Florida was fun!

...the place to share tales of your travels and pics of your adventures...

Florida was fun!

Postby dakotamouse » Thu Apr 26, 2007 8:58 pm

Sorry about not posting sooner but work has been hell and time has been short. You really pay for vacation time where I work...........oh well...




Now for our trip...

We took off early from work, Friday March 23, and were able to hit the road by 3:10. We traveled east on I94 to Fargo and then went south on I29 to Sioux Falls, SD. As we were driving people would start to pass us then slow up to take a good long look at the camper. Some of them gave us a thumbs up as they passed.

We arrived in Sioux Falls around about 9:00 so instead of looking for a campground we just pulled into Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart has a policy, except in high tourist areas, of letting campers park overnight in their lot. They know you'll be in to buy something! We slept really well except for when the street sweeper went though the lot at 5:30.




Image

Sat. 24th we were up and had breakfast at Denny's. It started to rain. Didn't matter as it was a travel day. The rain made the remaining snow in the shelter belts start to steam. As we were going south the last of the snow we saw was in Modale, IA. We stopped in Metropolis, IA.

Image


Driving through Missouri and Georgia is tough. I like to channel surf with the radio when I travel to find out what different parts of the country are listening too. In these states 8 of 10 stations are Jesus Music. But along the road are huge billboards advertising Porn Superstores and 3 story high fireworks stores. Odd combo Jesus, Porn and Fireworks! This night we stayed in a KOA campground in Benton, Ill. cause by now we needed showers! The owners of the campground were so nice.


Image

Sun. 25th The trees in Kentucky were getting green, in Tennessee by 11:30 and Nashville by 12:15. For lunch we stopped in Murfreesboro at a place called Corky's BBQ that I had seen on The Travel Channel. Funny as hungry as we were when we would stop to eat we both would get full right away. Often on our trip we would just order one meal and share it. Or we would pack up the leftovers and store them in the icebox of the camper. Leftovers heat up real well wrapped in tin foil and put on the grill. Entered Georgia at 3:15. North of Atlanta Myron had to hit the brakes hard! Traffic ahead of us had slowed to look at the accident in the north bound lane. Traffic on that side was at a stand still for 5 miles. Stayed at a Wal-mart at Valdosta, GA. All the plans we made on paper for this trip worked really well. We ended up overnighting just where we planned.

Mon. 26th Crossed into Florida .Started to see palm trees along the road. Also saw a dead armadillo. Would rather have seen a live one but, oh well. Got to Sanibel Island and our campground around 3:00. This was a really nice campground. People set up their campers there and spend the whole winter. We got a really nice site by luck. The people who had wintered there had just left the day before. Our site backed up to the bird sanctuary. Lots of different parrots in cages and a big pound with ducks and swans in it. The beach is about a block and a half walk from the campground. Beautiful beach. So clean and the sand was made up of shells. We wished we had brought our bikes cause the island is so small and traffic is tight that bikes are the best way to get around. The going rate to rent bikes is $14 a day. But there was a little old man in our campground who rented then for $5. He was quite a character with all kinds of tales to tell. After supper when we were cleaning dishes a truck lit up the road in front of our camper. That's when I saw a huge snake. A man was standing right there so I went over to ask him what kind of snake it was. Myron did not come along. I thought the man said a rattler. I said don't be teasing me I'm from North Dakota I know what a rattler is. He said it was a Rat Snake. A harmless big brown snake that eats palm rats. The rats come out of the trees at night and go over to the bird sanctuary where they eat the seed that the birds have dropped. We were in the rat-snake crawl way. Didn't bother me a bit. Really got a kick out of all the little lizards running around. I believe they are called anoles, not sure of the spelling.



Image

Image



Image

Tue. 27th. We actually slept in till 9:00! Spent a lot of time at the beach then came back to shower because we had a dolphin cruise scheduled at 4:30 and it took at least an hour to drive up to the north side of the island to Captiva Island. Myron started giving a camper tour, this might have been his 7th, I said I had to get showered up. As I was showering I kept hoping Myron was in the shower too. Got back and found Myron giving his 9th camper tour! Arrrgggh! Sorry but I had to break up the party. We got to our cruise on time and it was really nice. Got to see four groups of dolphins. When the captain sees dolphins he tells everyone on the boat to start whistling and clapping then he speeds up the boat and the dolphins come to play in the wake. Tried to take pictures that didn't work so well but I did get a little video.

