Big news for this week was Huntley's Birthday on March 2.
We called and left two different happy birthday messages - once, with Jim and I; and, once with Gabby, Lily and myself.
I did get a call back on Wednesday Night with Huntley saying "I'm in my Daddy's truck going to El Ranchito." She is having a full week of birthday celebrations with two big items - one, she got contacts, and two, yesterday (Thursday, March 3) she was going to get her ears pierced by Dean at the Jewelry Store in Norwood. This is a gift from Mimi and Huntley is excited as well as a little nervous, I think!
Sounded like the Rummage Family was well and happy back in Norwood; the Lee Family is well and happy here in Key West; and, my brothers are planning a big trip in May - so, all of this, makes me very, very happy inside and my heart swells with thankfulness for all of our many blessings.
We did go down to the Lee's on Tuesday to paint their decking.
Hillary had asked me, last week, what I found to be the most fun while here, other, of course, than visiting with them and getting to spend time with Gabby and Lily.
I told her I would have to say the 'grass roots' adventures - walkabouts, kayaking in the mangroves and boating out to snipes point.
While painting on Tuesday, I really have to say that anytime Jim and I can feel like we are being helpers to the Lees, that is probably my most favorite thing. The adventures are big ole icings on the cake.
When we left the Lee House on Tuesday, Jim and I were both pretty tired. Although, once back to the camper, after a shower, we started reflecting and decided we had better get back to the Lee House on Wednesday. All of their decking furniture, grill, etc. has been removed from the deck and we realized we really needed to get back down there to try and finish, at least, that one project, so they could maybe get things organized outside again.
There was a wine tasting here at the Camp on Tuesday Afternoon at 4:00.
After my shower, and by then, it was about 5:00, I knew I had to take my camera out to the tiki hut and get a picture. Never been to a wine tasting before.
As it was a very warm day (later Jim said he heard on t.v., it was a record breaking warm day at 88 degrees) the wine tasting was being conducted behind the tiki hut, in the shade. The 'tasters' were all sitting around picnic tables and were not, of course, supposed to share their thoughts on any of the wines with each other.
The wines were merlots and ranged in price from $15 to $65. Each participant had five little cups, marked, a, b, c, d and e, as well as a grading sheet for each cup of wine.
Richard, a fellow camper, grinned last week when he was describing the wine tasting saying it was going to be fun if the $15 wine was chosen over the $65!
Well, that did not happen. Seems the general consensus was the $65 wine was the favorite.
Walter and Lorraine, who do not drink any alcohol at all, were the 'monitors'.
It was, as much as anything, just a great little social gathering of campers with a little something different to do on a Tuesday Afternoon.
The wine tasting was enjoyed so much, they are already planning another to be held in a couple of weeks - this time judging white wines.
When I got back from viewing the wine tasting, Jim was preparing himself a salad and he shared with me. So, that was our supper. And, after the nightly news, Chuck knocked on the door and invited Jim up for a marbles game.
We were able to get in a little Nightly News with Diane Sawyer, listening to the mess in Libya and watching a family (with the help of the network) take everything out of their house that was not American Made. Pretty Interesting.
That got Jim to looking around at our stuff here in the camper. The camper was made in America although he said most likely the instruments like radio, t.v.s, furniture, etc. were likely not made in America.
And, that brought to mind our kitchen floor in Norwood. About a month before we came down here, Jim noticed a 'ripple' to the wood floors in the kitchen, at the bottom of the cabinets. A couple of days went by and I noticed the ripple had traveled over to in front of our refrigerator. A couple of more days, and the ripple had traveled over to the area in front of our stove.
The man that had put down the flooring mentioned that we may want to put a moisture barrier under the house as it was somewhat damp under there. So, Jim put in a call to Efird's Insulating, and they came out and put in the barrier.
On the following Saturday, we were having some rain. I mentioned to Jim that if it was not raining outside and so wet, I would like to go under the house to check things out under there. That conversation, like many of our conversations, was short, sweet and forgotten.
