Story Aunt Gus and Little Bear's Adventure Book 2 (Complete)
- Thread starter Kathy in FL
- Start date
Jun 3 (Su) - Estero Bay Preserve State Park
Rick’s day off. He was gone when I came out of the shower to fix breakfast. Lev was sitting there nursing a cup of coffee that looked dark and strong enough to stir itself.
“Rick’s not around?” I asked.
“No,” Lev said. “And I was hoping he’d switch it so that we’d have the workday today and go to the preserve tomorrow with him there.”
“Uh … any particular reason?”
He scrubbed his face and then straightened up. “Sorry. My people are on my case. They want more product.”
“I’ve looked at the park, there’s not a lot of organized activities to it and it is only fifteen minutes from here. If you want, we can try and finish up fast and then come back here early so you can do your editing.”
“You don’t mind?” he asked hopefully.
“Nope. I have a few things I need to do including figuring out how best to use the remaining groceries. Burgers and Curley Fries for supper sound okay?”
“Better than. I’ll even do the grilling.”
“Nah. I’ll just fry them here in the kitchen. Don’t really need to have one more thing to clean up.”
“Sounds like a plan. And thanks. Er … you okay?”
“Yeah. Why?”
He shrugged. “Kinda … detached I guess.”
I thought about how to respond then explained, “Need to control the controlling.”
I didn’t have to explain because he then said, “Rick needs to decide and get his personal crap together.”
“Pretty much.”
“Yeah. I’m kinda done playing big brother myself. When he burns out, he’s going to burn up.”
I sighed. “I don’t want to worry about it but …” I shrugged. “I just have to control my response.”
Kinda out of left field Lev said, “He’s not cheating.”
I almost laughed. “Lev, I’m a big girl. Thanks for looking out for my interests but … there’s not enough to … to any of it for me to be able to accuse him of cheating even if he was doing something. And we both know he isn’t. He’s way too squeaky straight for that.”
Lev snorted. “There’s cheating and then there’s cheating. But I getcha. I’ll keep my nose out. I just … look, you ever need to talk …”
I fist bumped the top of his shoulder as I poured the last of the coffee out of the pot to freshen his mug and so the carafe would cool down and be reading for washing as I made sure he had something besides coffee grounds for the first meal of the day. Nothing else was said because Little Bear came in the room right then making us both laugh as his hair was going every which way.
There was no guide available today which was fine by me. Meant we could go at our own pace. We did stop to read a sign-thingie that said: The Estero Bay Preserve was established in 1966 to buffer Estero Bay from encroaching development in the watershed. The water and uplands portions of the preserve were placed in separate management in 1987 by DEP's Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection. This division provides protection for both preserves by allowing each area to focus on their specialty while working together for the best management practices of the state lands.
And another one that read: The purpose of Estero Bay Preserve State Park is to conserve and protect the unique and irreplaceable natural areas, wildlife, and significant cultural resources of Estero Bay. The goal is to improve water quality within Estero Bay and to provide outstanding, resource-based recreation opportunities for the citizens of Florida.
The only activity we really participated in was some hiking which gave Lev the greatest flexibility for getting shots he could turn in. The Preserve has two trail systems. First, the Estero River Scrub has four marked trails with a combined length of 10 miles. These trails run through pine flatwoods and tidal salt flats and lead to the Estero River. The best times to visit are typically October through May when the trails are at their driest. They were already muddy in places so I can imagine they get pretty wet during the rainy season.
The other system is called the Winkler Point trails which has three loops totaling 6 miles. Here the trails take you through wet flatwoods, salt marshes and mangroves. There are two observation decks overlooking tidal ponds, which are a good place to view waterfowl and wading birds. This area is very seasonally wet and there are also signs that they aren’t well maintained during certain times of year because of this. We called it quits after the first loop as neither Lev nor I saw the sense in getting muddy when he already had enough film.
We’d skipped lunch, instead substituting the remaining GORP mix I had already mixed up so as soon as we got back to the pyramid (that is so weird), I started the Burgers with Cheesy Curly Fries. Rick had texted that he would be late getting back but he would be back tonight, but no need to fix him a meal. Lev seemed a little steamed about something but not Benny or I and he went out of his way to prove it. He was going to help dry after I washed but I told him to scram and get some editing done and get his people off his back.
“Thanks. I owe you.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let’s just say I’m working towards trying to be even.”
He grinned but then became distracted as a call came in and he headed for his laptop. Benny asked if he could watch a dock-mentary with The Crew and I had a date with a freak ton of laundry that needed to be mended, folded, and put away.
It was close to nine when I heard Rick come in and say hello to Lev who barely mumbled a response has he had his face in his editing equipment. I stuck my head out and got a distracted waive. Good enough I suppose ‘cause I’m … done.
I have a plan for tomorrow and it doesn’t include being stuck inside with two guys who have things they need to do so g’nite.
