Wheelin' and Rockin' with DIanE

Where to begin….it was an adventurous, beautiful and challenging time. First off we had an uneventful drive from Titusville to the Everglades National Park and our site at Long Pine Key Park. This is our first attempt at boondocking…no hookups…water, sewer or electric. We pulled in to the park and went to the pump/fill station to fill the fresh water tank and then on to our site. This is a very nice park with large sites, lots of privacy and vegetation around. On top of that there were hardly any other folks here, we had no one else on our row the entire time we stayed.

We had these cardinals and another bird I wasn’t familiar with who hung around the whole time we were there. They would get very close, seemed very people unfazed.

Our first day we decided to drive down the keys so we headed out in the morning and started down Overseas Highway 1. We hit Key Largo, Islamorada, Marathon and over 7 mile bridge and turned around. On the way down we stopped at the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center and saw some amazing birds and owls.

It is very commercial along the way but it does start to spread out the further down you go. I cant believe how many marinas there are and the fishing boats are amazing. It is not uncommon to see a boat with 3 or 4 300 or 400HP engines….I bet those babies fly!

Lots of mileage with water on both sides.

Once we got over the 7 mile bridge just past Marathon we turned around and once back over the bride we stopped at a cool spot for lunch, The Sunset Grill.

Great day and drive.

The next morning we were up and out to our prebooked airboat and gator show at Gator Park about 45 minutes away. This was one of the things I was really looking forward to and it didn’t disappoint. Al, our driver and guide was very knowledgeable and had a great sense of humour. The ride lasted about 40 minutes and we saw gators, birds, fish and vegetation. The ride was fun…I wanted to drive! After we got back there was a presentation on gators with another extremely knowledgeable and funny guy with live gators. Another great day and relaxing evening.

As I have mentioned this is our first boondocking experience and up until this point the solar system has worked flawlessly.

When we got up after our second night our power was completely out! We figure that accidently one of the recliner heated seats may have accidently been turned on – the buttons are super sensitive – and unless you are sitting in the chair its almost impossible to tell if its on. I then unplug both recliners and we go about trying to get our battery reloaded. Thankfully its a sunny day and it starts to recharge. We felt pretty good about the numbers you can read off the panel and Di used the Instapot mid afternoon with no problem. By the time we go to bed the numbers are looking decent so we think we are ok…..WRONG! Power is out in the morning again. Now we unplug everything we can – we still have the fridge working as we have it set to propane mode.

This day Di is going to go for a bike ride and I am going to go to the other camping park about 30 miles away and rent a kayak. There are two routes to kayak…one out to the bay and the other down a channel. I opt for the bay based on a conversation with someone at the rental office. It was great, lots of birds, mangroves along the coast and a nearby island with some fish jumping offshore. I start to paddle back and see movement in the water close to the main shore. I am not sure what it is…looks maybe eel like or really big snake lor maybe a manatee. I try to get pictures and keep a little distance but the kayak isn’t cooperating. I paddle back to the dock and as I am getting out a ranger comes over and says “was that a shark you were looking at?” SHARK!!??? 😯I don’t let my inner voice out and calmly say “no, just a manatee” which I am quite sure it was but the thought he put in my head did have a shock value 😁

Again, we recharge all day and by the time we go to bed the numbers are better than the previous night. Wake up around 6:30 and it appears all is good…5 minutes later Di gets up and the power goes out. Sighhhh. We are leaving that morning so don’t think a whole lot more about it as we will have a regular hookup when we get to Tarpon Springs(just outside Tampa) that afternoon.

Ok, time to start to pack up and get hitched for the days ride. I get in the truck to back it up and as soon as I turn it on things start beeping and I look at the dash to see a tire warning. I get out and walk around to the farside and see the rear tire flat #**##***!!! Not happy. As I get the manual out for how to get the jack, lug wrench and spare I think what am I going to do if its one of those minimal use tires. I sure cant hook up with that on the truck. I’ll have to find somewhere to buy a tire on a Saturday morning. Luckily the tire was a regular tire and all it needed was a couple lbs of pressure. I drive the 25 minutes to town and get it filled. 2 1/2 hours later than planned we are on the road. Could have been worse.

An easy drive to Tarpon Springs and after getting set up we walk over to a Sport Bar to grab a bite and watch the Leafs/Tampa game. Great place, lots of fun and there were a couple other Leaf fans. I had originally thought of trying to get a ticket to the game but that was no longer an option after the start to the day as we didn’t get in and set up until 7.

Next stop Port St. Joe.