Wed. 28th. Took our rental bikes for a long ride to the J "Ding" Darling wildlife sanctuary. Had a real nice time there. A bike is the way to go but I swear why is the wind always against you on the way home! Finished up the day at the beach. Myron looked like a big red tomato. Me, I browned up real well to a point that Myron calls "brown as a turd." The man has such a way with words.

Thurs. 29th Got up at 6:00 and headed east across Florida. In south Naples a young guy at a stop light signaled for Myron to roll down his window he wanted to know where Myron BOUGHT his camper. Really made Myron's day. There was a canal along the highway that people were fishing in along with the alligators. We stopped at a rest area called the Oasis and saw some huge ones. Driving down highway 1 is slow going mostly 2 lane and it goes right through all the towns. Drove over the 7 mile bridge and got to our campground in Sugarloaf Key around 4:00. Nice campground, should be for 80 bucks a night. Came with it's own beach on the Atlantic ocean, had a huge heated pool, and an outdoor bar.



Image

Image


Friday, 30th We went to Key West for the day. Parked the car and did a lot of walking. Went to Jimmy Buffets original Margarittaville, Ernest Hemmingway's house--complete with 50 cats, many with six toes, the Mel Fisher Shipwreck Museum. Walked along Duval street. Myron and I aren't big partiers so we didn't do the Duval Crawl from pub to pub. But we did stop and have a nice meal in a street side bistro. Got in trouble for feeding French fries to a pigeon. Couldn't help it he looked so pathetic! Little beggar. Then we took in the sunset celebration at Mallory Square. There they have many different street performers working for tips



Image

Sat. Mar.31 We drove over to the Florida Keys Deer refuge and saw one right away. They look like our white tail deer but are half the size. Then we went to a state park called Bahai Honda. They have beach frontage on both the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Loved swimming and snorkeling there. Wanted to rent kayaks but the wind was too rough and they weren't renting. On the way back to our camper we stopped at a Winn-Dixie grocery store. I had never been in one before. When you first walk in and make a right turn where we have the canned goods specials in our stores they have wine. At the end of every aisle they have wine. I'm not sure how they manage to fit groceries in!



Image

Image

Image

April 1 Sunday We had a little trouble sleeping cause we both had some degree of sunburn. Broke camp and headed back north. We stopped for a bit in Key Largo just so I could look at the boat the "African Queen" I love that movie. Stayed one night in the O'leno Florida State Park.. That's where we saw the sign about not swimming when alligators are present. Duh!!!!

Image



April 2 Monday. We did a little hiking in the park before we hit the road. Stayed that night in the Paul Johnson Mississippi State campground.

April 3 Tue. Got to the Crater of Diamonds state park around 4:30 near Murfreesboro, Arkansas. Ran across lots of states with cities of the same name. We just made camp and relaxed.

Image

April 4, Wed. Went down to the diamond field around 10 stayed till 1:30. Took a break and then went back at 3. Stayed till 5 with no luck. Didn't even spot anything that looked promising. 3 people found diamonds that day but not us! Went out for supper that night in a little cafe that was real gung ho on the Arkansas Razorbacks college football team. Really good food. Nice clean restaurant and great waitstaff. Of all the southern states I think I like Arkansas bet. Nice people like North Dakota only they have lots of trees and hills. They should send some our way they have more than they need!

April 5, Thurs. Back on the road , Without getting into too much detail I got a little sick on our trip. So the first hospital listed on the map was in Waldron, AR. I stopped at their clinic and got fixed up with about $185 worth of meds and was back on the road. Now the weather was getting unseasonably cold in the south and we were headed north. We hadn't brought any cold weather clothes and as I wasn't feeling the best we decided to just head on home. That night we stayed at a Wal-Mart in Nebraska City. I had bought a plant in Florida for my mom. That night in the car it froze! It was 24 degrees that night and we didn't have the benefit of our electric blanket!

April 6, Friday Near Council Bluff Nebraska we had snow showers! We stopped in Mitchell, SD to look at the corn palace and shop at Cabelas, a huge sporting goods store. We don't have one at home. The corn palace is a huge mural made fresh every year with corn cobs.




Image

We got home by 8 that night. When we left it was spring in North Dakota. We came back to winter!

Image


When we got home Ted our kitty was unbelievably affectionate. Might have had something to do with the furnace breaking down a day before we got home and he was a cold kitty!

