Day Trip to Sanibel

The last few days have been pretty laid back, mostly hanging around the campground, doing laundry, reading, and napping.  Rough life, huh?  The Blue Crowned Conures visit nearly everyday, as do lots of other birds.

One afternoon we went over to the Ft Lauderdale river-walk along the New River.  When I read about it, it reminded me of what MetroParks was trying to do with Dayton's Riverscape.  It was a nice mile long walk along the river, with a (closed) history museum and the area's oldest residence (also closed).  There were quite a few restaurants that looked like they were hurting for business (but open), as well as a place for concerts, a few water taxis and fishing boat companies.  It also looked like they were preparing for some kind of haunted house thing for Halloween.

It was a beautiful day and we saw some huge yachts coming and going, as well as about 6 or 7 big iguanas along the riverbank wall.  That's not something you would see in Brookville so I got a kick out of chasing them around trying to get pictures of them with my phone (dumb me, I forgot my camera)  The way they run gave me a good laugh!

 

 

This guy wasn't the least bit afraid!  I got this close with my phone camera!

I think he put the stink eye one me!  pfft pfft!

 

 

  I wonder if this awesome chandelier will fit in the trailer?

 

We took a walk down Los Olas Blvd, with lots of upscale shops and restaurants and art galleries.  I couldn't resist and bought this cute blouse at the Betty Page store (I LOVE the bird print on this), and bought some good smelling soap at another shop.  I was amazed at how many people take their dogs out to eat with them.  Guess its a rich lady thing.

On another day one of my facebook friends, who I haven't actually seen in person in 24 years, messaged me to say she would be in Sanibel this week and would we be able to drive over to see her?  Well who can say no to an old friend?  Who can say no to a road trip to Sanibel Island?  Not me!  So yesterday we drove the 2 1/2  hours across alligator alley (I75) to meet her at the Sanibel Café.  (They have the most amazing almond French toast!).  I was afraid I might not recognize  her after all these years, but once I laid eyes on her of course I did!  She hasn't changed a bit!

We enjoyed our breakfast and then went over the condo where she and 6 of her girlfriends are staying.  We got changed and headed out to the beach, and Noel thought he would head over to the Ding Darling National Wildlife area.  Surprise! Due to the government shut down, the nature reserve was closed, but that didn't stop tourists from taking pictures with the "closed due to government shutdown" sign.  LOL

Renee and I took a walk down the beach and back, then I headed into the water to cool down.  I felt what I thought was a piece of seaweed across my thigh, so I brushed it off and then felt like a thousand needles stinging me.  In all the years I've been going to various beaches, I've never been stung, but I guess my luck ran out.  Fortunately, it only hurt for about a 1/2 hour and Mr. Safety had some pain reliever spray in the first aid box, so he fixed me up!  That Noel, always prepared!  He's so efficient.

After dropping Renee off, we headed to lighthouse beach for a short look to see if I could find a wentletrap shell. You KNOW how I love me some wentletraps! It didn't take long to find one and we headed back onto the alligator alley after a bite to eat.

 

The sunset was beautiful as we drove back, and we even saw a huge alligator on the highway. A police officer was directing traffic around it, I guess until a wildlife officer could catch it and take it back into the swamp. Cool!!

 

 

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Miami Heat!

We continue to have a good time here in Miami. Our son Jason invited us to see his apartment where we hung out at his pool and then he and his girlfriend Katie fixed us a wonderful dinner. We’ve been to Jason’s restaurant (he is a manager at Tijuana Flats) where we got first class service and have gotten together just to hang out. It’s been great to be able to see him and spend some time with him. We are breaking new ground (new for us anyway) in building a relationship with our adult son and adjusting to seeing him as the awesome man he has become. He has matured and grown so much since dropping him off here for college 4 years ago. He’s a college graduate and a hard working, loving and honest young man. Noel and I can’t help but high five each other on occasion - we did it!! Yay us!! J

This is Jason and Katie’s 20^th floor apartment in North Bay Village - he has a great apartment with an amazing view - no wonder he likes it so much here! His pool was like some Vegas hotel’s pool, overlooking the Biscayne Bay. Mama might need to stay a while!

 

Oh, and they have a pet snake!  Good thing I like snakes!

