I am up this morning extra early because I've still got a lot of packing, loading, shopping, etc. to do before heading out to Everglades National Park. As the "crow flies", my campground is only about forty miles across the water from Mark and Faith's. But...this being Florida, I will have to drive back up the Keys to the mainland, then back down from Homestead to the water (well over 150 miles in all).
By 11:30AM or so, I'm packed up and ready to go. It's been a great visit here, and I am sorry to bid Mark and Faith farewell...but there's always next year!
My first stop is Publix for groceries...pork chops, milk, marinades, skirt steak, some vegetables, and some of their great "Southern Style" Potato Salad. Next stop...a fishing tackle and charter shop where I procure a 25lb. block of ice for the cooler. With my Coleman "Ultimate Xtreme Cooler" and that much ice, it should last all week.
Then, a quick stop for gas. I'm hungry, and I don't want to leave the Keys without stopping for my favorite "guilty snack"...frozen Key Lime Pie on a stick. Tacky...yes, touristy...yes, but it sure did taste good!
Traffic is slow out of the Keys...and then the speed limit is only 35mph in the Park...so...by the time that I get to my campsite at Flamingo Bay, it's almost 4:00PM. I immediately begin setting up camp...footprint down, tent up, rain fly over...stake everything down (a smart move, as it got pretty windy). When all the set-up is finally finished, it's close to 6:00PM...just time for a quick dinner of salami, cheese, Cuban bread and a great bottle of Cotes-du-Rhone before bedtime.
As with most of my camping experiences, the sky here is absolutely clear...it's like you can see every star in the Universe. Unfortunately, my one complaint with "Winter camping" is the fact that the sun goes down so early...by 6:00PM, it's total darkness. And, while recent cold "snap" down here did a lot to cut down on the mosquitoes, they're still around (as the Ranger explained at the Welcome Center..."Ah, our Flamingo Campground is world renowned for it's mosquitoes")...wonderful. So, tonight, it's a few hours sitting in the Escape listening to the radio and knocking back a few beers. And...speaking of the radio...there's a new poll out of Massachusetts...that certain Senate candidate is no longer in a statistical "dead heat"...he's now ahead. It's going to be an interesting night tomorrow night.
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