Florida Keys with Grandson Alex
Alex Graduation RV Trip
Collaborating online and over the phone Alex and I came up with an RV trip that he will remember before he goes into the Navy.
Cars are his passion, so a couple of destinations are all about cars. Kayaking is another enjoyable hobby that we both enjoy and this time we we'll combine it with snorkeling. So obviously it is to Florida we are headed.
I have a week before Alex is ready to go so, I go down to Florida to register the vehicles and driver’s license. Tonight, I'm staying away Kings Bay, Ga where I retired from the Navy. Puttering around during the day making minor repairs to the RV and now after a good long shower I sit on the dock and feel the wind across my body, listen to the bullfrogs sing their song at sunset.
The sky is so clear there will not be much of a sunset but sitting here thinking about my time in the Navy and fishing these same waters so diligently. Nowadays I'm more concerned that I enjoy the moment than to catch allot or a bigger fish. Quite a difference in my life!
Tomorrow I will put the kayak in the lake and spend a few hours simply enjoying being in the water again. Wow, I think I'm beginning to slow down and enjoy life…
Gee I'm not doing so good at slowing down, spent nearly the whole day removing the bumper, repair, reinstalling. How does one slow down?????
Alex and I meet up in Savannah, GA and have breakfast with his dad. Chatting and working up to the trip we are ready to go. First stop St Augustine, FL.
Walking the pedestrian shops, eating an ice cream and talking about the building’s construction and architecture. Guy stuff around shops! We know how to go shopping!
Alex really enjoyed the Castillo, cannons were shot using one cup of black powder, a true normal charge is 1 ½ lbs. I can imagine the noise and smoke.
After walking through the shops, we visited the Castillo de San Marcos, a fort built by the Spanish to defend against foreign threats - specifically the British. The fort was quite well-preserved and was large. The shape of the fort was a 4-point star with each point being diamond-shaped with plenty of strategic firepower placements. Before we began to tour the fort, we watched trained men fire a cannon designed to fire 6 lb cannon balls with 8 ounces of gunpowder. If they were to fire a cannonball, they would have to take half the weight of the cannonball and use that amount of gunpowder. The 8-ounce shot was quite loud, and I can't imagine what 3 pounds of gunpowder would do to someone's ears.
We left St. Augustine with the idea of grabbing something for dinner. We were going somewhere near Grandma Doris, so we gave her a call to see if she would be willing to meet us somewhere to eat. I decided where to eat, and I made a good decision with the place.
Fire on the Bayou was the restaurant. It was a Cajun restaurant, and the food was great. While eating the delicious meal, Grandma and I got to catch up on everything going on with our lives.
The day was ended with a little relaxation time followed by sleep for the next day ahead.
The second day of the trip was spent traveling further south in Florida. We got down to Miami and got a glimpse of downtown Miami, where the city is. The city was filled with large skyscrapers, including the famous Miami tower. The Miami tower was quite a sight to see with all the urban life around it. We rested up afterward for the third day of the trip.
Day 3 of the trip was to travel to the Florida Keys. We made plans for the next day to go out snorkeling in Key Largo. After getting plans set, we set our course to Marathon Key wherever are to stay for the next couple nights.
On our fourth day, we set out to get some breakfast and then go back to Key Largo to snorkel in John Pennekamp State Park. We ended up taking the last two slots for the 10:30 snorkeling tour (talk about perfect timing!)
The sight of the reef was quite breathtaking. The first thing that caught my sight was a barracuda. The colorful coral and other stationary things moved in such a rhythmic sway.
We made a stop to view a US Coast Guard cutter ship, the USS Ingram. Everything on the ship was still functional before it was decommissioned, and rather than scrapping everything like decommissioner’s usually do, they kept everything in the ship the way it was.
The Bridge
Communications gear, Alex has enlisted in the Navy and will work with some of this gear.
The fifth day after an early morning breakfast we launch the kayaks at Sombrero Beach, Marathon, FL. Taking some time to refresh ourselves on kayaking techniques for it has been a while since we have paddled.
Tom - Paddling in mangrove tunnels was awesome! Grandpa truly loved it, his favorite kayaking is creeks, and these mangrove tunnels are a perfect similarity. Saw few fish along the way and briefly met with a kayaking tour.
Used the Gopro for the second time and have about to learn. Alex had to add a file to get my old laptop to work with this newer software. Still not right so later we still post the video of the kayaking in the keys.
Alex - Paddling through the narrow mangrove tunnels took a little bit of getting used to, but after finding some of the useful techniques I've had to use in the past, things became less difficult. There were quite a few fish and jellyfish in the water, and there was a bit of crabs in the trees. On the way back, we caught sight of a sand shark and some pelicans.
