Bahia Honda Day 3 & Epilogue

 I didn't set any alarms, but Lucy did.  The day before she left her GoPro in the gift shop, so she was right over there when they opened at 8AM.   As they were some of the last customers the day before, they found it and she had to go retrieve it from the Ranger Station up front.

I got moving and took out the wet fly for the pop up and put it back up to dry out.   She rolled back a few minutes later, and we got all our gear for the SUP together.  Naya was still in teenager sleepy land, so off we went before breakfast.

We had to be off the site by 1, but I wanted to be well into the drive home by then, as the traffic on a Sunday leaving the keys is hectic at best.

We hit the water by 8:45 and off we went.  It was still and SUPER glassy.  Lucy had reported as much from her morning bike ride.  It was the first time Lucy and I tried to stand up paddle in tandem so glassy was a good thing.   Neither of us fell of, but.....

When we pushed off the dock Lucy dug in with her paddle and I wasn't prepped for it.  The sudden movement under my feet, almost took me off the back but I quickly adjusted.  From then on, she set the pace and I was matching her strokes so we were both pulling at the same time.

This made me really have to adjust to meet the length and power of her strokes.  We headed straight out in between to the two bridges as I saw a ball out there.   We got to it and realized the current was running into the bay like the day before.  We did a lap around the buoy and it said NO MOORING, on it.  We then headed to the new bridge as pictured below.

We farted around under the bridge in the shade and it was weird as there would be just a single car going over the bridge about every 30 seconds or so (early Sunday morning), and it would get REALLY quiet in-between.

You can see on some of the pilings that they have been reinforced. The new bridge was the first of the replacement bridges built.  It was built in 1972, so it is showing her age.  You could see some spalling going on, but nothing major.  I'm sure they check it all the time.

We watched a guy fish and just floated around a little.  We weren't real motivated and we knew we had to head in, cook breakfast and break camp.   The RR bridge is still pretty impressive to me as it is over 100 years old.

We got back to the campsite (carried it all in one trip this time!) about 9:45 and started breakfast.   Good thing I put the fly back up as it was nice and dry when we got back.

Rainy Pancake day!

30 minutes later we were eating pancakes in the rain.  Nothing is as delicious as a steaming hot pancake with rainwater dripping right onto it!

It rained for about 10-15 minutes and moved out again.  We packed everything up and were on the road by 11 something.

Traffic was good and when we got to Tavenier, I had Lucy check traffic and it said to take Card Sound Road as there was a 45 minute backup on the 18 mile stretch.   Some jerk probably had a bike fall of the back of his RV or something,  ha ha ha,    

We headed up Card Sound and it was clear sailing.  I remembered the big bump this time and slowed down so that was good!.   

We hit the turnpike and traffic was busy and people were driving like morons, but we made it home just fine around 3:30 PM.   

Bahia Honda Day 2 Kayaking

 After meeting Andy on the dock, I went back and we finished hauling all our gear over to the dock.  I manned the single kayak and girls headed out on the tandem paddle board.  Naya sat in the front and Lucy stood up.  We headed over toward the bridge and the current was running that way so it was pretty easy.

Lucy leaving the campground marina.

We made our way around to the bayside and headed to the east. over toward the cabins and bayside tent area.

Didn't take Naya too long to resort to looking at all the critters below.   You can see one of the cabins in the upper right of this photo.  The bridges are behind the camera at this point.

Right after this photo was snapped I paddled about 100 yards further to the left and saw a Loggerhead Turtle swimming.  It was going up and down every minute or so, I think it was foraging on things growing on the bottom but not sure.   I kept getting closer (got within about 50 ft of it), then pretty sure it saw me and took off as I never saw it surface again.   It's shell was about 2ft across.

We rounded the point in the above picture and got on the lee side of the island and the drift was alot slower.  Naya saw a tasty lobster and two sharks.  Both were baby nurse sharks

If you zoom in, you can see one of the sharks hiding inside the rock.   Nurse sharks are the only sharks that really camp out on the bottom.  Also pictured is a Blueheaded  Wrasse (upper right), a Foureye Butterflyfish (center), and a High Hat (lower center).    For one little rock, I was blown away at the number of fishes on it. I saw over 10 species and the rock was maybe 3 ft wide.

