Florida Keys - Back to the scene of the crime...

Before we head off to see Cindee and Joe Sirgany for New Years, we wanted to visit our meeting place.  You see Glenda and I met almost 40 years ago at the Holiday Isle Dive Shop.  So, we made a reservation a to stay at Sunshine Key RV resort and go visit our old haunts..

 
The Holiday Isle Resort was on Islamorada, at MM 84.5.  It's been bought out and it's name changed to the Postcard Inn.

 

A drive by pic.  We couldn't stop as we had the 5er on at the time.

 

This is what we remember from 40 years ago.  Just water, water everywhere.

 

 

Space 18 at Sunshine Key RV Resort.  This place was tight.  And by that I mean the spaces were really close together.

 

Lots of activities

 

Bring your boat and tie up at the marina. It's included in the space rent.

 

It's 5 o'clock

 

 

 

 On our drive around day, we first stopped to get a snapshot of the Green Turtle restaurant.  This is the place that I bought dinner for Glenda and her 4 girlfriends on that fateful first meeting.  Before the dinner I'd met them all at the Holiday Isle Tiki Bar, and bought a couple rounds of Rum Runners, But if I was going ot get anywhere with Glenda, she told me I'd have to buy dinner too..

 

This is where I used to work.  Although it used to be called the Holiday Isle Dive Shop.

 

 The tiki Bar has had a facelift over the years.  In fact probabaly several of them,but this is the place.  Now get this..... They were OUT of Rum Runners!!  Of course it was only noon,, but still, really?? OUT.. how does that happen.  I did ask the girl if she'd just whip one out the old fashioned way, you know, buy pouring shots of rum and liquior into a blender and spinning it into that delightful concoction.  She said she didn't know how or what the receipe was.  I told her that before she was born the receipe was on all the T shirts, so there was never an excuse like "we're out"..  Funny.

the Post Card Inn.  6 floors.

 

One of the only beaches in the Keys.  (Man Made)

 

 

 

 

After we left the Dive shop and resort, it was time to eat.  So down to the Green Turtle.  Great lunch.  Of course that place has been rebuilt several time as well.  But it's still great food.  They don't BTW serve turtle soup anymore.


We spent that evening watching the sunset and enjoying the cool and breezy Florida night at the RV resort.  This place is quite interesting for me as I didn't know so many people live there half the year.  In fact you can lease a space there for about a grand a month and put your own RV in there, or buy a park model and put it in permanenantely.  Which is what a lot of folks seem to do.


Next day was pack up and head to Miami.  I was a bit concerened about getting out of that place because of all the extra vehicles parked in front of everyspace and the fact that is was tight... but I had Glenda walk beside the truck and trailer watching for obstcales and we made it out.  Only had to ask one fella to move a truck.


Then north up US 1 to Joe and Cindee's house. 
Glenda and Cindee hadn't seen each other since about 1994 and they were getting one of their  other childhood friends, Barbara Privette, to come stay as well, so it would be a great chance to catch up.
The drive up the Hwy was easy.  Thank you to the GPS system !

Florida for Christmas Dec. 17th thru 27th

We only stayed at the Silver Springs State Park for one night and that wasn’t enough.  We’ll have to go back there.  It has a lot to offer.

SITE REVIEW:

#33, big level gravel, full hook ups, lots of trees, but some sun too.  Neighbors were pretty far away.  $28.00 per night.

We made our way to North Ft. Myers FL. around 1300.  Set up camp at the Upriver RV resort. 

Jack and Gloria made their way over to visit shortly thereafter and then we were off to visit and have dinner at their house.  Sunday was Jacks 86^th birthday, so after church we treated for lunch at YELP’s top rated luncheon spot in Ft. Myers, “The Cape Cod Fish Company”.  It was great, just what the reviews said.  After a nap, there was Sunday evening Church where the parishioners were each going to make some type of special presentation.  Some would sing, some read a bible verse or poem, others played an instrument.  Jack read an inspiring poem and Gloria sang.  It was a nice service.  Afterwards there was some refreshments along with some fellowship time.

