Miami to Longboat Key, Florida – 12/20/2014

December 20, 2014 (Saturday)

We got up at 6:15 AM – no way to end a cruise. We were in the group that kept their luggage and hustled it off the ship on their own. Most of the passengers put their luggage out in the hall the night before and would have to pick it up on the dock. Sounded like a tedious mess to us. We mustered in a lounge at 7:15 AM and left the ship right on time. As we serpentined through the terminal building, we were on an escalator when a woman about four people in front of us lost control of her luggage and it fell, which triggered an automatic shut down of the escalator. After a time we all just walked down as if they were stairs. There was a really upset staff at the bottom saying how everyone with big bags should use the elevator. We zipped past that unhappy fellow and wished the best to 3,700 plus fellow travelers behind us yet to get off the ship. When we left our car at the parking lot, the parking place had given us a big green tag to wear.  I stuck it to my hat, and before long we were in a van headed for our car.  The car was a little dirty but unmolested, as promised. We put in the address for our resort and headed out of Miami.

6:15 Good morning Miami, yuck.
6:15 AM – Good morning Miami, yuck.
We cleared the terminal and found others with green dots.
We cleared the terminal and found others with green dots.

We went North and West and finally picked up alligator alley – cutting due West across the state. We stopped for gas at the same place we had stopped last year and saw two alligators.

Miami skyline as we head out.
Miami skyline as we head out.
Alligator Alley is a huge wet grassland.
Alligator Alley is a huge wet grassland.
Stopped for a top off.
Stopped for a top off.
We stopped here last year.
We stopped here last year.
Two gators chillin.
Two gators chillin.
They just hang out a fair bit.
They just hang out a fair bit.
A fill up.
A fill up.

When we got to the West coast, we then followed the coast North to Longboat Key. We arrived way early for checkin, went to the office and it was closed and promised to open at 2:00 PM. We went next door to a little shopping center and had lunch at a cute little place called The Blue Dolphin.  After lunch we went back to Little Gull and checked in.  Scott, the desk person, said the cottage was not ready and took our phone number and promised to call when it was ready. We drove the length of Longboat Key and into the next town before we got the call and headed back. It was fun seeing the homes that all start at a million dollars and go up. The waterways in the backyards with boat docks were fun to glimpse. The West coast is so different from the East coast. It has a very nice feel here –  no graffiti, no tagging, no litter, very nice everywhere.

The grass lands give way to trees.
The grasslands give way to trees.
Some highway landscaping was excellent.
Some highway landscaping was excellent.
Development everywhere, and it all looks new and nice.
Development everywhere, and it all looks new and nice.
Lots of Indian names.
Lots of Indian names.
Pleasant views along the way.
Pleasant views along the way.
We were immediately fascinated.
We were immediately fascinated.
Almost think I see a bird on top.
Almost think I see a bird on top.
Under construction?
Under construction?
Couldn't decide if it was just Spanish Moss or a nest of some sort too.
Couldn’t decide if it was just Spanish moss or a nest of some sort.
Following the coast line meant a few bridges.
Following the coast line meant a few bridges.
Edie's eys spotting the church.
Edie spotting the church.

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Pretty flowers all along the way.
Pretty flowers all along the way.
Driving through Sarasota on the way to Longboat Key.
Driving through Sarasota on the way to Longboat Key.

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Going onto the bridge.
Going onto the bridge.

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Coming off the bridge.
Coming off the bridge.

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Lovely homes.
Lovely homes.