June 4(M) – Workday
We’ve been needing a full work and planning day. I’ve been feeling it coming on. Both men have been stressing because they have reports, end-of-the-assignment type reviews, and other yada yada they owe to their bosses. Lev in particular seems to have his people beating on him from afar. Benny and I have pretty much gone our own way today. I stayed out around the van and let Benny burn all the wiggles off he wanted, and I left the “pyramid” to the guys. They didn’t even object to it, which tells me just how badly they needed the time to get their work done.
I, on the other hand, really needed to give the Ark and Benny a little extra attention. I’ve needed to do my own administrative crap too. Uncle Daniel’s emails and texts are sounding pretty desperate. I still don’t know exactly what he wants from me. To come for a visit? I suppose I can. But I don’t know if I can just play whatever role he somehow imagines me playing. I’m not Sharon. I’m not Charlotte. I’m not Dad. I’m going to have to put that in a box and put it on the shelf until I’m better ready to deal with it.
It's not like there’s anything in the way of me going for a short visit, or even an extended one. One day Rick seems on the verge of saying something to me and the next he is all about the job and only the job. The next day he is like be my friend but that’s all I can handle right now but I really want to at least be friends. I think I’ve given it just about as much patience as I’ve got. That’s another thing I need to put in a box for a bit.
Rick had lunch and dinner “ordered in.” Didn’t even ask, just did it. I don’t mean to be ungrateful but there were some leftovers I had a plan for. He told Lev there were monies that needed to be spent from the grant. Uh, okay? I only heard about it because I’d gone to ask the guys when they wanted lunch. Rick was on the phone. Lev intercepted and informed me of the plans. I don’t know why I’m making such a big deal out of it, but it feels like a big deal in an I’m-cranky kind of way. Pretty stupid I admit.
I’m not sure how long I can wait around for all of this to resolve. I have until the end of this month to get things figured out. And I’m going to have to put that in a box or the brain hamster is going to start running laps in my head and I’m not going to get any sleep tonight. As it is I have a bottle of caffeine water that I’m tempted to drink. I don’t know.
I’m starting to feel as fritzy as I did when Benny and I got closer and closer to the end of our national park adventure. No job. No serious prospects. Feeling alone yet crowded. And …. Nope. Gotta stop this. Gotta get off the dang hamster wheel. Let’s list out the positives. Scanned a bunch of the papers we’ve been accumulating and then put the non-digital items in the recycling bin. Benny didn’t freak out and actually volunteered some of the state Junior Ranger booklets as well. He isn’t as attached to the state park ones as he still is to the national park stuff. Not to say he isn’t proud of the other but some of them are just copy pages, and some of them poor copy pages at that. And few of them have any color to them except what Benny himself has added. Spent about two hours today organizing the scans into a funky kind of digital scrapbook. Benny likes that much better anyway as I allowed him to pick frames and extra graphics, stickies, and stuff to dress up the plain white busywork pages. We also got rid of most of the duplications.
Along with that bit of digital housekeeping I can say Benny’s portfolio is caught up for the academic year. Because I had it all in digital format, I was able to contact Ms. Grant – the teacher friend of Pei’s who did Benny’s Assessment – and ask her to look it over and see if it would pass muster with the State in case they asked for one. In exchange I offered to do some free advertising in the blog since it is seen by a lot of homeschooling families. Bang zoom. We both got what we wanted. Glad to have it out of the way. Benny really did well and scored above average on almost everything. I do need to deal with his peer-socializing opportunities, but I already listed it in my own review of the year. Ms. Grant sent along some more notes and after asking around she said he may need ABA therapy at some point.
ABA therapy is basically teaching a person, usually kids, to socialize. Maybe. I’m willing to consider it. I went through ABA therapy as a pre-teen but there is no one left for me to ask if it did me any good. From what I remember of it, it just irritated and aggravated me. I didn’t want what the therapist tried to sell me – not literally, I mean figuratively – so I was very resistant. I mostly wound up having to learn the hard way that if I wanted something, Sea Scout and naval scout advancement as examples, I would need to learn to interact with people constructively. But that’s me. I developed some friends as a result … Pei, Charles, Renee, Townzen, Nels, etc … so maybe Benny could use that kind of help. I’m going to give him the chance to work through some things naturally first though. We Barrymore’s tend to go the opposite direction if someone tries to force us to do something.
Benny helped me to go through all our clothes and gear as well and we wound up with a small bag for charity, but because of all the stuff we’ve gotten this year as part of the grant and vendor advertising I don’t really have anything to purchase to carry us forward. That’s a real positive since it will save money. However, the way Benny is growing this stuff isn’t going to last more than a few months more at best.
With all the other cleaning and organizing I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. The van got a thorough cleaning from top to bottom, fore and aft. That has been months coming; especially the floor and some deep cleaning of the head. I also took a scrub brush (and the occasional toothpick) to the appliances. They were really getting kinda groady. I’ve never let any of that go so long before and won’t be letting it go that long again. I swear the floor looks a different color and pattern and I got a beach’s worth of sand out of all the nooks and crannies with the little vacuum.