Monday we were going to visit the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, but Glenda’s lunch the previous day must have been tainted by some shrimp juice because she had a stomach ache and didn’t want to chance it.  So that was put off for another day.  We mostly visited and had a nice dinner at Jack & Gloria’s.   We made it to the Shell Factory which is billed as the largest gift shop in the world with over 65K sq. ft. under one roof.  That was something to see, but not my cup of tea...  Hey I made a rhyme.

Wed. was a really cool day for me, Jack had said that he wanted to take us on a charter boat fishing trip, and this was his opportunity to go too.  Cool for me because those of you that know me, know that I’m not a fisherman, never caught the bug as a kid, and never really learned much about it.  Well, I have to say I’m really grateful to Jack for arranging this trip.  I learned a lot, and had the best time.  Plus I caught fish.

The trip was an all day charter trip leaving the Ft Myers Beach area at 0600. 

 

 

 

 

We motored out for 2 hours to get about 40 miles off shore for the first fishing ground which was for Grouper.  We left in the dark and watched the sunrise from way out in the Gulf of Mexico.  I couldn’t see any land…. Interesting feeling…

The mate had rigged all our rods, baited our hooks and gave me a lesson in fishin’.  Truly he told me how to do everything except how to hold the rod...  And as it turned out, he should have shown me that as well!  But once the anchor was out and the motor cut off, all 6 of us took our positions and dropped our lines.  Then BAM, Glenda hooks the first fish. 

The 1^st mate was right there coaching her on reeling up the fish and everyone else on the boat was hooting and hollering when she finally got it up because it was HUGE!!  It was a really big grouper.  It turned out at the end of the day to be 2^nd largest, but only by 1 inch. !

WOW.

Jack was next, then a couple of the other guys on board, but it took me until the second location to hook one up.   But I did and it was fun to haul that bad boy up from about 80 ft.  I think it was 3^rd or 4^th in the size contest.  And so it went for about 2 hours, we’d fish a spot until nobody was getting any bites and then the captain would move to another spot.  But the boat limited out with 2 Grouper each at 1000.  Then we moved again to shallower water to fish for snapper.  The limit on snapper was 16 each, but by 1330, the water conditions had deteriorated to the point that the captain called it a day.  Which was about right time anyway.  We didn’t limit out on the snapper, but we got a bunch.  The weather guesser had said that the Gulf would be at 1 ft. to 2 ft. seas, and that it would be sunny and warm.  Well she missed it by a mile because it was cold out there! And by the time we headed in there were 4 ft. seas with a big roller coming out of the north so the ride back in was like an E ticket!

 

 

 

This is a great way to break myself in on ocean fishing.  The 1^st mate did everything for all of us, set up the rods, cut the bait, unhooked our fish, re-baited our hooks, and back at the dock he cleaned and bagged all the fish.

Thursday was a day of rest.  I wouldn’t have guessed it, but balancing and leaning your legs against the side or back of the boat (to hold on in 3’ to 4’ swells)  while you are trying to feel a bite, then “rip their lips off” and reel, reel ,reel, will make your core and low back pretty sore!  So we did a shopping trip to Bass Pro Shop.  That was fun cause Glenda and I needed some things and I’d been given a gift card from my old boss that I needed to spend.

Friday Jack treated us to lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack,

and then we went to the Edison Ford Winter Estates and Museum.  That was really interesting, I never knew that the two of them were good friends or even half the stuff that they did in their lives.  Their winter estates are side by side homes on the water in Ft Myers.  Thomas Edison even had a lab down here where he invented a bunch of stuff.  The history lesson was great.

Saturday morning I had Jack and Gloria come over for a big country breakfast.  Jack has always liked me cooking him breakfast.  J  Or any meal for that matter. !  We spent Christmas Eve with them and then Christmas day as well.  That evening we attended the mobile home parks big Christmas pot luck dinner. 

 

That was interesting. J

Monday we just spent the day with Jack & Gloria.  We were shown how “seniors” survive on a fixed budget, Jack was so excited to take us to Wendy’s for our first ever “free” senior drink, a $.99 chicken sandwich and a free “key fob frosty”.  He fed all 3 of us for 3.18!!  J

Our only problem will be that those drive thru are a bit too short…

Tuesday we left Ft. Myers and headed for the Florida Keys.  Our stay in the Keys was scheduled for Wed. and Thurs. nights, but we had decided to split the trip into 2 days of travel.  We had decided to spend one night at an Indian Casino parking lot. 

