  Outside temperatures were in the 30’s and our interior temperature was in the 40’s.  We had used up our propane loading the RV in MI so we froze most of the night in Georgia.

There are a some well known truck stop places where you can be sure to find wider gas islands and a variety of services like showers, etc.  You got yer Flying J’s, yer TA Centers, yer LOVES, and yer Pilot Centers.  Some of them have Cinnabons that they make right on sight.  Most have a Subway and 8 different varieties of hotdogs.  Truckers are for the most part very hard working folks.  They have a solitary job to do on a relentless timetable.  It is just right then that they can stop, refuel,  take a shower, a four hour nap, and get a gallon of coffee and a sweet roll when needed.   Here’s a shoutout to our intrepid truckers.

 

We arrived on Wednesday to a beautiful RV KOA  near St. Cloud.  Ahhhh

(Fishing Report:  NO Fish)

Friday we went to Universal Studios to see the Harry Potter exhibits and movie sets.  “Wow”, we remarked as we followed a line of cars through massive parking structures to our spot, Jurrasic 401.   “This is amazing”, we said as we entered the park.  “There is so much here!”.    Two hours later we had a lunch at Mel’s diner from American Graffitti and marveled at the authenticity of many exhibits.   “Didn’t we already see this?”, we asked with tiring voices as we looked for the way to the next show.   “E gads, We don’t care if we ever see any Harry Potter stuff again, ” was heard from the gals from Michigan.   “How far is the damn car”, we moaned.

Thus, this was to be our last theme park visit.   It is a wonderful park.  We encourage you to visit before you turn 50.

We enjoyed a wonderful afternoon visiting with our friends from Port Austin, Sue and John Booms.  Thanks for a great lunch and tour!

We navigated the nonsensical toll plazas around Orlando and only drove through two.  I’ll expect some mail when I get home.  Hey, what are you supposed to do if you don’t have an express pass or exact change!!!

Off to the Atlantic for some salt water fishing.  Stay warm friends.

 

On Our Way

Well we have packed the RV again and are headed to I 75 south to the other state of Michigan, Florida.  Again I will practice my writing to ward off the early signs of dementia.  I also love typing my thoughts since my handwriting is so bad.  Despite the ferocious attempts from Sr. Allofthem, I never got my loops and swirls just so.

This has been a very busy year starting with a wonderful long trip out west, a trip to Maine, knee surgery, an amazingly beautiful life event and now Ella and I are “pooped out!”  This year we are slowly meandering our way through Florida, hoping to walk beaches, write, craft, paint, and read.  We are shooting for the retired Bohemian theme.

Nevertheless, I will share my thoughts and adventures with any of you who care to check in.  I have brought all of my fishing tackle so hopefully some fish tales will be told.  Sunshine on my shoulder, (back, neck, legs and head) makes me happy!