Everglades, Miami, Key Largo -- 3 days

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Saturday, Oct. 31, 2009

Woke up without alarm at 8:00 a.m. Breakfast in unit, then headed out to go to Everglades NP. Started at Shark Valley; arrived a few minutes before 11, close to when the tram was loading up; had to have bathroom break and get my backpack, so the tram was just pulling out when I got back to the window (I think it was $11.00). They tried to stop it, but it kept going, so they rushed me into a pickup with a driver to catch up with it -- rather unusual (next tram was at 1:00 p.m.). So I jumped onto the tram (open-sided bus) and a few minutes later, the driver spotted an alligator (this group probably would have missed it if they hadn’t paused to load me up).

Tour almost 2 hours, including 20 minute stop at observation tower (not much to see -- lots of flat everglades and various vegetation, a few birds). Good narrator; enjoyed the tour. Working restrooms at the tower. I got away with snacking on my tuna sandwich on the bus (found out when we got back that no food is allowed (I missed that part of the spiel). It is a very interesting ecosystem, but not visually exciting. A fair amount of big birds, including a few Anhinga (think it‘s a little early to see lots of those) -- their nickname is snakebird, because of their long, thin neck and the way they stretch out underwater to fish.

I was a little low on gas, so instead of continuing west, I returned to crossroads with a gas station and then headed south. Made the mistake of following the NP sign to Chehika area; didn’t see that it’s only open Dec.-April. More flat everglades (“prairie”) and a few egrets. Lots of vultures everywhere -- two kinds. Occasionally a heron (2 or 3 kinds). Went through Homestead the first of many times.

Got to Ernest Coe Visitor Center (the main one) at about 3:00 p.m. -- kind of late in the day to go all the way out to Flamingo, so I just stopped at a couple of the other POI; saw lots of fish in the water, a huge grasshopper, a couple of Anhinga, some different vegetation types in the Park, etc. The weather’s in the mid-80’s, so doing a lot of walking is hard. Apparently December is a good time to visit, and throughout the winter. I can understand that it would be possible to spend 2-3 days here, but I think I’m good with what I covered today.

Stopped briefly at Publix near the timeshare, and spent the evening in; supper on the balcony and put together a pot of chili for the rest of the week. Did a little sorting and tidying (hard to keep up with all the paper I collect on these junkets -- info pamphlets, etc.).

Timeshare review: Vacation Villages at Bonaventure -- which is part of a spread out multi-unit disjointed complex. There are several tall buildings interspersed with other ownerships and residences over a what seems like a couple of miles around in a half-circle; it’s not a single complex like OLCC. My building (Heron II) is in a string of 4 and this one shares a nice pool area with Heron I. There is some parking on the ground floor under the bldg, which is nice; so far I’ve gotten a spot there. The building is nowhere near full, but the adjacent studio is being used (by a somewhat noisy group -- I think a family ). There is no carpeting in the main area, and no drapes (just valances) -- nothing to absorb any noise. It’s kind of nice when the AC kicks on to drown it out. My bedroom seems quiet, tho, since it’s on the outside wall of the bldg. I don’t think I’d want to be here during their busy season; the resort seems like an older one, and could be rather noisy with people next door and upstairs.

There is a nice balcony, with a table and four plastic chairs, not much view, but okay. It faces west, so last night it was too warm in the sun to sit out there, but this evening it was just a little cloudy and fine. The LR furniture is rather old and worn, and the TV is big “projection” style -- practically an antique! The couch is not comfortable, and sounds springy -- I expect it is equally uncomfortable, or worse, made up as a bed. Not a comfy, welcoming space, but adequate (definitely not nicer than home, like some TS’s). Glass dining table with 6 chairs; tableware for six. Kitchen is adequate, but missing a few things that would be nice (split spoon, ladle, mixing bowls). It does have a blender, and most of the usual stuff: cookware, basic utensils, dish cloth and towel, some soap for dishwasher.

There is no unit laundry, just one set of machines on each floor that are quarter-operated, ($1.00 each to wash and dry) so no laundry soap. Master suite is okay (no dresser) with king bed, large Jacuzzi tub, large shower with side bench and two showers (small door is misleading). Nice, wide doors in bath, and wide toilet closet. Bed is a little soft, but comfy; pillows are a little big, firm foam.

It’s a long way back to the main building, which has a really nice pool. There is a shuttle bus; I think you have to call for it. There are luggage carts available; I did use my beach cart after a run to Walgreen’s when the carts were in use elsewhere. I checked in a little early, so it wasn’t busy when I arrived on Friday. With as many buildings as they are operating out of one main reception area, I would hate to be checking in on Saturday during “rush hour.” They send you on to “Guest Services” to get your parking pass, which seemed to be throwing you to the timeshare sales people, cleverly disguised. I turned down the “opportunity” to get $55.00 in cash by giving them $20.00 to attend a buffet breakfast and complete a survey about the resort, and look at a model. . . . . . . Even tho I was kind of mentally fuzzy from driving all day, being on the road for 3 days, and having trouble finding the resort in the first place -- that sounded like it was adding up to taking half a day out of my vacation here in the south of Florida. (Talked with a lady in the hot tub later in the week who said they were stuck in the timeshare spiel/breakfast from 8:30 til after 1:00 -- they were very aggravated. I guess they held out to the bitter end to get their $75 gift card -- the $55 plus the $20 back; she said the price went from $39,000 down to $9,000, and they kept saying NO).

