I stopped on the way down and visited an old friend from Ford (Todd & wife Chris) who now lives in Indianapolis. (Todd is also recently retired - from Navistar.)
We had a campfire and were treated to two barred owls that live near his backyard calling to each other. This is a shot of one of them that perched right above us.
After two pretty long days of driving (and a night at a rest stop in southern Georgia), this was my first Florida stop.
I again visited my college friend Dean and his wife Sandy at their place in Port Charlotte. (I did also in 2020.) He has a great spot there for me to park and plug in my trailer.
As Dean told me, "you're the perfect house guest. You don't stay in the house!"
Damaged equipment on the hand built bike rack stabilizer system that I created. I tested in on my UP trip in 2021 and it worked fine then, but on the way to Florida it fell apart in a hurry. And as soon as I'd fix one thing that broke, something else would go. But when I got to Dean's place we went and got improved hardware and fixed it and it was fine after that.
The beach in Venice I went there with my friend Victor (also from Ford Rawsonville) who lives in North Port just south of Venice.
(Notice the upper left corner of the picture!)
A beautiful sunset from the upper deck of my favorite tiki bar that Victor and I like to have a drink at when I visit with him.
(Piña colada is my drink of choice in spots like this!)
The Edison and Ford winter estates in Fort Meyers. (A large banyan tree on the left.) As a long time Ford employee, it was interesting to see.
Dean and our dogs (Dylan and Sandy) on a morning walk. There were some nice trails by ponds and we'd see a lot of interesting birds.
One morning we saw a large pileated woodpecker just pounding away on a tree. I'd never seen one before, but alas, I had no camera (or phone) with me.
(I was also treated to the songs of a northern mockingbird at Dean's place. Man can those birds ever sing!) On the right, sand pipers on the beach near Naples pier.
A black-crowned Night-Heron hunting for breakfast and a rather large (seemingly well fed) American alligator at a stop in Alligator Alley along Highway 41.
My favorite shot that I got in Alligator Alley - a Great egret scavenging near a fat gator basking in the warm sun.
My favorite fruit stand stop in Southern Florida - Robert Is Here (but I sure didn't see him!) near the entrance to Everglades National Park, and a resident Emu.
I changed my "usual order" from getting a tropical smoothie to a fruit shake this trip, and I loved it! (I also got some great mango desert bread.)
My campsite at Boyd's in Key West. It was downwind of the sanitary waste dump station, but it was near the ocean, so I liked it. (So did Sandy!)
But it still cost most of $200 per night - for a camp site. (Key West prices.)
The ocean view from my campsite in Key West. (Notice the sunken wreck towards the left - most likely a victim of hurricane Irma in 2017.)
One of Key West's many iguanas - this one relentlessly prowling the shore. (Or possibly contemplating a kayak ride.)
A few of the feathered friends that wandered around the campsite. On the left two chickens and one of the (many) often very colorful roosters that Key West is famous for.
On the right a homely but lovable Moskovy Duck - he seemed to spend most every night sleeping right next to the shore near my campsite.
More of Key West's loveable residents.
There is a fishing crew that cleans their catch near here and feeds the birds a couple times per day, so they tend to wait around close by for the free grub.
This spot was along a popular marina walk and featured Wahlburgers which became my favorite happy hour stop for the $3 fish tacos and draft beers.
The boat I went on with a snorkeling excursion. It was a really nice trip to a beautiful reef.
I saw lots of small fish, a few stingrays and a baracuda.
I also met a very nice German family on the snorkel trip that I happened to sit next to. (I tried to speak ein bischen of my sloppy German with them.)
On the left is me talking to Marc about world politics, and on the right is Marc & his wife Gabriela.
I invited Marc and his wife and two daughters to join me for dinner at my campsite. I offered up steaks and beer. (I do have a nice portable grill.)
The plans almost fell thru due to an major unexpected termite bloom - they were flying around everywhere for about an hour,
and then they lost their wings and died in a hurry (as they do), so thankfully it ended up working out.
On the left is me by my welcome sign I put up for them, and on the right a group shot of all of us. L - R is me, Paulina, Marc, Gabi and Alexa.
(Meeting them was a real highlight of the trip.)
Some shots of Key West - flowers were blooming, and the sunset view near Mallory Square is always popular with the throngs of tourists.
