So going back to last Wednesday. We started the morning off meeting Jack and Vickie at The Kolache Kitchen. Having grown up on my Grandmother’s Kolache I was intrigued and excited!

It was just a little to go counter service spot and Jack and Vickie were looking for something more sit down. So I got myself a savory Kolache with bacon and cheese to go. It was definitely a different style than my Grandmother’s, but very good. We then went to Bagatelle Cafe down the street.

After breakfast we all went to the Key West Ship Wreck Museum. As it turns out, that’s how the town got started. A booming salvage industry developed the town into what it is today. They had a lot of interesting artifacts from recovered wrecks, and the original look out tower which we were able to climb to the top of.

From there we went to The Little White House. Popularized by President Harry Truman, it was the unofficial Key West residence of sitting Presidents for a time. Truman even had a special poker table built with a full cover that disguised it. Several treaties and political agreements were signed at that table with the other party being none the wiser 😆.

After a busy morning of touring, we stopped at Pan Am First Flight Brewery. The building was the original site of Pan Am’s first office and international travel depot.

We walked the town a bit more, down the main drag checking out the shops, then back to the boat. Eric’s Inheritance and a few others we knew were ahead of us up in Marathon. It was Peg’s Birthday tomorrow and they invited us to meet them for dinner as we had planned on leaving Thursday to go there. But due to high winds, we had made the decision to stay where we were a few more days and wouldn’t catch them. However, we were able to find a bus route to get us there and back.

So Thursday we were up early to catch the bus to Marathon. We decided to make a day of it and went early to do the other things in Marathon we were interested in and then skip it by boat. We checked out the Crane Point Hammock Nature Preserve. It had nice trails through lush woods where it comes out to the Gulf.

The coolest thing they had was a natural pool with those pedicure fish. You could sit, stick your feet in the water and the fish would nibble at your dead skin. I’ve always wanted to try it, and it was a very interesting feeling.

Eric’s Inheritance and Tug Bussle said they would join us at the Turtle Hospital at 2:00, so we got some locally made popsicles in the park office, I had sangria flavored which was particularly good, and walked to this little Cuban restaurant across from the hospital for lunch. Don and I both said we thought it was our first time at a specifically Cuban place and it was delicious!

Don got a classic Cuban sandwich and I got Cuban pulled pork with tomato, roasted peppers and onions. Whatever seasoning they used on the pork was soooo good 😋.

Then we met the gang at the Turtle Hospital. A guide led us around and told us all about the many turtles they rescue, rehabilitate and release. We got to see the surgery room and even feed the permanent residents who are unable to be released back into the Gulf.

We all then went to the Florida Keys Steak and Lobster House to celebrate Peg’s Birthday. La Vida and Arion joined us as well.

Friday we spent the morning doing some trip research and planning. After spending several days in a row away from the boat, someone was particularly needy.

We made the bummer of a decision to not go to the Bahamas. The dog really made it challenging, but the timing, and the overall cost of it was not ideal either. So we’ll save that for another time. That evening we went to the Southern Pier to meet Call Me Curly for drinks and watched the sunset.

I had stopped by the Post Office and got a box and bubble wrap. My sea shell collection has taken over the boat, so Saturday morning I carefully wrapped and boxed them up. Then went back to the Post Office to mail them back to NY. On the way back I noticed a craft fair happening and made a little detour through that. When I got back Don and I made a grocery run and got things ready to leave in the morning.

Sunday we headed out of Key West. We had to stop at another marina around the other side of the island first to get fuel, the one we were at didn’t have diesel. As luck would have it, this marina was also only 1 block away from The Kolache Kitchen. So while Don filled up I made a quick dash down the street. I was even back before he was done fueling 😄. This time I got a blueberry filled Kolache, and it was delicious!

Key West is a small town kind of island, and the tallest thing around is actually the cruise ships! 😲

We came to Bahia Honda State Park. It was a super pretty area with some of the best off shore snorkeling. We grabbed our gear and headed down to the beach. Saw a ton of urchin, a lot of fish, a lobster just poking out from a hole in the rock, a bunch of jumbo conch shells (they were inhabited so I left them alone), even a sting ray. There also happened to be a crab pot in the area and it was cool to see what lies beneath the buoy.

That evening we had docktails with Sojourn who traveled here with us, and new Loopers from Washington State, Better Together.

Monday morning we took Skia for a walk before it got too hot, up the old train bridge that used to connect the islands. From up top there were beautiful views of the ocean and harbor where we could see our boat. At first it was semi blocked by a parked car, when we came down and got back to the boat the car was leaving…so you know my stubborn ass had to walk back up the bridge to get an unhindered picture.

When it started getting hot we went back to the beach for some more snorkeling. Today the current was ripping! I actually couldn’t swim back to where we went in, I had to drift to shore and then walk down the beach back to our spot.

When we came back to the boat there was a manatee swimming right by and under our boat. It made its way to our neighbor who had just rinsed his boat off and was hanging out drinking the run off water.

They really don’t want people to outright give the manatee water because that encourages them to come near boats and they can get hurt.

Tuesday we got up at sunrise and made the longer trek to Islamorada. The water was so clear and the prettiest blue color that I could only describe as Gatorade blue haha.

Along the way we passed by the Everglades State Park boundary. We anchored in a little cove near The Oceanview Inn & Sports Pub that has its own dinghy dock. We went with Sojourn to dinner there so we didn’t feel guilty taking Skia to shore there several times. The food was very good and afterwards we went over to Sojourn and played a new game, Mille Bornes.

Wednesday when we woke up with the water perfectly still it was also perfectly clear. Our depth sounder said we were in 6 feet of water but it looked like you could just stick your hand in the water and touch bottom.

We came to Elliot Key Harbor & Campground. It is the northern most island in the main chain and completely natural. Very basic ranger station and facilities without shore power and cold showers. Cell service was also very spotty, hence the update delay. And while it’s nice to unplug from time to time, it’s difficult when you need to watch out for weather. We were the only ones staying there and the completely natural surroundings would have been nice except that Florida is stupid and the bugs don’t die here. We were bombarded by mosquitoes and no see ums.

With the temps being in the mid 80’s and without power we were not able to run our ac, so the cold showers actually felt nice. The sunset was pretty spectacular too.

Thursday and Friday we spent the days just hanging out reading, playing games and watching movies on good old DVD’s at night. Friday the park hosts came and we were chatting with them about the area a bit. Turned out one of them was also an aviation mechanic and used to work for the same company as Don while we were in Colorado but he was in North Dakota.

The no see ums were particularly bad Friday and our ThermaCELL ran out so they were just flooding in through the screens. We had to close the windows and it got very hot in the boat. It ended up being an extremely rough night.

This morning we made the decision we could not spend another night like that so we called the marina in Miami we were headed to on Monday to see if they could fit us in early. They said yes so we went straight there. As we got close we passed some mega yachts, one had a helicopter on the top deck!

And while we didn’t really want to come into the Miami area over the weekend, here we are!