USA

One Week in the Keys

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We are beyond lucky to have landed in the Florida Keys with two weeks of sunshine, water, and holidays ahead of us. After two months of travel, ten states, and twenty different campsites we’ve stationed ourselves at the beautiful BlueWater Key RV Resort just outside of Key West. We booked this stay nearly a year ago, pre-COVID, and were fortunate to get a site at that time. 

Our site is kind of like a condo in that it is individually owned and designed. Our particular site is not on the water, though many of them are.

We have a large, private area with a tiki hut. In our tiki we have a nice dining table, comfy chairs, a bar, TV, and full refrigerator. The tiki is a great extension to our living space, which is nice after the last two months on the road. 

For our first week here, which was Christmas, we were on our own. However, during the second week my cousin Mitch and his daughter Lauren will be joining us for New Years celebrations. We are excited to have the company!

Bluewater Key is located about 15 miles north of Key West. We’ve gone into “town” almost every day for some reason or another. Twice we took the bikes in and toured Key West in the most efficient way possible. The town is compact and very congested, so bikes are a great way to see the sites.  We also followed a small portion of the 90-mile Florida Overseas Heritage Trail, which is right outside of our resort and links Key West to Key Largo.

One day we rode the length of Duval Street (the main drag with all the bars and shops). Another day we used the bikes to get to Truman’s Little White House, the 1890s house President Truman used for 175 days during his administration of 1945-1953.

While in Key West you can’t miss the landmark sites we were introduced to in Jimmy Buffett songs so long ago. Captain Tony’s, Sloppy Joe’s, and the Blue Heaven are all must-see haunts that we haunted a few times! 

The other must-do in Key West is sunset at Mallory Square. We spent our Christmas Eve here watching a parade of boats say farewell to the day with a beautiful sunset.

Entertainers and vendors set up around the large public area every evening. We were lucky that the crowds were not very large on Christmas Eve, which allowed us to also get into the nearby El Meson de Pepe for Cuban food immediately following the sunset. 

We’ve also explored a few of the other Keys. One day we headed for Big Pine Key to search for the little Key deer and to hike the nearby trails of the National Key Deer Refuge. The trails were short and flat and nothing too strenuous but we enjoyed getting out into a habitat that is so different than what we are used to in Arizona.

We didn’t see the deer in the refuge but we did see one right outside of Walgreens! They are the smallest subspecies of white-tailed deer and stand between 24” to 28” at the shoulder. Super cute!

On another day we headed to Marathon to hit the beach for a little while and to have lunch at Keys Fisheries.  Keys Fisheries is known for its lobster rueben so Steve had to partake. We also left the marina-side restaurant/fish market with a Florida spiny lobster and some incredible fish dip.  

Marathon has a lot going on. We actually visited there on a second day to take a tour of the Turtle Hospital. The old motel/nightclub turned rescue takes in injured or distressed turtles from all over and rehabilitates them with the goal of returning them to the sea.

We saw five species of turtles and witnessed the incredible work they do here to treat various illnesses and injuries. Some turtles come here with boat strikes and others have a type of tumor that is caused by pollution. The on-site veterinary staff performs surgeries and rehabilitates each individual to the extent possible so they can have a full and long life. This place is doing some really great work!

Mitch and Lauren are here now, so we’ll have more news and photos in the coming days. Believe me, there’s plenty to report.

In the meantime we hope everyone has a safe and happy New Years! 

To The Everglades and Beyond

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Our Florida exploration continues southward and we’ve now gone top to bottom. This week we left the beautiful beaches of the panhandle and made our way across the state with one night stops at Ochlockonee River State Park, at a Boondocker’s Welcome site, and at a county park in St. Lucie. 

Wait, what’s a Boondocker’s Welcome? Well, it’s a membership program where people offer their driveways or land to travelers. We lucked out with our first stay! We “boondocked” with our new friends Steve and Paul at their Leesburg, FL home, which is located within the beautiful retirement community of Arlington Ridge. Their gorgeous new home has an attached RV garage that houses their 45 ft motorhome. They were able to offer us a power and water hook up in addition to a tour of their community and a great dinner at the clubhouse. Steve and Paul have traveled in their RV to all 49 states (guess which one they haven’t visited?) and were a wealth of knowledge. What a great experience!

Along our route we stopped at Biscayne National Park, which is just south of Miami. The park itself is 95% underwater and is best explored with a boat. We checked out the visitor center and took a quick little walk around the area. Next time we’ll have to plan more time here to get out on the water.

