The Florida Keys

On Monday we left Jupiter after breakfast, headed for the Florida Keys. In Indiana, Iowa, and Illinois we drove by endless corn fields and were able to walk up to stalks and look at the corn. In Florida, the endless fields are filled with sugar cane. Kathy wanted to get a picture standing next to a cane field, but each one we saw was surrounded by a ditch, filled with water. When we got to Homestead, Florida, we stopped by a roadside produce stand, and she bought a chunk of sugar cane, just to try it out. It was sweet! 

Our first overnight in the keys was in Key Largo, the background for the famous Bogie and Bacall film. In fact, the movie was filmed in the studio in Burbank, so there are no notable settings to visit. Key Largo does have the original African Queen in the marina, which you can book for tours, weddings and events. The boat is in better shape than it appeared at the end of the movie.

While we were in Homestead we also stopped for lunch at Marios Cuban Kitchen, to try some Cuban food. I had a Cuban sandwich and Kathy had some sweet plantains. It was so much food that we ended up taking half of it with us for dinner. In Key Largo we stayed at the Pelican Cottages on the Florida Bay side of the Key.

Our cottage (actually, half of a duplex), was cute, with a retro 60s Florida vibe. There was plenty of room. The cottages included a private beach and docks. For us, the most important thing was that the air conditioning worked.

After we got settled into our room, we headed down the road to the John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. This is part of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, a 220-mile long coral reef that extends the entire length of the Keys. This park is the home of one of the three “Christ of the Abyss” bronze statues, sunk into 25-feet of water.

About thirty years ago, we both went snorkeling in Hawaii and the Caribbean, and so we would have taken a snorkeling excursion out to the reef. Today, though, both of us feel more comfortable staying safe and dry on a glass-bottomed boat. Also, the signs on all the beaches warning about swimming with the “crocodilians” made our decision a little easier.

Unfortunately, when we went to inquire, we were told that the glass-bottomed boat was not going out on Monday or Tuesday. They didn’t tell us definitively why; we thought that it was most likely because of the wind. Later, when we got to the Everglades, we found that many attractions don’t even open until November 1, the start of the dry, and thus tourist, season. In any event, we went back to our cottage, and I swam off the dock. The water was pretty warm, but the “sand” was very hard, and the Florida Bay was very shallow. Its average depth is three to five feet. It was disconcerting to swim out a ways and find that I could still stand up.

Another thing we liked about the Keys was the pastel color scheme we found on all the buildings. Our cottage was lime green, but others were tangerine, turquoise, and light blue.

Since the Pelican Cottages didn’t include breakfast, on Tuesday morning we went next door to Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen and had omelettes for breakfast. Then, we set off for Key West and the Southern most point in the Continental United States.

Key West & The Overseas Highway

From 1902 to 1905 Florida’s Henry Flagler built the Overseas Railroad as part of the Key West Extension to his Florida East Coast Railroad. At the time, the railroad was known both as “Flagler’s Folly”, and “The Eighth Wonder of the World”. The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane wiped out the railroad, and the surviving bridges and roadbed was purchased by the Federal Government. In 1938, they opened the route as the “Overseas Highway”. In 1982, the original “7-mile Bridge” was replaced with a modern version, which you can see below. To the right, you can see portions of the original 1938 bridge, which is kind of spooky.

We got to Key West before noon. We found a free parking space by the Naval Air Station, and went looking for the buoy that (symbolically) marks the southern-most point in the US. At the end of Duvall Street we found the Southernmost House Key West, a restored 1897 Victorian mansion, now a hotel and restaurant.

Right in front of that we found a line waiting to take pictures in front of the commemorative buoy. We handed our phone to the couple behind us, they took our picture, then we took theirs, and we went off for lunch.

