The dash to Atlanta

So there we were in Key West, as far south in Florida as you can get and we had to be in Atlanta a few days hence to drop the RV off at a Service Centre and catch a plane to the cold, freezing north for Christmas.  A mere 800-odd miles.  While it was mostly driving, we did take some breaks along the way.

Tenny tiny Post Office at Ochopee

Apart from some idiot drivers on the Interstate we saw this tiny Post Office in Ochopee.  It’s the smallest Post Office in USA and has been in use since the original burnt down in 1953.  If I could remember how to write letters we could’ve got this postmark attached.

 

 

Took a welcome break at the Koreshan Unity Settlement State Historic Park.  It’s the site of a former cult who believed that the earth was hollow.  Not quite sure how that all works.  The cult members were celibate which could explain in part why it died out – no natural replacements coming through.  Food for thought?  Not at all (and that’s for both the hollow earth theory and celibacy) but they have a collection of old buildings to wander through and a stream full of alligators if the buildings aren’t enough to keep you interested.

The hollow earth model complete with the rest of the universe at its centre

Planetary Court building with peeping Tom ... or rather, peeping Jean

More idiot drivers the next day so stopped at the Devil’s Millhopper Geologic State Park.  Such a cool name, how could we resist.  Turns out there’s a huge sinkhole in this park that resembles an old hopper from a grist mill (hence the name) and the devil part of it goes back to either an old Indian legend where the devil kidnaps a local princess, creating the sinkhole for the chasing braves to fall into or the fact that many bones have been found at the base (taken there by the devil himself).  We walked to the bottom of the sinkhole – no sign of the devil so climbed back up and continued on our merry way.

The bottom of the Devil's Millhopper sinkhole

Another day of straight driving, all the way to Atlanta.  Cancelled the stops we were going to make as it was raining pretty much all the way.  Yay, we now have a whole day and a half of R&R ahead of us. 

Thoroughly enjoyed the R&R – no idiot drivers, no crowds, no noise, no overpriced greasy food – just books, computers, beers and the odd domestic chore.  Bliss (the first three anyway).  Dropped the RV off then headed to a motel out by the airport for our flight up north tomorrow morning.  Looking forward to seeing Wally at the airport when we arrive in Philadelphia, then on to Hershey.

The Three Amigos about to be reunited

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone.

The sunshine continues

Went to Miami looking for some vice.  Very likely saw the results of some – so many Lamborghinis and even a Ferrari or two.  Really enjoyed walking around the art deco buildings.  Almost like being back in Napier.  A larger version of Napier – there’s more buildings and they’re taller than the home grown variety.  Found a restaurant with outside tables (not hard in this part of town).  Hard to say whether we enjoyed our lobster meals or the people watching more.

A couple of the Art Deco styled buildings in Miami 

We both decided on the lobster meal - it looked too good to pass up
... and a beer ... you can't have lobster without a cold beer

The next day was spent at Billie Swamp Safari on the Seminole

No feeding your kids
to the alligators

Reservation.  Our first activity was a Swamp Buggy tour.  Got to see an abundance of wildlife including Asian water buffalo and their ever present companions, the cattle egret, African eland, wild horses (crackers this side of the Mississippi, mustangs to the west), umpteen varieties of birdlife and the ubiquitous alligators.  While there is a perimeter fence to keep the exotic animals in, the alligators can come and go as they please. 

 

Jean on the swamp buggy

Asian water buffalo and cattle egret

We had to give way to the Air Boat - personally I thought we should
have kept going and made it more interesting

Wouldn't be an Everglades safari without an alligator ... or 50

After lunch we took the Air Boat tour.  Our ears are thankful that this is a shorter tour and, as short as it was, it was so much fun.  Got to visit an alligator nursery, where all the small alligators no longer with their mother hide away until they are big enough to mix it with the big boys and girls instead of being seen as their next meal.

Sue & Jean with another happy tourist

We then took in a couple of educational shows – one about venomous snakes and the other about regular critters.  Most of the animals here are rescues but these ones aren’t being rehabilitated for eventual return to the wild.  Still, it was pretty cool to hold a small alligator.

Ferrets are wriggly little critters as Jean is discovering

A yawning Tamandua or lesser anteater - when it yawns, its tongue fully
extends.  Hard to see in this photo but its tongue is out a good 8-10 inches

What mischief can Sue get up to with this little critter?

