Island Woman's Culebra: Mañana Does Not Mean Tomorrow

I really didn't expect to be gone so long from the blog but that was then and this is now and I'm back! Pretty much. Back on Culebra the 30th of December, in time to go out on New Year's Eve, but the crowd of the night before sort of freaked me out and I ended up staying home for the first time since I've lived here. Maybe I'd been in the woods too long, but staying home with Cwim just felt like a good thing to do. And it was.

A bit of catching up. I can't really catch up but I can try. A little bit. Bear with me; there will be too many photos and I'm trying hard to make it not many at all. Not my forte...

The guys wanted to show me a place I might want to camp if I was in South Florida. It's an old, private rv place, well maintained, with every amenity possible and while it is nice in every way, it's a little too manicured for me. But knowing it exists is a good thing and a quick stroll (quick because there was a security guard who was going to be on our case in about 10 seconds) was informative.

One very cool thing was the number of tiny houses for rent.

I wish I could have gone inside some of them.

A bit different. I like it.

We drove around Homestead for awhile. At one point the plan was to go to Knott's Berry Farm. A little corny but I'd never been and there is an amazing bakery there. There was also a line of cars and people - a LONG line and LOTS of people. We kept on driving.

Along the way

Homestead is one of the gardens of Florida. You name it, it is probably being grown here.

Coral wall

And for the first time, I asked the guys to turn around. This house was just something I couldn't miss. It is NOT the Coral Castle you might have been to or read about, this is something else. If I had the one point four million to buy it and the extra two to fix it up, I'd be a homeowner in Homestead.

I would love to know the history here.

There are lots of fossils in the coral. Notice the big brain coral on the corner of the archway?

I haven't seen tiled floors like this since my apartment on St. Croix.

Was someone running a market out of here?

Beautiful work

The guys had to drag me out of there.

We were headed for a place called Robert Is Here. Long ago, this was just a cool country market. Now...it's a little slice of Homestead Hell. But I hear the milkshakes are the reason it's so popular. It can't be the nasty petting zoo or the prices of the veg and fruit in the market, insanely high. I don't know if Robert Is There anymore but the spirit of the place is not.

Yes, I think this bird really is that pissed off. As well it should be.

Truthfully, I don't think this is a joke.

I felt a lot better after we stopped at the Gator Grill. We didn't eat there but it was nice to just see an old Florida place without 600 people milling about. Funky spot, I'd like to get a meal here sometime, the menu looked excellent.

Hey, they can call me a dreamer.

And onward. We were headed to the Keys. Yes we were. At about 10 mph for about 25 miles. No, there was no accident, there were just people. Lots and lots of cars and trucks and RV's and motorcycles, all trying to get to the same place.

We missed our last chance.

One funny thing. As we drove along, passing the same people who passed us, over and over, this guy in his Jag, was just all over the place. Finally he tries to pass the people in the SUV in front of us. If you look closely, you can see the driver is too short to even be seen over the head rest. HOWEVER the passenger was pretty big. So when the Jag guy screams 'MOVE IT YOU F****, the huge blond guy gets out and tells him what he can do to himself. The guy in the Jag drops back, puts a hat on and tries to disappear. A lot of laughter in a lot of cars.

We finally made it to Alabama Jack's. My brother ignored the line and headed right in. I was right behind him. Robert was...I'm not sure but he caught up. We broke many rules I'd never break here (but then, if there was a line that long I'd either leave or...leave).

Amazingly, I did find the quiet spot. And the empty bathroom. If you ask nicely, I'll tell you where it is.

We called out to a place on Card Sound Jonny wanted to go but they were slammed. It was time to get the hell out of there. Or get out of the hell, however you look at it. Once upon a time...it was different here. Maybe we'll try it all again in summer.

Good bye, crazy South South Florida.

After a store stop we got back to Robert's and had a peaceful, delicious meal. Ahhhhhhhhhh.

Dinner's on!

And now put your jogging shoes on because we're approaching the finish. Almost. Pretty much.

Where the blimp is kept. The blimp you aren't allowed to ride on anymore unless you are a muckety muck. Which seems weird since the reason regular passengers can't passage anymore is supposedly safety risks since 9/11. Go figure.

We went to a sort of strange outdoor mall, I don't remember the name of it. I thought it was old, but it was only a couple years old. We were excited to see a Lebanese restaurant. The food was not so exciting but Jonny said the beer was good.