A different Nurse Shark a few minutes later. It was about 2.5- 3 feet long.

Another shot of the rock, the baby shark is still back there.  In the foreground is a Queen Angel, the High Hat, and a juvenile  Pork Fish.

Floating around the bayside mangroves.

I tried trolling for sharks on the way back.  Pulling her was easy until I rounded that point and had a headwind. 

Back between the bridges heading to the campground marina.  You can see some of the sites on the left and of course the old railroad bridge to the right.

Here I am, paddling toward lunch time.  We were out all morning.

Before lunch though, I wanted a turn at the SUP as I hadn't tried it since we got it a few weeks ago.  I just went around the little marina area while Lucy took some stuff back and got my flip flops (the dock was scorching hot plastic).

We dragged all the gear back to the campsite, then had lunch followed by a trip to the gift shop.   I got to walk as you recall the one bike was damaged.  We got ice cream!  I also went over to the nature center but it was closed.

This sand sculpture was made with sand from the beach right there.  It had amazing detail and was about my height.  I should have taken snaps of each of the four sides... The fish were life sized.

I went back to the coach and chilled out as it was fairly hot and I had been in the sun for about 3 hours already.   Around 5 or so I walked out as I noticed the sun went away and saw a big squall headed our way.   Lucy helped me secure the pop up tent by tying it off to various things like the GMC, a tree and the BBQ grille.  Also stowed the kayak and SUP so they wouldn't blow around.  I've been in the keys when these squalls roll in.  I wasn't disappointed.

Right before I started the video a big gust blew through and flipped our neighbors tent and lifted ours at least 6 inches up in the air.  Good thing we tied it off.   We spent the next 10-12 minutes each holding a side down.   You can see how much water is coming off the top of it.  It was raining pretty hard!  We also saw pool noodles and things go blowing by.

After it let up, we took a stroll around the campground to survey the damage.   There were a couple of awnings damaged and I did see one pop up frame mangled in the dumpster the next morning.  Beach towels and bathing suits were in puddles or hanging from branches lol.

Naya didn't feel like it, so the two of us pedaled over to the bridge to watch the storm move off to the SE and the impending sunset, which turned out pretty nice.   Thought this was a cool shot.  I probably should have gotten off the bike and got the trailer out of the shot but oh well, I didn't even stop riding.

This is the view looking south, the rain is off to the left (You can see the edge of it on the horizon).  Pics of course don't do it justice, but it was a nice one with a lot of color.  This is shot from under the bridge on the ocean side.  There were a bunch of people up there and there was lightning around, so I stayed down low.

The rest of the evening was relaxing, we headed back and made dinner and played a few games.  More rain was coming so I pulled the fly off of the pop up tent and stowed it.  Sure enough it rained a couple times.   I came out around 10 or a 11 and it was super clear.

We all walked over to the bridge and went up looking at the Milky Way and the stars.  There was a waning meteor shower and Naya saw two.   We watched the lightning far off give us a light show, and then the sky disappear with the next storm rolling in.  We hustled back to the campsite and called it a night....

.

Bahia Honda Day 2 pre-game.

 Saturday morning woke up around 7 something.  Got puttering along, made coffee, and got breakfast of bacon and pancakes started.  I cooked the bacon most of the way then handed it off to Lucy, and started pumping up the USS Nimitz.   What is that you may ask.  A 15 foot long dual SUP paddle board.  I also had thrown a 10 ft sit on top Kayak into the coach.  You can see both in this pic:

You can see the paddleboard dwarfs the kayak.  It took about 20 minutes to pump up the SUP and I was sweating by the time we got done.  We woke the child up and stuffed her full of bacon and pancakes and then started to haul our gear down to the boat dock.   It was an easy couple minute walk and I carried the kayak myself.  Decided on the way back, someone was helping as the last 50 yards was a little tough (the SUP weighs less but too big for one to carry).

In the process I  pass a guy with a shirt on sporting the Logo below.
What is important about this logo is that Robert suffered and untimely death in 2005.  He had become my surfboard shaper (I sought him out) only a couple of years earlier.  He made me an magic board that only a surfer would understand.  I had one of his shapes, broke it, took the pieces to him and discussed what I liked and didn't like about it, and he built me EXACTLY what I wanted.

