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November 1 to 15, 2010 November 16 to 30, 2010

November 14 to 16, 2010

The next few days a pretty relaxed. Some pool time, some biking and reading.
We found this very small flea market close by.

Do I look happy or what!

A few photos of the RV resort.

About half of the resort has permanent mobile homes.

The water is really warm in the pool. Lots of reading and soaking.

There are a lot of salamanders. Good they eat bugs.

Tomorrow we are leaving for Miami.

Wednesday November 17, 2010

We left Tampa by 9 am. Today we are taking the I-75 going south. We have a lot of ground to cover, over 425 km. The I-75 is a nice interstate with some traffic, but it moves at a good clip. We had a little bit of fog close to the coast, but it lifted quickly.

It is hot today, +28 C and the sun is shining through the windshield. By 11 am I have to turn on the generator and use the 2 "house" air conditioners to cool the motorhome. The truck AC is not powerful enough to cool such a big "box".

We have to go through the Everglades, but we are taking the county road vice the interstate. More chances to stop and see stuff. We are only 2 or 3 feet above the water. My GPS is a little confused, it thinks we are 10 feet below the water!
So much life in the everglades, birds and fish, but no alligator yet.

You are never higher than 30 feet from the water in the everglades.

I do not know the name of the fish, but you can see a lot of them.

Our next stop is at the information center of the park.
So many alligators!

As we get closer to Miami we see this sign, really?

I just love it.

It was a long day driving, specially with traffic. It still went really good.

Thursday November 18, 2010

Today is a relax day. We are staying at the RV park.
The park belongs to the county of Miami-Dade. This means the employee are city employees. They are really nice, except one. It is a very clean and beautiful park. It is hard to believe you are in the city limits. Right behind us is the Miami zoo. Best of all, no highway next to the park.

The sites are not too tight.

We purchased wheel covers for the tires. This will protect them from the hot sun of Florida.

The trees are kind of weird, the roots are exposed. I imagine some are underground.

The pool is nice, but not heated. For us Canadian, the water is nice, but for the Americans, it is cold.

Very nice RV park.

Friday November 19, 2010

We are visiting the Fruit & Spice Park today. It is not very far from the park. We are right at the edge of the city and within a few minutes we are in the countryside. Lots of farms. Lots of strawberries, avocado and palm trees.

Once at the park, the gentleman at the gift shop is not very happy looking. We book a guided tour of the park.
As we are waiting for the tour to start, who do we see coming as a guide? The same gentleman from the gift shop!
We are only two for the tour. A few minutes later, 2 more people joined us for the tour. The tour train can take up to 50 persons. Our guide turns out to be very good and interesting. He takes his time to explain everything, he is in no rush to get done. The park covers 35 acres. It is a tropical garden and it contains over 500 varieties of fruits, nuts and spices trees. The trees come from all over the world.
The tour was supposed to last 45 minutes, but we had over an hour tour. The guide did not even look once at his watch.
He is probably one of the best guide we ever had so far. We highly recommend this visit.

Baby bananas, the extension with the fruit coming out of the bottom is called the "Hearth of the Banana tree".

Me and Michèle with the banana trees.

Remember, just 4 of us in the train.

The trees behind the fences are all poisonous. Some are even hallucinogen.
They are legal to have in your backyard!

This tree is from the Paskitaniees and India region. I cannot remember the name, only his nickname, " Midnight Monster".
It got this name for a few reasons. First, when the wind hits the leaves at night, it makes a very scary sound. Second, when it is windy, the long leaves at the top touches each other and they sound like swords fighting. And for last, when a branch falls down, it dries and turn white and looks like a humane bone.

This tree comes from Australia. The little fruits are used to make wine. It is a very particular fruit, like a cherry, it tastes different for different people. For me, it tastes sweet and for Michèle is tasted sour. Weird!

This fruit is called Carambola or star fruit. Really good. Me with other fruits.

We finished the day with some shopping. It is hot outside, +29 C.
Now, thats an ornament for your home, an elephant!

Dealership have to build up because the price of land is too expensive. We have seen so many different hubcaps here!

A really nice day today...

Monday November 22, 2010

We did not do too much on the weekend. We went to see the latest Harry Potter movie.
Today we are going to Key Largo just to have a peek and see what is there.

On the way out of the park.

My big sunglasses.

Most of the homes have these wrought iron doors, is it to protect themselves?
Is the crime rates so high here?

On our way to Key Largo we have to cross this turquoise bridge, kind of cute. It is summer colours.

We shopped in an outlet store for sandals and came out with less money in our pocket.
A good place, lots of choices and in large quantities.

So many buildings with murals.

Tuesday November 23, 2010

What? Another day resting! Why not!
More photos of the RV park. It may look tight, but it is not.

Our backyard. Pretty isn't it?

Just enjoying life.

Wednesday November 24, 2010

Miami Beach here we come!

Downtown Miami.

The hotels you see in the distance are right by the beach.

Our destination, Miami Beach.

This tree covers both lanes of the road.

On our way to the beach...

