Key West 2007 A Day of Sailing

The weather was warm today, about 83. Keith and Betty thought it would be a good day to go for a sail. Over the next several days there is a cold front coming in and the winds and waves would be increasing considerably. On TV they said that we would be returning to normal winter temperatures. When I first heard winter temperatures I was envisioning 40 to 50. Fortunately, winter temperatures here mean low to mid 70s.

Our sail lasted about 4 hours. We sailed no place in particular just a nice close reach sail out of the marina and back. There are a lot of shallow areas around here, but Keith is quite experienced and had local charts to refer to if needed. While we were sailing we saw what looked to be an iceberg, according to Betty. We never did figure it out.

This evening Kathy cooked a nice turkey meal and we spent the remainder of the evening reading through the weekly package of mail that was delivered earlier in the day.

P.S. I received a new phone to replace the 2 previous ones that failed over the last 2 weeks.

Key West 2007 Another Day in Paradise

The weather was a little warm today. The temperature hit 84 degrees. This morning Betty Gordon and I rode 13 miles around the Key West Island. Most of the time we rode right around the seashore. Kathy laid by the pool sunning herself while Keith cleaned the stern of the Barhopper.

This evening we hit the bars for 1/2 price cocktails and appetizers. We ended up a Jimmy Buffetts Bar . The music did not start until 11pm. A little too late for us.

Key West 2007 We are Here!

We headed out of Key Largo about 9:30am this morning. The speed limit is 55mph along US 1. It is only 2 lanes so it is best just to sit back and enjoy the scenery. The longest span of bridge was approx. 7 miles. I am not sure what they do in case of an accident. We arrived at Boyds Campground a little before noon. It was a real struggle to get into our site. The streets in the campground are very narrow and most people park their vehicles alongside their site. Backing in was very tight. It took close to 1/2 hour. When I was finished, the crowd that had assembled, applauded.

After catching up on some laundry Kathy and I headed into town to meet up with Keith and Betty. They have a great slip at the marina in the heart of Key West. It is adjacent to the boardwalk with many excellent restaurants and bars. Following cocktails on their boat we headed to an old bar called the Schooner Warf for dinner , more drinks and some excellent blues. WOW! Life is tough!

Key West 2007 Onward to the Keys

The weather cleared this morning so our friends, Keith and Betty pulled anchor and set a course of 180 degrees to Key West. It will take them 24 hours to sail there. For us it is only a 5 hour drive. Neither of us can arrive before March 1st to take over our site.

We headed out from Ft. Myers about 9am for Key Largo, our overnight destination. We are staying at Calusa RV Resort. It is a beautiful campground on the Gulf side of the upper Keys. We arrived in plenty of time for Kathy to lie by the pool and get a start on her tan.

Earlier in the day we took the Tamamia Trail which goes through the Everglades rather than I75. It is a 2 lane highway that connects Tampa with Miami and is more scenic than the interstate. Just past Everglades City we decided to stop for an air boat tour into the Everglades. These boats can ride on on inch of water and hit speeds over 50 mph. It was great but very loud.

Tomorrow we drive the last 100 miles to Key West and Boyds Campground. We have a site rented for the entire month of March.

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Key West 2007 Skyline and Jimmy Bs Again

Well, the plan was to depart for Marco Island and meet up with Keith and Betty at Ed and Lois Dixons condo. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate for Keith and Betty who were sailing their boat from Ft Myers to Marco. There was fog along the entire shoreline. They sailed out of the bay as the weather appeared to clear but the fog stayed around for almost the entire day so they headed back to a mooring. On shore the fog lifted about 10am. So we decided to head for Skyline again for lunch. It was almost as good as yesterday.

No story on the first picture, I thought you guys and gals might enjoy it.

Later in the day we and the Gordons met up with Don and Barb Hagge. They used to be in several of the sailing clubs with us in Des Moines before they retired, built a 43 ft sailboat and moved to Florida. It was really enjoyable catching up on their lives over the last 10 years. We all headed off to Jimmy Bs once again to see the sunset. While there we ran into Ray and Cynde Harden. They had a Hunter 25.5 on Saylorville during the mid 90s. They are both retired now and have a beautiful 43 ft Hunter they charter out of Burnt Store Marina.

We'll try again tomorrow to head towards Key West.

Key West 2007 Farwell to Jimmy Bs

There is a local bar here in Ft Myers Beach where folks gather to watch the sunset called Jimmy Bs. It faces the beach and is a favorite of locals and yearly visitors. It's going to be torn down the 1st of March, so a group of us who are leaving town tomorrow gathered there for a last farewell. Following the sunset we all came back to our RV for dinner. We invited everyone to share a pasta dish Kathy prepared. From left to right is: Rex, Patsy, Wayne, Gary, Keith, Greg, Betty and Sandy.

Tomorrow, weather permitting for Keith and Betty for their sailboat, we head to Marco Island to visit Ed and Lois Dixon, sailing friends from Des Moines.

