RETURN TRIP FROM KEY WEST - STOP AT BUTTERFLY WORLD

Our first day on the bus trip to Key West revealed that we had walked right past our camera battery, plugged in at home for recharging.  We did not realize it until I first got out the camera to use it.  Surprise!!
Now, think!!  How to get pictures on a sight seeing trip without our camera?  So - - used my phone for the first day and then bought a disposable camera for $25 that would take 39 pictures of our day on Key West. And I used the phone again on the return trip.  Then I will have to pay to get those Key West photos developed yet!!  So the Blog of Key West photos will be the last one.  Hope that we never make that mistake again!!

The tour guide had received a call that the Butterfly Museum that was scheduled for our last stop probably would not have butterflies out because of the cold weather.  Everyone was disappointed!!  However, since it was included in our trip and their birds were available to view, we stopped anyway.  It is located just north of Miami.

Our tour began with a host of the museum who walked us through all of the work areas, butterfly cages, bird cages, and bug displays.  She was most informative and we found much to be learned.

Look closely under the leaves.

The first butterfly she showed us was the Owl.  Notice how she holds it.  I always thought that they lost color and you could damage the wing when holding them by the wings.  But that must be myth.



Note the " owl eye" on the back part of the wing.

 Now I will load the rest of the pictures, including the flowers that the butterflies favor for nectar.



Piano key butterfly

The screened in work areas made for difficult observation and picture taking.  It also was too humid, or I should say wet, for Gary to stay in there.  But I enjoyed it!!

Hummingbirds are the attraction.

Very little birds again.



Bananas are the sweet attraction here for the butterflies.


 

After returning to the bus, it was interesting to hear that everyone was impressed and had enjoyed the stop afterall.  They were skeptical before the stop though.

Check back in a few days and maybe CVS will call that my Key West pictures are ready.

BUS TRIP FROM RED OAKS RV PARK

Our first trip from Red Oaks RV Park this season was a three day trip beginning January 15th to Key West. Since we had never been there, we felt a bus trip would be better than going it on our own.  But now that we have been there, we want to go again!!  There is much more to see than we had time for.  We barely skimmed the surface.

The bus picked us up here in the park at 7:30am

Our first side trip on the Jungle Queen was a three hour cruise of the Ft Lauderdale Intra Coastal Waterways.  (Better known as Millionaire Row.)  Our tour guide had much information to share, what house belonged to whom and any other history behind these awesome homes.  Not having a note-pad with me I will just show the pictures for now, with the first of some awesome boats.

Hard to imagine someone having enough money to maintain these, let alone staffing them and traveling with them.  Money to burn?  Can't think of anything else to do with it, or is it competition?

Steven Spielberg's yacht

Gondola

There were several draw bridges that we went "under". 

 

 

Here we are coming to a railroad drawbridge.

 

Now show of the homes!!  Some of them you can not even tell the actual size because they run longer from front to back than they are across the front.  I just can't imagine what it must take in staff to care for them. 

 

Some of the owners named were a Burt Reynolds, Nick Nolte, Gloria Vanderbilt, car dealer Mike Maroone, CEO of Best Buy, Dave Thomas of Wendy's, original owner of Taco Bell, owner of Oscar Mayer with a hot dog painted on the bottom of the swimming pool,  Sen. Herb Kohl of Wisconsin and heir to Kohl's department store fortune, Anheuser-Busch family, a glass walled mansion used as setting for Miami Vice, home where Connie Frances stayed when filming "Where the Boys Are", just to list a few.

 

The cruise boat passed 45 feet over the traffic going through Florida's only tunnel on U.S. 1.

 

Just about the time that our boat turned around, we noticed that there was a campground on the Intra Coastal Waterway.  Hm-m-m, might be a nice place to stay in the motorhome.  We will have to look into it!!

 

Continuing on to Key West after this cruise, we stopped at a small roadside bird and animal sanctuary where we were able to watch a man wrestle the alligator.



