We drove down to the Florida Keys on February 16th to stay at my NJ brother's rental there. The rental was in Key Bay Colony, a key off the main drag of Route 1. My brother has been going there for the last 10 years. Since the key was off the main drag it was safe and easy to move around by bicycle, or if the distance wasn't too great, by foot. We swam in the rental house's pool and at the beach. There was a park within walking distance called Sunset Park. The residents and visitors gather there regularly to see the sunset and sing songs. I took a picture of the sun just prior to its sinking below the horizon.
On one day of the visit we visited the turtle hospital and attended the tour. We were able to see various turtles: some being rehabilitated for return to the wild and others that are confined to hospital life. Iguanas are plentiful in the keys and we saw a few as we walked the grounds of the hospital complex. Boaters can call in rescuers when they see a turtle in distress. There is even an ambulance for transporting such turtles to the hospital.
On Tuesday the 21st we headed back to Jane's parents for their appointments. We also made another trip to Costco and were able to fill a couple of our propane tanks while Jane's parents shopped. We are able to use their membership and take advantage of Costco's phenomenal price for propane of $2.6 per gallon. I always love a bargain. Jane's Aunt & Uncle from Wisconsin came to FL for a visit on Monday the 27th. We had a family dinner with them, Jane's parents and her Orlando brother's family at his house. Jane did a lot of the cooking which had a Thanksgiving menu theme.
On Tuesday the 28th we docked the camper and filled up with water before heading to Ashley Campground inside the Green Swamp West Tract of the SWFWMD. We visited Flying Eagle Preserve in the SWFWMD last year. This campground was nicer although it lacked the attraction of air boating. Jane's parents and her aunt brought lunch to us on Wednesday (her uncle stayed back at Jane's parent's house due to a common cold and needing to fix his truck's leaky tire). For dessert, we had leftover brownies from Monday nights dinner. What the Green Swamp West Tract lacked in air boating, it compensated with alligator sightings. Both Flying Eagle Preserve and the Green Swamp had ample biking opportunities. On one bike ride in the Green Swamp I came upon an alligator hanging out in the road, and then, while being observed he moved to the edge of the road. I estimated he was about 6 feet in length.
On another day riding I saw an alligator hanging out in a swamp pool just off the road. He was pointing away from me and while I stopped to get ready to take a picture he decided to partially submerge. I thought I had missed my opportunity for a picture but was pleasantly surprised as he slowly came in my direction and resurfaced. He probably wanted to check me out or possibly he is just photogenic. He looked a fair bit bigger than the one I saw on the road a few days earlier.
The camper setup was similar to that of Rock Springs Run Reserve where we parked close to trees and put our deploy-able solar panels further away. The camper was only shaded in late afternoon so we were able to run our AC from early to late evening and recharge the batteries before the next evening came around. You can only stay in SWFWMD campgrounds for 7 consecutive days so we will be moving to another campground nearby before returning to Jane's parents and brother for some more family visitation.
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