Okay, I’m done trying to make with the happy-happy. I’m going to drink the caffeine water and then go to sleep. Maybe tomorrow will bring me the answers I need.
Resources:
Web Server's Default Page
http://www.sanibelmoorings.com/sanibel-botanical-garden/
Historical Markers and War Memorials in Lee County, Florida
Jun 5: Palm Beach County
Jun 5 (T) - John D. MacArthur Beach State Park
Breakfast was a rush at the pyramid as we needed to check out and the guys hadn’t cleaned up after themselves last night. The weather didn’t look promising at all and it proved to be the way things ran.
Rained off and on all day today so I’m glad I did all the cleaning and reorganizing of the van yesterday and that we had some alternative activities for today, most of them around West Palm Beach. We did get a few hours in the John D. MacArthur Beach State Park but once the storms started rolling in there wasn’t even a reason to try and do any more of the park. At least we got enough in that Benny finished his Junior Ranger booklet.
Lunch was something grabbed from a local deli … meat and cheese that I had gluten-free tortillas if someone wanted to turn them into a wrap. Then the rest of the day was spent trying not to drown between rainstorms. The Hurricane of 1928 Mass Burial Site[1], the Kennedy Bunker[2], and the Bulk Candy Store Museum[3].
Then the rain let up enough that we could visit Mounts Botanical Garden[4]. I can’t describe it any better than what was on the sign-thingie at the entrance. With a mission to "inspire and educate through nature" and a history spanning more than 40 years, Mounts Botanical Garden is Palm Beach County’s oldest and largest botanical garden. Located behind Palm Beach International Airport, the Garden is a hidden gem. Visitors to this 14-acre tropical oasis will see an acclaimed collection of 25 unique garden areas containing more than 5,000 species of tropical and sub-tropical plants, including Florida natives, exotic and tropical fruit trees, herbs, palms, roses, cactus, bromeliads and much more. Other highlights include the award-winning Windows on the Floating World: Blume Tropical Wetland and Lake Orth, where an island overlook gives visitors a view of the koi, plecos and turtles that are in abundance.
We finished just in time to get in the van and head to this night’s accommodation across the county line into Broward, a hotel near the cruise port. Rain in the forecast for a couple of days so Rick is seeing if Admin is going to delay the schedule or if we are just going to try and do whatever it is we can do.
Resources:
Palm Beach County Shooting Sports Complex
Historical Markers in Palm Beach County
[1] Hurricane of 1928 Mass Burial Site
[2] Secret Kennedy Bunker on Peanut Island: Hidden treasure closed
[3] Bulk Candy Store Museum
[4] Welcome to your Garden - Mounts Botanical Garden of Palm Beach County
Jun 6 – 7: Broward County
June 6 (W) & 7 (R) – Buncha stuff
Missed making a log entry last night as something in my cloud tried to force an update and it screwed up things so bad I wound up having to call a friend to walk me through fixing things. That is all I did last night into the wee hours of the morning. I’m running out of steam so I’m going to have to make tallying the last two days up quick before the hamster wakes back up and takes over.
Wednesday we got up and quickly went to John U. Lloyd Beach State Park and did beachy types of things. At least until the lightning started popping offshore. I also saw the beginnings of a waterspout. The rain was scheduled to stay offshore until the afternoon, but I wasn’t interested in testing that prognostication. The men agreed and we headed for a vendor/sponsor location; Butterfly World. Place was cool enough that we spent three hours there walking through tropical gardens in six giant screened aviaries filled with twenty thousand LIVE exotic butterflies and the most amazing birds. We got to feed the small parrots in the Lorikeet Encounter, and they preened Benny’s hair like he was one of their own chicks. The Macaw’s were not quite as inquisitive, but they weren’t exactly standoffish either. It was a hoot to go to what they called the Live Bug Zoo as well. They provided a boxed meal that was gluten-free at the Garden Café.
We had to reschedule our next activity and headed back to the hotel. We were scheduled well in advance for the night only to find there had been a “miscommunication” and they had us all in a double room with two queen beds. This wasn’t camping and I wasn’t comfortable with that so, since the hotel was otherwise booked up, I told Rick and Lev to take the room and Benny and I would stay in the van. The hotel manager wasn’t sure he wanted anyone boondocking in the parking lot, but I asked him would he rather get a bad review with the State for screwing up a written reservation that had been made months in advance. He became accommodating at that point, no pun intended.
Of course, rather than sleep I was on the phone most of the night getting my tablet restored and recovering access to all my data including this log.
I did manage to get just enough sleep that I didn’t act like the demented hamster could have had me acting and that was mostly because I didn’t have to do much more than be along for the ride the remainder of the day. We had breakfast at a nearby diner.
“Er … rootbeer with your breakfast?” Rick asked. Lev was kinda giving me a look as well.
“Don’t freak. No caffeine. This is just my version of coffee when I need it. And I need it. I was up late with tech issues. What’s on tap today? Between the rain of course,” I added after watching the sprinkles turn torrential through the plate glass we were sitting in front of.
