Meals on Wheels – Biking in the Everglades

We headed out with our bikes on Wednesday, 11/23, to the Shark Valley Visitor Center in the Everglades National Park. No sharks here, but we did find gators galore!  There are several access points/visitor centers for the Everglades, but Shark Valley was the closest to our campground and had a 15-mile paved bicycle path through the Everglades. Since this is Florida, the elevation gain was 0 feet. Really. Happy me.

The trail was flat as a board, but no shade either. 

The trail started behind the visitor center and bordered a canal. We hadn’t gone more than a few yards when we saw the first alligator… another 15 yards, another gator… and it continued. We started counting and saw 70 alligators in the first seven miles on the trail. There were big ones and small ones and we even saw 7 babies! Yes, even baby alligators are cute. Can’t say the same for the really large guy trying to munch down a poor turtle. Most were sunning themselves on the grass beside the path and didn’t seem too concerned about us, but a few of them looked interested in the “meals on wheels” riding by. Lol. They got a wide berth.

Smile!

They're cute when they're little!

Chillin' in the canal.

Could I recommend an orthodontist?

This guy skipped the meals on wheels and went for the boxed lunch instead. Lol. 

At mile seven, there is an observation tower with views of the Everglades or the “river of grass” as it’s also called. Most of the area is grass prairie growing in a shallow sheet of water with scattered “hammocks" of higher ground where trees and shrubs grow. 

Spiral ramp to the observation tower.

Lookout or alien ship? Lol. 

Swampy goodness as far as you can see.

The second half of the ride didn’t have quite as many gators, but our total at the end was a whopping 89 alligators. Wow!  The variety of birds was also fascinating. I’m no birder, but it was still fun to see so many herons, egrets, osprey, cormorants, and many I couldn’t identify. 

The park offers a tram ride or you can walk the 15-mile loop, but bikes are the best option in my opinion. You can take your time and enjoy the wildlife, and there is no way I’d want to walk 15 miles in the Florida sun with no shade. It was a fun ride and great introduction to the Everglades.

Don't know what he is, but he sure is pretty.

Cormorant drying his wings in the sun.

Blue herons are as common as robins here. 

Well camouflaged. 

Happy Thanksgiving! (Belated, I know.) Thursday, Rog smoked a turkey breast on the Treager. We had sweet potatoes with our Vermont maple syrup, stuffing, roasted brussel sprouts and lots of cinnamon bread of course! All delicious. The weather was sunny and hit 87˚, so we opted to eat our Thanksgiving feast outside. 

Home is where you park it. 

Thankful for so much!

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for! We are healthy, happy and loving life. I’m glad that Rian was able to join us in October in the Great Smokey Mountains – the wildfires there now are just devastating. We drove through Gatlinburg and it’s hard to believe the town has been nearly wiped out. So sad. I’m also glad that Randi and Ryan were able to visit and do Universal and Disney with us – seeing pictures of the awesome dinner Randi and Ryan prepared made me a little homesick. While I miss family and friends, I gotta say that 87˚ and sunny, beats 50˚ and raining any day! Maybe you all could join us?? Lol.

Hobe Mountain and a Day Off at Markham Park

On Sunday, 11/20, we left the Mouse behind and headed southeast towards Miami. We had scoped out the route and decided to stop for the night at Pine Grove Campground in Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Hobe Sound, FL. When we looked on-line a few days out there were 26 open spaces. No need to reserve, plenty of options. Rog checked the night before and there were about a dozen spaces still open. No worries. When we pulled in about 2:30pm there was a line at the gate and a sign posted saying the campground was full. Oops. We pulled in anyway, hoping for a recommendation for a nearby campground or permission to boonie in the parking lot. The Ranger at the gate said to go around back to the office and they could hook us up. Whew! So glad he did.

We chose Pine Grove for the hiking and mountain bike trails.  We got the rig situated and did a walk about, there is kayaking and lots to do here. We drove the four miles to the Kimbell Visitor Center which was excellent. Great exhibits and the staff were very friendly, as was the resident reptile. :) 

The Welcome Committee at the Visitor Center. Our snakey karma continues. :)

Kitching Creek, no gators today.

Sun through the palmettos.

We climbed the Hobe Mountain Observation Tower where we had a view of the Atlantic Ocean, the Intracoastal Waterway, and the surrounding parklands. The “mountain” is the highest natural point south of Lake Okeechobee rising 86 feet above sea level. Yeah, it was a tough climb. Lol.

Hobe Mountain Observation Tower, a whopping 86 feet above sea level. 

Intracoastal Waterway in the front and the Atlantic Ocean in the back. 

Setting sun on the meadow grass.