On Sunday Morning, when I returned from Church, I found Jim with his head under the kitchen sink, both cabinet doors wide open and lots of cleaning supplies that we keep under the kitchen sink, all out on the floor.
Jim said "you will not believe it" - the ripple of the floor was a result of water leaking from the sink pipes. It was a very slow leak, falling first into a large vase I had under there, way back at the back, never seen by me, when I would get the dish detergent out for washing dishes, and then, subsequently, trailing out of the vase, down behind the cabinets and beneath the flooring. That is why we never could feel dampness to the floor itself.
Well, we went through the next couple of weeks and through the Christmas Holiday. Jim and I both are hoping the floor will settle back down. And, we both agreed we would address the problem when we returned from this trip. And, as big a mess is the flooring is, and as big a project as it may be to repair, I had forgotten all about it, until now! Something to keep us busy when we return to Norwood.
Speaking of keeping us busy - Jim and I, this morning, both made appointments for the week of March 21. So, life will soon be back to normal.
I have, on two occasions, loped off hair, from behind each ear, once behind my left ear about three weeks ago, and this week, looking in the mirror as I brushed my teeth and thinking, well, I'll lope off the other side as well.
So, this morning I have put in a call to my friend Mary Boyd who keeps this head of hair of mine going and she will try to repair the damage on March 24.
Jim had gotten notice of a dental appointment for March 15. As that is the day we leave here, he changed that appointment to March 23.
I certainly got sidetracked, didn't I?
Wednesday, Jim and I did go down and put the second coat of paint on the deck and did a couple of other things.
The bad thing about us going down to the Lee's early in the morning and working all day is that once the girls get home from school (Lily, generally at 1:00 and Gabby at 2:30) Jim and I both are too tired to wiggle and there is not much playing energy left for either of us.
I did get in about an hour with the girls. Gabby had a great idea to make lemonade. She got out a bowl, I cut a lemon in half for her, she squeezed the halves of lemon, (as Lily sucked the Lemon halves) said, "now we need the sugar." Got the sugar out, had a small melt down from Lily as she wanted to put sugar in the lemon juice too. At first, Gabby told her we only needed the one spoonful of sugar, then she tasted it, and thankfully, she decided we did need a little more sugar, so Lil was able to put her spoonful in the bowl. Next up, was pouring the lemon juice/sugar into three cups (lily, gabby and myself), then adding water to the cups - and, ummmm, ummmmm, we had some lemonade.
It is amazing how quickly a grand idea becomes boring - the lemonade, in the cups, was forgotten about, and Gabby said we needed to go on a treasure hunt in the yard. I questioned her about if we didn't need to hide a treasure first. How silly of me - I should know, as well as anyone, that the treasures in a yard are far and away much better than any kind of treasure you may 'plant' to find.
We found coral shells in the flower beds (one looked exactly like a wasp nest, with some of the wasp holes open and some still closed), some fantastic rocks, a coral that looked like a sea horse, some great sticks and other yard items that are easy for a little one to see as the little ones (Lily especially) have eyes so much closer to the ground.
This treasure hunt opened up an opportunity to catch some bugs that Gabby put in a sand bucket. And, the bug hunt opened up an opportunity to try and catch some lizards.
Jim had gone to Publix for us and while in the middle of our hunt, he returned and announced that he was taking me back to the camper.
Survivor was my t.v. time for Wednesday Night.
Jim is talking about the fact that he is not walking too much anymore. So, on Thursday Morning, I told him that I would walk around the campground and the lake with him, but he was on his own in a walkabout over to the KOA.
While on our walkabout, we stopped and talked to the new campers that are in the same spot as Ralph and Sharon Shoemaker were in.
They had a South Carolina tag and I was anxious to find out just where they were from. Well, don't you know, they lived in one of my favorite South Carolina Seaside Towns - Beaufort.
