MM 107

As we reached Mile Marker 107, we said "Good Bye" to the Gaskill's and The Keys...for now, but we'll be back one day I'm sure.

It's a beautiful day to travel and George drove for 10 hours with one quick stop for gas. I finished knitting a baby bunting for Miss Coraline while riding down the road.

Spent the night at Coastal Georgia RV Resort in Brunswick, GA which is one of our favorites.  We got in before dark, fixed dinner, rested a while then off to bed.  Very uneventful day.

Eat, Shop and Eat some more...

I can't believe it's our last day here in The Keys...man has the week flown by.  We heard about this great breakfast/lunch place down the road called The Stuffed Pig so, why not try it for breakfast, we said.  It reminded me of Daryl's Diner...small, inexpensive, good food; except The Stuffed Pig had a lovely outdoor garden to enjoy.

 

After breakfast, Janice and I headed back up to Islamorada to get in some last minute shopping while the guys rested.  Went to Island Silver and Spice, Latitude 25 Clothing Company, Zero Dress Code, Wild Lilly's and the Discount Sandal shop.  All in all, we loved the Island Silver and Spice shop where I bought Miss Coraline a bathing suit.  It's really small, trust me....tee hee, ain't it cute!

 

 

 

When we got back to the campground, the pool was completely full so I laid down to take a nap.  Had just gotten off to sleep when George awakened me and Mark was on the phone.  The baby weighs 7.6 lbs and has only been fussy one time....she purportedly makes Donald Duck sounds. This I gotta hear.  They came home today and all is well in the NJ Bell household.

At 6:00, we were off to dinner at Sunset Grill at the 7-Mile Bridge.  Great ambiance in a tiki-hut like atmosphere with a great view of the sunset and good food.  Shared a Key Lime Pie but the one at Marker 88 was THE best.

The laptop is still missing but I found a sponge under the coffee table.

The Hemmingway House and the 6-Toed Cats

OK.....we have a sponge thief in the motorhome.  My sponges are disappearing as fast as the "pain in the asses".  Somebody better come clean (pun intended)!

 

Back to Key West today for lunch at the Hogfish Bar and Grill.  Just as I think I'm getting the hang of this "eating out every day" thing, I ordered a cup of chowder and an appetizer....and still couldn't finish it. 


 

 

Made our way to the Hemmingway House where we toured the infamous house.  I'm still amazed at the architecture of the 1920's.  Breezeways everywhere.  Anyway, my primary reason for this re-visit was to see the polydactyl cats.  There are 50 cats living on the premises and are reputed to have 6 toes.  Most did but there were a few "strays" mixed in.  They are all named after famous movie stars from the Hemmingway era and my favorite is Errol Flynn....black and white cat with a black moustache.  I toured the entire premises but only counted 20 cats.

 

 

Something to ponder....on the drive back and forth and back and forth to/from Key West, I started noticing stupid signs and pondered just how much money did the State of FL spend on stupid signs, such as Do Not  Pass.  Do people really need to be reminded of what the yellow lines mean?   How much money should we spend re-educating people about the basics of passing!  Also, how about Pass with Caution....is there any other way?

All our campground friends gathered at the Tiki Hut tonight to witness another gorgeous sunset.

 

Theatre of the Sea

We headed north today to Islamorada where we had lunch at Marker 88, a restaurant we visited 6 years ago and is right on the Bay where we enjoyed nice breezes, beautiful views and great food and had our first slice of key lime pie.  The Keys are roughly 100 miles long and measured in terms of mile markers....Marker 88 is, you guessed it, at mile marker 88.

 

 

Afterward, we spent the rest of the afternoon at Theatre of the Sea.  We first walked through lush gardens with amazing orchids and other beautiful flowers.


 

The first part of the tour was a Sea Lion Show where "Wilbur" entertained us with his tricks.  It is just amazing what these animals are trained to do.

