2010 Jan. 12, Tuesday.
Once again, a cool but sunny day. This morning we went to Starbucks at the Miromar Mall for coffee and an apple fritter, then to the library. Linda read while I worked on the computer. They have a very nice area for free WIFI with outlets and a table to work at, and you have a great view out floor-to-ceiling windows. It is located in an out-of-the-way nook of the library, far away from the many computers that library patrons are using. On our way back to the RV park, we stopped at the Sandy Parrot, a restaurant just a few blocks from us. They have a new lunch menu for $6, with some good selections. Linda got a salad and pulled-pork sandwich, and I got a half-slab of ribs and a cup of corn chowder. Very good lunch for the price. This was a new restaurant last year, and I watched it get built while on my bike rides. On one end, they had two large garage doors installed, so I thought it was going to be a car repair place. It turns out, they put an outdoor Tiki bar outside those doors, and when it’s too cold (like today) they close the doors to keep the warmth inside. We still ate outside, but they have clear plastic that drops down to make four walls. Portable gas heaters make it warm enough. Once back at the 5th wheel, I worked on lubricating the chains and gears on our bikes. On the way down, they were splashed a lot with salt from the roads up north, and then they got very wet down here. They start to rust quickly, so now they are ready to ride when it gets warm enough! Then we both went for a half-hour walk around the park for a little exercise.

WEATHER: High today of 63, feels great! Low tonight of 40, so no frost near the coast. Inland may have just a few places with frost, but the damage has already been done to the crops. We are looking forward to the 75 promised for Thursday! Time to go to the beach!

FL NEWS: The weather is still the big story - now they say some inland areas got as low as 21 on Monday morning. 1) The headline is “Area farmers lose millions”, and that means consumers will be paying more to buy their favorite fruits and vegetables. Some changes already are happening, and it will get worse as the quickly-picked supply gets used up. A 25 pound box of peppers has already risen from $8 to $22, and a box of tomatoes that was selling for $14 hit $30 a box. Last year Publix bought about $700 million of what they term ‘fresh Florida produce’. Mexico is the major producer of winter vegetables now, so many think they will take advantage of the lack of supply and run the prices up. Trickle down effects will be a loss of work for local truck drivers (normally, one-fourth of the trucks on FL roads are hauling produce), less work for pickers, and less money spent by hard-hit farmers. 2) Another headline today is “SW Fla’s fish go belly up”. Over the past few days, the cold water has killed thousands of snook, one of the state’s most popular game fish. Normally, the temperature of the water in the gulf is in the 60’s, but it got down to 46, and many fish other than snook have died. Marine lab researchers have found dead mullet, hardhead catfish, tarpon, mojarra, filefish, cowfish, and gag grouper. Also, some of the important species that provide food for the larger fish have also gone belly up. The cold weather has affected more than just agriculture.