1997-98 FL, LA, TX
MIAMI BEACH, FL
DECEMBER 19, 1997
It is hot here in Miami. It has been in the mid 80s and humid. We
abandoned the van for an air conditioned room at a motel [5 ticks on the
Flophouse Guide]
We had been staying primarily at state parks. Stephen Foster near Lake City
celebrates the life of the author of Florida's state song. Foster never
visited here; spending his entire short life in the northeast. He did take a
one month honeymoon to New Orleans via the Mississippi River. We biked
along the Suwanee River.
Next we moved into Manatee Springs State Park. They have a bike/hike trail
system. It is virtually single-track and we enjoyed the three days we were
allowed to stay. We had to move on because Florida state parks reserve up
to 100% and it was booked-up for the weekend (after Thanksgiving). We
stayed in a private campground which cost only $3.00 more, but gave me a TV
hookup. The site, as usual, was not as large as that of the government
parks.
The nearby state park, Payne's Prairie, is near Gainesville. We stayed
about a week, but the weather was wet; we had to bike on the roads rather
than the trails. There were also many mosquitoes. Mosquitoes here carry
encephalitis [the alert is posted in the campgrounds] but few have actually
died. The armadillos, which occasionally visit our site, are known to carry
leprosy. Rabies is reported in the mammal population. Fortunately, our
trail map indicated which areas of the system are tick-infested, so we were
able to knowingly avoid at least that hazard.
St. Augustine, out next city, was the most interesting to me. This was the
first city established in North America. The Castillo de San Marcos, the
fort which guards the bay, was most impressive. In addition to keeping the
area Spanish [ it changed nationalities due to events elsewhere], it served
as a detention facility for the plains Indians [notably Geronimo's tribe] &
Seminoles. St. Augustine was also where Jews were burned at the stake by
the Spanish Inquisition.
Also interesting in St. Augustine was the recycling of the
turn-of-the-century luxury hotels. These elaborate edifices remain as
Flagler College, the St. John County Courthouse, and a museum of Victorian
memorabilia. Built in Spanish and Moorish fashion, these buildings are
impressive in both size and style.
From St. Augustine we to a leisurely drive down the coast. Moving south we
visited Ft. Matanzas; a five cannon, 8 man outpost which guarded St.
Augustine's southern flank. This is Florida's "Treasure Coast." Many
galleons bringing silver, gold, and gems to Spain from the Caribbean, South,
& Central America followed the Gulf Stream along Florida's coast to make
better time. In one hurricane [c.1575] eight ships and 700 people perished.
Within 3 years, Spanish salvage crews using primitive diving bells
recovered about 80% of the treasure. Divers today still bring up millions
of dollars of treasure each year. Getting into the act, Florida now leases
the rights to dive for treasure and takes the pick of the litter [a play on
words] up to 20%.
We visited the zoo in Palm Beach and plan to visit the Miami zoo. Our
membership to the Brownsville (Texas) zoo allows free entry to about 100
zoos in the U.S. Today we are at the science museum using their computer.
We prefer to be inside until the weather breaks. The 'Triple H' days [hazy,
hot and humid] are not typical of Florida for this time of year. Cooler
weather is expected to come tomorrow.
We would have preferred to be in Arizona and New Mexico where my annual pass
for unlimited camping is fast running out but, according the the weather
reports, the night time temperatures there today are expected to be in the
10-20 degree range. As it is, my furnace is packed with books which means
that we have to empty it each time we want heat. Storage space is tight!
Regards to all,
MIAMI BEACH
DECEMBER, 1997
The heat wave has ended. Three days of rain brought 12 inches of
accumulation to centre\central Florida. Here in Miami Beach, the water just
runs into the sea.
The hazy, hot , and humid weather as well as the rain kept us off of the
bikes, but now that we're heading for the keys we hope to be able to two
wheel again. We did have some fun biking at Manatee Spring State Park and Payne's
Prairie State Park [single-track dirt/sand in the former, but we stayed on
the pavement in the later due to soggy road conditions] as well as along the
water in Daytona Beach. At Daytona Beach we were able to drive the van onto
the beach. Once there we took the bikes down and pedaled on the beach. Of
course we had to keep between the surf and the dry sand or we would have
become bogged down.
Regards to all,
Key Largo, Florida
December 28, 1997
After leaving Miami we drove to Flamingo, the southern-most point on the
continental U.S. mainland. It is at the end of the road in the Everglades.
