Day 127. December 11, 2013. Liquid Sunshine

At a state park in the Keys called Curry Hammock.  In all the state parks in the Keys, they are trying to preserve nature so everything is all "woodsy".  Consequently there are a lot of bugs, especially one kind called "no-see-ums".  They are almost invisible.  They love me; not so interested in George.  I  think I have about 10 bites per square inch all over my body.  They itch like the dickens.  It rained during the night so they were particularly bad this AM.  I escaped by sitting in the camper with a good book and my friend, the air conditioner.  George went fishing.  There was a huge downpour around noon.  They call that "liquid sunshine" in Florida.  We were able to pack up between the rains.  We arrived at our next state park in the Keys called Long Key.  All the sites are on the water.  Unfortunately, there are mud puddles all over due to the rain, so it doesn't look so nice.  

This is the view from our camper 

For dinner, I needed to use up some celery, so bought some blue cheese for stuffing.  We had shrimp cocktail and then shrimp 'n grits.  

Day 126. December 10, 2013. Swimming Lunch!

George fished from our private deck.  Caught this little guy...a Jack.  

He threw it back, so no fish for breakfast.  We enjoyed the campsite with the cool breeze.  Then we packed up and drove north to our next campground in the Keys.  We stopped at this restaurant for lunch.  We had blackened scallop sandwich...really good and different.  We were surprised to see that the  restaurant has its own pool.  After lunch, we swam for awhile.  The sun is really hot between noon and 2:00, so it was nice to chill at the pool.  

Then we went to the next state park.  This is about mile marker 60.  We went to the beach and swam for awhile.  Then we went to a nice restaurant.  We had coupons for a free drink and for free Key Lime pie.  Very good!

Day 125. December 9, 2013. Tiki-hut Paradise

We went to a presentation on the vegetation of Bahia Honda Key, where we are camping.  Then fished and swam some.  We packed up and headed south to our next campground.  We were going to have a picnic, but it was too hot.  So, we found an outdoor restaurant on the water.  We had what is called a Cuban Mix.  It is a toasted Cubsn sandwich with various meats and cheese.  Yum.  Then we went to our next campground.  This is a commercial one.  It is the most expensive one we have been to, but worth it.  We are right on the water.  Literally, our camper is about 2 feet from the Atlantic.  

George fished from our site.  We even have a private boat slip to dock our  boat.  Oops, forgot that we don't have a boat!  

We even have our own tiki hut!  There is a strong tropical breeze, so it is very pleasant.  I sat at the table and read.  Super relaxing.  

The campground has its own restaurant, so we ate there.  We had conch fritters.  Just so-so, but the fritters are a Keys favorite, so we thought we should have them at least once.  Talked with a guy from New Hampshire who stays here for 6 months.  

Day 124. December 8, 2013

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Our campground is right on the water.  This is our view from our site.

We swam some more in the campground's swimming pool (wanted to get our money's worth), then packed up.  We had lunch in a tiki hut restaurant that turned out to be very gourmet.  We shared Cuban pork, with black beans and yellow rice.  We had a coupon (of course) for a free drink, so George got a margarita...our first in the Keys.

We are seeing lots of huge iguana.  They are not native, and we learned that they cause damage

We checked in at another state park in the Keys...about mile marker 30.  We watched the sun set over the water with a couple from Quebec. For dinner, I made chicken salad from the leftover thigh, and served it with a baquette.  We also shucked some oysters and ate raw.  Nice cool meal.  The heat is getting to me.  Embarrassed to complain, though

Day 123. December 7, 2013. 4 month anniversary!

Today marks 4 months on the road.  Doesn't seem possible! 

We packed up and left John Pennekamp State Park.  All addresses here are by mile marker on Highway 1.  Key West is mile marker zero.  We have been in the Key Largo area, about mile marker 100.  

We moved to a commercial campground near Marathon, about mile marker 60.  There weren't any sites in state parks available.  It is more expensive, but quite nice.  It has its own beach, dock, and swimming pool.  

We toured the Turtle Hospital.  Very interesting.  People spot injured turtles and the turtle ambulance brings them in.  

This one had just come in.  It has tumors on it, from pollution.  We saw the operating room where it will have the tumors removed.

Others have swallowed garbage, like fishing hooks and plastic bags, that are removed.  Some are there because they have been hit by a boat.  When the shell is damaged, water enters their body.  They grow a camelback full of air and water and become unbalanced.  So the hospital affixes divers' weights to their shells to balance them.  Then they can swim again

After the hospital, we swam in the sea, and then the pool.  We have our own tiki hut from which to view the sunset.  

We have eaten a lot of seafood, so grilled chicken thighs for dinner.  

Day 122. December 6, 2013. Manatee!

Another day at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.  We biked over to a different beach within the park.  Almost empty.  I had the water to myself.  I started snorkeling around, and saw what I thought was a big rock or sunken boat.  Then it moved, and I realized that it was a HUGE manatee!!!  I yelled to George and others on the shore and they watched it surface for air.  I watched it under the water munching on sea grass.  Although I know they are completely harmless, I was still caught off-guard and my heart was pounding.  They are cousins of elephants, and this one was that size.  I went back to the shore, then returned to the manatee several times.  I was just inches from his snout.  It was an experience of a lifetime, especially since it was so unexpected.

We cleaned up and went to a bar to watch the sun set.  This one has a glass bottom floor, so you can watch fish under you while you eat and drink.  They also had a huge Christmas tree-like structure made out of lobster trips.  Just seems surreal. 

For dinner, we grilled a hogfish snapper with onions and leftover cilantro.  Good!

Day 121. December 5, 2013. Kayaking

Still in same Keys state park.  We rented a 2-person kayak.  George took his fishing pole.  The young man who got us set up gave us a map and told George where some good fishing spots were.  George told me to navigate while he fished.  That was our first mistake.  I am terrible with directions.  I could not decipher the map.  We rowed for quite some time in the main channel, and then headed into some smaller channels where supposedly the fishing is better.  Second mistake.  The channel we went into was the wrong one (too tiny to be on a map).  We quickly became ensnarled in mangove tree branches.  We were really stuck.  I had to lie down completely on my back while George shoved us out.  The tree branches scratched my life jacket.  I was just glad there were no salt-water crocodiles lurking around.   Also glad there was no one to see us, as it was very embarrassing.  I'm sure we looked hilarious.   Then we rowed farther, totally lost.  By this time, I'm getting a little panicked and tired of sitting.  We finally came to a sign that said "no canoes beyond this point" as it was the channel out to the ocean.  What did we do?  Of course, we continued!  The current was pulling us out, so we had to row pretty hard to keep toward shore.  Finally made it back, safe and sound, but alas, no fish.

We swam in the PM to cool off.  We met a nice family from South Africa.  They are traveling around the USA for one year.  They bought a camper and will sell it when they go back.  They have 3 children, ages 1, 2, and 4.  I can't imagine doing this with young kids!

We went to a tiki bar on the bayside to watch the sunset.  

They have a tradition that a customer rings a big gong right at sunset

We had some smoked fish dip as we watched the sun set.  We really felt like we were in some Caribbean Island in a swanky resort.

Nothing spectacular for dinner....leftover pork chops with baked potato and spinach.