Me on my first RS (the one I snapped at Reef Road, but that's it's own story) at Pompano Pier, early morning.

Anyway, you can imagine my surprise when I saw this logo walking by me on a dock in the keys in 2021.  It was just the RS logo, without the words and as the guy passed, I blurted out Robert's full name.  Of course the dude stopped in his tracks and we started to chat.

He introduces himself as Andy, and I use my nickname Sprocket.  He's says, "Hey I know you, you have a couple of Roadmaster Station Wagons!"   Um, okay, we obviously know each other!   Turns out back in the day (probably 10+ years), I sold him a rare 1970s Pat Mulhern (Florida old time pro surfer) model board that was probably shaped by RS.   His family is in the boat with the motor running and neither of us have a phone or pen to jot down contact info.  I tell him which campsite I'm on (the one with the Yellow GMC) and he says he'll swing by later and we can catch up (spoiler, it rained REALLY hard and he never popped in).

Crazy cosmic convergence.   I tell a good friend of Robert's about it after the weekend and he knows the guy too!  Hoping to reconnect at some point...the surf universe is small and everyone knows everyone one way or another...

So today is going to be a great day!  We schlep all the gear over to the dock and off we go.....

Bahia Honda Redux

 In case I have not mentioned it before, Bahia Honda State Park in the keys, is my number 1 State Park I like to go to.  It has it all, history, tropical landscapes, a decent swimming beach (two, and they are hard to find in the keys), and a commanding view of the area from the top of the bridge.

Saturday Sunset, post thunderstorm, placed for the header view...

Back in August or September, my old boss Detlef, posted that he had scored 4 or 5 nights in Bahia Honda in September.   I was jealous as I love this park.  So I thought, 'hmm, I haven't looked in awhile' and went on the reservation site.  Imagine my surprise to find a Friday and Saturday night open!  I almost immediately pressed the reserve button, but quickly checked that I did not have to work that weekend.  I didn't!   I booked it, then told Lucy I did.   At first she said cool, then found out she had a business conflict, however, in the end that worked out and she was able to go.  

As I took Friday off, I wanted to get an early start.  Too early and we would hit Miami rush hour, so I planned on leaving around 9:30-10.   We got out before 11, as we had zero packing done the night before.  The only thing I had done, was I had gassed up the GMC.   Here I am waiting on Naya and Lucy to move the car and lock up the house.  All systems are go!

The drive was magical, as there was light traffic the whole way down except for the construction in Ft. Lauderdale.  Once on the turnpike is was open roads and clear sailing.   The 18 mile stretch was a dream......until the last 3 or so miles.   As the coach has no AC while driving, you can hear outside pretty well as all the windows are open. All of sudden about a mile or so north of Jewfish Creek there was a new but disturbing noise.   

I heard it and asked Lucy, then Naya.  It wasn't constant so it wasn't a driveline issue, but it was loud and noisy.  Naya said it sounded like something hanging down and rubbing....She was right!

For those that have driven the stretch, there isn't anywhere to pull over.   No one was behind us as I passed a slow truck a few miles back and he was a dot in the rearview.  I pulled over at the top of Key Largo at the Visitor Center.   I got out and found that the tabs on the bike rack holding the bikes on had snapped off and Lucy's old beat up college bike and been dragged for the last 2 miles or so....

The rim was done as well as the tire and tube.  DOH!  I came up with a solution and we were back underway in a few minutes.....

Lucy somehow got this shot while driving over the 7 mile bridge. Both vehicles are going over 55 MPH.  If you zoom in, I think the driver of the other RV is checking us out, lol.  

Tommy and Hugo were the first out of the coach when we arrived.   They were ready to kick back and relax (Stuffy life is hard apparently).

After getting the site all set up, we went for a swim at the beach to the right of me in this pic, then took a shower and headed up to the bridge for the sunset.   This is probably my favorite view in the keys that is car accessible.

Well Mother Nature, had other plans for the sunset with storms off to the west.  The nice part was we had the bridge all to ourselves for the 45 minutes we hung out up there.  It's a shame you can't get out over the water anymore, but the bridge is over 100 years old and going back to nature.