Despite the rain, we did as much as we could of Hugh Taylor Birch State Park then headed to Deerfield Beach Arboretum at Constitution Park in Deerfield Beach. The walk through the Deerfield Beach Arboretum was about as different from hiking the backcountry as it gets. Our guide told us that it's known locally as the tree zoo. It’s a nine-acre tract established in 1995. It weathered last year’s storms with minimal damage and was able to open almost immediately but with limited staffing because so many people needed time off to take care of their personal storm damage. It has a half-mile hiking trail that is wheelchair accessible so is a popular field trip with local schools and retirement communities. Although the focus of the arboretum is on trees of the world, it does have its share of Florida native trees. It also has a butterfly garden. There are plenty of sign-thingies identifying the trees with a common name, scientific name and country of origin. Some of the signs are faded and difficult to read, from storm damage but its nothing a community service project could fix. It's also bordered by water on three sides, which attracts a variety of ducks, herons, egrets and other birds. I was also surprised that it hadn’t been more storm damaged. So was everyone else supposedly, with it even making the news at the time. It was like an oasis in the middle of a garbage dump for a while.
After waiting out yet another rainstorm we headed to the Flamingo Gardens Botanical Garden. It was 60 acres of tropical paradise, or so my tired brain was telling me at the time. It has more than 3,000 species of rare and exotic, tropical, subtropical, and native plants in addition to the flamingoes that give it its name. The Arboretum also claimed to contain some of the largest trees in the state of Florida. If they don’t, they are certainly in the running.
For dinner a sponsor called The Grill From Brazil provided our end of the day meal. I don’t think I have ever … as in ever … eaten so much meat. Wow. Everything freshly grilled with a buffet of sides that I was able to find enough on that Benny and the guys could eat. That didn’t come out quite right. I’m not their mother, I’m just tired. I mean I am Benny’s aunt and … never mind. I’m hitting the hay. Benny and I are in a connecting single room next to the guys. Apparently whoever had this room left a day early. Hurray. But yeah, snore time. G’nite.
Resources:
Home - Flamingo Gardens
http://www.butterflyworld.com/
http://www.wildsouthflorida.com/deerfield.beach.arboretum.html#.YdDgcmDMKUk
Historical Markers in Broward County, Florida
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Thank you.
Ran after great grands this morning, soon to be son in grand son in law came to help with a tree. Grand girl tends to not watch her kids so great as long as they don't bother her
and the kids want nothing but junk food and candy for snacks. No wonder they are wound so tight. I had the 4 year old minding me and he clung to me before they left with no problem.
Ran after great grands this morning, soon to be son in grand son in law came to help with a tree. Grand girl tends to not watch her kids so great as long as they don't bother her
and the kids want nothing but junk food and candy for snacks. No wonder they are wound so tight. I had the 4 year old minding me and he clung to me before they left with no problem.
Good to be back. I'm trying to finish up Gus Book 2 so I can get back to another story and get it finished. I'd love to have two or more completed before the end of August. At least that is my goal assuming the muse cooperates. And getting this ding blasted wound to seal up.
Had great news yesterday. While the wound still measures 9 cm x 4 cm it has almost completely filled in and is less than 0.1 cm deep. I nearly cried when the nurse told me because that means no more wound vac. It was a constant pain ... and I mean it hurt constantly which at times had me fighting the need for the pain pills. I only gave in when they were changing it to keep me from puking.
Hubby did the wound change with collagen pads while we were on our trip and now they've changed that up again and it is Medi-honey and a 6x6 padded silicone bandage three times a week and the nurse once a week just to keep an eye on things. At some unknown to me point, the nurse hypothesized that they'll use a silver salve but I'm still too "raw" at the moment. From there I will eventually have to have plastic surgery. I have no idea how long this is going to take but the nurse and my primary care are very, very pleased with the healing process. Not so pleased with my glucose, cholesterol, and blood pressure; however, my blood pressure is better than it was by a considerable margin. At least now I'm consistently in the 130-140 range on the top numbers and they had been a lot higher than that and not just because I have White Coat Syndrome.
Ah well, this too shall pass and hopefully never repeat. I was blessed to survive and I'm grateful. I just want off the blasted insulin at some point that doesn't take years to arrive.
Old Gray Mare
TB Fanatic
Why am I thinking that glitch on the tablet wasn't an accident, kind of like the hotel reservations? Have a feeling Mother Hen has a surprise in store....
Thank you for the good news update.
Thank you for the good news update.
Jun 8 – 11: Collier County
June 8 (F) - Collier-Seminole State Park (camp)
Here’s another park that Benny and I have done before. But what a change. So many of the trails and attractions within the park were closed that it only filled a couple of hours and then we headed to our campsite.
