Aug 6th,7th and 8th

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Back onto Hwy A1A again, and along the beaches to Daytona Beach. We passed though Cape Canaveral, where a Jupiter probe took off the day before on a 5 year mission. We then went to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and drove through the gravel backroads looking for wildlife, birds, manatee, etc. 99% of the wildlife had the good sense to go North for the summer.



If you watch the video, you will hear the cicadas, which we have been hearing everywhere for the last month. They are so loud you can hear them along the roads over the noise of the cars.

We had planned to stay in Daytona Beach for a couple of days, but though the pool and beach were nice, the hotel wasn't, and internet didn't work so we decided to move on.  We did, however, get to have dinner at a Red Lobster, which we've wanted to do since we started this trip. It was great!! The next morning we took the car on the beach, which is another thing Steve wanted to do on this trip.



One of the inmates talking to Steve



Without a place to stay, we headed up A1A again, stopping in St. Augustine to do a self guided tour of the historic district. There is a historic lighthouse, bridge, fort, and an old jail.









We were stunned by the number of huge palaces, and fabulous mansions along hundreds of miles of Hwy A1A. Where the land narrows, some of the properties extended across the road so they owned the beach on one side of the road as well as the boat dock on the other. There is also every other type of home you can imagine from huge apartment condos, regular family homes, luxury condos, beach huts and trailer parks. 

 We saw a lot of interesting seabirds including different types of gulls, one with a top knot, pellicans, sandpipers and others we didn't know. The vegetation is varied, from swampy mangrove, to prickly pear cactus and agave, to pine trees, palm trees and huge spreading oaks hung with Spanish Moss and vines. There are also dunes covered in Sea Oats protected by snowfences and designated walkways to the beach.

   

Bar before the storm

 



  

Bar a short while later

We were very lucky to find a great hotel right on the beach at Atlantic Beach, just North of Jacksonville Beach. Our balcony overlooks the pool, Tiki Bar, and the beach. Then we were treated to a wild thunderstorm. I have many pictures of a rainy sky sans lightening strikes. It was raining so hard that Steve took his chamois out and washed the car.

Aug 8th, our second Monthversary, and we are celebrating sitting on our balcony watching the pelicans dive for fish and dozens of dragonflies fly around the pool. On our first swim in the waves this morning we saw several dolphins following a fishing boat and dozens of gulls soaring around it.

August , 2nd,3rd,4th and 5th

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Before leaving Key West, we all decided to jump on the trolley tour. They have these in several cities, and we find it a good way to see points of interest and get some information on whatever city we are in. The drivers do a running commentary as we are passing through the city and you can jump on and off at any of the stops. Today we got off at the Hemmingway House and  3 of us did a tour there, while Steve waited in the garden. The guides are dressed to look like Ernest Hemmingway, beard and all, and told us amusing stories of  "Papa" and his 4 wives, the 6-toed cats, and history of the house. If anyone is intested, there is lots of information online. Richard and I could not resist buying some books from the place where they were written.
We were pretty hot by then so looked for a cool place to get a drink, but everything on that street had shut down permenently and we were too hot and grumpy to continue the rest of the trolley tour, so we caught the next one back to the hotel. We got the cars and headed back to Marathon where Steve and Sheila cooled off in the 'chilled' pool, and Richard and Linde cooled off in the bar.



Bahia Honda Park and the causeway in the background



The sea was like glass



On Wednesday the 3rd, we decided to split up for a few days, as we have different interests in the next few miles of the coast. Richard and Linde wanted to experience the Big City bars, beaches, and boutiques, and as Steve and Sheila had done that on a previous trip, we wanted to explore the backroads, quiet beaches, and biology. We headed back to Bahia Honda and were very lucky to get on a 9:30 snorkeling trip out to Looe Key, which is not really a key but a reef. Unfortunatly, as we anchored the jellyfish came floating in and only one man would get in the water. When he realized how thick they were, he had difficulty getting back to the boat without getting stung multiple times. The captain then took us to another spot with lots of fish but not such spectacular coral. We saw the largest Angel Fish we had ever seen, about 1 foot long and about 8 or 9 inches deep. It was black with yellow and white crosshatches and was amazingly beautiful. We saw lots of great fish there and were very glad we had gone back to do the trip.

Then we ambled on down the road back to Florida City where we had stayed several days before, stopping at the Salt Water Crocodile Refuge. Apparently they where all sleeping and the only way to see them was to get into our bathing suits and go looking for them. We got the same hotel room, by chance, got the car unpacked and went for a swim in the pool. Just then the sky opened up and the lightening flashed, and the thunder crashed, as we sat nice and comfortable under the pool umbrella. How Lucky!!

