New Year's Wrap-Up

We brought in 2015 the same we we brought in 2013 & 2014: in The Keys! The weather was just gorgeous this year. The first year it was rather cool (around 70) and last year it was overcast. This year: Beautiful! No rain at all, and 80 degrees.
We got to the campground around 6:30 a.m. and ended up pulling over on the side of the road and sleeping for a couple of hours. This greeted us at a convenience store:
We were told that if we went through the gate before 8:00, we would be charged for another day. So I napped in the car, and CH hopped into the trailer and slept. Once we could get in, our site wasn't ready..as in someone was still in it. We ended up going to IHOP for breakfast and just wandering around the campground until we were able to set up.
We saw some people that we had met before, and met new people. We ate at one of our favorite places 2 nights in a row. It's that good, y'all! The views aren't bad, either.


We did a lot of nothing that week. My toughest decisions were what kind of seafood I was going to eat, and if I was going to drink wine, beer, or rum.
We witnessed beautiful sunrises:
and sunsets:


We were very sad to see that another one of our favorite restaurants was no-more:
Animals:
We saw iguana:
(these are 2 of 5 I saw that day. I wish I had my phone out for the 5 foot orange one I saw!)
Crabs:
Key Deer on Big Pine Key:

and an alligator in the Blue Hole:
Unusual things:
We saw cute little signs in the campground:

decked out shelters:
lights made out of airplane bottles:
and a Christmas Tree made out of lobster traps:
Food:
We visited a pub with no name (No Name Pub): (the burgers are huge and delicious!)
Had amazing seafood at Keys Fisheries:
And had an excellent Cuban Sandwich at this little hole in the wall place. (I didn't get  a picture of it, but we knew it was going to be good when we realized we were the only people in the whole place speaking English!)
We ate breakfast at our campsite: french toast, sausage and biscuits, and breakfast burritos. We had one dinner at the site: Rolled pepperoni bread. We actually made 1 pepperoni and one with Italian Sausage.
It didn't look that great, but it really tasted fantastic!
And, of course we had to have a slice of fried Key Lime Pie:
We spent New Year's Day on the beach:

Thanks to an ant problem (UGH!), we spent a day cleaning up the trailer. That was the cleanest that our trailer has been since we bought it.
On the way home, we spent Friday night at Ft. DeSoto State Park, just outside of St. Petersburg. The campground was recommended by the guys who stayed next to us in Charleston. It wasn't halfway, and the traffic getting through the area on Saturday morning was kind of hairy, but the park was beautiful.
Each site that is waterside has their own private little beach area, and the sites are pretty private:
 Private beach on our site
 Campsite
 View of campsite from the water
View of adjoining sites from water

 One last Florida Sunset
Selfie on our "beach"
It seemed like we would never get home on Saturday with the fog in S. Ga., traffic in Warner-Robbins/Atlanta, and rain in N. Ga/ Tn.  But, we finally got home, and our girls were happy to see us.  We had Sunday to relax, then it was back to the real world on Monday. I told my coordinator that one of these years I was just going to stay down there!





8 comments:

  1. That's neat with the tradition you are starting with going to the Keys for a bit of a break over the Christmas holidays. It does look gorgeous down there. Looks relaxing too :)

    betty

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  2. What gorgeous photos! Looks like a fun trip!

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  3. Oh good golly!! We are less than an hour from Ft. DeSota Park. Sure wish I had known ahead of time and we could have slipped over for a quick hello in person!! Maybe next year!!??

    Great photos and it sure looks like you had a great time! We do love living in Florida.

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  4. Oh my, I'm a little jealous ... it sure looks and sounds like you all had a wonderful time! We MUST get back to the Keys soon!

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  5. I see warmth... all I can focus on :)

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  6. We visited Ft. DeSoto when we were in Tampa a couple of years ago. Didn't camp, but did get out on the beach there. I love the Keys. So relaxing, and wonderful sunsets and food. I need a beach getaway right about soon. Also-I think you may have sent me an email. In my enthusiasm to clean out my inbox I saw something with your name go flying by. I can't find it in the trash though, so maybe not? Anyway, if you sent an email I don't have it : ) Happy 2015!

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  7. How fantastic! I enjoyed the pics on FB as well. So happy you had some sun and R&R!! Now bring on 2015!!

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  8. This makes me miss Key Largo even more!!!

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