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...
Tidbits:
- Dry Black Mangrove burns extremely well – my first time scrounging this hard wonderful wood.
- Great Beer at Spanish Marie Brewery 14241 SW 120th St #109, Miami FL 33186 https://goo.gl/maps/6ys4XE48frj
- Great Mexican food at Los Potosinos Taqueria (aka Prison Taco) 19203 SW 376th St Florida City FL 33034 https://goo.gl/maps/S4Sh55X9vRm
- Good takeout food Maki Sushi Thai 99490 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo FL 33037 https://goo.gl/maps/cTsJcriWzYQ2
- Great Fish by the sea 139 Seaside Ave, Key Largo, FL 33037 https://goo.gl/maps/TfxazcvinnR2
SPOT:
- Myakka River SP 2018 12 02-05: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=27.26219,-82.28735&ll=27.26219,-82.28735&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
- LPK Everglades NP 2018 12 06-26: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=25.39701,-80.65741&ll=25.39701,-80.65741&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1
- 39 Bounty Ln Key Largo FL 33037 2018 12 20,22-25: https://goo.gl/maps/XpF9fL7E4nA2
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!