Last week we said a sad farewell to the Keys. We will miss Key West especially.
Before we left Key Largo, however, Beau decided he had to try the "all you can eat" stone crabs at a local restaurant. He ate 22 while I watched. I was semi impressed. Thought he would eat more of them!
We also went to Key Largo's bird sanctuary, which, although small, was highly entertaining. The sanctuary is really more of a rescue operation, housing various types of birds that have been in distress or injured somehow. It was great to see the birds up close, but I felt bad for them in their cages. And the place stunk to high heaven, as you can imagine.
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| A one-legged anhinga |
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| Love the way the cat is eyeing the heron.... |
Oh - and we stopped at the Hurricane Memorial, which commemorates the devastating storm of 1935, which killed more than 500 people, with winds of 200 mph and extensive flooding.
On to Naples
We arrived with no problem at our next destination, Naples. We stayed four nights at Crystal Lake RV Resort -- another misnomer, in that it is really more of a "park model" (a more genteel name for a trailer) resort than an RV resort, but I am splitting hairs.. The big difference for us personally was that this park was decidedly upscale. Gorgeous landscaping, a beautiful clubhouse and several pools, new residences, all surrounding a small lake. Will add a few photos of the park next time.
But for some reason we both agreed that as a place to stay it lacked appeal. Too homogenous? Too perfect? No soul? I think all of these play a factor in our emotional reaction to the town. It is truly a manicured and upscale setting, though. And there's a lot of $$$ there, for sure. I did like the Saks and Nordstrom's, but they're too dangerous! We are on a budget--sort of.
While in Naples, we visited the nearby locales of Goodland and Marco Island -- finding the wild and wacky Stan's Idle Hour on Sunday at Goodland. They have all kinds there, including Stan, who tells very racist and mildly dirty jokes before the band plays. The special dance there is the Buzzard Lope, but we didn't see anyone doing it.
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| What can I say? |
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| Buddy was underwhelmed by the spectacle at Stan's. |
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| The crowd at Stan's seems to be mainly...well, older. Like us! |
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| Stan's bandstand |
Hope you are not snowed in up north. Hear it's a pretty bad storm.
Tanks, Panky
22 inches of snow...and still waiting for the plow! Be glad you are not up north!
ReplyDelete12 inches on the patio table. Hoping for a delayed opening tomorrow. I was sure the woman in the beer glasses was you Laura... I'm spending the day looking at ads for campers. Ah! I can dream.
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