Mar 10, 2013 - one last look at Key West

Now that we are at the boomerang point of our trip there are some observations and discoveries that we have made that we would like to put down in print, so to speak. Most of these will not be news to those of you who have travelled in the US but we will mention everything that we have noted so far: 1) There are lots of people that smoke, young and old, and lots of people who smoke cigars – YUK! 2) Since we first went gaga over the houses on canals, with boats parked in front, they have become somewhat common-place as pretty well all the...

Mar 9, 2013 - Seafood Festival Party Time

Today was kayak day so naturally there was a fairly strong wind from the east. We decided to be tricky and float around the canals of Duck Key which would protect us from most of the wind. We chatted up a couple running a food booth at the marina who told us of a spot to launch but he said “NO SWIMMING!!!, what ever you do, no swimming!” When we asked why he said sharks up to 9 feet long live in the canals and waters near the docks. All righty then.............we decided that we would go anyway. Suffice it to say the launch was lightening...

Mar 7, 2013 - checking out Marathon

Marathon, where our RV Park is located, is both a small city and a series of keys (islands). The city is spread out between two of the keys but you can hardly tell, except for the sign. As you cross from one key to the next there is a sign that says you are now on such and such key. Sometimes the division is quite obvious, anything from a 200’ bridge to one 7 mile long bridge. Other times you can’t tell when you have gone from one key to another. The growth on the side of the road is grown to the point, in places, where you can’t see beyond...

Mar 6, 2013 - chillin' on the keys

We were sorry to have to leave our park as the Naples area was very nice. A great pool and the site was well treed and felt cozy with friendly neighbours. It was a little close getting past the trees, as we just skinnied out, but as usual my navigator helped out with the blind spots. I haven’t noticed many wives helping their husbands backing in but I hate to think of what I might have hit if not for her help. Once underway it didn’t take long to leave the city and our highway turned into a narrow 2 lane road through the Everglades. It is...

Mar 2, 2013 - Life is Good in the Keys

It seems like the Keys are inhabited by people from somewhere else. As we've made the rounds of the Sunset Tiki Bar, DAV Club, and Elks Club in our short stay we've met more people from Delaware and New Jersey than I think live there. Some are winter residents while others are year round residents. Peg, my cousin who I haven't seen in over 10 years, and her husband Ron have been residents for a long time and seem to know all of them. It's been really great to get together with Peg and Ron. The weather has not been what you might expect for...

Feb 28, 2013 - Onto the Florida Keys

We traveled through sugar cane conuntry and the Redlands area of Dade County. We stopped at one of the many farm stands on Krome Ave. near Homestead and bought some fresh produce and canned pickles. Can't wait to try them out. As long as Florida is, it still takes a couple of hours to get from the Miami area to Marathon which is almost at Key West. Along the way, we stopped at the Hungry Tarpon for lunch. The food was good, but the entertainement was better. Robbies next door sells buckets of bait fish that people feed to tarpon that school...

Feb 14, 2013 - Deep Sea Fishing X 2

Deep Sea fishing twice!! The first time was a tourist fishing trip in Key West called the Gulf Stream IV. The trip included all the gear, bait and the attention of a great crew. John got us a great deal on the tickets through the Navy base. So we eagerly headed out. As much as we were watching the daily weather reports, today's fooled us. It was really choppy. We were rocking and a rolling trying to fish. The captain was really good at finding the schools of fish which were mostly Yellow Fin. There was also grouper, but those had to be...

Jan 14, 2013 - The End

I am in Marathon, Florida and I am loving it. I have been here since the 1st of January and I will say that when I was driving down, I felt like I was coming home. Elgin and I had so many friends here and a lot of them are still here and I am enjoying my time with them and making new friends also. The weather has been perfect...the highs in the low 80's and the lows in the low 70's. I want to introduce some very special friends...Jeff and Diane Jennings.We have been friends for 10-12 years. I have spent so much time with them since I have...

Dec 22, 2012 - Jolly Roger Travel Park

Bill, Steve and I moved into the central Keys as planned prior to his arrival. We went swimming at CG pool, watched football, spent a day down at Key West (took Forrest) and took Steve back to the airport on xmas eve :(. After he left we mostly relaxed, did chores and took a break from spending money :/.

Dec 14, 2012 - There's a reason it's called Marathon

And the reason has to do with Henry Flagler's ambition and the seven mile bridge... Back in St. Augustine, I wrote about Henry Flagler and his Florida East Coast Railroad. At first Henry brought it as far as Miami. But he was not finished. He really thought the railroad should go all the way to the furthest point south in Florida and that was Key West. The problem was simple, there was no land connection between Key West and the area south of Miami--only lots of islands or Keys (which in the Bahamas are also spelled Keys but are pronounced...

Nov 13, 2012 - Laryngitis

It absolutely sucks not being able to talk. I still try and that is probably not helping matters any. I did go to the doctor yesterday and she does not think I have a respiratory infection, but she did give me a cough syrup with codeine and a steroid inhaler. I will hopefully have my voice back in 3-5 days according to the doctor. I am still trying to stay busy. I am making a packing list for my 4 months in Florida. I really think that if I did not have that 4 months to look forward to, I probably would not get out of bed in the mornings. I...

Nov 3, 2012 - Marathon, FL

We had to leave the state park because we did not have a reservation for Saturday night. We expected a cancellation to open up but the park is fully booked and there were no cancellations. We made a last minute move to Marathon, which is half-way down the Keys and just north of the Seven Mile Bridge, which is by far the longest bridge on the Overseas Highway. We watched a documentary video yesterday in which they said the Overseas Highway is 70+ miles by land and 34 miles by bridge. The bridges range from 104 ft to 35,000 ft long....