June 23, 1999 Manatee Springs State Park, Florida

Start Mileage - 43299

We spent the morning reading in bed. I don't think we got up until around 11:00AM. The AC in the van is totally shot. The van unit is OK, but the Fedders unit in the rear is not working so we have no AC after the motor is turned off. Bummer.

Happy morning for Deb and Macon. We went swimming in cool, refreshing, clear spring water here at the park. Crystal clear springs at 72 degrees. This spring puts out 118 million gallons of water a day. The first time I have felt cool since we left Prescott. There is quite a current, so you swim out and float downstream to the takeout. Bob wouldn't go in. He said it was too cold.

We never saw any manatees. I was hoping Macon could see his relatives, but no luck there.

Looking at the map and guidebooks we found another park at Homosassa that had manatee viewings, so we hightailed it down the road. A little zoo park with lots of birds, a hippo (which is actually much closer relative to Macon than a manatee) and lots of manatees. One smooshed his face up next to the underwater viewing tank. They spun and swirled in the water for us and floated about. Slow movers.

We stopped in Tarpon Springs, the Sponge Fishing Capital of the world. Lots of Greeks. We stopped for dinner at a place called Bally-Hoo's. It was a great place. Bar in the middle and the restaurant itself was a big open porch on two levels. The waitresses were young, attractive, and firm with perky…. but I digress. I had prime rib. I'm tired of fried seafood. I needed beef.

Now in Madeira Beach at my friend Howdy's house. Our first night in a bed in 5 weeks (remember way back we got a room in Needles).

It's quite a place. You can stretch all the way out on the bed, and you don't need any quarters for the shower. It's not even on a timer. You can stay in it until the hot water runs out.

June 24 Madeira Beach, Florida

Stayed put

We motored out on Howdy's pontoon boat with his dog, Sadie, down the coast past St. Petersburg to a little offshore island. After pulling up on shore we were each handed a scraping brush to scrub the barnacles off the boat bottom hopefully to increase our return speed. We sat in the sun yakking and floating in the clear waters.

Could feel the sun's influence on the body parts unaccustomed to the light rays. Oh sorrow; I'm sunburned now in a few spots even after putting on a T-shirt and trying to cover the tops of my legs. It didn't take long, but we were out way longer than I thought we would be.

I had my T-shirt off for only an hour, but now I have a world-class sunburn. I haven't had one for quite a few years now. It's not fun. Feels like I'm sleeping on sandpaper.

I found his pruning shears and did some lopping and shaping of his fig tree. Fun to be in a yard again.

We went out and had a great dinner. Pina Coladas on the top floor of the restaurant which had a panoramic 360 degree view of the surrounding town and waterways. Warm, balmy breezes - no bugs. The food was excellent. I'm getting into black beans and rice as a side dish. We rode back along the bay and had fun looking at the town and some of the unique houses along the waterfront.

June 25 Still here in Madeira Beach at Howdy's

We've taken over his kitchen table and counter. Paperwork, balancing checkbook and checking financial statements. Bob told me not to check out how much we had spent since we left.

Calling Bob Red Top. He is as vermilion as the red snapper he caught the other day. Generating enough heat to close down the local power plant.

He won't leave the house until the AC man shows up. Should be sometime this afternoon. No time spread given. We can't leave here until Vinnie is fully functional again.

Finally got the AC fixed. The AC guy showed up and advised us to go to Walmart and get a new unit for $200 so we did. It took us a while to get the old unit out. It was really wedged in there. I originally got a 5000 BTU unit for $148 (on sale), but then we discovered after we got it partially installed that the old one was 7500 BTU. So we took the new one out, repackaged it, and went back to Walmart and exchanged it for a 7500BTU unit. Works good. We have cold air again.

After dinner Howdy took us out for a decadent desert. We then cruised top down in the balmy night. Out til midnight on the streets.

June 26 Still at Howdy's

Good day today. We went to Fort DeSoto, had a tour of St.Pete, and got lunch at a local deli. We introduced Howdy to some computer graphics programs and the fact that he could make his own T-shirts. Howdy was like a kid with a new toy. We made him a new T-shirt. He's a happy guy.

