Crazy Canadian's, but in a good way!

Our Florida campground would be a lot quieter if it wasn’t for our Canadians. Not that I’m complaining, they’re not wild and crazy, but they clearly come here for winter with a "have fun" attitude.

Just this week we were witness to two displays of their exuberance for life.

Every Friday a makeshift band (Jammers as they are known in the campgrounds) performs here at Southern Comfort. It’s actually pretty amazing how these amateur musicians become a band in a few short weeks.

The 2018 Southern Comfort band

One of the interesting things about their performance is the varied genre of songs, this years band plays Pop ballads from the 70’s, classic country, song’s sung in French as well as English and even teen Tragedy songs from the late 50’s/early 60’s. When was the last time you heard “Patches” sung by a County Rock and Roll French Canadian American band?

Our Canadian neighbor Susanne

Every year on Fat Tuesday the campground hosts a Mardi Gras parade. I suspect most of the costumed participants are our neighbors from the north. They’re just having too much fun to be American!

Jell-O Shooters for everyone!

One of the parade members was handing out “Jell-O Shooters” When I told Millie that a Shooter had vodka in it, she said “Oh good, I’ve never had one, it’s another thing I can check off my bucket list!”

Good girl gone bad!

Bits and pieces

Millie just read the blog posting and reminded me that I didn’t mention the nice restaurant on Marathon were we had lunch during our Keys tour. Its called the Sunset Grill and sits on the southern tip of Marathon overlooking the seven mile bridge. We ate there several years ago and I don’t remember it being this nice, they must have remodeled it. 

At the Sunset Grill in Marathon Florida

It is an open air restaurant under a large tiki hut style thatched roof. We had a table overlooking the swimming pool, which by the way, we thought was an odd location for a pool. While a few of the bathers were visually scrumptious, most reminded you to at least look at the lite fair section of the menu! 

Seven Mile Bridge

We did have an excellent view of the seven mile bridge and the surrounding waters. Note: the section of the old bridge that is used by walkers, bicycles and fishermen is being repaired and not open to the public. I don’t know how long it will be before it is reopened.

Poor Maggie is not having a good winter. She’s no longer bike riding and we have stopped her swimming pool use.

Some of you may remember when she was a puppy I built her a sidecar for my bike. She seemed to enjoy that and we pedaled several hundred miles around the campgrounds of Florida, lights flashing and bubbles streaming out the back. 

Maggie and the sidecar circa 2010

I took the sidecar out of storage last winter, reconditioned it with new paint, lights and bubble machine. Maggie didn’t like it, she went along with my foolishness but I could tell she didn’t like it. When we got back to Myrtle Beach I gave the bike and sidecar to a local Shriner who is going to use it in parades. 

Maggie and the sidecar in 2017

This winter, undaunted by Maggie’s antipathy for the sidecar, I rigged a basket to the handlebars of my beach bike, Millie made a pillow for it and we assumed the family would be pedaling around the campground together, albeit without the lights and bubbles.

Maggie doesn’t like it. We’re not sure why but we’re not going to force her to ride, she now watches us from her window on the world (the dashboard of the motorhome) You might ask how I know what she’s feeling, after nine years together we have kind of an unspoken language. I can usually pick up on visual cues and know what she wants or needs. 

Maggie and her swimming pool

The swimming pool is the opposite emotion for her; she is obsessed with looking for bubbles in it and will walk around in the shallow water for hours. Unfortunately in the past year she has developed a persistent skin rash. We have been to the vet several times for it and we thought we had it cleared up but it has reappeared. We had our wonderful veterinarian (Veterinary Clinic of Myrtle Beach) send a prescription to the Costco down here and we are working to clear it up again. Thinking that Maggie being wet for hours might be a contributing factor we have put the pool away. And thus was borne the phrase, “not a happy camper!”

ZooMiami

I’m not sure what’s happened to the blog; I’ve started writing many times and always end up deleting the post. Nothing I write seems to be blog worthy anymore; maybe it’s just run its course.

