Blue Heaven

Can’t Get Enough of Key West

/ marniesteve / 2 Comments

Last year we spent two weeks in the Florida Keys. This year it’s been six weeks, and we still have so much to see and do. For two weeks we based ourselves at the luxurious Blue Water Key RV Resort. We stayed here last year and it’s a real treat. We had our own tiki, complete with a kitchen and living area, which allowed us to spread out and breathe. 

Living room in tiki
Tiki kitchen
More tiki views
Rig in front of tiki
Bob likes the tiki

The highlight of our time here was a visit from our dear friends Tom and Nancy. We share a wall with these two in Prescott and have been friends for many years. To be able to share Key West with them was a treat!

Nancy
Nancy and Tom
Nancy

Together with Mia and Bob we took a fabulous sunset sail on the Argo Navis. Besides the incredible views, this ship, which we also took on Christmas Day, offers premium cocktails and appetizers. If you’re ever in Key West, we highly recommend this excursion!

Getting started
Sailing underway
Nancy’s getting cold!
Family photo
Mia enjoyed the cruise
Bob and Steve at sunset
Sitting right up front

And, you can’t miss the cuban dinner at El Meson de Pepe on Mallory Square. What a fun evening!

Mojitos and sangria
Cuban favorite

Blue Heaven is one of Key West’s most popular restaurants and, in the past, the site of cockfights and Hemingway’s notorious boxing matches. We enjoyed brunch one afternoon, and yes, the Key Lime Pie is that big!!

“One of the best Key Lime Pies I’ve had.”
Mmm…
All mine!!!
Brunch at Blue Heaven is heaven!

Sunset at Mallory Square is a must when you’re in Key West and we all enjoyed a lovely evening watching the day come to an end. Having Tom and Nancy join us was very special, and we were happy to share a little of this paradise with them.

Bob’s buddy
Beautiful sunset, of course!
The girls at sunset
Fun at Mallory Square
Waiting for sunset
Fun at Mallory Square
We are “that” close!

Also in our final week in the Keys we cashed in on a tour we won a few weeks ago and went parasailing. This was the first time in all of our travels that we’d strapped ourselves into a parachute to get pulled by a boat, and it was incredible! Check out the videos!

Strapped in
Lift off
Watch us take off!!!

Believe it or not, up there above the water, it’s very peaceful and relaxing—until they splashed us down into the water.  What an experience!

Taking a dip

We also paid a visit to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, another gem in Key West. The park, which contains a large civil war-era fort and expansive beach, is popular with tourists and locals alike. We toured the fort and enjoyed learning about the history of the military presence in Key West, which dates back before the War of 1812. Next time we’ll spend more time at the beach.

Moat around the fort
Inside the fort
Well preserved
Cannons
The latrines

It’s now time for us to move along from this paradise but we’re leaving with gratitude for the opportunity to spend time here and looking forward to our next visit. But there’s more fun ahead!

Kayaks, Hemingway, and Dry Tortugas NP

/ marniesteve / 2 Comments

For the first time in our short RV career we welcomed overnight guests into our rig and it was so much fun! After our first week in the Florida Keys my cousin Mitch and his daughter Lauren joined us to celebrate Lauren’s 21st birthday and New Years.  Our time together was filled with laughter, toasts, and new adventures in some of the most beautiful spots on the planet. 

As soon as they arrived we headed into Key West to explore a bit, hit a few happy hours, and watch another spectacular sunset. We then headed to the nearby El Meson de Pepe for dinner (our second of three total visits to this great Cuban restaurant). 

The next day we headed back into town for more exploration. In particular we took the tour of the Hemingway Home and met the famed six-toed cats. Many of the 40-50 cats on the property can be traced back to Hemingway’s cat Snowball. They were very friendly!

We also saw the penny that is embedded in the cement next to the swimming pool his wife Pauline built when he was away. In 1938 it was the first pool to be built in Key West at a cost of $20,000. Exasperated at the expense, Papa Hemingway reportedly flung a penny towards Pauline and said, “You’ve spent all but my last penny, so you might as well have that too.”

One evening we took a night kayak trip with clear-bottomed LED-lit kayaks. Paddling through the mangroves we could see fish and coral right below us! We saw some cool sea creatures and got a great sunset as well.  

On Wednesday we had hoped to make it a beach day but the weather didn’t really cooperate. In fact it rained off and on all day. So, we made the best of it with a few more cocktails at some of Key West’s finest establishments and brunch at the legendary Blue Heaven. Bloody Marys and Eggs Benedict with lobster made the rainy day seem not so bad!

On New Year’s Eve we spent the day on the water with a fun kayak through the mangroves, including a portion where you had to use your hands to guide and propel the kayak. It was fun until Mitch and Lauren saw a snake! We also saw lots of Cassiopeia, or upside-down jellyfish, and crabs. 

That evening we watched the sunset once more and then had a wonderful tapas dinner at Santiago’s Bodega. Due to the pandemic Key West instituted a 10:00pm curfew over the New Year’s weekend so the crowds were very small. Masks are mandatory inside and outside. Still, we headed home very early before the police began their sweep of the area. 

Our last big adventure in Key West was a trip to Dry Tortugas National Park, the most remote national park in the country–almost 70 miles west of Key West. We boarded our ferry, the Yankee Freedom III, early in the morning. It was so early Cuban coffee was required!

After a two plus hour voyage we docked at Garden Key and Fort Jefferson, the largest man-made masonry structure in the Western Hemisphere. The fort was built during the Civil War to safeguard U.S. shipping and to defend the Gulf of Mexico from potential enemies. Though never completed it served as a military prison and active military outpost, housing hundreds of Union soldiers. 

We explored the fort from top to bottom and enjoyed the spectacular views from the top level amid cannons and powder magazines. 

Dry Tortugas is also known as a primo snorkeling destination. The boys explored the waters while Lauren and I stayed on the beach and soaked up the sun. It was the perfect place for a little photo shoot too!

The water was chilly 75 degrees and the guys said it was “perfect.” It was truly an experience of a lifetime, and we are so grateful to have shared it with Mitch and Lauren. 

Too soon our time in the Keys came to an end, Mitch and Lauren headed home to Arizona, and we are headed north. But our adventures are continuing so stay tuned for more soon!