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Published: March 5th 2009
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February 8, Sunday
We were all four loading the bikes around 9:00 am and on the road to the Everglades by 9:30. I led the way down the coast, running mostly through the towns which gradually merged into a stop and go situation. Finally I cut east to a major thoroughfare, joined the Tamiami trail, US 41, along the Everglades to Florida City. Originally we were going to stop for lunch at Everglade City, but as we approached, we couldn't help but notice the hundreds of Harley Davidsons in the area. It turns out there was a big seafood festival, which is traditionally atttended by thousands of bikers. We continued on to a little eatery just east of the turn off towards Everglade City. West of Florida City / Homestead, we stopped at the Rogers Here fruit stand. I met Harold Simons, an elderly blind gentleman who was sitting in a 1907 Ford Model T look-alike, who was 5 years younger than the car. We had a nice chat. He handed me two business cards. His first business said "Harold L. Simons, Specializing in Snow Blower Repair - Serving all of Southern Florida. Apparently that business was a little slow,
so he had another one going... Nothing Inc. Doing Nothing - That's Our Thing. It had the phrase: If you want nothing done, don't trust an amateur. Call a Professional. Harold is a neat old man. We loaded up with fruit, then continued on about 40 miles through the Everglades National Park to Flamingo campground . Jerry has a golden age pass which sufficed to get us all in free, and the camping site was half the normal $16 fee, which meant I owed Jerry $8.00 for two nights camping. The campground is open and breezy but has many trees for shade, and cool showers. Long Pine Key campground, closer to the entrance, has no showers at all. We set up camp in site B3, this was Jerry and Judy's first time setting up for real, so it was a treat to watch them.
February 9, Monday
This was to be a lazy day, free from riding, shopping or any responsibilities, so we took a nice stroll to Eco pond, close by the campground. We saw many birds- Ibis, Cormorant, Great and Snowy Egrets, Coots, Herons, Vultures, Hawks, Osprey, and even a Roseated Spoonbill. We also saw a
small Crocodile at Eco pond. We continued our stroll up to the visitor center, viewed the displays, and went over to the Marina store for some coffee. The lodge and restaurants were destroyed in 2005 by the hurricanes, and these are in the process of being rebuilt. Deb and I signed up for a sunset ride on the Pelican, a park tour boat that took us later that evening up the Buttonwood canal, across Coot Bay, down Tarpon Creek and nosed into Whitewater Bay. Captain Tom was very informative, and right across the canal from the dock we saw 5 crocs, one of which was all of 12 feet long. Wow. Cool nights made for perfect camping.
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