Green Heron
Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables
Venetian Pool in Coral Gables
We started the month north of Tampa at a FMCA rally along with 24 Born Free Motorhomes and hundreds of other RVs. While we were there we stopped in to visit our Rialta friends Larry and Edith. Larry was recovering from a heart attack. We also canoed the Weeki Wackee Springs and saw manatees under the canoe. We moved over to Lake Louisa SP, and put the canoe and trailer in storage since it would be more of a headache than a benefit in south FL. After a few days at Highland Hammock SP, we headed to Ft. Lauderdale and had dinner with my Aunt Bernie and her daughter Mary. Pat’s nephew Randy met us for lunch the next day. We continued south to the Everglades NP and hiked all the trails there. We did find something totally different to do there. As a result of the Cuban Missile Crisis, a secret Nike Missile Site was built hidden in the glades. Park Rangers provide the tour of the base. Most of the buildings are still standing and some are being used by the NPS. It was interesting to relive the days when people were building bomb shelters in their back yard. I remember when we had air raid drills in school and had to duck under the desk. I never realized at the time that those desks provided bomb and radiation protection. On our way back north, we visited the Miami Zoo, which has recovered nicely from Hurricane Andrew in 2005. We also took an airboat ride in the Everglades, which was a bit disappointing. We enjoyed dinner with our cruising friends Patty and Don.
We checked into a timeshare in Weston, FL for a week. We found out that Weston (10 miles west of Ft. Lauderdale) is a planned community. Apparently the planners didn’t envision us showing up in a motorhome. We had to park our RV 2.5 miles from where we were staying and commute back and forth by bike or walk. Next my computer died and I couldn’t find anyone nearby to work on it. To top the week off, the city decided that the day we needed to pack for the cruise would be a good day to test the resort’s fire alarm system. The alarm in our room rang almost continually for 6 hours! The only bright spot for the week was the bus tour we took of Miami and surrounding areas. We left the timeshare a day early due to the sailing date for the cruise. I dropped the computer off for service in Ft Lauderdale and after lunch with my Aunt Bernie we headed for Port Everglades.
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