The Last of Florida

The Last of Florida

Day Eight (Wednesday)

It was another rainy day. The sun shines when we drive long distances. We were not sure the trip to Dry Tortougas would go. theh operators of the bost seemed assured and we said a little prayer and followed the Spirit and went. We both took
Dramamine and were fine. It was a beautiful day on the island. It is called "dry" because there is no fresh water there! But there are national Park personell stationed there and a limited number of campers are allowed.We toured.

We snorkeled. (no pictures here! but I did go in!)

We discovered. John's name at the top of the Chapel-He was the designer-brick mason for this the second largest brick defense in the world (the great wall of China is considered the largest) that was amazing!

Then the trip back. WOW. the swells were only supposed to be 6-8 feet. But it was rough. I think everyone took Dramamine-but it wasn't enough. There were so many sick people! the repeated slamming of the boat into the water catapulted us all right out of the seats. We were literally
air-born! I will put some of the video I tried
to take here-if you watch the horizon-you can get an idea of how big the waves were.

We were relieved to get back on shore! It took almost twice as long as the trip should have fighting the wind and the waves. We had to stop and rescue another boat. It was taking on water and our boat had two pumps they could use. those people were really scared-or shoul have been!
Walking back to the car we walked through a little group of shops (looking for gifts and key lime cookies) when we found an ice cream shop and got to partake of the Key Lime Ice cream. Now that was really good stuff! On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Blond Giraffe-a local store that makes the Key Lime Cookies. Expensive little critters. I am glad the are good! Rachael requested some.

Attached to our hotel-Pat could not imagine his good fortune-was a Waffle House. of course, we went there for dinner. We both really like Waffle House. We ate at one at least three times on this trip alone.

Key West was lovely, I would have liked to have shopped the old down town area but. . .If I ever return I would stop way up the Keys and avoid the travel time, traffic, and high prices. The water and surroundings are just as beautiful.

Day nine (Thursday)

We knew we were in for a long drive so we had to bypass the very busy Waffle House and hit the road. the trip back uo through the Keys didn't seem as long as the trip down. Pat wanted to avoid the traffic of the turnpike so he opted for the middle of the state route. I was not too happy about it but managed to keep my opinions to my self. What had been a little two lane road years ago was actually very nice. a few stop lights in the towns but a lovely view of the state. We saw rows and rows of orange groves-the was I remember them. We saw lots of trucks absolutely full of oranges. It was harvest time! We got to see lake Okeechobee and the Citrus Tower and even picked up a Winter Haven news paper for Granny. She really wanted one and I didn't think we were going to be able to go over and get her one. But things worked out well.We finished off the day with one more seafood dinner-at Red Lobster, right next door to the hotel in Orlando. Finally we got to bed at a decent hour which was good. The next day we would have to leave the hotel by 5:15 am or so. We had to find our way ("the (Magellan) girlfriend" was such a blessing!!! Thanks Dave) return the car, get through security . . .

Day ten (Friday)

Not much to say about the return trip. Going through security at Orlando International was interesting. I was glad we were there so early. The lines just seem to get longer and longer.
BUT- there was a cuban coffee shop in the airport which also sold Cuban sandwiches. I could not believe my luck. The one thing Granny kept asking for was a Cuban sandwich. I had not idea how I could get one and keep it long enough . . .but it worked out so unbelievably well. AND!!! Granny actually got it and said it tasted good. that alone was a miracle. So often she wants things to eat and then they just do not taste right-or as she remembers. this time it turned out perfect!

Just like out trip-it was a dream. I am so grateful and glad that we were able to take this trip. Just to see things once again. I don't think I will ever get the chance to return but I don't think I need to. There are too many places in this world I really want to see. Thank you Heavenly Father, Dad, Dave, all of you that helped accomplish this goal. It was wonderful!