The Road Home

Sunday night we returned back to the campground. On Saturday, the day before when we stopped at Dream RV with our duct-taped RV. The people there had said that if we drove it home we would possibly lose our window, our table would go flying out and cause a major accident. If that didn't happen a cop would definitely take us off the road so we started looking at RVs, we saw an awesome one, a Dutchman Express 2007 with only 10,000 miles in mint condition. They named a price and an agreement was signed but we had to get approval from their bank. Their internet was down. It would have to wait till Monday.
We felt like the couple in The Out of Towners starring Sandy Dennis and Jack Lemmon, a bit displaced at Encore RV Park beacause instead of enjoying the beautiful lake and heated swimming pools we were wondering what else could happen.
Monday we drove our car back to the airport and caught a cab back. We unhooked the RV and went to see Steve Erdman of Dream RV. Jack had put money down on the RV and we were trading it in. The credit score was too low even though in Pennsylvania it was fine, in Florida the score has to be over 720. Erdman explained that Florida is a transient state and is in a depression. Banks require higher scores. Jack even had a letter of approval from his bank faxed but still no go. The only way would be to pay cash in the total amount. We were in a tough situation. Leave the RV with all our stuff in it, fly home, let the new RV go. Chance driving home, over 1100 miles duct-taping the whole way home. Jack talked to his banker, Anthony at Wachovia. All three decided a good way to go was to rent a SUV, put as much stuff inside it as possible to drive home. Jack will meet with his banker and fly back to Bradenton to pick up the new RV. Our RV and a deposit is holding the new RV.
We packed everything we had in plastic bags, suitcases, iced up our food and took off. Though everyone at Dream RV was awesome some how it still felt like being evicted. We said our goodbyes to our old friend. Jack gingerly took off the license plate, Of we went. Last night we arrived at the Hampton Suites in Florence, South Carolina after driving 600 miles around 9 p.m. Awesome place. Hot hot showers and fluffy pillows. Today we will drive 550 miles and reach home sometime tonight. What a journey it has been!

To Clearwater and back.

If you ever get the chance to get to a Spring Training Game, don’t miss it.
Despite all the craziness we are going through with the RV we managed to rent a car, a shiny new red Nissan Altima with no key. You push start to get it going. Red of course, for the home team.
The stadium at Bright House Network Field is intimate and has a real hometown feel. Get your cheese steaks and pretzels here.
Parachute jumpers began the game as the Star Spangled Banner was played. The Phillies played Tampa Bay Rays and it was a sold out game. Phillies fans decked in red were everywhere and many from Delco. Thanks to Wanamaker Ticket Office, we had the best seats in the house. I am not bragging, we were right behind home plate and the best seats in the house were right behind us. Two fans got to sit in black leather recliners for the whole game.
Delco was in the house. Sitting right next to Jack was Mary Anne Wright Doughtery and her husband Bill. Mary Anne and Jack went to grade school at St. Joseph’s School in Collingdale. Mary Anne was a cheerleader and Jack played football. The two hadn’t seen each other since eighth grade graduation. The innings flew by as the two talked about old friends and old times at St. Joe’s. How unlikely is that? The world is truly small.
Tampa Bay beat the Phillies but it didn’t matter. It was an awesome evening and we have the car until tomorrow. We drove back to the campground, waiting to see what the future would bring.

Meeting up with old friends and losing an old friend

As we left Key West we drove to Marathon to see Jack’s old friend Jeep. Jack Corcoran and Paul “Jeep” Keenan have been friends since they four and lived across the trolley tracks from each other. Keenan moved to Florida many years ago. Joe DeConda who lived in Clifton Heights moved to Florida when he was young. He survived selling fruit at a stand and now is owner of the Cracked Conch Café. The Cracked Conch is known throughout the Keys as the best place to eat conch. The four of us had breakfast together. The three men reminisced about old times and then off we were on our way to Naples.
We drove on through Homestead and then we came across farms and farms of Palms trees. We were taken by their beauty so we stopped at a nursery along the way and asked if we brought one home would it live in Philadelphia, the people sitting around a older woman in a long skirt looking like she stepped out of an old cowboy movie said she spoke no English, a man volunteered saying he spoke English. It was a bit broken but he understood us. He said he had worked in New Jersey and no, no palm trees grow there in the winter. I admired his honesty because you knew he needed the money but he wasn't going to rip you off with false hope. So we scrapped the idea and went on our way.
We took a left on Rt. 41, which is called Tamiami Trail Scenic Highway. On the corner is the Miccosukee Casino. The road winds around through Indian Reservations and the Everglades. You can take airboats seating up to 40 people to tour the Everglades in search of wild birds and alligators. We went through the Big Cypress National Preserve and stopped at the welcome center. There we saw alligators sunning and swimming in their natural habitat. Onward we went to Naples taking Rt.75 There is Panther Preserve on Alligator Alley on Route 75. I looked but didn't see one panther. As we were rolling down the road, a man pointed to our R.V. We stopped to see what was wrong and to our dismay our front side panel had blown off. We stopped at a rest area and duct tapped the side so the window wouldn’t fall out. This RV is like Jack’s 9th grandchild so he and I were both overwhelmed. We didn’t know what to do. We stopped at two more stops and ended up in Bradenton, which is between Sarasota and St. Petersburg. We stopped and got dinner. My motto is when you don’t know what to do eat or shop. We stayed at the rest stop. The next day drove to an R.V. dealer who said it was too dangerous to drive R.V. all the way home. He said the police would stop us. The duct tape didn’t hold because it kept coming off when the wind got under it. . All our duct tape was falling off. Steven Erdman of Dream RV located in Bradenton set us up at Encore R.V. Park. He showed us RVs that we could take home right away if only we had cash up front. Being on vacation we didn’t have that kind of money just sitting around even though we did find one RV we really liked; a 2007 Dutchman Express. Now our dilemma was how to get to the Phillies game in Clearwater. And how were we ever going to get home.

