The Sun and the Sea (02-08-13)

Our stay in the Florida Keys is drawing to a close.  We have one more week before we start the (very) slow trek northward.  Our month here has had a completely different feel to it than our everyday life. It’s really felt more like a vacation than anywhere else has felt.  I am sure it has a lot to do with the ocean, the warmth, and that sense of “island time”.  I would love to come back again next winter, but odds are, that’s not going to happen- for several reasons.  First, our Jell-o plan is to head across Canada, from east to west, dipping down into the U.S. whenever we want to, or feel we need to.  That will leave us on, or near the west coast next autumn.  Although I suppose we could run all the way back here, it doesn’t make any sense to do that.  When you add to that the cost of staying in the Keys, which is more than double the highest rate (for a month stay) that we’ve paid anywhere else, now it really makes no sense.  We knew when we came here that it was a treat that wouldn’t be repeated anytime soon. Unless we win the lottery, of course.  Anyway, although it’s been great, there is much more to do when we spend the winter Arizona.

I got my new camera back from Panasonic- it works perfect now, and was covered under warranty.  I haven’t used it much because most of my pictures have been taken out on the water, and although I bring my phone, for emergency purposes, I don’t bring a camera on the ocean.  It can get pretty rough, pretty fast, and  salt water doesn’t mix too well with electronics.

     We have finally gotten to put the dinghy in, and have spent 3 days out on the water, exploring different keys.  The only snorkeling I did was “cheater” snorkeling- sticking my mask and snorkel adorned head over the side of the dinghy.  Not graceful, by any means.

On nearby Duck Key numerous multi-million dollar homes line the beautiful canals that wind their way through the island. We had ridden our bikes all through this key, so it was interesting to see the homes from the water too.

Some of the homes face the bay, instead of the canal.  Prices start at 1.9 million.  Anyone interesting in splitting a house with us? Ha!

The keys aren’t known for their beaches, which became very evident when it took us three days to discover this tiny little beach.  By the time we did, it was late in the day and getting too cool to go for a swim.  Of course, when we get hot, we can just jump in the water, but “jumping” back in the boat is not that easy for me anymore!

For the last few days we’ve been following the Nor'easter that found it’s way to Boston. Anytime there is a snow storm of this magnitude, it reminds many New Englanders of the great “Blizzard of ‘78”.  That storm was one of those “moments in time” that everyone remembers where they were and what they were doing. 

These pictures of 1978 are of Rte 128, one of the major 4 lane highways outside of Boston.  I was on this road, driving home from college, less than 2 hours before this happened. A little later, and I wouldn’t have made it home for 3 days.  Thousands of people abandoned their cars, and sadly, hundreds of people died, sitting on the highway. waiting for help.  A call went out for anyone who had a snowmobile to ride to the highway and help rescue the stranded. 

  

Strangers opened their homes to those who were stuck and had no way to make it to their own homes.  Driving was banned for 3 days, and even after that, people were urged to drive only if necessary. On the first day we could drive, I drove 4 of the neighborhood moms (including my own) to the store so they could each get a few bags of groceries.

that's me, climbing around

Once the snow stopped falling,  the massive job of shoveling began.  It probably took a long time, because it sure was more fun playing in the snow, than it was shoveling it!



my dad, brother Ray and I work on the fort



After the work was done, we built the best snow fort ever. 












my cat explores the tunnel




We had two huge “snow rooms” with a 10 foot tunnel connecting them. It was a family project!

my brother Richie helps with the fort

I have great memories of that storm, but it doesn’t mean I am sad to have missed out on the Blizzard of 2013!

Interior Decorating (01-30-13)

A lot of people who live in motorhomes or 5th wheels put a lot of thought and effort into decorating it.  I don’t.  Of course, that’s not totally true but I figure that the trailer came “decorated” and I feel no need to replace the curtains, add wallpaper or do any other heavy duty decorating, so for the first year, we made very few changes or additions. Now that we’ve had the trailer a while, we have started to do more to make it “ours”.  When we had the Sticks and Bricks, our tastes leaned towards “Caribbeanesque”, from the wicker kitchen furniture to the framed charts in the family room.  I guess we are headed in that same direction now that we have started to personalize the trailer more. 


Our first decoration was put up soon after we bought the trailer and was one we brought from the house. It’s a pretty good symbol of our preferred lifestyle.

Fast forward a year, and we found this gem when we were hunting through our storage unit for something.  It’s not really in keeping with our Margaritaville theme, but the clock is a hubcap from a Thunderbird and was given to Paul by co-workers when he moved from MA to MI, so it has a lot of sentimental value.

We also found this guy in storage, and finally got him up on the wall.

I think part of our decorating frenzy is due to us being here in the Florida Keys, where the lifestyle fits us so well.  We found this the other day, and it’s already up on the wall.

Of course, we don’t too much wall space anyway, so we have to make sure that everything that goes on the wall matters to us.

I also finally finished a project that I had been working on, on and off, for about 7 years- my latest cross stitch project.

It’s a little big, but we did put it in the bathroom ( I originally bought it to hang in our bathroom in the house).  It feels good to have it finished, framed, and on the wall!

Other than that, we haven’t been too busy.   This is as close as we have gotten to putting the  boat in the water.  We have promised each other that we will make the supreme effort of actually putting it in the water tomorrow.  The wind hasn’t died down much, but if we don’t go out too far, it shouldn’t effect us.

While we were in Key Largo, someone told us about Key Largo Fisheries, where the fish you buy is fresh off the boats.  We bought stone crab for Paul and fresh Mahi for us for dinner.  It was SO good, we did the same thing we did in Flagstaff when we found the best Mexican food we’d ever had.  Instead of experimenting further, we went to the same place the next day.  We are enjoying taking advantage of all the terrific fresh fish down here.

With no hiking available, we’ve been trying to bike as much as possible, and since we have a decent pool here, I’ve been taking advantage of that.  They also have a daily aqua aerobics class, but I haven’t been motivated enough to join in.