They call him Flipper (or Mitzi)

HE SAID: 
I  can't believe it has been a week since we picked up Pat's mom from the airport. We have been very busy running around Miami. The highlight of the week though was visiting the Dolphin Research Station in Marathon on the Florida Keys.

Where Flipper AKA Mitzi is buried

I wanted to tour this place when we where in the keys, but I was too sick. This place is totally dedicated to the dolphin. You can swim with the dolphins, have an encounter, and watch a show. I was excited that this is where all the Flippers where trained for the show in the 60's. I loved that show and was a huge fan of Flipper....(a lassie of the sea)

We also took a bus/boat tour of Miami. They really gave us a great trip of the city, pointing out a lot of the history of the city. It was a two story open air bus, that was great in the morning, but by 4 in the afternoon, we were all melting in the sun. It didn't help that I forgot my hat, so even though I been south since December, I still got a bad burn on my head. It was fun getting a tour of the all the "rich and famous" homes. For example the home below belonged to Elizabeth Taylor. The rabbit statute in the yard was given to her by Michael Jackson.

One of our favourite activities was driving down "Ocean Drive" in the evening. This is in South Beach and it is where the movie "Bird Cage" took place. There are a lot of restaurants along this strip and of course lots of beach bunnies.  Parking is hard to find. We thought we would be smart and park in a  parking building one night and had to pay a flat fee of $30.00....ouch!!

Pat was really good at finding us some great restaurants in the city and we loved eating outside if it wasn't too hot out. 

SHE SAID:

We have had a lot of fun in Miami.  I am surprised John didn't review the hotel we stayed at for a week - Design Suites at Castle Beach!  He went as far as registering a complaint to the Hotel and to RCI who put us up there on a certificate that we had.  If you know us well, usually I am the one that will move from hotel room to hotel room, at times leaving a hotel if I can't get it right.  I was in more of a Hakuna Matata mode, this week and left the fussing to him.  It didn't start out strongly to start - we lined up in a valet parking line (the ONLY way to park here) for about half an hour.  John decided to get out and get the check in process started.  He went to what looked like the desk and was told the check in was in the basement - yep, the basement of the hotel.  He joined a long line, which was being help up by a lady who was having a major problem and all three of the desk personnel were talking to her, with the line up growing by the minute. (the maids also shared the office space as we watched them bring their carts out while in the line up) Meanwhile I was inching up the parking line, and finally was able to tell them I was checking in, so I had to put the car to the side until check in was done.  I finally made my way to the nether regions of the building, and joined the waiting line.  We finally finished, and were given our key to the room - a real key - which I haven't seen in years.  I will digress to the origin of the building as the original Playboy Hotel in Miami - it has seen better days, but you can get a glimpse of the opulence that once was there.  Lots of oak panelling, marble floors, arched ceilings and chandeliers.  It is now condos and about 5 hotels sharing the building, with no one really taking ownership.  We made our way in the elevator, which was scary (kind words) with broken walls and no ceiling panel to our room.  The room was OK, until the bathroom - no toilet paper roll, and the tap didn't move to turn the water on - it spun...back to the basement to discuss this.

Our issue was put on 'the list for the maintenance guy' to be taken care of the next day, as he had just gone home.  Oh...also...THERE WAS NOT WIFI!!!  If you read our earlier posts you will know what state of mind John goes into over this situation.  The quest for connectivity comes on - perhaps this is why he became hyper sensitive to the place.

I won't go on much more on the state of the room - parts were great - the marble floor - parts were abysmal - the bathroom, but it kept on everyday for five days, as every time we made our way to the dungeon to report that the maintenance man had not visited our room, only to discover that 'he had just gone home'.  On day 3 quest for WIFI was solved and on day 5 the water in the bathroom was fixed - by the way, I had my own temporary fix by taking off the spinning tap and we turned the shower on by twisting the metal on the pipe.  

The best part of this hotel was the pool - warm, big, not overcrowded and the proximity to the ocean - it was on the ocean - the beach was beautiful white sand, with warm water.  I guess you can't have everything.  We will let you know the result of Johns complaints as we find out.

John has covered much of the week with Mom, great weather, keeping busy and smart dolphins - it's been wonderful!  We picked up my Aunt Dorothy yesterday (Saturday) and tomorrow we board the Norwegian Sun for our 3 week cruise through the Panama Canal to Vancouver.  We then hop a plane back to Miami to get the dogs and the Motor home.  I am sure there will be some adventures coming!  We even get to stop at the magical cruise port of Victoria - family, hope to see you - I have Noni with me :)

Can't keep still in Florida

HE SAID: Since we left Ruskin we have been on the go so much, we kept putting off our Blog update. Had a great time in Titusville after Ruskin. It was a beautiful RV park, but it really lacked trees and was hot and muggy. The view of the beaches, Cape Canveral, Cocoa Beach and the manatee will be well remembered. We have trying to see manatee in the wild for years, but have only got glimpses of their backs, or noses. We came across a great national park that had a perfect viewing spot of them. They are truly ugly. We are finally glad to have seen them, especially in the wild and not a zoo.