Luckily check out time wasn’t until 1:00pm, so Rog hit the mountain bike trails in the morning. I stuck to the paved roads, thank you very much, and it turned out I saw more wildlife than he did!  A black snake elicited a squeal when he scurried out of the way as I pedaled by and I got to see my first alligator! We had stopped at “gater gulch” the night before but didn’t see anything. As I rode by, I saw a beautiful snowy egret and stopped to take a picture. I was standing on the bridge and glanced down and there was a big gater right below me. Bit of a thrill. :)

This snowy egret caught my eye and then I looked down.....

and saw my first gater!

This is another one of those parks that we wished we had more time to explore, but we have reservations at Markham Park in Sunrise, FL for nine nights and are looking forward to some down time. Markham Park is a huge County park with an amazing array of activities. In addition to the campground, there are mountain bike trails, a nature trail, boating, a target range, 18 hole disc golf course, Barkham at Markham – a huge dog park, an observatory, sports courts, model airplane field, radio controlled 4-wheeler course and more. With all that AND plans to visit two National Parks maybe there won’t be a whole lot of down time after all. Lol.

We arrived at Markham on Monday afternoon and made a grocery run. Tuesday, 11/22, we pretty much bummed all day. We did NOT walk five miles or bike or do much besides read, relax, and catch up on some coach duties. We actually felt like we were retired for the first time in ages. Lol. The weather was sunny and low 80’s with a brief shower in the afternoon. Loved catching the rainbow above the coach.

Home Sweet Home on the Road. 

We have a canal right behind us.

Huge dog park with acres of space for Big Barkhams and a separate area for Little Barkhams. Lol. 

A glimpse of the mountain biking trails - Rog is looking forward to checking these out.

Tomorrow we will get our butts in gear and visit the Everglades National Park. But we are looking forward to fitting more of those lazy days into the schedule! 

Disney Done Right!

Wow, where to begin. A week at Disneyworld is an exercise in excess – too loud, too bright, too much to eat, and too much fun! We loved it! Lol. 

We arrived at the Ft. Wilderness campground around noon on Sunday, 11/13, but our site wasn’t ready yet. Rog stayed with the rig in the parking lot while I drove Randi and Ryan over to the All Stars Movie resort to get checked in. They decided to head over to Epcot where we’d meet up later, do some rides, and have dinner.

For those who are not familiar with all things Disney, Walt Disney World in Orlando is actually four separate parks – The Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. We had arrived on the last weekend of Epcot’s annual Food & Wine Festival – lots of special eats and treats – so we decided to start our Disney adventure there. 

Epcot is divided into two parts, Future World which has most of the rides and the World Showcase which is situated around a huge lagoon. The World Showcase has permanent pavilions featuring exhibits and restaurants from eleven different countries: Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, America, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom, and Canada. For the Food & Wine Festival there were special exhibitions and 24 additional food kiosks from around the world. Yummmmm!

By the time Rog and I arrived, Randi and Ryan had already walked the entire World Showcase once. No small feat. This park is large and you can walk miles and miles (which we did). We hit some of the rides and for dinner decided to take advantage of the small plates offered as part of the Food & Wine Festival and eat our way around the world. Lol. It was tasty! We finished off the evening watching Epcot’s nightly Illuminations show on the lagoon.

Now keep in mind that Randi had started the day with an impressive set of blisters and after being on her feet for another six straight hours, she was in a world of hurt. She tried mole skin, switching out shoes, soaking her feet at night, and lots of Tylenol – but her sore footsies really put a crimp in her style. She was a solid trooper though. She did not complain and kept up even though it’s no fun walking on blistered feet. There just isn’t any way around putting in miles if you want to cover even a part of what the Mouse has to offer.

Spaceship Earch viewed through the Torii Gate at the Japanese Pavilion

Pagoda at the Japanese Pavilion

Detail of the carving on the Stave Church at the Norway Pavilion (photo: Randi)

Great perspective at the Italian Pavilion (Photo: Randi)

O Canada!  Canadian Pavilion at Epcot. (Photo: Randi)

Chinese Pavilion (Photo: Randi)

Mexican Pavilion at night. (Photo: Randi)

Randi got a great shot of the super moon.

Spaceship Earth at night. Just gorgeous!

On Monday, we hit the Magic Kingdom at 8am to take advantage of the “magic hours” when the parks are open only to resort guests. We had one hour before the park opened to the public and it was great to hit some of the rides without waiting in long lines. In the afternoon, we came back to the RV; Randi took a brief nap and we all enjoyed a break. Then it was back to the Magic Kingdom for dinner at the Jungle Canteen and the nightly fireworks spectacular, Wishes. Disney really does do a great job with that!

Cinderella's Castle by day...

... and at night.

Wishes is the Magic Kingdom's nightly fireworks spectacular.

Tuesday was dedicated to Hollywood Studios, which has some of our favorite Disney rides – Star Tours (Star Wars ride), Toy Story Mania, The Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror (ok, Randi may object to calling the Tower one of her favorites! Lol).  We snagged last minute reservations in the Italian pavilion at Epcot for dinner – excellent pizza! – and then came back to Hollywood Studios to see Fantasmic!, a 30 minute musical show with fireworks and water projections. So nice to be able to sit and watch the show. Lol.

