Columbian Drug Lords Visit

Sunshine Key, Florida  (high 79, low 69)

It’s still windy here, so no kayaking.   We’re running out of time, so I hope the wind lays down soon.

There must be a Newmar rally here because a few days ago,  they started rolling in.  Yesterday three brand new (and apparently for sale) coach’s came up and parked next to us.  They are from North Trail Rv center in Fort Myers, Florida.  I believe they are just here for display because no one is staying inside.  I wonder if they are giving tours?   They sure are pretty and shiny.

The other day, we noticed our Newmar neighbors took off in their car.  A few minutes after they left these 4-5 men walked over to their campsite and were all over their motor home.  Then they started posing for pictures around the motor home. They would put their arm up and lean on the coach, like they owned it.  We had just seen the owners leave,  so we knew it wasn’t them.  We kept an eye on them, wondering what they were up to.     Al decided to go outside and let them know someone was watching.  As soon as he stepped out the door, they came up to him. 

They didn’t speak English, but somehow conveyed to Al they were from Columbia.   Then one of them let Al know they wanted to come inside and look at our home.  No, I don’t think so!   We ended up taking a picture for them on their i-Pad,  of them in front of our coach.   They walked around a bit more, inspecting other motor homes.  I don’t believe they knew the rule about not walking into someone else’s campsite.   We joked after they left, that they were Columbian drug lords, but I guess if that had been the case they would have had their own motor home….and probably a bigger and fancier one than any of ours.

Paul and Marti inspired us to do some geo-caching today.   I guess we’ll take our gps, books, and chairs and find a nice area to do a little reading and geo-caching.   One thing I like about the Keys is that you don’t have to pay to park at the beaches, or bridges.   Other than some paid parking in Key West, everything is free. 

Long Key State Park

Sunshine Key Rv Resort, Florida  (highs 77, low 69)

Clouds and scattered rain showers were predicted yesterday, so we decided it would be good day for a drive up to Long Key State Park.    It’s at mile marker 67.5, so it was less than 30 miles.  We always enjoy driving on the overseas highway, so it was a nice drive, despite the cloudy weather.

We camped at Long Key State Park several years ago.  The price is $33 a night, plus tax which brings you to over $40 I believe.

These sites fill up 11 months in advance for the winter months.  Once in a while you might find a cancellation, but for the most part they will be full from January through March.  Yesterday, there were plenty of empty sites, but the ranger told us they only had 2 empty sites for the week-end.

All the sites are waterfront and are on the Atlantic side.  There is no real beach and not a lot of sand due to the shallow shoreline here in the Keys.  If you’re looking for miles of white sandy beaches,  then the Keys will disappoint you.     

There is a lot of sargassum grass offshore in they Keys and it does come ashore, covering the little sand on the beaches.  It is kind of stinky, so when you’re driving around in the Keys and smell and odor, this is probably what it is.  It’s a good thing though, because juvenile fish and turtles use it for protection.  I’ve also heard it makes into a “tasty” tea to reduce phlegm.  I can’t say I’ve tried that though!

 

The main road is paved, but the sites are all sand.

There are quite a few smaller tent sites and many larger rv sites.  A 40 footer could easily fit into most of these.

The sites have 30 or 50 amp electric, and all sites have water.  No sewer.

The sites have the power and electric sharing between two sites.  The even sites have the power/electric on the left as you look at the ocean. 

If you have a motorhome and pull in forward (which I recommend) then the power is on the correct/left side.   If you get an odd site, the power would be on the right side as you face the ocean.   My advice is to bring a power cord and hose extension, because your hook-ups will likely be further away than in most campgrounds.  The connections are closer to the water than the road…for some reason.

There are three nice bath houses with showers, but  we didn’t see any washer/dryers.   The campground (like most everything in the Keys) is right off the main highway.  You will hear some road noise, but the view is worth it.

After we left Long Key, we went up to World Wide Sportsman, which is similar, and maybe owned by Bass Pro shops.  It’s a very nice store, with lots of interesting things.   We only ended up buying a bag of kettle corn. 

There is a restaurant and marina next door.  We caught these guys at the bait shop.  There was live bait swimming in the bin they were sitting on.

Of course, we had to get some pelican shots.

We stopped at a dive shop, then K-mart and headed home.  We got a bit of rain off and on and lots of clouds, but nothing too strong.

We still haven’t had a good day to kayak.  It’s been pretty windy every day, so we’re finding other things to do.  For snorkeling, diving and kayaking, the winter is pretty “iffy.”  We hope to get back down in April.

The plans for today haven’t been decided.  Tune in tomorrow.