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
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.
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