Some sections of the campground were closed due to flooding - unusual in
this, the dry season. At the Anhinga Trail, the premier place to see
Everglades wildlife in winter - usually teeming with animals, we saw only a
few alligators, birds and turtles. Since this is a low area, water
accumulates here and in other depressions as the rest of the Everglades
dries out in the winter. Fish collect where the water is, and birds and
alligators collect where the fish are. The week before we got there saw
record rainfall in central Florida with as much as 12 inches in three days.
The Everglades filled with water and the fish dispersed; and so did the rest
of the wildlife.
We saw manatee in the boat basin at Flamingo - there were at least four.
Unlike last winter when we only saw noses, this time we saw an entire head..
Other than the thrill of seeing an elusive creature in the wild, manatees
are not exciting to look at... They are big, slow, and ugly. Sarah,
however, thinks they are cute: especially the velor ones in the gift
shops.
We went to Key Largo where we stayed at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Part
for almost two weeks. Most of the park is under water. It is a coral reef
accessible only by boat. Fortunately, the part of the park where the
campground is located is on dry land. We bought wet suits this year to make
our snorkelling more comfortable at cooler temperatures (we have the fins,
snorkels, and masks from last year). I am very streamlined in my black wet
suit; I have the classic dolphin profile, perfect for cutting through the
water with little effort. I bought the large size. Although the medium was
a little better fit (the snugness helps keep in the body heat), I felt that
it was also important to be able to breathe. We tried out the wet suits the
next day in Largo Sound; the weather was cool and the suits kept us warm.
The next day began a week of record high temperatures [mid to high eighties]
making the wet suits superfluous, but we'll use them elsewhere. While
snorkelling we were able to see colorful fish, sponges, coral, and jellyfish
as big as a melon. To make snorkeling even more interesting, the park has
placed a dozen cannon, a keel and a large anchor at the bottom of Largo
Sound, not too far off shore, to simulate what a diver would find upon
discovering a sunken treasure ship.
We visited a defunct coral quarry, which is now a geologic/historic park.
The quarried coral, used later as decorative building veneer, was originally
used as gravel for railroad beds. Speaking of defunct, we went to the
botanical park which is what's left of an abandoned up-scale housing
development. We also went on a glass-bottomed boat. Sarah watched the
coral reef and the tropical fish; I watched the inside of a vomit bag. To
keep me away from boats, we did a lot of biking. There are positives and
negatives to biking in the keys: on the plus side, the trail is paved and
flat; on the minus side, the trail is paved and flat, but it was useful to
go to the shopping centers without having to set up the van for short trips.
While not snorkelling and biking, we spent a lot of time reading and
languidly swimming at palm-strewn beaches. The shore/sea birds included
pelicans, cormorants, and more gulls than you can shake a herring at.
After spending these two weeks in the keys, we are now on our way to
Florida's west coast.. This is a busy week, so we hope we won't be closed
out.
Happy New Year!
Regards to all,
TAMPA, FL
WE LEFT THE KEYS JUST BEFORE NEW YEARS AND WENT TO FLORIDA'S WEST COAST. WE
TOOK THE TAMIAMI TRAIL [ALLIGATOR ALLEY] FROM MIAMI TO FT. MEYERS VIA MARCOS
ISLAND AND FOLLOWED THAT ROUTE THROUGH TO TAMPA WHERE WE ARE AT PRESENT.
iT HAS BEEN UNUSUALLY WARM LATELY; THE LOWS ARE WHAT ARE USUALLY THE HIGHS:
70S.
iN THE FT. MEYERS AREA WE VISITED THE WORLD'S LARGEST SHELL STORE; IT IS
LISTED AS AN AREA ATTRACTION ON THE THE OFFICIAL HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT ROADMAP.
IT WAS HUGE; COVERING SEVERAL ACRES. EVERY TACKY PIECE OF FLORIDA
Souvenir YOU CAN IMAGINE WAS FOR SALE.
WE HAVE BEEN STAYING MOSTLY AT STATE PARKS, BUT HERE WE ARE IN A PARTIALLY
FLOODED PRIVATE CAMPGROUND BECAuse the state park is completely flooded [and
closed.] There was 12 inches of rain in December, in what is usually the
dry season. More rain fell yesterday and the day before. It is now dry and
about 15 degrees cooler; 70 vs. 85.
In Sarasota we visited the Ringling Museum of Art, a state museum donated by
the circus magnate.It is primarily a collection of Renaissance religious
paintings, tapestries and sculpture. We also visited the Main Book Store;
Florida [or the country's] largest remainder bookstore. Everything that you
didn't want to buy before is now cheaper.
In keeping with the spirit of the retired in Florida, we tried golf. This
appears to be a popular sport here; it is advertised all over. Retirement
communities are built around courses. For novices, we did pretty well. We
both have the windmill down pat, but are still having a problem with the
clown-face.
