Einstein said that repeating the same action over and over again expecting a different result is a sign of insanity. If so, making reservations for the height of the season in Florida for camping and traveling are insane. Louise and I had a great time touring Florida, but there was no doubt in my mind that we were extremely lucky. For a significant portion of the trip we were staying with friends and family, and the balance of the trip was calculated to stay at those less than attractive sites that dissuade long-term campers. (ie: campsites with no electricity, water or sewer). I think that we meet a more self-reliant, independent, adventurous cut of traveler at the places with a picnic table and a view, than those places with all the utilities of home, but I think electricity in 90° weather is really nice. Continue reading
Category Archives: Florida
The Mouse’s House
Before I retired my buddy Frank and I would spend lunches and breaks, few as they were, dreaming of life after teaching. Frank was, and still is, a nut for Disney World in Florida, so he would talk about the fun we would have when we got to Disney. We both never grew up, we just got older, and in time, both retired. This was our first winter in Florida. Frank spends as much time as he can in a place over 70 degrees during the winter, so Mickey and he are on a first make basis. Mickey, Goofy, Frank, Mickey. Everyone is happy. So when Frank found out that we were spending the month in Florida, he was in orbit someplace outside of Jupiter. Continue reading
The Tamiami Trail and Big Cypress
We were tired after such a big day before, so we slept in until after 8AM. I made a breakfast of pancakes and sausages, coffee & OJ while Louise rinsed out the stuff from the beach. The RV was a mess, so we cleaned it up, and tried to take some spots out of the rug that we had gotten early in the trip, with limited success. I had stepped in something in the Carolinas that had something in it that really attracted dirt.
I completed some comment sheets I obtained and gave then my fifty cents on Flamingo and Long Pine Key campground that involved ownership by the personnel, and how the park service via Congress is in the process of abandoning the personnel and the parks. We spoke with Kate and Scott, the campground hosts, who take care of things for free, in return for a spot to stay and electricity, and asked them to pass 
onto Gretchen, a camper we met earlier on the east coast of Florida weeks earlier, that there was camping in the keys at Long Pine Key in the primitive section and it looked really nice even if the bathrooms were fairly far removed from the primitive sites. The world is truly a small place. Always be on your best behavior. The conversation evolved into a really nice discourse regarding how things get done at the park, the broad ecosystem, and places to look for on the next leg of our trip. Continue reading
Everglades Day 2
We started the day with a nice fancy breakfast, fashionably late, and then cleaned up. I must have been anxious to get the day started for all the relaxing start to the morning, because I forget to remove the rear stabilizer brackets and I backed up over them. There is nothing more disconcerting than backing over something that you know should not be there. I shattered the lower portion of one of the stabilizers (it seemed to work later in the day), so I gathered them into the storage bin and off we went. We stopped off at the dump station, and topped off our water. I always try to taste the water before we add it to the tank, even though it’s double filtered, before we drink it, and this stuff was good. Continue reading
Everglades Day Two
Well, I’m sitting here in the everglades this morning, looking out at tall pine trees and palmettos. There is a fifth wheel off over a couple of campsites, and there are some strange evergreen laurel like bushes in the growth. It started out at 65 this morning, but it’s only 9AM and the temperature is now up to 74. How nice. Louise took a shower; there are restrooms here, but no shower rooms, so it’s nice to be self-contained. We didn’t run the generator for making breakfast, but I’m running it for hair care. What we do for love! It’s peculiar how life sometimes works out. Continue reading