Old Bridge to Bahia Honda
Here is a shot from the Snowbird Run earlier this year. I was standing on Big Pine Key looking toward Bahia Honda Key shortly after dawn.
Finally settling in at home
We’ve been home for several days now and we’re getting back to normal. Today I found time to move some more photos around and review them.
I’m always on the lookout for derelict boats. This is the only one I could get up close to on foot while we were in the Keys.
It is at the end of the road on Summerland Key where an abandoned bridge leads to a small key.
It’s a wrap
We made a dash for the border yesterday. After breakfast in Ocala, a friend told me that races were happening this Friday through Sunday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway. He also reminded me that Interstate 75 traffic would be crazy. Yikes! I looked at the weather forecast for the mountains through the day and decided that if I unhooked and headed north immediately I might just catch a slight thaw and make it home without incident.
The highways were fine all the way home. Even the first half of the 1 mile stretch my road makes to my home was fine. But then the snow, slush and ice showed up. Because I didn’t want to turn into my gravel driveway at any speed which might cause me to slide, I approached it carefully. Well, I made it just into the driveway when the wheels began to slip. With a tug from a neighbor’s 4X4 truck, the T.O.A.D. is now comfortably parked next to the house. It is plugged in and the heat is on for now. It must have been a wet winter because the driveway was unusually soggy and slippery. I believe that if I hadn’t been towing the trailer with the Harley on it I would have rolled right in. As soon as I see a good opportunity, I will move it down by the garage, hook it up to the dedicated 30 amp electric, drain the water and winterize it.
Yes, I do see the green sprouts of the daffodils. However seeing the sprouts and thinking that winter’s cold weather is over are two different matters! I’ll winterize and forget about it.
It was an interesting trip and I accomplished most of my goals. While I would have liked to have done a bit more photography in the keys, the tourist density and changing weather dictated otherwise. The real goals were to figure out how to survive and be happy in the T.O.A.D. and I’m pleased to report “mission accomplished”.
Ciao.
Snowbird Run 2015 is wrapping up
I began my trek north from the Florida Keys yesterday.
Last night I did a bit of “asphalt camping” at the Miccosukee Indian Reservation/Casino just above the keys.
Today I’m in Ocala Fl. The weather is nice here.
However, all the weather forecasts from home suck! That darn “Old Man Winter” who has held the east in chains has found Blairsville. Snow, ice, winter! Yikes!
I’m reminded of that Blind Faith, Stevie Winwood or Eric Clapton tune “Can’t Find My Way Home”.
“But I’m near the end and I just ain’t got the time
And I’m wasted and I can’t find my way home.”
I guess I’ll just hang out here south of the border (Florida/Georgia Border) until the weather breaks.
Remember Toto, there’s no place like home. Or is there?
Mars, the Moon and Venus
We stopped at Big Torch Key to catch the sunset on the way back from our conch fritter run to Key West yesterday.
You’ve heard the saying “When the stars and planets align”???
Well,
What to do
I suppose it’s time I think about the return trip. I want to be home at the start of March.
Should be easy, right? Just hoist the anchor (figuratively speaking) and turn north. After all, I can’t get any further south.
My dilemma is the weather. I don’t want to drive the front wheel drive T.O.A.D. towing 3/4 ton of trailer and motorcycle into the mountains if the roads are icy.
Yes, the snow can be pretty at times. Just not while driving an RV towing a trailer.
The forecast for the top half of Georgia includes freezing temperatures with snow, ice and rain next week and that is when I planned to travel.
Perhaps I should delay my departure. Heyleigh says “absolutely “.
Key West
I rode down to Key West this morning. A cold front is blowing through and I do mean blowing. The winds must be nearly gale force at times and it was an interesting ride down and back.
I checked out the old cemetery. The sun was too high for good photos but my trip was more to scout than shoot. I may return tomorrow afternoon to shoot and stop on the way back for some conch fritters.
I found this guy amusing. Maybe I’ll catch his friends tomorrow if it isn’t too cold.
Quarry swimming on Ramrod Key
There is an old limestone quarry (the keys are all limestone) on RamRod Key that is open to the waters of Florida Bay. Some of the locals hang out there either fishing or enjoying the sunshine.
I have been promising Heyleigh she could go swimming for a couple weeks now. She isn’t like to forget it either.
It was a bit too chilly for her to swim in a friend’s pool in Tampa Bay but here in the keys the water is perfect for swimming.
Yesterday we jumped on the motorcycle and rode south 3 keys, found the quarry and had a ball. It’s a good thing we did as a cool front is coming in today.
The big shake
Adios Tampa Bay
We rolled out of the bay area around 08:30 Sunday morning. Interstate 75 got us to Naples where we jumped over to the Tamiami Trail.
I visited Clyde Butcher’s gallery in the Big Cypress Swamp where I found Clyde himself talking with visitors. We has a brief chat.
The Tamiami Trail (Hwy 41) took us all the way to the Miccosukee Indian Reservation (CASINO) where we parked for the remainder of the day. The Miccosukee allow semis and RVs to park in the casino parking lot over night and we arrived early enough to grab a great spot. We could walk out our door straight into an everglade marsh.
It was a quiet night. I awoke early, anxious to continue on to the Keys but forced myself to drag my feet. After a leisurely breakfast I packed up and continued south to Big Pine Key.
Picasso/Dali, Dali Picasso
Today I rode across the bridges to Saint Petersburg to visit the Dali Museum. When I lived here, the Dali Museum was a regular excursion for me. The OLD Dali Museum, that is.
This is my first visit to the new museum and I definitely like the what they’ve done.
Currently the Picasso/Dali, Dali/Picasso exhibition is there (until the 22nd). Having never been drawn to the better known iconic Picasso works, I found this exhibition to be a delightful introduction to the artist. It shed a whole new light on him. Possibly it is because I am a Dali admirer. Maybe it’s because I’ve now seen a number of different pieces up close where I could study both the technique and the artist. Whatever the reason, I had a marvelous time seeing the rivalry of Dali and Picasso hanging side by side, piece by piece.
As always, I enjoyed my trip across the bay to admire work by the only artist I’ve seen who can depict how my mind works with his brushes and paints. It was a good day.
Ciao.