US Trip Part 17 January 19 -January 27

Day 149 Thursday January 19
We slept in after a big day yesterday. I read a book most of the morning and Judy worked on a knitting/beading project. Hung our the rest of the day. Listened to the Republican debate.

Day 150 Friday January 20
Judy went to the chiropractor again. She is feeling so much better. Stopped by Michael’s to get some different knitting needles. We then went to McDonald’s to use the internet and have a bit of lunch. Then went down the street to Publix and got some groceries. When we got home I went swimming and Judy sat in the shade and read.

Day 151 Saturday January 21
This morning was laundry day. After lunch, I washed and polished another section of the motor home. Judy worked on her beaded/knitted necklaces. We had chili for dinner.

Day 152 Sunday January 22
Spent part of the morning making some more beads from shells from North Carolina beaches. Judy did some more knitting/beading of necklaces. Watched the playoff football games.

Day 153 Monday January 23
Judy went to the chiropractor this morning. Afterward we did a little shopping. We then went to the Historic Cauley Square Historic area. It was started by Flagler who built the railroad from South Miami to Key West. The place was closed on Monday. We did not think it was anything special. The area is being overrun by raccoons. We did see the railway station in Key West and some of the tracks were still visible. Then we went to Homestead and visited an antique/collectables store. Grilled pork chops for dinner.

Day 154 Tuesday January 24
Today the RV park had a cook off. I was one of the five who participated and we each were given three items--chicken, frozen spinach, and unsweetened chocolate. Three were men and two were women. We had about 2 and one half hours to make a dish or dishes using these three items. We could add any thing else we wanted. I made a casserole which consisted of a layer of fried red potato rounds, a layer of chicken pieces, and a layer another layer of potatoes and lots of garlic. This I covered with a creamed white spinach sauce and garnished with a little cheese and parsley. To use the chocolate, I made custard rice topped with strawberries drizzled with a sweetened chocolate sauce. Judy was invaluable in helping me especially with presentation. At the end of the judging, my food was selected best for taste, presentation and best use of the ingredients. Whee!!! For a prize, I got a pizza and a bottle of wine. Afterwards, Judy and I went swimming.

Day 155 Wednesday January 25
We got up early and went to the Flamingo area of the Everglades National Park. This was one area we did not see the first time we were there. At Flamingo is a pink ranger station visitor center, a restaurant, and a campground. Only a rare flamingo can now be seen here. Saw anhingas, rosette spoonbills, great white egrets, blue herons, tricolor herons, green herons, white pelicans, coots, osprey (nest), alligators, and crocodiles in several different ponds. Drove to some ponds and walked to others. We were planning on going canoeing but the wind was blowing too hard, but the temperature was 77 degrees. We stopped by the little pizza/ice cream store here at the RV park and picked up the pizza I won at the cookoff. So we had pizza and wine for dinner. After dinner we went to the movie, it was a History Channel movie about “The Last Mission” of the air campaign against Japan. Japan surrendered on their way back to Guam. There is a man here who is 94 and he was a pilot on one of the 124 B-52 bombers who took part in the raid and he told the group a little bit about his experiences. An emotional evening.

Day 156 Thursday January 26
In the morning I washed and waxed one side of the motor home. Judy did some ironing and went to a neighbor to get two pairs of pants shortened. We went to some other neighbors to visit and then invited them over for a glass of wine. Goofed off the rest of the evening.
Day 157 Friday January 27
Judy went to the chiropractor this morning. Afterwards we went to Zoo Miami. It turned out to be a very nice zoo. We walked around the paths looking at animals in their open spaces. There were several aviaries which were fun. We ate lunch at the Oasis restaurant in the zoo and were surrounded by “pigeon” white ibis. Stopped at a grocery store on the way home. Judy did great walking today. Hot though with temperature in the low 80’s and high humidity.