Bill and Cathy McArthur Spring/Summer/Fall 2006: 13

   We awoke at 2:30 AM on Friday, November 17 and were on the road by 3:00 AM. Since the weather had taken our best route away from us, we decided to drive the long way around and took the Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway to Philadelphia. We followed the Schuykill Expressway and then the PA Turnpike to Carlisle, taking a breakfast stop at Starbucks at the Camiel Service Plaza. We drove south on I81 to Staunton, VA and then took I64 to the outer loop road around Richmond, VA to I95. We had easy driving, but we went far off of a straight path. After 800 miles of driving, we quit just before sunset, around 4:30 PM, at Pedro's Campground at South of the Border in South Carolina. We were tired and ate dinner in the RV. On Saturday, we awoke before 5:30 AM and were on the road at 5:45 AM. We didn't have any particular goal for the day, but driving was easy for most of the day on I95 and the Florida Turnpike, so we decided to try to camp at Florida City. We called ahead to the only campground in town, but the phone wasn't answered. As we neared Miami, we found that a big NASCAR weekend was happening at Homestead, near Florida City. We began to encounter heavy NASCAR traffic (we could tell because those drivers had beers in hand, while the others only had cell phones). We knew that we were in trouble for an overnight stay, but we drove into the Florida City campground to see a "No Vacancy" sign. We decided to head on down to the Keys. As we drove into Key Largo, nearing 800 miles for the day, with Bill almost completely brain dead from driving, Cathy had the bright idea to head for Calusa Campground where we had stayed for a week in 2004. Bill had a funny conversation with a security guard who spoke almost no English and who was on his first night at the job. The guard did a bad thing for security, but a good thing for us, when he opened the gate and let us drive in. We looked for the "roving" security guard inside and found him when he appeared in his golf cart next to us as he yelled at us to stop speeding. Bill talked to him about our plight and he rented us a camp site for the night. We ate in the RV again and fell into bed. On Sunday morning, we adopted the more laid-back Keys style and took our time getting up and getting breakfast. We drove to Marathon and walked on the old Seven Mile Bridge for 4 miles. Then we drove to Big Pine Key to shop a bit at Winn-Dixie. We drove down to Ramrod Key and ate a good lunch at Boondocks Restaurant. We arrived at Boyd's Campground on Stock Island at 2:30 PM and settled in to site 123 on the ocean. We took the 3:45 PM bus into Key West and walked Duval Street, watched the sunset near Mallory Square, and ate dinner at Blue Heaven. We took the 7:20 PM bus back to the campground. On Monday, we went for a walk/run to the airport after some campsite chores. After lunch, Bill launched his new Yak Board and paddled for a couple of hours in some wind and current. The water was warm enough for Bill to sit in a puddle for the whole paddle without getting cold. At one point, Bill saw a big splash near some mangroves; he thought it might be a Mangrove Snapper. He threw a lure at the spot, but no fish was interested. Later, we went for a bike ride around Stock Island. Bill made a pasta dish for dinner. It rained all of Monday night and it was quite windy. At midnight, Bill got up and moved the Yak Board under the RV so it wouldn't be blown into the water. On Tuesday, we decided to do our standard circumambulation of Key West. We drove the RV to Borders to buy some books first. Then we drove to and parked in the Publix parking lot in the informal "RV area." We walked to Schooner Wharf Bar for an early lunch at a sunny table. Then we did the rest of the 12 mile walk. Cathy's hip hurt, but she toughed it out and completed the circuit. Bill paddled for about an hour after we returned to the campground. At 6:00 PM, Cathy's cousin Ruth Ann and husband Harry picked us up for dinner at Louie's Backyard. On Wednesday, November 22, we started the day with a run/walk to the airport and back. Bill paddled for an hour before lunch. Afterward, Bill took two bike rides to Publix to replenish our supplies. We walked to the Hogfish Grill, on Stock Island, where we enjoyed good fresh food in an informal setting.

        Bill and Cathy