So many things beyond Duval Street.

One of the best ways to explore Key West is to hop on the Conch Tour Train or one of the Old Town Trolleys. There is so much history and so much to see on this island that is only two miles by four miles built on a coral reef.
The drivers on both lines were excellent, knowing all about Key West. Louie, our trolley driver was fun giving us history and making us laugh as we took the tour. The trolley has 12 stops and you can get on an off.
Here are some interesting things about Key West.
The Conch Shell is the mascot for the high school Football players are called Conchs and cheerleaders are called Conchettes.
Anyone born here is a Conch.
Baseball is a passion here played twelve months a year. Children start at two years old and play day and night. The high school baseball team has won more state titles in Florida then any other high school. The last championship was in 2007, our Conch Tour Train Driver says they will take the title this year. A little prejudice, his son is on the team.
Key West became wealthy on shipwrecking and salvaging of ships. What is shipwrecking? I had no clue what shipwrecking was, only ship building. When a ship wrecked in the ocean, the people would race to save the people and then salvage the items aboard. The first person who arrived on the scene became the Captain. The items were auctioned off. Before the wrecks would go to Bahamas but then it became law that the wrecks would go to Key West. Key West became the wealthiest city per capita in the United States.
To fully understand this, you should visit the Key West Shipwreck Museum. It’s a treasure and explains shipwrecking past and present. You can climb the replica of the tower where people watched for ships to come in. When a wreck came in they would ring the bell, you get a chance to ring the bell and see one of the most beautiful views of Key West ever.
John Audubon, the naturalist came to the Keys to document the birds and flowers for a month. The Audubon House and Tropical Gardens is dedicated to him and sits on the Geiger property and recreates the feel of a this city in the 1800s during its wealthiest period in history.
A fun place to go to is the Key West Aquarium. Its small but houses many of the ocean and gulf’s living wonders. They had a touching tank where you can pick up a live hermit crab, a starfish and even a conch. It’s fascinating to adults as well as children.

Florida's Key West holds the key to the sea.

In the Keys there are two Florida State Parks you can’t miss: Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park and Dry Tortugas National State Park, which houses Fort Jefferson.
To reach the Dry Tortugas Park you must take a boat or a seaplane. We took the Fast Cat, a motored enclosed catamaran, part of the Sunny Days Catamarans tours. Captain John who has worked on boats from the time he was knee high has worked for Sunny Days Catamaran for six years on and taking tourists to the Dry Tortugas every day. The tour leaves from Elizabeth Street in Key West. Breakfast and lunch is served aboard ship as you ride over seventy miles with only the sea and the sun surrounding you. In 1513 Ponce de Leon named this island Tortugas because of all the sea turtles inhabiting it. Mariners observed that the island had no drinking water and too warn others it was called the Dry Tortugas. Many who visit Dry Tortugas come to snorkel because it fosters coral reefs and marine life; the beaches are full of shells not for the taking only to examine. Some people come to view the bird life on Bush Key with binoculars as 100, 000’s birds inhabit the small island. From February to September Bush Key is reserved for birds only. Some come to camp in the Garden Key where for 14 days you can bring your tent and set up a primitive camp site. Some come to be free. Cubans pile up in small boats motored with car engines traveling 90 miles of sea to reach dry land. Once they touch the Dry Tortugas they can become Americans. Many come to see the foreboding Fort Jefferson. Made of 16 million bricks the fort was intended to hold 450 cannons and 1,500 men. The US Army Corps of Engineers began construction in 1846. It was built because the Tortugas was one of the most active shipping routes. Ships would pass through the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida and making it a lucrative military post for the United States. During the Civil War in 1861 soldiers were stationed at Fort Jefferson. Conditions were fierce due to the lack of water, mosquitoes and an outbreak of Yellow Fever. One of the most famous prisoners was Dr. Samuel Alexander Mudd. He was one of the Lincoln Conspirators. He was sentenced to life imprisonment at Fort Jefferson. In July 1865 because he helped in treating those stricken with yellow fever at the Fort he was pardoned by President Andrew Johnson in 1869 and allowed to return to his family. Fort Jefferson was rededicated as Dry Tortugas National Park in 1992.The Fort is slowly being restored to what it should have looked like because it never was completely built. Drinking water is still obtained by collecting rainwater. Park rangers and inhabitants are ecologically dedicated to preserving the natural beauty and life at Dry Tortugas National Park.
Fort Zachary Taylor Historic Park encompasses beautiful beaches, places to fish, trails to hike and a Fort built in 1845 to help protect the nation’s seacoast. The construction was not an easy task. One year after the building of the Fort began; it was stopped because of a hurricane that struck Key West damaging 594 buildings in the town, toppling lighthouses and the Naval Hospital. Fort Taylor was one of three forts to be held by Union forces throughout the Civil War. Three hundred vessels were captured by the squadron and forced to anchor in front of Fort Taylor. The fort was modernized during the Endicott period and remained open through mid World War II. The Fort’s military role came to an end in 1947. The property was deeded to the State of Florida in 1976 and now is a national park. When we visited the park history came alive with a re-enactment of union soldiers setting of a cannon as a schooner came near shore. Of course no one was hurt but it was a quiet impressive. This is the 24th year re-enactors come to celebrate Civil War Heritage Days. Dressed in period costumes re-enactors camp out at the fort and have demonstrations for the public. Light rains almost stopped the battle but the sun came out and of course the Union won