Dec 13th - No snow but no heat wave either!

We have continued to move south since last I wrote but the weather seems to have followed us as we drive south.  We had a great visit with Richard's friend from middle and  high school back in Southfield, Mi 55 years ago.  I met Gordon and his wife, Jill and two of their many critters.  Barney, the Hound/Doberman and Squeaky the kitten that Barney brought home to them in his mouth when the kitten was only a couple of weeks old.  She is now 5 months and really a little beauty.  On their farm up in Clayton, Georgia they have a few donkeys and a horse.  Over the years they have had chickens, sheep, and cows as pets.  I have finally found another human who refuses to kill animals for food!  All their "pets" have died of old age and they have given them a good pet burial in, what I would imagine a huge pet cemetery.  Gordon and Jill took us all over their area in Crystal River, Florida and were excited to show us the Manatees that come and go in the river that feeds out into the Gulf of Mexico.  Big gentle Sea Cows as they are sometimes referred to swam back and forth under us as we observed them on a bridge overlooking the river and the Gulf.  They also took us out in the "old Florida" as they like to call areas that have not been built up for the influx of tourists that have moved down to Florida.  We drove by (at a distance of about 5 miles) from the Crystal River Nuclear Power Plant that came on line in the 60's.  I got a definite eerie feeling as we stopped at a distance to get out of the vehicle to take some photos.  It was a grey day and it just looked sinister in the distance belching out thick grey smoke from the multiple stacks of the facility.
After leaving Gordon and Jill we drove on south and stopped at a couple of different RV parks.  As we continue to drive south we have noticed that the country side is filling up with urban sprawl from the surrounding cities.  As I have mentioned before, we try and take the Blue Roads - non super highways as we travel so we can truly see the country side and the people.  We were able to drive through some beautiful orange groves the last couple of days that bordered the road like well ordered scrubs, almost close enough to reach out and get our supply of Vitamin C for the day!
DECEMBER 14th
We camped last night on Chokoloskee  Island Park.  Right on the Gulf; cute little tent and camper park.  We didn't do much outside other then walk around taking pictures as the wind was blowing so hard.  25 mph constant with 40 mph gusts.  The water was the color of cocoa from being churned up by the wind.  We left from there this morning and drove through the Everglades.  We stopped several times to take pictures of the abundant wildlife all through the area.  It was like being in a zoo and aviary without bars.  We also discovered several parks throughout the Everglades  that we could have camped in had we known about them that  were part of the National Park system . Not everything is on the internet!!

Pair of ducks outside of Arcadia, Fl

Gordon, Richard and me

Jill, Richard and me

Manatee near Crystal River, FL

Snowy White and a Blue Egret

Two Buzzards taking off in Everglades

Richard's organges

First Alligator in Everglades!!!

Pier after Hurricane Wilma on Chokoloskee Island

Tonight finds us just north of the Florida Keys with a little warmer temperatures than yesterday.  The increase isn't much but just enough to take off one layer of clothes (long underwear)!  The sun is shining brightly and we were told at this RV park that there is a Christmas party in the club house tonight.  Whoopie!