Our next stop was Orlando where we dropped of our RV for much needed repairs while we enjoyed a week in one of our time shares. (The dogs went to a kennel). The resort was beautiful. Pat loved having a real bath (even a jacuzzi) again and I loved the free internet and cable tv (my small comforts). 

We have already posted our pictures of Disney. Thanks to someone we met on our last cruise we got in free. It made the day less stressful and we had a lot of fun. Pat and I always say this is our "happy place".

Unfortunately we had to wait for an RV part which delayed us leaving for south Florida a day. At least we were able to get a free hotel room thanks to our points.

Next stop - Miami Florida Everglades RV park.   Located near Homestead (a suburb of Miami)...a former KOA campsite. I loved the park, but again, it was so hot and muggy here when walking the dogs after dark, it was like having a outdoor shower.

Didn't have time for much sight seeing , as we had to prep to RV for getting new furniture, which meant removing the old stuff. I am happy to report that I got it all out without breaking anything. Pat and I had to sit on the patio furniture for a few days which really freaked out the dogs.

Back to Pompano beach where after three hours, our motor home was refurnished with a new couch, a lazy boy chair and a new captains and co-pilots chair. The RV looks so much better now.!!! 

Pat had no where to sit to get back to Pompano beach so she had to follow me in the car. This meant though she had to follow me to our next RV park to save time.  This time we stayed for three nights on the Florida Keys (Marathon).  Both of us had never been there before and on our drive to the RV park we both got the same idea that we just had to have sea-food the first night. We found a perfect place with Snow Crab legs for the dinner special and the place even had live music. It was  a fantastic evening............

....until I woke up a two in the morning with major pain while trying to go to the bathroom. The next day was spent in urgent care where I was treated for a bladder/prostate infection. Didn't enjoy the fever that went with it.  Was hoping to see more of the Keys (I highly recommend it) but i spent the whole time there in bed....I felt bad for Pat. .....

We have now parked the RV, trailer and Dogs as we spend a week in Miami Beach, then our three week Panama Cruise.

She SAID:

It has been some time since writing.  We really have been on the go, and life has become a bit of a blur.  Lots of driving around Florida, and checking out different spots.  As John said, Orlando was a highlight, enjoying our day at the Magic Kingdom.  We took it easy, taking in more of the events and parades, and going on a few less rides - not as hectic, other than the millions of people around us!  Spring Break time = lots of children and very tired parents.  Use of Express Pass got us on the rides we chose and out of over 70 minute waits in line!  We left the dogs with a private dog sitter found through Rover.com.  I think that they has at least as much fun as we did, perhaps even more.  We received numerous pictures of their activities while in the Orlando area.  

We did find wild Manatee, near Titusville.  I also spotted a wild dolphin playing along the shore there.  It was so beautiful.  We had the dogs with us, they didn't bark, but were attracted by the movement in the water.  Thank goodness for leashes!

The Keys were gorgeous - I've never been there before, and will deserve a return trip, if that can be arranged.  John getting sick certainly put a crimp into what we had planned.  The first evening was like being in Paradise, with great food and music at dinner, perfect weather, but that changed.  Poor John was very sick with a fever over 40.  He got chills in the waiting room, and I felt bad for others that were waiting - I am sure they thought he  was extremely toxic, no way to let them know they were highly unlikely to catch what he had. I realized he was very sick when he got extremely chatty with the nurse, cracking jokes, offering his opinion - he had her in stitches - this is not John on an ordinary day.  While he was relegated to sleep and recuperation, I stuck pretty close by as it was very hot, and the dogs needed to be walked.  This kept me pretty occupied - I did find a beautiful dog friendly beach - Coco Plum Beach and the girls and I explored there.  They found more burs, and I think Kiri got a tick, and rolled in a lot of sand and seaweed.  Cleaning them up kept me busy for the rest of the day.  Thank goodness for modern drugs as John was out for only a couple of days.  I wasn't sure how I would get two vehicles to storage before our Miami/cruise time, without two drivers.  

We got the motor home and tow trailer stowed away, the dogs to their temporary home, and made it to Miami.  The hotel - Design Suites at Castle Beach is another blog...trust me...

While I am appreciating not experiencing the Canadian winter this year, as we get later into the year, I am finding the 40 degree weather (with humidex) quite warm!  There, I really did complain!

It is beautiful here, with flowers, green grass, leaves on the trees, birds, blue green ocean, the list goes on.  How blessed we are to be able to experience this!

The picture below is southern most point in USA...grabbed the shot as we drove by after the Dr. appointment.