Christmas Lights in Key West

On Friday night, we took the Conch Train ride through neighborhoods in Key West to see Christmas Lights.  It was a fun evening.

We had six trains that held up to 64 people.  Quite a group.

Seems as if the lead driver knew where all the well-decorated houses were.

We had a great speaker system to all the coaches and could hear 15 different songs that got everyone into the spirit of things.

Nothing like singing along on, 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' with Nat King Cole at Christmas in Key West!

Our driver Laurie got into it too.  It was great!  She was adding some percussion to 'Feliz Navidad'.

Some of these homes were really decked out.

And quite a number of people came out to see us and shout, "Merry Christmas!"

The tour lasted about 90 minutes and it was time to head back.

It was a memorable evening and a fun way to sing some Christmas songs.

That is all for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles.  Thanks for joining us!

A Gift and a gift Idea

Here's one for you all that are thinking about getting on a budget or tracking your expenses in 2013.  A free and well done budget/spreadsheet from Jim and Rene at live.work.dream.

I am currently on a 'catchup' project to bring my financials up to date and thought you might like to use it.  Or if you'd like to use my spreadsheet, I'll be glad to forward it to you also.

As for gift ideas, I still am very excited about my Grill Guard.  Last April in my post:  Windy Grilling I had high hopes for this.  I also have info on how to get one.  I have used it countless times and it really blocks the wind.

Last night was a good example.  It was really windy but the grill was hot and cooked our burgers well.

That's all for today - Hope you are doing well.  Until next time…

New Campsite

We have been in Key West for two weeks now and are staying at the Campground at Sigsbee Naval Station near mile marker three.  The 'campground' is really four areas where campers can stay.

One area is at Trumbo Point that is closer to downtown but has no hookups.  It has a dump station and water.  The other three areas are on Sigsbee and are affectionately known as 'The Rock Pile', 'Hollywood' and 'The Circle'.  All three have full hook ups which means 50 amp electric, sewer and water.  There are full hook up 89 sites.

When we arrived, there was no waiting list so we were able to move right into full hookups.  All sites are assigned and we got #12 on 'The Rockpile'.  It was back on the third row from the water, a bit cramped but adequate, for $23/night.

The day before our 14th day at #12, we got a notice stapled to our door handle that we were to move to site #430 over near the Circle and on the water.

Much better!  We are dry camping, but don't mind at all.  For $13/night it has a view that is hard to beat.  We will be here for about 8-10 days and then cycle back into full hookups.

After we got all set up, I went for a bike ride.  I love it here in Key West because I can ride my bike, get some exercise and see some interesting sights.

I have an account on MapMyRides.com which has an iPhone app.  I record my rides and it creates a map of where I have been.

After that, we decided to set up our generator exhaust pipe for when we run the generator.  We bought a Camco Gen-Turi a while back with just this kind of situation in mind.

It wasn't too hard to figure out and after a while we had it installed.

It works like a champ and we no longer have to close windows when we have the generator running.  Plus, if we have neighbors close by, they will appreciate it too.

The rest of the day we hung around the campsite and talked with neighbors a while.  During the day Marg and George took the campsite next to us and that was a pleasant surprise.  We were parked next to them last year a few spots over.

Things have changed a little for them.  They took their Allegro Bus to Alaska during the summer and them drove back to LazyDays in Tampa to buy a new Winnebago Tour 43'.  Nice wheels.

After some barbecue chicken on the grill and a little TV, we called it a day.

Thanks for joining us on this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...

Things to do in Key West!

Yes - we are back in Key West for a few weeks.  I love this place!  Why?-you ask…

Because of there is so much to do and see.  And because of the:

• Weather - even though it has rained 4 or 5 days in the last week, it is warm and we have had our share of sun!            

Right now it is sunny and 81 degrees.

• Sunsets - this is the view from our campsite

• Habitat for Humanity - we hooked up the group again this year and joined them in a 'Brush With Kindness' effort in old town.  We stained floorboards for the wrap around porch.

• Sloppy Joe's - popular tavern frequented by the regular and the famous, including Ernest Hemingway in the 1930's

• Capt Tony's Saloon - where Sloppy Joe's was until they moved down the street.

• The Audubon House was a real surprise.  Very interesting display of his 'Birds of the Florida Keys'.  My favorite is the Roseate Spoonbill.

• The closest flea market is down in Big Pine Key, about 30 miles from KW.

• We love the Old Town Trolley Tour - it goes around the entire island and tickets are good for two days.  While we were waiting to catch it, we struck up a conversation with Andy, who just happens to be VP of Marketing and Sales.  And he extended our tickets for a week!

On that happy note, I think we will wrap it up for this edition of the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Thank you so much for joining us.  

As always, comments are always welcome!  Until next time...

Dry Camping in the Everglades

Right before we drove down here to Key West, we spent three nights camping in the Everglades National Park at the Flamingo Campground.  First we stopped at the Ernest Coe Visitor Center, then we took the 38 mile trip down to the tip of the Everglades.

Once we got there, we decided to spend $16 a night and dry camp.  There were plenty of full hookups with 30 amp but the water and dump station were not far away, so we thought we'd do see how that went.  It was good!

The campground is huge!  the RVs and motorhomes are on 'T Loop" and we had our pick of sights.

We heard the mosquitos were bad here.  I can see where they might be.  We got a light dose of them.  A little spray and we were fine.  A couple of months from now might be a different story.

The water and the scenic area were over near the walk-in tenting. We rode our bikes over there.

The small Visitor Center and National Park office were over near where the motel and cafe are located.

The offices/large building is being renovated and slow progress is being made on it and the Butternut Cafe which is operating out of a trailer in the back on the water. The Flamingo Lodge, built in 1957, was closed after being severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Wilma in 2005.

The area was once a small fishing village and a place that attracted poachers near the turn of the last century when fashion called for birds feathers and large plumes.

We spent time there enjoying the solitude and nice weather and hiked.

The egrets, herons and the Roseate Spoonbill and others were in full display.

One day we took a couple hour boat ride through the back waters.  The boat captain was a character and the commentator (a guy from British Guyana) were excellent.  The tour left from the Flamingo Marina.

It was very worthwhile.  Our guide was constantly pointing out crocodile and alligator sightings, new birds and giving us history and anecdotes through out the boat ride.

We went from the marina up the channel to Coot Bay which looked like a good sized lake.

There were only a few on the boat.  We sat near Roland and his wife who were on vacation from Switzerland.

The most common tree in the area is the Mangrove tree.  It has the distinguishable root system unlike any other.

Another day we drove almost back up to the Coe Visitor Center and stopped at the Anhinga Trail.  We heard is was worth seeing.

It was well done with a walk-way out over the water on a short trail around some ponds.

Again, there were lots of birds and alligators.

And a turtle or two..

We weren't too sure about going all the way down to Flamingo, but we were glad we did.  With a stop at Cypress National Preserve and Shark Valley and three more days in the Everglades, we feel like we have a much better appreciation for it and its beauty.

Thanks for joining us today on the Roadrunner Chronicles!  Until next time...