Hollywood Beach

North end was beautiful and mostly vacant

As much as I enjoy being out close to nature, relative quiet, seeing the moon and stars clearly at night, and wildlife sightings, I can also appreciate going in to the city, with its different sights and sounds.

I spent the last four nights at a nice county park in Hollywood, between Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Yesterday I took a bus to a park at the beach and took a long walk down the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk (yes, this spelling is correct).

This wide pedestrian and non-motorized vehicle path alongside the beach is lined with parks, bungalows, apartments, hotels, beach shops and eating/drinking establishments. Its only flaw is that it's not dog friendly. It made for great exercise and people-watching, with liquid rewards on the return trip. A great way to spend a sunny afternoon!

Margarita Time!

Wild and Scenic Loxahatchee

Yesterday I think I dropped the best-spent $16 of my trip so far. I rented a kayak for a couple hours here at Jonathan Dickinson State Park and went up the Loxahatchee River and Kitching Creek. I wish I had photos to share, but I won't take my phone/camera out where I'm concerned I can't keep it dry. It was a beautiful 75 degree day, and Kitching Creek is too shallow for motorized vessels, so it was calm and peaceful.

I ended up taking basically the same route at the same pace as two other kayaks and two canoes, and the nine of us had a fun rapport going up and down the creek, testing out the best pathways thru the vegetation and pointing out the wildlife as we spotted it. There were manatees, an alligator sunning itself within what was certainly and thrillingly striking distance of the narrow creek, turtles, several raccoons that had come down to the water's edge to forage (how can they be so adorable out in the wild, yet such a menace too close to the house?), and countless birds of many varieties. The further up the creek, the swifter the water, and it was fun to play around up and down with the current. I had asked a ranger about the advisability of using my own inflatable kayak, and they mentioned there were a lot of sticks to be concerned about in places. Good advice--I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun as I did in the rental.

The day before, I had taken a guided boat tour farther up the Loxahatchee to Trapper Nelson's cabin. Trapper Nelson was at first, and in the end, sort of a recluse, but for many years in the 40's and 50's he made a good living and his reputation as a legend charging a fee to people who wanted to see how the man lived a subsistence life along the river in the wild, selling what he'd trapped and grown, and displaying local exotic animals.

Trapper Nelson's cabin with hurricane log inscripted to the right of the door.

First home the trapper built on the site

The trapper had many display cages, labeled with the types of animals they held.
Sometimes he'd take them out to play and pose for photos with them.

At Jonathan Dickinson State Park, the Hobe Mountain lookout tower
is on the highest elevation point in southern Florida, at 86 feet

How the other half lives.
View from the tower of the InterCoastal Waterway and the Atlantic.

Before going the Jupiter area, I had gone into the Everglades National Park with the intent on a quick stay at the Long Pine Key Campground, which I hadn't been to. However, the campground was full so I made a snap decision to make the long drive down to the Flamingo Campground at the southernmost part of the Florida peninsula. I'd been there last year and it's beautiful and interesting (and horrifically buggy).

Crocodile or gator? This one's a croc, but Flamingo is rare habitat to both.

I don't know why I'm thrilled to see grey blobs in the water,
but a manatee sighting is always great!

Goodbye to the Keys

After four-and-a-half relaxing weeks in the Florida Keys, I'm headed back to the mainland. It's been wonderful. I've kayaked a lot, tried stand-up paddleboarding a couple times, got bit by a fish, and met a lot of people here. Key Largo is a great place to paddle because there are a lot of protected "trails" that are closed to motorized traffic.

You can head out for a short paddle or a long one, but the real interesting view is looking into the water at the fish, because the trails all pretty much look like this, surrounded by the mangrove:

At the campground, I had a lizard friend at my site:

Charley liked the close quarters here, so he could snoop on the neighbors. (I prefer more space and privacy, personally).

All in all, it's been a great stay in paradise!

