We just spent 6 days in the Florida Keys and if felt like a lifetime and a blip of time.....all at once! The Keys lived up to the hype as the area is even more glorious than I'd anticipated, in every single way! The mesmerizing aqua blue water, the long stretch of highway with water, at times, licking at the road on each side, the friendly people of the Keys and happy fellow tourists, the countless Tiki bars and restaurants, breathtaking sunsets and most exciting, the fish and animals abound. If you like sunsets, water, food and people......you MUST add a trip to the Florida Keys to your bucket list!
We are driving the A1A in the Keys! On the "left" is oceanside (Atlantic Ocean) and on the right is bayside (Gulf of Mexico). With 42 bridges between Key Largo and Key West, we crossed a lot of water on our journey.
Marathon
No, we didn't do a marathon, our RV home in the keys was an island called Knights Key - dubbed, the Fun Island - at the end of the city of Marathon. This area is called the "Heart of the Keys" as it is almost exactly halfway between Key West and Key Largo (1 hour's drive either direction). Our RV park was a stone's throw away from the beginning of the infamous 7 Mile Bridge. Imagine that.....approximately a 10 minute drive on a SINGLE bridge. Very cool! There are actually two "7 mile bridges" now as the first one is old and decrepit, falling apart, and just celebrated it's 100th year. The new bridge carries the traffic along the islands.
Our RV & Campsite. We are on the ocean side (Atlantic ocean in near distance).
Campsite ahead of us. Pretty nice view!
My skiddish friend....a little gecko hanging out on the bicycle rack.
Lulu, the Potbelly Pig
They told us that if we 'r interested in gettin' 'rselves a pig, make shur ya find a reputable breeeder. They'll try 'n sell ya a hog instead. And, when you get yer pig ye gotta walk her 'cause she'll get too fat, break a leg and then ye gotta put 'er down. The lady walks Lulu everyday until she flops right over, on the ground, like a dog with her belly in the air, and then "she'll get to squealin' if she don't wanna walk any more". Steve and I were in stitches getting potbelly pig advice from these two. So fun.
Margaritaville!
Our first full day in the Keys, and we drove all the way down to Key West.....to Margaritaville! Jimmy Buffett's first and original Margaritaville Cafe. Ahhh ahhhh ahhhhh - the holy grail for Parrotheads!
Walked around the street, people watching, and t-shirt gazing. Like many tourist locations.....the t-shirts were a combination of hilarious, ridiculous and down-right rude! Steve, who usually won't wear ANY kind of logo wear, couldn't resist one though:
They say I have A.D.D., but they just don't understand.
Oh Look! A Chicken!
He laughed and laughed, then just had to buy it. All week long, when there is a pause in our conversation......one of us will say, Oh look! A Chicken! Very funny stuff!
After a fun night out, we headed onto the A1A - the southernmost start to the highway in the U.S.A. MILE 0! We saw the nondescript sign on our way out and were super excited. Silly, I know!
Apparently, the city has to replace the sign often as tourist steal it frequently for a souvenir.
Dogs in the Florida Keys
Islamorada - Village of Islands. We took the dogs swimming the next day.
An oceanside tropical "swimming pool". Perfect to cool off the dogs!
They are so cute!
We found a watermelon seed-size tick on Loki the day before....it dug into the top of Loki's ear and Steve had to remove it with tweezers, very carefully. Gross! Good thing we've vaccinated them against Lyme disease.
Bandaged dog. But he's a survivor!
Key West - Conch Republic - The End of the Road! Southernmost Point in the Continental U.S.! 50 Miles to the Bahamas or 90 Miles to Cuba! Let's GO!
Next day......back to check out Key West one more time. Racing the clock, we tried to get to Key West before the sunset, as it turns out, people gather at Mallory Square Pier to collectively celebrate the sunset. What an awesome idea!
Sunset Spectacular!
A nice fellow tourist offered to take this post-sunset shot for us.
I'm not sure that our Klio would be caught dead in those pink shorts though!
Me, standing in front of "Sea Sponge Man." Kinda creepy!
Snorkeling - Sombrero Reef (And Lighthouse) - Atlantic Ocean
Yesterday, we went on a snorkeling adventure. 42 other tourists, myself, Steve, Captain Dave & Mate/Dive Master Barb headed out for a 3 hour tour. The boat was a catamaran with two 115hp outboards on the back. Nice. We enjoyed a one hour boat ride and two hours snorkeling.
Our little harbour.
