Monday, March 12, 2007

Left the Everglades this morning at 10:30. My turn to drive and decided to take the Florida Turnpike, which was an easy drive--$21 in tolls though. We arrived at Johnathan Dickson State Park at around 1:30, got set up and then headed out to pick up some steaks for dinner tonight. The river loop here is really pretty—lots of foliage between sites. Had steaks, sweet corn, and mashed potatoes for dinner tonight. Plan to check out Jupiter Island (Tiger Woods has a home there) and see about going to a Cardinals game. They have their spring training down here.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

A beautiful morning. The sky seems to be much bluer here in the Everglades. Plan on a kick-back day today. I washed out a couple of tops and hung out to dry. Mike went out to top off the gas tank and stopped at the produce stand just outside the park. He came back with 3 pints of strawberries, some sweet corn and tomatoes. Washed and cut up the strawberries and put in refrigerator. Strawberry shortcake will taste pretty good. Hung out and read for most of the day. Before dinner we went for a walk. Hadn’t had a big breakfast for a while, so that’s what we had for dinner. Sausage, eggs, biscuits and orange juice. The left-over biscuits we’ll use for the strawberry shortcake. We’re on daylight savings time now, so it didn’t get dark until after 7:30. Great.

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Saw this guy on our airboat ride in the Everglades.

Up early this morning and took advantage of the continental breakfast. Then packed and left by 10:00. We went back via Rt. 41 because we wanted to take an airboat ride and check out Shark Key on the northern edge of the Everglades. We chose Coopertown for the air boat ride. Parts of “African Queen” were filmed there. Walked down to the dock to check out the boats and there was a snake on the dock (harmless water snake). Set the tone for the trip though. Was looking for snakes in the boat. Anyway, it was a great ride. He took us back through a trail in the sawgrass and we saw a bunch of stuff. So pretty—the water lillys are just popping out. At times he’d get going pretty fast and would go around a turn sideways. Fun. Left there and drove down Rt. 41 toward Shark Key. Pulled in and the parking lot was full, so we left ad took the “loop road” which is just off Rt. 41 (dirt road) and goes through mainly the Big Cypress Preserve. It went from open, vast, sawgrass to lush, heavily wooded expanses of mainly cypress, but many hardwoods and palms. At times the vegetation was so thick it went from one side of the road to the other—like a tunnel. Supposed to be what Florida was like centuries ago. Also supposed to be a good place to see panthers. Of course we didn’t. Lots of trails off the road. We went down one for a short way. Think I’d feel better with my snake gaiters on. Went back to Shark Key after stopping for lunch at the Miccosoukee Restaurant. Got to Shark Key just in time for the 3:00 tram. You can also bike the 15-mile round trip. They have bike rentals there. (They also have moonlight bikes which sounds fun—I think. A ranger goes with you) At the end there is a tower you can walk up. It used to be a fire tower but is no longer used. Quite pretty up there. There’s a pond below where you can see lots of turtles, fish, and of course the gators. Saw a hawk flying over with a snake in his talons. We left there and headed back. Mike had to stop at the restroom. I kept walking ahead and saw the tram ahead—leaving. I yelled to them to stop and they did. Had to wait for Mike. We almost got left there! He said it would be a 20-minute stop. Mike said it was only 18. I don’t know because I wasn’t wearing a watch. Wouldn’t that have been a lovely walk back—part of it in the dark! Back home to our pretty, peaceful spot in the Everglades. On the way back stopped at Checkers for dinner. Came back and unpacked all our stuff and put everything away. Shower felt good. Played cards for a while. I won both games (500 rummy). Went to bed and read for a while. A beautiful night with lots of stars.

Friday, March 9, 2007

Me relaxing on a chaise on our hotel veranda...















Beautiful South Beach

Didn’t get much sleep last night. Went down for our continental breakfast and sat out in the courtyard to eat. A couple of guys from France out there also. They must have been part of some film crew because they were trying to get some batteries for one of their cameras. After breakfast we walked all over. Tried to find a place to buy a memory card for my camera. Was told they no longer carry that type—that they’re old technology. Great! Digital cameras are going to be like computers… you have to replace them every couple of years. Stopped at a restaurant called “Chocolate” for lunch on Espanola. Went to the restroom and on the way back saw a mouse running around with a bad leg. He was kind of dragging it around. These restaurants are all open air. There’s probably all kinds of critters all over the place. After lunch we walked around some more. Out to the beach for a quick look and then back to the hotel. One of the nice things about this hotel is the big veranda out front. It has all kinds of chaise lounges where you can lay around and read, nap, or just watch the goings on. We did just that. We got our books and spent the afternoon relaxing, reading, and people watching.

Later on we changed and went to Rendezvous on the Beach for dinner. Fantastic meal. Mark came by later and we walked back to our hotel (The Wave Hotel) and had drinks outside. He left after a couple of drinks and we crashed.

Thursday, March 8, 2007

A beautiful morning. We pack our bags and head to South Beach for a couple of days. Really looking forward to it. Staying at the Wave Hotel on 350 Ocean Dr. When leaving the Everglades we set the GPS for shortest distance instead of shortest time. We were routed all through Homestead, back where all the orchards and nurseries are. We wound through all sections of Miami. We saw a lot—some bad, some good. The route took us right past the Fairchild Botanical Gardens, so we stopped and took the tour. Beautiful place—and very big—88 acres I think. They take you around on a tram and then you can walk around also. We had lunch at the snack bar there. Very good. There was a Chihuly exhibit going on while we were there. Several of his blown glass pieces were featured throughout the gardens. At night they are all lit up—I’m sure it’s quite spectacular. When we finished there we hit “resume” on our GPS and it continued us on our route. There are some spectacular estates around the gardens. Finally we made it to the hotel and checked in. At first I was disappointed because the hotel wasn’t located in the heart of the art deco district, but when we walked around later that evening I was so thankful we weren’t. It was right in the middle of spring break. We had dinner at the News Café that evening and watched the parade go by. At night it was pretty chilly and these girls would go by dressed as scantily as possible. And the traffic on Ocean Dr! Bumper to bumper. All the kids cruisin’—most of them on mopeds. Quite a sight. Met our friend, Mark, for drinks at the Clevelander Hotel bar. Met him at the Keys last year. He runs a parasail outfit on the beach here. Back to the hotel and bed.

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Up this morning and on the computer to take care of some things and update my journal. While trying to save my changes, I got a fatal error message and lost the whole file—five months of entries. What a way to start the day. Was able to recreate some of it from the blog. We left the Keys around 10:30 and arrived in the Everglades at 1:00. Got set up and relaxed for a while and then went over to the Anhinga Trail. A beautiful day. Had burgers and a vegetable for dinner. Played 500 rummy for a while.