The Keys

The Florida keys! A chain of islands whose development has boomed over the last 90 or so years; loaded with history; good guys, bad guys, pirates, shipwreckers, all sorts of exotic things. By land US Route 1 runs right down the chain. Running that road reminds me of a long trip down honky-tonk lane. Glimpses of gorgeous blue water to either side, punctuated by long stretches of dense brush & mangrove thickets that block any views at all. Coming onto a key, Pigeon Key, Pine key, Summerland Key, you get a choice of places to buy sunglasses or sandals, a marine store of some sort, a local fix-em up garage, and a seafood restaurant or two. Lots of dust, bright blue sky, puffy, bright white clouds, and traffic. Coming into the Keys by boat blasts your eyes with amazing vistas of brilliant blue, or green water, same lovely white clouds, salty spray on your lips (in your eyes, on your boat), great sunsets.

We are currently moored in Boot Key Harbor, surrounded by the city of Marathon, FL. It is a city run facility containing about 226 moorings. The dinghy traffic in here is amazing. After checking in Thursday,we did the usual walk for groceries thing and checked out the facilities. Since Key West was calling for a visit, we decided, in the interest of time & economy, to do that one by car. Renting a car, we zipped, by KIA basic, down RT 1 on Friday morning to Key West. I can truthfully say that it is an experience. Not only that , there are experiences to be had for one & all.

The easiest way to get around the town of Key West was to take a 1.5 hour train ride on the Conch Tour Train, driven by our man Carl. Great job Carl! Unfortunately, it was nigh onto impossible to get decent pics from the moving train. The streets are narrow, so it is hard to get far enough away from the subject; either that or the freckles on the lady's back in front of us would be in the photo. Lots of gingerbread, palm trees, and scary prices. Lots of Hemingway history here; favorite bar, house he lived in, first apartment, fence & wall he built, etc. Once Carl had finished with us, we strolled off on our own for a bit. This is a place that would easily qualify for a people watcher's dream spot. All sizes, all shapes, all ages, all fashion styles; they are all here: some pretty cool, some even a bit past bizarre. Pick any tourist spot in the good ol' US of A, and you will get an idea of the atmosphere in Key West. Lots of people dealing with lots of sun, heat, & other people . Getting around Key West is easy; walk, ride a Harley, or rent a scooter. Charter fishing & reef diving were readily available. The big Key West event is the daily observance of the sunset. Unfortunately, we missed that one, as it was getting thunderstorm ugly black to the west and we felt it might be time to get out of town.

Saturday was spent returning the rental car, getting groceries, having the crew from ULA G over for 'burgers 'n boat potatoes. Sunday we took a dinghy ride thru Sisters Creek out to the Atlantic 'cause we could & it was a lovely day. We had adjusted our departure plans due to dubious looking weather, moving things back 'til Tuesday morning. Today, the 29th, turned windy & stormy, as forecast. Hopefully, the forecast will prevail tomorrow as well, and we'll have a smooth trip up the ICW to Miami. I don't believe we'll be going up Hawks Channel, but will use the inside route towards Key Largo. Scooter needs fuel & water, but other than a holding tank problem that seems to be developing, is ready to head north.

We'll keep you posted; from Boot Key Harbor, we'll catch you later.