We didn't do much on New Years day in Fort Myers. On the 2nd we went out to lunch in Cape Coral with Wes and Sally at Jimbo's, a place they know from boating. We had noticed Wes and Sally at Life on Wheels and then ran into them last summer at Lake Pleasant RV Resort in Bothell, WA and found they live in Cape Coral during the winter. While in Fort Myers I had asked Wes about places to go since Cape Coral and Fort Myers border each other and we decided to get together for lunch after the new year. We had a very good visit and a nice meal, hearing about their recent adventures in Australia and New Zealand. Sally wasn't feeling too well so we didn't take pictures.
On the 3rd we drove 155 miles to Southern Comfort RV Resort in Florida City, FL, south of Miami. Much of the route was on US41 with the Tamiami Canal on the north side. The canal was full of alligators and many birds, wood storks, egrets, herons, ibis, cormorants and anhinga. It is difficult to keep your eyes on the road in winter, there is so much wildlife to see on this road. We had been in Florida City in December 2003. Again we had a tight space at the campground:
On the 5th we drove down to the Upper Keys to visit with our friends Elinore and David (Dave) Barry, who we last saw in Nappanee, IN. They are camped at the Florida Keys Elks lodge for the winter, here is the view:
Here is Dave not knowing I am taking his picture and their motorhome:
Together we drove down to Islamorada and had lunch at Lazy Days, which was really wonderful. Then we ventured all the way to the north end of the Seven Mile Bridge past Marathon, the separation between the Lower Keys, where Key West is, and the Upper Keys. We looked at some of the parks and learned that about all private campgrounds in the Keys have been sold to developers due to the real estate boom. Since all the public campgrounds in the Keys do not allow pets, we might not be able to camp in the Keys again because of Evita. We did camp in the Lower Keys in December 2003.
On the way back north we stopped and looked at the Hawks Cay Resort. Here is a orchid tree there:
To attract guests the resort has Dolphins, so we looked at them:
Dave said the resort operators look at the guests as "meat", i.e., money. The dolphins were obviously bored and their pen was too small, they were just to attract money. It was sad for us to see them, they were trying to keep themselves entertained but there was not much they could do.
On the way back we realized it was getting close to dinner so we had another wonderful meal, this time at Hobo's in Key Largo. We always seem to be eating when we are with friends.