Tampa – “City on the Bay”

 

Having arrived at Lazy Days RV Park near Tampa on Sunday, we set out Monday to bicycle along the new River Walk area and also Bayshore Drive.  The River Walk is a fantastic asset to Tampa, and while it isn’t yet complete, it connects many areas with a pleasant stroll along the river.  From the Convention Center it’s a short distance to the Marriott Waterside.  We stayed there when we attended a nephrology conference at the Convention Center a couple of months after George’s kidney transplant in 2002. 

Today we ate lunch there overlooking the river on a lovely sunny day.  We continued on to  Channelside, a shopping/dining area, where we stopped for ice cream and then on to the cruise ship terminal where NCL’s Grandeur of the Seas was loading. 

We left the River Walk and bicycled to Bayshore Drive, a wide road with grand old homes on one side and Tampa Bay on the other.  The side walk on the bay side  is wide, and it’s a popular place for walkers, joggers, rollerbladers, and, of course, bicyclers.  The views were great and so was our effort as we pedaled south into a strong wind.  But on our return, we were running with the wind and it was a great ride – and much quicker. 

 

 

 

 

To see a map of our bike ride along the River Walk and Bayshore Drive, click here.

To view additional photos of our Tampa bike ride, click here.

Boca Grande – a Grand Day!

 

We enjoyed bicycling in Boca Grande Thursday on the 6.5 mile trail that runs on the old RR bed from one end of  the island to the other.  We started on the south end at the State Park and began by walking on the beach and visiting the light house museum for a briefing on the history of the island. The railroad brought phosphates to the docks for ocean shipping.

After the first third of the trail we headed east to a harbor side restaurant for lunch.  After rejoining  the trail and heading north, we soon passed through the main part of town enjoying the extensive  landscaping. We stopped at the Loose Caboose restaurant which is in the old depot for ice cream.

We then biked to the north end of the trail, and on the return we detoured into one of the exclusive neighborhoods and admired the homes on the water. After Irene  did some shopping in town and we rode back to the start point, it was near five o’clock. Upon arriving back at the truck, we had ridden sixteen miles.

What a Difference 60 Miles Can Make!

 

On Sunday, Feb. 7 we left the Palm Beach area and drove west to South Bay RV Park on the western edge of Palm Beach County and bordering Lake Okeechobee.  We drove from an area of opulent homes, yachts, and automobiles to an agrarian area dominated by sugar cane and oranges.  To explore this area, on Monday we took the Sugarland Tour offered by the Chamber of Commerce in Clewiston, 15 miles west of South Bay.

Our tour showed us the sugar cane fields which are  burned before  huge machines harvest the cane.  Egrets flock to the fields to eat the insects which are fleeing the fire. The cane is then taken to the U. S. Sugar Company mill where it’s processed and refined into sugar.  Our tour guide cut stalks of cane for the group to sample.  Hendry County, where Clewiston is located, is Florida’s largest producer of oranges.  Most are taken to Southern Gardens Citrus where they are juiced, processed, and distributed to companies such as Tropicana and Minute Maid. 

Clewiston is on the southwest edge of Lake Okeechobee, and the tour guide told about the hurricanes in the 1920’s which killed thousands and led to the building of the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee, the second largest freshwater lake in the contiguous United States.   The Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail (L.O.S.T.) encircles the lake atop the dike.

We bicycled a 12 mile section of the L.O.S.T. on Tuesday morning and had great views of the surrounding areas.  We enjoyed bird watching and saw egrets, gulls, and an osprey on its nest as well as a number of boats heading out to the lake in the channel.  Despite a stiff head wind on our return to the RV park (adjacent to the trail), we had a good ride. 

Clewiston is where Irene’s parents met and where they lived when they were first married so she especially enjoyed seeing the area.  Many buildings, such as the Okeechobee Inn where we had lunch, existed when her parents lived in Clewiston and her Dad was an electrician at the sugar mill.

 

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A Prince of a Park

We spent this past week at John Prince Park, a Palm Beach County park,  and think it’s a good value for RV’ers. It has full hook ups, paved sites, and WiFi – but no laundry.  It’s location near Palm Beach and its bicycle trail are the park’s outstanding features. 
The paved bike trail loops around  Lake Osborne which is home to several species of water birds. The loop is about 10 miles in length and takes about an hour.  And what a ride!  We rode in the mornings and birds were feeding along the lake providing us with great scenery.  We saw ibis, egrets, anhingas, pelicans, and two green birds that we think were parakeets.  The county airport is next to the park and small planes and helicopters took off frequently.  There was the occasional jet ski or fishing boat on the lake.
Our site, on the lake, had palm trees and bamboo growing near the edge of the water.  We watched an egret wading near the shore and a pelican diving for dinner.  We plan to return here next year for the third time.

