We are still in beautiful Florida.....getting ready to begin our jaunt west. We've had a really wonderful time here and definitely have surprisingly "run out of time" for exploring and experiencing Florida further. Now, I know it would be foolish to attempt to extract sympathy from you folks because we haven't been able to do all the fun, touristy things here.....instead, I'll simply say, we'll be back.....there's so much to do here in Florida that we missed!
Some of the missed places and fun we've put onto our "next visit" list are Cape Canaveral, Kennedy Space Center, St. Petersburg, fan-boat ride through the Everglades, scuba diving in the Keys, kayaking in the Keys, visits to Disneyworld and Universal Studios (Wizarding World of Harry Potter, in particular), viewing the wild manatees, ocean fishing, checking out the turtle hospital in Marathon, spending more time on the beaches. So many beaches! It's been almost impossible to spend time at the beach as most (almost all) don't allow dogs. I know....boo hoo, poor us!
So Many Ways to Die!
Probably the "coolest" thing about being in Florida is that, aside from the obvious ones (food poisoning from shellfish, hurricanes, trailer park tornadoes, ecoli from bad mint leaves in Mojitos, or drive-by shootings in Miami) there are TONS of ways to DIE out in nature here.
This was near Daytona Beach at a State Park. We also saw lots of gator crossing signs throughout the mid-lower sections of Florida.
The State Park at Long Key had a Venomous Snakes sign. Yikes! We didn't go any further, turned our truck around and looked for a new place to walk the dogs.
This is one of several panther crossing signs we saw while driving the everglades.
So, heaven forbid, you get a flat tire in the Everglades with poisonous snakes, crocs, gators, spiders and panthers all around you. Eeeeeeeeee!
Loki's Close Call with a Snake!
You're going to love this story. Two days ago, it was 90 degrees outside and the dogs were restless. Sitting in the shade, drinking buckets of water, I decided to take them for a walk in the industrial area behind our trailer park. It was Sunday, so no traffic or people to worry about. TURNS OUT, vehicles and people were the LEAST OF OUR WORRIES!
I was walking alone with the dogs, concrete road on the left, wide and long patch of grass in the middle, tropical forest on the far right. I tried to keep the dogs in the middle.....the grassy part, while throwing sticks, running with them, calling them and generally playing around. The dogs......being dogs......took every opportunity afforded them, to wander into the forest. I kept calling them back, afraid of all the ABOVE noted animals local to Florida. Well, turns out, Loki and Klio were ALL TOO EXCITED to explore this little patch of dry long grass, just on the edge of the forest. They weren't more than one foot into the thatch when I noticed that they weren't listening to my calls and seemed incredibly interested in SOMETHING!
Thinking it was something icky/disgusting that they might roll in (they were clean dogs and just had a bath the day before) I called them harshly to "Come!" Klio listened and trotted over to me, Loki ignored me (BAD DOG) and kept his nose to the grass. Calling him harshly again, Klio on leash now, I stomped over to Loki telling him to "Come!" Still ignoring me, I got close to him and reached for his caller......then I saw IT!
This is a snake very similar to the one we saw. A Southern Black Racer.
A 3' long, 1 1/2 inch wide, dark coloured snake "jumped back" as I lunged for Loki and started to slither quickly into the forest. I screamed bloody murder! Loki came towards my outstretched hand, and we backed up onto the grass.....me looking intently at him to see if he has been bitten. He seems completely normal and excited. I look into the brush area and the snake is gone. THEN, breathing heavily, hotter than Hades, I look down at the dogs and notice that the doggy-do bag which holds the squishy treasure that I picked up earlier in the walk, has split open and dog poo is all over my hands, leashes, and shorts. UGH! BAD DOGS!
I collect myself together and walk back to the trailer.......ready for a shower then tall glass of rum. I looked on the internet at a list of snake types in the area and it turns out that there are 45 species of snakes in Florida and 6 are venomous. Loki's snake isn't one of the venomous ones, and best guess, it's a southern black racer.
