We Didn't Fish But We Had A Great Time!

On Sunday, we drove to Jupiter for our annual fishing trip with Erol, Kemal and Idyl on Captain Jim's boat, Country Club Fishing Charters.  When we got there, the winds had picked up so much that we were not able to go.  Can't do anything about the weather.

When we left the docks, we headed to Jonathan Dickinson State Park which is just a short drive from Jupiter.  We ate the sandwiches that we had brought for fishing and the Borek that Idyl had made.  Borek is a Turkish meat pie made with phyllo dough.  It's great and we took the left overs with us.

When we got back to Erol and Susan's, I took a few photos of some of their beautiful plants.  I just love the plants in Florida.  I don't know the names of most of them, but they are so different from what we have in the north and the flowers are just gorgeous.

Susan made us a great dinner of steak, baked potato, corn on the cob and Key Lime pie for desert.  It was a wonderful last night there.

Thank you, Erol and Susan, for your great hospitality!  It was a great visit, but went by far too fast.

This morning we left Delray Beach and started our journey north.  We got to Valdosta, GA.  It was 89 degrees yesterday in Florida.  When we got to the RV park this afternoon, it was 60 degrees.  BIG change.

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Doug and the dogs are already asleep, but Dancing with the Stars isn't over yet.  I'm going to finish this cup of coffee and get to bed.  We're hitting the road at 8:00 tomorrow morning.

Delray Beach and Ft. Lauderdale

On Saturday morning Doug and I headed to the Coconut Creek Casino for a bit of slot action.  We both made a small donation.  We stopped for some groceries and headed back to Erol's house.

When Erol got home from work, we drove down to Ft. Lauderdale for the Auctions America Collector Car Auction.  We saw lots of great cars.

We even ran into a couple of celebrities.  Doug and I were standing outside where the cars were coming out after being auctioned when we ran into Rick and Corey from Pawn Stars.

We left the auction without buying a car (thank goodness!) and headed for a drive along Ft. Lauderdale Beach.  As many times as we have been to Florida, neither Doug nor I had seen the beach there.

It's a beautiful beach but there's lots of traffic and tons of people.  This little stretch above was quiet and not too many folks, but most of the beach was just jamming.  

Last night we had dinner at Two Georges which is on the water at Boynton Beach.  It was great!

Today is our fishing trip on Country Club Fishing Charters.  The winds are blowing a bit (20-25 mph) and the seas are supposed to be 2-4 near shore and 3-5 in the gulfstream.  It will likely be a bumpy day but we ALWAYS catch fish off of this boat.

My coffee needs a refill and I need to get moving for fishing.

"Coffee is the best thing to douse the sunrise with." ~ Terri Guillemets

Fishing In The Everglades

We left the Keys on Wednesday morning and drove towards Everglades City.  First stop was at the Miccasoukee Casino.  Not much of a casino and both of us made a small donation.  It was a nice drive across U.S. 41 and we saw lots of wildlife.  The only gators we saw were as we drove past one of the rest areas.

We got to Larry and Robin's place in Everglades City around 3:30 and our friend, Erol, was already there.  They live on a canal that connects to the 10,000 Islands region of the Everglades National Park.  They have lots of flowers blooming.

When I asked Larry why their Pink Flamingos were blue and orange, he said "Because we're Gator fans!"

We had a great meal of stone crab claws.  Here's some shots of the cracking of the claws.

Thursday morning we headed out into the water for some fishing.  

We caught a lot of trout, some of which weren't big enough and had to go back to the sea but we did catch 5 spotted trout a few silver trout that we kept for dinner.  We also caught quite a few small sharks.

We headed back in to clean the fish and take them to the restaurant.  Our dogs love fish!

Robin, Larry, Erol, Sonny, Doug and I had a feast.  You bring in your filleted fish and they cook them for you.

When we left the restaurant, the truck parked next to us had a guard sitting in the passenger's seat.

We had a great time!  Thank you Larry and Robin for your wonderful hospitality.  We'll be back next year so that we can get that personal tour of the Everglades museum.

Friday morning we headed to Delray Beach to visit with Erol and Susan.  We got here around 2:00, visited with Susan and her mother, Jonne, and then got set up.  When Erol got home, Susan served a great dinner of salad, croissants, shrimp etouffee and chocolate cream pie.  Susan is a great cook and it was better than a restaurant!

Our fishing trip with Captain Jim of Country Club Charters is tomorrow.  I don't know what adventure awaits us today, but I'm going to start my day with a fresh cup of coffee.

Last Day In The Keys

First, to catch up.  Saturday Doug and I went back to Curry Hammock SP.  We love that beach.  It's never really very crowded, it's a natural beach and it's close to the RV Park.

