Thursday, November 29, 2012

Change in Plans

Ohio Key, Florida   (high 77, low 71)

Tuesday we spent at home.  Al worked around outside, cleaning out the truck and a few basement compartments on the motorhome.  I did a little laundry and some much needed cleaning.   I can’t go long without a good vacuuming…thanks to the little fuzz butts.   In between our projects, we did some walks around the park and  along the bridges.   It was a good day.

On Wednesday morning,  we did a 4 mile walk up to the road and along the bridges.   The Florida Keys are just a series of islands with bridges from one to the other.  We walked off our island/key,  along the bridge to the next key and so on.  We walked part of the Seven Mile bridge.   The walking bridges are the remnants of the old bridges, so you have no traffic. 

IMG_6572

We like to look into the water and see what’s swimming by.  We’re still watching for the Spotted Leopard rays that we saw all the time last spring.  Maybe this is not the season for them.  It was a bit cloudy in the am, but the sun finally came out later in the afternoon.

 

After our long walk, we came home cooked some sausage (vegan)  grits and fresh squeezed grapefruit juice for breakfast.  After our big breakfast and our walk, we decided a short nap might be in order.  Smile

 

Later in the afternoon we took a drive up to Marathon Key and did a little exploring.  It’s just over the 7 mile bridge.  

We found beautiful Sombrero Beach.

Sombrero Beach, Marathon

It’s a beautiful white sand public beach.

On the way home, we stopped at the local Publix for a few groceries. We have been pleasantly surprised to discover our favorite vegan brands, even way down here in the Keys.

We came home and sat outside and read our books for a while.  The temperature has been perfect.  It’s cool enough at night that you can keep the windows open with no a/c, and a blanket feels good.  It’s warm enough during the day that you can wear shorts, but it’s not too hot to be uncomfortable.  It is a tad chilly for swimming and snorkeling though.

We decided to walk around the campground, but we didn’t get too far.  We ended up visiting with some neighbors a few spaces down.  They are Andy and Helen, who are work campers here at Sunshine Key.  Boy, were we interested in knowing how they got this gig! 

Afterwards, we went for a sunset walk to the marina.

sunshine key sunset

After our walk, we came home, and made some spaghetti with “meat” sauce. 

All you vegans out there,   if you haven’t tried   Light Life Products,  you might want to give them a try.

We used the vegan ground beef for the first time.  We just mixed some of it in our Prego Roasted Garlic spaghetti sauce, and boy was it good.  The “ground beef " had the same texture and flavor as real ground beef.  It’s made from soy, so there is no fat.  I really don’t think anyone would know they weren’t eating ground beef.   It’s also much easier since you don’t have to brown the meat and then clean up all the excess grease. 

We also use their vegan sausage and find it quite tasty as well.  We’ve come to trust this brand, so we’re experimenting with more of their products.  We bought some “bologna” but haven’t had the nerve to try it yet.  It doesn’t quite look like bologna.  It only cost $3.00 so we decided if we didn’t like it we could either feed it to the cats or toss it out.  We like their vegan hot dogs when you slice them up , brown them and mix them with beans.  We haven’t tried them on a bun. They look just like real hot dogs.  We figured if we could eat the crap that’s in real hot dogs, we could certainly eat these.

It looks like our plans for the month of January have changed.  We were planning on coming here to the Keys around the middle of the month.   When I went to make the reservation, they were booked.  We were a bit disappointed, but after we got to thinking about it we decided we really like it better here when it’s a bit warmer.  We had such a great time last March and April, so I think we’ll  try to get back down then.

In the meantime, we needed to find somewhere to go in January.  We decided on Kissimmee Prairie State Preserve.   The reservation is made and we’re looking forward to it.  Hey….we’re nothing, if not flexible, right?

14 comments:

  1. all plans are usually set in jello...we love not having to be structured unless we want to :)

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  2. What a great way to see the area but walking the bridges. We haven't been there yet, so we will live through your adventures. We hope to do that area next winter.

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  3. Its nice that you plans are written in jello like ours. We found it a bit cool in the keys as well, even cooler here in Alabama, but looks like we will be here for a while yet, membership parks here make it very reasonable for us. Enjoy Kissimmee.

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  4. We were in the Keys in November the year we were there and it was beautiful. This November our good friend Paul was down there and he said he was wearing a jacket cause it was so chilly. I am going to Trader Joe's, hopefully, today and try some of that "beef". I want to make a taco soup recipe that it might work in. I'm still not too sure about this.

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  5. It is too bad your plans for January didn't work out as you originally had planned, but it is probably for the best weather wise.

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  6. We've never been to the Keys but those walking bridges sure sound nice. Great header pic!

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  7. We've been to the keys twice, both times in the summer months which is great! I wish you would have come here for a month or so, it's really a nice park and we would keep you busy if you so desire. At least come for a visit.
    Adelaide Shore RV park, Avon Park, FL

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    1. We will do that one day. I'd like to see your park. I think this winter we'll stay in Quail Run...at least most of the time.

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  8. Karen, what store do you use to get those products? Is it Whole Foods or just a regular grocery?

    I cannot believe how great this plant based diet is! Thanks for all the great recommendations.

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    1. Nan,
      I have found these Light Life products in regular grocery stores. The three stores I normally use all have them. I was surprised to find such a good selection here in the Florida Keys, but here they are.

      We just ate a frozen black bean burger tonight. It was yummy, although not strictly vegan as it had small amounts of cheese and egg...but very good. Light Life products again, but these were in the frozen section.

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  9. That sounds like a fun hike:) It great to have the flexibility to change plans at any time!

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  10. Wow, those bridges look great. We will have to check them out. We plan to do some day trips to Kissimmee State Park so maybe we can do a kayak trip or hike together some day. It would be great to meet you! Have fun and travel safe. Judy & John

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  11. I'm enjoying your Keys photos. I think I saw that same Iguana last year, lol. I haven't made any reservations for the Keys. Guess I better get busy. I guess it will be in December if possible.

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