 

He and Noel went car shopping together - another great father/son bonding day. Jason traded in the 2003 Saturn we bought him back in high school for a 2012 Toyota Scion. He test drove many cars and worked out his budget on his own and had his own down payment - Noel was there only for a 2^nd opinion and did end up having to co-sign, only because Jason has no real credit history in his own name and Noel was able to get a much better interest rate. I wish I had been there to take pictures - buying a car all his own could have been one last scrapbook entry under “Jason’s firsts”!! LOL His baby book goes to year 25 - that sucker is HUGE!!

On the days we don’t see Jason we’ve been hanging out in the trailer, reading, laying by the pool, or doing some exploring on our own.

One afternoon we went to the Sawgrass Outlet Mall - I really tried to just window shop because there is very little room in the trailer for new stuff - but who can resist $7.50 pajamas and an easy, breezy skirt for $10?? Not me, obviously. 

 

We also went to the fancy mall here called Aventura Mall. When I say fancy, I mean F-A-N-C-Y! There is a caviar bar kiosk in the center aisle, steaks and sushi in the food court and a Louis Vuitton store. I drooled a little on a leather Michael Kors purse and I may or may not have peed a little when I saw some $1600 Louboutin shoes on sale for a mere $960. That’s 40% off! I’d be the queen of the RV park! I settled for my favorite Origin’s body moisturizer for $32. I’ll at least be the smoothest, best smelling woman at the RV park!

One afternoon I got itchy to make some jewelry from some of the new things I found at the bead stores previously mentioned.  Yes, they are for sale - feel free to inquire - two are vintage glass, one is a beautiful greenish turquoise and then some beach glass.

 

Yes, they are for sale - mama needs gamblin' money. 

There is a Wizard of Oz penny slot machine calling my name!!

One afternoon we went to the Gulfstream Casino - I played a Wizard of Oz penny machine and won $75!!  Which meant we were ahead by $50 - we took the money and run!! (by run, I mean we walked really fast!!)

 

It kept going and going - I WON 7500 pennies!!

Today we drove to Delray Beach for an art festival. It was a beautiful, sunny day to most south Floridians - to us, it was a steam bath at the gates of Hell! No, I didn’t throw a bucket of water on Noel - we were both this sweaty while everyone else walked around dry and cool as a cucumber!

 

Yes, that's sweat!  Yes, its THAT humid here!

 
 
We didn’t buy anything, but there was lots of pretty things to look at - I can’t believe I’ve turned into one the customers I usually hate at art shows. A “looker”!! Sorry artists - maybe next time, when I don’t live in a 275 square foot sardine can!

 

Delray Beach Art Fair

　

Miami is SICK!

Noel was feeling somewhat better, so we got a few hours of driving in.  The weather was terrible and we saw quite a few accidents, including someone pulling a trailer similar to ours.  We got off the highway near a town called Mimms, and found a small campground called Crystal Lake.  It was small, but looked clean and the owner, Wendy, was a sweetheart.  She and her sister recently purchased the place and were making improvements and renovations.  She made us feel welcome and we parked under a small orange tree and called it home for the night. 

To my delight, there was a sandhill crane just walking around the campground and didn't fly away when I got close to take a picture.  Wendy said he hangs around the campground daily (she named him Joey) and loves to be fed bread.  So I fed him a slice of bread and he took it right out of my hand.  (I know, I know, bread is bad for wildlife, but come on, when do you get to see a sandhill crane up close??)

The following day we finished our trek to Miami and made our way to a KOA in Davie, Florida.  What a dump!  The hookups were on the wrong side, the grass needed mowed and was full of sand fleas (which my feet and ankles are still itching like crazy from), the shower house ready to fall in.  We unhooked, but the more we looked around, the more we said we just couldn't stay there, so we hooked back up and were pulling out of the drive.  KOA can keep our $44 deposit and their sand fleas.  The campgrounds in and around Miami are pretty slim pickin's - guess most snow birds avoid Miami, and rightfully so. (the traffic here is RIDICULOUS!)  I found a place called "Paradise Island RV Resort" about 20 miles up the road, so Noel drove there.  This place is no paradise and no island, but the showers are clean, the pool is nice and the price is reasonable.  Home it is.