We headed back to the coach and cooked up some dinner and tiki drinks.  We chilled out and played a few board games in the coach as it very cloudy, so not much star gazing.

 New Orleans

We stayed 2 nights, so we really only had the one day to run around and sight see.  As we have all been there before, we weren't in a rush so it was a relaxed day.   Of course we stopped in for breakfast.  My friend commented that it was crappy coffee and over priced funnel cakes.   I still enjoyed it.

Here is a pic out the window while waiting for the elevator.  the 3 windows all the way to the right was our 1 bedroom apartment.  It was really nice.  They had several buildings tied together to make the hotel.  It was pretty cool.

Look down the hallway.

Tommy doing a photoshoot at the pool.  It was in a courtyard between buildings that made up the hotel.

The night before it was dark when we arrived and I thought this area was enclosed and it had low LED colored lighting and looked pretty cool.  I never looked up until the next morning to realize it was outside.

Shot of Jackson Square.  We didn't stray too far from here all day, as the building to the right of the church is a museum we spent 3 hours in, then had lunch nearby.

After the late afternoon swim, Lucy and I headed over to Latitude 29, a full on legit tiki bar in the quarter we had been wanting to check out for the past 8 years...

Midweek, it was slow, which was nice as we had the bar mostly to ourselves and a couple on their honeymoon.   They were nice to talk too, as we chatted alot with the bartender as well.

I forgot which drink this was, but it was good, lol.   We had a few each and called it a night....

Next day, we only drove about 3.5 hours to her cousin's near Mobile, visited with them overnight and then headed home the following day, getting home a day ahead of schedule as the car was acting up and Naya wanted to go to her sailing lessons.

Only after I got home and looked at the car again, I realized my mistake with the coil and fixed it.   It has been running good since.....and I fixed the blend door motor (had to pull the whole dash out, what a PITA).

End of the Summer trip

 I have been lax in filling out the last part of our GMCless trip.   But in typical hooptie fashion, there was some motoring excitement.

Not sure if I mentioned the AC deciding to take a powder after out New Mexico shakedown cruise, but an Achilles heel of the Panther platform (Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car), is the AC blend door motor.   It went and we were stuck on FULL heat...  I found pulling the fuses and cycling the engine on and off would reset it for a drive or two.  I hoped it would get us home....

Before we left Texas, Lucy's sister went with us to a state park a couple hours away Mother Neff State Park .  It was ONLY 102 out and we made her poor pregnant sister go on several hiking trails.  They weren't very long and she was a trooper.  On the longest loop, I left her and Naya as it was near the road and Lucy and went back and got the car.   It was a small park, but had alot going on.   The picture above is a 30 ft tower built by the CCC.   There were a few other CCC structures in the park as well.   Part of the park was closed from a recent flood earlier in the year, but the part we saw was pretty nice.

Jeannie and Lucy on the trail

Lucy taking a break on the CCC stone table.

A limestone outcropping used by indigenous people thousands of years ago for shelter.

A nest of Daddy Long Leg Spiders the size of a large platter.

Naya about to poke a bunch of spiders with a stick.   She was disappointed they didn't jump all over her.

We drove back and had dinner and packed up for the trip home....

The next morning all systems were go and we got a reasonable start out of Austin.  I stopped and filled up with gas at the edge of town and off down US 290 to Houston we went.   About an hour in the check engine light started blinking and the car was running like crap.  I had Lucy look up what it meant and it said to stop or damage the engine.   I pulled into the next auto parts store and had them pull the codes.

Misfire on cylinder 6.  Ok, new plug and coil (individual coils) and off to the local park a block away.

98 degrees outside, I wanted some shade!   It didn't take long to repair, but it didn't make any difference.

I was a little stressed and it showed, 90 miles from her families house and about 600 from our destination for the evening and we had reservations bought and paid for....It was here I made a critical error.   I trusted someone else and did not verify.  The guy at the parts store told me #6 and proceeded to point to #7 cyl.....In the process of being at the parts store, he looked it up (I was starting to, then my Mom called on the phone with a question and then was further distracted by Naya asking me a question and never checked myself)....