According to what our guide told us: In the 1700s, Seminole Indians emigrated from the Creek Confederacy to Florida. Three Seminole Wars took place to remove the Seminoles from Florida and send them to reservations. During the Third Seminole War, the Seminoles resisted and retreated to the swamps of southwest Florida. Soldiers searching for the Native Americans drew maps. One crude 1857 military map illustrates the Blackwater River and an area labeled “palm grove.” That area, now part of the park, contains the beautiful royal palms. In the 1920s, advertising tycoon and pioneer developer Barron Collier purchased nearly a million acres in southwest Florida. In 1923, it became Collier County. Barron Collier was a major investor in developing the Collier County section of the Tampa-to-Miami highway, the Tamiami Trail. Barron Collier later donated the land to the county to assure that the Royal Palms were preserved and in 1947 the area was turned into a park that eventually become the Collier-Seminole State Park.
The guys are hard at work editing and doing reports. I had no idea how much they were putting off. Or maybe this is just end of the grant stuff that couldn’t be done until now. Either/or they barely reacted when I set a plate of food beside them for supper where they were working in the screen room I had insisted we take the time to set up over the picnic table and their tents. Rick even bit his own finger as he fed himself. Thankfully Benny was washing up because that kind of language is not something I wanted him to hear. Though I admit I had to go to the other side of the van so Rick wouldn’t seem me struggling not to laugh. Although I shouldn’t. I’ve done the same thing more than once. There are just days when it isn’t a good idea to try and do more than one thing at a time.
June 9 (Sa) – Naples Botanical Garden
However they managed it, both Rick and Lev seem like they’ve caught them some breathing room and were in a reasonably good mood … and then in a more than reasonably good mood after seeing I’d added a pile of bacon to the breakfast meal we had before heading out in the jeep.
Our stop of the day was Naples Botanical Garden. It is a 170-acre world-class garden paradise. I’m not kidding. I was in hog heaven and Benny spent every spare minute sketching out some of the stranger looking flowers. The garden features the plants and cultures of the tropics and subtropics between the latitudes of 26 degrees North and 26 degrees South including Brazil, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia, and Florida. The Garden also offers 90 acres of restored natural habitats and walking trails that have these cool educational entertainment pit stops. People of all ages can enjoy this place. Did I mention their orchid garden was … was … well it reminded me of Grandma Barry’s greenhouse only these would growing out in the open.
The center of the garden where the water areas are suffered some flooding damage last year, and they had problems with gators on the pathways for a couple of months over the winter, but they were able to make sure that most of the rare and exotic plants were protected from being beat on by the storm. The worst of the damage besides the flooding in the naturalized areas, was the damage to the vanilla orchid vine. It got pruned back by about a quarter but our guide told us that it has already grown half of that back and even put off new shoots. So I suppose the silver lining is that there is no loss without at least some gain.
I would have stayed there all day if afternoon showers hadn’t set in with obvious intention of hanging around. We headed back to camp and the guys excused themselves and went back to work.
What’s that word that Pei used to use? Superfluous. That is how I’ve felt the remainder of the day. Maybe I haven’t been as important to this grant as I thought. I don’t know. I feel … something. I’m not sure what to call it. I played my part, but maybe my roll was less important than I was giving it credit for being.
It certainly hasn’t helped me to get the next job. And I suspect that Uncle Daniel is going to get around to asking me to come help him out for a while. Sharon and Charlotte sound useless, their kids worse than useless. They visit him often but leave him with more work than he had before they came. I’m not going to bring it up unless he does first. And frankly I don’t want to think about it right now. I need to find a new job on my own.
June 10 (Su) - Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park
Rick’s day off. Or should I say days. He’ll be back on Wednesday night. He was being weirdly nice at breakfast, like he wanted to talk to me but couldn’t get up the nerve or something. I don’t know what that means and thankfully the hamster has been otherwise occupied because Lev is being a total ‘tard about something. Tonight, I told him it was his choice, time-out or knock-out but whatever chigger had him by the butt he needed to find some calamine lotion, stat.
He just stood there for a good fifteen seconds staring at me and then dissolved into laughter that made me think of the men in white and their funky jacket.
After breakfast Rick left with the Jeep and we packed the last of the gear and broke camp before heading to Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park. It was a very relaxing day, at least for me. As I helped Benny with the Junior Ranger program for the park, we stuck to beachy type activities. We kept our swimming to the southern part of the beach because the currents were dangerous on the other end. Benny and I snorkeled and rented a paddleboard. Lev took some pictures but mostly they were with a telephoto lens from a beach chair under the super-sized umbrella I had put up. He’s exhausted and is already asleep here in the van despite intending to work. Too much water, sun, and pushing by his people. He’s got dark circles under his eyes and he’s hacked off at Rick again for some reason he won’t talk about.
I called an end to the day early and he didn’t fight me though he was cranky enough I almost left him on the side of the road. After giving him guff and then fixing Veggie Grilled Cheese Sandwiches and some S’mores for supper he seems to have gotten over whatever bug but biting his butt. He even apologized which was nice. Usually I’m the one apologizing for being a moody … er … not nice female.
