More Photos From Marge: SSK, WEEK 1, NOV. 30-DEC. 6, 2009

As we drove south on 29 on our way down to the Keys, we saw a huge black bear standing by the side of the road in the Panther Refuge Area. I am so sorry I did not get a picture of him—we have never seen a bear in Florida before. Hank pulls the boat behind the motorhome and I follow along in the pick-up truck. It’s always so thrilling to get to the first bridges and see that beautiful turquoise water.

We checked in and were warmly greeted by everyone at the front desk. Our section up front was almost empty except for Chris and Toby two rows behind us. We hooked up and then rode our bikes around the campground. Lots of great improvements—pool has been retiled, roads have been repaved, clubhouse has been resided and the new exercise room has opened. Hank and I had dinner that night at Chappy’s—the new restaurant that was opening at the end of the 7 Mile Bridge in Marathon last spring.

We’ve slowly been getting all our chores done and settling in. I washed all the screens and Hank scrubbed down the top of the motorhome. Chris has also been recoating the top of their fifth-wheel. A Newmar Rally has moved in and we are now surrounded by 60 of their huge coaches. Nice group of people and they are enjoying exploring the Keys while they are here.

The old bridge towards Bahia Honda is closed down and we’re not sure what they will be doing there. Also, the gate to the marina from Highway 1 is now kept locked and we think that we will have to drive by the tennis courts in order to launch our boat at the marina—maybe that will change in January.

This first week has flown by. I’ve been passing out the SSK Cookbooks to everyone as they arrive. We’ve been swimming twice and Hank was horrified to discover he had left his iPhone in this bathing suit pocket. (We made an emergency trip to Key West to replace it!) We’ve been up to Home Depot and the library in Marathon and bought fresh vegetables at the Flea Market on Big Pine Key. The grill has reopened and there was a party with free beer to celebrate that event on Friday. A huge storm came through Friday night and forced the Saturday pool party to be held in the Game Room. I also took photos of the flood at Blaine and Reney’s site—am happy to report the water was gone by the next morning!