We know, and remind ourselves daily, how lucky we are to spend so much time in the Florida Keys. We’ve been stationed at Boyd’s Campground on Stock Island for almost two weeks.

The campground is an easy bike ride from all the action in Key West and close to everything. Since our time here spanned the Christmas holiday, there was a lot going on. We had to pace ourselves!

Some days we hung out and enjoyed the 80 degree days and sunshine and other days we explored area attractions. One day we visited the Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. One of the area’s top rated attractions, it was a nice way to spend a little time. The butterfly pavilion was filled with colorful, flying objects, along with some other fun creatures. 

On another day we took a tour of Papa’s Pilar Rum Distillery at the Hemingway Rum Company. Through our visits to Pamplona, Havana, and now Key West, we seem to be retracing Ernest Hemingway’s life. The distillery is not really his operation, but proceeds go to the Hemingway Foundation. And the rum was pretty good, too.  We bought a bottle of the blonde.

Every Friday evening at the campground there is a raffle for excursions with a local tour company. We were the big winners one night and won a trip on the Dolphin and Snorkel Cruise,  as well as a parasail ride.

The Dolphin Cruise was a fun afternoon. We followed a pod of dolphins for about 30 minutes and then found a local reef to explore. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon, though the snorkeling was not as good as what we found in Key Largo. We’ll go parasailing for the first time in our lives in the coming weeks, so watch for our report on that adventure in the next blog.

On Christmas day we splurged on a special brunch cruise aboard the Argo Navis catamaran. Billed as the only luxury catamaran in Key West, it didn’t disappoint. Along with about 40 other passengers we were treated to gourmet food, premium cocktails (including the most amazing bloody mary we’ve ever had), and some of the best service we’ve encountered recently.

Steve volunteered to help raise the sails, for which he was rewarded with the first drink served on the trip. We enjoyed it so much that we booked a sunset sail for next month to share with our friends Nancy and Tom.

We’re taking our time each day, taking advantage of the weather to get in some good exercise. Daily runs, bike rides, and paddles take up much of our days. We’re also enjoying the Cuban coffee and fresh seafood. There’s always something interesting going on in Key West!

With almost three weeks left here in the Keys there are more adventures ahead of us. We’ll be bouncing between three different campgrounds, so the variety will offer some new views and experiences. More to come!