We had a great time. The little camper worked really well. It pulled easily behind my car and was so maneuverable in thick traffic. We had such a good time we are planning a road trip next year to California to take in the Pamplin Grove gathering. This June we are all set for Minden! A teardrop is really the way to go for long distance travel!
Image

Where did you get it? We didn't get it, we built it!
Myron and Mary
User avatar
dakotamouse
Titanium Donating Member
 
Posts: 1121
Images: 128
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:23 am
Location: Bismarck, ND

Postby wolfix » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:18 pm

I don't know if I should thank you for your fine report, or hate you for getting out of the midwest and it's lousy weather.......

Reading your post was painful...... :cry:

I want to go so bad.....

The trip you described is the one I'm taking as soon as I get TD'ed up.....

The pics had me drooling , then I saw the beach pics...... I wanted to leave right now.
The pics told the story....... From the Key West deer to the Corn Palace.....

*** Having been is North Dakota and the Florida Keys , I can tell you this..... A rattler is bigger in Florida and far more aggressive. They have the Eastern Diamondback rattler.

My TD is going to have a Margarita/KeyWest theme....I just thought of the name....
"Lil Funshine."

dakotamouse....... Did you have any problem with skeeters on your trip in Florida at this time of the year?
"I am the guy our parents warned us about."
User avatar
wolfix
Teardrop Master
 
Posts: 298
Joined: Tue Sep 26, 2006 11:21 am
Location: Iowa

Postby Mary K » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:25 pm

:clapping hands: :clapping hands: :clapping hands:

Awesome!!!!

Thank you so much for sharing your trip to Florida! I live there..here.. but now I want to go there...er... :o

What a great vacation!! Congrats!!!


Mk
Mary K

I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve. Bilbo Baggins
User avatar
Mary K
6000 Club
6000 Club
 
Posts: 6425
Images: 44
Joined: Wed Aug 02, 2006 3:07 pm
Location: Florida, Pensacola
Top

Postby doug hodder » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:35 pm

Mouse....thanks for the travelogue!!! Fun to see an entire trip chronicled in that way....We should get a number of people to do the same on the way to Minden...see you there :thumbsup: :thumbsup: Doug
doug hodder
*Snoop Dougie Doug
 
Posts: 12625
Images: 562
Joined: Tue Dec 14, 2004 11:20 pm
Top

Postby dakotamouse » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:36 pm

Nope no skeeters! Well not then anyway. We did have some little no seeums that did pack a mean bite! Especially on Myron!

We had really good weather. 82 almost all the time. At night I just let our roof vent run and we slept really well. Even Myron with his nasty sunburned back!! :lol:

It has been hard getting used to our local weather though. When we left we were having unseasonbly warm weather. That ended when we came back. Normally camping season kicks off with Memorial day weekend and that weather is kinda iffy. Just felt like we should be able to camp when we got back.

This weekend may be warm again so we may go out for an overnighter.
Last edited by dakotamouse on Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Image

Where did you get it? We didn't get it, we built it!
Myron and Mary
User avatar
dakotamouse
Titanium Donating Member
 
Posts: 1121
Images: 128
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:23 am
Location: Bismarck, ND
Top

Postby Podunkfla » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:37 pm

Dakotamouse... What a nice travelogue. Great pictures too. Glad you had a nice time... you've seen parts of Florida I haven't seen and I've been here for 50+ years. I'm with you... ain't tears wonderful. :thumbsup:
<B>~ Brick
<I>... I've done so much with so little for so long... Now I can do almost anything with nothing! </I></B>
Image...Lots more pix here!
User avatar
Podunkfla
ol' noodle haid
 
Posts: 2261
Images: 5
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 9:25 pm
Location: North Florida near the Suwannee River
Top

Postby Miriam C. » Thu Apr 26, 2007 9:46 pm

Thanks Mouse. What a trip to get to take in the winter/early spring. Your narrative makes is all seem so easy.

