Everglades National Park

We just took a quick trip today into the Everglades National Park. We will be visiting longer on our way back north in the spring.

Everglades means Grass River.  It is the slowest river in the world, 3/4 mile a day, at least that is what the guide said.  The water is 8-10 inches deep with 8 foot of mud.  The water is surprisingly pretty clear.

 We took our first Airboat ride. Had a great time too !

vroom  vroom

It was so weird.  Felt like your on land in a boat going sideways !

We saw Lots of wildlife.   The guides even had names for each of them.  We pull up to an area and they asked us to keep an eye out for George.  Who the hell is George ?

Meet George  (Blue Heron)

This one was trained.  It must have known it had a photo shoot scheduled or something. The guide said watch out for "Baby".  I saw "Baby" on the shore as we pulled in.  When the boat stopped the darn thing came towards the boat and posed for pictures. After the photo shoot "Baby" return to shore !

Here comes "Baby"

A little closer..here she comes

Well hello bright eyes..oh I mean "Baby" !

Meet Pete

Nice picture of Andy choking this poor little creature

The Four Beaches...Oh no a shark !

Clearwater Beach 

I had been to Clearwater Beach many years ago and couldn't wait for Andy to experience it. The beach is about a 30 minute drive northwest from MacDill AFB so we decided to take the day and relax on the beach.

We rented a couple of lounge chairs and just chilled.  They even had a four-wheeler delivering drinks so we had a couple foo foo drinks.  The weather was sunny and warm, about 82 Degrees.  The water was pretty warm since it is on the Gulf side.  I was like a kid, trying to body surf.  I didn't do very well, couldn't catch a big wave.  Oh that's right, it's the gulf and not the Atlantic! That explains it then !

I still have to pinch myself.  Here we are in late November laying and swimming on a beach in Florida and we aren't even on vacation. We are truly lucky !

View of the beach from the pier

We took a nice walk down the beach

The view from our spot on the beach

                                                             Treasure Island Beach

We found out there was going to be a sand sculpting competition on Treasure Island Beach so off we went.  Treasure Island beach is also about 30 minutes southeast from the AFB.

They were amazingly wonderful. Amazed how they can make those things. Amazed how they stay like that! We were blown away.

• Jokers Wild

This sculpture was called communication.

Front

Back

This one was my favorite

In the largest hole was a surprise

How do they do this !

Now a word from our sponsors..lol

This beach is on the MacDill AFB in Tampa Bay !  It is right by the RV Park and Marina.  Behind me is the Restaurant and clubhouse.

I went down to the beach, when we first got here to check on the fishing. I noticed three guys standing out in the bay, about a mile out.  It seemed the water was only thigh high!  I wondered "what the heck are they doing out there"!  What about the tide ?   I asked some guys that were standing by the inlet, "what are they were doing out there".  They said  "fishing" !  Huh ~!  Fishing way out there...no boat ?  How did they get there?  What are they catching...what are they using..etc...

It seems you have to swim across a channel, inlet, that is 20 feet deep and 30 feet across during low tide.  Once across the channel you just walk out and fish.

What the heck is this you might ask !  My little fishing buddy !

The next day I saw two guys coming back from fishing.  They were each towing a platform that was tied around their waist.  The platforms were made from Styrofoam. The platform had a bucket in the middle and a rod holders place in it so they could carry more than one pole. In the bucket they had their fishing gear and stuff.

I saw them take off their shirts and placed them in the buckets and they swam across the channel while towing their platforms.  Once they were across I just had to talk to them.  We must have talked about 45 minutes or so.

Since I didn't have the time or equipment to make those fancy platforms I had to come up with something, so I too, can get out there and fish.  If I was with my buddy Casey we would have the best platforms in the world.  Stuff like this was his department.

I want to catch some fish too dang it !  Andy has been crying for me to catch some fresh fish since we were in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

See, I can make stuff too Otto and Casey ! 

So they next day I swam across the channel and went fishing.  I caught a nice size "Red" and one "Jack" in about 2 hours.   My little buddy worked just great !  I was able to bring my all fishing gear, coffee and a snack too! 

I did get a little freaked out while I was out fishing.  I must have been a mile out from where I crossed the channel.  All of a sudden the water started to boil, about 20 feet from me, small fish were jumping everywhere. Then I saw it !!!  Fins in the water !! I freaked ! I started back towards shore instantly. Moving as fast as as person can in thigh high water.  Just like a cartoon !  If I could have ran on top of the water I would have ! Then it hit me!  Oh those are not sharks fins but dolphins fins.  I continued to fish but still was a little hyper and on the watch. !  lol

 Nokonis Beach

Andy's Aunt Sue and Uncle Jim live about an hour south of Tampa Bay so we went down to see them.  Andy grew up with her aunt and is only 8 years older than Andy.   They haven't seen each other in over 10 years. 

Aunt Sue, Uncle Jim and Andy

They have a lovely home with an 1000 sq ft outdoor space that Andy was ready to move into.  The outdoor space which includes a swimming pool, complete outdoor kitchen and a view of the canal is completely  screened in so those Florida bugs, which include those dreaded Noseeums, can't get to you.   Jim made us wonderful ribeye dinner with all the trimmings.  Thank you guys ! We had such a good time.

I think they were afraid they would have permanent winter guests.

