Wandering Wahls

After a hectic journey to the Florida’s Space Coast, we were able to enjoy the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. The nation’s largest festival, it’s well-run and well-sponsored, which makes for a wonderful and educational five-day event — especially for the kids.

Our visit to Yellowstone spurred our interest in wildlife (view our photos from the trip). Then, the Everglades National Park excursion spurred the kids’ interest in birds — so we have taken up birding. These interests led to our coming to the festival. The festival allowed the kids to dissect owl droppings, take a kayak trip through mangroves, learn how to identify birds, and learn more about birds in general (their habitats, food, life cycles — it was shocking to watch the pictures of a heron eating baby wrens, not a good life lesson for the kids).

In all, the festival was a good supplement to home school — and a great time. If you’re interested in birding, plan on this trip next year. We might even see you there. All of us even entered the art and photo contest and did equally well, winning no awards. But it was fun (personally, I think the competition must have been rigged, but I won’t say anything).

It was a great week, and it gave us a new family hobby (we even bought a spotting scope). Florida has been good — so good that we’re picking up Mary Claire’s brother and his wife and heading back to the Keys and Everglades National Park!

The trip from Grassy Key to Titusville, Fla., turned out to be a misadventure and learning experience. After leaving the Keys, we stopped at Biscayne National Park, where the kids completed the trifecta Junior Ranger program for the southern Florida National Parks. Along with the programs they did at Everglades and Big Cypress national parks, they were sworn in by the Biscayne ranger and received their patch for the three parks.

Lesson 1: Don’t Drive in the Dark!
Our first misstep occurred as we left. It was 4:30 pm, and we needed to go another 4.5 hours to get to Titusville, our next stop for the birding and wildlife festival. Mary Claire and I figured we’d drive 2 hours to Fort Lauderdale to make some headway into the next day’s trip. We also figured the RV parks listed in Fort Lauderdale in our RV directory would have openings. That was our second mistake.

Lesson 2: Call Ahead to RV Parks While in Florida in Winter!
And, if the parks were full, we’d find a Wal-Mart, because they accept RVs for overnight stays. That was our third mistake.

Lesson 3: Don’t Trust Wal-Marts in Florida!
First, we had ended up driving in the dark in heavy Florida traffic. This place is worse than Italy; the drivers are flying down I-95 like it’s the autobahn and cutting in and out of lanes (which drivers don’t do on the autobahn). Second, it became dark. Driving the RV while towing a car is not something I recommend doing in the dark; it becomes very stressful when you drive the RV off of the highway and onto city streets that seem to become narrower in the nighttime.

As we neared the locations, none of the parks answered their phones. We thought we would pick the closest one and pull in to use the nighttime registration (a common occurrence at previous parks). We found the nearest park OK, however, the drive into the park committed us to driving through the park to exit.

Once in — and committed to having to drive through the park to exit — we saw the “No Vacancy” sign. The park was full of “snowbirds” spending the winter in sunny Florida. We drove through tight streets between the rows of RVs and got stuck turning a corner — our tow dolly was about to clip the side of an RV. A couple from Quebec noticed our problem and rallied their friends at the park to our assistance. All I heard was “je suis” this and “vous” that as they strategized our way out of the park. After a wait, they had a plan. They moved a parked vehicle, disassembling a fence, and guided us to the safety of the exit drive.

A distance of about 200 yards had taken about 30 minutes of stopping, turning the wheel slightly, driving, stopping, turning the wheel the other way, etcetera — all in pitch black. The kindness of this couple and their squadron of French Canadian snowbirds was well-received and appreciated!

At this point, it was 8 pm, so we went to the nearest Wal-Mart and settled in for the night. I wasn’t comfortable, so I slept on the sofa. Sleeping is a loose term as I awoke at each passing car or loud radio that came by. At one point, I heard a noise that sounded like someone was taking the tire off our car. Fortunately, it was a car with a flat parked next to us and someone was taking the tire off of that car — at least I think it had a flat; I wasn’t about to question the legitimacy of the event. (I think I’m going to have PTWMPSD: Post-Traumatic-Wal-Mart-Parking-Lot-Stress Syndrome.)

