Two Weeks in Florida

Leaving our rig at the Escapee Park in Livingston, we flew to Miami. Our first week we stayed on Key Largo at Anchorage Resort and Yacht Club.

On the southeast side of Miami, along Biscayne Bay, we visited the Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and toured Charles Deering's winter estate.

A day was spent at the Everglades National Park. From the Flamingo Visitor Center, we took a boat ride into the mangrove swamp and saw many birds.

We came across this large American Crocodile. The Florida Everglades are the only place in the continental United States where you can find crocodiles in the wild.

From our Key Largo condo we drove the 100 miles south to the end at Key West. This is a slow, beautiful and interesting drive crossing many bridges and narrow keys. There are lovely views of the water and beaches on both sides.

Ernest Hemingway called Key West home for ten years. He lived in this house from 1931 to 1939. He found peace and also, great physical challenge in the turquoise waters that surround this tiny island.

This is the Little White House, inside the Truman Annex. It was the vacation retreat that presidents, Truman, Eisenhower and Kennedy used during their administrations.

Our second week was spent at Fisherman's Village Resort Club in Punta Gorda. Virginia's sister Cathy along with Cathy's husband, Jim, joined us for the week. Together we visited the Edison & Ford Winter Estates and Sanibel Island.

One of the high points of the week was time with Aunt Florence in Sarasota.