 

Thank goodness it was a cool night with a breeze as we didn’t have AC that night.  None the less it was a FREE night.

 

Next morning up early and off to the Keys.

 

SITE REVIEW: Upriver RV resort.  Really nice, big paved or concrete spots with patio area, full hookups, lots of grass. Lots of snow birds spend 4 – 6 months down there.  There are also a bunch of park models set permanently that people from the north lease year round.  (945.00 per month, plus utilities)  I’d go back.  Cost $48.00 per night though.

Hey California – We have left the building. Dec. 5th thru 17

I just noticed the title of my previous post stopped on the first of Dec.  It should have been out to the 5^th of Dec.

 

 

 

 

Anyway, we left the East Shore RV park on the morning of the 5^th of Dec., and headed east on I 10. Our destination was my Cousin Susan Cowperthwaite Peterson’s place in Maricopa AZ.  I knew it was going to be a long driving day so we started at 0800.  The drive was great, traffic was nominal, there were a few construction sites that slowed us down, but on average I think we were doing 60 MPH.  We stopped in Quartzsite, AZ for lunch, and a bit of site seeing. 

I talked to some folks that spend the winter down there and they said that the really big crowds haven’t showed up yet.  I guess it really gets going after Christmas.  And in January, there are a couple huge RV shows, etc. 

When we pulled over for a rest stop potty break, we loved the sign about the scorpion’s and rattlesnakes……..  Puppies beware...

We arrived at Cousin Susan’s place at about 1630, just in time for a beautiful Arizona sunset.  It was great to catch up over dinner and a drink.  The next morning’s sunrise was just glorious.  We tried to get a few pictures, but they don’t do it justice. 

After a cinnamon roll and a few coffees, we were off.

The 6^th would turn out to be an exciting day……. 

We left their house around 10:00, stopped before the freeway to get a few cactus pictures, and then headed for Demming NM.  The drive across southern Arizona is pretty, but it’s all the same to me after a while.  It kind of lulls you, maybe not sleep, but let’s say boredom….

And Then, So there I was just driving along at 67MPH on cruise control, on a straight and flat roadway when what do I see in my mirror but a black ring of rubber headed for the median, and a puff of smoke.  I’d had a blow out on the trailer…..  Shiiiiiit.  If there had been anyone next to us at the time it would have hit them.  There was less shutter and shake than I actually expected from such a blow out, but there was enough vibration to scare me a bit.  So pulling over to the right shoulder we go.  But at this particular section of road the shoulder sloped way downhill so I wasn’t able to get very far from the lane of traffic.  I fact I was just 2 feet outside the fog line. 

After I pulled my underwear out of my sphincter, I hopped out to take a look and was surprised that the blow out had not damaged too much of the trailer.  If fact the only damage was a broken fender skirt.  And the tire of course.  While traffic was whizzing by at 70 MPH, I was looking for my lug wrench, and trying to decide if I wanted to risk my life changing the tire or make a call to the road service and letting that guy get killed, when an angel in the form of a big Canadian pulled over to help.  He had his tools out in no time and we changed that tire in about 10 min.  Note to self: put your jack and lug wrench in the back of the truck where they are easily accessible.

 

 

 

With the tire changed, we exchanged names and said thank you, said hope to see you on the road and off we went.  It was another hour on to Demming where we were going to stay the night.  We called ahead to see if there were any tire stores there and actually made an appointment to get some new ones the next day.

We stayed at the Road Runner RV Park in Demming NM that night.  This was your basic gravel parking lot with full hookups.  We choose this one because it is a Passport America park and you get to stay for half the retail price.  So it only cost us $13.89.   Did you hear that California,   $13.89 per night for full hook ups.

 

Next day we were off early to go get tires.  I had talked to a tire dealer that talked me into a set of 4 LT truck tires for the trailer.  He said that they would never blow, and last forever on a trailer.  I had heard from the GD owner’s forum that there were some advantages to using that kind of tire, so I agreed.  But upon seeing the tire, I noticed that they were not rated for the weight required on my trailer so they had to take them off.  Waste of time...