We’re “camping” in the parking lot of the Naples Zoo. There was supposed to be an overnight activity for Benny but it was cancelled at the last minute leaving us hanging for overnight accommodations but there were enough vendors for that activity in the same boat that the zoo offered the parking lot free of charge. They also had a guide take Benny and I around as they closed down the animal enclosures for the night. That was kinda cool. They didn’t have to and I learned a few things about the logistics of running a zoo with exotic animals. However now it is time to hit the hay as both Benny and Lev are asleep and we’ve got a full day tomorrow.
June 11 (M) - Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park
Lev’s stomach was upset this morning so we all agreed that a light breakfast smoothie would suit us all. The first two stops of the day fixed his mood and made him laugh. Thrilled Benny as well. See me rolling my eyes at what the male of the species finds funny.
First stop was Skunk Ape Headquarters in Ochopee[1]. Trying to figure out what I was getting into I opened their website last night and trust me, be prepared. Had I been on a big screen when I did it I probably would have punched it. Ugh. The Skunk Ape is basically Florida’s version of Big Foot. The headquarters is about as big a tourist trap as you can get but there are some true believers working there, let me tell you. Some of my old crew mates would have gotten as big a kick out of the place as Lev and Benny got. And Lev got a pair of socks that … nope, not enough words to describe these things and I could see Benny wanting a pair if they’d come in his size.
And since we were in Ochopee, Lev asked to swing by the World’s Smallest Post Office[2]. It is a real working post office. Apparently, Lev collects pictures of strange places whenever he gets the chance. I’ve heard of stranger hobbies.
We finally made it to Fakahatchee Strand Preserve State Park. Despite it being the largest state park in Florida, the one thing it doesn’t have is camping so we needed to complete the assignment before sunset. No guide as they had someone call out sick and they needed help with a “lost child” that turned out to be a teenager screwing around with her boyfriend. Created a mess that’s for sure.
The park is composed of four main use areas: the Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk, East River, Jones Grade lakes and Janes Memorial Scenic Drive. The Big Cypress Bend Boardwalk is 2,500 feet long and winds through a pristine section of the Fakahatchee Strand swamp and ends at an alligator pond and observation deck. It was a great place for us to get an introduction to the park while getting some of the wiggles out during the short hike. The boardwalk is located off U.S. 41, about 7 miles west of State Road 29.
East River canoe launch is hidden down an unmarked dirt drive off U.S. 41, 5 miles west of State Road 29, on the south side of the road. The river is brackish water and a tidal responsive creek that flows southwest to Fakahatchee Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands. I wanted to kayak it but the weather wasn’t optimal. I didn’t want to be in the middle of the creek if a storm came up. From the description in the park’s brochure it is a beautiful and varied creek, passing through a succession of small lakes and canopied mangrove tunnels before widening into a tidal river.
Jones Grade lakes and trail is accessed off State Road 29, just south of the Interstate 75 intersection. The lakes are great for fishing, canoeing or kayaking; however, no swimming is allowed. The Jones Grade trail crosses through the strand swamp and connects to the East Main tram, Pennington Post trail and the Florida trail. You can imagine why no swimming. One there are a lot of snags. Two, there are enough gators that you’d be crazy to risk it.
Janes Memorial Scenic Drive is the main access point to the majority of hiking and biking trails in the park. Janes is a 6-mile dirt road that be accessed from State Road 29. You can hike or bike at numbered gates along the drive or an additional 4.5 miles of Janes that is closed to vehicle traffic and extends to the park’s border with Picayune Strand State Forest. All of the trails in the park are cleared tram roads that were created when the land was logged in the 1940s through the 1960s. The two most popular hiking trails are the East and West Main trams. The West Main Tram is located 4 miles down Janes from the visitor center. The trail passes through 2 miles of strand swamp before opening up into what they called a marl prairie.
The East Main Tram is located 2 miles farther down Janes. The first 2 miles of the trail are the most open, maintained and well-traveled. The tram continues for another eight 8 miles if you are more adventurous and have the time. We didn’t unfortunately.
We did as much of the park as we could be as the day got later, the skies got darker. We’re definitely back in the rainy season. We left the park and had to take I75 all the way east across Big Cypress Preserve. We pulled into our “accommodations” only to find that the hotel was closed and had been for several weeks. I called the emergency number for the grant, but it was after hours and that left me figuring out what to do. I went back to what I knew best and got on the boondocking websites and got lucky and found a spot at the Dezerland Action Park. They were having some kind of RV convention in the parking lot, and we slid in quietly and no one gave us any problem. They’re also providing overnight security which is a big bonus. I threw a few bucks in the kitty so that the security guards got something to eat and drink during their breaks and they were a happy crew.
Time to sleep but …
I only have a couple of weeks left to get this all figured out. I’m trying not to let Benny see how freaked out I am getting and I think I am pulling it off. Not even Lev realizes it as he has his own stuff he is dealing with. Geez, just once I’d like to have a plan before I needed one.
