Everglades, east side

After leaving the Keys, we stopped on the east side of Everglades National Park – and we weren’t disappointed. There were so many different kinds of birds, turtles, and plenty of alligators.

Fishing for Valentines

The owner of our resort treated us to two free tickets for a half day of fishing.  I’ve never really even been fishing before, so I was excited to give it a try.  We were out for about 4 hours with maybe 20 other folks. You select your spot on the boat and tie your poll up while we venture out into the ocean.  Once the anchor drops,  everyone drops their line.

 

The first couple spots we didn’t have too much luck.  Jason caught one and I didn’t catch anything, but our last stop of the day we had amazing luck.  We ended up with eight keepers and threw a couple back.  The poles had two hooks and  I caught two fish at once! It was a little chaotic to take pictures as we were fishing – too much going on at once.  I caught four in a row – all I had to was drop my line and right away I’d catch something.  One of the crew comes over and take the fish off the hook for you and it gives it your groups unique marking – for example ours was three on the throat.

Back on the dock they sort out all the fish, based on the marks.

Here’s our bounty…

We had them filleted, where plenty of pelicans were ready for the scraps.

Then we took our fish to a restaurant near the dock, where a French chef cooked a delicious meal from our own catch.

A very unique and memorable experience for Valentines Day with my hubby.

Wanderlust guilt

So, this kind of traveling is nothing new to me.  I’ve always had wanderlust.  My first big trip I quit my first real job and went to Africa for two months.  It was a big step for me – moving out of my house, storing my car, and the uncertainty of not knowing what would happen when I returned.  Would I regret quitting my job?  Well, the answer was no.  I loved the trip and have never regretted anything about it.

Jason shares the same sense of adventure as me and since we started dating back in 2001, we seem to go on big trips every few years.  We both quit our jobs and went to Alaska – twice.  We put our stuff in storage and took a trip up the east coast over the course of a few months.  This kind of traveling is nothing new to us. 

However, as we get older and more of friends have “settled down”, I feel more  guilt for my lifestyle. I know that I am extremely fortunate.  I hate that my friends at home are suffering through the winter, as well as their jobs.  I hate that my parents want to retire, but need to work a few more years.

Jason and I have intentionally planned our lives to have this freedom.  We always save our money for trips and experiences rather than spending our money on possessions. I’ve never bought a TV and we use Jason’s TV that he had as an undergraduate.  We have hand me down furniture and used furniture.  It wasn’t until 2009 that we bought a brand new piece of furniture.  We make do with what we have, resisting the urge to upgrade or buy things we don’t need.  We share a cell phone – a very basic cell phone.  We get basic cable.  Jason has never had a new car – always used.  When my car was totaled instead of buying a new car, we made due with one car for a year and half before I got my mom’s 1999 Honda. We’ve never had a pet, no kids.  We can live on very little money and are not tied down to our possessions or house.

Jason started his own online business that gives him the freedom to work from any where.  It didn’t come easily.  For years he worked full time and then spent his evenings working on his own business.  He still works a ridiculous amount – even on “vacation”.

I know we’ll still get comments from our friends about on how jealous they are, but it has nothing to do with luck. We didn’t win the lottery or win a vacation – we worked for it and have made sacrifices over the years to have the freedom we enjoy today.

Stormy day in paradise

We reluctantly left Key West yesterday, but were fortunate to find a nice little low key resort on the island of Islamorada, in the upper keys.  This morning is overcast and very windy, making me think how scary it must be when big storms or hurricanes come this way. We're right on the water, so after this storm passes, we'll be ready to enjoy the scenery and relax in the sun.  According to the forecast, by sometime this afternoon we should be back to the beautiful weather the Florida Keys are known for.  Until then, it will be a much needed work day for us.

Key West

The drive down to Key West was really beautiful. The water was a beautiful blue/green color.  It’s the kind of water you see on postcards and travel websites.  Driving down all the islands is fun, but it’s a small road with lots of traffic – this is their high season.

