Ron & Deb's Florida Adventure

[addicted08]

Ron decided he has had enough of the cold, Iowa weather so we flew to Sarasota, FL to get some fresh (warm) air and sunshine. We bought a Honda Goldwing from a guy who lives in Siesta Key.

I know, it isn't a V8 but you can really fly under the radar on this thing. People don't stop you to ask questions or give you dirty looks because it is loud. Siesta Key was really pretty. This is one of the houses we saw.

And this is the house that the guy lives in that we bought the trike from. It was gorgeous! I has it's own beach and ocean view and an elevator in case you can't walk up two or three flights of stairs.

I have a new camera/video recorder so I am still learning and making mistakes. Hope to have more and better pics tomorrow.

[addicted08]

We drove down to Ft. Myers. These are pics as we came across the bridge into Ft. Myers.



The roads here have been amazingly smooth. We are really enjoying the weather, it was 75 here today. Compared to 20 back home, this is AWESOME!! More pics and bragging about sunshine and way above freezing temps tomorrow.

[Geezer]

I just knew I would first see that new trike with a "McDonald's" sign in the back-ground.

[AR]

"roads are amazingly smooth"

Maybe you just got on some good suspension for a change?

[V8 Perv]

Hey Geezer why don't you .

[Hogg]

Lucky man Ron, you and Deb have fun.

[sharp1]

a v8 chopper to a goldwing, next he'll be cross dressing

[V8 Perv]

Sorry Wildman you ain't gonna get rise outta me for that pic.

I thought it was a neat trick you putting the panties on my trike
so what the hell why not let you have your fun.

[addicted08]

On Sunday Ron and I went to the Everglades Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs. At first glance it looked kind of cheesy but it was pretty neat. The animals here are all rescue animals. We saw lots of alligators and crocodiles.



And turtles


And neat foliage



Here you get one of each, so you can tell the difference between alligators and crocodiles.


I even got to pet a baby alligator. Really! That is my hand!

[addicted08]

After seeing the alligators we drove down to Naples and explored the town a bit. Here is what the beach at Naples looks like on January 15th. It is still hard to wrap my brain around people sunbathing in January!!


I love the palm trees and the flowers here.



After exploring Naples we headed south and stopped at Jungle Erv's Airboat Tours. That was awesome! The mangrove trees looked so neat and it was a blast zipping around the water on the airboat! This is a pic of the airboat.



This is one of the routes we took thru the mangroves.


These are turkey vultures we saw sitting on a fence.

[addicted08]

After seeing the alligators we drove down to Naples and explored the town a bit. Here is what the beach at Naples looks like on January 15th. It is still hard to wrap my brain around people sunbathing in January!!


I love the palm trees and the flowers here.



After exploring Naples we headed south and stopped at Jungle Erv's Airboat Tours. That was awesome! The mangrove trees looked so neat and it was a blast zipping around the water on the airboat! This is a pic of the airboat.



This is one of the routes we took thru the mangroves.


These are turkey vultures we saw sitting on a fence.

[SRF]

Deb, thanks for the pics, looks like you are have a great time.

Shane

[Swiss V8]

Great pics Deb!

I remember when I was in Daytona, we stopped at a crazy golf place. They had all kinds of padded African beasts in their area with warning signs as if they were real. They also had a cage next to the cashier booth with little padded crocodiles, I thought... They WERE real!!! Around them was just a little fence.

But they really look cute that small

[Hogg]

Ron and Deb,

We used to vacation on Ft Myers Beach every year. My sister in law had a beach house on Estero Island. Your pics brought back memories. Thanks

[Puff]

Ron and Tennis Master,

Have a GREAT time there in the warm temps!

Enjoy riding those nice temps for us !!

[addicted08]

Monday in Homestead, FL was WET! It rained all day. So we rented a car and drove up to explore Key Biscayne. We stopped at a beach and saw this light house down the way.


So we decided to get closer.



It was built in 1855.


This was the keeper's house.


Here is the Miami skyline as seen from the highway from Key Biscayne.


By the time we got back to Homestead it was getting late. Ron thought we should stop for a drink before returning to our hotel. This is where he chose to stop. Surprised?

[addicted08]

Here is a pic just for Geezer. Look, there are McDonald's even in the Keys!

[addicted08]

Tuesday was beautiful in the Florida Keys! We had an incredible drive down highway 1 all the way to Key West.




We stopped for lunch at this place in Little Torch Key. Got to sit and look out at the ocean as we ate our lunch. Very relaxing and good food.


We found a place to park in Old Town Key West and the first thing we saw were 2 huge cruise ships.


Ron and I took a train tour of Key West and saw some amazing architecture. I love the brightly colored houses.






We stopped at the Southernmost point in Key West. I have no idea who the woman is ruining my shot.


After the tour we stopped at The Hog's Breath Saloon for a drink before heading back to the north.

[Elvis]

Thanks Deb.

[addicted08]

Wednesday Ron and I were in Miami Beach. It is wall to wall buildings (hotels mostly) and people.

Some of the hotels had neat designs to them or waterfalls out front. This is one I thought looked neat.

There are a lot of canals with houses built right up to them and they all have a boat or yacht right at the back door.




We also saw a yacht with a smaller boat sitting in front of it and a cruise ship. When you can see the water you can really tell how tall they are.

[addicted08]

Thursday in Florida was another beautiful day. We drove thru the country from the Miami area over to Sarasota. It was just like driving thru Iowa.........except for the palm trees.


And Orange groves.


And trucks full of oranges.

[addicted08]

On our way thru the country, we stumbled on a drag strip. There were a few guys running their vehicles for time trials.

[addicted08]

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I video taped a couple of the cars making runs at the drag strip.


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I also made a video while we were on the airboat ride.

[V8 Perv]

We are at the Sarasota Fl airport and for some reason I just
got chosen for some additional security screening. After getting
asked about 20 stupid questions and then going thru the full
body screener they told me they needed to check around
my mid section. So then this maybe gay officer
started feeling me up and down and playing with my love
handles. What really pisses me off is they could of at least
let some chick feel me up.

Even after this our trip to Florida was pretty cool even if
we had to play around without a V-8.

[hogv8]

What did you do with the Honda Trike ?

Jack