So back on the road and it's still running like crap, but at least I know what the issue is, and running on 7 cyl won't kill the car and we still had a long way to go so off we went.   Along the way I called a friend who lives in Houston and has one of the cars,  He offered his garage and tools, but it was 2PM as we approached town and he didn't get off work until 5 so we pressed on......

The car wasn't horrible at highway speed and the MPG didn't suffer much.  The biggest issue was the computer cut off the AC due to the misfire.   So it was a HOT ride and my daughter got to experience life in the 70s when we used to drive for 3 days to Florida with no AC in the car.  

Terrible weather and a big traffic backup didn't help.  Post hurricane Rita in 2005, I worked for FEMA in Sulphur, LA . This came in VERY handy, as I routed us around the traffic backup on US90 and saved us a good 45 min of sitting in traffic.  It was still thick through town as others also knew this way, but much much less time than staying on I10.... After that it was clear sailing for the last 3 or 4 hours.

By the time we got to New Orleans around 9PM (drove took us 12 hours), I was in a bad mood couldn't wait to check in and park the car.  We got there after dark and got checked in, took showers, ate some food and had a cocktail and relaxed.   Lucy and I went out to Bourbon St. (we were in the French quarter about 2 blocks off it) and had a nice but short evening as it was past 10 when we left the room and we were whipped from the car ride......

Alright, Alright, Alright.

 So we got back to Round Rock on Thursday night at dusk.  Naya was still driving and I told her it was time for deer to start jumping into traffic and be super vigilant.  She was and we got to the house without much issue.  Lucy's sister and my BIL went out and got dinner and brought it back.  We feasted and had cocktails and generally hung out the rest of the evening.

This pic is here for the header and will make more sense in a bit.  Bear with me :)

Friday was baby shower prep day. My amazing sister-in-law was doing all the food for the shower and it was over the top.  I helped with a number of items, then got a break in the afternoon and hit a couple of local liquor stores, looking to build on my rum collection.  The rest of the day,  we went over to Lucy's aunt's who lives pretty close by for lunch.  

Saturday was the baby shower and it was really nice and my Sis & Bro in Law knocked it out of the park with a great event.   I was released around 1:30 PM as I had a friend in town.

As you may know I have an affinity for the last of the dinosaurs so to speak.  The '91-'96 General Motors full body on frame station wagons.   The frame and suspension on them can be dated back to the 1950s technology and by the 90s it was fully sorted and a great machine.   I have been involved in the community since 2007 and have personally owned 14 of these wagons and one Cadillac Fleetwood (shared driveline and many other parts).   Along the way I have met a number of characters.   One is Mike and he lives only 15 minutes from my in-laws in Round Rock.   Every year there are a couple wagon gatherings around the US.  As it turned out the day of the baby shower there was an event in upstate NY (the original Wagonfest).  It was there in 2010 that I met Chris.  I had known him from the wagon online forum but finally got to meet him (along with a host of others) that year.  Anyway, I kept up with Chris over the years (and bought a wagon, and said Cadillac from him).  He saw that I posted I would be hanging out with Mike in Texas and he hatched a plan.  

In the BTDT realm going from South Carolina to NY in July he'd made the trip a few times and was ready for new adventure.  His sister just moved to Alabama and I was a convenient excuse lol.

He bombed down from Montgomery, AL on Friday and got in town around 8PM.  I went over and fetched him and we went for Tex-Mex, then dropped him back at his hotel.  On the way to dinner I made a wrong turn and drove by the round rock.

I was surprised and told Chris that Mike would show it to him tomorrow (he did) as he showed it to me as well on an earlier trip (Mike is a great tour guide BTW).

I got done with the shower the next afternoon and headed over to his hotel and we waited for Mike to call as he promised sightseeing.   We had a few beers in the room and then Mike called and we headed over to his place.

Well both of these guys are OCD about their rides and it was fun to watch, two long time friends (online) meet for the first time as I have known both for over a decade.  It was a bit of the mutual admiration society as they both have impeccable rides (both wagons and other cars).  Chris had many performance modifications and here is Mike taking them all in for the first time.

After a few minutes we hopped into Mikes Suburban and went for a ride around town for a couple hours.  I have been to the Austin area about 10 times now, and I have to say EVERYWHERE Mike took us, I had never been to before (aside from the Round Rock, lol).

