Winter Travels 1

 January 9-16, 2018: Our Winter Travels this year were a bit convoluted in that we flew to Cocoa Beach, Florida to spend a week with our dear friends John and Mary Anne Larzelere, who graciously invited us to share their wonderful condominium at Las Olas (The Waves) just south of Cape Canaveral. A week or so after we returned we packed up our Evergreen trailer and drove it to Florida for its first extended stay.  Our week with John and Mary Anne was as relaxing as could be with walks on the beach, time in the pool and hot tub, puzzles, reading, lots of good eating, and conversations that never end when you’re with longtime, very precious friends.

You can always tell the Northerners in Winter. We were some of the
 few wearing bathing suits in the high-60 degree weather.

The pier just north of Las Olas always had waves and always had surfers in wetsuits .

The pool from the fifth floor balcony. That's me down there. 

Marv, on the Larzeleres' balcony overlooking Cocoa Beach. 

Marv and John riding north on Cocoa Beach

When we got to the Cape Canaveral jetty, we headed inland to the Lock between the ocean
and the intercoastal lake.  The lock is interesting because it flows into the ocean during low tide
and into the lake at high tide. The difference is about 7 feet here. Note the towering Disney
Cruise ship in the background, loading up passengers for a few days of Magic.

The white shrimp I had for lunch came off this boat.

Our delicious lunch was dockside at Atlantic Seafood Company. We earned our
lunch with our 11-12 mile bike ride.

Just north of Las Olas is Kennedy Space Center and in the area is a sort of safety buffer zone, cleared of residents and development, and even a small village known for its independent, quirky residents. Left to revert to its natural state it is now a National Wildlife Refuge. Both times we have visited Cocoa Beach we have driven to it and taken its winding scenic drive. The eagles that were residents here are gone now, after Hurricane Irma blew down their nesting tree. But there was still lots to see and because it was MLK Day, it was a free admission day besides! It was a perfect "last day" with our generous and gracious hosts.

John, Mary Anne, Peggy and Marv at the entrance sign.

We started with a picnic lunch, grateful for the warming sun on a chilly day.

Marv captured a great shot of this Great Blue Heron and its reflection.

Our first alligator of 2018. We didn't see many, no doubt
because of the temperatures in the low 60s.

Another great shot by Marvin of a Roseate Spoonbill in flight.

We were fascinated to watch the Spoonbills waving their distinctive bills across the
bottom of the creek to stir up food, and the egrets that followed them to share.

A nice red bellied woodpecker shot

I got out of the car and went to the edge of the bank to get this shot of a large gator.