Sunshine and fun times
Once again I find myself delinquent with keeping my blog up to date with my travels. I could blame the spurious cell service I’ve experienced in Florida, the lack of wifi in the campgrounds I was staying, or the continuous travel to several different locations over the past few days. But instead, I will put the blame squarely on my shoulders for prioritizing ‘smelling the roses’ over attempting to find decent wifi or to use my cellphone to provide updates. So I now find myself in a cool, quiet library somewhere in Naples Florida to draft my musings. I will attempt to limit my ramblings as the pictures tell a better story.
My weekend north of Daytona Beach with sister-in-law Sue was wonderful! It has been a while since we last saw each other so I thoroughly enjoyed our chats, beach walks and outings. Throw in some perfect weather, an Atlantic sunrise, an Intracoastal Waterway sunset, some delicious meals, and you have the makings of a perfect weekend. I am very grateful to have been able to spend a very relaxing time with Sue and to recharge my batteries for the travels over the next several days.
An early start on Monday found me enjoying a leisurely drive along the coast (instead of the I-95) to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) shortly after they opened. A self-professed space geek, I had a fantastic time taking in several amazing exhibits, the most notable being the Saturn V and Space Shuttle Atlantis buildings. NASA has done a stellar job at creating extremely interesting and exciting displays. The space shuttle simulator is not to be missed should you go. After several hours at the KSC, I continued to a KOA in Fort Lauderdale for the first of three camping nights for the week.
I generally avoid commercial campsites as I prefer state or national locations but unfortunately, many of the campgrounds I wanted were fully booked. This particular KOA reinforced my preference for non-commercial. Enough said. I ventured further south the next morning and although I could not avoid the Interstate, I deviated west to drive along the shore of Lake Okeechobee and then through an everglades wildlife refuge. This was a much more pleasant drive. My destination was Key West, the southernmost point in the US and a mecca for those seeking adventure and the unusual. Once again, I stayed at a commercial campground because a hotel would cost upwards of $250. This campground however was very well run, clean, and employed very friendly staff. Despite paying about $100 CAD for a 20x25 ft patch of sand (not on the water), I enjoyed my time there. On a recommendation, I enjoyed dinner at a great restaurant on the water and had a wonderful chat with Morgan, a Key West lifer who was known to many in the crowd. He certainly made my dinner more enjoyable with his interesting stories about the town. The sunset was magnificent and the walk up Duval St was much quieter than expected.
Heading north on Wed morning, I retraced my steps along the Keys then headed west through Everglades National Park, taking some time for a couple of stops to view the scenery. My stop for the night was a state campground, Collier-Seminole State Park. On check-in, I asked what the local threats were as the park is surrounded by wilderness. Panthers, bears, bobcats, alligators, snakes, black flies, mosquitos and no-see-ums was the response. Ok. No worries, I got this. There were many non-familiar sounds during the night but I survived without issue. Before departing the area in the early afternoon, I went on three hikes and managed to get a few good pics of local wildlife.
Tonight (Thursday), I arrive at former military colleague’s place for another couple days of R&R. Steve and I did Nav school together back in the early 80s and also spent a few years living under the same roof out west. More lies and fun times are in order methinks.
