1200 February 4, 2025 Love Is In The Air

We got up and got packed for a trip to Shark Valley.  It was very foggy.  The sun tried to break through as we made our way east on 41.

By the time we got to Shark Valley the fog had taken over once more.

We biked on the paved path into the Everglades.

We met a couple who was visiting here from Poland.  They had their Range Rover and bikes shipped over and they were out to enjoy the ride as well.  They have been in Florida for the past several weeks and their next destination is South America…world travelers!

There were thousands of dew-covered spider webs.

We made our way 7 miles to the observation tower.  This is one of Tim’s favorite viewpoints.  He likes being able to look out at the Everglades for as far as the eye can see.  I love riding on the path and being IN this place.  We figured that we have ridden here more than a dozen times.  Each time it shows up different. 

As we stood in the tower, we could hear a pair of owls calling to one another.  We heard a male alligator bellowing.  We watched a pair of purple gallinules with their comically large bright yellow feet walking across the lily pads. 

We saw a huge turtle and a couple of smaller ones. 

There were several gators and we heard a great thrashing and splashing.  The larger gator was chasing the smaller.  Not sure if he was trying to intimidate another male or of he was looking for love.

We got back to our bikes and spotted what we thought at the time was a large alligator at the edge of the parking area. We actually found out later that this was a huge crocodile!!! We both noticed that he was a different color and I thought his snout looked more narrow…we were not aware that crocodiles lived in Shark Valley!

8 more beautiful miles.  It was not crowded today and we got to spend a lot of time…just us…in this magnificent place.

A wood stork plodding through the swamp, looking for breakfast.

We drove back to the campground and we were ready for lunch and naps!

The Miccosukee are serious about pythons in the Everglades!

It was very pleasant with a mild breeze and we spent time outside this afternoon. A pair of woodpeckers kept us entertained.

Eggs and grilled toast for our dinner followed by another lovely sunset.

1199 February 3, 2025 Monument Lake

We both took walks this morning around the perimeter of the huge casino parking lot.

Mexican petunias.

A loggerhead shrike.

We had a 45-minute ride to Monument Lake Campground.  We made a stop at Midway to dump tanks and fill with potable water. There are no hookups at this campground and we wanted to be prepared. 

We stopped again at the Oasis Visitor Center at Big Cypress National Preserve.

The alligators were out enjoying the brilliant sunshine.

Anhinga.

We arrived at Monument Lake a little after 11am.

We put the awning out and sat outside for a long time this afternoon. 

There was a palm warbler bebopping around our campsite looking for crumbs.

A red-bellied woodpecker flitted from tree to tree.

We rode bikes around the lake.  One of the resident alligators was sunning himself on a rock.

We had mango and greens with mango white balsamic vinegar and grilled tuna steaks for our dinner.  It was nice enough to eat outside and there were relatively few mosquitos.  We sat outside until after dark enjoying some music. 

Monument Lake always feels like coming home.  We have been coming here for most of the last 20 years.  When we had just a short couple of weeks to visit Tim’s brother, Jeff, we would race from home down 95S to Florida.  When we got to Monument Lake, we would finally breathe and relax.  Lots of great memories here in this beautiful place!  We will spend the next 5 nights here before moving on. 

1198 February 2, 2025 Miccosukee Resort

This morning it was 67 degrees and very foggy.  We both took walks in the balmy and soupy air.

I had my breakfast outside at the picnic table and the sun broke through, instantly ratcheting up the temperature.

Today we had a short 71-mile ride to Miccosukee Resort.  This is a casino that allows RV’s to stay overnight. 

We have been here before and we came back specifically to have dinner at La Brisa.  This restaurant was just newly opened last time we were here.  The food was so excellent that it left a lasting impression!  The restaurant began dinner service at 6pm.  We went to the casino early and walked around.  We watched as close to one thousand people sat before blinking noisy machines.  I thought the place was wildly overstimulating!  The gamblers inserted their cards or money and waited earnestly for the big payout.  It is not like it used to be where quarters spill out of the machines.  Instead, people get paper tickets that they can take to the cashier to collect their winnings.  We saw one guy getting more than $700.00…not sure how much he spent to get that!  We went to the lounge to have a glass of wine.  At the restaurant we were the only patrons.  We shared the tuna tartare tacos, an excellent crabcake, and then we split a cobb salad.  The food was as good as we remembered. 