I told them I didn't know if I could even leave Beaufort for the Keys.
Lillian (the lady) said they had only lived there for three years. That they were originally from New York. And, that Beaufort was too cold in the winter for them. (they got acclimated fast didn't they?) Further, they had just returned to Beaufort from a month in Costa Rico, packed up there camper and came down here. She said they were only home about two months out of a year. As you can tell, we really enjoyed talking to these folks.
After Jim returned from his KOA walkabout I mentioned that maybe, just maybe, he would drive up to the Square Grouper with me. (Square Grouper is a restaurant and they have a really great tee shirt shop - I didn't want to eat there, I wanted to go to their 'retail shop.' )
After some thinking, Jim said, yeah, let's go.
This trip to the Square Grouper was a quick trip. In and out in a hurry, and then Jim wanted to do his drive through in the neighborhoods. We discovered some great looking houses, some sitting on three sides to the ocean. A few of these houses were new, with little or no foliage or trees yet, and Jim and I both agreed they looked very, very vulnerable to the weather.
Fortunately for me, while on this drive, I got a call from Tiffany. She had a minute and I was just riding around in the car, so we were able to have a more lengthy conversation that normal.
Before Tiffany called, I mentioned to Jim that I would like to walk down the "Burned Out Bridge Road." This road is a continuation of the road that goes down to the KOA.
As I talked to Tiffany, I noticed that Jim turned off on the KOA road, so I'm guessing he has decided we will take this adventure.
Tiffany and I are in mid sentence and then, she is gone. Once past the KOA, it is almost like you have dropped off into another world.
Most folks here in the campground ride their bikes down this road. And, some folks take their motorcycles down the road (actually, now, a wide path.)
Frisby, here in the campground, had said he measured the distance from where the pavement stops and the path begins, and it is 1.6 miles. This was my way of getting Jim to go on this adventure. I said "Well, Frisby says it is only 1.6 miles."
Jim drives my precious little Honda about 1/10 of a way down the old road/path and I am in a panic. I see holes at least 18" deep down this path and fortunately, Jim finds a narrow, tiny little niche that he can pull over and park the car.
Jim nor I are prepared for this walking trip. He keeps saying "if I had known, I would have worn my tennis shoes." And, I had to agree with him. At least, I was wearing my flip-flops as Jim was - otherwise, I would have had on my crocs that I have been wearing nonstop, both here and at home for about three or four years and the soles of the crocs are paper thin. We did have about 1" of sole on our leather flip-flops.
We walked and walked. We walked by a camper. He had his tent set up, a picnic table and his truck, that is from, guess where, Michigan, of course. On our walk back up the path, he was sitting out with his dog, having a can of what Jim said looked like pork and beans. The camper was way, way down the path, and we're not sure if he was on someone's land or not. The opposite side of the road, we discovered, also on the way back, has a huge estate, but, more about that later.
As Jim was a captured audience, I talked and talked. I talked about maybe my legs, so far, in my life, were strong, because I walked to school until the 10th grade. Jim doubts this and we agree and disagree and ponder, each separately, I'm sure, as to who maybe had walked the longest distance to and from school as children.
We would see a bend in the path, and think, yep, that will be it, only to round the bend and see nothing but white coral path for as far as we could see in front of us. I occasionally looked behind us, and the same was true there, nothing but a white path going on forever behind us.
A couple of bikers rode by and we asked them "about how much further is it?" They said, "oh, not sure, maybe another quarter mile."
Jim starts thinking about the long walk he had taken just earlier in the morning. And, reminds me of that walk, and that he had on proper shoes for that walk.
Finally, way, way up ahead, it looks as if there is an opening with an expanse of blue sky.
We see boulders in the road/path and then we can make out the 'burned out bridge.' Mission accomplished.
We are at the end of the road, and see what remains of a bridge that is, in fact, burned out! :)
Okay, a couple of pictures just to prove we were there and we start back on our journey.