Since we parked next to the Key West Naval Air Station, we looked for a restaurant near our car. We found Olives Mediterranean Grill and had some nice Turkish pita wraps. After lunch, we got in our car and drove to the Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, where we explored the old Civil-War era fort, which was buried in the sand dunes, and rediscovered in 1968.

The project uncovered the largest collection of Civil War-era seacoast cannons and artillery in the United States—over 140 cannons—along with thousands of cannonballs, shells, and a rare steam-powered Civil War desalination plant.

One feature of the park, and Key West in general, are the wild chickens and roosters that roam free. I don’t know if they are protected or not.

Walking back to our car, we also saw two large iguanas (one pictured below) and a two-foot long green lizard, which Google identified as a Cuban knight anole. It was impressive and fast.

Our Tuesday night hotel was in Marathon, Florida, one of the middle keys. That meant that we had to leave Key West, and head back in the direction of Key Largo. As we crossed Big Pine Key, we entered the National Key Deer Refuge. Key Deer are the smallest species of White Tailed deer. There were not a lot of cars on the road, so I was going about 35 mph, and, sure enough, we saw one grazing by the side of the road. A wonderful ending to the day.. When we finally got to our hotel in Marathon, we were pretty tired.

Marathon Florida

On Wednesday in Marathon we took a tour of the Sea Turtle Rescue Center. This is a 90-minute tour; 30 minutes are spent inside learning about the different kinds of sea turtles and the different kinds of disasters that befall them, and an hour is spent touring the facilities and seeing the different turtles in their recovery ponds.

This turtle, for instance, was struck by a boat, and had one of his front flippers amputated. Surprisingly, sea turtles can still survive with one missing flipper, so he will be released after some time of recovery. As part of the tour they showed us the operating room as well.

There are some ailments that prevent the turtles from being released back into the wild. One of these is “bubble butt” or positive buoyancy syndrome, where air becomes trapped between the turtle’s shell and its body. These “permanent residents” are kept in a large pool. 

Those turtles that can be released are placed in an exercise pool for a few months to strengthen their swimming abilities. Here is one of those turtles exercising. 

If you want to know more about The Turtle Hospital, then visit their website where you can meet all of the current patients, and learn about those who have been released.

Kathy and I were married on October 22, 1972. That meant that on our anniversary we would be deep in the Everglades National Park, with no real access to nice restaurants. So, we decided to have an early anniversary dinner at Sparky’s Landing, right next to our hotel.

Before we left the Keys, we had to try conch fritters and shrimp egg rolls. They were OK, but I wasn’t overwhelmed. However, I am overwhelmed with the 54 years Kathy and I have spent together.

Wednesday was our last night in the Florida Keys. On Thursday we’ll head into the Everglades National Park to spend two days in Flamingo, Florida.

Ocala, Titusville & Jupiter, Florida

We had a good night’s sleep in St. Augustine, Florida. Friday morning, the Budget Inn didn’t offer breakfast, so we used Google to find some food on the way. Sheila’s Cafe at Anastasia Kitchen is a tiny place that has outstanding food. Only after we ate did we find out that they only took cash! When we were younger, my mom used to give us kids a hundred-dollar bill on each of our birthdays. Fortunately I still had three of them in my wallet, (after 20 years), so we didn’t have to spend the day washing dishes to pay for our breakfast.

While we were having breakfast, we noticed the St. Augustine light house just behind the cafe, and we drove over and had some after-breakfast sightseeing.  

Our destination was Ocala, Florida, in the center of the state. Rather than going there directly from St. Augustine, we drove down the coast to Daytona Beach. The sun was out, there was almost no wind, and, when we could see the Atlantic, it had two-foot high clean waves, with a scattering of surfers.

Unbeknownst to us, Friday, October 16^th was the second day of the 34^th Biketoberfest, which brought thousands of motorcyclists to events at the Daytona International Speedway. Many of those riders found their way to the coast road, and, traffic was a little hectic. 

