CENTRAL FLORIDA

November 2015

From the beautiful Florida Keys, we traveled up the eastern shore of Florida to Vero Beach and Sebastian State Park.  We do our research when we choose a place to camp for a week, however we never really know what kind of a jewel we will discover.

The biggest attraction for this area is the FISHING.  The state park is located on a barrier island next to the ocean.  But there is also access to the Indian River which runs between the main coast line and the barrier island.  I tried to convince Denny to go 1/2 day fishing in the Keys where the going rate is $45 dollars. Much more around this area however.  That was a deal.  At Sebastian, anglers line the shores just about anywhere that a line can touch the water.

Another  name for this area is the Treasure Coast, not for its beauty, but actually for the millions of dollars in treasure that the ocean has revealed over the past 300 years.  A hurricane in 1715 sank several Spanish ships full of gold and jewels off the coast heading for Spain.  Treasure hunters are always present trying to find riches especially after storms.  A few weeks ago, someone found 5 million dollars in gold coins not far from here in 5 feet of water!  The state of Florida gets 20% when treasure is found in the ocean.

Museums exhibits of wild life, treasure, and fishing history dot the coast line.

I think this will be a destination for next year.  The heat has been excessive and the area is known for "no see um" bugs, however we will be better prepared. The biking has been extensive and fun filled along the coast on A1A.

There's a treasure hunter now.

View from our internet cafe at the beach.  Not a bad place to work.

ON TO ORLANDO (and a real bath tub!)

A trip was planned months ago to again visit Disney World in Orlando, staying in a 3 bedroom condo for a week.  We bought Disney Florida resident passes last spring and wanted to make sure we got our value out of them.  The Grand Beach is our favorite condo because it is close to the parks, sports 2 warm pools and lovely playgrounds.  Our son Pat and his family arrived midweek so you can imagine, we had long days of fun at the parks.

Magic Kingdom

Animal Kingdom is by far my favorite park as you can see from the shots below.

Cam watching elephants

Playing the drums.  It appears we are the only visitors, but that was not the case.

One of the stars of the bird show.

They look very bored (except for the 2 wrestling youngsters ) but the trainer said they take life easy and are generally at rest.

SEBRING AND LAKE PLACID, FLORIDA

Now this was a new travel/camping experience for us.  We made arrangements for Thanksgiving week in a private campground which sounded wonderful and highly rated.  When we arrived, we found we were checking into a 55 and Older community.  Sites consisted of manufactured homes, trailer and a few RV sites like ourselves.  At first we were skeptical, but we found it very much to our liking.  Buttonwood Bay is well established with people flocking here for decades.  The park has 2 huge recreation halls, 2 warm pools, plenty of activities all day and evening and a little lunch spot staffed with volunteers.  We feel like were are at camp!

Waiting for our lunch.

Thanksgiving with new friends.

One of the streets at Buttonwood.

People take late afternoon rides along the lake in golf carts with their human and animal companions, ride bikes and walk and swim.  No one forgets that coffee and donuts are served on Mondays and Thursdays.  Sebring and Lake Placid are fun little towns in the area to visit.  Sebring hosts a car test track open to the public and Lake Placid has at least 30 large murals on the side of buildings around town. Below are just a few of them.

Crop that man from the mural!

You can keep as busy as you want here, but the friendliness of the people and the security of the park are why people come once and keep returning every year.

Tomorrow, on to the Ft. Meyers Beach area the the Gulf.

   

A BREAK IN THE TRAVELS BEFORE THE KEYS; KAY LARGO

CLEVELAND, SOUTH CAROLINA 

We had a wonderful experience when we met up with 118 fellow Airstream rigs at the Alumalina Rally in Cleveland, SC in view of Caesars Head State Park.

A day before the rally was set to start and another 50 rigs are still expected.

We met so many people who enjoy camping and traveling like ourselves.  Some are full timers and some are still working and can only get out on the weekends, but all were excited about welcoming newcomers.  Many experienced campers shared their wisdom about Airstream care, camping and caravan travel.  Open House Saturday featured remodeled, renovated and vintage Airstreams. Trips are scheduled by a host of volunteers to places from Alaska to Newfoundland.  The entire excursion is planned like any other tour, however your accommodations are trailered behind you for this adventure!

Notice the mountains in the background.  That area is Caesars Head State Park, no camping but lots of hiking.

View from Caesars Head looking at the gathering Airstreams.

These beautiful South Carolina mountains are getting us ready to see the Rockies this spring.

What a location for a church!

FLORIDA KEYS

It was back to Charlotte, NC for another short visit before traveling to Florida.  We did make a short visit to Cocoa Beach simply because we wanted to see the area.  Our stay was extended by one day so we could see a rocket launch which appears to be an important event here.  We, however, were less impressed.  After the launch, people sped away to other activities and so did we.

The speck of a rocket was so small, we hardly realized it went up.

We landed a day early at John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo, Florida.  A more southernly location would have been preferable, but we took what we could get.  Reservations for the Keys fill up quickly 11 months before you want to vacation there.  But the park is nice with opportunities  for snorkeling, a trip in a Glass Bottom Boat and of course, warm temperatures and beach sitting.  It is just a little far away from other interesting locations.

Forty Five happy people came on the boat, but only 4 remained that way after the tour, Denny being one of them.  The rest of us were sea sick

We were expecting a little more color and it was interesting.

  One of the highlights was a trip to KEY WEST to experience the architecture and history.  The area was very prosperous before the 1929 Depression, but poverty stricken afterwards. It did come slowly back, but a variety of hurricanes delayed the steady progression.  I thought it was a a beautiful little city with  small darling homes everywhere.  However, we missed the celebrations that would "make a sailor blush".  I guess we better keep looking for our piece of paradise.

Metal roofs limit wind damage. 

It is typical to have the underside of the porch painted sky blue.

Roosters roam the streets, descendants of famous cock fighters.  They help control the bug issue.  But they pause, as shops close, for the nightly gathering to watch the sun set.  We had a long drive ahead of us, so we left early.

They freely roam all over.

Sunset location is a beautiful plaza.

Art galleries are everywhere.  Here is that pesky man again trying to relieve this woman of her bag of groceries!

 We had the opportunity to stop and visit with family who live in Marathon Key.  David and Jo Grego welcomed us into their home for a lovely supper.

The Gregos, O'Rourkes and the extended family.  Dave is holding a smaller black poodle.

Back north we go to Sebastian State Park, Atlantic side.  We have left the mountains behind, and for the next 6 weeks, we will see nothing but water.