A couple more bikers ride by with large grins and hellos. Jim and I both are kind of crawling along now. He keeps stumbling over the rock and coral in the road, and I keep telling him to pick up your feet. Then, I stumble over an embedded rock, we both laugh and I tell myself "Karen, pick up your feet."
A couple come by on a gas golf cart. Well, gas versus electric golf carts take up a good deal of conversation. I haven't thought about it until now, but, it's almost amazing we had enough air to talk.
Yesterday was a windy day so we talked about how fortunate we were that we wound up doing this walk on a very pleasant day rather than a hot day. This was a good long conversation as well.
Then, we started noticing the black fencing. The mangrove and foliage areas were very thick on each side of the path and you could see deep into the overgrowth. The black fencing just seemed to start out of no where.
I had been scavenging, looking for bottle caps for Gabby's new collection and also, I spied a lot of buoys that if I could have gotten to, and if they were not so worn away, I was going to retrieve to bring home with me.
So, the fencing, when it popped up, was interesting. We really had not paid that much attention on the walk down to the bridge.
There is a break in the foliage and there is a gate. Then, a little further up, there is a gate with a box in front (like on t.v. when you see someone pulling up to an estate, they press the button to announce their arrival.) You can barely see a driveway and a car sitting in front of what we think maybe the house. And, then, the black fencing goes on and on, With another gate some ways up.
By now, Jim and I have forgotten how tired we are. We can barely see, through the fencing and foliage, a tennis court.
There is a mail box that we didn't see on our way in - 60l Pirates Cove -
Our imaginations are going wild. Jim says "I'll bet that's Paul McCarthy back there, hear the drums?" I say, well, if it's Paul McCarthy, Ringo must be visiting if that's drums you hear."
Yes, we are having a grand ole time imagining what's behind that black fence and gates.
We decide we will goggle and/or search on the computer for 60l Pirates Cove when we get back to the camper.
And, for fun, if you want to see, search for "60l SR 939 Sugarloaf Key Fl 33042" I think you will be as amazed as Jim and I were. Because, keep in mind, this estate is on this little, tiny path, at the end of no where, and certainly off the beaten path.
We were originally interested in the history of the Burned Out Bridge. Our research there, best we could glean, was this road was the original road from Sugarloaf Key down to Key West. Flagler's railroad ran adjacent to the road back out on the highway (now known as Hwy. 1) and this turn off was the actual road into Key West. The road was not used, best we could learn, after 1942.
When searching for 601 SR 939 Sugarloaf Key Fl 33042, we found not one but several answers to the questions of what this property is.....each one a listing for property for sale, 9 acres to be exact. Some of the ads have a sales price of 7 million something or other, and some in the 6 million dollar range. Not sure of the differences in prices there and not sure why so many listings - except of course that the property is not actually listed, the companies just being told that 'yeah, you get me this, and, I'll sell....."
By the way, Jim said "well, we'll not offer a penny more than 6 million." :)
When we went up to the Thursday Night Dinner, we were talking to Mike and Joan about walking the burned out bridge road. Maddie overheard us, and said, "did you see that big estate?" When we told her that we had and that we had goggled it - she said her husband, Gary, had entered it into his GPS and found that it was owned by "you know, that tennis player" - Martina Navratilova" (spelling all wrong - but you get the idea.) Now, remember that Tennis Court I mentioned? This makes perfect sense.
Then, during dinner, Lillian and her husband, from Beaufort, sat with us, we mentioned the walk to them. And, she volunteered, "you know, some people say the estate belongs to Martina Navratilova, but we asked a bartender about it one time and he said "No, her friends own it, but she doesn't" "
It is a mystery, and certainly none of my business, but, you know, every once in a while my nose starts twitching with nosiness. So, for fun, for me, I am going to believe the property belongs to Martina.
