Winter 2006 - West Palm & West Coast

We went for a brief run around the campground this morning then got caught up on chores. In the afternoon we met Al and Eileen and went shopping at the legendary “Flea Market” on Sample Road in Pompano Beach. We got a bunch of stuff and had knishes and pastrami sandwiches for lunch. We then visited with Millie and Herb Rosenberg and the six of us went out for dinner.

The highlight of today was hand feeding an animal with a 17 inch long prehensile tongue. We’ll wait patiently while you all make up your own jokes ;-). Responding to the early morning roar of lions heard throughout the campground, we visited Lion Country Safari (LCS) shortly after they opened. It was almost as much fun as last year with the added bonus that we took special note of animals native to South Africa where we will visit next fall with Roberta and Elliot Schultz. The biggest disappointment was that the lions are now fenced in. Apparently, too many visitors refused to follow the rules about staying in cars and keeping windows closed that LCS felt the need to fence them in. It really detracts from the experience. After driving through the park we visited the part of LCS where you walk around to see animal and bird exhibits and, oh yes, the giraffe feeding station. From a platform about ten feet in the air, we, well actually Sandy, fed wheat crackers to the giraffes. Great fun. After lunch, we drove up to Jupiter, FL to check out Dickenson State Park. It it a nice park but the campground has suffered considerable hurricane damage. After hiking one of the park nature trails, we drove to the Kates’ where we had a rehearsal for New Years Eve tomorrow night by having dinner with Cal and Rhoda and their friend Jean. As we get close to the end of another year, we are reminded of how fortunate we are to have these wonderful experiences.

This morning we went to Wakadohatchee wetlands in nearby Del Ray. This natural area adjacent to the Palm Beach County Water Authority has an elevated walkway loop across a large wetlands where one can easily observe and photograph numerous ducks and wading birds up close. It was quite crowder but we had fun and took some neat photos. After lunch we went over to Al and Eileen’s to help them get ready for the party. As expected it was a delightful, though low key affair. We all ate a lot, watched the ball in Times Square drop and wished each other a Healthy New Year. By 12:15 we were headed back to the campground. Happy New Year everyone.

Understandably, we slept later than usual today. Considering the 45 minute drive back to the campground, we have not been up that late since last New Year’s Eve. Late morning we drove to Millie and Herb Rosenberg’s for brunch. It was a fun time talking about family and mutual friends. We left about mid afternoon and spent a relaxing afternoon and evening “at home”.

We packed up in the morning and headed for the Fort Myers area. Unlike last year when we had a skinny site in a very crowded commercial campground, this year we have a big secluded site, surrounded by sable palm and palmetto in Koreshan State Park. After lunch we met up with Bob and Sue Schmidt in Bonita Beach. They were the “Tail Gunner” couple on our Mexico/Belize caravan last year. We spent a couple of hours relaxing on the beach then having dinner in at a local Mexican restaurant. They spent the holiday season working at See’s Candy in Ft. Lauderdale and are heading to Texas to be tail-gunners on a caravan to Copper Canyon. Next summer they will be on an Alaska caravan. They are even busier than we are, but then, they are full timing and still working to earn a living. They are a fun couple and it was great spending time with them. We expect to see them again in Texas.

This morning we headed for the Ding Darling NWR on Sanibel Island. A brief stop in the visitor center got us a map, bird list and some neat children’s books and post cards from the gift shop. The 4.5 mile wildlife drive has numerous pull-offs and the marsh and mud flats were loaded with birds. We recorded 30 different species today. The best sighting was a Red Shouldered Hawk perched on a low branch near the road, oblivious to the crowd of photographers and general onlookers staring up at him. When he? finally moved, it wasn’t to escape the crowd. The bird lunged into the nearby grass trying to catch a snake or lizard. He then perched for a while on the speed limit sign.

When we exited the refuge, we drove to the beach where we ate our picnic lunch then walked along the beach for a while. On the way off the island we stopped to do some “Sanibel Shopping” and Sandy found another piece of magnificent 18k jewelry; a pendant with a beautiful silhouette of a heron designed and made by a local jeweler. The traffic getting off of the island was terrible, though not as bad as last year. Once across the causeway, we went on an unsuccessful search for Honeybell oranges. We did some grocery shopping then settled down in the coach for a quiet evening.

Our first destination today was the Audubon Sanctuary at Corkscrew Swamp. It’s a wonderful place with a 2.2 mile boardwalk through the swamp. Corkscrew is rated by some as one of the five best birding spots in the US. In addition to the wading birds and another pair of mating Red Shouldered Hawks, we saw Blue Headed Vireo and Black and White Warbler. After the swamp, we drove down to Naples for lunch and a little shopping at a place called Tin City. The nostalgia highlight came as we were waiting for our meals and “There’s a New World Somewhere” began playing in the restaurant. This song was the unofficial theme song for Marriage Encounter and we smiled and sang softly to each other, “I know I’ll never find another you”. After dinner in the coach we did laundry and spent some time discussing plans for our summer trip.