We're back home!

This morning finds the vacation over and both of us heading back to work. My father still can't believe that we took a car with *now* 275,000 miles on a vacation. We don't really understand why he would not believe it. The funny thing is when we got home, our Honda was acting stupid and Mike spent much of the weekend getting it back in order. Luckily, it just required a main relay fuse. The stupid thing controls the *entire* fuel delivery system!! We had a great time and are looking forward to going back down to the Gap in July to drive with the other Miatae at the Miata event. Here are just a few more highlights of our trip.

More Deals Gap!

These are just a few of the vistas and views from our ride. The pictures speak for themselves!

Deals Gap!

After spending the night in Murphy, North Carolina, we are off for our final destination, Deals Gap. It has been a long ride from Florida so I decided to make reservations at Fontana Village so that Mike can get the bags off the car and enjoy driving!


Because this is a remote area of the country, I tell Mike that he should stop to buy gas. Neither one of us have seen a pump like this in years! We had just seen a segment on Sunday Morning talking about the owners of stations that couldn't afford an upgrade to a new pump because of the money they cost...pumps go for tens of thousands and these places could never afford the costs. Yes, we bought our gas there and had no problem doing it.






We stayed at Fontana Village Resort which was surrounded by mountains and very nice. We got there around 11 AM and the staff was unbelievably nice, even going as far as checking us in WAY before the 2 PM check in time! Looking forward to going there again in July!

This is the North Carolina side of the Gap and a pit stop for the many bikes that come across it.









Here is my Dragon Slayer. We are at the top for a little photo opp with LILred!

HOTLANTA!

Yes, well I didn't check Elton's schedule to see if he was in town, but I really didn't care to get off the interstate either! These people drive crazy! It's the only city we drove in the south that I thought was positively nuts and actually a little more nutty than Baltimore!


Just a little of the city.

Alligator Alley

After our long drive through the Keys, Mike has it decided that we are going travel through the other side of Florida through Alligator Alley. A key point to this road because we certainly didn't see any signs....buy gas before you go in. (we had a full tank!) Breaking down in here must totally suck! You see nothing for miles and miles and miles.


For a while, the weather is sunny. It's just hot and muggy and we are thanking Joe at Accurate Automotive for fixing our A/C. We would have DIED without it!
















Things begin to change rapidly and it is not looking real nice outside.













This a picture of us before the pounding of rain and wind. Mike slowed up a lot and we got through it fine.
















If you look in my mirror, you can see the storm that we just left. I was very disappointed...certainly didn't see any alligators behind the fences, but then they certainly have and probably require all the real estate they are on!

Leaving Key West :(

Another lovely day when we leave Key West. This is a view from the top of the La Concha which as it turns out is the highest spot in Key West.






We have breakfast at the hotel restaurant which was totally yummy. At breakfast, we take time for the this photo opportunity.
















We are off on the Overseas Highway to a destination unknown. It's a long drive, so were not quite sure where we will make it to.
















The other bridge in this picture I read was the Overseas highway and railroad they had started to build before a hurricane that hit the Keys destroyed it. It is in various states of decay and sort of sad because it represents another time, but it makes for a neat picture.
















All in all, it was a very nice trip to the Keys....we hope to do it again sometime :)

Conch Republic Seafood Company

Mike took me to the the the Conch Republic Seafood Company for dinner...this was the view. We went while everyone else was at the Sunset Festival so that we could get a seat. This place is popular with the vacationers and locals alike!



This is me having a hard time deciding what to have for dinner. This place had way too many selections for me!
















Mike as usual knows what he wants for dinner, but then he had already been here when he worked at the base! No fair!







I opt for the stuffed shrimp. Trust me, this is the healthiest thing that has crossed my lips the whole vacation! Isn't saying too much, is it?!

















This is Mike's dish..it was the one I was also pondering....see above :P

Fun day at the beach in Key West

Mike and I went to the Southernmost point in the USA the next day just to do one of the touristy things you do in Key West!








We went to Smathers Beach. Smathers is a man made beach and the weather tends to erode it away every year. There are rumors that the sand is brought from the Bahamas! Standing in the water was like being in a warm bath!

The nice thing about being in clear water is that you can actually *see* what you are sharing it with. This little guy was hanging close to shore as he only had one claw!




I love palm trees...this is one that we laid under in Key West. The sun was so strong that we still got a little burn even being in the shade with sunscreen on!






We went back to the La Concha to get in the pool to cool off and have some refreshing poolside drinks. Let me just say that I love Cruzan Rum....we are going to buy some soon!