Again, it is a lot of fun to see the pictures of the property if you are so inclined and have the time to look it up on the computer.
Carolyn had told us during dinner for everyone to hang around for games after dinner.
When we all had finished our Italian Dinner - delicious by the way with lots of different types of italian foods - my favorite being sliced tomatoes, topped with some kind of cheese and swimming in a fabulous sauce or dressing - Sandy announced we were going to play "A Minute to Win It"
First off, was trying to knock down a pyramid of beer cans with rubber bands. Jim was the representative for our table to start the games. There were three contestants, and both of the other players knocked all of their cans down and off the table and Jim still had his full pyramid. He didn't even get a strike, bless him!
Next game was trying to get penne pasta noodles on a spaghetti noodle. You had to hold the spaghetti noodle in your mouth and try to thread the penne pasta onto the spaghetti - the penne pasta was laying on a table near the edge - six pieces in all.
Next up - staking plastic cups in a pyramid (about 10 or 12 on the bottom tier) and then taking them down - all without any falling when building or taking down.
Next up - Karen (me) joins one individual from each of the other tables. Jim is to put a vanilla wafer on my forehead, I have to wiggle and wrinkle my face around, trying to get the cookie from my forehead into my mouth.
The games were too much fun.
I called it a night and Jim stayed to play marbles and he told me this morning that they played until 11:30. I was long before at Nappy's House!
Now, for some pictures:
Lazy Lakes Wine Tasting - Tuesday, March 1, 2011
The Square Grouper - ground sign - March 3, 2011
Highway Sign - The Square Grouper
We have been told, The Square Grouper gets its name from the bales of marijuana that was through off boats in the 1970's and early 1980's to avoid being caught with the marijuana on board. The Square Groupers would float around until discovered by boaters and fisherman.
I don't have any idea what kind of plant this is - it's just pruttttyyyy! Lots of green with red spikes.
This interesting piece of art was discovered during our ride through neighborhoods on Thursday Afternoon.
On our major walkabout - Jim saw this road sign, barely visible through all the overgrown scrub and trees. This is the back side of the sign - Jim was peering at the front side and told me there was nothing there, it had all faded away, so I decided to just take a picture at the best possible vantage point.
Burned out Bridge major walkabout - I had Jim stop in his tracks, we are headed up the path you see behind Jim in the picture.
Burned out Bridge major walkabout. We have traveled the path behind me - and, no end in sight.
Still walking up the road.
Thinking we have almost made it. We see the boulders up ahead and blue sky.
Burned out Bridge - we made it! As I mentioned, we haven't been able to learn much about this - possibly the road was not used after 1942, and somehow, someway, the bridge burned. Lillian said last night at dinner, maybe some kids did it by accident years ago - we really just do not know. The rushing water seems to go around the bend and by the looks of a map, you could subsequently get to the ocean from here - there is a large water basin to the right of the bridge.
Standing on the edge looking directly down into the water from our side of the Burned Out Bridge.
The basin of water to the right of the old bridge. Again, we are thinking you maybe can meander through the mangroves and get to the ocean, just not sure.
Just to prove we made it!
And, Jim made it too!
The long path back!
The fence and call box at 601 Pirates Cove, SR 939, Sugarloaf Key, Fl 33042
JoAnn trying to get the penne pasta on her spaghetti noodle. Her husband, Charlie is in the rear, with the gray tee shirt - his shirt reads "You mess with me, you mess with the whole trailer park!"
John with his penne pasta - Poor John didn't do too well. By the way, I didn't get a picture of Jim with his cans and rubber bands. I didn't have my camera yet - ran back to the camper to get it, when Jim asked "where's your camera when you need it!"
Charlie with his cup stacking. Charlie started out with less cups then the other two contestants, so this game had to have a restart.
With all the games taking place, Dale turned the lights on at the horseshoe pits and teased Jim that maybe he wanted to play a game of shoes since he didn't do too well with the cans.
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