Moss Point, Mississippi - Day 45

Miles 220

It was pretty warm last night but this morning there is wind, and a  spattering of clouds. As we head west on Hwy 10 the clouds get thicker and darker. It never did rain but the temperature dropped to the low 50's. Actually it feels pretty good. There was little traffic on the road and it was a nice drive. Tonight we are at a Cracker Barrel in Moss Point, Mississippi. Amazingly, the gas here is $1.99 a gallon. Of course we just filled up a few miles back in Alabama. We were all set for a great shot of the "Entering Mississippi" sign but John didn't open the shutter. Oh well, lol. Tonight should be quieter at Cracker Barrel than Walmart last night. No matter what side of the parking lot we pick, it seems to be the truck side at Walmart. Tomorrow we look forward to a short drive and arriving to Bayou Segnette State Park. If I forgot to mention it last night, we are now back to Central Time. 

Bye Florida!

Hello Alabama!

Lovely Drive

Marianna, FL - Day 44

Miles 227

Tonight we are at a Walmart again. Last night after the dismal efforts to connect to Wi-Fi we decided we wouldn't stop at an RV place again unless necessary. We did secure 3 night back at Bayou Segnette State Park for Feb 16-17-18, we are looking forward to that. There was just ONE campsite left and we got it. We will be in and out of New Orleans before Mardi Gras so it should be fun. We enjoyed the group class at the New Orleans School of Cooking so much that we booked it again! A different menu this time of course. 

Today's drive was uneventful. US 19 wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, though there was nothing much to see along this "Wildlife and Coastal Trail" as they call it. You cannot see the coast and we only saw a dead deer by the road. We planned to have a nice lunch being it is Valentine's Day and all but we never saw a restaurant that would fall into that category. We ate a granola bar and then we saw a Burger King and go 2 Whopper Jr.s and a small fry to share. After stopping for the day we realized we gained an hour back, we should have gone on but we were in stop mode by then. After we relaxed for a bit we walked over to a Mexican Restaurant and had an early dinner. It was very nice, though it was the hottest chili relleno I've ever eaten.

Lake Rousseau, FL - Day 43

Miles 116

We left Cracker Barrel and backed tracked just a few miles so we could go on what they call The Dolphin Trail, it sounded fun as part of the drive. We drove across the inland waterways to Treasure Island and headed north. We thought we would be driving along the Gulf Coast with nice views but all we really saw was stop and go traffic and nice hotels. There was plenty of beach access but there was no place to park something our size. We found a public parking lot finally but had to leave as there were no drive through 2 car spaces or RV parking at all. We also didn't see any colorful dolphins until near the end. At that point I had pretty much lost interest. When we tried to snap photos on the move it didn't work out well either. Now we have the decision to go inland or stick to US 19 in hopes of seeing either coastal scenery or at least something but hotels. We probably made the wrong decision. We continued to crawl along this 4-lane, with intermittent lights, at a slow pace seeing little communities, not even quaint ones. We made a sandwich for lunch in the trailer while in the Winn Dixie parking lot and then moved on. By mid afternoon we are disappointed in our day. John looked up an RV park and we went to that, after making a wrong turn and being an a gravel road with huge ruts we got back on track and found the place. Lake Rousseau is a typical RV place with close together sites, barking dogs, and TVs blaring. I can't connect to the "free" Wi-Fi at all. (We are using tons of GBs on our phones and for the hotspot).Lake Rousseau is about 10 miles off US 98, which is also US 19. We are pretty much stuck on this route until we get up to Tallahassee, FL and Hwy 10 again. Not our best adventure to date and we are exhausted, but tomorrow is a new day.

St. Petersburg, FL - Day 42

Miles 207

We got a pretty late start today and then we spent about an hour at the Big Cypress Welcome Visitors Center. I think I found out the birds I videoed yesterday are Cormorants. It is still unclear to me because the ones I took photos of had orange throats and the ones the ranger claimed they were did not have any orange, it is confusing. I can certainly understand that a bird can change coloring at different ages but she didn't address my question about the orange coloring. She told me younger ones are more white (?) There were other people and to keep asking seemed rude so I gave up. When we pulled into the welcome center there was another Casita parked there! Of course I took a photo of us side by side and when we were walking out of the Center we were about to go in. Their Casita is a 2007 and badly needed a shine. He commented on that, not me. Anyway, they were headed for the Keys. We chatted for a little while, a nice couple from MO. We exchanged emails and I told them I would send them info about the Casita Owners FB site we are on because it is interesting and informative most of the time. They spoke of wanting to visit CA but have not because of our high gas prices. I guess it is all relative. We enjoyed the Welcome Center but we were disappointed we didn't see the Manatees they sight there frequently. So back on State Hwy 41 to Naples, then a short jog on 866 (also known at the Golden Gate Parkway), which put us on Interstate 75. We took that to St. Petersburg where we are parked at Cracker Barrel tonight.