Stopped for lunch in Homestead and also visited the Coral Castle.  This was built by Ed Leedskalnin and was to be a home for himself and his sixteen year old bride to be.  She jilted him the day before they were due to be married.  Go figure.  What 16 year old wouldn't want to live in an open air building with stone furniture?  Truth be told I think it was because she just didn’t like him, let alone love him.  He did sound rather eccentric.  I like people who dare to be different but even I would draw the line at sleeping in a stone bed.

Coral Castle

Stone beds ... yeah, right

Jean on one of the reading chairs - since Ed couldn't move the chairs
once they were in position, he made several of them to face the sun at
different times of the day

Sue showing the cooker made from an old Ford Model T diff - Ed
used to cook hotdogs for local kids in this

From Homestead we headed as far south as we could get – all the way to Key West.  What an awesome drive.  Atlantic Ocean on one side, Gulf of Mexico on the other.  So many islands, all connected by US Hwy 1 down to Key West itself.  Found ourselves a campground.  Had to be the tightest site we’ve reversed into yet.  I think that if the guy from the bus parked opposite didn’t come out and move his car we’d still be trying to manoeuvre into position.  It also didn’t help that the services were all at the rear of the site which meant we had to get even closer for our sewer hose to fit.  Ah, the joys of RV-ing.  Ah, the joys of alcohol.

Heading down to Key West

Spent the next day in and around Key West.  First stop was Perky’s Bat Tower.  They guy that built the tower had a fishing resort but was plagued with mosquitoes.  He thought that building a bat tower and importing insect-eating bats would solve his problems.  Likely they would have, however they all flew away the first night, never to return.  The tower remains, 85 years on. 

Batman had his cave, Key West has the Bat Tower

Cuba is only 90 miles from the southernmost
point in Continental USA

No trip to Key West would be complete without a visit to the Hemingway House and Museum that is also home to the 6-toed cats.  52 of them at last count.  This is one of the few homes in Southern Florida that has a full sized basement.  This is due to the fact that the Hemingway House is built on the highest point of Key West – 16’ above sea level.  Had a great time wandering through the house and grounds and having all 52 cats ignore us.

Hemingway House & Museum

Well trained in ignoring people - at least they don't mind
their photos being taken

After lunch at the aptly named 6-toed café next door we wandered through the streets of Key West enjoying the old buildings and the warm, sunny winter weather. 

Two of the many lovely old buildings in Key West

The local cemetery has a few wacky epitaphs, this one is the old favourite
"I told you I was sick"

Sunset found us at Mallory Square.  We started off enjoying a beer on Sunset Pier but when the band switched from Irish and soft rock music to country music, we quickly finished our beers and continued further down the pier out of earshot.  I was quite bemused with the large numbers of the huge crowd that had gathered to watch the sun go down, applaud as the sun finished going down.  That is akin to applauding when your plane lands, something I’ve experienced people doing on more than one occasion. 

This woman was making huge bubbles - was rather funny when they popped
on unsuspecting peoples heads (that'll teach 'em for watching the
beautiful sunset instead of the entertainment) 

Kevin the gymnast kept us entertained with balancing acts and
back flips through hoops

Finished the evening with dinner at Willie T’s.  Great food combined with great music.  I can accept a couple of Johnny Cash songs in a repertoire that is otherwise filled with all my favourites from the 70’s.  Florida rocks!

Next comes the dash to Atlanta to catch a plane for Christmas.

The Sunshine State

Continuing our way south we stopped off at Daytona Beach for lunch.  Parked at the International Speedway – no problems getting a spot for the RV when it’s not a race day.  Downside was, it wasn’t a race day.  Still, not being true petrol heads this didn’t unduly worry us.  Got the photo, what more do we need.

Passed by the Barberville Aluminum & Iron Works and just had to stop.  Their yard just went on and on and was full of some incredible statues and art work.  I so wanted the dragon in this photo, USD650 to buy.  How much do you think freight to the other side of the world would be?  I kept my hands off my wallet. 

How'd that monkey get in here?

Who wouldn't want a life-sized giraffe in their yard?

