Key West, FL: Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay

Ah, the Florida Keys.

Just saying "Florida Keys" and/or "Key West" out loud causes your blood pressure to lower a few points; your mind immediately anticipates spectacular sunrises (above taken this am from our site) & sunsets in various hues of orange, red and purple; a picture of incredibly clear blue water, white sand, & lots of colorful fish develops in your minds eye and then, slowly, unmistakably, your hand begins to curl into the perfect position to hold an icy cold beverage.

We made the trek from Alva, Florida to Key West, Florida early on Monday. Well, I think it was early, what with daylight savings time changes occurring over the weekend and all. In any case, the trip here was about 6 hours, including stopping for lunch and supplies at the Homestead Wal-Mart.

MLA & I shared the driving duties. She's getting quite good at driving the RV and spent time on a variety of roads including two lanes with little or no shoulder, some Interstate roads, and a toll road with the associated toll plaza. Always a fun experience with concrete 'Jersey walls' on either side to help you keep your vehicle 'between the lines'. I mean, haven't these people heard about something a little softer than concrete, like plastic?

MLA did great, as always, despite the state's best efforts to intimidate.

A drive through the Keys is almost always beautiful and this trip was no exception. The incredible variety of the water's colors & hues always gets your attention. The succession of bridges and causeways gives you an up close and personal view of the Keys and associated waterways, nicely enhanced when viewed from the higher driving/riding position you have in an RV.

Funny how the colors are enhanced when viewed through polarized sunglasses. The camera does not begin to capture just how beautiful it really is here. I guess I need a better camera that allows me to put on a polarized lens to better capture that beauty.

The Keys are as quirky as ever, with its ~150 mile length divided into 4 geographic/government sections. Lots of new road construction in the various sections that appear to have little coordination or overall plan. In some places they are building new roads/bridges that are two lanes in each direction; in other section they are building new roads/bridges that are only one lane in each direction.

Everyone knows when roads go from two lanes to one lane the resulting back-ups are incredible. We hit one of those two-lanes-into-one-lane sections on the way down and trying to merge a 65 foot RV + Toad package was fun. A nice Jeep driver finally blocked other traffic and let us in -- hats off to courteous drivers! Hope to see better coordination in the traffic planning departments in the Keys and across America -- hoping however not really expecting to see it anytime soon.

Our site (#54) here at Blue Water Key RV Park is really nice, complete with great view of the channel on the Atlantic Ocean side as opposed to a view of the Gulf of Mexico on the other side of this small Key. In addition to a great view from our own small private dock, we have a Casita, which is an open air Tiki Hut with a thatched roof, that provides great views and lots of blessed, comforting shade.

Temps have ranged in the low 70's to around 80, although with the wind it has not seemed hot. As expected, it rained Tuesday morning and early afternoon before turning to sunny and clear this afternoon around 3pm. Calling for sunny and chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon for most of this week and then a sunny weekend. .

We explored north of our campground (mile marker 14) on Tuesday, scouting out a great beach at the Bahia Honda State Park. Lots of trails, great snorkeling and a world class beach. They said it's ranked #6 beach world wide. No clue on who does this ranking however it appears to be a spectacular beach no matter who is doing the ratings. There's also RV camping; the ranger told us to start calling 11 months in advance and to do so starting at 8 am 11 months in advance. Apparently getting into this RV park is pretty difficult.

How do I explain to the the ranger that we have no idea where we'll be 11 days from now, yet alone 11 months from now?

I guess we'll have to deal with a calendar at some point however at this point we're just looking to stay a week here and a week there. Stay longer if we like the place and move on once we've explored and seen what interests us.

On our list for this stop: the Bahia Honda State Park, Key West's many sites, a Great Crane Refuge, and maybe take the trip to the Dry Tortuga's. That's a place where they built a Fort that turned into a prison that turned into a National Refuge located ~70 miles from Key West. That translates into a ~ 2 hour boat ride going and coming. Since MLA has some issues with motion sickness we'll have to see if we can find a day of 'smooth sailing'. Or maybe take the seaplane over.

Would love to see it as it's a very special place that has had very little impact from mankind. Or womankind. Or ..., well, you get the point. It's basically an unspoiled vision of this part of the world; how it's appeared for thousands of years. The Fort/prison proved to be too remote to be an effective Fort or prison, so it has returned to its natural state.

Regardless, lots to see and do here in the Keys, especially when you include the ever popular viewing of the world drifting by while 'sitting on the dock of the bay'. It's a tough commute for watching sunrises and sunsets since our site's dock sits about 20 feet in front of the RV.

Have to go now, my hand is starting to curl into the shape perfect for holding an icy cold beverage... See Ya!