I worked about 6 hours a day Monday to Friday and spent the afternoons at the beach. On Monday, we met up with Ira and Darlene Shubel, retired out of Local 252, and Gary and Patty Smith, working his way to retirement. We met up at Lazy Days South. We feasted on chicken wings, peel and eat shrimp and oysters.
Ira and Gary gave us some Lane Snapper which they had caught earlier that day. We put it in the freezer and cooked it on Wednesday night. It was so tasty. Thank you Ira, Darlene, Gary and Patty for the fun time on Monday and for the fresh fish!
Our favorite beach here is Curry Hammock State Park. It's only 2 miles from the RV park and it's never very crowded. They have a campground which is always full. They also rent kayaks (although we've never done it) and if it's windy, there are kite surfers there.
On Friday, we had a late lunch at Burdines. Lots of people rave about this place so we had to check it out. The view is awesome, but the food was just so, so. The kitchen was very slow (it took about 45 minutes for our food even though we got there at 2:00), our burgers were cold and the order of fries (which thank God we had decided to share) was enough to feed at least 4 people. I'm glad we tried it, but I don't think we'll go back.
I went to sunset every night, either with Doug or with Jesse. I never tire of watching the sun set over the water. There's always someone to chat with, and you can't beat the fresh air, salty breezes and the awesome view.
We did skip the beach today and went for a drive down to Big Pine Key. This is where the majority of the Key Deer are. They are endangered and the current estimate of their population is between 700 and 800. This is the only area where they are found. They are a white tailed deer and the males are about 30" tall. We drove back near the refuge and didn't see any. When we turned around to leave, we finally spotted one. This is the exact same thing that happened to my sisters and me last March when we went looking for them.
Other than missing the Pig Races, it was a fantastic week. We'll have to remember the pigs next year.
A cup of coffee is calling my name and I guess it's time to think about fixing some dinner, too. After all, a girl can't survive on coffee alone.