Upscale Biking in Palm Beach

 

Thursday we left our campground at John Prince County Park,  drove east, and crossed the bridge to Palm Beach and another world.  We went north on Highway A1A along the Atlantic and through one luxurious neighborhood after another, past Donald Trump’s exclusive spa and multitudes of mansions partially concealed by tall ficus hedges. 

Our plan for the day was to bicycle the Lake Trail, have lunch at City Place shopping area in West Palm, and visit the famous Breakers hotel.  We parked near Publix (which offers valet parking, and incidentally, had a Rolls Royce in the parking lot).  George had  mapped out our route which took us south on the trail  past Henry Flagler’s mansion which is now a museum.  (Flagler built the Breakers Hotel to accommodate his RR passengers). After heading over to West Palm Beach across the Palm bridge, we enjoyed lunch at Wild Ginger Asian Bistro and stopped for ice cream in the plaza at City Place. 

After heading east over the Flagler Memorial bridge back into Palm Beach, we headed north on the Lake Trail past 5 miles of luxurious beautifully landscaped homes and lush vegetation on one side and their yachts on Lake Worth lagoon on the other.  Despite occasional glimpses, most of the homes were obscured by tall ficus hedges and vine covered walls.  A web site about the Lake Trail described it as the Trail of Conspicuous Consumption – quite apt!  But it was a delightful bicycle ride with cool breezes and mid- 70’s temp.

  Our next destination was The Breakers, the most luxurious hotel we’ve ever seen.   The long drive approaching the hotel, called a coconut walk because of the columns of coconut palms, is also lined with  gardens and leads to an Italian fountain near the entrance.  The lobby is breathtaking with its barrel vaulted ceiling and elegant furnishings. 

Having spent a delightful day bicycling about 15 miles and enjoying the pleasant weather and sights of Palm Beach, we loaded our bikes on the truck and returned to John Prince County Park.

 

                                                                                                       To see a map of our Palm Beach bike ride including the Lake Trail, click here.

Click here to see photos of our Palm Beach bike ride, the Breakers Hotel, and City Place.

Country Coach Rally at The Great Outdoors

 

The Southeast Country Coachers winter rally was scheduled at Titusville, FL at The Great Outdoors during our Florida RV trip and we elected to drive 200 miles north to attend it.  This group is comprised of people who own Country Coach motor homes and the club has 3 or 4 rallies per year.  We enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new members including a tribologist and a trans-Atlantic airline pilot.

On Saturday Irene went with the ladies to historic Cocoa while George hung out with some guys who were helping George Sanders work on his Hydro-Hot heating system.

On Sunday morning we visited with some old friends from our Overland club who live in The Great Outdoors, and then we headed south to John Prince Park in Lake Worth.

Moving on up the State

 

We left Key West on George’s birthday, Thursday, January 21, and drove to Miami Everglades RV Park, southwest of Miami.  We bicycled at  South Point Park and South Beach  and ate lunch there on Friday.  The real estate was definitely uptown!

Then we continued north to C. B. Smith County Park in Pembroke Pines near Ft. Lauderdale.  We planned to be there during the 4th weekend of January because of the chili cook-off and the entertainment for it.  (Last year Alan Jackson performed.) As it turned out, we weren’t interested in seeing this year’s performers, and 25,000 people descended on C. B. Smith park for the chili cook-off.  Never again!  Jim and Hope were awakened at 3:00 a.m. by music from Confederate flaggers attending the event.

We enjoyed the Water Taxi Tour in Ft. Lauderdale, bicycling on the boardwalk at Hollywood Beach and also at Ft. Lauderdale Beach and Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, an oasis of tropical hammocks adjacent to the beach.  Jim and Hope headed home from here and stopped at Shark Valley on the Tamiami Trail to bicycle the 15 mile loop trail thru the Everglades

George and Irene had another day in the  Ft. Lauderdale area and dined at Chef’s Palette Cafe and Grill of the International Culinary School, a delicious and enjoyable experience.  After lunch we toured the Bonnet House next to the state park.  It was the winter home of 2 artists and was decorated in a very whimsical way and included some of their work.