At midnight, there was a knock on the door and a slap on the window. Mr. Tow Guy was there to tell us to “beat it,” because this Wal-Mart didn’t allow RVs to stay overnight. I didn’t want to ask how he would have towed a 41-foot RV that was towing a Volvo V70 Wagon, so Mary Claire and I made coffee and drove.

We made it to rest stop on I-95, parked among the big rigs, and had a nice, safe sleep (all 4 hours until morning). And we made it to the Space Coast Birding Festival.

Found it — Grassy Key, 59 miles north of Key West, Fla. That was a little Florida Key Humor (OK, very little, I admit).

Anyway, we went from dry-docking at Trumbo Point NAS (part of Key West NAS) at mile marker 0 to full hook-ups at mile marker 59 at the Jolly Roger RV Park, matey. The winds and weather were against us Saturday and Sunday for attempting a snorkeling trip. But, on Monday, the weather cooperated as we were heading out and leaving the Keys. We stopped at the State Park, hopped on the snorkel boat trip (5 miles to the protected reef). The sun was good, visibility at 40 feet, water at 72 degrees, but the swells were 1 to 2 feet with a strong current, so we had to work. The kids did great on their first snorkel adventure and had a great time. We now have a complete snorkeling family!

If you get down to southern Florida, do visit the Everglades National Park (camp at Flamingo, the isolated southern part of the park), and do go to the Keys, especially for the snorkeling. Snorkeling in the Keys wasn’t as good as what we had when we lived in Okinawa, but it was pretty darn good — and well worth a trip. The snorkel trip from Pennekamp will rent all equipment at a fair price.

Also, as you drive near mile marker 29 or so, look for Herbie’s. It’s a little shack with great food (why do shacks have the best food). The fish was fresh and the Key Lime pie homemade (and the best we had in the Keys)!

Next stop, the Space Coast for a birding and wildlife festival.

Following Jimmy Buffets advice, the “Wahlstar” hightailed it to Florida a month ago in search of warm weather. Today, we are in Key West — the southernmost tip of the U.S., Mile Marker 0, palm trees, reefs, beaches, and closer to Cuba than Miami. Ah, the warm weather. Except that our luck must have been left in storage. Outside the RV, the winds are blustery and the temperature is in the 60s. So much for beach and snorkeling weather, eh?

Our stay is good, though, even with the weather. We’re at Trumbo Point NAS for $12 a night, dry-docking it on the grass fields (with a great group of fellow retirees). We have easy access out of the back gate to bike to town. And the town is great to bike through and enjoy the local sites (the Audubon House, Hemingway’s House, and the original Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville store — I think this is the 4th original one I’ve seen, though). We had breakfast at Blue Heaven, where Hemingway used to referee boxing matches in the courtyard. It’s got good food, but it’s overrated (and a little aloof), if you ever visit. Overall, Key West is a great spot to relax, especially after a hard morning of road-schooling.

We’re off Saturday for a Key closer to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park to attempt to snorkel a bit there.

Florida, though pretty, is expensive. Not the cost of living, but it’s the tolls though that really take a toll on us. Between Disney and Cape Canaveral we went through 4 tollbooths in the span of 30 minutes — and they all charged different amounts. I’m thinking they make up a price and pocket the overcharge. I mean, who would know if you’re driving an RV while towing a car? I’m too worried about guiding the RV through the tollbooth to stop and count my axles. If my assumption is true, though, and we had different prices, apparently some toll takers are making out better than others.

The funny thing is after paying $2.50, $3.75, $3.25, and $7.50 (that stunned me), our next toll was .25. Now if that was supposed to be the toll at every booth …

Finally, Florida really hit us big my sticking a nail in our Volvo’s tire. As we were getting ready to leave Fort Desoto County Park, I saw that the rear driver’s side tire was flat (but only on the bottom). The neighbor in the RV slot next to us had a portable generator so I filled the tire.