They have several of these things were you put your face in. 

To me, Key West is very similar to New Orleans.  A main downtown street with lots of bars and restaurants.  You are allowed to carry drinks around, but the crowd is considerably older.  I’d say we’re about 20 year younger than most of the tourist.

We still had a good time in the local bars.  Several were open-air patios. Even in February the temps are near 80 and the lows are still in the 70s.

We went sailing one afternoon.  Nice to be on the water…not sure why I did take more pictures!

 

   

 

We toured Ernest Hemingway’s home and saw many of the famous 6 toed cats.  It’s also fun to walk from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf – takes about 20 minutes.

 

Surprisingly, there’s not really many beaches here.  The shore is filled with marinas and mangrove trees.  Even the beaches that are here aren’t just sand to the water…there are lots of rocks and we’ve heard that it’s painful to walk in the water without water shoes on.  There doesn’t seem to be a focus on the water.  There are plenty of boats, but not much swimming, snorkeling, or kayaking…which was a big surprise to us.  I guess the image of Key West being an island with beautiful beaches is definitely wrong.  Maybe the lack of water sports is due to being the middle of winter?

But, the weather has been amazing and the pool area at our hotel has been great.  We’ve spent a few hours each day at our pool and then we take a cab downtown to spend a few hours and have dinner.  It’s a great routine!

Everglades National Park

Today we visited the west side of Everglades.  We took a boat tour through the mangrove forest.  This area wasn’t swampy at all – not what we expected to see.  In fact, we saw no alligators, turtles, or snakes.  There was a possibility we could have seen a manatee, but no luck.  Our only wildlife sightings were birds – lots and lots of birds. 

We briefly thought renting an RV and staying here would be a nice way to pass the winter…Can you image this as your backyard?

We went down a very narrow area in the mangroves. It really was beautiful, but the pictures don’t do it justice.

 

It’s always interesting how animals are perfectly suited for their environment. Can you see the heron in this picture? He really blends in with the mangroves.

It was a nice day for a boat ride – loving this warm weather.  In fact, even at 7pm we were driving with the window down in short sleeves.

 

Disney World

Well,in Florida, you must go to Disney World, right?  I’ve been several times over the years and this was Jason’s second visit.  We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort with the help of one of my college friend that works there.  We arrived in the early afternoon to a beautiful day and spent all afternoon in the sun.

The first day in the park we went to Animal Kingdom.  Here’s us In our 3D glasses.

On our way to Expedition Everest.  We were really nervous about riding that roller coast based off a show we saw on the Travel Channel, but it actually was fun – we rediscovered our love for adventurous rides.

Day 2: There really aren’t many adventure rides in Hollywood Studios, nothing like Universal Studios, which we went to last time we were in Orlando.  The Aerosmith rollercoaster was a lot of fun, as was the stunt car show.  To be honest, the other attractions were disappointing. 

We spent a few evenings at Downtown Disney. So nice to be in shorts and short sleeves even at night!

Day 3: Magic Kingdom.  There’s the castle way in the background.  The off season is truly the way to do parks.  We rode Space Mountain twice in about fifteen minutes.  Last time we were here we spent over an hour in line.  We rode the Thunder Railroad three times, each time just walking right up, waiting less than five minutes.

I’d say the longest we waited for anything was about 10 minutes, most rides we could just walk right up.  We’re lucky to be able to visit this time of year. Beautiful warm weather and no crowds. I was very surprised how many kids were here.  I guess some families pull their kids out of school to take advantage of the off season as well.

I really enjoyed walking the 1.5 mile track around our resort in the evenings.  I had a nice break from the computer because surprisingly, they didn’t have WiFi.  There was a single wired connection, so Jason occupied that most of the time.  I couldn’t complain that I had the freedom to relax in the hammock or walk around. It’s so hard to believe this is my life.