Driving As Far As the East is From the West

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May 17th 2019

Published: May 17th 2019

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Pam thinking about getting in the water

Day 4 Blog – May 16, 2019 – Key West, FL to Naples, Fl – 270 miles

A dreary, rainy start to the morning didn’t dampen our spirits as we set off to find a good beach for Pam to get her feet in the water at the Keys. The 1st beach on the list, we totally missed. The 2nd beach was in a state park, but we couldn’t see paying to get into a state park just to get Pam’s feet wet. We saw a 3^rd beach go by, yet it was about 50 ft long and came up on us too fast to make the turn off. We had one more chance and it was to Sombrero Beach on Marathon Key and off the main road. The clouds were hanging heavy and the rain was down to a drizzle, but we all piled out and the silliness began. Pam ran down the beach and then surprised the others when she decided she was going to try to do a cartwheel. The key word there was “try”. Just last year she could do them beautifully, but good thing there was sand there, because she was sprawled out all over

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Pam cartwheel fail!!

the place. With tears streaming out of their eyes from all the laughter, Susan and Claire both chimed in for her to “do it again” and she obliged looking as graceful as the first time (yeah, right).

The rain picked back up, but we left the Keys and picked up the Tamiami Trail to cross the Everglades (It’s called the Tamiami Trail because it goes all the way from Tampa to Miami). About 5 miles in we stopped to get a bite of alligator for lunch; it’s a bit chewy. The wind was high and thunderstorms were all around, so we weren’t able to take an airboat ride through the Everglades (too bad, but the wind felt like we were riding the boat anyway). We drove through some stunning scenery always on the lookout for alligators because there were warning signs all around.

Down the road we stopped at the Big Cypress Oasis Visitor Center where we did see alligators and plenty of them! They were sunning themselves and swimming in the water all around us. It was amazing! We had to hustle back to the car, because a violent storm was approaching us.

Then came warning

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A giant dolphin we missed on the route into Key West

signs stating, “Panther Crossing Next 5 Miles” and we hoped to see a panther while we were caged in our van. Scarlett would protect us! However, the only panther we saw was at the next visitor center and Pam decided she would be brave enough to jump on its back.

Farther down the road, we pulled over to take a walk on the wild side through the cypress trees at a boardwalk. Unfortunately, new storms were brewing which made us question taking off for a long hike. However, when we realized that there were huge, black-winged creatures swarming all throughout the air around us, the decision to scrap the walk wasn’t difficult to make anymore. They looked as if they were part of a horror film!

Have you heard the old saying, “If you believe that, I have some swamp land for sale in Florida”? Well, we found it!!! There’s 1600 acres for sale and it’s divisible??? (according the sign). And, it’s right in the middle of the Everglades. Are you interested??

After checking into our hotel in Naples, we dined in an outdoor tropical setting on seaweed, kimchi, octopus, and other seafood. Located next store was

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Palm tree farm

a chocolate confectioner that apparently closes too early, because in the hour that we sat outside watching it, approximately 15 groups of people tried to get in the door. Claire texted the company twice to tell them how much business they were losing!!!

This morning we were on the beach eastern side of Florida Keys (the Atlantic), and this evening, Pam had to get into the Gulf on the western side of Florida. Finding a public beach in Naples was no easy task, but we finally found one. Despite the steep price to park to see the beach, the sun was setting and the calm of the gulf ocean shore with its gentle breezes and lukewarm water lapping at our feet, was the perfect ending to the day. Yes, we drove coast to coast today.

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