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.

HYDE PARK, NY AND THE VIRGINIAS

HYDE PARK, NEW YORK and THE CATSKILL MTS.

On our travel south, we are trying to hit some of the high points on our route.  Hyde Park, NY on the Hudson River has a vast historic site cared for by the National Park system which includes (yes, another) Vanderbilt mansion and the Franklin D. Roosevelt home and library.

We took a day to travel around the Catskill Mts., but actually I enjoyed the freshness of Vermont/New Hampshire mountains.  This is about 90 miles from NYC and consequently hosts many visitors.

FREDRICK AND LOUISE VANDERBILT HOME

It is opulent, but the most conservative of the many Vanderbilt family mansions in the northeast.  Many of this 3rd generation Vanderbilts took grandfathers inheritance and spent it on homes, hobbies, and parties effectively using up all of Cornelius's millions.  They never worked to keep the money growing, except for Frederick who continued to run the businesses.  Many of the Vanderbilts simply depleted the fortune and now the current generation actually have jobs.  CNN reporter Anderson Cooper is one of them who is the son of Gloria Vanderbilt, the fashion designer.

The estate employed many servants and farm workers, giving them high wages and health care.  Since the couple was childless, their fortune was given to various children's charities and employees of 10 years or more upon Frederick's death.  Since no buyer could be found for the house, it was sold to the US government for $1.00 and opened to the public in 1940.

Decorating was influenced by Italy and France

The home was furnished with 1 million dollars of antiques.

Compared to other Vanderbilt mansions, this one is considered "conservative".

The location on the Hudson is beautiful and the NYC commute easy on your own train!

FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT HOME

The National Park Service also operates the Roosevelt Home and Library.  We took the tour of the home, saw the Library, but decided to skip Eleanor's home simply because we were worn out.  She lived there when her husband took on a mistress.  The Franklin home is an inviting place, however it was owned by his mother, and Eleanor, Franklin's wife and 5th cousin, never felt it was hers.  She and  Franklin are buried in the gardens.

The Library focuses on the social and economical times of Roosevelt just prior to the Depression through W.W. II.  There is so much information to take in and appreciate.  We have noticed that the National Park Service tour leaders are experts in their subjects and were history majors in college.

The front of the house is far from the road, but is on the Hudson like his neighbor Vanderbilt.

This is the rear of the house.  Children and grandchildren spent their lives here.

The home is very large, but with cozy rooms.  

The library.

Franklin's modest bedroom.  The King and Queen of England had a similar bedroom when they visited.

This man keeps following me and jumps into my pictures.

Our trip south routed us to Hershey, PA simply because neither of us have been there.  The amusement park was closed but there was a HUGE antique auto show which we had no interest in seeing.  After an hour, we were on our way to West Virginia.

We took the tour, did some carbohydrate loading and got back into the truck.  Actually the treats were great and reasonably priced.

HARPERS FERRY, WV

Red dot marks Harpers Ferry

The area of southern Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia are so full of history, we could have stayed a month.  This fall we are on a time table so we are stoping at famous or recommended places.

This husband and wife team are the interpreters in the dry goods store.  She made her own costume with a sewing machine from that era.

Since I like to sew, this machine is intriguing.  It only creates a chain stitch.

The National Park has only a small part of Harpers Ferry.  The remaining is a functioning town.

We happened to arrive fairly early.  In an hour, the streets were full of people, hikers, bikers and dogs.

This mountain overlook is across the Potomac River and is a 2.5 mile  hike to the top.  The mountain is in the state of Maryland.

View from the mountain pictured in the above photo.

Most of the town has been destroyed many times by floods, but has always come back.  However, at its peak, the population was 6,000 people and included a much larger area.

What made this piece of land so important, before and after the Civil War, was location.  The Shenandoah  and Potomac Rivers meet here as well as many railroad lines.

This is another National Park.  We love visiting National Parks because they are so well run, have great rangers who know what they are talking about and, because of our age, we have a senior access pass.  Nearly everything is free or at reduced cost.

 This is John Brown and Civil War territory.  I knew the two subjects were linked together but it was fascinating to hear in detail how this tiny town started the Civil War.  Because of little twists and turns of the events, John Brown's intentions as an abolitionist have been questioned.

MONTICELLO, THOMAS JEFFERSON'S PLANTATION, Charlottesville, VA

This is actually the back of the house where the shuttle bus drops visitors off.

This is the picture that everyone recognizes of the home.  His 11 grandchildren played in the front yard.

We had a tour of the first floor of the home, but a tour of the upper stories may be arranged.  It is booked out for many weeks.  The tour was a bit disappointing, because we only learned about the individual rooms, not the man who built it.  Perhaps that was because once the home was finished, he only resided there about half his remaining life.  The most fascinating tour was entitled Slavery at Monticello.  Even though Jefferson was a 2 term president, he owned 120 to 140 slaves at any given time, but only freed 5 male slaves in his will.
The most interesting story was about Joseph Fossett, one of the five freed slaves.   Edith, his wife, was trained in French cooking and traveled with Jefferson when he served 2 terms in Washington, D.C. to cook at the White House. On Jefferson's death, Edith and the 6 children were not freed, but were sold along with the rest of the property and slaves, to pay Jefferson's debts. Joseph worked for 10 years to purchase his family and reunite them.

Sally Hemmings was the controversial slave who had children with Jefferson.  Actually, she was a step sister to Jefferson's wife and is another branch of this entangled family.  To this day, some of the Jefferson clan do not accept the Hemmings.  Much is written about the Jeffersons and Hemmings and worth devoting months of reading to.

These gardens were planted just below the slave quarters and fed the family and all the people who worked at the plantation.

Mulberry Road was just up the rise on the left.  All the slaves lived in the many small cabins which lined one side of the front lawn.

This escavation is still being carried out at this building site on Mulberry Road.

Thomas Jefferson died on July 4, 1826 with over a $100,000 (1826 dollars) in debt.  All land, home, furnishings, and slaves were sold except for a small family cemetery plot of which is at Monticello.


On to Charlotte, NC to see family and have some good times.  Also on the schedule is our first Airstream rally in Cleveland, SC