Day 33 January 26, 2017 Boardwalk RV Resort - (Day 6) Homestead, Florida

Cannot believe that this is our last day here. We stopped in the office to ask if we could extend our stay but they are full. In reality we were lucky to get in here at all - so a six day stay worked well for us. 

This morning we washed the RV and car, checked out the rec center and did a lot of walking.  We went out to dinner and picked up some last minute items at the grocery store. 

We have no reservations for the next two days and are hoping to get into Monument Lake CG, a national park CG in the everglades for two nights. It is a first come first serve park so getting there early is the key. Then we will move to another National Park CG, Midway from January 29 - February 1, 2017. Neither one of us can remember if we have cell service at either of these two places or not. So we may be out of contact for the six days we are in the park. We both feel lost without some type of contact to the outside world so we are hoping we will at least have some cell  service available to us. I guess if anyone needed to contact us they could call the National Park Service and have a ranger get in touch with us.  

So far we haven't done anything exciting or different this trip. On February 2, 2017 we have a week booked in Naples. Haven't really done up that area so hopefully will have something new to do and report. 

Day 31 & 32 January 24 & 25, 2017 Boardwalk RV Resort, Homestead, Florida

We had a gift card from Cracker Barrel so grabbed dinner there. True to form the food was at best, mediocre. We have never gotten a good meal there but Ron had to use up the gift card.  It always amazes us that all of the Cracker Barrel's across the country are always packed!!!

We also went to the movies to see "Patriots  Day." It was well done  and brought up buried emotions associated with the day of the bombings and the  aftermath to that day. 

It's been quiet here and has cooled down since the storms passed through. We have one more day here then will be moving on. 

Day 30 January 23, 2017 Boardwalk RV Resort, Homestead, Florida

It was a very interesting night.  At 3 am our phone alarmed  a weather alert. It was a tornado warning and to take cover.  We turned on the TV and watched as the cell that was suppose pass right over us with the tornado veered northeast and touched down in two different neighborhoods in Miami! We were under a "warning" until 4:30 am when the storm finally moved out to sea.  We were lucky it didn't touch down here because there are no shelters in the park.


We moved to our new site with lots of room to move around. 

Later we did a lot of walking and enjoyed the good weather. Not much happening just taking advantage of the sunshine. 

Day 29 - January 22, 2017 - Boardwalk RV Resort (Day 2) - Homestead, Florida

I don't think I mentioned this but last evening around 5 pm our new neighbor with the Fifth-wheel backed in with extreme difficulty. The sites in this part of the park are extremely tight and the street is narrow. Ron went out to help him get in. He managed to get in but was on an angle. After some discussion he left the RV on an angle and we moved our car closer to the back of the lot with his truck in front of us.  While our neighbor was setting up he and Ron were talking. I then hear a yell and the man is trying to get up off the ground holding his head. He had walked into the slide  and almost got knocked out. I looked at his forehead and he was bleeding and had  what looked like a huge gash. I cleaned it off for him and it wasn't  a gash but it was a 5 inch area of his skin pulled back on his forehead.  The poor man was definitely going to have a headache.  

Today has been a beautiful day with the sun shining and a light breeze. I spent the day getting caught up on laundry and Ron got caught up on all things internet. LOL It is hard to believe that we  have become so dependent on our cell and internet services. 

We watched  the Patriots blow-out play off game and are happy  that the Patriots are heading back to the Superbowl! They played an awesome game despite what all the poor sports say. 

Well, the tornado magnet is at it again. We have been watching the weather because there are straight line storms above us that have been causing all sorts of tornado touch downs and devastation. So far we are not in the line of fire but as we all know that could change. Right now we are expecting heavy rain and strong winds beginning around 10 pm tonight. Hopefully that is all we will experience. 

