Crazy FUN in The FLORIDA KEYS...now that the storm is over!

Treasure hunting!... not exactly panning for gold.  But the sun came out!    Now it's time to clean up our beaches from all that the storm left behind.  Plastic of all sorts is the main trash item amongst the tonnage of sea grasses and coral that were uprooted by the churning waters.  But thanks to Bob's metal detector, there were coins for the collecting, too.  (You can order your own detector at good-deal prices from the Amazon.com link to the top-right!)  Beach-goers wanted to have some detector fun, too.  We offered to let them try it out, but they said they had to have their own.  Especially fascinating was how many dimes were in the sand offshore.  We're not sure why. 

      We survived the deluge and our campers are on the beach and doing what they came here to do. 

Hurray!  In the photo on the left, the birds have even joined in.          Ahhhh....the Florida Keys at their best.

Bob had been trying his best to get me to take up the fine art of snorkeling.  He'd say, "You have to see the coral beds..."  Well, sadly, today quite a bit of coral washed up from the storm and is bleaching in the sun.  I picked some pieces out of the smelly sea weed piles and made my own coral viewing area...and I didn't even have to deal with a mask filling up with water to view it.   >> sputter<<     >>sputter<<    Below are my films of an "undersea adventure" on Loggerhead Beach, Bahia Honda.

Finding the PERFECT National Forest Position



This picture is of Shanty Pond Campground.  Our first job offer from the Forest Service!  We started with an online application, as we didn't know who to call directly.  It was so easy!  Just go to: Volunteer and search the available jobs.  Campground hosts receive free campground site use, so we checked the current fee per day to get an idea of the benefit we'd receive.  Shanty was a primitive campground and only $4/day.  Depending on which forest you would be working in, there may be a "daily subsistence and/or travel reimbursement"...as well as compensation for personal vehicle and cell phone use for Forest Service business.   This job's only benefit was the use of a Kawasaki Mule.  It had no hookup for water, just one water pump and one vault toilet for over 100 camp sites.  It also required a 6-month commitment...but we were excited.  We believed the postings about how hard it was to get any type of offer. 

We studied the Basic Requirements:

• Enjoy working positively with the public and being visible.  Convey the recreation facility rules as necessary.
• Provide own self-contained living unit.
• Agree to a background check as Hosts handle sensitive information, communicate with by radio and in some cases handle cash.  Provide a copy of your driving record and take a driving course.
• In good health and physical condition (repeated bending and lifting to clean restrooms and fire rings, litter pickup, filling potholes, and maybe even splitting firewood and pulling vegetation.)
• Able to operate equipment such as a leafblower, trimmer, mower, etc.

We shared pictures of Shanty, and our family complained 6 months was too long and the Ocala was too remote (no internet or cell service).  But there's only 15 campgrounds in all of Ocala National Forest.  What else could we possibly get? 
While searching on the internet for reviews about this campground, I found police reports of shootings and even a brutal murder of two environmentalists by gun shot.  It turned out this was mostly a hunters' camp and only had dirt roads.  I started nightmaring about drunken hunters laden with multiple guns.  Oh, no.