Finished polishing the motor home. After lunch we went swimming and then goofed off the rest of the day. The area we are at is called the “Redlands” because it is an area which has real dirt. There are lots of farms here growing tomatoes, beans, sweet corn, and ornamental plants. Some of the fields are more than 100 acres. When they harvest these fields there may be a hundred people picking. It is amazing to see such big fields of tomatoes.
Day 159 Sunday January 29
I washed the windows and Judy cleaned up the bathroom.
We went shopping for a few things. Quiet day.Day 160 Monday January 30
Today we went to Big Cypress National Monument. We saw more alligators and birds than we did in Everglades National Park. Most of South Florida had been logged of old growth Cypress in the 1950 so that in the monument, most of the cypress trees are less than 70 years old.
en so it is very pretty. This is the dry season so the water is receding and a lot of the flowers like orchids do not come out until the wet season.
We stopped at the visitor center and several sites which highlighted the area. In the visitor center the volunteers were from the Seattle area. We drove some roads in the monument which had been built by the logging companies.
At lunch we met a woman who had been kayaking in the Turner River and she invited Judy to try her kayak. So she did and enjoyed it very much. 
We saw two snakes today, a water snake and another one {poisonous?) on the road.
Fun day. Judy made omelets for dinner.Day 161 Tuesday January 31
In the morning we got the motor home ready to leave tomorrow. After lunch we drove to the Chekika entrance to the Everglades Park to see how far the fire spread. It looks like they got it out very quickly as the area was not much bigger then when we saw the fire.
Day 162 Wednesday February 1
We left South Miami heading North on Krome Avenue to highway 41 West. Then we went on 29 North to I-75 West to Naples. We got off the freeway at exit 240 and drove West to highway 41 again. South on 41 to Cockroach Bay road turning West a short distance to Hawaiian Isle RV Resort taking space 478A. This is a very nice place. Over 1000 sites here.
Drove 260 miles today.
Day 163 Thursday February 2
We spent the day checking out the park and relaxing.
When I went to go to sleep I felt I was not getting enough air when I was breathing. Went to the emergency room and they did lots of tests and found nothing wrong. I are fine now.Day 164 Friday February 3
Slept in today. We went to the club house to use the internet. After lunch we went to get Judy some yarn and needles for a new project.
Day 165 Saturday February 4
We had a leisurely morning. After lunch we went to the manatee viewing area set up by the Tampa Electric Co, power plant.
Apparently the warm water attracts the manatees. They have a nice viewing platform and a walkway into the mangrove swamp. There were maybe 20 manatees but none were very close to the viewing platform. 
And they only come up for air every 8 to 10 minutes. No good pictures. Lots of fish in the water. There were many tarpon there and some looked to be at least 4 feet long.
Saw one blue crab called that because of blue color around his claws. 
They had a butterfly garden with what looked like monarch butterflies. 
After leaving there we stopped and picked up a few groceries. On the way home we went past the entrance to the RV park and took Cockroach Bay road to the end. There was a boat launch and fishing area. A nice blue heron was just standing there ready to have its picture taken.
Day 166 Sunday February 5
We went to Mass at a new large church in Ruskin. After lunch I worked on making some cabochons and Judy did some knitting. After dinner, the neighbor let us come over to watch the Super Bowl. It would have cost us $75 for the month for cable. She unfortunately was a New England fan. The game was exciting and fun to watch down to the last seconds. I think I am glad that the Giants won.
Day 167 Monday February 6
I did some rock cutting and polishing today.
Judy started on a new knitting project.Day 168 Tuesday February 7
Today we went to Anna Marie island which is about 45 minutes drive from here. There were white sandy beaches and lots of small shells.
The temperature was mild, mid-70’s with light overcast and breeze.
We ate lunch on the beach and just enjoyed walking and watching the water and sky. There was a flock of cormorants, perhaps a thousand, and they all took off at once. Quite a sight. 
Before heading home, we made a short detour to Michaels where Judy got some knitting stuff.Day 169 Wednesday February 8
After breakfast we drove to a big shopping, garage sale, etc place called the Red Barn. It hat almost 1000 spaces and you could buy just about anything. It was very clean and nice. Spent about 4 hours walking around looking. We joked that it was designed as a place for all the old snowbirds here to have a place to go. When we got home we did the laundry.
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