14 Miami Break

Monday, April 01, 2024
Pinecrest Gardens, Florida, United States
Left Mitchell's Landing by 09:30 in the rain and drove to Costco for supplies where the rain was really heavy. Arrived at Zach and Shari's just after lunch and waited for the rain to stop before disconnecting the camper.
It rained most of Saturday and I spent time clearing files off my PC so I can get rid of it. I also dog sat while Dahlia won her championship game North of Miami. Sunday was another dog sitting day and we prepared for two days in the Everglades with the girls; hopefully the Mosquitoes will be tolerable during our outings. On Monday we shopped for the camping trip with the girls; they decided that they would sleep in our four man tent with Gram while I slept in the camper which sounded pretty good to me.
After a decent breakfast, we loaded up the truck and camper and headed towards the Everglades. Our first stop was Robert's where the girls got smoothies and I had Alligator Gummies (Cindy got a fresh tomato). Although we arrived early, the concession checked us into Long Pine Key (LPK) campground and while the girls set up their tent I disconnected the trailer and prepared my mansion for the night. From there we toured the Visitor Centre and checked out the Anhinga Trail. The water levels are still high (a good thing) but we still saw a Gator which lost a fight (shortened tail), a Black Racer snake, a female Anhinga, some Turtles and lots of fish.
For dinner, everyone made their own Pizza on the BBQ, then made Smores for dessert on our campfire. We all went to bed early before the Mosquitoes arrived; although I wasn't part of the festivities, the girls had a party before falling asleep. For breakfast, the girls made rolls on a stick over a fire.
As an excursion, we headed for Flamingo. On the way down, we made quick stops for a picture of my favourite sign (Rock Reef Pass), Paurotis Pond (no nesting Spoonbills), Nine Mile Pond (no Croczilla) and Mrazek Pond (very few birds) before settling next to  the Flamingo fish cleaning hut for our lunch. This location always has a good breeze; I ate many lunches here with Alice and Louie when I was a volunteer.
At the marina we boarded our boat for the Florida Bay cruise; we visited Murray and Frank Keys where we saw numerous birds, a Crocodile, a Manatee and Dolphins. On a hot day,  this cruise is wonderful and lots of shade is available from the boat's canopy. After our cruise,  we toured the new Visitor Centre which is impressive with lots of hands-on displays, then had dinner at the new restaurant. The food was good and the motel rooms on stilts look impressive. We had a quiet ride back to LPK after a hot day in the sun. After Smores over a fire (Iris and Dahlia showed our German neighbours how to make them), and since everyone was tired we went to bed early just as the Mosquitoes arrived. With everyone tired, little giggling from the tent tonight.
Up super early (06:30), we had more rolls on sticks before packing, reconnecting and leaving. We stopped at Knaus Berry Farms on the way to Miami for Slushies for Iris and Dahlia, sticky buns for the Burkes and Bowers, and lettuce and tomatoes for us; no Strawberries to pick since they were plowing the field when we arrived.
With the Bowers heading to Tampa to visit the Burkes, we get to dog sit for the weekend. We spent most of the time organizing the truck and trailer plus visiting friends; namely: Joe and Georgia at their place and Wendy and Rich at Kennedy Park.
On April Fools day we tidied up loose ends and organized the camper. The girls have soccer practice on our last night; Yukon loves attending these affairs. Tomorrow we start heading slowly North; stay tuned for a couple of new Blogs before returning to Canada. 
Tidbits:
  • Bamboo works well for rolls on a stick
  • Guy Bradley was killed while trying to stop plume hunters
  • Remaining settlers in the Everglades NP were evicted in 1951
  • Wendy's bead works are amazing; the tapestry which matches her homemade quilt has over 30,000 Japanese beads; actual size is about 8.5x11”
SPOT:
  • Zach & Shari’s Pinecrest 2024 03 22-25 & 28-04 01: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=26.55304,-81.29742&ll=26.55304,-81.29742&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1https://maps.app.goo.gl/4QZimbVVCzDA5wPx8
  • LPK Everglades NP 2024 03 26&27: https://maps.app.goo.gl/joZXmUnYBrxcVNG68
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Comments

Debbie
2024-04-02

Love the bead work! I enjoy a lot of hobbies, mostly needlework e.g. Embroidery, needle point, quilting

Danny
2024-04-02

Sounds like the camping trip was fun! Thank you for the sticky buns!

tracy
2024-04-08

Glad your grandkids camping trip was a success! Great memories for them.

2025-02-11

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