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Beautiful tree.
Beautiful tree.
Fun mailboxes.
Fun mailboxes.
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I think I am looking across the inner bay to Sarasota.
Not sure where else I'd ever see a pink wall.
Not sure where else I’d ever see a pink wall.
Pretty.
Pretty.
City sign coming from the  South.
City sign coming from the South.
Nice nearby golf course.
Nice nearby golf course.
Shopping for the week.
Shopping for the week.
This guy really enjoyed telling Edie everything he could think of that he knew, and he knew a lot.
This guy really enjoyed telling Edie everything he could think of that he knew, and he knew a lot.
Florida is beautiful and green.
Florida is beautiful and green.
Fun mailboxes.
Fun mailboxes.
Lane to the office and inner bay behind.
Lane to the office and inner bay behind.
The resort office is closed.
The resort office is closed.
Edie loves egg salad.
Edie loves egg salad.
I had a Pamela, a turkey cousin to the Rubin.
I had a Pamela, a turkey cousin to the Rubin.
Fun mailboxes.
Fun mailboxes.
Little Gull Resort on one side is on the inner bay, and on the other side the units are on the Gulf side of the key.
Little Gull Resort on one side is on the inner bay, and on the other side the units are on the Gulf side of the key.
So much water every where.
So much water everywhere.
Lots of draw bridges over the many inlets between the inner bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Lots of draw bridges over the many inlets between the inner bay and the Gulf of Mexico.
Town sign coming from the North.
Town sign coming from the North.
Interesting church.
Interesting church.
Love these trees.
Love these trees.

We got back to Little Gull and got our keys and went to our place. It is a two bedroom, two bath, old but updated unit. Strange ceilings with the roof trusses showing. Comfortable furniture and bed. We unloaded the car and got settled into the place.

Most of the units are on stilts.
Most of the units are on stilts.
Resort pool.
Resort pool.
Our little cottage.
Our little cottage.
Living room with odd ceiling.
Living room with odd ceiling.
Patio.
Patio.
2nd bedroom.
2nd bedroom.
Nice kitchen with stainless and granite.
Nice kitchen with stainless and granite.
Cozy dining area.
Cozy dining area.
Okay shower.
Okay shower.

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Master is spacious and the blinds did a good job of keeping the light out when we wanted to sleep in a little.
Master is spacious and the blinds did a good job of keeping the light out when we wanted to sleep in a little.
A huge walk thru closet between the master bedroom and bath.
A huge walk thru closet between the master bedroom and bath.
Master bathroom.
Master bathroom.

Drug the computers out and got them going. Edie’s Toshiba was having problems; the track pad had stopped responding (well, the button portions). We could move the pointer but could not make it click.  Opening and closing things with keyboard commands got real old real quick. My relatively new Dell was the workhorse. All week on the ship we had created the blog and downloaded the photos into daily folders, picked the pictures we wanted for the blog and separated them into different folders. I erased the camera memory card daily.

 

I fired up my machine and gave it to Edie to catch up on her emails and Facebook for the last week. She was about half way through her emails and my computer just died. No lights, nothing, absolutely nothing. I tried all the usual – changed wall plugs, thought I got the charger working, had a led green light showing it had power and then plugged it into the computer and nothing, even the green light went away.  

 

All the pictures and verbiage were on that hard drive, no way to recreate it. I drove about 6 miles to a Walmart and found a new charger. I told them I wanted to buy it if it would charge my computer. A nice young man took the package apart and tried it. The brand new one acted just like my old one – lit up when plugged to the wall and died when plugged into the computer. I ended up only getting  a mouse for Edie’s computer, and left. On the drive back I devised a plan to get my data off the hard drive. I had been bad about backing up the computer too. Many month’s worth of photos would be lost as well if I couldn’t access the hard drive. When I got back, using the mouse I bought, I got Edie’s machine working okay and tried to troubleshoot the Dell. I tried everything that could restore it and none of it worked. I concluded that the motherboard must have a short in it and only replacing the motherboard would fix it. The computer is about a year old and a new motherboard installed would cost about the same as a new computer. I then got the idea to look on Craigslist for an identical computer for sale that is working and swap hard drives. I liked that idea and did a search. There were three for sale that were the same model number. The first two I made offers on but they had both been sold. The last one was the furthermost away, had a cover missing on the back panel, windows had stopped working, and the fellow installed Ubuntu for an operating system. Lastly, it was a touch screen and mine was not. I know nothing about Ubuntu. He wanted $175, I bought it for $125 and a two hour drive on Sunday. That was our day, hope yours was much better and a great day.