Day 28 - January 21, 2017 Boardwalk RV Park (Day 1) Homestead, Florida

We left the Everglades this morning without a site reserved for our next stay. When we arrived  at the main entrance visitor center we finally had a strong cell signal. After several phone calls to different CG's we were finally able to secure two nights at  the Boardwalk RV Resort in Homestead. 

                             

Once again the term "Resort" is used loosely. It is actually a  trailer park with RV sites interspersed throughout the park. The man that checked us is from Quebec and was very entertaining. He told us that in the winter there are over 200,000 Canadians that migrate  to Florida to get out of the cold. 

I asked if we would be able to extend our stay and he gave us another site to look at. We will have to move if we want to stay an additional four days. Once settled into "sardine" site 82 we took Jewel for a walk to check out site 626.

This site #82 is right on top of the permanent trailer to our right. We have our car parked to the left which we will soon have to move because a very large fifth-wheel will be moving in. It was so tight once it was parked that we had to park our car behind our neighbors pick-up. 

 Site 626 is on a corner lot with a fairly large site. We did book for the additional four days and will be moving to that site on Monday.

Later that evening we walked to route 1 and had a pizza at Pizza Hut. It was very good as were the chicken wings.

The weather is beautiful so we were out walking the park a couple of more times in the evening. Tomorrow is the final play-off game and will determine if the Patriots get to go to the Superbowl again. 

Day 27 - January 20, 2017 Everglades National Park Flamingo CG (Day 4)

This morning we tried to tune into the inauguration. The TV reception is spotty at best  but we did manage to see most of it in bits & pieces.  

We took the 2:30 PM boat tour out to the Florida bay. It was pricey at $75.00 for the both of us. 

The captain of the boat told us he was new and had only been doing this tour for two weeks. Really??

Needless to say we didn't get to see any sea creatures. We did get to see another Osprey nest with two babies in side.  

The captain got slightly off course and the boat was kicking up mud in the shallow channel. The narrator had to keep telling the captain where he should be in the water to avoid grounding. This sure didn't increase our confidence in the Captain. 

Despite not getting to see any sea life it was  a beautiful day and being out on the water was refreshing. 

Back at the CG we had dinner then proceeded to get packed up for our voyage tomorrow. We do not have a site booked anywhere because we haven't had any WiFi access or phone service. When we get closer to civilization and have a cell signal we will hopefully be able to get a site somewhere in Homestead for a few days. TV is all imperative because we have to watch the last playoff game with the Patriots versus the Steelers. Go Pats!!!!

Day 26 January 19, 2017 - Everglades National Park Flamingo CG (Day 3)

Ron & I have been feeling lousy for the last couple of days. Have been coughing and hacking like crazy and achy all over. We hung around most of the day reading.

When we were at the Marina store the clerk was eating a great looking pizza. She told us she had gotten it from the cafe. They had just had  their pizza oven repaired and were trying it out.  

Later that evening we went to the Buttonwood Cafe behind the visitor center to get one of those great looking pizza's. Not today! The oven broke down again so we  had burgers for dinner instead. We then sat by the water enjoying the sea breeze and took time away from our friends - the mosquitoes.

Back at the CG we hit the sack early hoping to feel better in the morning. Our plan is to take a boat tour out to the Florida bay and maybe get lucky and view some dolphins and manatees in their natural habitat. 

Day 24 - January 17, 2017 Everglades National Park - Flamingo CG (Day 1)

This morning we packed up to head out to Everglades National Park. We have an electric site secured for four nights at the Flamigo
CG. It was a 73 mile easy drive today. Not much traffic and bright sunny skies. 

We arrived around noon and set up. There were large signs flashing as we entered the park stating that there is a huge mosquito population waiting for us. LOL

The RV sites here are huge compared to the sites at John Pennekamp. After lunch we sat outside enjoying the comfortable breeze. We considered putting up our screen house but decided to wait because we weren't experiencing  any mosquitoes biting or terrorizing us. 