We’re still in south Florida, Millie said this is our fourth year staying here at Southern Comfort RV, I think it’s only our third. We have had the same neighbor from Canada every year; they’ll be back again next year, as will we. 

We still go to the gym four days a week, this week on our day off, we visited the Miami Zoo. Like a lot of south Florida, they are still repairing damage from hurricane Irma. They didn’t suffer the devastation like August 1992 when Andrew just about destroyed it. Most of the Irma damage appeared to be trees blown over; many of them have been pushed back upright and are supported with braces.

The zoo animals are contained in large natural settings, usually with a mote and/or a shock fence to keep the them in their designated areas. There are no animals in steel cages like zoo’s of my youth. This means the zoo covers a very large area, it is over 300 acres all total. 

So if you visit here, you better have your good walking shoes on, because you will walk many miles on the paved trail through the habitats. Your only other options are renting a 2 or 4 passenger pedal car or taking a guided tram tour. The monorail which was destroyed in Andrew is back in service but it really doesn’t offer a good view of most of the critters. It’s just a good way to move from one section of the zoo to another. 

Photography club from a local school

Most of the animal residents are endangered in their natural environments, almost always from loss of habitat and hunting when humans move into their neighborhoods. The other reason is more troubling, that is poaching to profit from selling animal parts.

 I try to keep the blog topics light and it’s usually when I venture into controversial subjects that I end up deleting the whole thing, but our zoo visit has left me with a nagging question. Is it ok to keep animals in these artificial environments just for our amusement? The zoo supporters say we are saving them from extension. While these chosen few creatures are safe, putting animals on display in the “civilized” world has done absolutely nothing to stop the destructive nature of man.

It’s a conundrum, I don’t have any answers.

Short visit to the Keys

It’s hard for us to believe, but January is almost over. We’re kind of surprised the time has passed so quickly because we haven’t really done much while waiting out the winter here in south Florida. 

This past Wednesday we finally took time from our busy schedule (that’s a joke folks) to ride down to the Keys. We were curious to see what damage was done by the Hurricane Irma. Irma was the Mega storm that had the whole east coast watching its path and hoping it would not hit them. The September storm cut a swath thru the Caribbean islands before turning north and taking aim at Florida. 

Here in the campground we had heard descriptions of “Complete devastation”, very few businesses left running and all the hotels on Key Largo wiped out. Next we were told all the businesses are going broke because there are no tourists. The only way to know the truth was a road trip to see for ourselves.

First a disclaimer, we only drove halfway down the chain of islands and did not go past Marathon. The eye of the storm hit the lower keys between Marathon and Key West. 

Sombero Beach in Marathon still being restored

Not to discount the personal tragedy of those who did lose their property to the storm, the keys have survived. We did see evidence of a lot of storm damage and there’s still some debris being cleaned up. We saw some businesses closed, but most of the structures survived, in fact I think there are more roofs still covered in blue tarp here in Homestead than in the Keys. 

As you would expect most of the structures that were lost were waterfront and hit by the storm surge. The newer homes built to hurricane code all seemed to have faired very well. We saw several trailer parks that some of the homes closest to the water were destroyed and all the ones several streets back are ok.

My last boat was like the one in the background

At the southern end of Marathon the Knights Key RV Resort is completely gone, but it had nothing to do with the storm. It is another campground that is being replaced with housing. There will probably come a day when there are no RV parks left in the Keys, the land is just too valuable. 

Knights Key Campground being redeveloped as condo's

The road is open, send the tourists, Life goes on in the Keys. 

You just gotta love South Florida in a winter like this!

Sunday January 23 2017

We have been in south Florida for almost 3 weeks and I have nothing blog-worthy to write about. This is odd and somewhat troubling because while I’m not an eloquent or skilled orator, Millie says when I write I can turn driving directions into a chapter of “Gullivers travels!”

As I’ve said many times here on the blog, there is not a much in south Florida except good weather. Just like the rest of the continental US it has been cooler than normal here, 50’s at night and barely breaking low 70’s during the day. That cold snap appears to have broken and we are experiencing warm nights and day time 80’s. I hope the polar vortex will continue to swing north for you folks as well. 