It is a bit tricky to find the resort area, especially coming from the west; the road system is quite peculiar. There isn’t an exit very close; you have to get on 84, which is parallel to I-75. Coming from the west, get off on Indian Trace and wind over to Bonaventure, then turn into Racquet Club Lane. I ended up on 595 and had to circle back on surface roads, which required some imagination. I may have to break down and try a GPS unit again (didn’t work out for me when I tried one a couple of years ago).

Overall, I’d rate this unit as moderate/acceptable -- okay for a base of operations for sightseeing around the area, but not a “stay-at-home and enjoy the resort” sort of place (although it could work for that as well, just not as nicely as some).

November 1, 2009 Sunday

Woke up before alarm, and had not accounted for time change, so was up and ready to go way before I had expected. I was going to go to the resort orientation, but didn’t want to wait around for an hour, so I headed south to Homestead again to visit the Coral Castle. It’s fascinating, and awesome, in the true sense of the word. Not huge, or really a castle, but an amazing feat built by one man over the course of many years. It’s definitely one-of-a-kind, truly unique site. I’ve seen it on TV, but it’s worth a visit, for those who like such things -- sculptures of various furniture and living spaces out in the open, out of huge blocks of coral rock -- very imaginative, etc. (check out coralcastle.com) -- a very interesting story. ($6.45 senior ticket).

Next was a stop at Biscayne Bay National Park -- can only go to the area around the visitor’s center without a boat trip-- it’s almost all water and some islands, but I’m going to count it on my “life-list” of NP’s visited.

Then on to Vizcaya, the John Deering home (well, one of his homes); $10.00 for seniors. It pales in comparison to Biltmore (and the places I saw in Europe), but worth a visit for those who like to see grand houses. It’s kind of ugly, actually, inside (most rooms); a couple of rooms are better/more attractive or amusing. The gardens, however, are wonderful -- very extensive. It’s not really obvious to find -- I had a little trouble winding my way up there from Biscayne -- the road changes names, and there is a roundabout or two, but I went thru some interesting looking neighborhoods, and I was sightseeing after all. I had a hotdog and a beer at their snack shop (even their gift shop is not obvious); shared the hotdog with an orange-striped tabby. Vizcaya does have several nice, and interesting features -- certainly worth a visit for a tourist.

Since it was just early afternoon, I decided to try the drive to/thru the South Beach Art Deco area -- as I expected it was bumper-to-bumper traffic. The street-side tables were full; lots of people there on a Sunday (must be really crowded during on-season). I think I drove through a little bit of downtown Miami on the way, before going over the causeway. Glad to have done that on a Sunday. My SoBe drive-thru seemed sufficient to me; don’t feel a need to go back and try to walk around -- wouldn’t “fit in” anyway, to the “Scene”!

It’s actually a pretty straightforward drive back to where I’m staying -- mostly on 27 (which is being a very useful road for me) -- altho after a long, full day, it seemed like it took a long time. And I almost got rear-ended on the causeway leaving SoBe -- I was on the bridge going maybe 50-55 when a little black car almost climbed up on my back bumper -- I don’t know where he thought he was (no visible cell phone) -- turned out the speed limit there was 45. On my way out to SoBe, I was stopped behind a pickup at a red light, and it suddenly flew across the intersection on the red -- I, and the people in the car to my left, were making all kinds of “whatthehellwashethinking/doing?” gestures. What is with people and their bizarre driving these days?

I actually accomplished in the past two days, pretty much everything I’d allowed 4 days for. I have been doing a ton of driving, and thinking that I really should make my trip reports much more entertaining.


November 2, 2009 Monday

After having such a full day yesterday, I was a little at loose ends to decide what to do today, so I ventured off to Key Largo -- first visit to the “Keys.” With a gas/potty stop, it took a little under 2 hours to get there from where I’m staying in Weston. I stopped and picked up info at the Visitor’s Center, as usual a good thing to do; found some new brochures. Headed to the John Pennekamp State Park to take a glass bottom boat trip (not feeling up to snorkeling away from shore anymore, darn!). They have a 2 ½ hour trip that is $22.00 (with coupon-- available almost anywhere) in 2009. Sure beats the price and time in Grand Cayman! It was a good trip -- well-narrated. I went for their 2-pill Dramamine for a dollar, just in case (had a little nausea trouble on my 2004 cruise) -- so I read my brochures on the way out to the reef. (Boring stuff, eh?) Well, it was worth the trip; although the fish aren’t as close as snorkeling in Cayman, the narrator did a good job talking about them and all the different corals. Since I had stayed inside, I was first at the rope and got a middle seat over the “windows” on the starboard side and had a good view (altho it did seem like our narrator favored the port side a bit! ) -- they did move the boat about to give everyone a view of what there was below us. They say it’s about an hour over the reef; didn’t seem like that long, but it was a really good length of time; my arms were getting tired of being pushed against the railing while leaning over to the windows (it’s not at all like the old Disney submarine ride). The little aquariums in the park visitor center are also worth a look -- almost made me want to get a salt-water aquarium at home just to have a “yellowhead jawfish” -- really cute. Bought a pair of aqua shoes in the shop, since I couldn’t find mine at home to bring along (hope I actually get around to using them for something besides going down to the pool at the resort!). A lady in the shop told me about the nearby K-mart, so I went there for a couple of other things I forgot to bring, and then it only took me about an hour and a ½ to get back to my resort. Had a little pool and hot-tub time and some supper in the room (that’s one of the things I like about timesharing -- it’s cost and time-saving to be able to eat decent meals “at home”).

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