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Home for the holidays this year was not quite what we expected. Annie had to have knee surgery and poor old Jerry had to play nurse. But, we made it and hit the road again on January 18, stopping in Memphis for a couple of nights to celebrate my brother’s and my nephew’s birthdays. We can now chalk up another experience that lots of folks have not had: We have stayed at the Graceland RV Park – how jealous are you?

We were definitely ready to head south as we awoke to 17 degrees on the morning of our departure from Memphis. We had an uneventful trip south and east with brief overnight stops at the Davis Bayou Campground in Ocean Springs; Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, AL; Topsail Hill Preserve in Santa Rosa Beach, FL; St. George Island State Park outside Apalachicola, FL; Manatee State Park near Chiefland, FL (with a stop along the way to see Jim, the Blind Man, to have one of our day/night shades repaired) and Fort DeSoto County Park near St. Petersburg. All of these public parks were lovely and we had no problems getting campsites without reservations. I might mention that we did not find warmer weather until we were out of the panhandle of Florida.

Needing to slow down just a bit, we spent two nights at Pine Island RV Resort, west of Ft. Myers, but the campground was a little too remote for a repeat performance. We did enjoy Ft. Myers, especially the winter estates of Thomas Edison and Henry Ford. And we enjoyed our visit to Sanibel Island. Next, we traveled to Naples – Wow! What a beautiful city! We stayed at Club Naples RV Resort which, like other private parks we are finding in Florida, is filled with people who spend the entire winter, in one location, in their RVs. These parks are generally crowded and are not very visually appealing, unlike the state and county parks, which are beautiful. In fact, Florida’s state parks are so nice that they have won national awards for them.

From Naples, we took US 41 east, skirting the northern boundary of Everglades National Park. We stopped off in Everglades City to participate in a 4-hour guided canoe trip among the mangroves – a nice respite from the road. That afternoon, we drove into Homestead/Florida City where we spent the next two nights while we explored the Everglades further. What do I have to say about Homestead? Been there, done that. This area is strictly agricultural and filled with non-English speaking migrant workers, mostly Haitian and Mexican. Crime is high and the area is very depressed. And the Everglades? Of all the national parks we have visited, I was least impressed here. Of course, we visited during the dry season. Perhaps it is different during wet weather.

We arrived at the Fiesta Key KOA on Friday, February 1 and settled into what would be our homesite for the month of February. The campground, located on the Gulf side of the islands, is very nice with a beautiful pool and an area called Sunset Point (Annie spends a lot of time there reading). There is also a "beach" area where you can go into the bay if you want. Interestingly, there are no natural beaches in the Keys. Since the islands are all surrounded by a large coral reef, any beaches you find here are manmade. Bubba faces Florida Bay and we have a birds-eye view of the sun rising each morning . . . not that I am awake for that! Settled in, our biggest chore lay ahead of us: adjusting to Island Time. It isn’t easy being lazy when you don’t know how! I’m a little worried how easily Jerry fell into the routine . . . much easier than I did – but I’m working on it.

Life is good on Island Time. We go to the pool and ride our bikes several times a week. We’ve worked a couple of jigsaw puzzles and a myriad of crosswords. And, of course, reading. Sometimes, we just spend time being quiet. That is good, in a world filled with so much noise. Marathon is the closest sizeable town, at 20 miles away, and there is a Curves there. So, Annie makes a run to town 2-3 times a week to work out and visit the grocery store and some of the local shops. Good thing we don’t have much room . . .

Yes, we’re adjusting to Island Time. In fact, we’ve adjusted so well that we’ve decided to stay longer so, on February 28, we will move to Bluewater Key RV Resort, just outside Key West for six more nights. Then, we will head back toward the mainland, stopping off for a few more days in Key Largo, before finally tearing ourselves away from island life. I’m afraid of what re-entry will look like.

We’ll be back in touch in a few weeks. Until then,

Happy trails to you . . . til we meet again.