We then checked in at our motel at Homestead Florida for the night before going on through the Keys.  Stay with us and we will show you our pictures of Key West and our stop north of Miami on our return trip at Butterfly World.

 

Hope that you are all staying warm.  It is a challenge here as well, but then we don't expect "0" temps.  Spring should break soon??

QUICK TRIP TO OHIO IN DECEMBER AND MOVING IN JANUARY

It is sad to say that we made a hurried trip to Ohio because of the death of Audrey's next oldest brother, Wayne on December 22nd.  His health has been a concern since early in 2009 when Audrey made a trip north to care for him and make changes in his living arrangements.  It has been up and down ever since because of congestive heart failure.

While in Ohio we spent time with Victor on his birthday, when we met more family for lunch at Los Gallos in Boardman. Then we also went to Richard's for Christmas morning with the family.

Miranda, Richie, and Lynn

 As you can see there is much remodeling going on there, though it is taking time.  Never enough hours in a day with their work schedules.
 
Ben then made the trip in from PA to see family and attend services for Wayne.  Audrey and sister, Pearl, got the job of emptying Wayne's apartment completed, but could not have done it so quickly without the help of Gary and cousins, Tom and Bill.  Thank you so much for your help!!

Pearl decided to make the trip back south with us to be with her daughter, Tina, in Port Charlotte.
Our trip was moved up a day because of scary weather in the forecast.  We left New Years Day after a night of more snow, some 6 to 8 inches.  Much of the area had not seen a snow plow yet, but we prayed and continued on.  Finally south of Akron roads were clear!! 

Getting in to the Carolinas, and leaving so early in the mornings, it was awesome to see the sunrise!!  We spread the trip out over three days, with our first stop in Elkin NC.  On the second day we phoned friends, Mike and Sandy in Lexington SC, and met up with them at McDonalds on the east side of Columbia to have a cup and visit.  Sorry I had to use a file photo though.  Seems I am not up to keeping the camera with me all of the time. 

Mike and Sandy, it was great to see you again, even though so briefly!!  From their we drove on through GA and stopped for the night in Mechanicsville FL.  Since this was not too far from St. Augustine where another cousin, Jeanne and her husband, are wintering, we made plans to meet them at the local restaurant for a two hour dinner and visit.    

Jeanne and Norbert, it was great and we look forward to doing it again!!  Hope that grandchild arrives for you all soon.

The last day and the last leg of the trip was south to Port Charlotte and then to Acadia where our home was waiting for us. We were overdue in moving it to Bushnell FL where we will spend the next three months of winter.  That was accomplished on Saturday and in time to meet with friends in Sunday School here at First Baptist Church in Bushnell.  Great to see everyone!!  And nice to be sitting still for a while.  Ah-h-h, maybe.

The following Saturday friends from Ohio arrived to visit on their way south.  This trip they were traveling with their dog and without an RV, so they stayed at a motel next door to our RV Park.  We dined at home together, played 5-Crowns and visited.  On Sunday we went to Mo's Restaurant in Panasoffkee for brunch and on to Dade Battlefield to checkout the Museum.  There was a gentleman giving a good tour and much information about the past history of the Seminoles in this area.

 

Monday we went to Howie's Family Restaurant for breakfast before saying our goodbyes as Bill and Esther prepared to leave for Winter Gardens and then Punta Gorda. 

Esther and Bill, we enjoyed the visit and hope that the rest of your trip went well.  We look forward to seeing you again in Ft. Myers for Salem Ohio Day.  Drive safe!!

 

Tuesday we resumed our quiet life here at Red Oaks in Bushnell and attended a show here in the Park with Rocky and the Rollers.  Many of the residents here enjoyed dancing to their music.  All was good and we had seen them when in Bushnell before.

We have signed up for a three day bus trip to Key West on the 15th thru 17th of January and I will share that in the next Blog.  I am slow getting the Blogs done, so bear with me.  Just can't seem to get back into 'the' life!!