Monday, December 10, 2012

Leaving the Florida Keys

Naples, Florida (high 83, low 68)

We were hoping to get in one more day of kayaking on our last day in the Keys, but when we woke up, we could tell it wasn’t going to happen.  There were patches of rain forming all around us.

Soon, this was the view from our windows.

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It didn’t rain all day.  There were patches of sun, then two minutes later it would rain.

On to plan B.

We took a drive to Marathon for a few groceries and then checked out one of the places to view the Christmas boat parade that was to be that night.

We saw this pretty bougainvillea bush that was framing the garage. 

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Since kayaking was out, we did some sightseeing and ended up heading back down towards Big Pine Key. 

In the Keys, a lot of motorcyclist and bicyclists ride the Overseas Highway, which can be up to 100 miles.   On the week-ends especially you will see lots of bicycles and often in large groups. We saw quite a few of them on Saturday, despite the patchy rain.

This was the first time we’ve seen a unicycle before.  Do you think this guy rode the unicycle all the way from Key Largo?

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Not too long after we saw the unicycle, it looked like this.

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It rained so hard that as soon as we got off of the bridge, we pulled over until the storm passed.  We sure felt sorry for all the bicyclists.

Five minutes later the weather cleared up, so we went over to Bahia Honda state park.

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A few lucky people got some lovely waterfront campsites.

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We walked up on the old Bahia Honda bridge. It was built over the old railroad that was built in the early 1900’s.

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We had some lovely views from the top.

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When we went back home, we expected the campground to have been flooded from all the rain, but apparently, we didn’t get any rain in Sunshine Key.

On our last night in the Keys (for a while) we didn’t know if we should go back to the Sunset Grill  or go up the way and watch the lighted Christmas boat parade.

We ended up back at the Sunset and got lucky to see the boats preparing to go to the parade.

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It was another beautiful night watching the sun set over the Atlantic ocean.  We sure are going to miss that place!

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Okay, to all of you who corrected my previous blog when I didn’t know what day it was. Actually, Al had already mentioned my mistake, but when I went to correct the blog, my internet was down.

Anyway, I almost never know what day it is, and it rarely has anything to do with the number of drinks I’ve had the night before. Flirt male

Reluctantly, we packed up and left the Keys on Sunday morning.

Travel day was less than 200 miles, and we arrived safely at Collier Seminole State Park, in Naples, Florida.

We have a nice, but pretty un-level site.   We’re going to stay at least two nights.  We’re on a Florida Panther and bear hunt while we’re here. 

More on that later.

8 comments:

  1. Well you two are very ambitious with your hunt. Hope you see one or both of the two but from a very safe distance.

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  2. I heard the Florida Panthers are protected. Hope you're hunting them with a camera instead of a gun.

    After all, I've heard they are not worth the trouble of eating 'cause the taste like chicken... ;c)

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  3. Great minds think alike. We are also stopping at Collier-Seminole on our way back up the "West" coast....but not until Dec. 19th.

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  4. Good hunting!! I'll enjoy the pictures if you're successful.

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  5. I have a hard time with the day of the week too ever since Craig retired. I keep waiting for Monday!

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  6. Doug worked his last day today. I have 53 more days. Bummer! I am ready to not know the day of the week or maybe even the month!

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  7. When you're retired, it's a good thing not to know what day it is!

    I'm going to miss your photos from the Sunset Grill - they're awesome!

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