http://youtu.be/oMNKbciLmRU
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| Happy Valentines Day Dale I brought ya something! by Dkowen |
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Be My Valentine from NatOwlLover ~Mice-A-Roni, the small & Furry Treat (8)~ (tm Tresbien)
As we approach Hatch, Here is our TripOWLcrown Spreadsheet.. thank you chatters,
moderators and LVOWLS for coordinating
over 200 guesses! Will you be the winner of bragging rights??!
TripOwlCrown Contest Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AlKMWcemVDtRdHY1WjBna0ptZTJRQjhlOTJ4TGVmWkE&hl=en_US#gid=0 |
More updates from The Googabout !
Our trip to, in & from Key
West
Feb 5th Sunday thru Feb 9th
Thursday
Driving to Key West, once again puts us driving thru Alligator Alley &
past many Indian villages. (That is what the signs say) We stop at one that has
a nature trail which includes a bald eagle nest. If Mom and/or Dad were in it,
we could not see them from the ground, but the nest was an awesome sight!
As we enter the Overseas Highway that connects the keys, at the 1st one,
Key Largo, the sun is shining & the water is that beautiful shade of turquoise. It was not
to last. While on the 7 mile bridge (YES, 7 long miles!) which connects Knights
Key to Little Duck Key, it starts to rain. First bit of bad luck, but it will
continue on all night! By the time we get to downtown Key West, the rain is a
deluge and the streets are flooding! No outside Super Bowl parties!! We watched
game in the comfort of our room, and although it was a great game, the last two
minutes were NOT. People were
saying they had not seen rain like that in 11 years, unless it was a tropical
storm!! It ended during the wee hours.
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| Key West Butterfly Conservatory |
Next morning we are off to
the Butterfly Conservatory. It was so full of butterflies and tiny parakeets
that they were landing on us! Next,
shopping & lunch at Mangoes, because Mike's favorite chef, Bobby Flay, goes
there. After relaxing at the pool, we got ready for the evening. Took a pedicab
(bike taxi~gotta feel bad for that guy, right?) down to Mallory Square. Too
cloudy for a good sunset, but watched the street performers & a Basset Hound who had his own
show! Afterward, we had an
authentic Cuban dinner at El Meson De Pepe. As we walked back to the
LaTeDa, stopped in at Mattheessen's cookie shop and bought a $5.37 peanut butter
cookie! OK, it did weigh a half a pound, and was SO worth it!
Tuesday is beach day! We walk to Fort Zachary State Park, passing 3 docked
Carnival cruise boats, We rent chaises, stake out our spot & relax. About 30
mins later, I feel raindrops, but vow to tough it out! Lasted thru a couple of
brief showers, but had to seek tree shelter along with everyone else when drops
got so big & plentiful that they were painful! In 5 mins the sun was back
out and so were we. The sun was so strong that even with water temp at 73* we
had to get in! Needless to say, by the time I got back to hotel, exposed
skin is RED. Just enough time to rinse & get ready to go to female
impersonator show that is at our hotel. It was a GREAT
show!!
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| KathyGoogs ToteAbouts on the Googabout |
Wednesday & Thursday are
for exploring the other keys heading back to the mainland & making our way
to Epcot in Orlando. We first pass acres & acres of Orchid & Bird of
Paradise Farms. There are more nurseries with more variety
& quantity than I could have imagined anywhere! Speed limit signs of
'60mph~day; 40mph~night' due to high numbers of nocturnal animals. As we pick up
Rt 17 in Arcadia, we pass by numerous orange groves, many tended to and some
not. We stop at a roadside stand & get a bag of blood oranges. Trailer
trucks going by us with metal mesh trailers full of loose oranges, off to the
juicers. We have lunch at a Smoked BBQ Stop, where smoked Mullet (fish) was
advertised. I was going to order it & then the cook says "I'll fillet it open for you so one
side is all nice & ready to eat; you'll just have to grasp the tail on the
other side & lift it upward,
towards the head to remove the spine!" When I realized he was serious, I quickly
ordered the beef brisket & then Mike ordered the Mullet! I made the better
choice!
'
We arrived at hotel in Orlando Thursday afternoon, along with my 3 owl
totes. R&D bag holds all our 'on the road' treats, Boone all our souvenirs
& Black Betty all our Beach/Pool stuff! Can you see the Disney sign in the
background? They are so excited to be here! We head off to Epcot in the morning.
