Oct 2008

On the road again, only a very short drive. Left Sarasota and headed to Madeira Beach and a visit with some dear friends, Wayne and Rita Ward. On the way we crossed another spectular bridge over Tampa Bay. We will be here another day.

Wow, another experience that should be on your bucket list. Today we toured the Ringling Museum. John Ringling and his 4 brothers established the Ringling Brothers Circus. It then expanded to the Ringling Bros, Barnum and Bailey Circus. Sarasota was the winter quarters of the circus and John built a large home and museum. When he passed away it was given to the state of Florida. Today FSU manages the estate of several acres. The home was built and furnished in European architecture. Many of the fireplaces, chandeliers and furnishing came from auctions of the rich all over the world.

The Museum is one of a kind. Mr Ringling purchased 600 paintings and built a special building for them. It houses 5 of the 7 known paintings of Paul Rubens, masterpieces!

The circus building contains a miniture circus with hundreds of pieces in a full circus city. It is so huge and complete that the only was to describe it is: GO VISIT IT.

We enjoyed our stay in Sarasota with friends Karen and Dino.

On the road again, this time very short. Heading to Sun&Fun in Sarasota. We will spend a couple nights there as we are visiting friends in Sarasota. The RV park is huge, 1600 sites, lakes, hobby crafts, golf and Tennis are just some of the activities. We spent the afternoon with Karen and Dino Oliva. Their house is awesome, right on a canal on the back and the bay and Gulf of Mexico on the other. They had warned not to bring the motorhome down the street and they were right, the Jeep barely had room. LOL. In the evening we took the LaBarge cruise complete with music into the bay for the sun set. As it turned out, there was a wedding party on board also with the cutting of the cake and lots of dancing.

On the road again, this time we are leaving Key West. Driving again on the Overseas Highway or the Keys Causeway. US 1 as it crosses the seveal keys and many bridges. It was morning and the sun was shining brightly. Only a few maritime clouds dotted the skies. Once back to the southern tip of Florida, we took I 75, commonly called alligator alley. This does a direct line from the East coast to the West coast of Florida right thru the everglades.
We stayed the night at Ft Meyers.

Hey, decided to stay another day at Key West, so relaxing. We toured the Hemingway House. He lived here with wife #2. It was originally built by a sea captain. The captain cut the coral from the ground into blocks and then used the blocks to build the house. It is the only house with a basement and has withstood all the perils that have plagued Key West. Lunch was had at Kelley's, home of the first Pan American operations. After lunch a visit to the little White House of Harry Truman was in order. This was originally the home of the naval commander of the base. When President Truman was in need of rest after the grueling first year of his Presidency, the doctors said Key West was the perfect place. He visited often as did other presidents in later years.

Being Friday, the town was really coming alive. Cruise ship in port, visitors for the weekend made the streets full of people. Friday night was the Boombah, a Jamacaian festival and the start of Phantom Fest. The fest is Key West's version of Madri Gras.

Tour day of the Key. Started by riding the Key West Trolley. This is a narrated sight seeing trolley that covers much of the historic areas of the island. It is a great way to get oriented on the area you want to visit later. One benefit is you can exit and reenter at any of the stops. For a small island or key, Key West has lots of history. Pirates, Navy, hurricanes, fires have all contributed to the current day city. Many famous personalities have either lived here or visited. President Truman had his summer white house here, and Jimmy Buffett still performs here regularly.
Another night at Mallory Square to watch the sunset was in order for the day.

On the road again, this time to one of the main destinations of the trip, KEY WEST. We departed Yacht Haven RV park and headed south on I 95. Being early in the morning, the traffic on the interstate was very heavy. As we neared Homestead it finally thinned out and we were able to drive the speed limit. We then got on US 1 and headed into the Keys of Florida. This is a very interesting drive, crossing some 34 bridges, one of which is 7 miles long, over open water. The Atlantic on the left and the Caribbean on the right. The weather was perfect, clear skies, light breezes and beautiful water on both sides.

When we arrived in Key West, we checked into Boyd's RV Park. This is on the east end of the Key and facing the Caribbean. Our site was unbelievable! It was right on the water with the waves lapping the sand some 15 feet from our front door.