After the excursion in the water, we relaxed and made dinner consisting of rice, seasoned chicken, and poblano peppers. The peppers went well with the chicken, and the rice proved to be a well-fitting filler.
After dinner we decided to rest up for the next day.
Snorkeling John Pennecamp
Kayaking the Mangroves
KEY WEST, Margaritaville, Alex in red tee
Tom - Walking Duval Street I share some sights from previous visits, such as the lady wearing nothing but leather chaps walking up the stairs ahead of me. WOW
Another memory was a street vendor fashioning hats off palm fronds leaves. Also had made a cock of palm fronds that was 4 feet long and 18 inches in diameter. He tied it over his hips and the lady's off pr group could not help it but to touch it. Photos are on another journal.
Hittin the highlights
Street performers in Mallory Square and Alex is chosen to assist. Actor jumps through a hoop Alex made of his hands!
The Shipwreck Museum was full of historical artifacts and introduced the job of the wreckers. Wreckers were supposed to save passengers and cargo from ships sunken in parts of the sea filled with sharp coral that would tear up the ships. These ships usually were blown into these coral spots from storms where winds would destroy sails or the mast of a ship, leaving the crews helpless with no control over their ship. At the end of the Museum, you can climb a staircase that goes up to 60ft.
After touring the Shipwreck Museum, we visited the Customs museum filled with art from artists from Key West. There was also some historical information pertaining to the famous writer Ernest Hemingway. In the Customs Museum, you can see his bloodstained WWI uniform, and you can find that he was quite the fisherman. He was the first man to catch a tuna fish unmutilated by sharks.
The Coral Castle in Homestead, FL was quite a marvel. It was designed and built by one man with only help from someone to get things from another place. The man behind the Coral Castle was highly intelligent and began with an official education up to the fourth grade. This man studied many different kinds of sciences and math by reading books to gain the knowledge that would be used to build this structure. He used parts from a Model T Ford such as parts of an axle for his gates to spin on. The reason he built this structure was in memory of a lost love, Agnes, who ended his relationship when they were close to getting married in their country. The man responsible for the Coral Castle ended up leaving his country in Europe and worked to go to Canada, and then he worked his way down to the United States doing odd jobs for people. He ended up in Florida after he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis, and the only treatment is to get plenty of fresh air in a place with a warm climate. As he built the Coral Castle, he worked at night, and nobody has ever seen him move a rock.
Coral Castle in Homestead, FL. Built by hand by one man.
Alex - Salvador Dali has been a favorite of mine as his surrealistic art is very entertaining to interpret and to view. His artwork was so full of the smallest details. The artist used many optical illusions, and also used many different items and elements in his art to convey the themes in his art. His earlier surrealistic art was full of internal struggle such as the relationship he had with his family. Dali’s most prominent themes dealt with internal struggle, death, and sexuality/eroticism, as he was fascinated with the ideas and also had many fears. He was afraid of death and wanted to become immortal. He was so infatuated with the thought of immortality that when projects for cryostasis were forming, he wanted to be frozen and rejuvenated in the future after he died. His artwork was created when he was in a dream-like state, and these many paintings offer so many details and optical illusions, that you can stand and take quite some time pointing out and figuring out what one of his paintings meant.
Stopped again in Sanford, FL to visit Grandma Doris. This time her husband Clay and son Jesse were able to join us. We all had a good time catching up and simply chatting. The boys had a strong common interest in cars and talked quite a lot. I'll definitely be back to visit another time.
Alex - Being able to reconnect with Uncle Jesse was nice. We both have interests in the automotive field, and it let us catch some common ground for some conversation. Catching up with the rest of the family was just a good time for everyone.
Spent a whole day in the campground! Unusual for me for I always must be doing something. So, with Alex help we're prepared the RV for a wrap job by removing all of the windows and sealant so they can be pulled off when the wrap is done. I had been dreading this job and fortunately had recently read about using a heat gun to loosen the old sealant, allowing you to remove the windows much easier. Kerosene was used to remove any remaining residue. The job didn’t take as long as expected, and the task was not as difficult as it seemed.
Alex - The job at first sounded like it was going to be a pain. It wasn’t as bad as expected when we got into the swing of things, though. Using the heat gun was practically a must to get the sealant to be more fluid to get the windows out. After we pulled a window out, we would scrape the sealant off the area the window covered on the RV, and we would scrape the sealant off the window before lining the area with tape. Any residue that decided it didn’t want to budge was removed using Kerosene, which is good for removing any sealant products like such. The Kerosene ate away at the sealant very well, and it allowed the work to go even easier. After doing all the windows and panels for the RV to be prepared for the new wrap, we got some Chinese takeout for dinner and rested after a satisfying meal.
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