We walked back through the casino and out to the RV.  We marveled at the fact that there are indeed people who come here to have fun.  It’s not our thing…but everyone does life differently!  We know there are people who should not be here spending their hard-earned money but everyone makes their own choice.  We certainly live an alternative lifestyle.  I asked Tim as we walked “home” if he was tired of doing this yet…this crazy life where we go from high end beach properties to sugarcane country to casinos all in the span of one week!  His reply: “No, I’m not tired of it! and neither am I! 

1197 February 1, 2025 Getting Ready!

Another lovely walk in the park.

We spent the day preparing. Tomorrow we will move. We will spend one night at the Miccosukee Resort and Casino. After that, we will be staying in Big Cypress National Preserve.

This morning we got all of the laundry washed and dried and folded and put away. Tim wanted to go for a bike ride and so he pedaled to John Stretch Park. I drove the Jeep to meet him and walked while waiting.

We know that for more than a week we will be far away from stores and so we drove into Clewiston and did a huge Walmart run. On the way back, we stopped to get fresh drinking water.

We got stuff organized and rested for a while.

This evening, we drove into Belle Glade to the Winn Dixie, looking for the things we could not find in Clewiston. Walmart had NO eggs. Winn Dixie had 18 eggs for $10.99…wow what a deal! We bought them anyway. We eat eggs for dinner all the time and we always have boiled eggs ready for a quick high protein snack.

I made pulled pork bowls for dinner. We used red beans and rice for our base. We added the pork, salsa, corn, and black beans. I made avocado crema with avocadoes, lime juice, Greek yogurt and seasoning. It was very good!

Today was Wade’s first birthday party. We were lucky to have the chance to FaceTime while everyone sang Happy Birthday! Hugs and kisses sweet baby Wade!

1196 January 31, 2025 The Best Weather In The Country

We slept with windows open last night…so nice!

It was a really pretty morning for a walk.

Later in the morning, we packed lunches.  Tim was inspired to take the roof off of the Jeep after I relayed a conversation that my mom and I had about convertibles in Florida.  The sun was shining and we had the wind in our hair…well…my hair!

Tim drove the Jeep north along Lake Okeechobee.  Our first stop was Canal Point.  The bike trail from here was gravel…ughhh…

We drove further north to Port Mayaca Lock.  The park there was beautiful.  We had lunch down by the lock. 

We drove up to the berm.  It was really windy and so we opted to walk in lieu of riding our bikes.

We rested this afternoon.  For dinner, we went out.  We had seen a nice Mexican food truck in Belle Glade.  When we got there, the place was rocking.  There was a long line of farm workers that had arrived by bus.  The music was loud and festive.  We might have stayed but it was really crowded.  We decided to go back to the Cuban food truck where we had dinner the other night but they had closed for the evening.  The Marathon gas station next door had a restaurant, Dos Amigos, where we were finally able to order dinner.  We drove back up onto the berm to watch the sunset and eat our meal.  Tasty food and lovely scenery.  The weatherman has told us every evening that we have the best weather in the country.  It is perfectly pleasant here!

1195 January 30, 2025 Pahokee

I woke up feeling much more normal.  I had the energy for a good walk this morning and did lots of loops around the campground pond.

I spent the morning catching up on some chores.

At lunchtime, we packed our bike bags with lunch and drove the Jeep to Pahokee Marina.  We sat by the water and enjoyed our lunch. 

Afterward, we biked about 5 miles.  Today was the first day in several that I felt like riding and so 5 miles was enough for me.  Tim wanted to ride further.  He headed south on the LOST and I drove the Jeep to meet him at Paul Rardin Park another 5 miles away.

This great old banyan tree was the home for lots of lizards. 

The lizards were slick and quick and so it was hard to get good pictures.  Tim spotted this red and black beauty and I got two fast shots before he slipped away.

When we got back to the RV, it was 91 degrees inside.  We ran the air until sunset.

After dinner, Tim changed the innertube in my front tire.  Part of our ride today was on a rough gravel road and a sharp rock must have pierced it.  He has changed a lot of bike tires in the past many years and he is getting really good at it.

1194 January 29, 2025 Rocket Launch

Happy First Birthday Sweet Baby Wade!

I felt well enough to take a decent walk this morning. It was sunny and breezy.

Tim wanted to bike to John Stretch Park. It was a 5 mile ride. I decided That I wasn’t ready to bike. I took the Jeep to meet him there. I walked while I waited for him.

The berm is about 35 feet higher than the lake. Tim rode on the berm parallel to the highway.