Found ourselves a campground just south of Orlando where we parked up for several days.  First day trip was south to Bok Tower Gardens at Lake Wales.  The gardens were established by a Dutch immigrant, Edward W Bok, back in the 1920’s.  He topped the gardens with a massive 205’ tower housing a 60-bell carillon.  There are live carillon concerts at 1 and 3pm daily.  Also on the grounds is Pinewood Estate, a Mediterranean-style mansion built as a winter retreat for the new owner, Charles Austin Buck.  Every year during the Festive Season the house is decorated with Christmas themes by local businesses and groups.  End result = beautiful.  Just needed snow (yeah right, in Florida) and the scene would be set.

Christmas tree made from bromeliads

Jean's been framed



The loggia was one of my favourite rooms in the
house - just perfect to let the summer breeze flow through

Managed to get quite close to this heron before
some noisy kids scared it off

The singing tower

Trees around here are dripping with Spanish Moss which is
neither Spanish nor moss

That night we went to a Medieval Times Dinner and Show.  It’s along the lines of the Hillbilly Show we went to in Tennessee and a lot of fun.  We ate as the knights of old ate – without utensils and had our own knight to cheer on in the competitions.  Sadly our red knight was an also ran but I think we came out winners anyway as the black and white knight was champion.  Go the Magpies! (That’s the Hawkes Bay rugby team by the way, not the Collingwood Aussie Rules team).

Let the tournament begin - our hero the red knight follows the
eventual champion, the black and white knight

Just horsin' around

Up bright and early the next morning for a visit out to Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Centre.  Unfortunately for us the rain paid a visit as well.  Lots of it.  Didn’t matter of course while we were inside the Apollo/Saturn V Centre or the Atlantis Centre but kinda spoiled the bus tour between the two venues.  Could barely see Launch Pad 39-A where most of the shuttle missions and Apollo moon missions lifted off from.  Got to see the VAB – Vehicle Assembly Building and the Crawler but that’s only because they are both gigantic.  The doors of the VAB are 450’ tall. 

Not hard to guess where we are

Vehicle Assembly Building - 526' tall and is
the largest single-storey building in the world

The massive crawler that transports the rockets from the
VAB to the launchpad

What can I say about the space shuttle.  All I know is I wish I’d trained as an astronaut.  Forget about the motion sickness thing, the confined space thing, recycled air, recycled water, limited meal choices and other deprivations, I would just love to go into space.  It was dark when we left at closing time.  Not so dark that we couldn’t see the World’s Largest Alligator when we drove past it though.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

The rocket garden decorated with Christmas lights

The World's Largest Alligator has our pickup in its sights
- and us in its maw

Didn’t roam too far from Kissimmee the next day but still managed to find some interesting things to visit.  First up was the Monument of States.  This was begun in 1942 to help unify the States when they entered WWII.  The creator sent a letter to the governor of each of the 48 states at the time requesting some kind of stone, received one back from each state and put them together in a pyramid shape.  Over time the pyramid grew to include Hawaii and Alaska when they became states along with stones from around the world.  It had fallen into a state of disrepair but was restored after 9/11 when patriotic fervour increased.  It’s not that flash, nor is it very pretty but I love the story of its creation.

Monument of States

... includes some pebbles from the Pacific

Paid a quick visit to the Wat Florida Dhammaram Buddhist Temple before heading north to Clermont.  This used to be a huge citrus growing area and an observation tower was built back in the 1950’s to give an aerial view of the citrus groves.  The industry was all but wiped out in this area with severe frosts in 1983 but the tower remains.  The views are still good but of buildings and lakes instead of orange groves and lakes.  Bonus for us.  At Christmas time the tower is decorated with thousands of lights and a music and light show runs nightly between 6pm and 10pm.  We staked out good positions before heading out for tea and spent almost an hour watching.

Wat Florida Dhammaram Buddhist Temple

The Citrus Tower that once looked over groves and
groves of oranges

... and the reason why it now looks over buildings and strip malls
- frozen fruit that devastated the industry in this area

Light and music show at the tower

Up bright and early (this is getting to be a habit) the next morning to visit Solomon’s Castle in Ona.  When Howard Solomon went to build his home he planned to build a single storey sprawling house.  When he discovered that the land he’d purchased was too swampy for that he built up – and built in the style of a castle.  He’s an artist who uses a lot of recycled material and his house is no different.  The exterior walls are clad in recycled aluminium printing plates.  There are over 80 stained glass windows throughout.  Loved the artwork all through the castle. 