I called around to other tire shops, but eventually decided to have this shop order the replacement tires I needed.  Which meant we’d have to spend another night.  No problem because this would give me enough time to call DISH and finally get my service started.  See, I had ordered and received my antenna and receivers and tried unsuccessfully to get them activated while still in CA.  So I thought I’d have enough time to get it done today.   Wrong!  I waited on hold for 45 minutes before I got to speak to someone and they were unable to help.  So I’m still staring at $600.00 of DISH equipment that hasn’t yet delivered any of the promised TV viewing.  Sheesh!!  Maybe when we get to FL I’ll have enough time to call again.

Well next day the tires got installed and we were off again.

So, there I was, getting onto the I 10 after the tire install, and what do I see flying out the bed of my truck, but my 9 x 12 brown and tan camping mat.  Shiiiiiit, pulling over again!  Then the walk of shame back down the on ramp to pick it up and carry it back and properly pack it into the basement.  All the while waving to the other campers that were honking at me….

 

We laughed!!

From Demming, it’s short drive into Texas.  We didn’t leave Demming until about noon.  We’d heard on the radio about an artic freeze dropping down across the middle of America, I just didn’t know south Texas was in its path…..  But holy cow, it got cold.  We decided to spend the night in Van Horn TX.  We called ahead to reserve a spot and was told that if we get there before 1700 we were invited to dinner!  Salisbury steak served family style.  That would have been nice, but we didn’t make it.  It was dark and cold when we pulled into the RV spot.  AND the water spigot was frozen… J  It was 26 degrees when we got there and forecasted to drop to 22.  So this was going to be the night where we tested out the furnace and the tank heaters!  Don’t want frozen black and grey tanks!!  I had to use Glenda’s hair dryer to thaw out the water spigot, and then just filled our water tank with enough for the night, and disconnected and stowed the hose. Man that was cold.   After we were all set up though, I have to say we were “as snug as a bug in a rug”. 

Van Horn in the morning was as promised, very cold.  We had a leisurely breakfast, then broke camp and got on our way.  The only stop I had to make was for fuel.  I’d seen a Pilot truck stop next to the Hwy the night before so that’s where I was going.  I pulled up to the fuel island and started the pump and it’s a good thing/bad thing I was standing close by, because the pump didn’t turn off and fuel spilled out all over.  I stopped the fuel spill but by then my shoes were covered in diesel and the side of my truck was too.  Darn it!

So new shoes are in my future.

Once on the road, everything was great again.  We found scenic spots to pull over for potty stops and lunch stops and had a nice day.

We stopped at the Johnson Creek RV Park, just outside of Kerrville, TX.  Glenda found this gem on the internet and it turned out to be a Passport America park, $24.00 per night!   Did you hear that California??  $24.00 per night, great looking park, full hook ups inc. cable TV…..!  (That’s right still haven’t had time to set up the DISH)

It was still cold, but only about 33 degrees.

We thought briefly about staying another night here and exploring the area, but decided that was going to wait until the return trip.  We are still pressed to get into FL.  And besides, I want to get back into my shorts!

On to Louisiana, for one last night on the road, (Don't stay at Columbus RV. I didn't even take any pictures.)  then we pushed on to Panama City, FL to Randy and Jackie’s house.  That was a long day, but we were looking for a free night’s stay and dinner with family.  We stayed with them 4 nights and enjoyed the catch up time.  Randy and Jackie took us to dinner at Gary’s Oyster Shack and I just want to say that if you are ever in Panama City, you gotta eat there.  Really good.     Gary's Oyster Shack

The next leg of our trip was to Silver Springs State Park in Ocala FL.  We wish we’d chosen to stay more than one night because that didn’t allow us time to explore the springs, etc.

 

 

 

The next day was the final push into North Ft. Myers at Up River RV Park.  This is where we were trying to get to for the Christmas holidays with Jack, Glenda’s dad and his wife Gloria.

On the agenda while we’re here is Jack’s 86th birthday, some shopping, and Christmas.

Stay tuned…………