Casitas!

Tampa Bay & Bridge to St. Petersburg

Monument Lake, FL - Big Cypress Nat'l Preserve - Day 41

After breakfast & coffee we drove back toward the east on US 41. We wanted to go to the Oasis Visitors Center. It was interesting, had a boardwalk where you could see a few alligators and different fish, and there is a movie to view all about the park. All of that was very nice. We came back to camp, ate lunch, and took off to go on a 17 mile graded gravel road called Birdon Loop. We were told is good to go on to see wildlife and different habitats. The road is 10 west of our camp. We drove slowly and stopped a lot to see multiple alligators (we gave up counting) and so many beautiful birds. This place is a birder's paradise I am sure. I don't know the names of most of the birds but they range from cute little ducks that bob up and down in the water to enormous Great Blue Herons that fly majestically through the air. It  was a lovely drive and we enjoyed it very much. We decided not to go on to the town of Everglades City where there is a Seafood Festival going on. We will leave here tomorrow and stop at the Big Cypress Swamp Welcome Center, where it is purported we have a good chance of seeing manatees. The rest of the day was typical, playing cards and walking Tony. 

A Few Birds & Gators

Monument Lake, FL -Big Cypress Nat'l Preserve - Day 40

Miles 148 

Today we left Knights Key and drove to Big Cypress National Preserve. We are staying at Monument Lake Campground for two nights. The Senior Rate is half price so two nights for $28. We enjoyed a beautiful drive out of the Keys. The water is such a lovely aqua color in so many places. We wanted to drive through one of the State Parks to take a look but they do not allow that. They told us the sites are right on the ocean, $43, with water and electric, but no sewer. There is a  dump station. The Florida Keys really are unique and we are glad we came to take a look. After we left the Keys we got gas, at lunch, and got a few groceries at Walmart. Then we then left Hwy and got on State Route 997 until we picked up Hwy 41 into the Everglades and the Preserve. It was a nice drive with some different views. We were very happy when we arrived at Monument Lake Campground, it is a lovely place. The lake is small, has alligators (but the only one seen by anyone in a long time is a 3 ft one we saw tonight too), and turtles. You fish at your own risk and you DO NOT swim in the lake. The person camped next to us said they saw several alligators along Hwy 41 on the way here, in the canal by the road. We actually looked for some but never even saw one! We are in a campsite that has gravel for parking the trailer but then a grassy area with a table and a fire pit. We have a palm tree and another tree for afternoon shade. It is just rejuvenating! We both commented how the cream colored gravel surrounding us, the insects, and the lack of trees at  Knights Key became depressing. It is also much cooler here and so far, no No See-Ums! We did see a couple mosquitoes but those cannot come through our screens and are easy enough to spot if they do come in the door with us. We played cards outside in the lovely fresh air and perfect temperature. After taking Tony for a walk we went to a little ranger program at 7p up by the camp host. We walked up and watched the tales of flora and fauna in the area. The moon is so bright tonight we even have a shadow! While I though Gators would be our main concern, apparently they are overrun with Pythons! They have even hired special Python hunters from India to come to catch and exterminate them, or at least keep them under control. This is creepy for sure. I won't be going out of the trailer after dark anymore!  

Leaving the Keys

Monument Lake

Our Camp

A Small Gator!

A Beautiful Moon Tonight

Knights Key - Marathon, FL - Day 39

We decided we will cut our stay here short. We don't get a refund but we are tired of sweating and getting bit by No See-Ums. There are few places without bug bites on our bodies - enough of that! We really haven't been able to use the Thermacell because you cannot use it inside and it has been too hot to be outside much. Between the humidity and the actual temperature it "feels like" it is in the mid 90's. Therefore, we did laundry today and worked on the first steps of heading back for places to stay, etc. It was a lovely sunset. We are happy we came to see the Florida Keys but we don't have a desire to return. 

Sunset & Part of 7 Mile Bridge

Tony on a giant piece of dead coral. The coral is so 
unusual and interesting to look at, so many facets. 

Final Sunset in the Florida Keys

A Beautiful Moon Too