Thu, Dec 21, Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  It was wonderful sleeping last night.  The breeze came in our bedroom window from across the lake and felt so good.  In the morning a beautiful sunrise greeted us.  But by the time I got my camera to take a picture the moment had passed.  A beautiful day today.  Almost no wind and the lake was like glass.  But that brings out the no-seeums.  Tried to sit out and read but was forced back in.  Worked on the computer most of the morning and got our taxes paid and other things taken care of.  Went to Boondocks for lunch and then back home.  Our bike path is in good shape and they’re already planting more palms and other vegetation.  Carolyn came over in the afternoon and invited us over for wine and cheese.  Char and Jerry joined us.  A fun afternoon.  We finally have our TV set up, thanks to Mike our maintenance guy.  82 here today.   

 

The iguanas have survived.

Our lakeshore has eroded somewhat.

 

Wed, Dec 20, Miami Everglades RV Park, Homestead, FL, to Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Well, we made it here okay.  We left at 9:30 this morning and arrived at Lazy Lakes by 12:30 and were set up by 1:30.  We thought it was going to be very slow going, but after Islamorada the traffic really thinned out.  We saw a lot of destruction though.  A lot of vegetation but the further we went we saw more boats in the mangroves, furniture, appliances, and house parts piled up along Rt. 1.  It will take a lot of time to get rid of all that debris.  And we haven’t even checked out some of the side roads in Big Pine yet.  I heard that’s really bad.  One of the maintenance guys in here, Mike, backed us in.  We could have done it, but he does this all the time and it took him no time at all.  Our site in much bigger since they took out the planters.  A bunch of people came over to say hello, and later Dale, Carolyn, Mike and a couple of other people came over for a few glasses of wine.  We couldn’t get our TVs set up though.  We have Direct TV in here and it’s a real pain setting it up.  Hopefully, our neighbor, Larry, will help us tomorrow.  It clouded up when we got here, but cleared off later in the afternoon.  83 here today.  We’re here for two and a half months.  

Almost all set up.

Enjoying a glass of wine.

A few friends dropped by.

Tue, Dec 19, Miami Everglades RV Park, Homestead, FL:  Well, after we returned from Cuba we waited around to hear from James to see if he and Carolina wanted to get together again.  I guess he called Saturday, but they had something else going, so we didn’t get together again (sigh).  The Canadians, Esther and Gerald, came over on Sunday with Foxy.  We sat around outside at our site catching up and snacking.  Went to Shivers Barbecue and had some dinner and then we went our separate ways.  Monday we bought groceries and then did the laundry.  Tired and hurting by the end of the day.  This afternoon we’re going over to see Esther and Gerald at their place, which is a good thing since someone will be here washing the fifth wheel most of the day.  Tomorrow we head down to the Keys.  

Beautiful Monument Valley--2005

Sat, Dec 16, Miami Everglades RV Park, Homestead, FL:  Didn’t do much of anything today.  Mike’s shoulder is feeling better today.  We just hung around reading, watching TV and snacking.  Mike called his son, James, to let him know we were back.  Haven’t heard anything from him yet.  We should do the laundry but decided to wait until Tuesday, the day before we leave for the Keys, so we won’t have to worry about that for a while.  Low 80s here today.  Delightful!

Where we stayed in Ireland--Ashford Castle.

View from our room.

Fri, Dec 15, Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship, Miami, FL:  Set my phone alarm for 6:00, but it went off at 5:30 for some reason.  Mike stumbled down for coffee and something to eat and I got the rest of my stuff packed.  Mike packed his when he got back and we were out the door by 7:30.  Off the ship and through customs in no time.  Another $100+ cab ride and we were back by 9:00 and had everything unpacked and put away by 9:30.  Mike hurt his shoulder somehow, so he now has a new pain to deal with.  I laid down on our wonderful bed to read and nodded off.  Woke up in much less pain.  It’s amazing what a difference a good mattress makes. It was cold here this morning but warmed up nicely.  Probably mid-80s.

We never did go over to Great Stirrup Cay.  The people that did go over said it wasn't much anyway.  There were no trees on the island.  Mike says there are no trees in the Bahamas.  Okay then.

We were very surprised at all the high rise buildings in Havana.

Pictures were taken through the dirty glass of the cruise ship, so didn't come out very clear.

Thu, Dec 14, Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship, Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas:  The mattress on our bed is killing us.  I think Mike is in better shape than I am.  Went down for some breakfast.  They’re taking people out to Great Stirrup Cay by tenders.  The island doesn’t look like much.  Just a strip of sand and scruffy vegetation.  Not sure I’m going to go.  They are having a buffet lunch out there and Mike would like to go over for that.  Maybe I’ll feel better later.  We leave here at 5:00 p.m.  74 today.

Parisien Review at the Hotel Nacional

Wed, Dec 13, Norwegian Sky Cruise Ship, Havana, Cuba:  Set up a wake-up call on our ship phone when we went to bed last night, and I set one up on my cell phone for 5;30 a.m.  We didn’t get to bed until around 1:00 am.  Even though we had two wake-up calls set up, we didn’t wake up until 7:10.  We were supposed to meet for our final excursion at 7:20.  I wanted to try for it anyway, but Mike didn’t.  So, we went back to bed.  The Parisien Review at the Hotel Nacional last night was really great.  A huge and talented company.  We lost count of all the costume changes.  The Hotel Nacional is very historic.  The gangster, Myer Lansky (SP?) lived in the hotel for years. On our drive back to the ship, which is now around midnight, we noticed a lot of people out and about on the Malecon.    So, today we slept in, then showered and headed up to the 11 deck for breakfast.  Then Mike went to get his Cuban pesos exchanged for US dollars and I went to guest services to check on their wi-fi.  Back to our room and decided to go see the   movie, “Wonder Woman”. I had a hard time staying awake.    After the movie we headed up to deck 11 for some cocktails and join the revelers as the ship departed.  For dinner we’re going to try a new restaurant—The Palace.  78 today I think and some clouds.

MORE HAVANA PICTURES

El Floridita, the bar frequented by Hemingway.

The first Christmas decorations we've seen.

The main bar.

Sculpture of Hemingway in his favorite bar stool with his favorite drink.

A little side street.  We haven't seen any hurricane damage. But some of the buildings are crumbling anyway.

The hotel where Hemingway lived for 5 years before he bought Finca Vigia.

Hotel lobby.