Key West 2007 Edisons Winter Home

It was a little overcast today but the temps were still in the low 80s. Rather than go to the beach we set off to tour the Edison Estate after our lunch at Skyline. The entire lab was pretty much as it was in the early 30s. The cot he napped on was still in the corner as well as the various tools and lab glassware he worked with on a daily basis. His home and Henry Fords next door are quite beautiful as are the gardens that surround them. The Banyon tree in the photo is 82 years old. It was only 4 feet tall in 1925 when Henry Ford presented it to Edison.

Key West 2007 Skyline in Ft. Myers

We could not believe it, a Skyline Chili Parlor in Ft. Myers. For those of you in Cincinnati, you know how rare this is. Kathy and I love Skyline as do most Cincinnatians. We buy the packets of spices and add to our own ground beef, tomato paste and water. It is close, buy not the real thing. So we were ecstatic find one here. It is owned by a fellow from Ohio. He has posters and banners from all the Ohio sports teams. So how could we pass up lunch, we each had a large 3 way and a Coke for lunch today. If you are ever in Cincinnati try a 3 way for lunch. You'll probably think it is no big deal.

Key West 2007 Sunday Touring the Bay

On Saturday, during our drive to Ft. Myers we stopped at 3 rest stops to fill our holding tank. None of the stops had potable water so were left with what was left in our tank when we departed Des Moines on Wednesday. Fortunately for me, the water did not run out until I was done with my shower. Unfortunately, Kathy had not taken hers. So I was off to the neighbors to ask if we could hook up a couple of hoses to their outside faucet. It did not take long to fill the tank and Kathy was smiling again.

Later in the morning we met up with Keith and Betty, Patsy and Rex and a friend of theirs from Pittsburg, Wayne. Last night Wayne had suggested that we join him on his pontoon boat for a cruise in the bay to the end of Estero Island and lunch at one of their favorite restaurants. The Conch chowder was great! The boat in the photo is the Black Pearl

Tonight Kathy is watching the Academy Awards show! Too boooring for me so I’m surfing the net.

Key West 2007 We Made it to Ft. Meyers

Saturday

We only had 130 miles to drive today so we slept in until 8am. Next order for the day was to top off our diesel and propane tanks and do some grocery shopping. As we were driving to the grocery store I was thinking how happy we were with the Delorme Navigation System we installed on our computer. When you are driving a 40 ft vehicle with another vehicle in tow you can’t make the mistake of turning down a dead end street. Why? Because you can’t backup with a vehicle in tow. Having the computer setting next to me in the drivers seat enables me to see what streets are ahead and to avoid dead end streets.

We arrived at Ft. Myers Beach around 3pm. Boy was the traffic bad. It is spring break down here and it took us nearly ½ hour to cross the bridge onto Estero Island. Fortunately a friend of Keith and Bettys arranged for us to park the motorhome in a vacant lot about 3 blocks from the center of the action. The bay is about 100 yards to our east and the Gulf about a 5 minute walk to the west. This evening we met up with Keith and Bettys friends at Jimmy Bs to watch the sunset, listen to music and have dinner.

Key West 2007 Hard Day in the Saddle

Today was a fairly boring day, except for our one half hour stint in Ocala. Our plan was to once again stop at a WalMart because Kathy had some groceries and supplies to pick up. As in previous days, we looked up WalMart in our atlas and it gave us the one closest to I75 in Ocala. We programmed this information into our computer GPS system, and it led us directly to the spot where WalMart was supposed to be. Unfortunately it was not there and we were stuck trying to figure out how to turn around on a six lane route out of Ocala. After pulling over to the side of the road to consult with the GPS mapping system, I saw an opening in the rush hour traffic. I told Kathy to check for the cops as I quickly wheeled our land yacht into a hard left turn driving across a 6 lane road and making a complete left turn to head back to where we had begun.

Kathy remembered that there was a Sam’s Club on the other side of the interstate. The turns into the parking lot looked a little tight, and after we entered we found out they were tighter than we thought they were. Clearly we could not spend the evening here. I wheeled the rig through a series of left hand turns till we were back at the entrance heading out. As we stopped to make our way out to the street, we saw a sign lying on the side that said No Trucks Permitted. We once again found ourselves in need of turning around as we were heading away from the interstate. The U-turn worked the first time, so we decided to give it another try, but with only 5 lanes to cross. As I pulled away from the turn, I said to Kathy “Let’s get out of this town and head out to Tampa and stay at the Camping World.” Other than this one half hour of excitement, as I said before, it was a very boring day as we drove south for 550 miles.

Oh! The weather has been great the entire trip, and especially today when the temperature hit 70 degrees. Tomorrow we are going to sleep in, and stop by the Camping World Store to check out all the goodies available for our motor home. We will only have a couple hundred miles left for Fort Myers so we will probably arrive mid-afternoon.

