Florida Visit - May and June 2016
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Rob and Hild decided to go to Florida. We were mainly going to check out Kristin and Alvaro's new condo (since they were not able to help with the actual move).
And then we decided to add some other fun activities too.... photos below: Nerd-alert!!: As you will see there are several satellite photos shown below, Rob has put these together using his new GPS watch and various software programs. |
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Tennis: As part of Rob's birthday present from Janet, he decided to get tennis rackets to keep at Kristin and Alvaro's since they now have access to tennis courts. And by access we mean that they live right next door to them. We also figured that someone needs to use the courts for tennis as their neighbours seem to only use them for pickle ball. Yes, I don't know exactly what it is either! See how the minions were there too!! |
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Walking and exploring in John D. MacArthur Beach State Park Kristin, Rob and Hild went to explore this state park while poor Alvaro had to work. We enjoyed it so much with the trails, boardwalk, beach, information centre, and possiblity to rent kayaks. So when the day was over we paid to become members of the park to go kayaking at a later date (see below). Weblink to the state park: http://www.macarthurbeach.org/ |
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Kayaking in John D. MacArthur Beach State Park Then one day when Kristin had to work, Alvaro, Rob and Hild went kayaking in the the state park. We had a lot of fun. We arrived close to high tide, but the nice lady at the desk explained to us which route to use to be able to row home again when the tide is low. This was very handy information to have because at one point we did get stuck in very shallow waters. It was no big drama as we just got out of our kayaks and dragged them to deeper water. It simply added to the adventure! |
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The yellow line in the satellite photo below shows the suggested low-tide route. The red line shows our chosen route. The big blue circle shows the really shallow area. Lesson is:
Arrive before high tide to give yourself more time to get out and back. Or, bring a picnic, stop at one of the lovely beaches, and wait for the tide
to come back in! |
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The minions also came along. - Minion Dave to Minion Carl: "Really big Banana???!" - Minion Carl replied: "Ooooooohhh!" |
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Green Cay Nature Center and Wetlands
Rob and Hild decided to see just how far they can walk in the Florida heat and humidity. One day we walked 10 km from Kristin and Alvaro's condo to Green Cay - and back. This also included a detour over to one of the many Publix (supermarket) for a much-needed sports drink. The wetland was constructed back in 2003 and now provides habitats for all sorts of plants and wildlife. There is a boardwalk that lets you walk through the middle of the wetlands. Weblink to the park: http://www.pbcgov.com/parks/nature/green_cay_nature_center |
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| There is much to see for humans and minions alike: birds, greenery, flowers, turtles, and an elusive alligator that other people told us about, but that we never spotted. |
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Birthday celebrations
We were primarily celebrating Kristin's June birthday, but threw in Rob in May, Alvaro in March, and Hild in February. Where else to go than the Cheesecake Factory?! |
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Key West - Sunset
Kristin, Rob and Hild went for a two-day trip to Key West. Rob and Hild had never been to the end of the Florida Keys so this was great. It is such a wonderful drive down there with water on each side of the road - Mexican Gulf on the right and the Atlantic Ocean on the left. We got to Key West in time for the famous sunset. |
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Key West - Dinner
Carl and Dave, the minions, joined us for dinner. - Carl: "Mmmmmm, onion rings...." - Dave: "Ooooh, burger...." - Carl: "Beer!!!" |
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Dry Tortugas National Park
Kristin, Rob and Hild decided to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park. And we can tell you after-the-fact that it is well worth the money you have to fork out for the 2 hour boat trip to find this strange little island 113 km (70 miles) across open water west of Key West. As a comparison, Havana/Cuba is 106 miles south from Key West. |
We arrived so early that we got boarding cards numbers 1, 2, and 3! And next time we will bring some more card- and boardgames to pass the time during the boat ride. 
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The islands were discovered in 1513. Many ships sank due to the treacherous reefs until a lighthouse was built in 1825. They started building the Fort Jefferson in 1846 but never really finished it. Still it had living quarters and housed over two thousand people at one point. It was also used as a prison including during the Civil War (1860s) and thereafter. Because of its not-so-convenient location it was also a quarantine station in the 1880s. And finally by 1935 it became the National Monument and upgraded to a National Park in 1992. Now fun for everyone to visit! Weblink to the park: http://www.drytortugas.com |
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Dry Tortugas - Fort Jefferson
The walk around Fort Jefferson is fun - from the sea-level moat, to inside the two levels of the fort to the top of the fort wall. |
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Dry Tortugas - Snorkeling
One of the biggest highlights of the trip was for Rob and Hild to snorkel around the outside of the moat. It took some time to get used to the snorkel gear again, but soon we were on our way and back into the swing of things. Most people hung around at the north and south beaches, but we put our game-faces on and snorkeled over 1 km from the north to the south beach - with some help from the tide of course. Kristin got a photo of us from the top of the fort wall. At the time we were very busy keeping an eye out for a crocodile that had been spotted in the area. We were also wary of these 2-metre long fish swimming around with us! Afterwards we learned that they were probably not very dangerous tarpons. They still looked big and scary to us... At least there were tonnes of tiny pretty-coloured fish to not be scared of. |
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Key West - Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum
Since we were in Key West we should do at least 4 things: see the famous sunset, walk the shopping/dining street of Duval together with the many feral roosters (and hens), visit the southernmost point of continental USA, and visit Ernest Hemingway's house. So we did. This included seeing Hemingways actual study and desk, and meeting some of the 52 cats that are descendents of Hemingway's original cat, Snow White. |
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The Wakodahachee Wetlands - More walkies!
After all that sitting in boats and cars, it was time for Rob and Hild to start walking again. This time we did the 11 km round trip from the condo to the Wakodahatchee wetlands, which also are man-made. A nearby water reclamation facility pumps 2 million gallons of treated water into the wetlands, thereby using it as a filter. The wildlife is loving it! They could just fly a few minutes west and find the Everglades. But this is so much nicer - at least judging by the incredible number of birds that stay here. Then there are so many different trees and plants. We saw fish and turtles. The pig frogs were really loud. Weblink to the park: http://www.pbcgov.com/waterutilities/wakodahatchee/ |
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Our trip - Never a dull moment
And other than that, we ate a lot of Honey Nut Cheerios, Squirrelly bread (!? see photo for proof), BBQ and other dinners and tested Caribbean, Chinese and Thai take-aways (all great), tested the new dishwasher, rebuilt a computer, and played lots of games (Bananagrams, Gin Rummy, Canasta, Mahjong and more). Then all of a sudden our holiday was over and we had to go home. We are looking forward to the next time already!! |
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June 2016