  Every Saturday night they do a drum circle on the beach just a few minutes from their house.  We of course wanted to check that out.  A group of people, you can too, get out their drums and play while "anyone" who desires may dance, hula hoop, or just act crazy in the circle.  Very entertaining and definitely not something you see everyday.  Lots of people there and it goes late into the night.

If you have a drum...just join in the beat

No drum...just watch and feel the beat...or you can move to the beat !

Let the wine flow !

 Andy here, I will be doing my one and probably only: very own blog. Since this night was done for me I am going to share about our dining experience...and that it was!

A little history for those of you who might not know me.  Wine & food are my passions!   I come from a family of foodies;  my mother, my sister Tammy, my brother Larry and  my kids Greg, Briana & Michelle.  We  officially decided we ALL have OFD...Obsessive Food Disorder, lol.

We met a couple Bill & Jo a couple of weeks ago while we were at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina. They are traveling from Texas.  We saw them again last week while we were in Jacksonville, Florida (Mayport Navel Base) and hung out for a couple of days.

We are now at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Florida and here they are again.   I am pretty sure they think we're stalkers. lol.  When we were in Mayport they found out how much I love food & wine . So once we got here they decided we should all go to Bern's Steak House for dinner. I was more than happy for this plan.

It didn't look like anything special from the outside but once we walked through the doors.....
 

I knew I was in for a treat. Very fancy pants!

Here we are enjoying some wine, well except for you know who

Of course we all had steaks. That was an interesting deal in itself.  There were two long pages on the menu telling us all about the cuts, what size, how to cook it etc. The waiter had to give a tutorial.

Yummy!!!

After dinner a "waiter in waiting" took us on a tour of the kitchen and the WINE CELLAR!!!

Bern's Steak House has the largest private wine collection in the world!  There are almost 7000 bottles on their  menu.  No, I did not mistakenly add an extra zero.  In fact, there are two menu's; one was a book of their bottled wines and the other lesser menu only listed their 150+ glass pours!   I realized once I had been "reading" for awhile that I would have to lay down my book and be social, lol. Decisions, decisions!

Nope, not too excited!!!

Preston here:  She was gleaming... Just look at that face!  If you know her.... you know where that smile and face comes from.  She was beautiful and happy !   However, I still don't get it about wine !

Quite sure I had died and ended up in wine heaven

Everyone who is employed here has to work their way up the ranks.  They start by mopping floors , giving the tours and actually working on the farm that supplies their foods.  It takes years to become a waiter and once you are, they don't leave. Spendy restaurant = great tips.

The kitchen was huge and lots of activity.

After the tour we went up to the top of the restaurant, the dessert floor.  Every party gets their own private dessert room, with a choice of 40 desserts.

Hard to tell but these are all individual rooms

Couldn't decide so we got a sampler

We had a wonderful time with our friends Bill and Jo.  Bern's Steak House was a once in a lifetime dining experience! Thanks Bill & Jo for inviting us along.

St Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine, Florida, founded in 1565, holds the distinction of being the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States. Forty-two years before the English colonized Jamestown and fifty-five years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock.  

 

Fort Castillo de San Marcos is the oldest masonry fort in the continental United States.  The construction began in 1672, 107 years after the city was founded by Spanish Admiral and Conquistador Pedro Menendez de Aviles.  All the other pervious forts located here were made from wood and were destroyed by fire and war.

Possession of the fort has changed six times, all peaceful, amongst four different governments: Spanish Empire, Kingdom of Great Britain, Confederate States of America and the United States.  Spain and the United states having possession two times. Only the Fort survived destruction of the city by invading British forces in 1702

Fort Castillo de San Marcos

Andy's escort !  How did he grow his beard like that ?

It is 34  feet thick at the base of the wall and 5 feet on the top

Andy ...no !  See below.  lol

Andy on Pot with her gnome..oh yes she did !

We traveled all the way to Florida so we could get us some water from the "Fountain of Youth".

WE FOUND IT !  $22 bucks later...lol

Fountain of youth !

Andy drinking her Fountain of Youth water.

IT WORKED !  Right before my eyes...she looks twenty again !

It didn't work on me so that is why I didn't post any pictures.  Dang, I was sure hoping it would have worked.  This belly fat, wrinkles and grey hair is getting old...Oh, I don't mean old ...I mean seasoned.

Cathedral Basilica St Augustine Florida was founded on Sept. 8, 1565.  The first and two that followed were destroyed by fire and war until finally the current structure was erected.  This time they decided to build a mission church from Inflammable materials.  It took four years to build  from 1793 to 1797.

We stayed at Mayport Naval Station while we visited St Augustine. The base is right on the water, of course it is silly,  it's a navy base! We could watch all those Navy, Coast Guard and even Cruise Ships come and go.

The evening skyline at the base...thinking of you Jeff

Our view from the front seat of our RV.  We have a Top Secret Clearance of course! lol

Bits and Pieces

Epi has a new friend...Wilson...Andy's idea !  Let her explain...lol

Andy here explaining:  Seahawks....Wilson/From the movie Castway...who does he look like....Wilson! Epi is so excited to have a new friend to share the adventure with!

Yes !  That's $2.95 a gal...normally in the area it is $3.10

Another big bridge....Andy really doesn't like these things.  This one was big !

Parents taking their cat for a walk...just like a dog !  REALLY!!  The cat would start to wander, they would turn around and say something and he would trot right up behind them.  Very funny!!