Not too crowded, but after all it is not the holidays yet.

The water is warm, even Michèle is even going in!

Sunny, white sand and not too many people, great!

Time to get back home. The I-95 is not to busy, but it will change quickly. Shortly after we were stuck for over one hour in traffic. We were only 50 klicks form home!
I think rush hour is only 20 hours a day in Miami.

We really liked the beach in Miami Beach, but less the rush hour.

Thursday and Friday, November 25 and 26, 2010

Thursday is Thanksgiving day for the Americans. the start of a long weekend.
I would like pizza for diner tonight, but no pizza places are open!
Fast food restaurant are not open, but family/sit down restaurant are! So no pizza for Denis tonight.

Friday is Black Friday, the kickoff for the Christmas shopping in the US.
It is crazy in the stores on Friday, but some pretty good deals!

Michèle is always on the lookout for unusual stuff as we drive around. Cool bike!

You have to have palm trees. We are in Florida after all!

As I mentioned before, this is Black Friday and the deals are everywhere. Michèle got the last season of the TV series Smallville for only $9.99. It was $48.00 regular. What a deal!

Speaking about unusual stuff, this camper took a "kitchen sink" camping!
And they are using it!
Now that is unusual.

Making my body look right for the pool!!!

Easy evening, internet time...

Sunday November 28, 2010

We are going to the everglades today.
First, we are going for an Air Boat ride in the everglades.
We have the choice of the air boat because it is not the high season. We take the smallest air boat. To top it off, we are only three for this ride.

An air boat like the one we were on.

A little noisy, but so cool!

The photos cannot show what we see in the everglades. Water and green stuff everywhere.

In our "flight" over the everglades we came to the island where a family of native lived until 1974.

The house was typical of Florida natives. Each roof represents an apartment of the house. Basically the island is the house and each building is an apartment.

The alligator looking at us is over 50 years old and the female on the right is about 40 years old.

After the air boat ride was over, we had a little information stop about the locale fauna and flora.
I have in my hands an alligator about one and half year old alligator, boy is he strong for such a small animal.

After the air boat ride, we stopped at the Big Cypress National Park shark alley.
We could not get on the tram for a tour, it was full for the rest of the day. The end is 7 miles away. We did walk a few kilometers and turned back. We saw so many alligators and they are wild.

Can you see the head of the alligator? Also, can you see the baby alligators?

OK! I circled all the alligators in this photo, can you see them now!

This alligator was not a happy alligator. This Chinese was trying to get very close for a photo. I don't think he realizes this alligator is wild. Us, we just waited for the alligator to get mad...

One of the trail we walked.

We are surprised at the amount of wild life in the everglades.

And the plant life! SO different form us up north.

A full day!

Monday November 29, 2010

A slow day, just getting stuff ready for our departure to Key West tomorrow morning.

All the agricultural field are irrigated. The pipes bringing the water are underground. The trucks come and hook up to the pipes and water the area. This way they can pick and chose what area needs water.
Impressive!

Tomorrow, Key West.

Tuesday November 30 to Tuesday December 7, 2010

Note: This page will need to be re-written, but I do not have the time. One day maybe!

Our departure from Miami is uneventful. We had to wait for half an hour at the gas station for diesel. Only one pump is working.
Not all gas stations have diesel and not all of them are easy to get in and out with a motorhome.

A few kilometers latter we hear this big noise from the back of the motorhome. Michèle goes to the back of the motorhome and see the light fixtures above the bathroom sink in the sink. I guess after 100,000 kilometers, it is normal that a few things come loose. We will fix that later tonight.

Key West is about 222 km from our last campground. In Key West, the word "Key" means island.

The road we are taking is the only one going to Key West and it is the US-1, or the "Overseas Highway". The speed limit is between 50 and 90 km/h.

This bridge is the longest on our trip at 11 km long. On the right, you can see another bridge, this is the old bridge and it was turned into a fishing pier.

Surprise!
Some of the Keys have deers on them.

It is a hot day for driving.

Three hours later we are in Key West. The road is great. We had to use our generator to run the house AC.
We found our RV park easily, Boyd's Campground.

The office and a few sites.

Our "new" home for a week. A little tight, but OK.

The view from our site.

This is the closest RV park to Key West. We are only 8 km away from downtown Key West.

A good raclette to celebrate our first night in Key West.

I forgot to mention, for $120 a night you get heated pool, cable and free internet (I hope so!).
The water in the pool is warm, but a few campers find it and the cool side.

Between December 1st and 6th, we visit as many sights as possible in Key West without rushing.
In Key West, Duval Street is the place where everything happens. One end of the street end on the Atlantic side and the other end on the Gulf of Mexico. The following photos are from many different days.

One thing we did was to rent some bicycles and bike around Key West. The bikes are very basic. The ride is not hard, the highest elevation is only one meter above sea level. We biked around Key West, a long 17 km.

South Roosevelt Boulevard is on the Atlantic side of Key West.

In town.

Something that surprised us was the fact that Key West has very few beaches.
A few are for swimming, but most are for the sand and the suntanning.
This one is not recommended for swimming.

