Walk in the Park - Six Mile Cypress Slough

Grave Days -

Up about 7 AM - no breakfast as we are going out to eat later. And it was just over an hour to our next hotel so we were in no rush.

Finally about 10 AM local we headed into old Sarasota for breakfast at a place called First Watch. Good breakfast, our lunch for the day.

Before we left, I called our local dispatch to see if any of the RV's that came down for the show are heading back to IA. They are not. Dispatch wasn't too busy as they asked where we were :) (still in FL where it is warmer)

2nd stop for the day was a cemetery called Memorial Park. There was an office right at the gate and they were able to give me a map of the location. But ... I just glanced at the map instead of counting out the rows/graves. I started on the wrong row and then went in the wrong direction from there. Did end up finding it.

3rd stop also uses the Sarasota address, their National Cemetery. This one we have a location on so we do not need to stop for directions. Just to use the restroom on the way out. Did see some nice size turtles on the shore of a pond there.

From here it was a few miles to Venice ...

4th stop was a church. And FindaGrave says there are only 100 people here but they do have pictures of the name markers. I see the 'garden' area that was also pictured and walk the area a couple of times but only benches and statues, some with names on them.

Finally I go inside the church. Crews are working so most places are off limits but I do see someone sitting in the 'sound area.' As I get closer and they turn, I can see they are clergy.

When I ask about grave markers, they say no. Everyone is placed in the garden in a biodegradable way. Then I mention what I had seen on FindaGrave ... Oh, those are just on a wall inside the church.

... I did get my picture, but we also talked about genealogy and what I was doing.

5th stop was only a few miles from here in Gulf Pines. This place did not have an office but the marker was unique enough that we were able to find it. And later we did see one of the grounds keepers. The place is all marked into little area's but whoever is upkeeping info on FindaGrave is not putting that info online.

NOW we realize that even though we are 45 miles further from where we started this AM, we are also further from where we are going. And I hadn't looked close enough at a map to realize that being 20 miles from our next hotel ... the way the crow flies ... is going to take us an hour plus the way the roads go.

... and then there is an accident on what had been the 'fastest way.'

But here, now, sunset is not until is almost 6 PM so we still have daylight hours.

So our sixth stop is at Six Mile Cypress Slough. All boardwalk. We end up going against traffic/walkers. At one point I saw a guy with a '20# camera' and asked about it. Today he is going to take pictures of a horned owl. And because we re-routed our path, we come across him again ... with two others. And they showed us on their camera what they were watching. The owl was sleeping IN the top of a broken off tree, and with their lens' the face took up the whole camera. No idea what a camera like that costs.

The trail was a circle and there were no signs that said 'one way' but anywhere there was a split, the words were only on one side of the sign.

Parking was $1 per hour. We paid for two and used one. No admission fee. No change in elevation on the boardwalk. I'm guessing the boardwalk was wide enough for a wheel chair but not wide enough to meet most places. Did see one guy with a walker but that he could turn sideways to let people past.

From there just a few miles to food.

We eat at a place called Two Meatballs in the Kitchen, an Italian place. They did not have a sampler so I had lasagna. Right amount of spice, right amount of cheese and the noodles done just right. BB had fish something so I couldn't taste hers.

Leaving, we have to drive past the Best Western where our meeting is tomorrow. Lots of cars so not everyone believes or reads the reviews.

Another mile or so and we are at our Comfort Inn in Fort Myers. We had thought of staying here two nights but now BB has looked at the bank accounts and money has been going out a lot faster than it has been coming in this week. So we will likely find somewhere tomorrow night for about half the price.

BB did <> watch the load board today. Only one good trip, out of SC going to TX. But we are 10 hours away. It was gone in minutes. There were other good trips in different places of the country but not here.

Load board

US - 119

IA - 3

MN - 2

WI - 5

There had been a bunch of pickups in NC coming back to FL but all but one are gone now. And there is one truck in NC going back to IA but it is used. Not sure it would pay to drive out of route to get and move it. The rest of the stuff in NC is heading up the east coast.