Lake Okeechobee Bike Trip

For our motorcycle ride today, we decided to head down to Lake Okeechobee, which is about 50 miles away.

We started in the upper left quadrant of this map at our winter home in Lake Placid.  It was the coldest day we've had since we got down here in December, so we began the day with helmets (which aren't required in Florida) and jackets and with the heated seats turned on.  The sky was clear blue and the sun was out, but a north breeze was gusting, and the temperature started at 58 degrees.  

Heading east on Highway 621, we traveled through the caladium fields where things are beginning to grow.  Caladium bulbs are sensitive and have to be planted when nighttime temperatures are consistently above 65 degrees.  For everything you want to know about caladium, visit the website of the largest grower of caladium bulbs in the world Happiness Farms Inc. located in Lake Placid, the caladium capital of the world.

The waterways in Florida are numerous - every road seems to have a large drainage/irrigation ditch on at least one side - sometimes both, and a variety of wildlife abounds - from water fowl to alligators, turtles, and snakes, to human fisherfolk.

The city of Okeechobee is much larger than we expected.  If you are just trying to see the lake, good luck.  There is a huge berm around the entire lake, so you pretty much have to find a park or be in a boat to see the lake.  The main fishing pier and park in town has  a large boat ramp, rest rooms, a large parking lot, and a fishing pier with lots of room to fish and nice benches for seating.

We stopped to talk to the fishermen to see what they were fishing for and what they were catching, and they told us these were "Crappie".

When looking out across the lake from the pier, the vastness of the lake becomes apparent.  It is the largest fresh water lake fully within the United States.  Our motorcycle trip was 147 miles according to MapQuest, and from just looking at our circle and the size of the lake, it looks like the lake must be around 150 miles around.  We've taken a boat into the lake in the past, and it felt like being on the ocean where you couldn't see the shores, and yet it was shallow enough that we needed to pay attention to staying in the channels.

Back into The Blogosphere

 We've been busy this past year in spite of the rest of the world shutting down for the pandemic.  Since our default setting has been "social distancing" for most of our lives, not too much seemed changed for us.  We did have to modify our restaurant visits.  We have had several cars and trucks and had never eaten in any of them over the years.  Suddenly, we found ourselves eating out of a paper bag in the car, balancing food in our laps.  NOT FUN!  But work around the property continued as usual with the possible exception of doing a lot more of it.  My garden expanded quite a bit, we put in new fence lines, and Ron cleared about another 3 acres to mow.

If you have to move to a smaller house, it's nice to have a better view.

We realized things had changed when we the original "fourteen days to flatten the curve" seemed to develop a life of its own and we were facing a winter of truly being shut in.  Neither of us does too well with being shut in.  Then the looming election presented new possibilities and risks for our life, and we decided we should sell our main home while the market was good and we could still see a tax benefit from doing that.  That began a very hectic couple of months with a quick sale, and a huge move.  You never realize just how settled in you are until you try to move everything you own.  With us, it wasn't so much about clothes, furniture, and housewares, but tools and equipment too.

Our move left us still with the prospect of a winter inside for two people who live mostly outside and who are easily bored.  So we found ourselves looking for new adventures to keep us occupied. 

So we ended up in Florida for the winter with a pool where I can swim outside every day,

with a drone to experiment with, and a new motorcycle to explore central Florida where we ended up.

So my enthusiasm to start blogging again was somewhat diminished when I discovered 737 comments on my blog - 99% of which were SPAM, about half in Chinese and Arabic.  Yikes!  I diligently reported every single one as SPAM and deleted about a hundred individually before I found I could do multiple at once.  Still, three hours later I am just finishing and wondering if it would be easier to just delete the entire blog and go see what I can do with the drone.

A mid-winter trip across the country

After driving over 6500 miles in the past month, to a lot of the country, I have to say that we didn't experience the "crumbling infrastructure" of the country.  It appears to us that there is a LOT of road and bridge building all across the country.  My unofficial truck count is way up and things seem to be booming everywhere.

First stop, visiting my family in Los Angeles area.  Pretty area with lots of sunshine and an interesting little farm in the middle of the asphalt jungle.

Enjoyed a great visit with my sister and niece and family.

On to Georgia, where we enjoyed views every day from the house.

Sunrise in the morning. Wheel line over the peanut field outlined against the morning sun coming up. 

(East view)

• Sunsets and lake views from the front of the house.

(West view)

We enjoyed watching the bass fishermen boiling up and down the lake on Saturdays for tournaments.  It sure felt like Spring!

Lots of blooms and warm sunny days made me anxious to get home and get the garden planted.  It was warming up nicely in Washington when we left in the middle of January, and I usually plant peas in February.

Then we took a trip to Florida and visited our good friends Patti and Fran where it felt like summer.  I was really ready to get home!

OK I get it - it's still winter.  Too many years without snow has left us expecting early springs every year.  The sun is shining, and it's beautiful, but it doesn't look like I'll be planting peas yet.

Motorcycle Ride to Pine Island

As we came across the bridge onto Pine Island, we saw that they were still working on the new bridge.  We wondered if the entire road was being widened.  If so, what will happen to all the little houses and shops just across the bridge in the small town of Matlache.

The road is dotted with shops and restaurants, all clustered nearly on top of the road.

It's like they had a contest to see who could produce the most colorful storefront.

Past the village of Matlache, all evidence of town disappeared as we entered an area where the wetlands are being restored.  On a bike, your senses are all involved.  Here the smell of decaying foliage was very strong.

We turned north at the end of the road.  The north end of Pine Island is dotted with nurseries.  The swamp smell was replaced by orange blossom smell.  

It is always hard to believe a tall palm tree is supported by such a tiny root system.  Yet, they withstand hurricane force winds occasionally, as Pine Island is a barrier island.

Bokeela, another small village, sits at the far north end of the island.

Captain Don's Fish Restaurant is an extremely popular place.  In the middle of the day on a Wednesday, we had to wait for a table.

Our friends, Fran and Patti, were our companions for this trip.

Another day in paradise!  We are happy to be back in Florida, if only for a few days this trip.

Flea Market Shopping

Are flea markets a uniquely Southern thing or do we just not know where they are or have time for them when we are home?

There are at least three flea markets with around 1,000 booths each within 50 miles of our Englewood, FL house.  

The Red Barn Flea Market is located on the outskirts of Bradenton, just north of Sarasota.

 Clothes, clocks,

 jewelry,

 hats and Florida t-shirts,

 polish for your car or boat,

 wall hangings,

 food,

 stuff for the pets,

 lotto tickets, toys, 

 name plates,

 entertaining games for kids,

 shells,

 interesting decor items,

 fruit,

 veggies,

 used items of every description,

 plants,

 pots to plant them in,

 golf carts,

 golf clubs,

 a variety of plastics from China,

 belts, etc. etc. 

Something for everyone - I happily picked up a $2 watermelon, a $5 bag of oranges, a $1 head of lettuce, and a $1.25 basket of tomatoes.  That was all I could convince Ron to carry back to the car that was parked about a mile away.