South Florida

I know, I know ... I'm behind on the Blog. We are in South Florida now .. Fort Lauderdale to be exact. And several people have been surprised to see us because they say, "I checked the Blog and you're still in Dunnellon!" Yes, we left Dunnellon and headed south. We took the route thru Avon Park and Sebring. Pretty bleak country compared to the central and northern Florida with the beautiful rivers. In traveling the USA we have a LOT of favorite areas - but we've only identified one 'least favorite', and that's south Texas. One of the next 2 photos is from South Texas and one is from South Central Florida ... can you tell which is which? Interesting - the RV parks in this area were closed! I mean there were still some rigs parked there, but the offices were closed. Season is October thru March ... by April, they don't care anymore! We had to stop at 3 parks before we found one open. Water always adds a sparkle to any landscape, and early in the morning anyway, the lakes in the Sebring area were no exception. This will be our last fill-up for a while. Maybe the gas price will go down some in the next couple months?! We will be parked in Fort Lauderdale until late June or maybe July. Yes, the blog will probably be a little boring for a while. That is, unless I find an Internet connection and get to post from Fiji! Continuing south by Lake Okeechobee, we're right at home. There is nothing BUT RV parks around here. The population must swell by several hundred percent in the winter time here. But, even though you're right next to the lake, you can't see it because there's a levee all the way around. Here's one spot where the road goes over a bridge and you get to see the lake. Now we're really in South Florida ... West Palm Beach to be exact. Our first stop was for Easter dinner at Jim's sister's house in WPB. Then on to Fort Lauderdale where this will be 'home' for the next couple months. Hurricane Wilma, last October, really did a number on Fort Lauderdale. The next photo was taken last year, just a few sites down from the one above. Notice the wonderful big shade tree in the background. It's not there anymore - and that's the norm throughout Fort Lauderdale. There's a lot more sun and a lot less shade. That's a very bad thing in a hot place. So, we got here Sunday - had Easter dinner, visited Jim's folks, visited my Mom .. then Monday we had a doctor appointment, did grocery shopping, went to a dive club meeting. Today I attended the Women's Executive Club monthly luncheon. I was thrilled to be here for that. I've been a member of this group since 1983 and am currently their webmaster. Tomorrow morning we'll be going kayak diving. The calendar is filling up fast!