On to Key West

The gate keeper at the campground had advised me, "The showers are cold - but FREE." I'm here to tell you that they were indeed cold! Even at the southern tip of Florida, the cold shower was a chilling wake-up.

People had told me that there nothing to see in Flamingo and that assessment is pretty accurate - as far it goes.

There are no permanent residents in the unincorporated village of Flamingo.

Not only were all permanent residents were relocated prior to the formation of Everglades National Park in 1947, but, in addition, the entire area (including the marina and the historic Flamingo Lodge) was destroyed by hurricane Wilma in 2005.

Today, the marina has been rebuilt; and it, together with the interpretive center and campground, comprises the "village" of Flamingo.

In spite of the above facts, the 38 miles from Florida City to Flamingo is the only highway within the boundary of the Everglades National Park. If you truly want the see the beauty of the Everglades, don't forego this excursion.

In my opinion, the road to Flamingo takes you through the real Everglades, where the "River of Grass" makes its clearest statement; and so, even though there may, in fact, be little to see in Flamingo itself, the trip is well worth the effort.

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It was after 2:00 P.M. before I departed on the on the 3 1/2 hour trip to Key West. My hope was to arrive in time to catch a view of the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico, but it wasn't to be. Arriving at the city limits of Key West, there was nothing that could be done; I watched over the handlebars, as the sun disappeared below the horizon (as it turned out this would be the last time I would see the sun during my time in Key West).

There was still plenty of day left and after locating a campground on the edge of the city it was time to explore Key West's famous nightlife. Duval Street is the center of it all, and I was quite

surprised to find biker parking on street. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, I parked my bike and walked unencumbered.

The streets were filled week-end revelers, and for the first time I found myself wanting for a drinking companion, but I knew, with my bike still parked nearby "bar-hopping" would not be a part of my evening agenda.

Even so, I drifted into a few of the "finer" drinking establishments, ordered a club soda and listened to the sounds. It was still early evening and I couldn't see myself spending the entire night wandering aimlessly from bar-to-bar drinking club sodas and listening to music - no matter how great the sounds might be.

The next morning I broke campsite and returned back to the inner city to explore Fort Zachary Taylor and the Key West boardwalk.

Construction of Fort Taylor began in 1850 as a part of the southeast coastal defense system. At the start of the civil war the Union quickly secured the fort as means blocking Confederate supply shipments. It remained in control of the Union for the entire the Civil War.

Fort Taylor continued to serve the US's interests throughout the Spanish American War, World War I, World War II and for a brief period during the Cuban missal crisis.

At the time of my visit the fort was hosting the Fort Taylor Pirate Fest, and annual event much enjoyed by the local "pirates."

Following my brief visit to Fort Taylor, I strolled down to catch a glimpse of the famous Key West's Boardwalk.

On the way to the boardwalk, I was treated to the street show of a sidewalk musician. Always entertaining these street musicians and entertainers, are in my mind a vastly unappreciated American Treasure.

Aside from doing my own (unintentional) boardwalk version of the "Wedding Crashers," my stroll was short and uneventful.

Back on the Road - Fort Pierce

Realizing that I had probably been camping illegally, and not wishing to push my luck, and get in trouble for trespassing, I got up early and abandon my habitat.

The days were now disappearing fast and I was beginning to fear that it would not be possible to make the entire loop, from Daytona to Key West, through the Everglades National Park and on to New Orleans, prior to the 16th of December (the date of the scheduled flight back to Michigan).

A plan was needed, but "planning" was not part of my plan. Discovering things along the way that you never expected, is what makes traveling exciting.

On the other hand, despite my above comment, I've sometimes regretted my lack of planning (or at least a failure to research ahead of time) which has caused me to miss things that should not have been missed.

In spite of the need to pick up the pace, it seemed foolish to just drive pass by the Cape Canaveral National Seashore and Merit Island without having a look. To at least get a peak, from a distance, at the launch pad at the Kennedy Space Center, that alone would seem to make it worth the effort.

Merit Island is mostly a bird watcher's paradise, but as much as I like wildlife, that's just not my forte.

Perhaps because there is a toll to get to the beach, Cape Canaveral, was pretty desolate. Save a few shore fisherman spread out along the way, the beach was deserted.

As expected, the launch pad was clearly visible and actually closer than anticipated. Surprisingly, with no visible signs of security save a fence across the road and no trespassing signs, it appeared as though one could quite easily sneak right up the facility. I could only hope that I was badly mistaken. At the Merit Island Welcome Center they had said that when they were launching, "it wasn't possible to get even within a few miles of the launch pad."

Nonetheless, it would seem that the security would be tighter - "at all times".

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I don't understand how camping came to be regarded as meaning a - Motor home, Fifth-Wheel, Bumper-Tow Camper or "parish the thought" a Pop-Up Camper. Whatever happened to the tent, sleeping bag, log fire and warmed over "road-kill" (just kidding on that last one - of course!).

It isn't easy to find primitive (tent) campsite facilities, and when you do - you pay nearly the same as the RV'er. That's despite the fact that you're not using any electricity and you don't require a dump station. The tent camper only requires the use of the shower and bathroom facilities. For the tent camper to pay nearly the same RV'er, "It Just Ain't Fair".

To add to that, all too often (especially in the case of state and national parks) they close the gate at sundown.

I have four little questions for the state and national campground officials. Why do the campgrounds close down so early? Why should there be a gate at all? Why, do some of the parks not even allow tent camping? After all, isn't that what "true" camping is all about? Just asking!

As case in point, with some difficulty, I finally found Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, but it was closed and according to local authorities, they don't allow primitive camping anyway.

Faced with no other alternative, I stopped at a motel where (although it was only about 7:30) they were closed. Fortunately, (you may question this), one of the renter's in this the small complex of 5-6 motel units, was desperate for money and offered to "sub-let" their couch and use of bathroom facilities. John and Tricia were renting an apartment unit by the week for $175, but their check had not come through and they needed the money. For $20, it was a bargain. Their only request - don't tell their landlord.

When on the road, you do what you have to do - I rented the couch for the night.