Sonya's Blog - Day 203 - Traveling to the Florida Keys

Sonya’s Blog - Day 203 - January 11th - Traveling to The Florida Keys

It’s an exciting day as we are off to the Florida Keys. As much as we hate packing up, we are looking forward to this move. The drive will be exciting, because the keys are linked by a number of bridges and causeways. On the map, it barely looks like there is any land there at all in some parts. It is a two lane highway, one way in and one way out. We wanted to get out between 9 and 10 because if there is lots of traffic, it can get really backed up. We were not too worried, since we are traveling on a Monday, but you never know.

We got on the road at 9:45, so pretty good. It is a 3 1/2 hour drive, so nothing crazy. We just wanted to make sure we were on the road after morning rush hour and finished before evening rush hour. I had wanted to stay on the I-95 for as long as possible, since it is not a toll road. When we are towing our tolls are either double or triple the posted tow rate. We did have to get on the toll road at Ft. Lauderdale in order to avoid Miami (the I-95 goes right through Miami, right beside downtown) and we had no desire to do that. We hopped over at Fort Lauderdale and got on the toll road, for about 45 minutes or so and then we got onto Highway 1. This is the highway that takes us to the Keys and is not a toll road.

The good thing about being on the toll road is the great service plaza’s, that are easy to get in and out of. They have easy to access gas for big rigs and parking for big rigs, with clean bathrooms. They even had a nice, fenced in, dog walk area - with a dog water fountain. Here is a picture of Kizmet enjoying her break, with Blake filling up the truck behind her:

Soon we were on Highway 1 and heading over the first causeway through the tip of Florida Everglades National Park. We then headed over our first bridge and it was spectacular. Florida Bay was on our right (which is connected to the Gulf of Mexico) and the Atlantic Ocean on our left. I took a few pictures, but it is hard to capture the sights through the windshield of the truck.

Marathon is about 1/2 way down the Florida Keys and our campground is about 15 KM from the town centre of Marathon. We had a bit of an adventure getting all set up. First, there was someone in our campsite that had been assigned to us. The one next to it was empty, which was supposed to be the one our neighbour was to be in. They just put us in the empty one, which worked out better for us as there was more room for our big rig (not a lot of room). It was a pull-thru site, but we could not pull through. The roads were too tight and we couldn’t get a wide enough turn to pull thru. One of the campers from across the way came over to help us out. He used to drive semi’s, so he knew what he was talking about. He assessed the situation and thought we would have far more luck pulling to the front and backing in. There was more room to manoeuvre over there. Blake backed out and pulled around. This was a much better plan and we got in with no problems, then it was just a matter of tweaking our trailer so it lined up with the patio. Then we set up. Set up always goes much smoother than packing up, which is why we prefer it. Plus, we are in a new location so it is more exciting. Blake got to yacking with Ron and Rose, who are camping behind us. They are from Markham, Ontario and started talking to Blake after noticing our Alberta plates.

We had a snack and then went to explore the campground. The campground backs onto Florida Bay/Gulf of Mexico (not really sure where the Florida Bay ends and the Gulf Mexico starts). What a location, here is a picture of the kids:

Kizmet and I with the Pelican's behind us, she was making them nervous:

We then went to the dog park so that Kizmet could have a run around. Another dog came in, not long after us and Kizmet and he ran around for a bit. He was a bit too aggressive for Kizmet (which is really not too much, but she is a huge baby), but he still made her run like crazy. The kids headed back to the RV to continue on with some school work and Blake and I continued walking around the campground. We checked out he pool and all the other sites. It is a nice campground, but they sure pack them in here.

We had an early supper, because everybody was hungry. We had bought crab cakes, so we had those with some corn and leftover coleslaw. It was good. We then ran down to check out the sunset. It was a bit cloudy, but still pretty:

After supper, Blake and I headed to the grocery store while the kids did the dishes. The nearest grocery store is in Marathon, so we were gone for about an hour or so. When we got back, all the dishes were done. They watched an episode of Corner Gas because the wifi here does not support Netflix. Blake really wanted to watch the football game, but the cable connection wasn’t working and the office had already closed. He had to settle for listening to it on his phone. He was sad:(

I read some more of my Gaffigan book and watched some of the highlights from last nights Golden Globes. We didn’t have cable at the last campground and there was no live streaming of the show, so I have to settle for the highlights. That is fine with me, it is all the best parts.

Sonya