Rattlesnake!

Fri, Mar 18, KOA, Naples, FL:  Can’t believe it’s been a week since I last posted. We had to leave the Everglades after two days. We couldn’t get water into the tank easily. Besides, it was really hot. We ended up at Miami Everglades RV Park--an Encore Park. Had our Canadian friends over for a very simple dinner on Monday. Mike wanted to play shoes with them on Tuesday, which was interesting since they all spoke French. Then they invited us over for a sumptuous Chinese dinner on Wednesday. What a meal! Esther and Gerald made wonton soup, egg rolls, and coconut shrimp—all delicious. Charlie and Johanne made Chinese spareribs, fried rice, and broccoli beef. We left on Thursday and are now at the KOA in Naples. After we got set up we gathered our laundry and headed over to the laundromat. Put a couple of loads in the washer and then sat in the truck—Mike to make a phone call to an RV dealer and me to read my latest book. After we were out there for about five minutes, Mike tapped me on the shoulder and then pointed to the road in front of us. One of the biggest eastern diamond back rattlesnakes we’ve ever seen was crossing the road. I got out to take a closer look and alerted the people in the park model across from the laundromat. A guy came out and said, “are you sure it’s a rattlesnake?” Take a look at his rattles, I said. Yep, it’s a rattlesnake all right, he said. It slithered under the screen room (aka lanai) of a park model. This thing had to be at least 8 feet long. I’m thinking more like 10. It sure got everything stirred up around the park. I would not want to be the people living in that park model.

At Charlie and Johnne's site waiting for shoes to start.

Pretty Molly.

Mike and Gerald

Johanne and Molly over at Esther and Gerald's site.

Mike and Gerald

Hi Molly...

Hi Foxy...

Fri, Mar 11, Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL, to Everglades National Park:  Didn’t need to worry about getting out of our site. We had no problems at all. Left at 10:00 and arrived at the Everglades and were set up by 1:30. Love it here. And we have a great site. I was worried we wouldn’t be able to fit into any of the sites in the Long Pine Key campground, but no problem. And they’ve built two new shower houses here in this campground—one in the RV section and one in the tent section. It is great to see money being spent in our national parks. After we got set up and had some lunch, we drove out to Mahogany Hammock to see if there were any new owlets this year. Didn’t see anything, but we’ll go back every day. They could have been sleeping or something. Or maybe they’ve already fledged. Came back and filled our two water jugs. We’ll top off the tank tomorrow morning after our showers. We’ll have no hook-ups for 7 days. We’ll see how well the solar panels keep up. But we always have the generator as back-up. 82 here and beautiful.

Our new, much bigger site here in the Everglades.

View out our back window.

Thu, Mar 10, Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  After being down for a few days with a stomach ailment, I’m finally starting to feel better. Mike spent a few hours yesterday getting ready for our departure tomorrow morning. I was of absolutely no help. Today I did help folding up our outside mat and putting our lights away. We had signed up for a wine tasting today. Mike went over. Not feeling good enough for that—besides the drugs I’m taking do not mix well with alcohol (sigh). George and Jackie Licis stopped by briefly to say hello. We met them a couple of years ago. Another really windy day today. Hopefully it’ll be better tomorrow, although we only have a 3-hour drive to the Everglades. Wonder what site we’ll end up in, since our new fifth wheel is a lot longer. Keeping our fingers crossed that we don’t have any problem getting out of here.

Adieu Lazy Lakes--until November.

Mon, Mar 7, Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Really, really windy today. I did the laundry here in the park and then finished up the cleaning. Mike went over for shoes and I enjoyed some time to myself. Over to happy hour for the last time. We leave Friday morning for the Everglades. Upper 70s and really windy.

Beautiful sunrise two days ago.

Sun, Mar 6, Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  What started out as a cloudy, grey day, cleared off revealing a cerulean, cloudless sky. Windy, but nice. We picked up Chuck and Douglas and headed to Marathon and Lazy Days restaurant. Enjoyed a nice lunch and a pleasant afternoon. Dropped them off and retired back to our site.

Coast Guard Station--Key West.

Sat, Mar 5, Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Took care of a few RV chores today, since tomorrow we’re having lunch with Chuck and Douglas. I went to Big Pine and had Douglas cut my hair. Haywire at the KOA tonight. Think we’ll pass. A grey, cool, and cloudy day today. Low 70s today.

Fri, Mar 4, Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  A beautiful morning—the sun shining and the birds singing away. We’re going over to Dale and Carolyn’s site this afternoon along with our neighbor, Larry, and another couple. We’re all bringing steaks and cooking them on their grill. Carolyn is baking some potatoes, I’m bringing a salad, and Char and Jerry are bringing bread. Should be a fun night.

This aptly named fishing boat has some very large rods and reels on board--Key West.