Blogs from Keys, Florida, United States, North America
The Florida Keys, April-May 2012
Published: May 21st 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys
May 16th 2012
Bahia Honda State Park, April 29 Our first stop in the Keys as we drove south from Miami to Key West. We had finally escaped the torrential rains further north, so stopped at Bahia Honda to check out what has been touted one of Florida's best beaches. The beaches were ok, but my judgement could be clouded by the non-sunny weather and all the seaweed that had washed ashore, probably from the recent storm. The best beach at Bahia Honda was Sandspur. We had a nice swim, but the coolest part about Bahia Honda is the old railway bridge you can walk part of. I suppose we missed out on what's supposed to be some pretty decent snorkeling. Again, blame it on the weather. There's also a nice little butterfly garden, but there were no butterflies ... read more
Key West, April 29 - May 1, 2012
Published: May 15th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Key West
May 13th 2012
I must admit that on the drive to Key West from Miami, I was a bit nervous. It was raining really hard and the forecast was calling for lots more. Having never driven the Overseas Highway before, I was worried it might get flooded and we'd get stuck. I also wasn't too thrilled by the prospect of spending two rainy days in Key West. I called our hotel and tried to change our reservations, but we couldn't and they said it was still sunny down there, so we went. The rain got a bit lighter the further south we went, and eventually stopped altogether. We stayed at the Doubletree Grand Key Resort. While a bit far from all the fun of Duval Street, there were free hourly shuttles downtown. Immediately upon arriving, we got on the ... read more
PhotoBike Tour 14: KEY WEST !!
Published: March 30th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Key West
March 30th 2012
PhotoBike Tour 14: Key West Welcome to Key West! We spent a couple of days here with friends this past week, driving down Sunday with two and driving back up Wednesday with two others. It’s good that everyone drives! Bill was generous in offering to drag my bicycle down so that I could roam at will, and roam I did. We also did a lot of walking. Kirk took most of the foliage pictures; click on any of these to make them larger. Here’s my bike– the one with the white basket– fairly jumping off the rack to get started… img=http://ji... read more
Sunny Sunday Morning in Key West
Published: March 25th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Key West
March 25th 2012
Good Morning all – Just thought I’d write this (it may be my last missive) whilst we have all been confined to cabins because the ship’s on fire!!!!!! Always best to keep a sense of humour although I have registered my disappointment as the band is not playing! Joking apart we are instructed to stay in the cabins whilst a fire in an incinerator on deck 3 is being dealt with and all crew have their life jackets and special hats on and are standing at their muster stations. I was in the middle of playing bridge so a bit inconvenient!!! Just listening to the captain now who says fire is contained but we must still stay in our cabin. We left New Orleans last night after a really enjoyable couple of days – it’s a ... read more
Have entered a blog but not sure if it published - Key West??
Published: March 25th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Key WestMarch 25th 2012
Just seeing if this publishes as not sure if the last one worked or not - please ignore it... read more
Key West – Day 13
Published: March 15th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Key West
March 15th 2012
Key West - Tuesday – March 13th Wow! Another busy day in Florida!! We had a good tour, but it was a very loooooong day. But we are glad to have seen Key West. The day started by us leaving our hotel at 5:45 AM to go to the pickup point and we got back to our room at 10:00 PM. That is why we did not publish anything yesterday. Now we are trying to catch up (being a day behind). We had previously found the hotel where we needed to meet the tour and we had found a 24-hr McDonalds for a drive-thru breakfast. We grabbed breakfast sandwiches (the hotel breakfast did not start until 6:30) and went to the Hilton for our pickup. We actually got there about 20 ... read more
February 15th 2012
We drove from Miami Beach down to Key Largo, mainly using the interstates. The GPS system we hired from the car hire company is proving invaluable, at a reasonable rate of $12 per day. The main thing you notice about American Roads are how large they are. There can be up to 5 or 6 lanes, and people stick to them. We made good time to Key Largo, and found a visitors information centre in the town before Key Largo, known as Redland. They reccommended that as it was presidents day weekend, and all the hotels would be fully booked and if they weren't, would be overcharging, that we try to find a local hotel around there. Luckily, we managed to find a Travelodge motel at a reasonable rate with only a few rooms left. Once ... read more
Last Days in the Keys (for now)
Published: January 31st 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
January 30th 2012
Friday was another lazy Keys day. We slept late then dawdled over breakfast before going to the old railroad bridge at Bahia Honda. The water was beautiful and from the bridge you could see most of the island and parts of the Seven Mile Bridge in the distance. We went down to Loggerhead beach, where the water was calmer than the last few days, but the sea grass was 2’ deep on the beach, making it a bit ugly. We went to the snack bar and cooled off with popsicles before driving down to Sandspur Beach at the northern end of Bahia Honda Key. It, too, was covered in sea grass, but the breeze was nice coming off the water. We sat in the shade of a picnic pavilion and enjoyed the fresh air, the gorgeous ... read more
Good Food, Good Friends and Bahia Honda
Published: January 27th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Bahia Honda State Park
January 26th 2012
Here we are, still in the beautiful Florida Keys. Tuesday morning we were back at Marathon City Park for another game of softball. Another big turnout of players, 26 I think. Kerry felt much more coordinated than he did on Sunday, his knee is better and he’s getting into the rhythm. Because there were so many players, someone decided they should play 9 innings so that everyone got plenty of chances to bat. So, after playing 9 innings, Kerry is sore and tired. Tuesday afternoon Alex and Cindy came over for supper. We sat at the beach for a while drinking adult beverages, telling stories, and laughing before heading back to the camper for hamburgers from the grill and avocado salad. We laughed until our faces hurt. A very good evening. Wednesday we broke camp and ... read more
Curry Hammock, Dear Friends and Softball
Published: January 24th 2012North America » United States » Florida » Keys » Marathon
January 23rd 2012
We drove down the Keys on Saturday morning, arriving at Curry Hammock State Park north of Marathon around lunch time. The weather is glorious, sunny and warm, with a nice breeze. We set up our camper and walked down to the beach. The tide was out and the water looked beautiful. We sat in the shade and enjoyed our view of the Atlantic Ocean. Our friends, Laurie and John, from Washington state, who we met on the Tennessee River several years ago, were in town and came by the campground to visit. We sat at the beach and enjoyed some cool and tasty beverages before heading to Keys Fisheries for supper. Good food there and good company, too, as we caught up on each others' lives. After eating, we went to Boot Key Harbor to show ... read more