On Thursday, we did about 130 miles on backroads around Miami, to Deerfield Beach. Much of the area is wild swamp, however, we were surprised to see that there had been a huge fire running for many miles along the road. Imagine, in all that wet soggy area!! We saw lots of Turkey Vultures and some Osprey. Deerfield Beach is a long white sand beach with palm trees and a board walk and lots of restaurants, but not as crowded as Miami. Our hotel was a block from the beach so we walked down and had dinner watching the ocean.

Friday, 5th - We are following Hwy A1A from Deerfield right along the water to Cocoa Beach. We stopped several times for a swim in the ocean to cool off and play in the waves. There is every type of home along this road, from palaces to trailer parks.    

29th,30th and31st and 1st Aug. The Keys

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After spending the afternoon in Florida City getting Steve's wheel alignment done and getting tires balanced and rotated, we hung out at the pool.
Next morning we set off for the Florida Keys on Overseas Hwy, or Hwy 1. John Pennekamp State Park was our first snorkelling activity. Not a lot of fish to see off the beach, but there is a sunken Spanish wreck there. Just a few old cannon and a large anchor.Spent the afternoon and evening in Marathon, about halfway down the Keys.Traffic was terribly slow. Covered seven miles in forty five minutes in one area.Weekend traffic, we think.
Sunday we headed on to Bahia Honda Key, apparently voted best beach in the USA several times.It is also a State Park, and the snorkelling was a bit better.

Sunset from Key West

Then on to Key West. The tradition is to watch the sunset from Mallory Square and then the partying starts. So we had dinner at the Tiki Bar at the hotel and then went down to watch the sunset, which because of the clouds was spectacular. Then Richard and Linde checked out some of the bars, while Steve and Sheila went back to the hotel to work on the blog.


Moat wall along which we snorkelled







On Monday we took a boat trip out to Dry Tortugas National Park. It is a collection of undeveloped coral and sand islands 70 miles from Key West. (see the map below) On Garden Key, the largest one, is a large 19th century fort. Though construction continued for 30 years, the fort was never finished. It was used for Union deserters during the Civil War, and housed the 4 men convicted of complicity in the Lincoln assassination. These islands are called the Dry Tortugas because they have no fresh water, so the rainwater was collected in huge cisterns under the fort. However the cisterns developed leaks and salt water contaminated the drinking water. It was abandoned in the 1880s and in 1908 the islands bacame a wildlife refuge. Turtles nest on one of the islands, and sooty terns, masked boobys and the giant frigate birds nest on others. The coral reefs around the fort are spectacular and the water is crystal clear. Unfortunatly, while we were there the wind blew in great hoards of jellyfish. We were very busy dodging them in some areas we would have liked to explore further, but didn't feel comfortable. Near the walls of the moat where it was relatively free of jellyfish we were able to snorkel and saw some great stuff like the huge Tarpon, about 4 feet long, and lots of other fish we've seen in other places, only these were much bigger.

Hexagon shaped fort

Upon our return from the Dry Tortugas, Richard and Linde stayed downtown to see the sunset again and check out the nightlife. Steve and Sheila found a wonderful Mediterranean restaurant and tried some Turkish food. I'm a fan!! The sunset from the seawall in front of our hotel was even more spectacular than from Mallory Square.



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July 26-29 Everglades

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From Tarpon Springs to Everglade City we were struck by several very short but violent tropical rainstorms. A couple of them, like the one in the video, were so bad you couldn't see the car ahead. Believe it or not the blue MG is only a few hundred yards ahead. Luckily a kindly trucker pulled in behind Richard to protect them from being hit from behind.

 The mosquitos were just waitng for some new meat, and as not too many people visit here in the summer they decended upon us in clouds. All the houses, restauants(3) and motels(2) have screened in porches and balconies. The first motel we stayed at even had the pool screened in. Then we switched to the other motel, as that one was too restrictive, and found the beds were even worse.

Anyway, we took a great air boat ride and then went on the National Park boat out among the 10,000 Islands.

The tour was guided by a naturalist who pointed out the birds and dolphins. Both trips were a lot of fun and free of mosquitos, so we were glad we braved the bites to stay an extra night.  

On the 29th, Happy Birthday Colin, we set off for Florida City, planning to drive out to Flamingo on the coast, but were advised the mosquitos were ten times worse there. Along the road we saw several alligators and a beautiful Anhinga drying his wings.

Anhinga

 

July 21 - 26

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After a delicious breakfast with the Provows complete with Grits (a staple down South) , we headed East again following the highway along the water. There are a lot of long causeways in this area, connecting the many island and penninsulas. The pelicans skim along the top of the railings, following the road, but we can't figure out why. We passed through several tropical rain storms, which were a welcome relief from the heat, but hard on the car. The wind blows the water to the inside of the windshield, so we were constantly drying it to prevent the guages from getting water in them. We stopped for lunch in Apalachicola( love that name) and the waitress suggested a motel on


Sunrise on St. George Island



St. George Island. It turned out to be a wonderful place right on the beach. The turtles nest on this island so there are no lights to distract them and the night sky is spectacular. The Sea Oats were lovely in the morning light.