Key West 2007 Opryland and Nashville

After a refreshing nights sleep in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, I arose at 6:30 a.m. and quietly closed the slides to avoid waking Kathy from a deep sleep. I then spent $177 to refill our diesel tank at the T/A and pointed our land yacht south toward Nashville. About two hours later, I heard noise coming from the rear of the coach and my lovely bride was not sleeping at all, she was watching her two favorite morning guys – Matt and Al on the Today Show.

Continuing our drive for a couple of hours, we arrived at the Opryland Hotel just in time for a leisurely stroll through the three vast botanical gardens and settled down for a hearty lunch at the Cascades Restaurant. This hotel is really something, from waterfalls to boat rides on the indoor canal to shops and restaurants throughout. There are three main areas with all the rooms surrounding the three different gardens. The walking plant in the picture is actually a young lady on stilts walking around the complex entertaining everyone with her still poses and slow motion walking.

This afternoon, as we proceeded south toward Atlanta, Kathy took the helm to give me a break and to decide on our accommodations for the evening. After 10 minutes of driving, she encountered the steep hills of Tennessee. Upon arriving at the summit of the mountain, she saw a rest area and immediately pulled off and suggested that it might be best if I took over the driving. Besides not wanting to drive these steep hills in a big motor home, the boot that she is wearing would prevent her from using the "PAC" brake, a necessity when encountering a 6% grade. Tonight we are spending the evening at Calhoun, Georgia at our favorite campground, WalMart.

Key West 2007 On the Road Again

The time for our spring trip has finally arrived. We left home this morning at 9:30 a.m. It took longer than expected to get away because I had to load the bikes onto the Jeep, check the air in the RV tires, and fill the water tanks that were left empty because of the temperature. It was a bright sunny morning as we headed East on I-80. We utilized our Delorme Street Atlas on our computer to plan our route to Florida. The route planned for us today had us going I-80 East to I-74 to Peoria where we picked up I-55 toward St. Louis. We then by-pass St. Louis 20 miles to the east where we picked up I-64 south. We are spending the night in Mt. Vernon, Illinois at our favorite interstate campground – Wal-Mart. Wal-Marts are really a great place to stay. They are usually open 24 hours, they are very well lit and there are usually half dozen or more campers around you. Often, while Kathy is making supper, I will do some shopping for groceries or last minute items. Tomorrow, our plan is to head to Nashville, which is only a couple of hours away. We are going to visit Opryland Hotel so Kathy can see how it has grown since she was here over 10 years ago. Our plan then is to head down to Atlanta, where we plan to spend tomorrow evening.

Black Hills 2006

Black Hills 2006

Black Hills 2006

This morning we road an 1880 steam locomotive from Hill City to Keystone. Keystone is a small town at the base of Mt. Rushmore. It is pretty much of a tourist trap with a lot of motels, restaurants and gift stores. The train ride was pretty neat. We traveled through about 20 miles of forest and mountains. Some of the grades were fairly steep. The cars on the railroad were all antiques and came from all over the US. We all enjoyed the trip.

Tuesday: A Visit to Mt. Rushmore

This morning we visited Mt. Rushmore. In all the years we have been coming to the Black Hills to snowmobile we have never seen Mt. Rushmore before this morning. It's quite a sight to see it as you come around the side of the mountain. The new buildings that were recently constructed compliment the carvings a great deal. We visited Borglums studio and saw a number of photos and a film of the project in different phases. The girls talked us into hiking up to the base of the mountain, all 250 steps.

In the afternoon we drove through Custer State Park. Over the 35 miles we traversed we experienced winding roads, 5 narrow tunnels, rock spires shooting into the sky and 3 herds of buffalo. The last herd we saw were on both sides of the road and numbered over 500. We parked within feet of several grazing by the road. With the top down on the jeep it was quite thrilling.

Monday In the Badlands

We made it to the Badlands and boy are they magnificent! We spent the better part of the day driving the 30 mile road through the center and hiking along many of the trails and ridges. There is a great film in the visitors center that explains alot about the area. We finished up around 2pm and headed to Wall Drug for lunch. This place was gigantic. They sell everything you can imagine except furniture.

Sunday June 25th Departure to Black Hills

We are on the road again. This time our two grandchildren, Paige and Emily have joined us. We departed Des Moines around 8am. After lunch in Sioux City, Iowa we drove to Mitchell, S.D. to see the world famous CORN PALACE. We have passed by this area numerous times and people always ask us if we saw the Corn Palace. Now we have. For those who are unaware, it started as an exhibition hall in the 1800's to highlight the crop of the area. It has been rebuilt several times, the last time was 1927. It's not actually built from corn, but uses a dozen or so varieties to form giant murals on the outside and inside walls. Today the facility is used for exhibitions, basketball and civic performances. We spent the night at a campground in Murdo S.D. Monday we head for the Badlands and Wall Drug