Paradise, the Bermuda Triangle and Shuttle Endeavour

It's been a while since my last blog - Endeavour not only launched but has returned safely. Jim and I decided not to drive the 98 miles north to Cape Canaveral for the second straight night. We felt it wasn't safe to do so given that we were extremely tired from the previous night's outing. Those who did must have been rewarded with a spectacular sight. We did set our alarm and get up at 0 dark 30 and, despite being almost 100 miles south of the launch site, we did see the shuttle take off (little dot in the picture on the left) and were able to tell when it released its boosters (bigger dot on the right).

The next day at Fort Pierce we visited the Manatee Educational Centre where manatees can be seen in their natural environment if you're lucky. The day was cool and sunny, and while manatee were present, they just broke the surface long enough to take in some air before going under again. While we weren't lucky with the manatees, there were lots of pelicans who didn't mind posing for a picture or two while they waited for lunch to swim by.

Those of you who followed our last excursion may recall that I want to see a game in every NHL arena. After two months, three weeks and three days, we finally got to see a live hockey game. On the list of arenas to visit I can now place a check next to BankAtlantic Center, home of the Florida Panthers. That's five down and 25 (?) to go! Wasn't much of a game. The Panthers led for most of the game and lost to the Bruins in a shootout.

Not sure if Willie T's claim is valid but we sure had a good time in Key West. Shortly after Jim's sister, Shirley, arrived in Homestead we travelled to the Florida keys, crossing 42 bridges before reaching Key West. First stop was lunch at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, (no fancy margarita glasses at Jimmy B's) after which we

jumped on the local tram and toured the Key. We checked out the most southerly point on continental North America, (in reality that point is located on Naval Air Station Key West and therefore inaccessible to the public) and Ernest Hemmingway's residence before taking in a sunset celebration at Mallory Square, supper at the Hard Rock Cafe and an evening stroll down Duval street. (for those who have been to New Orleans, think Bourbon St atmosphere). As you can tell from the picture of the sailboat, there wasn't much of a sunset as the day had been cool and overcast but the boat was nice!

Of course, no trip to south Florida would be complete without a tour of the Everglades - and the best way to do that is on an airboat! While Flipper was conspicuously missing, we did see alligators, turtles and many species of birds in their natural environment

To say it was windy would be an understatement but it sure was fun whipping through all that sawgrass!

The eastern coast of Florida is protected by the third largest coral reef in the world, and runs from Port St Lucie all the way south to the Keys. Not being overly brave when it comes to seeing wildlife up close and personal in their natural environment, nor especially strong swimmers, we headed back to the Keys, specifically Key Largo and opted to take a glass bottom boat tour to see the reef, as opposed to scuba diving or snorkelling. Good thing too, because we saw sharks and barracudas, as well as a rare Goliath Grouper (a popular local fish and hence on the endangered species list like the North Atlantic cod). On our return to port our tour guide advised that while out on the reef, we had been sitting on the most westerly edge of the Bermuda Triangle! All in all, the day was beautiful, the catamaran ride was as smooth as could be expected and the company outstanding - end result an excellent outing!

We took an afternoon and drove around the downtown of Miami in search of some CSI Miami dudes. Unfortunately no sightings were made but we did get to stop at the north beach in Miami Beach and dip our toes in the Atlantic. Given our weather to date, the toes were all that was getting wet!

The rest of Shirley's visit included a wine-tasting, time spent cheering on the Canadian Olympians as they went for gold and a visit to the Miami Seaquarium. Here we watched a killer whale show on the same day as the orca killed her trainor 245 miles north of us in Orlando. And I finally got to see the elusive manatee, albeit in captivity. No holiday is complete without the requisite souvenir shopping so on the only rainy day of Shirley's trip, she and I checked out the local outlets and had lunch at the Olive Garden.

Shirley headed back to Newfoundland on Thursday and on Friday we started our trek back north, arriving in the little town of Moore Haven near Lake Okeechobee, the largest lake in Florida.

Scrubbed!

We arrived safely in Fort Pierce on Saturday. Had a great week in Wauchula with Mom and Dad.

We took a day trip to the Myakka River State Park. There we boarded an airboat like this one called the Gator Gal.

The boat was aptly named as the lake is home to over 500 alligators. At the boat launch area, Fred is lord and master. The day was quite warm and Fred was spotted sunning himself on shore.

And members of his "harem" weren't too far away.

We also had some lazy days around the campground where we took time to enjoy some delicious homemade ice cream while sitting on the porch swing

and had a campfire and a weenie roast for lunch

On Friday we drove to the Tampa area where Mom and Dad will spend the rest of their vacation with my Aunt and Uncle. Had a delicious turkey dinner (thanks Aunt Anne) before heading back to Wauchula. By the way, Wauchula is Seminole for vulture meeting place and there were hundreds of them in the area, circling above or resting on tree tops.

You'll recall in my last post I mentioned the shuttle Endeavour was scheduled to lift off on 7 Feb. Well, Fort Pierce is only a 1 and 1/2 hour drive from the Cape. Jim and I set our alarm for 1:45 a.m. and drove to Titusville (located directly across from the Cape's launch site) to meet up with our new friends from Mississippi and watch the launch, which was scheduled for 4:39 a.m. At 4:32 a.m. the launch was scrubbed! The cloud cover was above acceptable levels.

What a disappointment! And to make matters worse, there were so many folks there to see the launch that our 1 and 1/2 hour journey took three hours to return back to the RV! It took over an hour just to get out of Titusville! It's been rescheduled for Monday morning at 4:14 a.m.. Jim and I have yet to decide if we are going to make the journey again. Pictured below are the shuttle watchers.

See ya next week.

Cruisin' in Orlando

We arrived in Orlando and, in addition to Mickey Mouse, Spiderman and the Cat in the Hat, we found warm weather and sunny skies. With so many activities available, and only so much money in the coffers (after all, we are retirees and I've yet to see a pension check), we decided to take in three activities.

Universal Studios was the first stop, with lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe Orlando, home of the

We rode all the rides - yes I got on the Incredible Hulk Roller Coaster. There was also a really great 3D Spiderman ride and a really lame Storm Force Accelatron ride. I lost my soul on the Duelling Dragons roller coaster (and tied the Guinness World Record for uttering the phrase OMG!) But I drew the line on Dr Doom's Fearfall. Needless to say, the old man took the plunge

Next we tried something a little more educational. Having visited the Houston Control Center on our previous excursion, we thought it only fitting to check out the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

Of course, the Cape was all abuzz because of the upcoming launch of Endeavour on 7 Feb. The shuttle was already at the launch pad.

On our last night in Orlando, we played Lord and Lady for the evening at a Medievel Feast. Great food, good entertainment, impressive horses, and our knight, the Red Knight, was victorious in many of the events.

On Saturday we headed out on the road again and set up camp in the small town of Wauchula. It is here that we will be joined by my Mom and Dad for several days.