¡InvictaMoto!

After a trip we always like to have a rest day or maybe just a local day. Today we got up later and breakfasted before deciding to go to Fort Lauderdale beach. In the end we decided on a river boat trip from Las Olas. The trip is 90 minutes up the New River and as far a Port Everglades and then back looking at the expensive river side houses of the likes of Wendy of burger fame, Sunglass Hut, Alamo car rental to name a few. And Leonard Nimoy's house behind the Hyatt 66 hotel. The hotel designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. After the boat trip we had lunch in an Oirish pub right on the riverfront. You can sit in the shaded front and watch the boats go by and through the draw bridge nearby. It was on the return boat trip that Claire's camera started to play up. Taking pix but showing an error. We used the wifi to locate a Walmart and we set off.  I thought if we could buy a cheap micro SD card and adapter we could save the 600 plus pix she had taken and she would have one to use. In th...

First stop after checking out of the Blue Marlin was the Harley shop. I don't usually buy HD t-shirts but seeing as we are in the US.... The sale rack didn't have my size!  In the US I am only XL but they had large and the bigger lad sizes going up to 5XL.  I had to let Claire go in as I was in the car and it was a no stopping zone. Circling around  the block was opportune as the block was by the famous Sloppy Joe's. Quick photo. I have loads of black t-shirts and now have a yellow one too!!!  I'll model it later. Getting out of Key West took some time as they seem to be road working all over town and in patches the length of the Overseas Highway. We stopped to drop some tailgaters. It works for Lewis Hamilton so why not me? The old Flagler railroad is alongside the road in a long metal bridge. Our next stop of the day was at Sunset Grille on Pigeon Key.  As it was only about 1130 we wanted a coffee but lunch is early here and so we had an appetiser each. I had ...

What is there to do in Key West? A lot as it happens and not all of it involves lying on the beach. After breakfast by the pool, we got ready to walk ourselves into the ground. Firstly the Ernest Hemmingway house and museum. Another $22 to get in each, but the guide Rusty took a small group around and made it enjoyable. Little tales about Ernest and the four wives. And the cats. Check it out for yourselves.. Google! Six finger cats. We have them at home on the Romney Marsh. And after a couple of hours we dragged ourselves into the hunt for the post office to send the laundry card back to Punta Gorda (!) and then lunch. We shunned the chains and went in Sippin' on the Corner of Duval and Eaton. Nice place, best coffee so far... And an artist painting their walls. I'll see if they are on Tripadvisor!! It was another long slog back. In about 90F everything for us is hard work. After a swim where I found out that the ground gets hot enough to burn feet! Left aqua  shoes in Weston....

TomTom had a rather lengthy time set to cover 30 miles or so and we couldn't believe he was right. He was. We arrived at the Blue Marlin about 5.15pm!! We weren't in long before we set off for what turned out to be four hours foot slogging around Duval Street to the top of the town and then back the whole length of Simonton to the hotel.  We passed the Southernmost Point beacon and queue! The long line for people wanting their pic taken. Not for me!!   You can see it right? One stop for ice cream and another for a beer in an Oirish Pub; the most Irish on there being Claire Brigid and her quarter Irish bloodline! Still Guinness at the same price as at home? Not to be turned down. The famed sunset didn't happen. Too much cloud. Our dinner was at a Chinese place up the street from the Blue Marlin.  Not bad as it happens. Then a damned long walk back to the motel for TV and bed!  

Already? Time flies.  After the lamesville day yesterday and an evening watching John Boy Walton get married and three back to back episodes of The Middle, today is Keys Day. I dialled TomTom to take us to the Blue Marlin Motel in Key West and to avoid toll roads. So we left Mizner and headed south on 997. Over thirty miles of dead straight 55mph road. Boring. The main section between US41 and US1 seems to be Latino garden centre heaven. Miles and miles of nurseries. I used $25 of the timeshare visa on fuel. The Mustang seems happy on 87 Regular unleaded. And then we were on the Overseas Highway. In places you cannot imagine the view, made photographically impossible by the three foot high concrete side walls to the road, but is almost fantastic. I was  looking for the place I stopped in 1991 on the borrowed Kawasaki. I didn't see anything remotely like the dirt/sand pull off after one of the bridges. We pulled off at the Dolphin Research Centre on Marathon Key. It's $23 each ...

The day started off a little lame and bumped along lame street all day. We had decided with the Keys trip tomorrow for a few days that we'd have a quiet day. It started with a timeshare breakfast. Yep. We knew we'd not be spending a penny and there was a little subterfuge as we were supposed to be checking out a new apartment and the change to RCI system. The pay-off for us was a prepaid Visa card with $75 loaded on it, $20 being mine anyway. Two hours later we escaped as our home resort doesn't use the new RCI system and I didn't want to spend money. I activated the card immediately we got back to our apartment.  We went out again to Sawgrass Mills outlet mall. The name seems familiar. Bedlam. Memorial Day seems to be celebrated driving round and round the massive car park. I found a space relatively quickly by Avenue 1 entrance. Lunch was Asian Chao. I guess a play on chow? We had a walk about and checked out the stores. Bought nothing. A little stressed as TomTom kee...

Started off as a quiet day after the drive yesterday. Getting used to driving here should be easier than in France or Spain, but strangely, even with signs almost in a version of English I ought to understand, it is way harder!!! Today we chose to go the an animal park in Davie. Flamingo Gardens is a not for profit park,  where most of the animals and birds are rescued and are nursed back to health or given a lifetime place to live if they are too unfit to be released back into the wild. A couple of inhabitants are Josh. A tame black bear used for parties and education who now lives in the park. And Elvis. A ten feet long alligator that was rescued from a private home!! He was being kept as a house pet. Why would anyone want Elvis living in their house? There are many species of birds on site, many injured and not able to survive in the wild. Plus bob cats, otters and of course the flamingoes. We had a great time.