We quickly learned that we had no internet TV or phone service. HMMM! Four nights is a long time for those of us who like to be connected. Tomorrow we will go to the visitor center to find out about the phone service here. 

About those mosquitoes - as soon as the wind died down they were after us and everyone else here in full battle gear!!!!! Lots of biting going on even with bug spray!

Day 23 January 16, 2017 Jonh Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park ( Day 14)

It is hard to believe that our two weeks here has ended. We had planned on going out on a snorkeling tour but that never happened. The tours have been cancelled because of the rough seas. The glass bottom boat has been down for repair. They took the engines out and they haven't fixed them yet. 

Although the camp sites are crowed in the park itself is beautiful and we have enjoyed  exploring. It is on to the Everglades National Park and the Flamingo  campground for a few days. 

Ron and I spent the day getting ready to move out in the morning. House cleaning, grocery shopping,  etc. Ron washed the wheels and the bottom of the MH. You are not suppose to  wash any part of a MH, car or boat here. It is clearly stated in the rules! He got busted by the CG host just as he was finishing. 

Ron has been diligently trying to get sites at one of the other state parks here on the keys but other then one day here or there they are all booked. The site we secured at Flamingo was due to a cancellation - so got lucky on this one. Looking forward to see the upgrades that have been done there. 

Day 20, 21 & 22 January 13. 14, & 15 , 2017 John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park , Key Largo

It is hard to believe we are in the final stretch of our visit here at Jonh Pennekamp. We have been enjoying the good weather and watching the near constant turnover of RV's & people here over the last two weeks.  

The last few days we have spent a lot of time walking the park, meeting new people and dogs and just loving the good weather.

On Friday we went back to Mrs Mac's Diner and had another delicious meal. Behind the diner is a private compound right on the water. There is a traffic light installed at the gate I guess red - do not enter and green to enter. On the back of the building is a shark head. Very interesting. Inside the compound are lots of toys including a MH with the front end  up on stilts, water sports toys and boats. 

Jewel loves her walks but is not thrilled to be away from home. She has been keeping a low profile in the corner of our bedroom. She doesn't even come out to sleep on the couch at night.

The people to the right of us had to move for the weekend to allow a family to come in. They have a boat at the marina so will be sleeping in that until Sunday night when they will return  with their MH. 

The seas have been choppy so the tour boats have not been going out very often and one had to return due to the choppy seas. Again the beaches are empty and the first 6 feet of beach is covered with seaweed being washed in by the waves. 

According to the marine forecast the winds are blowing at 25 knots with small craft advisories in effect for the last several days. 

Palm Trees Blowing in the Wind

Our new neighbors for the weekend are a young family with  two children and two dogs. On Sunday morning the father was apologizing to us for all the noise at 2:20 am. ???? We didn't hear any noise. Apparently, they had left some food out in containers and two raccoons came and robbed them. LOL One of the raccoons had unzipped the screen part of their tent  and went in. They showed us their chairs with raccoon prints all over them. I guess there was a lot of noise between the raccoon intruders and the dogs 

barking. Despite their tent being less then 8 feet away, we slept through the commotion. Unbelievable.

More Deserted Beach

We watched the play-off games and will be looking forward to the  final play-off game with the Steelers next week. Go PATS!

Day 17- 18 -19 - January 10, 11, 12 , 2017 John Pennekamp State Park (Days 8, 9 & 10)

The last three days have been uneventful. We have had lots of rain showers with lots of sunshine. The sun and rain are taking turns. When the sun is shining  we are out walking and getting tan. Then it's back in the MH for torrential rains. All in all it has been quiet here. From what some of the new arrivals have told us there have been a lot of CG cancellations giving them the opportunity to secure a site here for a few days. 

There is nothing happening at the marina and very few people around. Due to the small craft advisory there have been no snorkeling tours out.  Both Ron and I have been doing a lot of reading and have finally determined it is OK to just relax. 