Sunburn is still terminal. I had a bout of intense, almost painful itching after my shower this morning. It was a horrible sensation that I had never felt before. Deb was globbing all sorts of stuff over my back and shoulders before it finally subsided.

Dinner was at the Dogwater Café. The food is served in doggie dishes. We near about died. It's a fun place with great food.

Where they "treat you like the dog you really are". Gumbo in a water dish. Hamburger served in a big-dog bowl. Then to Walmart. Things are really picking up here… Saturday night at 10 PM at Walmart…and it is packed.

June 27, 1999 Leaving Madeira Beach/Howdy's

Start Mileage - 43704

We left Howdy's around noon and headed south. Except for a root beer milkshake at the local DQ the trip to Sanibel Island was pretty uneventful. So was Sanibel Island and Captiva Island. They are long islands off the coast of Fort Meyers. They are pretty islands and appear to be mostly tourist and winter resident destinations. We had dinner at a place called RC Otters where we discovered that one of the waiters went to college at Mercyhurst in Erie. Small world.

We are camped at Koreshan State Historic Site. It's sprinkling, so not too much is going on.

The new AC is running well which is good because the air is filled with hungry, blood-sucking mosquitoes, the Florida State Bird.

We are back in our confined space. The enemy is outside waiting for my soft skin to make an appearance. All the travel guidebooks say "bring mosquito repellent". It is not that they own stock in these drug corporations.

Koreshan is another of those cultish communities. Set up way back in the 1800s. Sold everything and moved to the swamp. Now they have made it a national Historic Monument. Must have been miserable in the days before repellent.

I was disappointed in Sanibel. It is supposed to be a place where a myriad of shells wash ashore. Those who own and live on the island allow no on-street parking and there were only a couple of parking lots the whole length of the island. They do not want tourists out getting their shells.

The lightening bolts with claps of thunder less than a second away assured them that I was not going out onto the beach. Nice touch!

June 28, 1999 - Koreshan State Park

Ooops! No mileage recorded.

A good day. We had a refreshing shower in the AM and stopped for breakfast, groceries, and cash along the way to the Everglades.

It finally happened. As we were shopping I noticed that we were truly in the South. Sitting there in the meat section was a package of - believe it or not - Frozen Bubba Burgers. There is no need for further embellishment.

First stop in the Everglades was an airboat ride. This is something Deb has done before, but I never have and have always wanted to. What a blast zipping through the mangrove swamps. There were six of us on the boat, Deb and I and a family of four Germans. They could not English very good, but we all had fun trying to describe what was going on. We even happened upon a family of manatees which is a rare occurrence.

A few years ago the federales passed a law forbidding the use of the airboats in the grasslands. Meant, of course, to protect the resource. You have all seen the movies where they zip over the grasses. Well now only the Indians are allowed to do that and only on their own lands (the Seminoles are down here). We were not with an Indian company, so we zipped through the mangrove channels and swooped up to the edge of the grasses, then had a ranger talk while the no-see-ums had their way with the boatload of whiteys. Onward, I say!!

But then Captain Dave found us the manatees. How…I don't know. All you see is 2 nostrils sometimes above water or the top of their backs glancing through the water or a swirling of water as they recede into the depths (2 feet in places)

Since we were only a few blocks from the boat tour of the 10,000 Islands part of the Everglades done by the National Park Service, we did that too. The captain of the boat was also the trip narrator, and he was worth twice the price ($13) of admission. This guy was funny. Very dry with a perfect sense of timing. He had us in stitches the whole one and a half-hour tour.

We had originally planned on getting to the Keys today, but with these two tours we decided to get this far and go to the Keys tomorrow.

Plus the lady at the Everglades Park said campground at John Pennekamp State Park was $50. No way will we pay that to sleep in Vinnie.

So we are at a secure park where the manager said not to walk outside the six-foot wall. Maybe we won't be moving to Florida City. And the pool was being repaired. Bummer. But the action at the bingo hall was hot and heavy. Maybe we'll reconsider.

We looked at two RV parks tonight. The first was run by a woman with no teeth and their pool was closed so we passed on that one. I think employers should select public-meeting employees who have teeth. The place reeked of bad management.

