In the Everglades - #41-08

January 21, 2004 (Wed) Flamingo, FL - Beautiful sunrise this morning! We walked out to the shore of Florida Bay to watch it unencumbered' but it was pretty well gone by the time we got there. The walk was good though and it must have been good for our sore arm muscles. Today was shower day (actually yesterday was) and as invigorating as cold showers might have been we chose to take them on board where there was hot water. After Mark had finished his shower (almost) the well went dry. The indicator showed a quarter tank but it was clearly gone. We had to get dressed and take Q over to the rest room (His, Hers, and It's) area to fill up and dump. Joy had fresh water for her shower.

Mark and Bob went off to dismantle the marina telephone (for emailing) while Joy and Pat battled it out at Skip-Bo. On the way back from the marina they stopped to extend their camping permits - Bob for 1 day and Mark for 4. While at the kiosk a couple rode by on bicycles. Just as they did we heard a loud bang. Both rangers in the kiosk jumped and reached for their guns - not really but it did sound like a gun shot. Apparently the couple had overfilled their bicycle tires and the woman's rear tire exploded - blew it right off the rim!. There aren't many bicycle shops in Flamingo so I guess they'll be walking for the rest of their stay here - she will anyway.

January 22, 2004 (Thur) Flamingo, FL - Since Q is only 21 feet long we were not allowed to camp in the loop with the big rigs that need the pull-throughs. Our site is not too far from that loop, so we were able to watch for Bob and Pat as they left this morning. When we saw them we went out to say good-bye. We promised to stay in touch in case our travels overlap again. While we were straightening up Q and getting ready for another "busy" day the campground host came by and pointed out that we were parked on the grass, against regulations. Mark explained that if we backed up till all Q's wheels were on the pad, our front step (at the rear of Q) would be in the road. They were very nice and agreed that it was a problem. But it was our problem and we had to get off the grass or risk getting a ticket. We turned Q around. Now we step out into the grass and the bicycle rack is at risk of being clipped by passing vehicles. Too small to be allowed where we'd fit - too big to fit where we're allowed! Actually, we're glad to be over here, away from the sound of generators that run pretty much all day in the "Trailer loop".

We bicycled up to the marina to do email, and to shop. A lovely ride - about 3 miles round trip. Almost everywhere we go there is a view of the bay and now that we've turned around it is out our front window. There's a marsh hawk sitting in the tree outside our living room window, and several egrets walking around in the bushes. This morning, down at the marina, pelicans were diving into the water, there must have been something delicious in there.

This afternoon we sat around reading, napping, and struggling with our withdrawal from dominoes.

We also made reservations for our next stop, Collier Seminole State park. Since the cell phone doesn't seem to work here even though it shows signal strength, we biked back over to the marina to use that phone. "When would you like reservations for?" "Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday" "We have nothing available for units larger than 15 feet." (15 feet? most cars are longer than that! I guess they mean bicycles!) Back at Q we decided to find out when we could get in and stay here till then. Back to the marina. Another reservation clerk: "When would you like reservations for?" "Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday." (Doesn't hurt to try again.) "I can get you in Sunday and Monday put not Tuesday." "That would be fine, thank you." Now why didn't the first guy say that!? We can find out about squeezing into one of those "15 foot" sites when we get there - if we decide to stay longer.

January 23, 2004 (Fri) Flamingo, FL - Q's solar panel is doing a very good job of replenishing what little power we're using from the house batteries and we can get along quite nicely without AC power unless we need the air conditioner. But the computer can't. It seems like over kill to run the generator for an hour just to recharge the computer batteries (and it's so noisy in a quiet campground) but that's what we had to do this morning. When we get home, Mark will be looking into ways to avoid having to do that in the future.

The rest of the day we busied ourselves with chores and enjoying this beautiful park. There is no Laundromat here, that we know of, so we replenished our clothes supply (slightly) by hand washing a few things in the bathroom sink. While at the marina picking up our email Mark bought a hat to replace the one he lost in Coot Bay on Tuesday. And Joy bought a sun visor. We spent the afternoon reading, moving periodically to prevent sunburn.

There is a beautiful sail boat with red gaff rigged sails on two masts that goes out into Florida Bay a couple of times a day. We can see it from our campsite. Today we finally had the thought soon enough to get ourselves down to the shore in time to take a picture. But today the captain decided to sail out the other side of the bay! We got pictures but they aren't what we'd hoped.