The Everglades + Key West
March 17, 2017
Key West-Marathon, FL, FL, USA
When you think of the Everglades what is the first thing that comes to mind? I'm guessing that you are picturing dense swampy woods, with crocodiles and mesquitos everywhere. Well, if this is the case you're absolutely right. We were thinking the same exact thing but we really had no idea what we were getting ourselves into. But it was a very unique experience that we will remember forever.
The journey started at the visitor center at Everglades National Park. Here we watched a short introduction film, mapped out our campsite and figured out what activites sparked our interest. We landed on a neat little campground called Lone Pine that was only 7-8 miles from the visitor center. After we set up the campsite and got situated, we immediately put on our adventure caps and took the dogs for a walk around the area in hopes to see some deep Florida wildlife. Unfortunately we returned back to the campsite a few hours later and had seen nothing but a few creepy birds. But on the bright side we each had a few mesquite bites and were showing no signs of the zika virus! By the time we got back it was about two in the afternoon and about 80 degrees. This doesn't sound half bad right? But the humidity was so intense that the remainder of the day was spent in the RV eating snacks and taking naps until the sun started to set.
Once the sun started to go down, we went back out and made friends with the Rangers and strolled through the campground. This time of year the camp ground had a wide range of different personalities which made the walk that much better. We stumbled upon the typical retired old farts, college kids on spring break and weekend warriors that greeted us with a smile or some sort of small talk. The following morning we woke up early and went on a ranger guided bike tour. The tour was more informational than the advertised "strenuous biking tour" that we expected. But either way it didn't matter, we enjoyed the cooler morning weather, mingled with the people on the tour and learned a lot of interesting facts about the 1.5 million acre National Park. Our guide was very passionate about the parks restoration efforts and while we originally thought it was a little boring, it was really great to see them working so hard to bring back a habitat that can sustain all of the creepy crawlies that rely on it.
That night we had planned to go on a guided starlight tour on the iconic Ahinga Trail. The tour consisted of a couple mile moon lite walk through the Everglades with a Ranger. We were excited to be star gazing and maybe even have a random heart thumping wildlife encounter. Honestly we had our hopes up really high to run into a croc. So Brit and I geared up for the night with our head lamps and a unnecessary amount of bug repellant and hopped on the moped. The trailhead was about 3 miles from the campground and after about 1/4 mile, I realized that the back tire was halfway deflated. So unfortunately we turned around because we didn't want to be stuck in the middle of the Everglades when it was pitch black out. We were so bummed out but hey, maybe next time.
Despite the previous nights failure, we woke up excited and ready for a totally new adventure. This adventure started about 35 miles southwest of the campground at the Flamingo Center. Here we walked the Bay and watched fishermen reel in their supper. We also got our first glance at the American Crocodile and jumping Mullet. After familiarizing ourselves with the surroundings, we boarded a 30 foot boat and began the guided Backwoods Tour. During this tour we learned all about the brackish (fresh and salt mixed) waters that we would travel during the 2 hour ride. The tour guide also elaborated about the wildlife and the various types on Mangroves that tower the waters perimeter.
Before we knew it, the swamp tour was over and we were already back at the campsite packing up the RV. The next morning we left camp around 4:00 a.m. to catch the sunrise during the scenic four hour drive south to Key West. But it turned out that I was a little more excited for the sunrise than Britney, she slept the entire way! Oh well, everyone is happier when she is well rested :) Once we arrived, we found one of the only streets that RV's can park on in the Keys without paying $100 per day; thanks to a locals recommendations back in the Everglades. Or so he thought.... We will get back to that later. From there we quickly changed into our swimsuits and loaded up a day bag with sunscreen and treats.
If you have never been to Key West before, you should add it to your bucket list immediately. Within the first ten minutes of setting foot on Key West we were fully in the tropical vacation mindset. The weather was at a perfect 75 degrees and sunny. People didn't care if you weren't wearing your shirt or shoes. Everyone was either sipping on some sort of crazy concaucion or licking an ice cream cone. It was definitely a tourist trap, but after spending the last couple of days getting molested by mesquites, we didn't care at all, it was perfect!
