Launching the "SS MINNOW" + Key Deer Hike

Roger here...During the last blog we talked about our day at Key West. There were a lot of other great things to do in the Keys that more than occupied our time while we were there.
One of the most exciting things for me was the launch of the "S.S. Minnow." Our Sea Eagle inflatable kayak was a retirement gift from the Parents in Partnership group in the school corporation where I worked for 36 years. This was our first time to visit a place conducive to a first paddle :-) We had not inflated it yet, and were a little nervous about using the foot pump in the midst of the many, many people at the Sugarloaf Key KOA, but the worry was for naught. The inflation was simple and only took about 30 minutes, including time to read the directions. The next time it should be even faster.

Dianne and I carried the kayak from our campsite to the boat launch about 50 yards away. It was a windy day and the water was a little choppy. We both got in and realized that the center of gravity with the seats fully inflated was a little high. As a former science teacher, I knew this could be a problem. We were OK, but a little wobbly. I could tell that Dianne was a little uncomfortable as evidenced by the statement "I DO NOT WANT TO TIP THIS THING OVER IN THIS COLD WATER!" Honestly, I was a little concerned, as well. After a quick trip around the marina area and a snapshot of a group of pelicans in the mangroves

we headed back to the launch area. Mission accomplished - successful inflation, successful transport, successful launch, successful return, dry wife. Dianne deboarded and I went out again for about a half hour while Dianne watched from a beach chair.

I know that the next launch (in calmer waters) directly from our campsite at Franklin Locks, will be smoother.

Our next adventure, well really just mine, was an all-day trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park, a two-hour one-way trip by high-speed catamaran. We both intended to take the trip, planning to board the dogs for the day, but because our main reason for going was to snorkel and the water temperature was pretty cold, Dianne opted to enjoy a quiet day at the campground with the dogs. As previously mentioned, she does not like cold water.

I boarded the Yankee Freedom II in Key West at 7:15 in the morning, ate breakfast on the boat, and found a seat for the two-hour ride. Early in the trip the crew indicated that, as we neared the Dry Tortugas, the sea would be rough and encouraged people with motion sickness to see them at that time for some Dramamine. Since I have not had motion sickness since I was a kid, I was not too concerned. The first hour and a half was great - lots to see in the turquoise water including the spot where Mel Fisher discovered the Atocha. With about 30 to 40 minutes left in the trip we entered the rough part. I noticed that a lot of the people were laying down on their seats and kind of green. I still was not concerned, but then it hit. I wobbled to the back of the boat to ask for Dramamine, but was told that it would not do any good at that point. I was given a carbonated beverage and a barf bag and directed to the back of the boat to join five other ill passengers, one of whom lost his breakfast, as I did. Very embarrassing.

The Dry Tortugas are exceptionally beautiful for a couple reasons. The surrounding waters are several shades of turquoise, and nearly the entire island is occupied by a huge masonry fort that was constructed during the civil war. The fort had three levels, each exceptionally high and is surrounded by a moat created by a brick wall that separates the fort from the sea. It was the size of nine Yankee Stadiums - lots of fun to walk through, on top of, and around (on the sea wall).

After lunch I went to the beach. The crew told everyone that it was probably too cold to snorkel, 64 degrees! I was so disappointed because snorkeling was the main purpose of going. At the beach I noticed that a couple of people in snorkel gear did get in the water. I sat there for a half hour, angry that I was acting like a wimp, and then went back to the boat to suit up. With fins on feet, goggle on head, and snorkel in mouth I slowly waded into the water - yikes it was cold! Another, much younger guy, was wading in at the same time. When the water reached thigh level, I decided that I had to dive in before the shivering young guy, or be embarrassed for a second time. In I went. Yousa! I quickly adjusted to the water and actually stayed in for about 45 minutes. The snorkeling, though not the best I have done, was fun - especially with the coral formations next to the wall of the moat.

I took Dramamine before the return trip, and although the water was even rougher for the first 45 minutes - very much like a roller coaster at an amusement park - it was actually kind of fun since I was not sick :-) That was not the case for about 20 passengers who were lined up in the back of the boat with their beverages and barf bags as I had been earlier that day.

After reading all this, you are probably wondering about photos to document the experience. Sorry, we decided not to risk losing or destroying the camera, so I left it at the campsite. But I really did snorkel in the cold water - really, I did.

Jasper and Chaplin enjoyed a few tidbits of grilled steak one evening, and here are a couple photos showing them waiting patiently for the handout

they knew they would eventually get!

Dianne and I both enjoy hiking and nature. We discovered that the National Key Deer Wildlife Refuge was only a few miles from our campground. We decided to go exploring there on one of our afternoons. The Key Deer are an endangered species that only live on Big Pine Key. They are dimunitive in size, only a couple of feet tall.