Solomon's Castle in Ona

One of the many stained glass windows

Bahamian Village Scene made from scraps of wood

And a dragon ... you can't have a castle without a dragon

After lunching in the grounds of the castle we headed west to Sarasota and Jungle Gardens.  Highlight of our walk through the gardens just had to be the pink flamingos.  They roam free and have no fear of humans.  Helps that they get fed daily so they hang around – along with the ibises and ducks.

What are you looking at human?

Up close and personal

Next on our list of wildlife to see was the manatees at Apollo Beach.  We were hopeful of seeing half a dozen or so.  We saw probably close to 100.  There is a power station right on the shoreline and, in the winter months (i.e. Now!), the manatees love to congregate around the warm water that is discharged.  A manatee is from the same family as the dugongs in Australia so you can get an idea what they look like.  They have no natural predators but collect some awful scars from boat propellers. 

Manatees at Apollo Beach

Far easier to get a photo with this one

Another long-ish travel day awaited us.  We had decided to head west again, this time to Homosassa Springs Wildlife Park.  This is a former privately owned wildlife park that was purchased by the state and is run primarily as a rescue, rehabilitation and education centre.  From the old park days there is a hippo, Lucifer, who won points from us when he sprayed a few people with urine when they were standing a bit too close (we’d been given a tip by a regular not to stand behind the hippo for that very reason).

These swans appear deep in conversation

Here's looking at you kid

The photographer and the bear

At one point we were standing by the lagoon being entertained by a squirrel when we heard a low, deep growl.  Looked up and saw an alligator right on the fence line by us with its head out of the water growling away.  Yeah, we jumped.  Two fences between us so not overly concerned and found out later it wasn’t growling at us because it was hungry but was responding to a mating call that went out on the other side of the lagoon.  Being right by us and looking directly at us was pure coincidence.  Whipped the camera around to take a video but sadly, my SD card was close to full and only managed a few seconds before it stopped.  Here’s the still from the movie – you’ll have to imagine the growl.

This is not on zoom

Leaving Homosassa Springs we hightailed it back to Kissimmee stopping at Auburndale along the way specifically to watch the School Bus Figure 8 racing at the speedway.  As it used to always be compulsory to have hotdogs at the speedway (back when I last went, sometime when the world was black and white) we treated ourselves to corndogs.  For the uninitiated, in the US hotdogs are in a bun, corndogs are battered and on a stick.  I think I’m over them now.  The School Bus race was something else altogether.  We were wondering how it would work racing in a Figure 8 configuration.  Turns out there is an even balance between drivers who are cautious and drivers that barrel through at top speed.  Surprisingly there were no crashes at the intersection but a bit of scuffling going on the entire race.  Needless to say, it wasn’t one of the cautious drivers that won. 

It was worth sitting in the cold for a couple of hours and
eating bad corndogs for this one race

The evening rounded out with a demolition derby.  No racing whatsoever.  All the cars lined up in the infield area and just kept smashing into each other until there was just one still mobile.  A good way to get rid of excess testosterone I guess but I would’ve preferred to see a no-holds-barred race.

The carnage that was the demolition derby

Finally we left Kissimmee and headed even further south.  Got as far as St Cloud where we went for a cycle through treetops.  Our other option was a zip line rollercoaster which also looked like fun.  Both are unique rides but we opted for the cycle – that way we get our exercise at the same time.  Took about 35 minutes to go through the whole course.  Saw a lot of flora but not too much fauna on this part of the adventure.  Heading out to the zip line we got to see an alligator with her hatchlings, deer, trapped wild boar (to be released outside the conservation area) and plenty of black vultures.  On the zip line, a squirrel.  All in all, a great way to spend part of the afternoon.

Our mode of transport

We get quite high up over the swamp

Saving the best until last.  On 11 December we became great aunties twice on the same day.  In New Zealand our nephew Aidan and his partner Sara welcomed their daughter Mila to the world and just a few hours later in Australia our niece Bianca and her partner Kerron also welcomed a daughter to the world, Lorrellei.  Congratulations to you all and looking forward to meeting the new additions to the family next year.

Mila

Lorrellei