After strolling through the pastel shaded conch-styled bungalows, we found Dog Beach; a local hang out with white sand and crystal clear water. Before we knew it, we were sprawled out on our beach towels without a care in the world. It was one of the moments that we wished we could freeze time and live in it forever. Unfortunately people need food to stay alive so we had to leave our little slice of paradise in search of live music and fresh seafood. Such a hard life. After browsing all of our options from one end of the key to the other, we landed at the dog friendly Schooner Wharf Bar. Here we kicked back, sipped on ice cold beers and enjoyed the freshest fish sandwich's possible. The atmosphere was alive and breezy with the laid back music from 32 year resident, Michael McCloud. After several of care free hours at the bar, we dipped our toes back in the water and putz around the key until sunset.
After eight or so stop and go miles of people watching, window shopping, dancing, lounging on hammocks and other shenanigans we had once again developed a hunger. However the sun was starting to set and we didn't want to miss it. So I went to the beach front pizza joint and ordered an XL pie as Britney and the pups found a perfect place in Mallory Square to watch the sunset. It was a perfect ending to an unforgettable day. After sunset we fulfilled our sweet tooth craving with key-lime ice cream in a waffle cone and slowly made our way back to the RV.
When we arrived at the RV there was an envelope on the front windshield and our first assumption was that we got a ticket. What a bummer to such a perfect day. But, after opening up the envelope and reading the paper work, it turned out to be just a warning! The warning was for parking an oversized vehicle on a city right of way. No harm, no foul. So we loaded up and drove our happy ass's to the local grocery store and hit the hay. Because of other obligations we had to leave first thing the next morning but we felt like we did Key West right and loved every minute of it!
On to the next!
- Blake
St. Pete Beach + Friend Weekend!
March 13, 2017
St. Petersburg, FL, USA
Well, long time no blog!
Blake managed to arrange for us to stay in this absolutely amazing house near the beach in St. Petersburg, Florida. We had almost 6,000 sq. feet, 5 bedrooms and a pool all to ourselves for 14 days and it was the BEST break from the van. The first night we got there I think we were both a little overwhelmed. Honestly I've never even really spent time in a house that big so I felt like a kid let loose in a hotel. We planned on hot tubbing and making an awesome dinner but 4 months of travel caught up to us and we ended up ordering pizza, drinking wine and posting up on the couch.
As embarrassing as it is thats sort of where we stayed the first few days. We love traveling but having that much space to yourself is almost too good to pass up. Every morning there Blake would wake up and do yoga on the back patio while I slept until I couldn't sleep anymore - we would make breakfast, walk the dogs, work out and then lay out until it was time to make dinner.
We made the best dinners while we were there! I want to share the recipes because after my performance last week I think I deserve my own cooking show. We had this huge kitchen and I really took advantage - meaning I made a mess that would lead you to think I had made dinner for 40 people instead of two - but totally worth it. We had homemade asian potstickers and fried rice, buffalo chicken pizza, greek potstickers (way better than it sounds), black bean guacamole burgers and fresh homemade pasta. This was all inspired by a Chopped marathon that I started watching the second day we were there and didn't stop watching until Blake said he really couldn't take it anymore. Enough with all that boring stuff! We just really soaked up the time we had there to ourselves.
Don't worry though - we didn't waste a house that big on just ourselves. We invited some of our friends out and thankfully they took us up on it! One of the guys got there a little early and I forced him and Blake to play cocktail chopped with me. I was all hyped up on my success from the nights before but it turns out that mixing drinks is way harder and we all failed. Blake made something gross out of butter almond ice cream, vodka and a hot cookie - good in theory, TERRIBLE in real life. We hung out and putzed around until the rest of the gang got there and then it was party time!
We got in a good hang day with paddleboarding, and then ended the night with a really great dinner at home. The next day we hit the beach and a really fun bar called the Toasted Monkey for the afternoon. We got a little bit of the run around before deciding on dinner but it was just so fun to be out with everyone that it didn't matter.
The next day was we a little bit of a hangover day. We had big plans to maybe do a sunset cruise or dolphin watching but lack of planning and spring break in Florida don't go together so we missed it but had the best day ever anyway! We played yard games and took too many pictures. The only thing we really wanted to do was make it to the rooftop bar in downtown St. Pete for the sunset and we were all so glad we did! It turned out to be such a beautiful night followed by a seafood dinner and a classic living room dance party.
We were pretty sad to say bye to our friends and I have to admit that the first few days back in the van were a little rough but - movin' on!! This week we're exploring the Keys and the Everglades! Cross your fingers that I don't get eaten by a croc!
See you on the flip side!
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