03-29-2010 Truly Relaxing in the Keys

There are several major sports in the Keys. Sunset, Water, Drinking, Eating, and Relaxing: not necessarily in that order. For the past five days we have partaken of most of these activities, except the relaxing part. Today is about relaxing. I am sitting at an old picnic table on the golden sandy beach at the Lime Tree Bay Resort. We are in the town of Layton, on Long Key, really just a narrow spit of limestone and sand stretched along the Overseas Highway. There is a QuickStop across the street, a water sports rental shop down the road, and Long Key State park a mile away, but with the exception of a place next door called “Little Italy”, the closest restaurants and stores are 12 miles south or 10 miles north. 

We woke this morning to warm sultry breezes with barely a touch of coolness on the edges, and a prediction for rain and thunderstorms. Our plans for the day include sitting by the water, maybe walking to the park, maybe swimming, maybe kayaking. The only item on the agenda we are sure to do is relax. Of course, writing about it all is relaxing for me at a place like this. The only sounds around me are the rustle of the palm thatched shelter, the palm trees, water lapping the limey shore, a few birds making morning sounds, and the gentle drone of traffic on Highway 1.

The Lime Tree is a fine little place to stay if you don’t care about access to amenities. The room is spacious, and clean, with bright lime yellow walls, pure white linens, and our own bathroom. The bathroom is tiny, and one must sit sideways on the toilet to keep from bumping knees on the wall in front of it, but it is our own. No running down the hall and hoping someone isn’t already locked up in the bathroom!

There is a feeling to Florida, in some places, referred to as “Old Florida”. I have felt it in the north central part of the state, around Ocala, in Citra, out on the Emerald Coast near the Gulf, and now here. There are low buildings, things are just a tiny bit tacky in ways that are hard to define, and something about it settles me down inside in a way that doesn’t happen often. It’s the part of Florida that I love, and I didn’t really expect to find it in the Keys.

Today we will relax, tomorrow we will head back to Miami in the morning for our flight to Sacramento, and another round of moving things back home to Klamath Falls. But today, right now, here in front of the Lime Tree Inn, everything is still and perfect.

 

Later: The morning was nicer than we expected, so by eleven we were on the water in the sit-on-top kayaks provided by the resort for a spin around the bay. They had rules; not too far off shore, and only an hour out. It turned out to be good enough for us because by the time we went out and back the winds were up and we got a good workout getting back to the dock against the waves. We finished up with a nice swim before the thunderstorm hit. Our timing was perfect.

 

By late afternoon, the weather had cleared enough for us to travel back toward Marathon and Milepost 49 for a watercolor art show and then we found a great beach to explore, complete with dolphins.

Dinner at the Island Tiki Restaurant with a seafood quesadilla and some key lime pie rounded out the evening. Our flight doesn’t leave Miami until 3 in the afternoon tomorrow so we should have plenty of time to pack and amble up the Overseas Highway one last time as we leave Florida and head back west.

03-28-2010 Key Largo and Pennenkamp Coral Reef

Our first night at the Lime Tree wasn’t exactly restful, with a very noisy air conditioner blasting on and off repeatedly. With night temperatures in the mid 70’s, and high humidity, it takes a bit to adjust. We woke up happy about the day to come with plans to travel back north to Key Largo to see the famous coral reef.

The skies were a bit murky and overcast, but the temperatures were still comfortable. Driving along the highway is interesting, with different kinds of establishments than what we are used to seeing out west. Many dive shops, seafood eateries, kitschy souvenir stores, resorts, gardens, then miles of nothing but low key trees and then suddenly water on both sides.

Key Largo has a completely different feel than Key West, in my opinion, not nearly as charming, but still somewhat tacky. We laughed about all the pastel colors everywhere that fit right in here in this island environment that would have been horrid in our green and brown northwest. We also laughed about how boring the northwest “earth tones” would look in the keys! We arrived at Pennenkamp State Park by 10:30, in time to sign up for the noon glass bottom boat tour. The wind was up and the water looked a bit rough, so we both decided that a boat tour was better for us than bobbing around out on the reef with our snorkels. After we saw just what was under the surface out there, we were really glad we had decided to boat instead of snorkel!

The boat was shiny clean and white and the staff was knowledgeable. It was well worth the $24. per person that we paid to see the reef. After my queasy experience on the return from the Dry Tortugas, I was a bit nervous about the “choppy” seas, with 4 foot waves that the captain warned us about. At the concession, I bought some wrist bands, with a knob that applies pressure to a meridian that prevents sea sickness. In spite of the waves, and even with the descent to the viewing deck, I managed to get through the 2.5 hour trip without getting sick! Although I did go up on the top deck and watch the horizon intently for part of the time.

The reef was beautiful, and we were treated to a great view of two nurse sharks, a very large grouper, and many colorful fish and corals. Did I mention how glad I was to have glass between me and all the “stuff” down there? My son, a certified diving instructor, would be ashamed of me, but I do love gentle beach snorkeling, where I can swim away from whatever big scary things are down there! ... The ride back was not as rough, and the skies were not as cloudy as earlier in the day. I really enjoyed George, a young man who has lived in the Keys his entire life, with a family going back in Key history for 7 generations. He told us stories about the birds and a bit of history of the islands while we motored along. I now will finally remember that the egrets have black legs and the herons have orange legs. George showed us one old heron, however, with partially gray legs, caused by long years of standing in the water creating water marks.