See ya in Minden!
“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.â€
User avatar
Miriam C.
our Aunti M
 
Posts: 19675
Images: 148
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Southwest MO
Top

Postby Esteban » Thu Apr 26, 2007 10:22 pm

Dakotamouse, I enjoyed "riding along" on your trip to Florida. Thanks for sharing your pictures and travel journal.
Steve - SLO, CA
Esteban
Donating Member
 
Posts: 1684
Images: 15
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:39 pm
Location: California, San Luis Obispo
Top

Postby martha24 » Thu Apr 26, 2007 11:16 pm

Thanks Dakotamouse,
What a great story of your trip & pictures as well. :applause: :applause: :applause:
I'm looking forward to be able to take some trips too, we should be heading to South Dakota in Aug. to see our son stationed at Ellsworth AFB after he gets back from the middle east area. Have to see if he wants to go anywhere as he gets two weeks off after he gets back. As long as he doesn't go to far, it doesn't count against his leave time. :thumbsup:
Last time we went to visit him we tented camped on the road and had fun doing that as compared to staying in motels. Really looking forward to our TD.
Glad you had such a wonderful trip and shared it with all of us.
Martha ;)
Martha ;)

Image
User avatar
martha24
1000 Club
1000 Club
 
Posts: 1353
Images: 237
Joined: Thu Aug 03, 2006 4:32 am
Location: Calif., Goleta
Top

Postby madjack » Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:15 am

Great story and pics DkM, they inspired me to start a new forum section(thanks for the prod) for hiway tales and have moved this thread over there for the FIRST story.....
madjack 8)
...I have come to believe that, conflict resolution, through violence, is never acceptable.....................mj
User avatar
madjack
Site Admin
 
Posts: 15128
Images: 177
Joined: Thu Dec 02, 2004 5:27 pm
Location: Central Louisiana
Top

Postby Miriam C. » Fri Apr 27, 2007 12:40 am

What an absolutely great idea and a great story to start it with. :thumbsup:
“Forgiveness means giving up all hope for a better past.â€
User avatar
Miriam C.
our Aunti M
 
Posts: 19675
Images: 148
Joined: Wed Feb 15, 2006 3:14 pm
Location: Southwest MO
Top

Postby Podunkfla » Fri Apr 27, 2007 1:00 am

Miriam C. wrote:What an absolutely great idea and a great story to start it with. :thumbsup:

Wow... I will second that great idea for sure. :thumbsup: :applause: :thumbsup: :applause: :thumbsup:
<B>~ Brick
<I>... I've done so much with so little for so long... Now I can do almost anything with nothing! </I></B>
Image...Lots more pix here!
User avatar
Podunkfla
ol' noodle haid
 
Posts: 2261
Images: 5
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2006 9:25 pm
Location: North Florida near the Suwannee River
Top

Postby dakotamouse » Fri Apr 27, 2007 11:30 am

Hey Madjack thanks!

Pretty rare that I get to be a first! Of course I might have named it Hiway TAILS ;) but thats rodents for ya!

While we were on the road I kept a journal and wrote as we went. Too much was going on to try to recall it all at the end of the day.
Image

Where did you get it? We didn't get it, we built it!
Myron and Mary
User avatar
dakotamouse
Titanium Donating Member
 
Posts: 1121
Images: 128
Joined: Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:23 am
Location: Bismarck, ND
Top

Postby Jack J » Fri Apr 27, 2007 7:09 pm

I stopped at the Corn Palace and Cabella's a couple years ago on a road trip from Washington to Wisconsin and Michigan and then down to Minden NE for the TD gathering there. Could have spent almost the whole day in Cabellas.

Image

Like you, we had a great trip with plenty of stops at various tourist sites, Wall Drug, and some National Parks. Yellowstone, Mt Rushmore and a few others. I really enjoyed seeing the many different terrains of the country.
Glad to hear you had a good time.

Getting ready for another cross country trip in June,

Jack
Image
User avatar
Jack J
Teardrop Advisor
 
Posts: 90
Images: 16
Joined: Thu May 11, 2006 9:54 pm
Location: Washington state
Top

Postby Ira » Tue May 01, 2007 1:59 pm

WOW! GREAT THREAD! GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT!

Near the "African Queen" is a bar/ restaurant called the Caribbean Club. Here's how it was then, but it's still in business:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Club

It's the only part of the film that was actually filmed on Key Largo...the exterior shots. Everything else was done in Hollywood.

Rumor has it that for years and years, she used to return to the place every year--either on Bogart's birthday or their anniversary--to throw a rose in the water.
Here we go again!
User avatar
Ira
Forum Storyteller
 
Posts: 5652
Images: 118
Joined: Tue Nov 29, 2005 2:16 pm
Location: South Florida
Top

Next

Return to Trips, Pics and Hiway Tales

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest