FTJ 131: On the Road Again in 2012

So we made it another year. We are now heading to Fort Myers Beach for New Year's Eve, and hoping we will like the RV park we are committed to until February. Yikes.

We spent the past two nights in a premier resort in Chokoloskee, Florida. More or less the end of the world, in the Everglades, next to Everglades City. The Outdoor Resorts we stayed in is gorgeous, with its own marina, three swimming pools, tennis courts, you name it. But there isn't a grocery store for 30-plus miles. Too remote for us.

A few photos of our last day on Key West, and a couple of Chokoloskee.

Happy New Year to all.

Tanks, Panky

Ibis at our Key West site.

Two views off Ft. Zachary State Park beach, Key West, on a strange day.
Aren't the clouds in this photo weird?

The view from Ft. Zachary's beach.

As we were leaving, this giant cruise ship suddenly appeared.

Buddy says goodbye to the Keys.

Chokoloskee Island resort.

FTJ 130: Christmas Flyers

Merry Christmas...again. Just had to share these photos of some "identified" flying objects above Smathers Beach that we saw this Christmas morning. Love to all....

A gorgeous squadron of pelicans, from afar, and then closer.

Lots of kiteboarders at the beach. Some were very talented, doing flips and catching a lot of air.

Oh yeah.

A Key West Beach Christmas tree.

This should have been our Christmas card.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 129: Christmas Eve, 83 Degrees and Sunny

Another beautiful day here in Key West, albeit a bit humid. The breeze is a lifesaver. 

We have a bit of an issue with the commode (okay, I confess that I sat on it wrong and broke it with my butt -- yeah, I know:  HAHAHAHA). 

We are hoping it gets resolved today.  Having a working toilet is muy importante.

Anyway, wishing you all a joyous holiday season with your families and friends. By the time you see this, all the hoopla will likely be behind you. Holiday hangovers all round?

Below, some more photos of Key West.

At Hog's Breath Saloon, down near Mallory Square.

This iguana in front of our site is totally ready for the holiday..

 The beauty and weirdness of the sunset celebration at Mallory Square.

The dog in the pants went around and collected dollar tips in his mouth, then deposited
them in the performer's bucket. Worth a buck just to see him do it.

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 128: Just Another Day in Paradise

December in Key West is delightfully different this year. We have yet to get a "bad" day, weather wise. And the past week has been nearly perfect, with temps in the high 70s and a light breeze. The week ahead is more of the same. No complaining from this household.

Not much to relate about our stay here, really. I am relaxing and Beau is waxing. Well, he finished waxing Harvey today. The RV looks great -- blindingly shiny.

We are now busy contemplating our navels...and other important things. For instance, every day we mull over the key question: What to do with our lives? Keep traveling? Settle down? Such stress.

Some photos from our first two weeks here in Key West:

As I said, Beau waxes...

... and Laura relaxes, on a nice strip of Smathers Beach, Key West.

(Note the "CRAP" label on Beau's T shirt, below his left shoulder. After he ruined one nice new T shirt after another after another, I threw a hissy fit. Our solution: Designate ruined shirts as CRAP and make sure he wears them while doing all his dirty jobs. People do look at him funny, but the CRAP system is saving our marriage.)

View off Smathers Beach.

Beau at Hogfish, a restaurant just a few blocks from our RV site.

 Love the conch weather report.

A fisherman attracts a flock of pelicans. Took this photo through the windshield of the RV.

An elegant egret posed for me.

This small hawk visited our site. Have no idea what he is. A larger hawk (a redtail) has been flying reconnaissance over the RV, hungrily eyeing little Buddy. He actually buzzed us one day, swooping through our site just a few feet off the ground. We have to be watchful.

Ah yes, Key West.

 

A sweet little Key Deer on Big Pine Key.

We found a marina near us that was mostly liveaboards. Like a floating rundown trailer park. Yuck. Tough to see the environs from this shot, but the place was pretty nasty.

Thought I would throw in this image of Marilyn outside a movie theatre downtown. I guess you could classify this as an oddity, albeit an attractive one for a lot of people.

Finally, here is Harvey, shiny and ready for the holidays:

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 127: Two Happy Wannabe Conchs

Does spending a month in Key West make us "Conchs" (the name for the locals here)? Probably not, but we are certainly Conchs in spirit.

We are having glorious weather down here at the southernmost town in the United States, unlike last December, when we had gale winds and temps in the 50s and 60s. Today was 80, mostly sunny,  a light breeze -- much like yesterday and the day before and the day before that. The week ahead looks like a repeat of the previous days. Ahhhhhhh....