We did take a ride into town just to see if there is anything we may have missed from our last visits here. . We have been here several times so have exhausted the tourist attractions. There is a flea market down the road so we stopped and walked around.

The CG is always full and most everyone is doing the same thing we are doing . Sitting out and enjoying the sun when it makes an appearance. 

We had a visitor today (1/12/17) and are quite impressed by the size and beauty of this creature. 

This lovely iguana was sunning right behind our MH. The ranger told Ron that these iguanas are not native to Florida. The rangers build nests from mulch and the iguana  lays its' eggs which are then destroyed by the rangers. They will not harm the iguanas that are here (there are 2) but do not want them to populate.  

It is so cool getting to see this guy again. We saw her  and the small green one when we arrived and were hoping one of them would show up again. 

Day 16 - January 9, 2017 - John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Day 7)

Today Ron decided to do some maintenance on the MH. He was a busy guy for the majority of the day while I tackled the inside. He finally got the additional antenna up and did manage to get 14 stations on the flat screen TV we brought with us. However, half of those stations are in Spanish and the rest are either re-runs of old shows, channel 2 with only one local station. The local station is not the one  that will be broadcasting the Pats game. I guess it will be back to the drawing board for him!

It has been a beautiful day, so Jewel and I went on several very long walks. She is very happy here and continues to dig dirt beds. It has been impossible to keep her even remotely clean. 

We decided to eat out tonight. Haven't been out to eat in about 10 days - a real record for us. I found this hole in the wall called Mrs. Mac's Kitchen with great reviews and reasonable prices. 

Getting a parking space was a challenge and the sign in the lot was interesting.

                   The sign says - Watch for Falling Coconuts

It is a very small place and unique to say the least. There are hundreds of license plates nailed to the walls and even the light fixtures are made from old license plates.

Our server was excellent as was the food. The Monday night special - meatloaf - was Ron's pick for dinner. For everyone that knows him, this is no surprise. I had the crab cake basket - yum!

                                              

We had great food and great service. Ron didn't like his though! LOL    I'm surprised he didn't lick the plate. 

Back at the CG we settled in for the night. It was a very productive day for the both of us. We even managed to secure a site at the Flamingo CG in the Everglades National Park for four nights beginning on the 17th. We were able to get our 50% off discount because we have the national senior parks pass. We haven't been there for several years and we read that a lot of upgrades have occurred. Most sites are dry camping but we did get a site with electricity.

Not sure what we will be doing tomorrow. No need to rush into any decisions tonight.

Day 15 - January 8, 2017 John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Day 6)

We had another great night of sleep last night. The temp dropped to 51 degrees and making it a comfortable night. 

Today is another day watching the football playoffs. After the early game we took a walk to the visitor center and watched the video presentation about the coral reefs and its inhabitants.  It is a great film and for anyone visiting here shouldn't be missed.  

There is  a decent size salt water aquarium here that housed many of the fish found in the reefs. 

DOG FISH

We walked out to the beach area which is virtually empty today. There are very few people around and the tour boats are not out  due to the rough seas.  It is like a ghost town here today compared to the past several days. 

                              Empty water - empty beaches!

I had put together a dinner in my crock pot around 9 am  and by 4 pm it was not done. We could smell the food  cooking but not at the right temperature. Needless to say the crock pot is dead. I guess it is time for a new one. I did manage to salvage our meal putting it in a pan on the stove to finish cooking. 

We have been having issues trying to get decent television stations so Ron has been watching the games on his phone. We will intermittently get the TV to come in so it has been very interesting. 

It is suppose to be another cool comfortable day tomorrow. Ron is hell bent on getting an additional antenna up so we will be able to watch the Pats game on Sunday. That will be his chore for tomorrow!

Day 14 - January 7, 2017 - John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Day 5)

We both had a tough night sleeping last night. The no see ums here are brutal and we have been bitten to death. The little suckers really hurt when they bite then the itch after is intense, waking us up at night. These  are not like the no see ums in Michigan. Those bites were miserable in a different way. Couldn't feel them bite but the pain after was intense. Not sure which is worse itching or pain. It's a toss up.