June 29, 1999 - Florida City

Start Mileage - 43860

We got to the Florida Keys this morning. I have always wanted to see them. We left Florida City and drove directly south to the Keys. Key Largo was first. That's where "it" happened.

Finally. Let me tell you about "it".

Did I say yesterday was a good day? I was mistaken. Yesterday was average. Today was a good day. Today was not only a good day. Today was one of the "biggies". Today was a great day. Today I swam with the dolphins.

After years and years of wanting to swim with dolphins, today was the day. On the way into Key Largo we saw a sign advertising a Sea World-type place where you could swim with dolphins. We went there. I saw a sign saying that the next Dolphin swim was July 1. I was disappointed, but asked at the desk anyway. To my surprise I found that they had one place left for today's swim which began in 45 minutes. Well… let me tell you! Someone was trying to tell me something. I grabbed that ticket. It was mine! It was fate! I belonged to that ticket!

Buttons and Thunder and five other people were my companions. After a half-hour class in dolphin behavior, rules, and procedures we were escorted to the lagoons where we met Buttons, Thunder, and the guide who conducted the session. When you see these animals from a boat they don't look quite as big as they do when they swim up next to you and give you a "kiss" which is the first thing that happened. These are big animals, folks. You can feel their power when they suddenly swim up next to you. You are very aware that you are a visitor in their world. During the perimeter swim, a dolphin swims along side you as you circle the lagoon. While I was watching and touching one of them, the other just appeared along side me. It was quite fascinating to be swimming along and have one of these animals gliding along effortlessly on either side of you. Totally surreal. Normally you only dream of these things.

We did kisses, hugs, a perimeter swim, a few other things, and had them tow us across the pool while we held onto their dorsal fins - the famed Dorsal Tow. This, of course, is right out of a Flipper movie. You can really feel their power while they are doing this. All you can do is grab a mouthful of air and hang on. It's over in seconds. I was psyched!

Deb was not psyched. Deb was the photographer, and it was a very hot day to be standing in one spot taking pictures. I won't say she was mad, but the word "cranky" springs to mind. Plus there was that potty thing. Over fifteen minutes had passed so naturally she was a bit eager to get to the powder room.

I not only could not get in the water to cool, but the only spot to take good pictures was in full sun. There they all are frolicking and squealing in delight with the dolphins and I and 2 other unlucky photographers were trying to grab the highlights for pictorial posterity. Plus the observers fee was $17 for the fantastic bit of fun.

So we continued along the keys. A short while later we stopped and took a walk into the Atlantic Ocean. About 100 yards into it and we were still only up to our ankles. The really deep spots were almost up to our knees. Weird place. Flat and shallow.

Clear waster and sea grass and little fish and crabs. At 200 yards out it was still ankle deep. There was a path through the grasses so we didn't raise too much sediment, but once we went a bit further the fine sediment swirled around our feet. We decided not to disrupt the environment further and followed the path back to shore. Water temperature is between 83-86 degrees.

Finally we arrived at Key West, the southernmost point in the continental US. We decided to treat ourselves to a motel with a pool, air conditioning, and a king-sized bed. Luxury accommodations!

Why the motel? Campgrounds charge about $50 per night here and they are way out of town. No way am I going to spend that much money to sleep in Vinnie. The motel rooms in the off-season are not that much more.

We took a dip in the pool and then walked around Key West. Very nice, quaint town. We stopped at a few bars on the main street and wound up on the waterfront where we had pina coladas at a tiki bar overlooking the waterfront at sunset. Large sailing boats under full sail and full of happy tourists drifted between us and the setting sun, and there was a live band and singer up the pier a bit which added much to the ambiance. This day just kept getting better and better.

We found dinner at an open-air waterfront fish place and then walked back up the main street at around 10:00PM. It was still loaded with tourists, the bands were playing in the open-air bars, and all the shops were still open. This town does not go to bed early. We got back to the motel and took another dip in the pool. It's a large pool, and we were the only ones in it. There was a full moon peeking through the palm trees that surround the pool. Did I mention that this was a great day? WOW!