Resources:
Historical Markers and War Memorials in Collier County, Florida
[1] HOME | Skunkape
[2] A Visit to the Smallest Post Office in the U.S.: Ochopee Post Office - BashfulAdventurer.com
Jun 12 – 15: Miami-Dade Counties
June 12 (T) – Oleta River State Park and The Barnacle Historic State Park
Geez Louise, good thing we were one of the first in line to get into the park. It filled to capacity within a couple of hours. It is the summer hours and people have been known to line up for hours to get into the park and still not make it. We had a guide thank goodness or I could see me getting fed up and just leaving.
The guide was a “her” this time but asked to be called Jimmie. Her real name is Gem but she can’t stand it. Her last name is Diamond. Yeah. Her parents must have been drinking. She’s the youngest of six, all girls … Emerald, Opal, Sapphire, Ruby, and Gem. Seriously. I mean I’ve heard worse but I can just imagine the teasing she took as a kid.
According to Jimmie, Thousands of years ago, Tequesta Indians situated their settlement camp on the river. In 1841, the river was named Big Snake Creek and was part of the route used by federal troops in the Second Seminole War to travel south from Loxahatchee. In 1881, Captain William Hawkins Fulford explored the river and settled in the area known today as North Miami. Other settlers ventured north from Miami and, by the 1890s, pineapple and vegetable farms had sprung up along the river in the newly formed town of Ojus. The river linked the Everglades with Biscayne Bay. An Indian trading post was established at what is now Greynolds Park. In 1922, Big Snake Creek was renamed the Oleta River. The historic Blue Marlin Fish House Restaurant was established in 1938 as a commercial fishing operation and evolved into a smokehouse until the 1980s. Reopened in 2007, the Blue Marlin offers tasty smoked fish and wraps.
There is plenty to do in the park, or is normally, but a lot of it is closed as it is still under reconstruction from last year’s storm. We spent our time there paddleboarding and it was enough for Lev to turn into his people once he got it edited.
After lunch – and yes I was glad to leave the crowded park – we left to make a stop at the Barnacle Historic State park. I wasn’t sure what to expect but it wasn’t bad though small. About all we had to guide us was the park brochure.
Built in 1891, The Barnacle offers a glimpse of frontier life during the Era of the Bay, when all travel to and from Miami was by sea. Situated on the shore of Biscayne Bay, this was the home of Ralph Middleton Munroe, one of Coconut Grove's most charming and influential pioneers. Munroe preserved the forest on his land, cutting out only a winding buggy trail through the hammock — barely wide enough for one vehicle. As a result, the property contains many large, old trees.
Left in its natural state, The Barnacle Historic State Park appears much as it did in Munroe's day, complete with replicas of two of his sailboats: Egret, a 28-foot (8.5m) sharpie ketch designed in 1886, and the Flying Proa, designed in 1898. The Barnacle is a great place to enjoy simple pleasures: an outdoor concert; a picnic on the lawn; walking with the family dog down a tree-lined path; or rocking in a chair on the spacious front porch and watching the sailboats go by.
The hotel we were told to stay at (no more boondocking) was right outside The Barnacle so we headed there. Two rooms with two twin beds each. Supposedly Rick will be back late tonight. Lev said for me not to worry about it because he was going to be up late working anyway. Fine. I’m not his momma.
I think Benny and I need an early night. We’re both getting a bit run down and that’s the last thing we need here towards the end.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
So glad to hear your wound in healing, always puts a crimp in a persons style that's for sure. Also thank you for the chapters.
The deck paint is on the new 2x8's, just letting them dry.
The deck paint is on the new 2x8's, just letting them dry.
June 13(W) - Marjory Stoneman Douglas House and Bill Baggs Cap Florida State Park
Well Rick won’t be back until late tonight. Lev said he called early so he wasn’t waiting for nothing. Maybe things are okay this time. It was another quiet day either way.
We had a guide for our first park, Marjory Stoneman Douglas House. He told us the history of the small historic site while he showed us around. Marjory Stoneman Douglas’ story is deeply connected with her house and property. This was the epicenter of her campaign to save the Everglades. Marjory lived here from 1925 until her death in 1998. She found inspiration in this setting, holding press conferences on the front lawn, and working on the back patio. Marjory wrote about listening to birds and being inspired by the trees and greenery that surrounded her.
This house is located in Coconut Grove, the oldest continuously occupied neighborhood in Miami. While other houses in the neighborhood were replaced with larger residences, this cottage is original to this area. It was in this house that Marjory Stoneman Douglas wrote her most famous book, The Everglades: River of Grass. Marjory spent five years researching the book, and it was published in 1947, just weeks before Everglades National Park officially opened.
Marjory helped change public perceptions of the Everglades, showing that it was a diverse and beautiful ecosystem that should be protected. Over 20 years later, when she was 79, Marjory founded Friends of the Everglades, an organization whose mission is to preserve, protect and restore the Everglades through public advocacy and raising public awareness of Everglades conservation.
