It was bittersweet leaving Key West, I know I could spend a lot more time here, but I’d need a ton more money. The next time I come here I’ll have to come in the winter, when it isn’t so blazing hot. Maybe if I win the lottery I’ll be back.
The 150 miles of bridges on the way down here are also the only way to get back to the mainland. It’s a long drive but it was made easier by listening to our second book on CD, “Water for Elephants”.
It was an uneventful drive and we found ourselves just west of Miami in a few hours. We elected not to drive through the city but rather just bypass it via the Florida turnpike system. Now I’ve got a bone to pick with this Florida turnpike system since it’s a huge toll road system. While cars only have to pay $1 about every ten miles, I had to pay $3 because I was pulling a trailer. This effectively doubled my cost per mile of driving. Sure it speeds up travel through Florida, but it also speeds up the depletion of my money; I’m not so sure it’s worth it.
We were going to visit Linda Wahlgren, a friend we’ve known for over 30 years from Oceanside. She’s lived in southern Florida since shortly after graduating from college. She now lives in Boca Raton with her boyfriend, Stewart Gorenberg, after having divorced her husband of 20 years a few years ago.
We booked ourselves into a KOA for two nights that was immediately adjacent to Lion Country Safari. When we showed up to register they had a deal that would allow us to view the park for two days for an additional $20. That was a deal that I couldn’t pass up.
And since it was still Africa hot, I thought that this would be so appropriate.
That evening we hooked up with Linda and Steward at a restaurant overlooking the canal just west of the Atlantic Ocean called Two Georges. We had to use valet parking, but since our truck was so big, they parked it literally at the restaurant’s front door. Sweet!We got there about 20 minutes late since this was another area where it takes at least 30 minutes to go from one place to another. Along the way we had to fill up with diesel, so you can imagine just how far it was.
They were already sipping their drinks when we showed up and we said our hellos. This was the first time we had met Stewart, who kind of reminded me of me. He’s a retired chiropractor four years younger than I.
We ordered our drinks and for appetizers they recommended conch fritters and bang shrimp. Although we’ve had never had either of these before, they are now some of our favorite appetizers.
We then ordered our dinners and shortly after the food arrived it started sprinkling. We were sitting outside under sun umbrellas, and it was much cooler here than it was at Lion Country, since we were so close to the ocean. Folks were beginning to retreat as the rain started getting worse and after a few minutes only the four of us were left on the patio under an umbrella. A few minutes later it was really pouring and the girls high-tailed it to a drier area of the restaurant, but Stewart and I kept on chatting as the rain kept coming. Although our backs and butts were getting a little wet, it was great sitting out there enjoying the coolness. The staff now closed all the umbrellas except the lone one we were under.
We stayed out there until we finished all our food and drinks, and even made the waitress dash to our table to present us with our bill. All this while the girls were sitting near the bar catching up on what I can only imagine was girly gossip.
By the time we were ready to leave the rain had subsided. On the way out Linda and Stewart wanted to see our truck with the kayaks on top, bicycles in the back, dog bed in the back seat, and computer and GPS in the cockpit. Linda promptly christened us as the Clampetts (If you’re too young to remember the Beverly Hillbillies, this won’t make any sense to you.)
We drove the 30 miles back to Lion Country Safari, walked the dogs and promptly went to bed.
And if you’re keeping track, our daily rain record is still intact.
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