So now Noel is feeling better, but still have some intestinal issues (Kaopectate cocktail anyone?) and I have a terrible sore throat.  We did get to see Jason and his girlfriend for dinner (a great place called Rosie's Bar and Grill).  Mostly we've been resting and drinking Nyquil.  We were excited to find that the library is less than a mile from our "paradise island" [sarcasm], but for a non-resident of Broward County they charge $50!!  We were so disappointed because we've both been reading a lot, and I can't seem to get the Dayton MetroLibrary's website to work with this wifi, so I can't even get more books for my Kindle!

I was sitting outside today (napping) when I was awakened by a lot of squawking.  A flock of about 50 birds (I thought they were parrots) were in the tree just outside the trailer.  How fun!  Turns out they are Blue Crowned Conures!  (by the way if you click on any of the pictures in this blog, it will make them bigger)  There were at least 50 of them! 

Also, when we were tearing down in Savannah, Noel saw this adorable frog!  He was only about an inch long and blended in with the sand so well he was really well concealed.  Noel said he was up on our water hookup pipe.  Awwww - I wuv him!

I also went to SuperKutz for a haircut.  It looks a bit like it was cut by Edward Scissorhands and its WAY too short, but at least it's out of my eyes and it will be cooler.  The humidity here certainly lives up to what they say about Florida - yikes!

Tomorrow is Jason's day off and we have plans to go to the beach with he and Katie.  Saltwater is supposed to be good for a sore throat, right?  Here's hoping!

Historic Savannah

Friday brought us down to Savannah, Georgia.  This was a place I wanted to make sure we visited, because anyone that I've known to visit Savannah has raved about it.  We arrived to the Savannah South, KOA in the late afternoon, so I took some time to stretch out in the pool and took a walk around the campground.  There is a large lake on the grounds, with lots of geese and swans, and its nicely shaded, which is good, because its very hot here.

The weekend forecast was sunny on Saturday and rain Sunday, so Saturday we drove to Tybee Island.  We had a hard time finding parking, but at last found some metered parking on a side street not far from the beach access.  There were the typical beach houses, vacation rental homes with board walks out to the beach.

 The water was much less turbulent and the perfect temperature, so it took me no time at all to kick off my shoes and head for the water.  Noel was a little slower to get in, so when I looked back to see if he was following me, he was still only ankle deep.  I waved, he waved.  I got into a conversation with some local kids, so in a few minutes I looked back to the beach to see if Noel was making progress in getting into the water.  He was walking back to the truck.

I stayed in the water a while and then made my way back to the beach to bask in the sun.  I had received a text from Noel.  "Something stung me on the top of my foot.  Hurts like hell.  I'm fine in the truck.  Take your time".  Only Noel could be stung by what we later figured must have been a jellyfish after two minutes in the water.  When we were in Hawaii, he had taken 5 steps into the water and stepped on a sea urchin.  I'm beginning to understand why he's not a beach person.

I on the other hand, had a great time soaking up some sunshine and breathing in the salt air.  Afterwards we had an overpriced, mediocre lunch in one of the tourist trap bars while catching the outrageous score of the OSU Buckeyes!  O-H

On the drive home we stopped at a National Historic Site called Ft. Pulaski.  It was built during the American Revolution and last used during the Civil War.  It was very well preserved, and the craftsmanship to build it was amazing.  It was quite educational...

 

 

 There was even a zombie pigeon!

Sunday we drove into Savannah and took the Old Towne Trolley Tour through the historic district.  It was a well narrated tour that you could get on and off of, giving us time to explore things we wanted to see more close up.  Like Paula Deen's restaurant, Lady & Sons.  We had the lunch buffet for $15.95 and the food was very good, but nothing so special that I would go back.  It was typical southern fare - fried chicken, collard greens, creamed corn, lima beans, fried cornbread, etc.

 

Maybe we should have eaten at "Anna's"...

 

 

 

 The homes were beautiful - the architecture true artwork, but what really made the area special were the 22 "squares" that Savannah is famous for, and the gorgeous live oak trees dripping with moss.

 

My favorite was the John the Bapist Church....

 

 

Stunning...

 

By the time we got back, Noel wasn't feeling well and we were both really tired.  By 10 pm, Noel was feeling really bad, and by midnight we knew he obviously had the flu.  He was too sick to drive today, so I caught up on laundry and housekeeping and we both slept and rested all day.  Hopefully he'll be well enough to drive tomorrow and we should be seeing my darling baby boy, Jason, by the end of the week.