I left Ocean City the on last Sunday of November. Right after sunrise in the morning chill, I drove under an ocean freighter in the Bay Bridge Tunnel to Norfolk, then safely through Norfolk, 600 miles down US 95 to Pooler (Savannah), Ga., arriving as the sun went down; then another 400 miles on Monday to Deerfield Beach, and now I'm writing this at the library in Everglades City and about to drive up the 26 mile dirt road to my camp site, Pink Jeep in Big Cypress Preserve.  I'll be there for 16 days, then on to the Keys.  I'll stop at the Lor E Lei for a couple nights, and then be in Key West for Christmas & New Year’s and for several weeks.
    There’s supposed to be a pot of gold, which means a wealth of Good Fortune to me. at the end of a RainBow, when I saw one over my camper on US 95 on the 2nd day of this Adventure #17.  I thought, I’ll  have the gold/luck from both ends and on this meandering for the next 3 or 4 months, I’ll utilize that!  I know that I am so fortunate to be doing what I’m doing, have the opportunity to do it, and that includes being born in this country.  So many other places on this planet an individual can not do what she or he chooses to do!  The day before I’d run over a curb and the vibration I felt later made me think I’d knocked the front end out of alignment. That fix could wait a while, but several weeks later when the tread came loose and walloped the underside of the wheel housing, ripping a wire bundle loose, I thought I and that curb ruined the tire.  (That and getting another tire gets its own article!)  Later I lost my tail lights, turning signals, and break lights, because of the wire bundle damage, then the other front tire caused the same kind of vibration that the one that had encountered the curb did and I had to replace it too.  The tread came loose on a paved road where I was the only vehicle and I could immediately pull off the road.  Had I been on an interstate in the fast lane, who knows, it could’ve caused a wreck.  The lights went out in Islamorada where there’s an excellent repair shop, Bill’s Auto Repair, and they fixed them.
    When the second tire went bad, I went to Bill’s, and they took care of things competently again.  Once again the tire could’ve gone bad in the middle of nowhere or on an interstate at 70mph.  Me not seeing that curb and driving over it probably had nothing to do with that tire going bad, so it wasn’t me.  Not my fault!  
    Other than those stressful black marks on Adventure XVII, everything went fine.  Camping in America’s Jungle, Big Cypress was glorious with shorts, Tshirt, and sandals weather every day in December and Key West & the Keys really worked effortlessly.  I paddled my kayak around Key West’s Zachary Taylor State Park, the southern most point in the USA and up the ocean side (Gulf of Mexico) to Stock Island, and around it watching the tropical fish beneath me.  It was like paddling around on the surface of a big aquarium in places! I think the good fortune bestowed by the RainBow is helping me even though the tire and light troubles have blighted things.  The Keys were not as warm as last December-January, but I didn’t need a coat, although there were some chilly days, but, of course, no snow!  The luck is still dominating from the background!  I’ll see how things go from here.
    My 16 days, Round II, in America’s Jungle, land of panthers, alligators, snakes, bears and more, 26 miles deep in Big Cypress National Preserve, after great music at the EverGlades City Seafood Festival the first weekend in February every year, was punctuated with chilly breezes, which limited me seeing many birds or other wildlife.  They stayed in their nests or dens where it’s warm and didn’t move around much.  Surprisingly, I did see a 200+ lb. black bear, a limpkin, and numerous 20-30 lb. wild turkeys.  Why were there so many turkeys this year?  Also, I’d think bears would be lying low, too.  I rarely know the reasons, I just appreciate the sightings.  One morning it was 33 degrees at 7am outside, but I was toasty warm in my nest (slide-in camper on a pickup truck).  The highlight of being here I think has been finding a grapefruit tree and eating the delicious fruit, which has so much more flavor than any that can be bought in a grocery store!  Here at the end of this stint in the jungle, I heard on the radio last Thursday that Phoenix is experiencing record warm temperatures this winter.  That was very good news for me and my mind started lining up the places in southern Utah, then today I heard that the Dallas Airport was cancelling flights because of ice and US 40 west of Amarillo, Tex., was getting a snow squaw and it was closed.  Both are right on my way.  I sure don’t want to deal with that; so much for plans!
    I have a couple weeks of my favorite spots on the southwest coast of Florida with lots more fresh seafood to eat, natural scenery to enjoy, good HHs with abundant ACBs, and it’ll be warm.  On the DownSide and Loving It!!!  Ask me about a free photo.
 
Bob R  o.c.FotoGuy
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