Instead of driving all of the way to Daytona Beach, we turned off on Florida 40 at Ormond Beach, which was probably a good idea. (In addition to all of the bikers, we did see one large turtle, scuttling along the sidewalk on the tips of his flippers. I always thought that turtles were slow, but he was going really fast.

We got to Silver Springs State Park, near Ocala, at about 3:00 PM. I thought that we could take one of the glass-bottomed boat rides, and maybe see some alligators to go along with the turtle. First, though, we had to eat, since we hadn’t had anything since breakfast.

Near the kayaking concession we found the Paddle Trail Grill. Kathy had a southwest chicken wrap and I had a BLT. They say that the best food you’ll ever taste is the food you eat when you’re really hungry. We were both really hungry, but it was so hot and humid that the food didn’t seem that exceptional.

I have to admit that Kathy and I are both wimps; the heat and humidity, and the thoughts of an air conditioned hotel room, drove all thoughts of a glass-bottomed boat ride from our minds. We left the park and drove to Ocala, and settled in. Kathy had planned to meet another of her cousins in the evening, but that didn’t work out.

Saturday on the Space Coast

When we left Ocala, it was raining, so it took us a little longer to get to the coast. As we were driving, all of a sudden the traffic just stopped. Ahead, we could see the flashing lights of a police cruiser. He was stopping to let a group of Sandhill Cranes cross the road. Once they were across, the line of cars started moving again. However, when our car got to the cross-walk, the cranes decided to cross back, so we had to wait again. 

We had originally planned to spend Saturday at the Kennedy Space Center. The night before, when I went to buy the tickets (about $200 for both of us and parking), I decided to read some blogs. I asked Google “Is the Kennedy Space Center Worth It?”, and then spent the next couple hours going down the rabbit hole. Most people thought that it was worth the price, but one blog went into detail about the long lines in the hot sun. That was really a deal breaker for Kathy and I, because we haven’t been adapting well to the heat and humidity.

Instead of the NASA site, we went to the Sands Space History Center, just outside the gates of the Space Force Base on Cape Canaveral. This is a small, one-room museum, dedicated to the original, military part of Cape Canaveral, including artifacts from most of the original launch sites.

There were no large rockets, or interactive exhibits, like the space shuttle simulator at the Kennedy Space Center, but it was very interesting seeing the history of space flight from the 1950s. Kathy and I spent a little more than two hours there, which is our comfortable limit. 

The Space Force docent, Chris Bannister, spent much of that time talking to us personally, and explaining the different missions that went out from Canaveral.

Chris encouraged us to take the longer, guided tour that included many of the original, decommissioned rockets and control centers, but we couldn’t do that because you have to apply 72 hours in advance to get a security clearance. If we went again, though, I think I’d do that.

We got back to our hotel in Titusville around four. After checking in, we went looking for dinner, and ended up at Sonny’s BBQ. Sonny’s is a chain, like Lucilles, in California. The food was great, and pretty inexpensive.

Kathy had pulled chicken, green beans and cole slaw. I had the three-pork platter with pulled pork, sliced pork, and ribs. You can see there was a lot of food. With tip, the bill was $38.00. We couldn’t do that in California.

Sunday in Vero Beach & Jupiter, Florida

On Sunday, our destination was Jupiter, Florida. Halfway between Titusville and Jupiter is Vero Beach, where Jim Gallagher is pastoring Calvary Chapel of Vero Beach. For several years in the 1980s, Jim was on the pastoral staff at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. And, his wife, Kristie, was active in the CCCM Women’s Ministry, so Kathy knew them both well. By getting off of the side roads and picking up the highway, we were able to get there for the 11:15 AM service.

After the service, Kimberly Williams, who lead the morning’s worship, recognized Kathy, and took us in to say hello to Jim and Kristie. We were able to visit for a little bit, took a picture together, and then headed down the coast to Jupiter. Before we left, though, we asked for lunch recommendations, and ended up at the historic Waldo’s Restaurant and Bar, right on the beach.