Three hours later we were driving on the interstate and a car pulled next to us pointing to our rear and moving his hands up and down. At first, I thought it was just another MOAA groupie (we see so many), but we realized he was either telling us that something was wrong or doing an odd version of YMCA. We assumed the former, and sure enough, the same tire was flat.

After deliberating whether to put on the spare in the rain, we decided to drive a half-mile to the next exit. We found a Wal-Mart Auto Center. However, they couldn’t replace my cars V-rated tire (there’s a federal law against changing tires with alphabet letters above S). We found a Tire Choice in the same mall. Fortunately, they had no alphabet problems to speak of and were able to replace the tire — and without us having to take the Volvo off of the trailer. A half hour later, we were off with a new Yokohama tire joining our Volvo’s three remaining Dunlops, and our wallet $130 lighter (tires were cheaper in Germany).

As I write this, my family and I are dry-dock camping (no hook-ups for water, electricity, or sewage) in one of the Big Cypress National Preserve RV campgrounds. Big Cypress is in south Florida, adjacent to Everglades National Park and in the middle of gator and croc country! After a two-hour delay that caused us to arrive here in the dark, we got a bit lost. We finally found the park and are parked in the dark and rain while setting up for dinner. My youngest is putting his head outside the window using his flashlight to look for gators (we’re parked next to a lake). Guess what he found: An alligator swimming toward the RV and right at the light from Sam’s flashlight. All we see are two green eyes moving along the water top. I don’t think I’ll be taking the garbage out tonight.

Anyway, Florida is very nice. We’ve seen the Space Coast and stayed at Patrick, Eglin, and MacDill AFBs. We just spent a lovely three nights at Fort Desoto Park with a spot on the water. The park is beautiful, and we were able to visit its beach that was voted No. 1 in the U.S. in 2005. In between watching the birds and swimming in the Gulf, we met a family visiting from Germany. They had two children, eight and 11 years old, so our kids were able to speak German with them and play with kids their age, instead of adults who don’t know how to turn on a Gameboy. We also went to eat sloppy Joes at the infamous Sloppy Joes. (They were good, but mine are better.)

After a few days in the Everglades National Park, we’re going to head to the Keys for about a week. We hope to stay at the Navy’s RV camp in Key West or one of the state’s parks in the Keys, but we’ll be competing with snow-birding retirees.

Now, time to take the garbage out …

Most of you know the idea expressed in the title, but for those who don’t it is this — friends we meet during our military tours are friends forever. We have met people on three continents, sometimes for only a year or two, and sometimes we haven’t seen them in years, but when we see them later, the friendship picks up where it left off and we have the greatest of times.

We’ve had three of those experiences here in Florida. At Patrick AFB, we saw Flory Valley and her family. Mary Claire delivered their daughter 13 years ago at Nellis AFB, where Mary Claire was a nurse-midwife and Flory was an OB nurse, and Flory was instrumental helping Mary Claire deliver Joe (Florey was in the delivery room and helped me help Mary Claire — the breathing and counting was for Mary Claire, not me). We spent a few days with her family, got a tour of Cape Canaveral AFB where the old Apollo launch sites are and enjoyed catching up after many years.

Next, we visited Chris and Ann Monahan at Eglin AFB for a great Christmas. Our families were friends during our stay in Germany, and it was great to be hosted by Chris and Ann in the Florida Panhandle. Chris gave us a tour and introduction to the Air Force’s planes at Eglin’s Air Museum as well as a great boat ride on the Destin Harbor by their friends (Diesel and Linda — thanks you guys!) in a 38-foot Sea-Ray (I was too busy eating the food their friends provided, though, to see much). We also had a delicious “Turducken” for Christmas dinner — that’s a turkey, duck, and chicken all rolled together. And I thought we had shared odd food with them in France!

