It has been several months since I published a blog. My time has been filled with travel, drawing and painting, family genealogy research, gardening, golf, etc! I’m not having a problem filling the days! High school friends recently reminded me that they enjoy reading my blog, so it’s time to work in writing too.
Steve and I along with our
friends, Vicki and Fred, spent several weeks in February and March in Florida
along with the road trips down and back. This year we were based in Clearwater with a two-week trip that
included a couple days in Naples and Marco Island, a cruise, a drive to Key
West and exploring the Everglades. Below
are highlights from those travels.
Buffalo Trace Distillery –
although I am not a Bourbon fan, my husband is. I do enjoy a good brewery or
distillery tour. On the way to and from Florida we stopped at Buffalo Trace for
tours and to purchase their specialty bourbons. Only one of those coveted
brands is available each day, and you don’t know which one until that morning. You
can only buy one bottle per person every 90 days. Steve and Fred were happy to
scoop up 3 different bottles. Yes, we did go to the distillery 4 different
days, to get those 3 specialty brands.
It was a cool winter in
Florida (but still warmer than a warm Minnesota winter). We wore sweatshirts
over our swimsuits the first couple beach days. The weather got progressively
warmer, and we enjoyed beaches in Clearwater, Sand Key State Park, and
Honeymoon Island.
As always, the seafood was
delicious! Grouper was a specialty on many menus, and we enjoyed fresh shrimp prepared at home.
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There are a lot of
attractions and parks in and near Clearwater that we explored this year. Safety
Harbor is east of Clearwater. It has a quaint main street just a couple blocks
from the water. If you are in this area, don’t miss Whimzeyland, a house near
downtown that has been converted into an art piece.
Johns Pass is south of
Clearwater Beach along the coast. It has a fun boardwalk with restaurants and
shops, along with an outdoor shopping area. We enjoyed lunches at restaurants
along the docks, watching people, pelicans and dolphins.
Dunedin is north of
Clearwater. It has a variety of restaurants and shops in the central area, as well
as a Saturday farmers market.
We hiked and enjoyed parks in
the Clearwater area including Cliff Stephens Park, Florida Botanical Gardens, and
Moccasin Lake Nature Center.
Crystal River National
Wildlife Refuge is one and a half hours north of Clearwater, but definitely
worth the drive to see manatees! Manatees spend the winter in the Three Sisters
Spring fed pond, as well as in the canal out to the bay. There are small
beaches and towns along the way to stop for lunch or dinner. We stopped at
Robert K. Rees Memorial Park in New Port Richey to enjoy a beverage and views
of the bay.
This year we were lucky to
spend time with family and friends during our time away. Fred and Vicki’s
daughter and family joined us during their spring break. We also enjoyed visits
with college and high school friends, Illinois neighbors, and Minnesota
friends. It was such fun to reminisce and catch up with everyone as we enjoyed
the Florida weather!
We scheduled a 5-day Bahama
cruise out of Miami on Norwegian Cruise Lines in mid-March. Of course, there
were a lot of young spring breakers on the ship. Once the initial first day frenzy
to get alcoholic beverages calmed down, we discovered the bars that didn't have a long wait for drinks. We enjoyed a beautiful beach day on Norwegian’s
private island, a land and sea tour of Nassau, and a jeep tour (with really old
jeeps) on Grand Bahama Island. The key takeaways included gorgeous turquoise
blue warm water, silky white sand beaches, the usual island trinkets sold by
the locals, lots of choices on what to eat and drink, and relaxing as the ship
cruised through the beautiful water.
After the cruise we jumped in
the car again and headed south on Highway 1 to Key West. The
drive went smoothly with no traffic delays. We had lunch on a patio with a
mother hen and her chicks running among diners’ feet, met up with friends Burdette
and Maxine from Illinois, shopped, and watched the sunset at Mallory Square. We
booked a cute condo just off Duval Street for the night. The next morning, we
walked to the Southernmost Point in the Continental USA for a picture – when
the line was much shorter. After breakfast at the Banana Café, we took a tour at
the Hemmingway Museum, which was interesting and informative. Lunch was Kermits Key
Lime pie which was delicious on a hot day. After a tour of the Key West First
Legal Rum Distillery, we headed north to Marathon for the night. The next day we
went to Crane Point Hammock Nature Center which featured interesting history,
nature trails and animals including racoons and tortoises. We stopped at
Robbie’s of Islamorada which is a good stop if you need a break on the drive,
but basically a tourist trap.
Everglades National Park was
next on the agenda. The first day we stopped at the Ernest F. Coe Visitor
Center and drove the Main Park Road to Flamingo. We stopped at several spots to
take short hikes, many on boardwalks to see the everglades. “Robert is Here”
Fruit Stand was a fun stop on the way to the hotel. It featured so many kinds
of fruit and great milkshakes, as well as rescued animals including cows,
goats, turtles, iguanas, emus and more.
Our second day in the
Everglades included an airboat ride with Cooperstown tours, one of the
companies recommended by the National Park Service. The ride through the river
of grass was interesting and we did see a few alligators. After a long wait to enter
the Shark Valley Visitor Center, we were able to get tickets to go on the Tram
Tour. We saw birds, alligators and one elusive crocodile, and we took a climb
up an observation tower to see the everglades for miles. We did quick stops at
the Gulf Coast Visitor Center (in a trailer, not much to see) and Big Cypress
Bend in Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park on our drive to Naples for the
night.
We spent another week in Clearwater
and its beaches before heading home to Minnesota. Of course, we expected it to be
spring in the Midwest in early April, but winter wasn't over and we drove through snow in Illinois
and Iowa! The realities of living in the Midwest! As always, we enjoyed our time
away in the winter, but were happy to be home.
We are enjoying our summer in
Minnesota with a few trips to Wisconsin and Iowa to see family. Steve and
friends are building a deck on the back of our house – in between rain showers!
We golf a few times a week, spend time with friends and family, and are
planning our next travel adventures.
I hope you are all enjoying
the summer. As always it is speeding by too quickly!