We visited a cyber cafe in Sarasota's downtown; but a ten cents per minute,
I didn't get very far for my three dollars, so gave up. We are now in the
science museum in Tampa where it is free but time is limited if people are
waiting.
Here in Tampa we visited the zoo. It is free to members of the American Zoo
Association, of which we became members by joining the zoo in Brownsville,
Texas. The Staten Island Zoo and N.J. State Aquarium in Camden are also
affiliates. The Tampa zoo is the best we've seen in Florida so far.
We had the opportunity to see "The Postman" and "Titanic." The twilight
show [4-6 p.m.] is cheaper that either the matinee or evening performances.
We still bike around; hitting some back-road trails. Sandy spots are
difficult, but much less so with the lower gears of the mountain bike than
last year with the 3 speed. It is still mostly flat, so there is no down
hill coasting and high speed tree dodging.
Regards,
Allen & Sarah
Tallahassee, FL
January 28, 1998
We are now in Tallahassee in Northwest FL. It was in the low forties last
night and predicted to drop below freezing tonight. At this junction, we're
pretty well committed to heading west along I-10 to Texas.
We spent a full week at Manatee Spring, a warm [72F] spring which is a
tributary of the Suwannee River [of Stephen Foster fame]. Although the
temperature there ranged from a high of 75 to a high of 60 during our week
of residence, we were able to swim in the spring. The water was
comfortable, but on the cooler days it was chilly coming out. Manatee were
not present on our previous visits to this park [January & November 1997]
but were there this time. They swim into the spring to escape the colder
waters [65F] of the ocean. Manatee came into the spring while we were
there. At first it was uncomfortable to have these 2,500+ pound creatures
coming close to us, but we soon got over our fears. We did, however, keep
our distance and only took a few photographs. Another time while swimming
there was an alligator present, but it didn't appear to be over 4.5 feet in
length. We guessed that since they kill their prey by dragging them under
water, we would be safe since we are both rather buoyant. The last time we
went swimming there was a snake in the water. the opinion of onlookers was
60-40 that the snake was not the venomous water moccasin. On the way out of
the park later, we checked the photograph of the resident brown striped
snake [non-venomous] and learned that the consensus was correct.
Another thing that we like about Manatee Spring is the bike/hike system of
trails. Although the far end of the system is not in good shape for biking
[extensively rooted by feral pigs - a reminder of the early Spanish
explorers], one can walk there comfortably. Since the town of Chiefland is
only about 8 miles from the campground, we took the opportunity to bike
into town several times during the week for lunch [Subway had a coupon deal]
and as much groceries that we could fit into the basket of Sarah's bicycle.
Regards,
OBJ
Lake Charles, LA
February 5, 1998
Hi,
We left Pensacola, FL om Sunday and headed west on I-10. We lunched in
Mobile, AL and by dinner we were in Biloxi, MS. We toured Baton Rouge on
Monday and Tuesday. We were impressed by the new state capitol building.
Built in only 14 months (1931-32), it is 30 stories and very much art deco.
It was the second most impressive art deco edifice that we have encountered
on our travels. #1 is the Niagara-Mohawk Electric Co. Office in Syracuse,
NY. Also of interest in Baton Rouge was the old state capitol building
which was constructed in the early 1800s and resembles a medieval castle.
It burned during the Civil War [also known as 'The War Between the States
and the War of Northern Aggression, depending on whom is telling the story}
while in use as a Union barracks.
Yesterday and today we toured Lafayette, LA, the heart of Cajun Country. We
spent several hours at the John Lafitte Cultural Center re-learning about
the expulsion of the Acadians from Acadia [now Nova Scotia] by the British
when they took control of the area from France. [see 'Evangeline' by
Longfellow] At least one third of the deportees died during the deportation
process and others languished for years in warehouses until France pressed
Britain for their release.
Signs of Mardi Gras are everywhere along the Gulf coast. Festivities begin
slowly about two weeks after Christmas and build to a crescendo on Mardi
Gras day [Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday] which is 46 days before Easter
Sunday. [which is the Sunday after the full moon following the vernal
equinox]. This is why Mardi Gras can occur from early February to early
March.
There are many casinos along the Gulf coast. They are on river boats or are
afloat in lakes or just off shore [by a few feet] in the Gulf of Mexico.
There must be some federal regulation which keeps the gambling off of the
land. The lobbies, gift shops, and restaurants, etc. may be on the land
side of the building; but the gaming room is over water.
We are now only about 30 miles from the Texas border and expect to cross
over either today or tomorrow. We plan to visit Houston and San Antonio
next.
Regards,
Allen & Sarah
posted by Allen and Sarah at 11:38 PM
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