There was a band playing Jimmy Buffet songs, kind of like the band that plays by the pool on every cruise ship I’ve ever been on. So, since it was hot, windy, and loud outside in the sun, Kathy and I snagged a table inside. The food was pretty good, and not too expensive, considering the location.

Our hotel in Jupiter was the Best Western Intracoastal Inn. Earlier in our marriage, before I discovered how easily I get seasick, I had dreamed of living aboard a sailboat on the Intracoastal Waterway. So, I was interested in seeing the scenery. Just in front of our hotel is the Jupiter Florida Riverwalk, a two-and-a-half mile raised walkway that goes along the shore and out into the bay.

Kathy and I walked about half of it. We saw some small lizards, and some coconuts washed up on the shore, but no alligators. Monday we’ll be heading for three days in the Florida Keys.

Charleston, Savannah, & St. Augustine

By Tuesday morning we had spent three days driving through the Appalachian mountains, and, was time for a change. We left Asheville, North Carolina after breakfast at our hotel, jumped on the Interstate, and headed for Charleston, South Carolina under clear skies. 

We got to our hotel, the Starlight Motor Inn, by 1:30, and they let us in early. The Starlight has been thoughtfully renovated, trying to bring back the era of classic motor lodges. In the lobby, for instance, the reading material on the coffee table was old Life and Look magazines from the 1950s and 1960s.

The exterior looks like a mid-century motor lodge, but the interiors have been nicely brought up to date; especially the bathrooms. 

Even with the updating, though, the owners put some effort into the decorating, trying to keep an early 1960s feel. Our room had a poster for a Sean Connery James Bond film on the wall, and the refrigerator looked like a late 1950s refugee. It was all very cute and comfortable. (It was kind of in a sketchy area of town, though.)

Once we got unpacked and settled in our room, Kathy and I set out to explore the historic old-town. We parked at the downtown city parking garage, and caught one of the three, free, downtown shuttle busses that make a loop through the old town. Here’s a picture of the famous pineapple fountain in the Joe Riley Waterfront Park. 

At the waterfront we walked to the end of the pier where we could see Fort Sumpter (where the Civil War started) in the middle of the harbor, and the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier on the other side.

By 2:30 PM we were really hungry. We fired up Google Maps and found The Griffon, a 4.7 rated pub, almost right on the harbor.

The food was good and inexpensive (a surprise, given its location). Kathy had a salad and I had fish and chips. I don’t know if you can see it, but every surface of the room was covered with signed one dollar bills, including the ceiling. I’d never seen this before, but apparently it’s quite common.

After lunch, we walked around the French Quarter in the historic district. Here is a picture of the US Customs House. 

We spent an hour walking through the Charleston City Market, where Kathy found some perfume that she had been looking for. I pondered replacing my 30-year-old straw hat, but the ones offered cost north of $200. I’ll wait until we get to south Florida.

We finished our sightseeing after 5:00 PM, picked up the free shuttle back to our car, and were back at our hotel by 6:00 PM. 

Wednesday in Savannah

The Starlight Motor Inn didn’t offer breakfast, so we got an early start on our drive to Savannah, Georgia, skipping the freeways and sticking to the local roads. Just after dawn, the marshes and inlets of South Carolina were breathtakingly beautiful. This is the prettiest picture I could find, and the actual scenery was better.

At around 9:00 AM we reached Beaufort, South Carolina, which is about halfway between Charleston and Savannah. We hadn’t yet eaten breakfast, so we used Google, which directed us to Blackstone’s Cafe.

The food was good. I had an omelet and Kathy had a breakfast scramble. Afterwards, we walked down to the water before heading out again for Savannah.

Because it was only around 11:00 AM, we couldn’t go to our hotel yet. So, we decided to take a Hop-On Hop-Off bus tour. I bought the tickets the night before, so all we had to do was hop on. Here’s the map with all of the different stops. 