We also stopped at the legendary fruit stand Robert is Here. Since the 50s Robert has been selling produce, much of it exotic, and delicious fruit shakes. We bought the largest avocado we’ve ever seen, along with other goodies. Robert rang us up at the register by calculating our bill by hand on the back of a paper sack. Fun stop!

After our one night stands we landed at Long Pine Key Campground inside Everglades National Park and spent three nights experiencing this wild area. On the first day we did two short little walks and immediately saw alligators—like right there!

Our campground was smack-dab in the middle of beautiful wetlands which gave us the “real Everglades” experience. The best part was that there was hardly anyone there, so we had the landscape to ourselves. 

At the Flamingo area, about 30 miles from our campground, our intent was to get on the water. Immediately upon walking into the marina area we saw a giant crocodile swim right next to the docks. Minutes later we were in a kayak in the same area. Luckily by then the croc had moved along! 

During our two hour paddle we enjoyed a cool day in the mangroves with no other crocodile sightings. However, we did spot a baby manatee feeding along the side of the waterway. We followed this cutie for awhile, amazed at how peaceful and gentle he/she was. The orange color is the brackish water filled with organic material. The manatees, also known as sea cows, are actually grey as you can see when they peek out of the water with their cow-like nose. 

Luckily Steve turned around and looked the other direction just in time to see a larger manatee right next to our kayak. Again, peaceful and curious, the big manatee came right up to check us out.  We think we may have unknowingly come between mama and baby but we did our best to keep our distance and respect that this was their home. Check out our video!

My foot is now ready to be back on the bike so we tested it out on the Everglades trails. We didn’t get too far in the mud, but the roads around the campground provided a good surface for a spin.

From the Everglades we proceeded even further south—as far south as you can go in the USA. Stay tuned for our next blog from the Florida Keys and Key West. 

Southward to the Beach

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Our ultimate goal was to hit the coast and we finally made it! After Thanksgiving in Tennessee we drove southward through Alabama. We love crossing a new state off the map and this was a new state for all of us.

While in Alabama we spent two nights each in Birmingham and Montgomery. While there was plenty of history to explore, we focused on Selma and the historic marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The bridge is the site of the Bloody Sunday conflict on March 7, 1965 when police attacked civil rights protesters including the late Rep. John Lewis.

Unfortunately the national museums connected with the area were closed due to COVID, but Professor Google helped us understand the significance of the area. 

In Montgomery we strolled the city and saw several other historic civil rights sites, including the Rosa Parks Museum, but unfortunately we were not able to go inside.  Travel during these times certainly has its drawbacks.

A few hours south and we hit the white sand beaches of the Emerald Coast. Our base, Destin, FL was a central location from which to check out new territory for us. We were in Destin for ten days, at two different locations (Camp Gulf and Topsail Hill State Park).

While we had a few adventures, the time was mostly spent enjoying the coast and “just living.” We gave blood, did some shopping, and I got a haircut. Steve got in some good runs and a few beers. 

One adventure while in Destin was to go kayak fishing. We set out on a cool Sunday morning with Captain Dave of Kayak Fishing Destin, unsure of what to expect. As the morning progressed we warmed up, caught a few speckled sea trout and redfish, and enjoyed the calm waters of the Okaloosa Sound.

The pedal kayaks were something new for us and a fun way to get from here to there. We’d highly recommend this excursion if you come to Destin. 

We also took an afternoon to visit the nearby Gulfarium. This small aquarium along the coastline has been in Destin since 1955. Dedicated to education and preservation of Gulf Coast marine life, Gulfarium provided a good overview of the ecosystem around us. Crocodiles, alligators, sea turtles, sea lions, dolphins, and more are on display.

It wasn’t SeaWorld, and it made us wonder about the ethics of these kind of places. It did pass the time and taught us a little more about the world around us. 

On another day we took a drive along Highway 30A, the coastal road between Destin and Panama City Beach. Cute little towns dot the coastline, each with their own characters. The most famous town is probably Seaside, a planned community that was featured in the Jim Carrey movie, The Truman Show. It’s idyllic to be sure. 

Christmas is all around us, even at the beach. We’re getting into the spirit with a little tree and lights outside of our rig.

My foot is healing, slowly but surely. Here’s a comparison of how it’s come along. I’m back on my bike, taking it easy, but happy to have a little more mobility.

We’re on the move again, this time heading further south into Florida. If it all goes as planned, we’ll be in the Everglades in a few days.  More to come!