January 29 & 30 2016 - Leaving Florida

We both woke up feeling much better and Francis was surprisingly rested after his few hours sleep on the asphalt. We left the church parking lot around 7:30 and continued our drive out of the Keys. We stopped for breakfast at a Cuban cafe and it was delicious. The price was also surprisingly reasonable for what we had seen in such a touristy area. Feeling energized, we were ready to head out of Florida after almost a month. Big Bend National Park in west Texas is our next destination so we have a long drive ahead of us. We took a lovely scenic route on Hwy 41 through Big Cypress. A full day of driving brought us as far as Babcock Web campground near Punta Gorda, Florida. It was a very nice campground with lots of sites to choose from and a lake in the center. The price was right too at $3 per person for the whole weekend. We ate my leftover fish taco from Key West for dinner, got the truck set up and were asleep by 7:30.

We got up early the next morning to get back on the road. On our way out, we came to a section in the road that was completely covered in water from all the recent rain. We thought about our friend Greg who loves off road driving and then we made a u turn and went out the other way. We took a scenic route on Casey Key Road. Once again the homes were beautiful. It was another long day of driving. It seems to be taking us forever to get out of Florida. Ready to stop for the night, we went to the internet as usual to find a place to spend the night. We found a place with hot showers for only $10 a night so we pulled in and drove around looking for a site. A friendly gentleman with a beautiful black lab gestured us to the site next to his. Quick showers had us feeling much better after several long days in the car. We chatted with our neighbors, Rick with his dog Luke, and Jeffrey and his wife Kay on Rick's other side. Jeffrey invited us to join them for oysters and hotdogs at their campfire which we gladly accepted. I skipped the oysters but Francis really enjoyed them. They told us about the nearby town of Cedar Key. We had also heard about it from Monica and Irene and Curtis(the photographer from Wilmington, NC). It sounded like a cool place to explore but we were anxious to get on our way west.  Maybe we will visit it on our next trip. We said our goodnights and headed to sleep in the truck again. I am really starting to miss the tent but the truck is so much faster for these short stops.

Cuban restaurant in the Keys

Babcock-Webb WMA

Drive through Casey Key Rd