Finally, we’re staying at MacDill AFB while visiting one of Mary Claire’s oldest military friends (oops, I mean longest — they were lieutenants together), Pat Sweeney and her husband, Mike. Before I met Mary Claire, she and Pat were nurses together at a few bases (the ones with fighter pilots for some reason). After too many years apart, we’re finally seeing them and enjoying the Tampa area — and the kids like playing Pat’s Wii.

We’ve been able to see military friends living across the country: from the Grabowskis and Nearys on the west, to the Walters in Kansas, and now friends in Florida. Up next will be friends in Texas and Colorado. It’s a great way to see the country.

It’s funny how Mary Claire’s Air Force career has provided us with the ability to take this trip (paying Mary Claire a pension primarily) as well as many of the friends we’re catching up with on our trip. Who knew an Air Force career would provide benefits like these. Hey, maybe the Air Force wants to consider sponsoring our trip as a nationwide recruiting trip.

Our trip so far has enlightened us in many ways, from where to get a great Coney Island hot dog (at Coney Island Dogs in Fort Wayne, Ind.) to the benefits of seeing National Parks in the offseason. Below are some resolutions that we’ve derived from our trip:

• Remember the little things in life, such as double checking the tightness of the waste hose hook-up before opening the drain to release the black water, because they can be very important.
• Keep more hand sanitizer near the drain for the black water. 
• To look out for the bigger things in life, such as, when driving a car, do not pass big-rigs on their right side (that is annoying), do not pass them on the left and switch directly into their lane upon passing the big-rig (that is even more annoying), and do not speed up when spotting a big-rig turn on its blinkers to come into my lane (the most annoying).
• Before hitting the road, I will ensure that jacks are up, antennas are down, and kids are in the RV.
• Always keep your head up, at least on city streets, because there are low hanging tree limbs.
• Listen to an Irish woman over a Dutch computer: In other words, listen to my wife over TomTom (our GPS).

And, seriously:

• Remember that it is not always about the destination but the journey.
• Pass along others the kindness strangers have shown us (i.e., sights to see, tips to back up an RV, sharing a crab ring with us, lending us a car, and many other appreciated acts of kindness).

I was rereading the Disney lessons of life and thought of a few things related to the Disney World experience (where dreams are made … and wallets emptied):

• Do your gift shop shopping at Epcot. The various countries offer items that aren’t made in China and are void of Disney emblems. Animal Kingdom also offers some interesting items.
• Watch out for the stroller gangs! Families travel together with their young ones packed up in double strollers — and they are on a mission. Don’t get in front of these doublewides as they’re making their way to the night parade.
• Soon, there will be more adult scooters and strollers at Disney than people walking.
• Go to Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain during the night parade and Magic Kingdom. You can bang out multiple rides without getting out of the roller coaster while the stroller brigades are watching a bunch of lights parading through the park. (OK, the parade is fun, but continual Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain rides are “hecka” fun.)
• The best ride is the Everest Experience. I’m not a real Disney fan like the rest of my family, but that ride is fabulous. The best time to get in multiple rides is 15 minutes before closing. The rides shut down at 5 pm, but the park stays open so everyone can leave. On other words, you don’t have to be at the exit gates at 5 pm. So, from 4:45 pm to 5 pm,  the wait lines are less than five minutes, as most people head to the gates.
• If you have a young one who is scared of the rides, ask for a “rider switch” card. This card allows the parent who waits with the scaredy-cat to go to the express line after the other family members return — and the parent can take up to two kids with him or her. For Joe and Anna, they would get two consecutive rides.
• Finally, a tip for Disney. We kept hearing they are eco-friendly. If so, then dump the use of plastic bags in their stores. Everything comes in a Disney plastic bag! I bought a paper, and they put it in a plastic bag (I declined).
• One more “finally,” to end on a good note: it is fun!