Relaxing in Conch Country

After leaving Key Largo, my adventure driving the 100+ mile length of the Keys was punctuated by a blustery drive over the Seven Mile Bridge. When I was first dreaming about visiting the Keys, I was intrigued by picturesque blue-sea photos of the bridge like this:

Photo credit Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

Unfortunately, my experience was creeping along in this:

I was lucky it wasn't worse. After I got across the bridge and set up at the next campground, the National Weather Service issued a Tornado Warning for the area I had just been through, indicating that a tornado had been spotted in the Middle Keys. And when I met my campground neighbor, he told me his daughter had left from a visit, drove across the bridge at about the same time I did, and a fisherman's five-gallon bucket blew away from him and got lodged underneath her pickup. She had no choice but to keep driving across the length of the bridge with the bucket dragging along underneath. There's really no good place to stop and there was little visibility that day. It's a two-lane highway with on-coming traffic - the other bridge in the photo is an old, out-of-service railroad bridge. Glad I made it without incident.

Bahia Honda State Park

As I had been researching where to stay in the Keys last winter, I quickly learned this is the primo spot to stay. Florida State Parks reservations can be made up to 11 months in advance, and this park is generally fully booked immediately when openings come available. Fortunately for people like me who don't plan that well, you can take advantage of cancellations and take what you can get. Last year I wasn't able to stay at Bahia Honda, but this year I got a three-night reservation during the term I'd be in the Keys. Best of all, it was in perfect timing to avoid driving back and forth unnecessarily.

On arrival it was easy to see why the park is so popular. There are several different beaches, several campgrounds (the nicest of which are in low-clearance areas only accessible for tent, hammock and van campers), a marina, watersports tours and rentals, and an old bridge you can walk up and out onto.

Unfortunately, waterfront sites are not available to people traveling with pets. I stayed around the corner.

Low-clearance camping out on the point on the Gulf side

A highlight of my stay at the park was a kayak trip. I put lifejackets on Charley and me, and set out towards the bridge. I hadn't explored much of the park yet, so I was going in and out of all the nooks and crannies. When I got close to the bridge, I realized there were several people fishing off the bulkheads, and to stay out of their way, I was going to have to paddle out farther away from shore than I prefer when alone.  I went out and under the bridge and was watching the fishermen, when all of a sudden a large billfish leaped out of the water, arched, and plunged back in, maybe just 20' away from me in my inflatable kayak. Without thinking, I exclaimed, "Wow!," and one of the fishermen laughed at me, his eyes as wide as mine, and he gestured how large that was. It was thrilling and made me feel extremely vulnerable at the same time, out there in the Atlantic. I went in and rested on the shore awhile before heading back out under the bridge and towards the Gulf side. I'll try to keep the rest of my kayaking to shallower, calmer waters, closer to shore.

Weather wasn't great but I did love the layers of greens, blues and greys

Key West

I spent about a week in Key West. Again, the weather wasn't perfect, but there were a number of good days. And at least in Key West, there's plenty to do even when it's raining.

The day I went to Mallory Square for the sunset celebration was a fortunate one. The weather had been good, but then it looked like the next storm was coming in. The clouds ended up enhancing the sunset nicely, though.






The place I was staying was about five miles from Duval Street, the seaport and downtown areas, so I relied on the city bus. It took some time, but it was better than fighting to find a place to park an RV in such a congested little city, and it allowed me to fully enjoy my trips to town!

What're you doing? Let's go!

One of the smartest purchases I've made in the last couple years has been a collapsible dog carrier that most buses and airlines will allow pets to travel in. Key West is pretty dog friendly, so I took Charley along with me all but one day. One of the nice things is that this carrier folds flat when not in use, and I can just sling it over my shoulder while the dog's walking on a leash. Charley hops right into it, because he knows it means he's not getting left behind.

Fort Zachary Taylor State Park

On my last day in Key West, I drove out to the southwest point of the island to see the old Civil War-era fort and beaches there. What a beautiful, relaxing day.

I wasn't the only one enjoying the beautiful Sunday. This view was from atop the fort.

I got lucky when I went through the fort. A volunteer was giving extensive history to another tourist nearby, and offered to take him back into a powder magazine that was blocked off with a "hazardous area" sign. He looked around and said, "Anyone else want to see an area that few people ever get to access?"