YMCA

Millie and I continue our gym routine, but have dropped Planet Fitness and just go to the Y. We started going to PF on Mondays and Fridays for exercise. On Tuesdays and Thursdays we went to the Y where Millie did Yoga or aerobics classes and I did my gym regiment on the machines and weights. We can do it all at the Y and it’s a lot closer to the campground.

I got to spend a couple hours in heaven last Saturday, no I didn’t have a near death experience, I went to the Miami Gun show. I bought a couple accessories and got a good deal on some reloaded ammo. I can burn thru some ammunition at the gun range and the next time my son comes to town we will shoot the mini 14. It will really spit out the brass, so I took advantage of the sale and stocked up.

As far as projects go; I have waxed my truck and installed a tile back-splash in the kitchen of the motorhome. I am planning on waxing the motorhome but can’t seem to get started on that. Millie is working on a quilting project, she has the material cut and is ready to start stitching it all together.

We watch old DVD movies most every night, Netflix or Prime movies burns thru our Verizon data plan and the campground Wifi is overburdened and slow. We buy the DVD’s at flea markets and thrift stores, usually for a dollar or two, three is the most I will pay.

If there is one thing I miss about home, its cable internet. We rarely watch network TV at home, instead we watch Netflix or Prime. We like British TV shows, especially the detective shows, PBS specials, and movies. 

Here’s a strange TV ritual Millie and I have, at home the last thing we watch every night is a Youtube video of Merle Haggard’s two son’s Ben and Noah performing one of his hit’s, “The running kind.”

That’s all for now, just wanted to let you know we are alive and well!

Our winter home

Orlando TT to Southern Comfort RV Park

We’ve settled in at Southern Comfort RV Park in Florida City. This is the third winter we will spend time this far south in Florida, we will stay here for January and February this year. Florida City is as far south as you can go on mainland Florida, pass our campground and you will be on the causeway leading to the keys.

Just between you and me, the Florida Keys are way over rated. Monthly rates for RV sites are four and five times what we are paying in Florida City. That’s not to say you shouldn’t go there once, everyone should explore this wonderful country of ours. So belly up to the bar at Sloppy Joes, watch the sunset at Mallory Square, swim in the clear water, tell them Larry sent you!

Southern Comfort looks the same as last year; they had very little damage from Hurricane Irma that I can see. We were concerned about the new gambling establishment that has been built in the field behind our site. We haven’t been bothered by any noise yet and they have installed a fence between us. We will miss being able to park our truck behind the motorhome and walking Maggie in the field, but that’s the way it is. We have the same Canadian neighbors we’ve parked next to three years running, we’ve also seen several other snowbirds from previous years here.

Jai alai court behind our campsite in Florida City

Today was our first Saturday in south Florida and we went to the Spanish Market in Redland. I don’t really know what the proper name is; I think it might be the Redland Market. We call it the Spanish market because that is the predominate language spoken there. It is all open air with vegetable stands, flea market with new and used item vendors and outdoor cafes, all offering Hispanic foods.

On the way home from the market we had an early dinner at a Mexican Restaurant we saw earlier. The El Santo Coyote is in a tired looking walled complex, the area inside the wall obviously used for music venues with café seating; it didn’t appear to have been used in a while.  The restaurant was decorated with the typical Mexican theme, tile floors, Hispanic art, brightly painted wooden tables and chairs, like the courtyard it looked a little worn and we thought we night have made a mistake, but we ordered anyhow.

Boy, were we pleasantly surprised, complimentary chips and salsa was delivered to our table but our waitress created the salsa right at our table. She mixed all the fresh ingredients in a mortar and pedestal, both the implements made from volcanic rock.  She quizzed us about any questionable ingredients to find out if they would be to our liking. The result which was served in the rock bowel was a perfect medium heat. It was the perfect appetizer to our burrito and enchilada meals.

