03 The Glades

Wednesday, December 26, 2018
Bounty Lane, Florida, United States
Left Tampa and arrived at Myakka River State Park (SP) in less than two hours. The rear of our campsite overlooked a small estuary where bird watching was a dream. This park has more Alligators and Spoonbills than anywhere else in Florida (so far). Had a great time walking around the limited number of trails provided in the park; it feels good to be outside camping again plus we managed to scrounge a windfall of dead Live Oak branches for fires and later use.
Our plan to camp at Mitchell's Landing in the Big Cypress National Preserve (NP) after picking up Stone Crabs in Everglades City went awry – one of Cindy's friends was on her deathbed so she drove non-stop to Miami while I setup camp at Long Pine Key (LPK) in Everglades National Park (NP). On the sad side, both her longtime friend and another Audubon friend died that night – these things happen in life as one grows older, but it is still a downer.
Unloaded Slider, our camper, from Storm so I can hopefully waterproof it so our bed doesn't get wet every time it rains; time will tell now that the seams have been re-caulked. Most of our time here has been utilized visiting old friends and finishing Christmas shopping. Carol, and her son Nick, from Colorado visited us for a night while utilizing our B&B camping gear; Nick kept a great fire going late into the night and dinner was BBQ Portobellos.
Cindy's kids, Amanda and Zach plus their spouses, rented a huge house in Key Largo; the out-law suite on the ground floor (which floods during Hurricanes) was utilized by Cindy and I while Slider kept guard in LPK. Was lots of fun over the holidays playing with five little ones – I miss my children and grandchildren at this time of year. On the plus side, a video chat to Korea with my Son Aaron, his wife Sue and their son Louis allowed me to welcome Christmas a day early :).
Activities in Key Largo, besides eating and drinking too much, were swimming, hiking in Dagny Johnson Hammock SP and lounging near the saltwater.
Our next adventure will be heading north... Stay tuned...
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Comments

Debbie Bennett
2019-01-02

HAPPY NEW YEAR TOM AND CINDY!

Deb Riley
2019-01-05

Looks like you had a nice Christmas. My condolences to Cindy on the loss of her friends. Great pictures , love the birds! Lots of snow and with the mild temps lots of slush too! Been catching a few walleye through the ice. Will go try some trout fishing one of these days too! Looking forward to more of your adventures!

2025-02-15

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