Don't forget, the photos are from different days.

The "Conch Tour Train" we took for the visit of the old Key West. May trains like this one offer the same service.
The guide tour was great, lots of information about the architecture and the story of Key West.

This is the end of the US-1. The US-1 started in Maine at the border with Canada and ends here some 3,825 km later.

The first photo shows you Duval Street without the cruise ship in port. The other photo shows you an unpainted house. In the old days, a house was not considered complete until it was painted. The owner was not charged the full amount for taxes. Most people did not paint their houses and saved a lot of money!

On the left, the most southern house in the US. On the right, the marker is the southern most point of the US. We are actually closer to Cuba than the continental US.

You can pretty well find anything in Key West. A back street shopping maze of an old truck that is part of a bar.

Sponge Bob?

They actually built the fence around the tree!

"The Bull" is a regular bar, but the "Whistle Bar" on the second floor is a clothing optional bar!
On the right, the smallest bar in Key West, three seats only.

A good beer in a multi-coloured bar.

Duval Street. Here you can buy a drink in a bar and half way down your drink, you can walk in the street and stop at another bar and finish you drink there.

Mallory Square is a big public place and every evening street entertainers come and entertain the tourists while waiting for the sunset.
We are on the Gulf of Mexico side of Key West.

Mallory Square in the afternoon.

By four o'clock we returned to Mallory Square for the "Sunset Celebration".
More and more people are coming for the sunset.

A few cruise ships are in. It will be crowded.

I forgot, in Key West chickens are free to roam in the city.

Many sailboat are going out to sea for the sunset.

Even a pirate ship is going out.

A juggler with two dogs, why two dogs?

Here I am at work chaining this entertainer.
He was able to break free in less than three minutes.

We want to go for a cruise for the sunset and a meal. It turns out the ship is in dry dock for inspection. The only cruise we have left is with a glass bottom and drinks. Lets go see the coral reef and the sunset.

Mallory Square from the ship.

On this side of this rocky point is the gulf of Mexico and on the other side it is the Atlantic ocean.

Our cruise.

We traveled about 15 kilometers from Key West. We can see so many fish and life form on the reef. We have less than 3 feet of water under the ship. The guide is very good.

On our way back from the coral reef, we watched the sunset with a glass of champagne. It is very pretty and surprisingly, once the sun is set, we can see a red/orange glow all around us.

From our RV park we can see the sunrise. Almost every morning we get up a 6:30 and walk about 50 feet and watch the sunrise and we are back in bed by 7:00. The sunrise are as fast as the sunset.
In no particular order.

Now the sunset. What makes them so beautiful? Maybe just knowing you are here for a short time!
As soon as the sun "touches" the ocean, it only takes a few minutes and it is gone.
In no particular order.

Good timing, on Duval Street a Santa's parade takes place tonight!

We were a little surprised to see over 15 Santas on the parade.
Some photos of our evening and the parade.

Michèle waiting for Santa!

First Santa!

second...

more...

Christmas alligator?

Hard to see, but it "snowed" in Key West tonight!

I am all happy to have seen "all" the Santas tonight.

Last day in Key West. We had a lot of wind last night. We woke up to a cloudy sky and a cold front from Canada, Only +18 C today, but we can live with that!

It is Michèle's birthday today (December 6) and since we had our last shooter with Benoit in Alberta, it is time for shooters for Michèle's birthday.

Ready...

Salt...

Tequila...

And we bite the lemon.

After the shooter, we went out for diner at the Hogfish Bar & Grill a few streets from the RV park. Mostly locals, very nice.
For diner, a JUMBO lobster BLT. Sooo good. Here is the web site for the bar.

Tomorrow we are back in Miami.

You can see all new bridges have been built and the old bridge on the side for fishing.

Between Key Largo and Homestead, just as we arrived on the continent, about 8 km, road construction and we have to move to the right and drive over big rumble strips. The motorhome vibrates, no problems. Once off the rumble strips we are still vibrating and we do not know why! We cannot pull over in the construction area. We finally made it to Homestead on the main land and we pulled over in a parking lot to check things out. As we got out of the motorhome we notice the back end is very low. OK, an airbag has blown out!
It turns out both airbags are deflated???
I look under the motorhome and see this small pipe hanging down, hummmmm!
I have this bright idea to use the motorhome jacks to "lift" the back end of the motorhome.
You can see the "nose" is super low and the "back end" high.

Evaluating the problem...

It turns out the linkage holding the airbags at the right inflation is disconnected.
Easy fix, reconnect the linkage.

With a specialized tool (screw driver) and elbow grease I reconnect the linkage and 5 minutes later it is fixed.

Denis the Super hero

Alright, back to reality, I still have to drive the motorhome to our RV park in Miami.

This little incident only added "spice" to our trip.
No more problems...

Really?

At the RV park we find out they have lost our reservation!
After some serious looking they found us a place. Good!

We are invited for diner at people we meet the last time we were here last week.
Thanks Manon and Jean for a great meal and the good times.

Until next time...

Life is good!