Not much happening today. Spent some time talking to our neighbors and walking Jewel - several times. Took a ride to the Winn -Dixie for groceries, then watched two football games. Congrats to the Seahawks.  It will be interesting if the Patriots and Seahawks are in the Superbowl again this year,. 

It is still really muggy here. We don't mind the heat - it's what we came here for but the muggers sap the life out of you. Most everyone here is staying inside their RV's except for the tenters' of course. Ron said if we wanted to stay inside we could have just stayed home.

Around 5 pm the wind kicked up, the clouds rolled in and the rain started. It poured for quite a while and did cool it down. I took Jewel our for her last walk of the day (# 4) and it actually felt "cool." Tomorrow it is suppose to be in the high 60's with low humidity. We shall see. 

Day 13 - January 6, 2017 - John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (day 4)

Today is day 4 at Coral Reef.  We booked a day out on the water today on the glass bottom boat "Spirit of Pennekamp." The 45 minute boat ride to the coral reef was beautiful and the breeze wonderful. 

Arriving at the coral reef we had to go inside to look through the  glass bottom of the catamaran. It was pretty cool to see all of the different species of fish and their magnificent colors.  However, it was difficult to get pictures as you can see from the picture below. 

The commentator did a very nice job of pointing out the species of fish as well as the different  types of coral. Then it was back to the dock. 

The Bridge

Old Glory Flying in the Wind

It had clouded up on the ride back and looked like it was going to storm. It didn't and as fast as the clouds were there they weren't. We passed back through the Straights of Florida with Mangroves on both sides of us. 

It was a very nice day trip and felt good to get out and do an activity besides walking the dog. 

Back at our camp site we went out on a hike with Jewel then settled in for the evening. Temps remain in the low 80's with the humidity still in the high 70's - so pretty sticky. No snow here! lol

 

Day 12 - January 5 ,2017 John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (day 3)

The weather has improved 100% from yesterday. Both the temp and humidity are down and it is very comfortable. We were able to open all of the windows in the RV and sit outside enjoying the cool down. 

Jewel is very happy here and she enjoyed her walk through the woods today.

Jewel Running Free!

 She is so happy that she has been digging a dirt bed to lay in!

Lovely Dirt Face Jewel! LOL

A new couple  arrived in the site next to us and we helped them set up their canopy. It was definitely a four person job!

We booked a glass bottom boat tour for tomorrow afternoon. It looks like it will be fun. We will be renting a kayak at some point during our stay here. Not sure if we will be doing any snorkeling, will have to wait and see how  it goes. 

It is very comfortable right now so thinking we may be sleeping with the windows open tonight. 

Day 11 January 4, 2017 John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park (Day 2)

There is not much to communicate today. Ron decided he wanted a day to do nothing so that is what he is doing. I took Jewel for a couple of walks. 

The heat and humidity has been brutal but it is suppose to break and cool down by tomorrow.  On one of my walks with  Jewel another camper told me that the last three days have been really bad but that a cool front is moving in. We can only hope.

There is a weather pattern to the north of us that brought some sprinkles and a cooling wind which allowed us to sit outside for a few hours this afternoon and enjoy.

Not much else going on today.

 

Day 10 - January 3, 2017 John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Key Largo, FLa

After three days of organizing and relaxing from the very long traffic filled drive down here, we are packing up to move to our destination CG. 

I'm not sure if I mentioned this but the weather has been unseasonable hot and humid for this time of year. The weather people on TV keep talking about hoping for a break in the heat. We have been in the keys before and it has never been this hot and humid. We are hoping for it to be a little cooler when we are closer to the ocean.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

pennekamppark.com/

It was an uneventful 24 mile drive to John Pennekamp today.
On arrival we were surprised at the number of vehicles entering the park. The day use areas were packed. 