After our return, we checked out the rest of the park, including the swimming and snorkeling beaches, and the RV campground. The beaches were great, but the campground was nothing to write home about. The sites were narrow and rather ugly, although some of the larger ones did have cement pads. The campground was nestled into the low mangrove trees, without much shade or anything to make the place look pretty. We didn’t check the price, but probably wouldn’t plan a stay there for our MoHo in the future.

We originally planned to stop for dinner at Robbies of Islamorada for supper. The writeup in the Florida Keys brochure made it sound like a great place, with shopping, food of all sorts, beaches, and accessibility to boats and entertainment. The reality was far less interesting, with only one tacky looking restaurant and a few closed up shelters for cheap stuff. We decided to backtrack to a place recommended earlier to us by the Lime Tree staff.

Our dinner at the Lazy Daze restaurant right on the ocean side of the water was worth the effort. Here we participated in the Keys major sport of eating with great success. I had crab stuffed shrimp with Key Lime butter and red rice, and of course, Key Lime pie for dessert. The fact that I took home half my meal for the next day was just another benefit. It was probably our spendiest meal so far, but the view, food, and service made it all worth while.

Home to a quiet evening catching up on the news, and enjoying the cooling breezes of the evening. We saw the full moon rising through our east facing windows while the sun set outside the west facing windows of our room. Perfect.

03-27-2010 Shifting Gears Key West to Long Key

When we drove the Overseas Highway from Miami to Key West, the air wasn’t as clear as I might have liked, the skies were a bit murky. However, this Saturday morning we had gorgeous blue skies, warm temperatures, and balmy soft air. We took our time leaving the guest house, enjoying a leisurely morning walk to Camille’s, a little cafe that had received great reviews, especially for breakfast. As we walked toward the Southernmost Point on Simonton Street, we found more charming little conch houses (a term for any small frame wooden house in the keys) and another guest house completely hidden by gardens. I later read in Budget Travel that this guest house was one of a special few in the world. Breakfast at Camille's was excellent, with banana walnut pancakes, real maple syrup, and fresh orange juice. yum again.

Back to the guest house, I took some photos of the house and grounds and we packed our belongings into the car (not touched in three days) and headed back north on the highway. With the car, we found parts of Key West that hadn’t been as easily reached on foot. We found Higgs Beach, Rest Beach, and the long and lovely Smathers Beach. I would have loved to have found these beaches earlier in our vacation, but there wasn’t enough time to really explore Key West any more than we did. If we can find a place for the motorhome, I can see us driving south in the winter and spending some quality time here kayaking, walking, and just relaxing.

On the way back north, we did see a couple of large state parks, and tried to check them out. Both parks charged $2.50 per person to enter, and neither would let us just ride through to check them out. From the outside, Bahia Honda State Park at MM37 looked wonderful, with a few large RV sites with some shade, and others without shade but with a waterfront view. Farther north, on Long Key, while parked along the entrance, we used the internet to check out Long Key State Park, also with wide spaces and beach front locations for several RV sites. We will definitely need to plan ahead, however, since they recommend getting reservations when they are first available, 11 months prior to your visit. It also isn’t cheap, with full hookup sites at $40 or more and no senior discount except for Florida residents. Still, I can see us planning this trip sometime in the next few years.

 Crossing the famous “Seven Mile Bridge” was beautiful with such clear skies to brighten the day. Stopping at the wayside to walk the bridge a bit, I was again mesmerized by all the colors of turquoise. Pigeon Key, just a tiny spit of land in the middle of the bridge, was only accessible via a 4 mile walk across the bridge. A new home base waited in Long Key, so we opted for a short walk instead.

Arriving at the tiny village of Layton, on Long Key, we were a bit disconcerted to see that we were somewhat isolated. The delight of our nice room made up for everything, and we unpacked our belongings and enjoyed the space. It was great to have our own bathroom again!

After settling in, and realizing that the pace of this part of the trip would be a bit slower, we decided to drive to the rest of Islamorada and check out the villages. Islamorada is a collection of islands, separated by bridges, and all considered part of the community.

Checking out the reviews, we decided to try out the Island Grille. Voted Islamorada’s best waterfront dining, it didn’t disappoint. The ambiance was loud and festive, our table right on the waterfront, with a big fancy boat parked just a few feet from our table. The menu was crazy, and it took a long time to decide what to eat. Again, things weren’t cheap, so I decided to have an appetizer. I chose the “Tater Fondue”, a crazy mixture of crisp home-made potato chips made tantalizing with a balsamic drizzle, blue cheese and a hot blue cheese sauce, fresh finely chopped tomatoes, and scallions. It was the strangest combination I ever saw, and it was delicious!

Ambling back to our comfy lodge just in time for the sunset, it was the end of a perfectly lovely day.