The People
Honestly, well over 90% of the people we've met over the past few months traveling have been fantastic. A mutual love of traveling, we instantly hit-it-off with a variety of people. Most are retired, most are Canadian Snowbirds, or the American equivalent, people on extended vacations, or what we call liveaboards (people who live in the RV parks full-time).
We've met all kinds of travelers at the RV dog parks too, and ironically, I can name the dogs but not their owners. Funny how "dog people" learn the dog names but not the people names. So, Loki and Klio especially made friends with Sadie, Oliver, Foxy, Charlie and Prudence. At the Lauderdale dog park, Steve and I witnessed a loud, foul-mouthed, tooth-missing fight between two ladies who had a "misunderstanding" about one of the barking dogs at the park. They were yelling and cussing at each other, threatening to call the cops, etc. It was quite a scene. They were barking louder than any of the dogs!
Welcome to Fort Lauderdale - Not!
One of the locals took exception to me walking our dogs in their 'hood, last week. I walked the dogs, in harness and on-leash, along the street in the neighbourhood beside our RV park. I didn't let the dogs go on other peoples' property and we were just quietly walking, in the sunny heat, along the sidewalk when an African American woman passenger in a car, hung her head out the car window and yelled WHITE MOTHER F....ER while her male friend was driving and honking his horn at me!!!! Seriously! I knew we were in a "Black" neighbourhood, and there certainly weren't any other Caucasians in sight, so they didn't just mistake me for someone else. Truthfully, I didn't think much about it until I went for this walk. People were frequently honking their horns at me and I thought (wrongly) they were just beeping because the dogs looked cute or something. It's kind of like New York here, people are always honking their horns. Anyway, I told my RV neighbour about the experience and he said, "Oh no! Don't walk in that neighbourhood......it can be a dangerous place for a white woman alone." Oh my!
Quebecois - why?
In our Fort Lauderdale RV park, over 60% of the park is rented by Quebecois. It's like being in Quebec.....all the signs are 1/2 in English and 1/2 in French. And, most of the Quebecois people won't/don't wave or say hello (which almost EVERYONE does in all the parks when they pass one another) to us filthy Anglophones. I don't have any issues with the French; I like the language and have known some awesome French Canadians......but this was unreal. They were on loud-halers at 9:30 one MORNING inviting (in French of course) people to the clubhouse for "_ot dogs and _amburgers" that night at 6 pm. I wouldn't buy an _ot dog or _amburger from them if my life depended on it! 9:30 in the morning, loud-haler, vacation, in FRENCH! Forget it! Be friendly people.....you represent Canada too! I had one Floridian (who lives in the RV park) tell me that they come to this particular park every year and they are always rude! That's too bad. Without getting into a huge political debate (although I kinda feel like it), I understand the desire to be around one's own culture, language and customs.....but, these folks are traveling, in a foreign country, representatives of their native country, Canada. Please.....wave back to me when I wave to you, say hello back if I say hello to you, and for God's sake, sell your BBQ goodies sometime AFTER noon......not before coffee in the morning! Merde!
Real Estate Course - Almost Done!
I've been diligently working on my course these past two months, especially. I have ONE MORE ASSIGNMENT to do this week......then my course will be finished! YAY! My focus will change to exam preparation which I'll take sometime after we return home. I have to admit, studying daily, reading for hours on end, sure isn't as "easy" as it was when I was younger. In fact, studying and reading "on the road" reminds me of studying and reading my course material for my undergrad during breaks in work on Jimmy's boat, plane and on days off. It's exhausting! My assignment average is 95% right now, so the nerd in me is happy. I'm really excited to start my new career in this field. It's immensely complex and deliciously challenging - I think it was a great decision taking this course and starting anew.
With that said, I must get back to the LAST CHAPTER! I've named it the "Monster" because it's long...................
Love,
S&S and L&K
xoxoxoxoxox
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