OUR TRIP TO THE SOUTH DURING THE WINTER OF 2015

The winter of 2015 was record breaking with snowfall and frigid temps.  We managed to escape in between blizzards.  We watched out the windows for signs of climate change....anything that showed signs of warmer weather.  It wasn't until we reached South Carolina that we saw and felt the weather becoming warmer and signs of plant growth.

Finally warm enough to liberate the toes!!

We were so excited to see these daffodils growing
outside our South Carolina hotel.

Because of the still very cold temps, we weren't able to open up the rv for 3 days.  We stayed in hotels until we got to central Florida.  It was still a bit chilly but comfortable to start living in the rv finally.  We were just outside Orlando and had a very nice time doing some birding and went on an Eco tour boat excursion.  We saw lots of great wildlife!

Anhinga

sandhill crane

great blue heron

coot

baby gator

wonderful to see wildlife sunning themselves.  no need to hibernate
down here.

barred owl

guess who

manatees!!!

Princess Flower Blossom and Chief Warm Winds

Things didn't begin to feel tropical until we reached southern Florida and stayed near Port St. Lucie / Fort Pierce.  There we saw gorgeous flowers and scenery.  Summer really lived there all year long.  We spent 2 wonderful days with our friends Monica and Larry.  They showed us all around the stunningly beautiful Fort Pierce area where they have their amazing condo.  We ate out at the most delightful restaurants and visited fun shops.  Monica and Larry hosted us for dinners at their home and we really loved experiencing how they've been spending their winters the past few years. 

monica and pam

mario and larry

After a few days we continued on our journey to the south of Florida and the Everglades area.  We spent a couple of days visiting Katy and Juan at their palatial apartment in Miami and went out to a fabulous dinner and met their new friends.  

beautiful miami sunset

At our campground near the Everglades we were surrounded with such lush tropical plants and wildlife.  There were farms all around us and farm stands selling fresh tropical fruits and veggies....some i didn't recognize.  I was thrilled to use my Spanish at these stands since many people didn't speak English.  We visited a lovely botanical garden...Fairchild....and saw beautiful plants, lizards, and tropical butterflies.  Everything just wants to GROW down here.  Many things like bromeliads and orchids can grow practically in the air it is so lush and moist.   We added some more bird species to our life list.

gorgeous orchids grew right on the tree trunks. 

very cool lizards posing for pictures

at the everglades we saw wood storks

gators......there are NO GREEN GATORS.  all gators are
BLACK

purple gallinule

green heron

roseate spoonbills

Our next stop was in North Ft. Myers where we again met up with Katy and Juan and we went bike riding on the beautiful Sanibel Island.  Mario and I rode 15 miles.  Katy and Juan did more and their ride continued on to Captiva Island as well.  Sadly Juan took a bad fall and broke his finger.  But it didn't stop the fun....Juan took it in stride and bounced right back to continue enjoying the trip.  

The following day we visited Ray and Jane Leather at their stunningly beautiful home in Venice.  They showed us all around the lovely Venice area.  We ate lunch at their home.....a picnic out by their Zen like pools out back and then we toured the area.  Following that we biked all around their neighborhood and saw beautiful homes and birds.  Then we had a delicious cookout dinner and ate outside in the balmy weather.

ray, jane, and pam

ray, jane, and mario

The following day we went up to Tampa to spend the next several days.  We visited Tarpon Springs and Greek Town.  While there we had fun visiting all the cool shops and seeing all the sponges.  We also ate at a delish Greek restaurant.  While here we will continue biking, hiking, birding, and enjoying being outside and active and meeting new people who are like minded to us. TTFN!!