: 

Passing through Canada on the Way South??

Before making our way down to the Keys, we spent four days in Margate, FL, outside of Fort Lauderdale. The resort, named Aztec, was super upscale and beautiful -- seemingly a wonderful spot to spend the winter. Except for one thing: 99% of the inhabitants were from Quebec. Everyone spoke French and totally ignored us. It was like being in a rather unfriendly foreign country. 

Nope, this place was not for us. Besides, we were really disappointed that such an elaborate (and expensive) resort did not even offer cable TV.  Harrumph.

Entrance to the Aztec resort

Our site.

A rainbow in Little Quebec.

After the Margate visit, both of us were anxious to get to Key West. And what a perfect day we had for the three-hour trip. 

The various views we encountered were familiar -- and as usual, breathtakingly beautiful.

 

Check out how the edge of the water and the sky are nearly indistinguishable. No distinct horizon, just a sea of blue. It was a gorgeous day for traveling.

 

We were heading to who knows what, though. Other than eyeballing a few photos on the web, we had never seen the RV park where we reserved for the month, and were a bit nervous about it. But El Mar turned out to be a pleasant surprise -- a small (10 sites) park with no amenities, really, other than clean spacious sites, half of which look out at the water. A lovely boutique RV park, I guess you could call it. 

Even the daily "sorties" by numerous F/A-18 Hornets -- loud enough to burst an eardrum or two -- cannot quell our enthusiasm for the place. In fact, Beau seems to enjoy the many daily flyovers.

El Mar at sunset.

Our site.

View from our windshield.

Funny photo of Ernie, the park owner. I shall say no more.

Our second day here, we had to make our annual pilgrimage to our favorite bar downtown, Schooner Wharf, where we once again found singer Michael McCloud performing. He was in great form, as usual. And I loved his little dog, who placidly laid down in Mike's guitar case during the performance.

Here is sweet little Cinderella. So cute. So well behaved.

We also walked a bit on Duval Street and stopped at a place we had never visited: Key West's oldest house -- and supposedly the oldest house in all of South Florida. The home was originally built on a different street in the 1820s by a ship's carpenter, but was moved in 1829 and expanded for another seaman, Captain Francis Watlington, and his family. The Captain's descendants lived in the house until the 1970s.

The oldest house in Key West.

So life is good. Other than my having some back and neck issues...okay, pain (I am visiting a local chiropractor for some much-needed care), we are happy little Conchs. Crossing our fingers that the super weather will continue for the month.

Glad the Northeast has been having a nice run of weather, too.

Until next time,

Tanks, Panky

FTJ 126: Beach, Wind, Water

We went back to a favorite place last week: Beverly Beach. We pulled our RV into a slot, nosed over the lovely beach (practically) and...heaven. The ocean is right out the windshield.

Quite an experience staying here.

We also happened to be there at the right time to meet up with our good friend Cappy the Clown, whom we met here last year. It was as if no time had gone by.

Great seeing you, Cappy.

Cappy! Forgot to get a photo of her this year, so I borrowed this one from her Facebook page. She is a one-of-a-kind lady.

Took this shot through the windshield of our RV. Life doesn't get better than this.

On to Sebastian...

We continued south and hit a new place -- Pelican's Landing, a very nice "boutique" RV park right on the intracoastal. Very special, with docks and a beautiful clubhouse. Everything you need. 

The view from our site. Man, we still need a boat.

Behind Beau is a common area with cushy patio furniture for your lounging pleasure. Very squish.

Too bad the wind came up on the second day and "blew stink," as Beau would say, for the rest of our stay. It was so windy that I thought we would have to weight Buddy down. Poor Beau -- we came here because he remembered it looked so great for fishing. Alas, that is now impossible. 

Buddy's neighbor, a Keeshond. Thankfully, a friendly one.

But we still had a nice Thanksgiving. We found a half fresh turkey, which was the perfect size for us. Despite my less than stellar culinary skills, it came out okay in our little convection/microwave combo oven. Our second Thanksgiving "on the road." Not quite the same as Kerouac's trip, but....

A toast to all our friends and family. We are thinking of you.

Tomorrow we head south to another new place, Margate, FL, and a new resort, Aztec. Beau wants to meet up with an old high school buddy in the area.  Then on December 1st we start our month in Key West.

Tanks, Panky