So Round Rock was part of the Chisolm trail.   

Round Rock was a crossing and watering place.  Apparently you can see wagon wheel ruts worn into the rocks here (I didn't go check, but Mike says there are there so I'm sure they are).

Different view of the Rock.

NW of town Mike took us up in the start of Hill Country to see this view of Downtown Austin he knew of (used to work nearby here and very cool).  I was close to the 360 bridge if you know where that is.

Shortly after this we slipped on down to the Oasis and took in the view from the top of the cliff of Lake Travis. It was HOT.

From there we checked out Mount Bonnell

Looking toward Downtown

Interesting info about the Escarpment that is the edge of Hill Country

More backstory on Mount Bonnell.

From here the day shifted into Dazed and Confused mode.   Personally it's shocking, but I have never seen the film, but now that Mike has taken me to half a dozen set locations around town,  I feel obligated.

He started by showing us a few landmarks  (including a diner that Janis Joplin got started singing at) Including the building from the pool hall scenes and some paint dumping.

How it looks in the movie

How it looks now 

Warehouse for paint scene

Scene from Movie

From here we headed back to Mike's to pick up the Wagons for the night.

Mike's wagon and Chris' in the back at Mikes house.  Mike's is very close to stock except for wheels and a few touches and SUPER clean.

Heading out for more Dazed and Confused locations in Chris's very customized Buick Roadmaster.  He bought this wagon from Georgia and it was rode hard and hung up wet with high mileage but a straight rust free body.  He had another wagon that was rusty with a beautiful interior.  He swapped the red nice insides into a green wagon and calls it the Santa edition (or similar).  Now before you vomit in your mouth, we have a mutual friend who bought and sold over 750 (not a typo) of these wagons over a ten year period and he had one that was special ordered in this color combo so this is now one of two, lol.

Also notice the instrument cluster from a 4th gen Z28 Camaro and the cowl hood.  I won't even get into what's he's done under the hood and with the suspension, etc.   There is ALOT of love and $$$ into this car.

So a big part of the allure for a really long drive to hang out with Mike and I was Top Notch Hamburgers.   This place is a time warp.   It is truly the early 1970s on this property.

I guess they shot a lot of the film here.  Anyway the owner is a car guy and has kept it as a time capsule (but the prices are not 1970s lol.)  and has many car shows.   Unfortunately, this was an off weekend, so only a handful of cars showed up.

The Caddy, is just like the one Chris sold me, identical color and options, but not the same car.  It was bought by our mutual friend Bill 'The Verb' Crovo in New Hampshire.  Well how did it end up in Austin you ask?   Well Billy bought a Corvette in Houston and this other Impala/B/body Ohana whose parents live outside of Austin bought it.  I'm a relative new comer to the family only being involved since 2007.

If you like the Caddy its for sale lol, lmk I'll hook you up with John the owner.

This awesome lens filter is actually Top Notch french fry grease on my lens.  I took the shot, realized and cleaned it up.  I kinda like it ha ha.

Chris, John, and Mike living the good life at Top Notch.

Apparently Top Notch is a good place to invite people to the Moon Tower.   Guess where we went next?

Well we eventually got there but first Mike drove us all over downtown Austin, past the Capitol building, down 6th street.  Cops pulled up on us and complimented the cars and asked if we were a club lol.   

We then stopped off at the Doug Sahm Hill Path, although Mike called it by a colloquial name I don't recall.  It was a big mound but offered up a cool view of downtown.

The big finally was the Moon Tower.  Mike kept talking about the party at the Moon Tower.  As I haven't seen the film I had no idea WTF he was talking about but it sounded cool.  We drove up there and well, it was a 165 ft tower with lights.   Essentially a street light, but over 100 years old, before street lights were a thing, 

I took pictures, but I needed space, so only have this download of John's pic of the ass of his Caddy and a post I put on his feed.

We were there for all of 5 min and the police rolled through.    I guess they thought we might climb the tower .   Anyway, that was the end of our tour and we headed back.  We followed Mike for a spirited drive up the tollway back to Round Rock.  I bid Chris a fair adieu, and headed back to the barn as I knew he had 700 miles in front of him tomorrow .