Toni's Tribute to All Countries, But Mostly America

 Three amazing things:  1- Family, 2- A week at Walt Disney World, and 3- A week at WDW with my family!  Too cool for words.  We're exhausted, sick & tired of fast food, and broke.  But what a way to go broke!  The sad part = we have to leave...boo!  The good part = we'll be together again shortly for a Disney Cruise...yah!  That my family love me and love each other and that we can spend a hectic crazy week in a  crowded hot chaotic environment and still be patient and kind to each other is impressive.   I love my family! Good deeds:  Can't say we did anything tremendously commendable, but we were constantly looking for the small things:  folks to let into line in front of us, thoughtful patient gestures in the crowd, the cleaning of tables as we departed.  Also, we paid for several treats for the kids and grandkids. Back to looking for hard core kindness opportunities next week.  We miss Bambi and her comfo...

 The last three days have been spent in cleaning up our gear from our outstanding Dry Tortugas camping trip and regrouping for the next phase of this incredible journey...a week in Walt Disney World with 3 of my kids and half of my grandkids.  It was with heavy hearts that we left the best campground we've been in, Long Pine Key in The Florida Everglades.  What a fabulous 2 weeks we had there; the campsites were spacious and quiet, clean and lovely, the staff kind and happy, the setting unbeatably gorgeous.   Ending up in Kissimmee for the week with the kids, we ran into a major snag.  From research I'd done months ago, I was confident the trailer could rest on the driveway of our AirBnB close to WDW.  But no, there is not enough room on the short narrow driveway.  Alas, Plans B, C, and D failed me also.  Seems more people have come to this area for President's Day Weekend and Spring Break than can fit; every storage facility and/or RV park w...

  Dry Tortugas National Park; otherworldly, ghostly, hauntingly beguiling, a stalwart monument to American ingenuity and resourcefulness, remote, wild, and intensely beautiful, the park is all of this and more. At the outset, overnight parking in Key West where we caught the ferry was a major concern of ours as we were told last minute that our truck was too tall to fit into the long-term garage, so we scrambled: asked camp host Mr Incredible to rent us his vehicle, checked into peer-to-peer car rentals through Turo, and finally drove to Key West to assess the situation. After a great deal of wasted time and stress, we discovered the truck actually would fit (barely), so we arose at 04:30, unloaded our camping gear at 0600, and boarded the Yankee Freedom for a 2 hr boat trip to Fort Jefferson on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas. I was so excited to finally be here that I fairly trembled. Ten of us were permitted to overnight camp on the island, so we found a perfect camp spot and th...

 Just what is the difference between a key (cay) and an island, you ask?  Well, I asked too, and here's what I learned. An island is formed from changes in land masses, so geologically.  Think volcanoes and Hawaii.  A key is formed biologically when plants and trees spring from a reef which is also composed of living organisms. The Florida Keys are comprised of 800 mangrove and palm islands formed along a 100+ mile reef, an outstanding formation with exquisite beauty.  Leaving the mainland, one drives the 113 mile Highway 1 also known famously as The Overseas Highway which was built in 1912 as a rail line from Key Largo in the east to Key West in the...um, the west.   First, please allow me to interject a word about yesterday.  Once a week I've scheduled a P-Day, a preparation day where we do laundry, grocery shop, gas up, run errands, and cook & freeze meals for the day ahead.  I was so proud of myself for finding the cleanest most effic...

Three amazing things:  1- A thunderstorm in The Everglades is a wonderful thrill to experience.  The lightning flashed nearly on top of us from monstrous low clouds followed by booming clashing thunder which roiled and rolled across the vast dark sky.  And then the rain unleashed and came in torrents.  Roads were swamped, rain came in through our wee windows, and I looked with sadness across the way at the two poor young couple camping in their tent on the wet ground as the rain drenched them and everything they owned.  Eventually, they gave up, struck their tent and drove off.  Poor wet kids.  2- Aaron's favorite toy, his electric bug zapper, comes in handy each evening as the mosquitoes and assorted flying insects rush the door each time it opens.  3- Making friends in a campground is as easy as approaching a trailer and striking up a conversation.  Like minded good folk are all around enjoying this beautifully unique place on our earth....

 How can a day be any more lovely; dripping with sunshine, temps in the high 70's, warm coastal waters, stupendous billowing cloud formations throughout the day, and time spent at Biscayne National Park out on the placid waters.  The park itself is 95% water; warm, calm, clear, shallow Biscayne Bay where is found the northernmost of the Florida Keys.  We signed up for a 4 hour snorkel tour which took us to two spots near Anniversary Reef, and we swam amongst familiar fish and not so familiar fish for as long as we desired.  Was just lovely. Upon return to the park headquarters on land, we unloaded our own kayaks and spent another couple of hours paddling around the bay, watching fishermen from the banks, scaring up herons and egrets and ibis, and generally enjoying one delightful sun-drenched afternoon paddle.   Three amazing things:  1- Biscayne Bay is one marvelous place on this great blue sphere.  Far to the north we glimpsed the high rises of ...