 This grass is critical to the area along the coast as it has an extensive root system which holds the dunes from being blown away in hurricane season. It is protected by only allowing people to get to the beaches along marked pathways or by what we call snow fences up north.


From St. George Island, we set off for Cedar Key, which is a quaint sea side town with restaurants, bird trails, and marshlands. This is the Suwanee River, typical of many rivers we crossed, with the trees hanging over the banks and very lush looking.

Some birds we saw on Cedar Key, Some of you might like to try to identify them. We think maybe a Spoonbill.

Tonight we are at Crystal River, planning to tour the park tomorrow, looking for Manatee and then to Homosassa Springs, which is another place the Manatee hang out. We had a $6 steak dinner tonight at a pub, complete with baked potato and onion rings, and believe it or not, it wasn't bad. That's just one example of how bad the economy is down here.

Sheila coming out of lagoon covered in seaweed

Headiing for Homosassa Park by boat

In Crystal River we went snorkeling, and did manage to find a couple of Manatee. The Manatee are out in the Gulf as it is warm this time of year and they need warm water. The water in the Springs is a constant 72 degrees and crystal clear, so it was interesting just to snorkel among the Mangrove roots and see some fish there. In Homosassa the National Park is more like a wildlife encounter, so you only see examples of Florida wildlife in habitats.

July 21st to 24th New Orleans to Grayton Beach

Upon leaving New Orleans, we crossed Lake Pontchartrain on a 30 mile bridge. It was somewhat like being in the ocean in your car as the lake is huge.

From there we crossed into Alabama, and proceeded along the coast to Biloxi, where we learned all about shrimp fishing on a shrimp boat. We spent the night in Daphne, Alabama. Steve and Sheila stayed at the hotel to work on the blog, and Richard and Linde went to see the American battleship, the USS Alabama, which served in WWII.

Grayton Beach - We are here because Steve has been in contact with Scott Provow through the MG Enthusiast site for several months. Scott (Matt as he is called by his family) kindly offered us a place to stay for a couple of days. Imagine our surprise when we drive up to find he is a 19 year old, soon on his way to college! He arranged for us to stay in a luxurious guest house of one of the mansions in this resort area, complete with swimming pool. We met his grandfather, Gap Daddy, who has lots of interesting stories to tell, as his was the second family to settle here. He was a pilot in the Navy and used to fly over his house here and drop parachutes with treats for his children. Matt's parents, Leslie and Scott Sr. were also pilots in the Navy and then commercial pilots on long distance flights. Leslie was a leading force in saving the dunes from being bulldozed, keeping this beautiful area undeveloped. The beach won the "Best Beach in the World' award so many years running that it had to be taken out of the running to give other beaches a chance. We also met Matt's sister and aunts. What an amazing family! Southern Hospitality is not a myth! 



Oil changes and Car washes in the driveway of our guest house. Brady on the right is a guest of the big house.

We had dinner at the famous Red Barn, where people come for many miles around and don't mind waiting for 2 hours or more for a table. Their crab cakes are the best I've tasted. To top it all off, some of us saw the longest and most amazing shooting star. Because of the lack of light here, the milky way is fully visable.



Provow Family

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July 18,19, & 20th New Orleans

Once we were settled in the hotel, we did a walking tour of Bourbon Street and the waterfront in the French Quarter. The architecture of the buildings and wrought iron work is very striking. The doors open directly on the street, and though wrought iron gates you can view lovely landscaped courtyards. Plaques through out the area explain the history of many of the buildings. The sidewalks are ancient and very broken up. You have to be very careful not to trip into holes or over raised edges. Bourbon Street is very loud, and somewhat of a disappointment as much of the extremely loud music is not Jazz.  We did find a fun club where the band was playing Bayou music, washboard and all.

 

The next day we took a tour on the paddle boat, Natchez, and saw views of the Mississippi river port, as well as various historical sites and some Katrina damage. We had a drink in a Jazz Club that had a very good band, but they had to play their music too loud to be heard over the cacophony across the street.



Cafe du Monde is a must for any visit to New Orleans, all they've served for generations is coffee or milk and biegnets. They are open 24 hours and are always busy.



Cemetery at Chalmette



 





Wednesday we headed out to  Chalmette Battlefield, where the battle of New Orleans took place in 1812, between the British and the Americans.

We were told that the locals went to Frenchman Street to listen to Jazz, so we headed down there and found a great Italian restaurant for dinner and a Jazz club, called the Spotted Cat.  A fine evening to end our stay in New Orleans.