Feb 20 – 28, 2014  We’re back at Fiesta Key and aren’t as lucky as the first time, we don’t get a waterfront site. It’s still nice, warm and relaxing.

We put our bikes on the back of the Volvo and head over the Channel 5 bridge.  There is no bike path that goes over the bridge  and it’s really not safe to bike with the traffic. So we park on the other side where the bike trail continues and bike 7 miles to Robbie’s. Robbie’s is a marina famous for feeding the Tarpon.  If you’ve ever come to the Keys and didn’t feed the Tarpon at Robbies you’ve missed out.  When we get back to Fiesta Key we round up John and Nancy and take them to Robbies.  If you think it’s fun feeding the Tarpon, watching people that have never done it is twice the fun.  We all had a ball!  The Tarpon are huge and they come right up out of the water and eat the bait right out of your hand.  Sometimes you feel “fish lips”!!!

We take John and Nancy into Marathon to do a little grocery shopping and a side trip to Sombrero Beach.  It’s a beautiful day for a walk on the beach.

David and I put the bikes on Half Pint and head over to the Marathon bike path. This is one of our favorites in the Keys.  You’d think all the paths would be the same, but the scenery is very diverse.  You may see beautiful homes, mangrove forests, ocean views, maybe even an iguana or two or ten!  After our ride we head to The Wreck for dinner, another one of our favorite places to eat.  We’re sitting out on the deck and this man comes in and hollers “Who’s Volvo is that in the parking lot?”  I panic because I thought he’d hit it. He may have been a we bit tipsy.  Nope, he didn’t hit it. Yes, he is a little tipsy. He has to come over and talk to us and tell us “when he had his PV544 story”.  We laugh together. What a character!

We spend our last day in the Keys Kayaking out to Indian Key. It is this beautiful “island” with walking paths full of plaques with information about  plants and History of the Keys.  There are ruins and lookouts that you can explore.  It’s an easy kayak ride, but from experience, take my advice, watch the tide.  We walk the boardwalk at Anns Beach and then head back and pack up.

We’re sad to leave the Keys, but on to our next adventure, Big Cypress National Preserve.

Feb 12 – 19, 2014  We traveled 35 miles south from Fiesta Key to Bahia Honda State Park. We have reservations for a week.  We have another awesome site, #16 in Buttonwood, right on the water.  The week is spent walking, biking, snorkeling and kayaking.  Our Sea Eagle inflatable is fantastic!   We have one windy day and head into Key West on the bus. We have Half Pint, but the bus is the only way to travel in the Keys. You get to enjoy the views, not worry about traffic or parking and you get to meet the “locals”.  We are creatures of habit and head to Fogarty’s for dinner. Mallory Square for sunset and The Bull for drinks and entertainment.  Our favorite singer, Sallie, isn’t working tonight.  If you close your eyes when Sallie is singing you’d think Janis Joplin was alive and belting out the tunes.  In between all that, we walked to the Southern Most Point and passed Ernest Hemingway’s House. Key West is great fun.  There is something for everyone there.  I’m sure it gets crazy, but we’re home before midnight.

Valentines Day we go to a Luau at Fiesta Key with John and Nancy.  We entered a dance contest and won consolation prizes. Everybody that was dancing did. They roasted a pig, which I’m told was delicious. I’m still vegetarian and stuck with the rice and fruit.

Sunday we go to Church at St. Paul’s. The priest should have been a comedian. He had the entire congregation’s attention from the minute he started speaking.   He gave the best sermon I’ve heard in a long time.  We go back to the flea market and No Name Pub, but this time for lunch. Gotta mix it up a bit.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night to high winds and torrential downpours.  I was ready to put on my lifejacket, but it was in the Volvo, so I rolled over and went back to sleep.  It was still yicky this morning so we went for a walk around the marina. This gigantic manatee was hanging around the boats. As we approached, I saw all the propeller scars on her back and almost cried.  She was trying to drink the fresh water run off from a boat.  David turned on a water faucet and directed the flow toward her.  She came over and was almost drinking out of his hand. She turned and rolled enjoying the treat.

We attend a Ranger led “Star Party”.  We star gaze and listen to a talk on the “Sky”.  We saw Orions belt, Beetlejuice, and Jupiter.  National and Florida State Park Rangers are the best.  I have started photographing and identifying water birds and a few spiders. I spend a lot of time in the Nature Center and the Rangers at the desk are so nice and helpful.  If I were young and thinking of a career I’d want to be a Ranger.

February 19, 2014  We go back to Fiesta Key for another 10 days

February 1 – 12, 2014   I don’t think I will ever tire  or stop marveling from the views driving into the Keys. Starting at mile marker 110, let the views begin.

We are a little nervous. We have reservations for 3 out of the  4 weeks that we’ll be in the Keys at Fiesta Key.  It is a campground that we’ve never been to and has been recently bought by a conglomerate.  We got an unbelievable rate per week at a camping show.  Another Adventure!

At mile marker 70 we turn into “paradise”.  Our first impression is good. I’m not saying the whole impression is favorable, but efforts to improve are noticeable. BUT, big BUT, Mother Nature does not let us down. Our sit #575 is waterfront, with the best ocean view we’ve ever had at a campground.  We are facing “sunset”.  Our front yard is an awesome “all natural” aquarium.  We watched two horseshoe crabs being romantic while one was being ridden by a conch. We have very nice neighbors from Nashville, TN.

Feb 2, 2014  We bike out to the road and get on a very nice paved bike path. Seven miles from mm 70 to mm 63 to the Conch Key bridge. We bike, still on the bike path, 2 miles of beautiful, beautiful ocean views from the bridge. We stop to watch 4 Cubans trying to catch a Nurse Shark.  The shark probably weighed as much as all 4 of them together. There was no way they were going to bring this shark in, it was playing with them. This was one better than watching a Three Stooges episode.  At one point, one of the guys looks at me, I’m taking photos of the shark.  He yells to me “Hey lady, take a picture of us 4 Cubans!”    They stop and pose. I take the photo and they go back to there nonsense.

We have developed “Key Disease”.  We have no concept of day or time. Every moment is enjoyable.  We meet 2 old friends of David’s from Connecticut. We’ve met many new friends.  I played mahjong at the Marathon Yacht Club and plan on going back next Tuesday.  David went fishing on a charter and caught 16 yellowtail fish.

There is a  Mexican Pot Luck dinner tonight at the campground.  David has been on a mission researching inflatable Kayaks. He ordered a Sea Eagle 370 Pro Pack. We can’t  wait for it to arrive.

Feb 8, 2014  David’s cousin’s John and Nancy are coming today.  We ride our bikes  out to the Channel 5 bridge, mm 71.  It’s going to be fun being “tour guides”. They have never been to the Keys before.  We go to the Big Pine Flea Market, Lunch at No Name Pub, Key Deer viewing and introduce them to some of our friends that live in the Keys.  We go to Church at San Pablo.  Every day Nancy and I do water aerobics and John and David “sunbathe”.  The days are just warm, relaxing and totally enjoyable.

We spend 12 days at Fiesta Key and then head to Bahia Honda State Park.  We have a week there and then will be back to Fiesta Key.