WILBUR

 

Next stop was a Guided Marine Life Tour where we saw lots of beautiful fish, some of which looked like they were wearing lipstick.  They also take in large sea turtles that have disabilities of one sort or another.  One was wearing a life vest as he had been injured and could not swim.

 
 

We were next delighted by a Parrot Show.  There were 8 parrots of various varieties who were eager to show off for us...one could even count!

 

Next was the Bottomless Boat Ride where two dolphins rode alongside the boat, jumping airborne to the delight of the crowd.

 
 

 

Last but certainly not least was the Dolphin Show where the same 2 dolphins in the bottomless boat ride performed amazingly with their trainers in the water. 

 

Theater of the Sea is not to be missed if you are in this area!

 

On our way home, we stopped for our new favorite tropical drink, "Pain in the Ass", which my favorite pain in the ass (George) also tried.  In case you don't remember, a Pain in the Ass is half Pina Colada and half Rum Runner.  Also had an appetizer which ended up being our dinner.

 

Once home, we hit the pool for a refreshing cool-down and a visit with some guys from "up north" who were on a guy-trip fisherman's week.  These guys were characters...can't wait to visit with them again tonight to see if they actually caught anything...other than grief from each other.

 

And, the highlight of our day and probably the rest of our life, we were swooned by the news that our oldest son, Mark and wife Pauline, gave birth to our first granddaughter at 3:15 in the afternoon to Miss Coraline Ripley Bell.  We are just over the moon with joy of her birth and can't wait to meet her!  Don't have any champagne on board but had a celebratory glass of wine.  Gonna sleep well tonight.

 

 

 

The Giant Pancake Explosion!

OK...we're up early, getting ready to explore Key West.  George is fixing pancakes while I'm getting ready....then I hear a giant explosion.  The lid on the container of pancake mix blew off, exploding in his hand while he was shaking it.  OMG this was by far the funniest site I've seen in ages!  He is standing there, frozen in time, with pancake batter all over him, all over the floor, all over the cabinets, all over the table, all over everything!  I couldn't do anything but laugh my ass off.  The cats were scared to death....Anna dove under the sofa and Isa just stood there staring with her big blue eyes.  It took 6 Swiffer pads to clean up the mess and I probably still need to make one or two more passes at it.  Batter was even down in the grout.  Honestly!   What a hoot! 

 

George's new nickname:  Pancake (tee hee)

 

On to Key West...we parked the car at the Westin and walked all over town, stopping along the way to shop and, of course, eat.  Had some appetizers at Keyviche,, a new Peruvian restaurant in town that just opened yesterday.  Very unusual and very good.

 

 

Along the marina, we stopped Conch Republic to cool down with some island libations.  I had a "Pain in the Ass", which apparently is what I've been all day by calling George "Pancake".  By now, he's well over it.  Anyway, a "Pain in the Ass" is half Rum Runner and half Pina Colada...cold, icy and yumm.  Bought some Key Lime White Chocolate Chip Cookies at The Key West Lime Shoppe where all things are key lime.

 

It wouldn't be Key West without seeing "free range" chickens and roosters all over the place so here is a picture of ours....

On the way home, we stopped to check out Hogfish Bar and Grill in Stock Island, a restaurant Mike and Janice heard about from friends.  It's in the dark side of town but cars everywhere so we can only assume it's good.  We're going back to Key West Thursday so we will probably stop in.

Laptop update:  Still missing...

 

 

Alligator Alley

Our route to the Keys was through Alligator Alley, also known as Tamiami Trail.  We made a stop at Big Cypress National Preserve to get our National Parks book stamped and to view the lazy alligators lurking in the marsh.  YIKES!

Got into Grassy Key Campground about 3:00 and man is it tight.  Only 34 spaces in the whole park with a cool Tiki Hut down by the water to shade us from the sun.  After getting unpacked, we sat at the Tiki Hut and had some libations while admiring the view and contemplating our next move. We finished our tour of the property....there is no beach access here but we have a pool about the size of the one in the Meadows.  All in all, it's a nice campground and is very centrally located at mile marker 58.3.

Went to dinner at Island Fish Company in Marathon then watched the sunset near the Tiki Hut.  Pretty tired tonight so back to the motorhome to search, once again, for the lost laptop.

Fun Sumday...

Had a 10:00 tee time at Arrowhead Golf Club in Naples.  Absolutely beautiful golf course with lush fairways and greens.  Lots of water, however, so we lost mucho golf balls.  It was also very hot, 96 degrees I think, but, thankfully, it was very breezy. 

After golf we made a Walmart run then had ribs at Hog Body's Bar and Grill near our campground. Relaxed in the pool and spa then off to bed early as we are leaving in the morning for the Keys.

The lost laptop is still lost.

 

 

 

 

 

Saniibel and Captiva Islands here we come....

We spent the day exploring Sanibel and Captiva Islands...drove to the very end of Captiva and had lunch at Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grill which is owned by famed author, and our favorite,  Randy Wayne White.  He had a book signing yesterday so we missed it....darn it.  This is Randy's third restaurant in the area.  We bought some memorabilia and Gaskill's bought one of his books. 

 

After lunch we did a little shopping at some local stores then on to Total Wine...now that's what I'm talking about!  It's a huge warehouse chain full of wine, beer, spirits, wine glasses and wine gadgets.  We were in wine heaven.

Got home around 4:00, searched for the laptop again, got mad then rested up a bit and cooked hot dogs and brats on the grill along with potato salad that I made before leaving home yesterday.  Perfect end to a beautiful day (except for the laptop of course)!

Fort Meyers, FL

It's been quite a while since I've blogged and it feels good to get back to it except for one thing....I've lost my laptop somewhere along the line.  We've turned the motorhome upside down several times leaving no stone unturned but no luck.  Even called the inlaws back home to have them search our house, garage and yard but still no luck.  I'm quite upset.  So....I'm using George's laptop which is very different from mine.  Can't seem to get the pictures right.  Oh well, here goes....

Left Stonecrest today at 12:15 with our friends and neighbors, the Gaskills, on a 10 day adventure to the FL Keys, beginning with a weekend stop in Ft Myers.  We arrived in Up River RV Resort in Ft Myers. at 4:15 - just in time for Happy Hour!  While the guys were scrubbing love bugs off the windshields, Janice and I enjoyed a glass of wine while touring their new Newmar motorhome...and oh how luxurious it is.  Very high end finishes and beautiful neutral colors, however, she wants to go shopping for a few accessories...no problem!  We hosted dinner with steaks on the grill, baked potatoes and corn on the cob with watermelon for dessert.  Marinated the steaks with our new favorite marinade, Andria (thanks Bev), and the steaks were yumm.  Relaxed in camp tonight with cool breezes from the Gulf.  Got up-graded to 100' sites as our reserved sites were still filled with snowbirds.  Very nice campground...would stay here again.  Things are going well...except for the lost laptop of course.



Friday, July 11, 2014, 7:50 AM

We are on our way to La Mesa RV in Sanford, FL to pick up our new Itasca Meridian and, sadly, part with our beloved Tiffin Allegro, our first RV that has taken us on so many wonderful trips.  The memories made with the Tiffin are countless and never to be forgotten but, it is now time to move on.  So, that said, it's a bittersweet day for me.  George, however, fell in love with the Meridian weeks ago and hasn't looked back.  He's over the moon at the thought of the smooth, quiet ride of the new diesel and plain ole "over" the little nuisances of the old gasser.  The Meridian is brand new, bigger, better and covers everything (and then some) on our "wish list".  His....the 400 hp diesel engine.  Mine...a washer/dryer and residential size refrigerator.  So, today, our dreams being realized, we are pretty excited to get on the road and experience new adventures.