From the park, we drove to Clewiston for gas and water and a few groceries.

After our errands were completed, we took a ride south of South Bay. There is a nice wide highway with lots of truck traffic that runs through miles and miles of sugarcane country.

We had another quiet afternoon.

Powered paragliders flying above the campground!

We had breakfast for dinner and then after 8pm, we went up onto the berm to see if we could see tonight’s rocket launch from the Space Coast.

The launch was scheduled for 8:34pm. We watched the countdown and waited…We heard on the broadcast that the rocket was fueled b-with one million pounds of kerosene and liquid oxygen!

We saw a bright red fireball on the horizon. It steadily rose.

Tim’s video has the best view.

What an amazing thing to be able to witness!

1193 January 28, 2025 Taking A Sick Day

I have been struck down by some sort of evil virus.  I have had chills and aching and a terrific headache and coughing.  This morning, I woke up with no voice.  I did take an easy walk around the pond at the campground. 

Compassion…

I was not feeling like a bike ride.  Tim left the campground and hopped on the LOST.  He cycled 6 miles to Paul Rardin Park.  I did drive to the park to meet him. 

I sat on a swing in the sunshine.  It was a beautiful day.

I did a few chores but rested most of the afternoon.

This evening, we drove to Don Wuicho Cuban Café, a food truck nearby.  I had a great Cuban sandwich and Tim enjoyed chicken empanadas and maduros. 

Tim was in the mood to explore and so we took some dirt farm roads through the sugarcane fields.

We saw a feral pig but he was moving too quickly for a picture.  We also saw lots of raptors hunting along the canals.

1192 January 27, 2025 LOST

I started my walk with a sweatshirt on but had to go back and change after one lap…just gorgeous!

We packed our bike bags with pistachios and oranges and took our bikes out on the LOST or the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail.

We could see sugarcane fields burning in the distance. There were pieces of ash floating in the air.

We biked to Torry Island. It was nice to just sit by the water. The warm breeze, the smell of freshly mown grass, the bright blue sky and the brilliant sunshine…what a perfect day!

We climbed to the top of the observation tower.

I saw a tiny glimpse of an alligator snout in the pond at the campground yesterday. Today we had our first real sighting. Normally, we would have seen gators in northern Florida but it has been too cold.

I know these golfers are glad for the improvement in the weather.

What cool birds. They are grey-headed swamphens. I didn’t realize there was a pair until I worked on the blog this evening.

We had a quiet afternoon and then we packed dinner and drove the Jeep to John Stretch Park. When we have stayed here before, we had been able to see a rocket launch. Today at 5:05pm a Starlink launch was scheduled. We downloaded the SpaceCoastLaunch App. We watched the countdown and then scanned the sky. We had used a compass to determine the most favorable angle. The Space Coast is almost due north of here. Not tonight…the launch was successful but we didn’t see anything at all. We have a couple more chances before we leave.

We drove up onto the berm to see the sunset.

1191 January 26, 2025 South Bay on Lake Okeechobee

This morning, we took the time to exercise and walk.  This is a very nice resort. There is a great pool, a spa, a gym, pickleball and tennis courts, volleyball, lots of clubs and activities… If we ever decided that we wanted to stay in one place all winter…this place has lots of attractive amenities!

We packed up and went to say goodbye to Fred and Jen.  We had a really nice visit. 

The ride today was a little more than 2 hours.  We left the west coast and drove in the Florida countryside. The coast is so crowded with traffic and new construction…more and more houses and condos and golf communities. The interior is very quiet and unpopulated.

Soon, we began to see fields of black dirt ready to be planted with sugarcane.  There were tiny plants and fields ready to be harvested.  We saw burnt and burning fields as well.  There were several tractor trailer loads of sugarcane headed to the processing facility.

We stopped again for groceries and supplies.  We arrived at South Bay RV Park just after 1pm.  Finally, we are warm! The sun was out. We were able to put short sleeves on and open the windows…what a nice treat!

I spent the afternoon making oatmeal and tuna salad and boiling eggs and cutting raw vegetables.  I did some cleaning as well.  Tim watched the Eagles and Commanders game.  Our little Austin loves Saquon Barkley and he proudly wore his Eagles shirt and neon green shorts.  He was beyond excited when they won a chance to play in the Superbowl.

We took our bikes out for a short ride at halftime.

This evening, we watched the sunset from the LOST or the Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail.  We will spend a lot of time on the trail this week.

We had dinner as the second championship game began…Go Bills!