Gators in Everglades National Park, along the Anhinga Trail.
I camped there for a couple of nights in Flamingo after leaving Key West.
Talk about culture shock of different environments - from a packed, face paced tourist mecca to a barren largely empty (rather baron) campground.
Some trails near Flamingo. Above right a small lake (Bear Lake) that I hiked to. Below hanging growth (tillandsia) and cypress trees along a trail.
You gotta love some of the tourist traps in Florida. I turned around and stopped at this one just to get a sasquatch shot. (Or a skunk ape, as it seems.)
Heading back up to the Clearwater area. The famous Skyway suspension bridge. (Pictures taken (carefully) while driving.)
Some shots of a beautiful little (Anderson) park near Clearwater where I stayed for a few days. (Tarpon Springs)
Good old Spanish moss. I loved it when I visited Florida with my family as a child in the 60s, and guess what - I still do.
I tried to see the manatees that gather all winter near a huge power plant near Tampa. The power plant (run by Tampa Electric) actually does a pretty good job of providing safe habitat for the manatees and a nice site for people to view them. (I heard about it on NPR.) The warm water discharged from the plant attracts the manatees but in the spring they start heading out for more open water. I was there in March when they aren't around as much and I as it turned out I didn't get too see any when I visited.
The rest of the story! Someone there at the viewing site told me that there actually were a couple of manatees sighted there earlier in the morning before I got there, which I would have had a chance to see them except for a mishap at the campground. The day before, I had extended my stay by a night just for the reason of vising the Apollo Beach power plant and hoping to see some manatees. They told me they had space available, but that my current site was booked so I needed to move to a different campsite. Ok, a bit of a pain, but I wanted to try to see the manatees so I decided to do it. So I got up early, started working at 8 AM, disconnected everything, packed up and moved to the new site right across the road.
At 9:15 I was done and I headed to the office to get my new vehicle & site tags as the woman at the desk had told me to do. When I got there I was told that somehow the site they told me I had been assigned to was taken, and that I was actually now supposed to stay in my original site. I told them I had already moved, and asked why someone hadn't tried to let me know if they had found a way to extend my stay on my original site. The girl gave me a look and told me that "most people check at the office before they move." I about chewed her out, but I bit my tongue. All I said was "the girl yesterday told me to check at the office AFTER I move to get new tags." (I imagine most people at these mini-retirement communities aren't such early risers, but I had hoped to get an early start to try to see the manatees so I had I started moving at 8 AM - the office didn't open until 9 AM.)
So now I had to head back and move everything right back to my original site. Perfect. Plus it was kinda humiliating, given that there were a number of people nearby sitting at their picnic tables having breakfast watching my little slow-motion, over-and-back Chinese firedrill type of spectacle. It felt like "make a fool out of the new guy" day. (Most people at this place tend to stay there all winter.) They coulda come and put a note on my trailer - something - but they reassigned me and did nothing to tell me about it. So after 3 hours of make-work, I was right back where I started, and at 11 AM I finally headed off to the power plant. It was past noon when I arrived, and as I found out, I had missed any chance of seeing the manatees. It was disappointing, but the viewing park did have a small museum, some trails and a nice viewing tower, so it was still interesting, but not what I had hoped for. So it goes.
Back to the beach - this time Clearwater Beach, which has spectacular soft, white sand, and when I was there hoards of H.S. kids on spring break roaming around.
Some of the sea birds by the pier at Clearwater Beach. A black headed seagull and a brown pelican. (I like birds!)
My last two campsites - Tarpon Springs KOA and a rest stop in Kentucky I stopped at along I75 on the way home.
(I had planned to visit Todd again for a night (and watch NCAA basketball) but he and his wife had both come down with Covid so that got cancelled.)
I took advantage of the free accommodations that my trailer offers at rest stops both on the way down and back. (Me and the 18 wheelers!)
And to close, a final glimpse of the alluring tropical beauty Florida offers with one more shot of the beautiful sunset from the tiki bar at the beach in Venice.
The itinerary of the trip. Not quite as prolific as my 50 day 10,000 mile trip in 2020, but still a great trip visiting friends and having fun in Florida.
(Green shading indicates dates I was on the move driving with my trailer, and white days that I stayed put.)