We took a mile-long hike through the mangroves - interesting and fun, but did not see any deer :-( BUT, then as we returned to our car we spotted three of them walking along the road.

Don't they know they are supposed to be in the woods?! We quietly stalked them for a while and got some pictures before they wandered into the vegetation where they belong :-)

Dianne here - I must say that I'm glad I missed out on Roger's Tortuga adventure. The rolling boat ride would have done me in.

What Roger said about both of us enjoying nature and hiking is very true. For that reason, the KOA on Sugarloaf Key was not my kind of campground. The sites have 50 amp electrical and full hookups. There are lots of amenities, even a very nice open-air bar with excellent live music, large pool area, hot tub, marina, and very nice camp store. Check out the frozen delicacy sold in the camp store: Frozen chocolate-covered key lime pie on a stick.

It was DELICIOUS, and really was just frozen key lime pie (including the graham cracker crust) dipped in chocolate on a stick.

We did sit around the pool one afternoon, took advantage of the $1 ice cream sundaes on Sunday, had a beer in the open air bar. We did use the dog park, although it was too small for our dogs to get any real exercise in. BUT, it is the kind of place where your shades must be closed (no view anyway other than other rigs), there was no room or privacy to sit out at our patio, and after a couple of days I'd had enough of it.

I had never been to the Florida Keys before and wanted to see it. Key West reminded me of New Orleans (another place I can take or leave), and now that I've been to the Keys, seen it, I feel no need to go back. But check back soon, because we left the gravel parking lot for a little piece of heaven, which we'll write about next!

A Day at Key West

Roger here...

We are still a few days behind on our blogs.  The Florida Keys are a busy place - lots of things to do.   Now that we are settled in at the Army Corps of Engineers Campground at Franklin Locks, (lots more about this place in a later blog) just outside of Ft. Myers, we will do some catching up.

Last Saturday we spent the entire day at Key West.  We had heard that Key West was an extremely dog-friendly place, and since we planned to stay until sunset, we took the boys with us.  After we parked the car in an all-day lot, we began our random wandering tour.  We walked a few blocks on busy Duvall Street, past Sloppy Joe's, down to Mallory Square on the waterfront.  A cruise ship, the Norwegian Pearl, was at the dock.  Dianne took a picture of it as it is similar to the Norwegian Jade in the Mediterranean where our daughter is a performer.  As we walked along the waterfront Dianne snapped a picture of some roosters on a wall in front of one of the hotels.  Chickens run free all through the town.  Jasper was on full alert every time one of the roosters crowed.

We then headed across town to the "Southern Most Point" site.  We took a less crowded street because Chaplin did not like the noise and the chaos on Duvall Street - loud music, street performers with a 20-foot python, and people of every description.  Along the way we passed a trumpeter who was playing and singing "Back Home Again in Indiana".  (We did not expect to hear that in Key West - pretty ironic that he played it at the exact time that we were walking by.)   We also passed by the Truman Summer White House and the Hemingway House.   At the end of the street Dianne and the boys waited in line to pose for a picture at the monument. 
We knew that we wanted to stay to see the sunset and the performers on Mallory Square, and had some time to kill, so we wandered back up the other side of Duvall Street.  By the time we got back to the python in the crowded area, we found ourselves in front of Sloppy Joe's (Hemingway's nightly drinking place) again.  We had seen dogs inside when we passed by before.  This time, we were kind of hungry.   There were a couple of empty tables, so I asked the hostess if we could bring the dogs in with us, and she agreed.  We each had a beer and an Original Sloppy Joe sandwich - delicious.  Dianne went out on the sidewalk to take a picture of me and the boys at the table - take note of Jasper hiding under the table.  She also took an interesting picture of an awning across the street with a tree growing through it.

After eating, we headed back to the car to drop off the extra things we had been carrying around all day (jackets, new t-shirts, etc.).  Between the drop off and the walk to Mallory Square, we stopped at an ice cream place where Dianne bought each dog a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

 By this time Chaplin had reached his limit of walking, demonstrated by his frequent attempts to lay down in the middle of the sidewalk.  The ice cream perked him up.

Mallory Square at sunset was great fun.  During the hour before the sun settled over the ocean, dozens of street performers entertained the hundreds of people (and dogs) in the square.  There were fire jugglers balanced on ladders and unicycles, 

psychics wearing turbans, magicians, fire swallowers, the country's southernmost bagpiper in a kilt, and (of course) mimes.  

By the time the sun set, the dogs had reached their limit (so had Dianne).  Dianne's pedometer indicated that we had walked over eight miles.  The dogs were starting to get cold from the evening chill.  We had Jasper's coat with us, and Dianne sat down on a bench and covered Chaplin with her sweatshirt (the shirt off her back) to rest up for the trip back to the car.   (Dianne here - I can't believe we actually outlasted the dogs!)

 Just as we were getting up, there was a commotion at the main entrance to the square as a group of people in a purple, green and gold Mardi Gras parade danced by.  It was actually a wedding party let by the bride and groom as they led the dancing and twirling group carrying umbrellas - the kind of thing that just makes you smile.

Roger, the Organizational Mastermind

Dianne here -- I'll download the photos, but Roger will be writing this blog.  Those of you who know him, know how "concrete sequential" (a/k/a anal) he is about such things.  He was really in his element on this one!!

Roger  here...   We have to start this one with my family history.  My Dad was the most organized person I have ever known (my brother is right in there, too).  My Dad and my brother considered me to be the disorganized member of the family.  HSE people will find this hard to believe.  

I grew up in a home with everything in its place with all the appropriate labels.  When Dad passed away, we inherited a garage full of file cabinets where every conceivable item was stored and each drawer's contents were labeled (even things as insignificant as paper clips).  Dianne and I moved all the file cabinets into our garage and lined our walls.  We called the arrangement Jim's (Dad) Hardware Store.  For the next three years we literally did not go to a hardware store, because everything we needed was easy to find and already in our garage.  

One of my pet peeves, and Dianne can attest to this, is not being able to locate something.  I must admit that I do go a little berserk when I put something in a specific place and  cannot find it later.  There are 14 outdoor bays in our motorhome - plenty of places for needed "stuff" to get lost.  While we were at Ft. Lauderdale for a month, the family genes kicked in.  I decided to make an alpha master list of everything in the bays with each item's bay number and container number within the bay. 

 I typed the master list on the computer,

 then Dianne sealed it in plastic with her food sealer.

  We then posted it inside a cabinet door. 

 We have used the list many times and it has saved us a lot of time and frustration.

In order to make Dad proud, I took it a couple of steps further by posting an individual bay list on the inside of each bay door with the contents of that specific bay. 

 I then made individual lists for each container.

  Dianne sealed all of the lists and I installed them with duct tape.  I cut so many pieces of duct tape that the scissors rubbing my thumb caused a blister (note documentary photo).  :-(

Obviously, the key to having this work in the long run is to ALWAYS return items to their assigned places.  I sense some possible bickering the future :-)

Cruise Ship Departures at Dania Beach + Mail Questions

Dianne here --

Roger and I are playing catch-up
a little bit with our blogs.  We have been pretty busy having a great time, so got a little behind. 

 A few Sundays ago (January 25), we left our camp site at Markham Park near Fort Lauderdale and drove to Dania Beach to watch the cruise ships depart.  We printed out a schedule from the port authority,  and timed our visit so we could see them depart.  After sitting on the beach and enjoying the sun for a couple of hours, all the ships decided to leave at once. 

  We took books to read, but there was so much to see (boat traffic, etc.) that I didn't even open mine.  

We saw ships from Carnival, Princess, Celebrity, Holland America, and some cargo ships as well.   We have left on cruises from this port in the past, and I remember how exciting it was as the ship left port on the first day.   Also, it was more meaningful this time knowing our daughter, Robyn, is spending the winter on an NCL cruise ship in the Mediterranean.   For our new readers, she performs improv comedy with Second City out of Chicago and is on a four-month tour on the Norwegian Jade.   She has signed up for another cruise after this tour, also with NCL, in the Hawaiian Islands.  

Dania Beach is part of the John U. Lloyd State Park, right next to  the Port Everglades shipping channel.  It is only a half hour from Markham Park, where we were camping. 

 In fact, Dania Beach is the post office we used for our two mail general delivery pickups.  We had to do a little searching to find a post office near Fort Lauderdale that had its own zip code, and Dania Beach was the closest one.  (When you receive mail via general delivery, it's important to be sure it won't get sent to a large multi-zip code post office, or you may not know which branch to go to for pickup.) 

 One of the questions most asked of us is "How do you get your mail?"  A year ago, I began changing over to e-mailed statements.  We already did our banking on line through the Charles Schwab account I opened years ago when I worked there.   There are also various web sites that help eliminate unwanted catalogs (I used catalogchoice.com).   

Just doing those two things cut way back on the amount of mail we received.  In fact, just before we left home, we were barely receiving mail on some days.  We have signed up with a company, Alternative Resources in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, who forwards our mail to us wherever we tell them.   It is so simple; we simply fill out an on-line form and let them know where we'll be.  They let us know when it's been mailed, and we can track it to know when it has arrived at our location.   We get our mail twice a month, sent priority mail.  

Instead of mail delivery being a problem, it is just another easy thing in this easy, care-free life!

Dog Day Afternoons

Dianne here --  We are down to our last three days at Markham Park.  We haven't really taken advantage of all there is to do here, even though we've been here a month now.  This park is incredible, and much-used by locals and tourists alike.   I guess it helps when the weather affords year-round activity.   Here is just a sampling of the different areas/activities in this very large, much-used Broward County park:

There is a radio-controlled airplane field; there is a radio-controlled boat lake; there is a lake just for water skiing.  There is an observatory with Saturday night star demonstrations.  There is an off-road cycling trail.  There is another lake just for personal watercraft.  There is a target range which features 50/100 yard/meter outdoor lighted target ranges for pistol and rifle, as well as lighted skeet and trap ranges and a sporting clays course.  There is a swimming complex, boat rental, tennis and racquetball courts.  All that is in addition to the normal picnic shelters, wide grassy fields for activities and festivals, playgrounds, campground, etc.   There are several folks camping here for the entire winter, from as far away as Quebec.   Others are obviously locals just out for a weekend camping trip with their kids.   We had wanted to use our new inflatable kayak (a retirement gift to Roger), but for some reason they are not allowed on the lakes here in the park.  We were told we could use it in the canal behind our campsite, but since it's full of alligators we decided to pass on that idea, at least for our very first kayaking experience in our brand-new inflatable kayak!!   I read in Nick Russell's blog of a good spot to kayak in the Florida Keys.  We will only have three full days in the Keys, but we might try to do it there if time permits.

But for us, the main attraction here has been the awesome dog park, "Barkham at Markham."   It is so much fun to watch Jasper and Chaplin run and play.  Chaplin, especially, loves to run at full speed, just for the sake of running. 

   I've tried, time and again, to get a good photo of each dog running at full speed.   I've about given up; they're just too fast!  

We've gotten to know some of the local "dogs" who are regulars at the park (and their owners), including a HUGE American Bulldog owned by a Miami Dolphin.  We've seen dogs of every breed and description.   Jasper seems to have a special affinity to some Jack Russell terriers, while Chaplin likes boxers (and little girls).

One thing we've noticed about Chaplin is that he is a "chick magnet" 

-- doesn't matter whether it is a six-year-old girl or a middle-aged woman, they all seem to be drawn to Chaplin. 

  And if anyone happens to bring a blanket to the dog park and thinks they'll relax and read while their dog plays, they will soon find Chaplin plopping down on their blanket right beside them!   Luckily, both times this has happened the people on the blanket didn't mind.   Chaplin gets so excited at the dog park that he jumps around like Tigger from Winnie the Poo.   

Jasper loves to play fetch with tennis balls and frisbees. 

  He sometimes acts like he is "above it all" but usually will finally remember he IS a dog and join in the chase.  

Our boys have brand new collars, purchased on the internet from "Mrs. Bones."   Don't they look handsome?   Chaplin's has celtic hounds

 and Jasper's has a flame pattern. 

  I order special collars for them, because sighthounds do best with what's called a Martingale collar.   It's hard to find Martingale collars in regular pet outlets.  Sighthounds' heads are small in relation to their necks, so it would be too easy for them to simply back out of a regular collar.  These collars are designed to tighten when pulled; not enough to choke them, but enough to keep them from wiggling free.

 One thing we have done at each campground for both dogs and Charlie the cat is affix a round paper tag to their collar with our camp site number on it,  just in case.  I believe the round tag shows in the photo of Jasper's new collar.  All three of our animals are micro-chipped and have permanent tags with our cell phone numbers and even the number of our vet in Indiana, who also knows how to reach us.   When we do leave them behind at the motorhome while we're out for a short time, we carry an index card in the car with us with instructions that we have pets left behind in our motorhome, so they won't be forgotten in an emergency.   These are all things I learned to do from reading RV message boards and blogs.   

I know some people (even some of our friends and relatives) think we're nuts for taking all of our animals with us, but we wouldn't have it any other way.  They bring us so much joy, and help to keep us young (at least in our own minds!).   They definitely give us exercise and make us smile.

With all this dog talk, I don't want to leave out Charlie the cat.  Charlie has found a new game in the motorhome.

  The dog leashes hang on a hook just inside the door and he has fun batting and attacking the end of the long dog leash.   We've hung a cat toy there, specifically designed for such play, but Charlie prefers the dog leash.

 He also has great fun chasing his felt catnip mouse, when he's not busy stalking birds out the window.  He's been spending more time outside with us on his leash when we're sitting in the sun with the dogs.  Charlie just sits out there with us, very contentedly.   We always keep half an eye on him, though, and never leave him outside without us.  He's just too clever to trust completely.  He is, after all, a cat!