The first four or five stops were great. We had seats in the very front of the trolley. Then, at one stop, we had to change trolleys and we got seats in the back, where I wouldn’t fit with my long legs. Fortunately, after two more stops, a whole load of people got off, and we were able to move back to the front.

As enticing as hop-on, hop-off sounds, after one 90-minute trip around the city, neither of us was anxious to hop on again. The trolley was open to the air, and, it was really hot and humid, and, much of the time we found ourselves in sunlight. Instead, we decided to go check into our hotel (which was south of downtown). 

As we started driving out of the city, though, I got an urge to walk through Forsyth Park, one last time. We found a free place to park on the street, and we walked down Whitaker Street to look at the house where I lived for almost all of 1971. At that time, this house was a Christian Commune that was part of the Shiloh Youth Revival Centers, which came out of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.

The house has been very nicely restored. When we (about 20 of us) lived there it was pretty run down. Three houses away, a block of these old houses has been knocked down, and they are digging a foundation for some type of civic building. So, it was nice to see that this one survived.

Before we left, we walked around Forsyth Park. You may have seen the park in different movies, from Burt Reynolds’ chase scene in The Longest Yard, to Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. We had to get a picture in front of the famous fountain.

And, Kathy wanted to get a picture with the iconic Spanish moss that decorates the oak trees in the park. On the trolley tour they warned us not to try and take some home because of the insects that live inside it.

After the park we drove to our hotel, which was located right next to Hunter Army Airfield at the south end of town. After checking in, our first task was to get some dinner, since we hadn’t eaten since our breakfast in Beaufort. We went to Outback Steak House, and I ate way too much. When we got back to the hotel, I fell into a food coma.

Thursday in St. Augustine

On Thursday morning, we both woke early, and got to breakfast just as they started serving at 6:00 AM. We were on the road by 7:00 AM with Google Maps set to “Avoid Highways”. It is really relaxing driving on the smaller two-lane roads, seeing a slice of rural America.

On Highway 17, we passed a Piggly Wiggly grocery store, but it was closed. That’s on my bucket list to visit one, but apparently the company is not doing that great. A little further down the road, in Townsend, Georgia, we found “The Smallest Church in America”, Christ’s Chapel.

It was built in 1949 by Mrs. Agnes Hopper, and deeded it to Jesus Christ. Inside it is very cute. I don’t know who maintains it now. According to Google, there is no official “smallest church”.

Just before we left Georgia and crossed into Florida, we had one more iconic experience. We visited our first Buc-ees, the Texas-sized and Texas-founded travel center. Since we aren’t going to Texas, I didn’t know if we’d run across one. On further research, I found that they are now in 10 different states. Inside, the size is simply overwhelming. We bought some snacks, got back in our car, and headed to Florida.

Kathy’s cousin, Linda Sundberg, and her daughter Connie, live in Jacksonville, Florida, so we stopped there to have lunch at “Grumpy’s”, a local breakfast and lunch chain.

After lunch, we continued on to St. Augustine. Our hotel, the Budget Inn, was across the Bridge of Lions, on Anastasia Island. Like the Starlight Motor Inn, the Budget Inn harks back to the motels of the 50s and 60s, and is, perhaps, a little more authentic. We both liked it.

After checking in, we decided to walk around the old town. We parked in the city parking lot, which was $5.00 after 5:00 PM, instead of $20.00 during the day. The famous fort was closed, but we could see it from outside, and take a picture.

We had a tourist map, so we walked up and down the old city streets, admiring the buildings. The sun was down, but it was still very hot and muggy. On the river front there was an air-conditioned pastry shop serving gelato (for $7 a scoop). We would have paid twice that just for the air-conditioning. Afterwards, Kathy had a short conversation with the statue of Frederick Douglass.

We got to bed a little late. Tomorrow we’re heading inland to Ocala, Florida.