QC31-05 And Key West

January 22, 2013 (Mon)  Big Cypress National Preserve (4) 64/74° - We have encountered a rare species - a 5th wheeler who is not addicted to his generator. It's been our experience that where there's a 5th wheel trailer there's a  generator standing guard. Some folks are more courteous about when and how long they run them than others but run them they do. We've become more tolerant in our old age but we still prefer the the songs of birds and the wind in the trees to the drone of a generator (or loud radios) when we think them unnecessary. The folks with the big Montana with 3 slide-outs who came in next to us Saturday afternoon and left this morning never ran a generator at all! Evidently some 5th wheels do have batteries after all.

And speaking of batteries, our new ones seem to be doing a great job of hanging onto the charge given them by the solar panel each day. We've been here 4 days now without electric hookup and they don't yet really need to have a boost. We ran Q's generator for a while this morning more to exercise the generator than to recharge the batteries (thought it didn't hurt) because there was no one anywhere near us to hear it.

January 23, 2013 (Tue)  Big Cypress National Preserve (5) 59/72° - Why anyone would make a conscious decision to move to the Miami area is beyond comprehension. We didn't actually go into Miami, we had no reason to and it was probably full anyway, but skirting it on the major highways was bad enough. One has to assume that people are still moving there because the roads are being made bigger and bigger to accommodate them. What a nightmare! Even Hildene (our GPS) which we updated just before we came south had a hard time keeping us from getting lost in the tangled roadways. A sign for one road we were supposed to take read "Davies Rd has been moved". That was helpful! Where did they move it too? California?

In spite of the problems getting there we had a wonderful time with Dorothy, Joy's quilting buddy. After lunch at Sweet Tomatoes, a fresh salad buffet, she and Joy perused a great quilt shop in Margate and talked quilts until we had to again tackle the traffic to get home.

January 24, 2013 (Wed)  Big Cypress National Preserve (6) 59/74° - Windy and a bit on the chilly side this morning. When it's sweatshirt weather in south Florida, it must be really cold back home. And from what we hear on the news, it is - we hear maybe even sub zero in New York.

Smoke from the prescribed burn in the Everglades was coming closer all afternoon. It finally got close enough so that we thought it might be interesting to go up to the main road to see what was going on. It turned out that they were about to set fire to the swamp right across the road. It's amazing how hot a "forest" fire gets! And how high the flames. We could see the glow, and even flames, from the campground well into the evening. The smoke made for a beautiful sunset.

January 25, 2013 (Thu)  Big Cypress National Preserve (7) 55/76° - Another relaxing day sitting around and looking forward to our adventure in Key West.
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January 26, 2013 (Fri) BCNP (8) Monument Lake to Key West, FL (204/204 miles) 53/74° - We got off in Lamont under clear blue skies. It was a little on the chilly side but we had been promised that it would warm up - and it did. By the time we got to the laundromat in Homestead, shorts and t-shirts were plenty warm enough.

Several years ago we started down the road connecting the Florida archipelago intending to see Key West. We wisely turned back thinking it was really too far for a one day trip. It's a long, often slow, albeit interesting trip. Today we got to the Key West Naval Air Station gate at about 4:15 where we called Jim and Lois to escort us onto the base. After settling into our typical (less than luxurious yet totally adequate - it had electricity, a shower, and a comfortable bed) military housing apartment quarters we headed out to the Sunset Lounge on base for grouper sandwiches and to watch the sunset. When we got there, we found that they had run out of grouper - somebody said it was that the chef walked out - and would have to settle for hamburgers (huge with a more than adequate portion of french fries). After waiting in line at the bar to place our order, they announced that they had just run out of hamburger meat too! with the person in line just ahead of us getting the last order! So it was onion rings and beer. We got some great pictures of the Key West sunset though.

January 27, 2013 (Sat) BCNP (9) Key West, FL (2) - This morning we walked over to the tourist area of Key West - which was about what you'd expect a dense tourist area to be like - and boarded one of the "Conch Trains" - an ATV type vehicle dressed up like a steam locomotive pulling 5 small (15 seat) observation cars. The "engineer" gave us a running commentary of the history and architecture of Key West and pointed out the homes and hang- outs of some of its famous residents - John James Audubon, Harry Truman, Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Buffett etc. This was a good way to get a quick education.

Lunch was Cuban sandwiches - similar to a sub but toasted on flat Cuban bread with special spices. At 1:30 we boarded the schooner America 2.0 (2 masts, 107 feet long and a crew of 3, normally 5) to race 3 (at least) other schooners and a ketch in one of the Key West Classic Regatta 2013 races. We won by a good margin even with a show-off "360" half way through the race. Interestingly, like Bill and Gail's sloop Regalo, the America 2.0 has no shrouds supporting its masts.

In the late afternoon, we wandered one of the many (throughout the year) street craft festivals. We found the work of the craftsmen and women from all over the country, even as far away as California, of excellent quality. In talking with some of the vendors we learned that the response and sales have been very good. I guess they would have to be to justify enduring the logistical problems of getting inventories to a venue as remote as Key West.

On our way back to the base (walking) we got to the fish market 15 minutes after the kitchen closed. However, they were kind enough to cook up some Hog Fish for us to take home. Delicious!

January 28, 2013 (Sun) BCNP (10) Key West, FL (3) - This morning we drove over to one of the two fabric stores (and the only one that could remotely called a quilt shop) in Key West. It was closed! This is Sunday. Duh! So we decided to hit the fabric printing place. That one would be open for sure, it's in the middle of the tourist area. It's been closed for five years!! Oh well.

There are many art and craft galleries. So after getting lunch at the Wine & Craft Festival site near the base (more Cuban sandwiches) we wandered through three of them and took the tour of the Audubon House and gardens. John James Audubon never lived there. Although he is rumored to have painted some of his famous bird renderings from the upstairs balcony this apparently is not true either. He often stayed there as a guest in the home, though. It has been called the Audubon House for almost its entire existence - much to the chagrin of the Geiger family, owners of the home until it was turned into a museum.

Too tired from two days of constant walking to do anything else, we ordered in pizza and ate "in quarters" highlighted with much talk and discussion on many interesting subjects.

L056966 US Naval Air Station, Key West, FL (x3)
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January 29, 2013 (Mon) BCNP (11) Key West, FL to Monument Lake (193/397 miles) - We left the island of Key West at about 9:20 this morning expecting intermittent delays and stoppages along the 109 mile 2 lane road (the only road) connecting the keys and the Florida main land. None developed and by 1:00 we were at the Homestead Race Way gas station refueling. 4 1/2 hours isn't bad. Thanks Jim and Lois for the opportunity to finally see the fabled Key West and for a wonderful time and stimulating conversation.

We found Q completely unmolested in his site here at Monument Lake. We wonder if anyone even knew we were missing for 3 days.

L057159 Big Cypress National Preserve, Monument Lake CG

January 30, 2013 (Tue)  Big Cypress National Preserve (12) 73/82° - This has been a day to rest. Tomorrow we're off to Jonathan Dickinson State Park on the Florida east coast for a couple of days then out into the Kissimmee prairie.

Q087389 Monument Lake CG, Big Cypress National Preserve. #2 $8 dry (x12)