The afternoon was time to explore the famous Key West. We drove to Duval Street, parked the car, and walked up and down the various streets with all the famous eating establishments and shops. Dinner called us to Jimmy Buffets Margaritaville cafe. It was not what we had expected, but it was very good food and atmosphere. We had thought it was on the water, so you could view the sunset.

After dinner we walked to the waterfront area to view the sunset, along with several hundred others. On Mallory Square every evening they have entertainment ranging from singer to acrobats. All are performing for tips, and most were very good.

Tour day of the Miami/FtLauderdale area. Headed south and crossed onto Miami Beach and drove north. Not much to see of the beach, only the large hotels. Seems Trump has taken over, all the new ones are his. The old Fountainbleu is still going strong. As we got up to the Ft Lauderdale area there were more people and more sights of the beach and ocean. The winds were stong so the surf was realy high. As we neared Las Olas, on A1A I saw the
EL BO ROOM. This was the favorite meeting place when I visited during college spring break. The streets and beaches were always filled with college students. The EL BO ROOM is the only building left of those on the street. It has been spared demolition and now is on the candidate list for the National Historic Registery. GO FIGURE>
Had to have a brew and look at the old pictures on the wall. The rest of the street is no up scale shops and restuarants.

Again, on the road, this time from Titusville to Fort Lauderdale. Took I-95 as the back roads (rte 1) would be extremely slow, especially on a holiday weekend. The interstate was not very scenic, but the speeds were good.
It was typical Florida weather, rain, wind, sun, rain, wind, sun. Made good time and got to the Yacht Haven RV and Marina at noon. They had saved an end slot so we had water on two sides our our site. The yachts here are something. Smallest is over 50' and one is over 100'. Continued raining in the afternoon. Barbara was fighting my cold, so we just watched the canal traffic.

On the road again. Left Savannah in a driving rain. We had 3-4 inches overnight, so everything was standing in water for our disconnect. Drove south, finally getting out of the rain about 80 miles south of Savannah. We continued on to Titusville, home of the Cape Canaveral Space Center. By this time Barbara was catching my cold, so she spent the afternoon resting.

Tour day of Savannah. However, I was fighting a cold so spent the day in bed. Barbara and two of our friends that had joined up with us went into town. They took the trolley tour and saw th old houses and trading centers of the early 1800s. It was very similar to Charleston. They also took the paddle boat tour of the harbor, which was very disappointing. The weather for them was horrible, rain, wind gusts and an open trolley made for a not very nice day.

On the road again, this time only 96 miles to Savannah, GA. Traffic was heavier and lots more coaches heading south, probably the snowbirds heading to Florida. Got set up in the KOA, real nice. I am fighting a cold, so off to bed to recover.

Tour day of the Charleston area. Left on the historic city tour in the morning. This took us past the several houses built in the early 1700s. They with stood the Revoluntionary war, the Civil war, the earth quake of 1889 and the hurricane Hugo in 1989. They are large, 3 or 4 stories with verandas or piazzas for the cool breezes off the water.
Originally Charleston was a walled city, but that dissappeared when the city burnt. It was also the home of many pirates, including Black Beard. In the afternoon we took the harbor cruise. This took us past the original Custom's house and piers where international trade occured. Ships would load cargo from the US, take it to Europe and for return ballast, load their hulls with rocks. These rocks were then used for the cobblestone streets. The cruise alsot took us past Ft Sumpter. This is a star shaped fort used to protect the harbor. It is also the sight of the starting of the Civil war. Shots were fired into the Fort and it all began.

Tuesday was spent again getting all the little things done around the coach. Parts had been ordered and were installed. Runs and acts like a new one now.

Wednesday we were on the road again, but not far. It was only 97 miles from Myrtle Beach to Charleston. We took the back roads to see the sights and such. Along the way we saw baskets made out of SAWGRASS. These are had made, very nice and very expensive. Once in Charleston and set up at the James Island County Park we took off to explore downtown and make arrangements for tours. The rv park is park of a huge complex with lakes, trails, streams, play fields and ramadas for picnics. It is a real credit to Charleston County to have such a place.

Rain moved in during the night, but should be nice tomorrow.

Today was service day for the coach. Miles and hours have built up so an oil change on both the engine and the generator was due. Along with several minor items that only a qualified shop can perform. Luckily Cummins has set us a Coach Care facility at their outlets. Very reliable and thorough.