Our site is fairly narrow and tight but my expert driver got the MH in  with one try. Our neighbors to the left came over to help move the picnic bench out of the way so we could get the MH in without incident. 

The cool down we were hoping for near the water didn't happen. It is so hot and humid that just about every RV is closed up with the AC's running.  Soooo, once set up we put our front AC on only to find that it wouldn't work. HMMMM - not so good here in the Florida heat and humidity. Our back AC is working so will have to improvise until Ron can figure out what is wrong. After several attempts and trouble shooting Ron determined the front AC is dead.     
So two hours later we are less hot but not cool. The back AC is working beautifully and we have fans running to circulate the air. It is working well and I think we will survive despite the fact that we BOTH now cannot tolerate the 82 % humidity. lol

Around 4 pm  we took Jewel for a walk to explore the CG. She is  very happy here and has her bounce back in her step. We came to what looked like a natural flowing spring with lime accumulation on the rocks, however it turned out to be a well.

It was a little cooler so we continued on our walk to the docks. 
There are several options here for touring out on the water. We will be here for two weeks so plan to take in some if not all of the activities. View of the landing for putting in kayaks and for swimmers.  

Back at the MH we had dinner and settled in for the night. We could not get any English speaking TV channels but were able to get several Spanish speaking channels. No TV tonight for us!

Day 9 January 2, 2017 Goldcoaster RV Resort, Homestead, Florida

We have one last day here before moving on to our destination in Key Largo, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We will be there for two weeks and hopefully will be able to partake in all of the activities offered.  

Spoke with Kelly yesterday as well as Ron's Mom wishing them both a Happy New Year. 

Didn't do much of anything today. Relaxed, read and took Jewel for her walks. 

She is still not happy and refuses to be in the same room with us! We think she will be much happier at our next stop because she will have a picnic table to lay under. Lol.

Day 8 January 1, 2017 Happy New Year! Goldcoaster RV Resort, Homestead, Florida

Happy New Year! It is hard to believe that another year has passed so quickly. Hopefully, 2017 will bring good things to all of our friends and family. 

Once the fireworks were done last night we were all able to settle in a get some much needed sleep. Jewel finally calmed down , thank goodness.

This morning we went to Wal Mart for groceries and were surprised to see how packed the place was. It took quite a while to get through check out. We made it back just in time to see the kick-off of the Pats/Dolphin game. 



Yeah, the Patriots won!!


 New England Patriots 35, Miami Dolphins 14

It was quiet day and we are happy to say uneventful and restful for us. 

Day 7 December 31, 2016 Goldcoaster RV Resort, Homestead , Florida

We  were up this morning and on the road by 8:30 am hoping to avoid traffic. That was wishful thinking on our part. We experienced nothing but traffic for 328 miles. Uggh!

People are out in full force and driving like maniacs. Ron is usually cool, calm and collected while driving , but he was jumping  and and oohing on a regular basis. We both thought we would lose  the front end of our MH several different times.  Cannot believe the people weaving in and out of traffic.

We experienced more of the same slow-downs due to accidents. No surprise here. Lots of traffic pictures this trip. 

 We arrived the CG at 4:30 pm and we are both happy to be stopped and not moving through traffic anymore today. 

Around 6 pm the fireworks started in spurts. Just enough to scare the wits out of Jewel. She  has been shaking and trying to find a hiding place.

By 9 pm we were done  and went to bed. Jewel came with us and her huffing,  puffing and shaking has been keeping us awake. I finally got up and gave her a doggy tranquilizer. Needless to say it didn't work very well. Ron got up to lay on the couch. I stayed with Jewel and finally fell asleep.

We were all awakened again by the midnight fireworks that went on for about 45 minutes. That's when Jewel really freaked  out trying to scratch her way into the bedspread to hide. 

Poor Jewel. She is never going to forgive us for taking her away from her comfy home in Raynham.