The Tower of Terror... probably Disney's best "thrill" ride.

A fun roller coaster and Randi's very first "big" coaster when she was 11. Memories! :)

Randi & Ryan outside Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. 

On Wednesday we spent the day at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The centerpiece of the park is the "Tree of Life". An impressive 145 feet tall and 50 feet wide at the base, it has over 300 meticulously detailed animal carvings. I could spend hours just exploring it and Randi & I had a blast taking way too many photos. Animal Kingdom is smaller than some of the other parks, but you can put in a lot of miles if you walk all the paths to see the animal exhibits. We opted to skip some of that and enjoy the “safari” tram ride and see more of the shows. 

Randi likes the water rides, so the Kali River Rapids was a hit with her and we did that twice. (I really want to know how she manages to avoid getting soaked! lol) The new Expedition Everest coaster is fun too – it goes backwards for part of the ride which is a bit unsettling. We had dinner in the Animal Kingdom Lodge at Boma – an Africa themed buffet that is ridiculously delicious. So much fun getting to sample dishes that you just don’t see anywhere else – watermelon rind salad, anyone? (It’s really good!)

The Tree of Life at Disney's Animal Kingdom. (Photo: Randi)

The detail and way they intertwined the animal carvings with the tree is just facinating. (Photo: Randi)

Randi & Ryan and another perspective of the tree.

No animatronics here,! Real animals on the Kilimanjaro Safari tram ride. (Photo: Randi)

Who you lookin' at??    (Photo: Randi)

One of the stars in the "Flights of Wonder" show.  (Photo: Randi)

Looooong ascent on the Expedition Everest coaster - the part I HATE most! Lol. 

Oh no! The Yeti has destroyed the tracks! From here you backwards fast... wheeeeeee!

And then Thursday finally arrived – our designated “do what you want day”.  A chance for Randi and Ryan to hang out together without Mom and Dad (and vice versa. Lol.)  We started off together with a late breakfast at the Kona Café and then the kids opted to visit Disney Springs – an area full of shops and restaurants – and more importantly, Disneyquest, five floors of arcade nirvana.  Unfortunately, by this point Randi’s feet were done and they headed back early to their room to just relax for the evening.

Rog picked his bike up at the shop and then we explored some of the walking trails around the campground. There are deer everywhere! We had dinner at the RV and hoped to turn in early and catch up on some much needed rest. We were reminded there is a downside to staying on the Disney property – leaving the parks doesn’t mean you can escape the Mouse’s madness. Our site was close to the marina and the loud speakers (emphasis on LOUD) for the nightly electrical watercraft parade seemed to be right above us! Every night, as late as 10:45pm a horrible synthesized Disney mashup would begin and last for 10-15 minutes. We could hear the banjo music from the restaurant and the boat horns started every morning at 6:45am and lasted well into the night. UGH!

Herds of deer roam the campground.

Lovely walking trail. A relief after the crowds and chaos of the parks. 

Friday morning, we went back to Epcot to pick up some of the rides we’d missed and then did 18 holes at Disney’s Fantasia Garden Miniature Golf Course. That was a lot of fun and a nice change of pace. Our last meal together was at my personal all-time favorite restaurant on the Disney properties – a tiny little soda shop called Beaches and Cream at the Beach Club Resort. The food is good and reasonably priced and the “No Way Jose” sundae is to-die-for. Lol. Yes, after this we are ALL going back to a healthier diet!

Randi tees off at the Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course.

An incredible, edible gingerbread carousel at the Beach Club Resort. No, we didn't eat any of it!

Beaches and Cream - the "No Way Jose" sundae is my favorite. And yes, I did eat all of it!!

The kids had a 7am flight to catch on Saturday, so we called it an early night. Hard to believe their visit has flown by so quickly. Rog and I drove over to their resort in the evening to drop off some stuff and say our final good-byes. I was sad to hug my baby good-bye, but really happy that Disney was providing a shuttle so I didn’t have to get up at 4am to take them to the airport. Lol.

Rog and I weren’t checking out until Sunday, so we had a leisurely Saturday morning. I decided to pop over to Disney Springs while Rog did some biking and running. We hit Hollywood Studios for their holiday show and some last minute shopping. We also got a huge kick out of the Christmas decorations that some of the campers put up – Wow, talk about your full Griswold!

This is only part of one person's display! 

Sunday morning, 11/20, we leave the Mouse behind. We’re planning a one-night stay at a state park in Hobe Sound and then we have reservations for a week at Markham Park in Sunrise, FL.  We’ll use that as a base to visit the Everglades and Biscayne National Parks.  Looking forward to getting back to nature and working off some of the extra pounds we’ve packed on… I know, easier said than done with Thanksgiving just around the corner. Lol. 

Since my next post won't be until after the holiday.... HAPPY THANKSGIVING!