Of course, I did. By the light of our cell phones, the three of us went through a labyrinth that was designed with nooks, crannies, false floors and ventilation to ensure that if there was a blast, the rest of the fort would not be damaged. It was pretty cool!

Curry Hammock State Park

Now, in stark contrast to the private RV park in Key West, where vehicles were shoehorned in close quarters, and even my skinny motorhome had palm trees brushing against both sides when the wind came up, I'm in a quiet state park outside of Marathon in the middle of the Keys. I've got an expansive site, bordered on three sides by enough trees and bushes to obscure view of other campers, but the foilage is low enough that I get plenty of sun. Perfect for the week I'll be here! Looking forward to exploring another place that I haven't seen before now.

Remembering Steve always, but particularly today. 

It's been two years now.

Made It to the Florida Keys Again!

I'm in a happy spot, at Key Largo with a rum and juice drink, relaxing just after sunset. The weather's a little drizzly off and on, but it will improve. Charley has continued to get better and my check of the red tide hotline indicates that I shouldn't need to worry about him at the beach here. I'll have him kayaking before long, with his life vest on, of course. Life is good!

What's a trip to Southern Florida without a stop along the Tamiami Trail for a gator sighting? Didn't stay long enough to get a good pic, so this'll have to do.

Buccaneer State Park

Moving along the gulf, I'm now in Waveland, Mississippi, at the Buccaneer State Park, which had been devastated in Hurricane Katrina. Today it is mostly rebuilt, and beautiful and calm (for now). While in New Orleans I had a tornado watch, which made for a not-so-restful night. My emergency management experience ensured I made a plan for what I'd do if it became a warning. Stormy weather is expected to come through again, but it doesn't sound like the area I'm in will get the extreme storms other areas north of here have experienced. 

Right now I mostly hear birds of several varieties and the occasional plop of a fish jumping. Seems I've landed in "no-see-um" country too. 

It was a short and nice drive from New Orleans. I took the local highway, alongside and across the waterways. The view was varied with well-built-looking houses perched high on stilts, lots of pull-offs with people fishing at each one, a number of rotting boats carelessly tossed alongside the highway by previous storms, beautiful egrets almost as numerous as the seagulls back home (and roadkill ranging from bear to armadillo to domestic dogs. Looks like Louisiana doesn't bother with highway cleanup in the area.) Traffic was so light I could slow down to soar alongside and admire a hawk for some distance. 

Charley had a vet check today, and she was satisfied with his progress. He celebrated with the longest walk he's taken so far post-illness around the RV loop. When he's going at a good pace, it's a challenge for me to keep up, and that's such a great improvement. He doesn't have long-term stamina, but that will come in time.  

Charley's Getting Better

Bored & ready to play ball again

I've been in New Orleans for the week of Christmas and Charley, my dog, is getting better each day. He still has an extreme palsy that prevents him from fully controlling his limbs, but he can stand up when he wants to, and until he becomes exhausted, he can walk in a staggering fashion. He's getting bored with the sedentary life. When he has the energy he even tries to run, which often results in him going head-over-heels, either forward or backwards. I try to find a good, soft lawn for his outdoor time.

I haven't spent as much time exploring New Orleans as I had originally expected because of the dog not being well. There have been a couple times that I've put him in the carrier and taken him to Frenchmen Street or Bourbon Street or people-watching along the Mississippi River and outside of Jackson Square. He's small, and over my shoulder, the black bag doesn't attract much attention. In places that have music and don't sell food, I just bring him right in and set him on the floor under my seat. I can't tell if he likes live music as much as I do, but I know he likes to "get in the box" and go places better than being left alone.

A highlight of the visit is that Cheryl Armstrong, who I used to work with, came down to New Orleans from Baton Rouge with her father and we spent time walking and wheeling around the city.

Itinerary: I've got a follow-up appointment for Charley with a veterinary neurologist on Tuesday, then I'll be motoring eastward around the Gulf. New Year's Eve will be in Biloxi, Mississippi and a couple days later I should be on Florida's Emerald Coast.