Capt Dave
Steve commented that the water was so shallow all the way from our harbour (bayside) out to the snorkel spot (oceanside) that he could see the bottom most of the time. Incredible. We also saw a sailboat, high and dry - aground, the day before. These sand bars are everywhere.
Now, I know what you're thinking.....yes, I am gorgeous!
The reef was teeming with life! Most excitedly, we saw tons of Great Barracuda and one was approximately 4' long! Sadly, he had a hook caught in his mouth though.....but at least he was able to escape to swim another day.
After a nice slow return cruise to the dock, we headed back to the RV to take the dogs out of the airconditioned unit, and for a little walk around our park. Following that, we hopped onto our bikes and rode over to our local Tiki bar, once again, for dinner. It's called the Sunset Grill.
Sunset Grill - You just gotta love being in a place where you have any number of bars and restaurants from which to choose, all within biking distance. Our first time there, we had a young 24 year old server who had moved to the Keys looking for fun and adventure. He was a bit bitter to find that "all the local women are either hairy hippies or drug addicts." O-kay! Well, this kid is a liveaboard, on a small sailboat, trying to figure out what to do with his life. (Aren't we all!) He got in trouble twice from his manager for hanging out too long, chatting with us. We enjoyed his company and his easy smile. Darn it, after all the conversations with him, we had no choice but to leave him a really good tip!
During our first visit to the Sunset Grill, a single musician was playing the guitar and singing all manner of "oldies." We thoroughly enjoyed it. If you are missing old songs from Jim Croce, CCR, the Beachboys, Bob Marley, UB40, Janis Joplin, Santana, Doobie Brothers, Mamas & the Papas, and of course Jimmy Buffett, then you need to come down to the keys. Most restaurants have live music several nights a week, and you rarely hear anything from the 80's and beyond. Steve was in his glory! We sang along with the songs and put a couple dollars into his fully-stuffed water pitcher tip jar.
The second time we went to the Sunset Grill, we ate and drank at the bar. The wait for a table was nearly an hour and we were starving after our snorkel trip. The bologna sandwiches were long gone! So, we went to the bar instead. Guess what kind of drink I had......................
Sitting up at the bar, the man on the stool next to me was a new local - just took a job as the Fire Chief of Marathon (our town). After identifying the fire hazards of the bar/restaurant, chatting about fire training and boat fires, we decided that we were new friends. He invited us boating for a day of fishing and/or diving on our next trip back to the Keys and also for a tour of the Marathon Fire Hall. Very cool! Chief John Johnson - congratulations on the new posting!
Ants in My Pants
Yesterday, we had to leave the Keys. Boooo! So, I headed for a quick bike ride around our park to snap some photos. When I got back to the trailer, I noticed a bunch of ants crawling on my shorts! OH MY GOD! My shorts were covered and my bike seat was just crawling with ants EVERYWHERE! I dropped the bike and started to hop around like an idiot. Realizing that that wasn't helping, I went into the trailer, lightening fast, and stripped my clothes off! There were ants everywhere, if you know what I mean. I carefully looked through my shirt and shorts before putting them back on and then Steve and I began to laugh. Laugh hard!
I came back out and poured approximately a can of raid (not really, but I sprayed it down pretty good) onto my bike seat because we travel with them inside our trailer, kitchen area, and I really didn't want to have a trailer full of ants! Then, I saw a couple more critters on my shorts. Ew. Then I felt something on the back of my bra strap. THAT'S IT! I re-stripped off my clothes, fully prepared to burn them up and then leave my bike in Marathon! I jumped into the shower and washed the ickies away! After that, I came out, couldn't put on my "infected" clothes again, and dug out a new top and shorts. Steve didn't know whether to laugh or not. Of course, we laughed again. He said he would have done the same thing. For the rest of the day, I felt like I had ants crawling on me. EW!
Headed back north, past Key Largo and through the Everglades again. Back to seeing "Crocodile Crossing" signs. Great! It's not quite "Back to Reality" yet, for us, since we still have lots of miles to cover, but we sure had a fun time in the Keys. Obviously, we recommend it to everyone. A very laid back yet party-like atmosphere. A great place to pick up a Tiki Parrot, hear oldies tunes, and chat with all types of fellow tourists. Oh, and don't forget to get out on the water - such a great experience!
We're in Fort Lauderdale now, for a week or so. Must get onto my course work, and Steve to making internet connections. So, we'll sign off for now.
Keep your fins up!
xoxoxox S&S and L&K
No comments:
Post a Comment