Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL: Threatening weather this morning. Tornado warnings out for the Keys. We had breakfast at the Galley Grill and then planned on going to the flea market on Big Pine, but with the weather threatening we decided to head to Marathon to meet my sister and her husband. They’re staying at The Hammocks on Marathon. Stopped to check out a new restaurant just over the 7 mile bridge. This place is a huge tiki-style building with lots of outside seating and it even has a pool if you want to swim. A huge pool. On the Atlantic side. We will definitely check that out. Then drove down to D’Asign Source to check out the dates for the home tour this year but they were closed. So we headed to The Hammocks to meet Sandy and Dan. Their accommodations are really nice—two bedrooms, living/dining, full kitchen, two baths and a large deck. Played spades. Had some sandwiches for dinner. It stormed pretty good while we were there. A good day to stay in.

The Hammocks

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL: Mike not feeling so good this morning, so I headed to Big Pine Key and got my hair cut. While I was there I checked out the Laundromat there which has been a dump. But someone else bought it and totally gutted the place and put in all new machines. It’s even got a couple of big flat screen TVs. So I thought I’d go back, get our laundry and get that done. Did that and came back and relaxed the rest of the day. Mike slept off and on all day. Still really humid, but nice. My sister, Sandy, and her husband, Dan, are down for a week—staying in Marathon. We’ll be ramming around with them for a few days.

Thu, 12/3/09:

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL: We were sitting outside this morning and Richard from a few sites down stopped by. He went to Alaska over the summer and was relating his trip to us. He had a great time. Drove over to Big Pine Key and hit the liquor store and picked up a few groceries. Then stopped at the Blue Hole and walked around. Supposed to have thunder storms today. But never happened. Back home and put things away. Very humid today. Think it hit the mid-80s. Humidity about the same. Always breezy though. Feels great!

Wed, 12/2/09:

Lazy Lakes RV Park; Sugarloaf Key, FL: Walked around the lake early this morning. A pretty, warm, and breezy day. Sat outside reading. Mike trimmed the palm trees in our site. When we left last year we left the little white lights on the palm. We plugged them in and they still work! Debbie stopped over and brought her dog, Rusty, over for a visit. He’s as wild as ever. Had some lunch and then continued sitting outside reading. Enjoyed looking at the beautiful blue sky and feeling the warm, tropical breezes. Fiona—our wonderful Irish singer-- stopped over for a while and invited us over for drinks this evening with her and Walter. Looking forward to that.

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL, to Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf, FL: A beautiful morning. We got going early and were out of there by 8:00. I drove first. We drove through Alva and then picked up Rt. 80 east and then 29 south through the beautiful Big Cypress Preserve and got on I75 heading east. Then 27 south to the Florida Turnpike. Mike saw on the map that there was a full service area on the turnpike so we planned on stopping there for fuel and something to eat. We saw signs for it and nothing about it being a left exit so I stayed in the right-hand lane. One half mile before the exit for the service area the sign said to exit left so I had to hustle over two lanes of traffic to make the exit. They could have had the left-exit indicator earlier. That was the first CF. Then I pulled in and followed the signs for diesel and ended up in the wrong lane and had to back all the way up in order to get to the fuel pump. We finally fueled up and then were told the restaurant was in that big building over there. So we parked the truck and the RV and walked over to that big building and it was all closed up. No restaurant—it had been closed for 5 years. So we got a couple of pre-packaged sandwiches at the food mart where we bought gas and then were on our way. Pulled into Lazy Lakes around 2:30. There were no empty sites around us so we had to turn around by the club house and then backed all the way over to the other side of the lake in order to get in. We finally made it and got set up. Then we drove to Bahama Mama’s for a much needed drink and something to eat. Back home and Floyd and Terry stopped by to say hello. Was still 81 when we finished dinner.

Lazy Lakes

Moon rise over Lazy Lakes

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: A beautiful morning. We headed out for Sanibel and Captiva Islands. Of the two, we really love Sanibel. The Ding Darling wildlife preserve takes up almost half of the island, so there is a lot of natural area to explore. Unlike Marco Island, this place hasn’t been over developed. Captiva seems a lot more congested and crowded. We stopped at the Ding Darling preserve and walked around for a while. Had lunch at the Mucky Duck on Captiva which is right on the beach. We lucked out and got a parking place right away—which is definitely a problem there. Next time we’ll have lunch at Doc Ford’s Rum Bar and Grill on Sanibel. Doc Ford is a character in the really popular books by Randy Wayne White whose stories take place in lots of Florida locales. On the way back we stopped at the historic Sanibel village, but it was closed. Damn the luck! So we drove all over Sanibel and discovered there are a lot more natural areas than Ding Darling. We wished we’d had our bikes with us. There are bike paths everywhere. Left there at around 4:00 and stopped at a car wash in Ft. Myers and then headed back to W. P. Franklin—right in the middle of rush hour traffic (sigh). We leave tomorrow for the Keys for 3-1/2 months. YES!

Night Heron--Ding Darling Preserve

American Pelicans--Ding Darling Preserve

Christmas Tree on the beach at the Mucky Duck

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: This morning we put clean sheets on the bed and washed the other ones along with some other stuff. Mike emptied the grey water tanks into the tote and took it to the dump station and emptied. Then we cleaned the back of the RV and the living side. After cleaning up and putting everything away I took the rags over to the laundry and put them in the washer. Just hung them out to dry. Later in the afternoon I went for a long walk while Mike was talking with a couple two sites down who are in a camper/boat. I guess it’s really a boat, but they use it for camping as well. A beautiful day—low 80s. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer. We’re planning on going to Sanibel and Captiva Islands.

W. P. Franklin Corps of Engineers Campground, N. Ft. Myers, FL: Really cold this morning. Thought Ron and Jan would come over today or tomorrow but Jan wasn’t feeling real great so we went over there. Ron, Mike and I drove over to see some modular home models. They’re thinking of buying a beautiful three bedroom with a huge kitchen and also a large porch. We were going to order pizza when we got back but the Pizza Hut ovens were down and awaiting repair. Stopped at Publix on the way home to pick up some things. Left-overs for dinner. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.

Osprey

Everglades National Park