Biloxi, MS

We're in Biloxi for a week. It's a nice town if you like casinos, but there is still a lot of devistation from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The picture is of a broken down pier going into the ocean. Not sure what it went to originally - restaurant, casino, etc.

I went to the Beau Rivage casino last night. They had $4/$8 limit hold em which is my game. Unfortunately I wasn't too succesful. I've got a few days to win my money back.

Keaton Beach, FL

Yesterday we arrived at Keaton Beach, Fl, by Perry. It's around where the panhandle of Florida starts. We are staying at the Old Pavillion RV park that caters to fisherman. There are a lot of trout here, as well as oysters and clams. We backed up to the Gulf. I included a picture of high and low tide out our back window. We are getting a million dollar view for a stinking $20 per night.

Leaving Silver Springs, FL

Today we leave Silver Springs, FL to go north to the Florida panhandle. It was in the 30's last night, so it doesn’t make much sense to go north, but fame and fortune awaits us in Biloxi. Silver Springs has a local attraction including a water park, an outdoor area for concerts, and monkeys. Behind this campground there is a walking trail. People told me that sometimes while walking that trail you see monkeys in the trees that escaped from Silver Springs. I included a picture of the trail, but no monkeys. I took my knife with me since there are also wild hogs on that trail. If one came at Roxy or I, we were planning on going down fighting, or at least I was since Roxy can outrun a hog.

Obama is getting stressed.

We are heading north. We are in Silver Springs, FL (by Ocala) for about one week. We picked up my mother in Brooksville on Wednesday, and she is staying with us for the week. Then she’ll drive home and Nan and I will head to the panhandle of Florida. Yesterday we went to see Avator in 3D. This morning we went to line dancing lessons at the campground. Tonight it’s game night including gator races (using bobblehead gators). I don’t know how us seniors find enough hours in a day for all these activities.

I included a picture of my Obama chia pet. His head is getting all moldy. I think he is going through a lot of stress after the Mass. Senate seat vacated by Ted Kennedy was filled by a Republican. I think I’ll scrub him off and start over.

Okeechobee, FL

We are in Okeechobee, FL now at the Zachary Taylor RV park. I dropped Nan’s mom off at the Ft Lauderdale airport on Tuesday. Unfortunately I didn’t have my camera with me at the time. They are prepared for high-speed pursuits at that airport. I know this because I saw a Sheriff’s car that was a Smart Car.
I assumed Zachary Taylor was the name of the owner of the RV park. Shows how much I know about history. In the 1800's they sent Taylor to this area to wipe out the remaining Indians. He thought it would be no problem. Turns out some of the escaped slaves from Georgia came down here and teamed up with the Indians. When Taylor got down here he got his butt kicked. Now every year they reenact this battle. According to the guy that told me this story, the white boys dress in blue, and then the Indians and blacks pretend to shoot them all. After the battle they get together to eat and drink.
Today we went on an airboat ride for an hour. We saw two gators, one turtle, and several birds. The one gator in the picture was about 10 feet long. In the wild they grow about one foot each year. In captivity they grow about 6 feet the first year. They used to have more gators in the area but they had to thin them out. According the airboat driver (who is the same guy that told us the story of Zachary Taylor and happens to be one of the white boys that gets shot every year during the reenactment) a guy got his arm bit off about a year ago. He was drinking with his friends. So many stories down here start with that sentence. His friends dared him to swim out in Okeechobee about a hundred yards or so. After he lost his arm he went on a national tour, and the local authorities determined there were too many gators. I think it’s terrible that these gators lost their lives because of one guys drunken stupidity. But on the other hand, gator meat is very reasonably priced down here.

Lobster and Obama

Florida lobster (also known as spiney lobster) are in season down here in Florida. They have a similar taste to Maine lobster, except they don't have claws. We found them for $4.99 per pound. In Maine they were $3.75 per pound for soft-shell lobster. This means they recently molted their shell so that the new shells have a lot of water in them rather than meat. I calculated to see if the Florida lobster with no claws, but a hard shell full of meat, was a better buy than Maine soft-shell lobster at $3.75. After using an algebraic formula I developed on my computer I determine that I don't have a clue what is the better buy, so we just went ahead and bought some. I got 12 lobsters for around $62. We ate some last night, and then I made lobster salad with the rest of the meat this morning.

I also included a picture of my Obama Chia Pet that my brother got me for Christmas. Right now he looks more like a Don King Chia pet. I'll have to give him a trim once his hair grows in a little thicker.

Here's a link to a good article on one of the pleasures of RVing.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/story?id=3515749

Key West

Today the three of us went to Key West. Not a lot of health inspectors there. We took Roxy to eat with us at the outside café part of the restaurant. There happened to be another lab there at the same time. Luckily we didn’t have our food yet when he decided to relieve himself on one of the decorative plants in the eating area. We also went to Mallory Square where the street performers put on acts for tips, prior to each sunset. I just hope that when the invest all that money they earn in tips they remember to fully diversify their portfolio.

Leaving Brooksville

We left Brooksville, FL after a nice 3-week visit with my mother. One of the highlights was the New Years Eve dance at the retirement park where she lives. During the dance I got a chance to dance with my mother, and Nan got to ask several of the seniors at the dance a question she’s had on her mind for years. When she gets in her 70's she doesn’t know if she should wear thongs, briefs, or granny panties. She asked this question to several ladies, but they were all noncommittal in their answers. Each one told her "just depends".
On Sunday Nan and I headed to Markham County Park by Ft. Lauderdale. Nan’s mom was flying in to celebrate her 80th birthday. The park has a lot to offer. They have a pistol and rifle range which I used while there. They also have a field to fly model airplanes, a skeet and sporting clay range, boat docks, and a dog park. I picked Nan’s mom up at the airport on Tuesday afternoon. That evening the two of us went to the Hard Rock casino (the one where Anna Nicole Smith died). I went to play limit hold’em poker. They only had $1.00/$2.00. I really don’t like playing any less than $3/$6 for strategy purposes. But since that’s all they had I played that while Nan’s mom hit the slots. I played 1 3/4 hours and never won a hand.
Wednesday morning we left for Marathon, FL which is about halfway between Key Largo (the first key) and Key West (the last key). The campground is a member of the discount camping club (Passport America) so it is costing us $36 per night rather than $72. There is a campground in Key West that is $110 per night. We are staying 5 nights, so Marathon is fine. Land is at a premium here so the RV site was pretty tight. It took me a couple tries to back the trailer in the site, but I was able to do it without banging into anything or Nan threatening divorce.