Dave and RaeAnne, we also got a side serving of the chef’s hot sauce that was pretty near Horseman’s Haven HOT!

During our meal Millie was serenaded by a singing guitarrista. I think he was Cuban but he sang a Mexican song because it was our first time in the restaurant. I think that’s what he said anyhow. His performance was most entertaining; he actually was a polished professional. I don’t know how they talk and roll the R’s off the side of their tongue, let alone sing and do it! 

Cantante y Guitarrista Melanio Benitez

Florida bound

Brown line=Day one, orange line=day two

We left home at our usual 9am on the morning of December 17^th. It was a little faster getting out of town now that we live on the south end. We took our preferred leisurely route down rt 17, used the bypass around Charleston and continued on rt 17 to 1-95 just a ways up from the Georgia line.

We took I-95 thru Georgia, stopping once at flying J for fuel. It was a Sunday so traffic was light as we took the beltway west away from Jacksonville. Exiting onto I-10 west for a few miles and then 301 south to Starke Florida. We like to stay at the KOA there because it is right on our route and has long pull thru sites. We can park leaving the truck hooked up behind the motorhome, do a minimal setup and we’re in for the night. In the morning we can be on the road in minutes, but it’s always 9am when we get going, don’t ask me why, it’s just always 9am?

We driven the center of the state on local roads many times to get to our timeshare campground near Orlando and always enjoyed the more relaxed pace. The last few years it seems there are an ever increasing number of traffic signals and congestion. I’ve started bypassing Ocala, the villages and all the smaller towns further down in favor of I-75 and the Florida Turnpike. We rejoin highway 27 a little ways north of Clermont and it’s a short drive to the Thousand Trails RV Resort, Maggie and I will stay here till New Years Day. 

Our campsite for two weeks at Thousand Trails CG.

The family was together the first week, Millie and I just taking it easy while Maggie rejoiced in being able to swim in her pool again in warm sunny Florida! On Friday I delivered Millie to the Orlando airport. As many times as we’ve done this we still don’t like being apart, but her daughter and grandkids are in New Mexico and it’s Christmas, so fly she must. 

On her way to New Mexico

I usually have a project or two to keep me busy for the week but after the busy summer and fall, I didn’t do much of anything all week. That is other than my main job of entertaining one very spoiled Dachshund, she’s nine years old and still acts like a puppy, chasing tennis balls, destroying stuffed toys and of course swimming in her pool.

The campground survived hurricane Irma pretty well, the big issue was water intrusion at the Recreation center. It was closed and not expected to open until some time in January. Maggie and I rode the bike around the sprawling 800 site campground every afternoon and only saw one person we knew. Ed Bibey is a retired electrician from Chrysler, he and his wife spend their winters at the Thousand Trails Resort. Funny, at this point in our lives, we mostly talk about people we know who have died or are sick.

Maggies new basket on my bike

The week went by fairly quickly and soon I was at the airport retrieving my wife. We got back to the motorhome about eleven at night and you’ve never seen such an excited little dog. Maggie went through her “happy to see you” dance for several minutes after seeing her mom!

We spent the next couple days doing routine stuff and getting ready for the next leg of our winter journey.

Oh, one last thing, here’s one of those “you gotta love it “moments. While Millie was gone, I was strolling thru the aisles in Lowes and found a good deal on a compression tool for PEC fittings. (PEX is the flexible plastic pipe used in all home construction nowadays, it is also used in Recreational Vehicles except they use threaded fittings. Of course I bought the tool, it was on sale and I may need one some day. Several days later a plastic fitting for the shower broke in the wall of our motorhome. Not able to find the threaded part at any of the local RV stores and not willing to wait for an ordered part, we went looking at a hardware store. I found the fitting made of brass, the angle was right and the mounting boss could be made to work. One end of the part had the needed ½ inch pipe thread and the other in PEX. But it was the residential crimp PEX fitting. Well Gee, who do you suppose just happens to have a tool for that behind the seat of his truck. Like I said, “You just gotta love when a plan comes together!”