I'm going to miss this beach.

On Sunday, we decided to head to Veterans Park at the south end of Seven Mile Bridge.  Dogs are allowed on the beach there, so we packed a lunch, loaded up the dogs and off we went.  It was a bit busy but the beach area at the very end was open, so we set up there with the dogs for lunch.  Okay, this is perfect, we have our own private spot and the dogs are having a great time.  About 30 minutes later, a group of about 6 people took the picnic table next to us and began setting up.  Boy, they sure seemed to have a lot of food and coolers for only 6 people.  Soon after, another 4 people showed up to join their group and then another 6 or 8.  Pretty soon, we have a full blown Sunday family picnic next to us with kids running around and salsa music.  Dogs got a bit antsy, so it was time to pack up and move on.  I never even took a photo.  Oh well, it's all in the memory bank.

We drove a bit further south to look at the old train bridge from near Bahia Honda SP.  There's a nice area to view the bridge.

Lots of folks pulled out on Sunday and by Monday morning we were rewarded with a slight view of the water.  This was the view from the dining table window.  If you look real hard, you can just see the water.  

Maybe next year we can get one of the premium waterfront sites so we can see the water whenever we want.

Monday we headed to Bahia Honda SP.  It's about 20 miles south of here.  It's supposed to be one of the best beaches in Florida (not sure we would agree with that) and it was voted one of the United States best beaches in 1996.  It is beautiful.  It was windy and by 3:00, the clouds had moved in so we moved out.  But not without taking a couple of photos.

It was a nice afternoon, just not long enough.

Monday night, I headed to sunset even though it was mostly cloudy. I did get a quick peek at the sunset along with the ever present pelicans and conch shell blowers.

At 4:00 a.m. today I was awakened by the sound of rain.  Pretty distinct sound in an RV when rain falls on your roof.  I went outside with my eyes barely focused and pulled the chairs under the awning.  Back to bed I went.  It was still raining when I woke up at 7:00.  Come on, give me a break, it's our last day here.  I want a bump on my tan and want to have lunch at the beach!  Well, we did take a picnic lunch to the beach.  No one else was there because while it had stopped raining, it was definitely cloudy.  The sun did manage to come out around 5:30, so no tan bump.

I hit the water at around 7:00 for sunset.  It was beautiful, but made me a bit melancholy.  Last night in the Keys.  Well, until next year.

If you're ever in this area, we highly recommend this RV Park.  Jolly Roger Travel Park in the fabulous Florida Keys!

In the morning we are headed to Everglades City to meet up with our dear friend Erol and his brother-in-law, Larry, for some fishing!  The vacation continues, but say so long to the Florida Keys.

A cup of coffee and piece of Key Lime Pie awaits me now.

Friday Fish Fry

Around noon on Friday the winds started to die down so we decided to head to the beach.  Not many people there and the sun felt great.  Had sand on my toes and sun on my nose.

Because the winds had died down, the kite surfers weren't there but a lot of folks were kayaking.

I finally got a photo of our site and I'm glad I took it when I did.  This place has nearly filled up again and there are no empty sites on this loop.

We went to the fish fry that they had here last night.  Everyone brings a dish to pass and the fish was caught and cooked by 6 men.  The food was fantastic!

We stayed to watch sunset with Robin and Louie from Manchester, MI.  They're just a short drive from where we live and the parents of a member of Local 252. 

Because the clouds had moved out, we were rewarded with a great sunset.

Robin and I said that we saw the saw the rare "green flash".  It has to do with bent light refraction and a particular atmospheric condition being present.  I wasn't expecting to see it so I didn't get a photo of it, but we swear we saw it.  We did sit a bit to watch for the comet but didn't see it.

We're going to pack a lunch and head to the beach for a few hours today.  Another relaxing day in the Keys.

Deja Brew: The feeling that you've had this coffee before.

~Author Unknown

Windy Days

Yesterday and today the wind just blew and blew and blew.  Today at least, it was out of the north and the MH blocked the wind so we were able to sit outside and catch some rays.

Last night, I did go down to the water for sunset.  So many clouds, but nonetheless, there were at least 25 people there.  Five of them had conchs and blew them at sunset.  I love that sound!  The pelicans were there as usual, too.

The sunset itself, not so great.  Too many clouds.

Tonight was better, but still quite a bit of cloud cover at the horizon.  There were probably 35+ people there and at least a dozen dogs.

Tonight I ran into a friend's parents.  We met them here last year and it's great to see them again!

Low of 60 tonight, 74, sunny and windy tomorrow.  To beach or not to beach...that is the question.  For now, there's a fresh pot of coffee to drink.

“I'd rather take coffee than compliments just now.” 

― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women