A remarkable speaker and writer, Marjory Stoneman Douglas championed many causes. She spoke in support of women’s rights all her life. In Miami, she turned her attention to issues of poverty and civil rights. Though she was tiny in size, Marjory did not back down from her beliefs. Even her critics admired her sharp intellect and tenacity. Marjory Stoneman Douglas died in 1998 at the age of 108. Her legacy lives on through the buildings and natural places that bear her name.
The house isn’t opened to the public so really you are only looking at it from the outside and there aren’t really any grounds to go with it either. I tried to be polite but basically I can’t say I would have ever chosen to go there if it hadn’t already been on the itinerary.
Next park was more my style, and Benny’s as well. Bill Bagg’s Cap State Park. Weird name. Never did figure out why it was named that. According to the ranger who met us there, Ponce de Leon named this area 'Cape of Florida' when he led the first Spanish expedition to Florida in 1513. The Cape Florida lighthouse was completed in 1825 but was damaged during the Second Seminole War. The rebuilt tower, completed in 1846, remains the oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County. The island served as a secret meeting place and port for fugitive slaves and Black Seminoles waiting to rendezvous with sea captains or board dugouts for a passage to safety in the British Bahamas. Although the lighthouse was built to save lives and ships, its unflinching light brought an end to this avenue of escape.
We spent the remainder of our time using the nature trails through the mangroves, swimming, biking, and paddling. We also took a tour of the lighthouse which would go on my “do again” list as it was interesting thanks to knowing the history the ranger shared with us.
Eventually however, it was getting late enough in the day that my two caballeros were getting hungry. I had stuff in the frig that needed using so we had a quick picnic of all of the leftovers and finger foods and we made us a little picnic to help me clean up the frig before heading back to the hotel. Tomorrow is something different, we are staying at a Bed and Breakfast. That is either going to feel weird or be nice. I guess we’ll see.
June 14 (R) – Gardens, Gardens Gardens
Rick came back last night not long after I closed the log and asked to talk. He is in a better mood than he has been in a while. There’s reasons but I’m too busy to write much more than that. We’ve been running fast and hard all day today. It started at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. It is advertised as being among the world's best tropical botanic gardens. Yeah, it’s nice but I’ve not traveled the world to know if that is a true statement or not. There were however internationally renowned collections of cycads, flowering trees, tropical fruits, vines, aroids and endangered species. This in turns provides a living laboratory for scientists like botanists and biologists. In addition, Fairchild has the largest palm collection in the U.S. and is also the keeper of the National Palm Collection as designated by the American Public Gardens Associations. So maybe I’m not giving it enough credit. We were there two hours and I could have stayed longer but we had to get on the road.
Next stop was Miami Beach Botanical Garden[1]. The place is billed as an urban oasis in the middle of the glamour of South Beach. As it said on the brochure it is a place where residents and visitors can enjoy all the serenity that the Garden has to offer. The garden did have some unusual features considering its location – a wetland with red mangrove and pond apple trees, an expansive water garden with cascading oolite fountain, a welcoming entrance plaza, and diverse collection of flowering trees, palms, cycads, orchids, and Florida native species. What I didn’t like was the exit dumped you into a really expensive gift shop. Benny and I both wanted out of there fast. Had we broken anything in the overcrowded space it would have cost a fortune.
We were supposed to go to the Montgomery Botanical Center in Coral Gables but it was closed due to some construction and repair efforts. That’s another one that shouldn’t have happened as it wasted time we didn’t have.
Next couple of places were technically gardens but they were still interesting. First came Under the Vine Dragon Fruit Farm. Dragon Fruit. Yep, those funky looking things that come and go as a fad. I like them myself but not everyone does. They taste like a cross between a pear and a kiwi with their texture being more pear-like in my opinion. At the same time they grow on what looks like a cactus. They aren’t anything like a prickly pear however. Sometimes I can find dragon fruit juice on sale and it makes a good addition to a smoothie and freezes well into a popsicle for Benny. It’s just the stuff isn’t cheap and neither are the fruits. But it is one of the few red things that Benny can have without zooming to the moon.
Lyons Farm[2] was a store. They sell tropical fruit of all kinds. Not just your typical bananas but things like soursops, sapotes, jackfruit, lychees, and longans. I liked everything but the jackfruit. Bleck. Tasted like a piece of Juicy Fruit gum to me and I’m not fond of that.
We did the same thing at this place called Robert Is Here[3]. Seriously, that’s what the place is called. They specialize in rare & exotic fruit but that isn’t all. They have an animal farm with parrots, emus, and goats. They also sell milkshakes and smoothies that are only made with fresh fruit, fresh milk, and ice. Now that I could get behind. Yum.
Then it was off to our last stop of the day, the Fruit and Spice Park in Homestead. The Fruit & Spice Park is 37-acre subtropical paradise, or so they are advertised. Surrounded by thousands of acres of tropical agriculture, the Park attracts over 50,000 visitors a year to its gardens and festivals. They grow more than 500 varieties of exotic fruits, herbs, spices and nuts from around the world; 180 varieties of mangos; 70 varieties of bamboo; 40 varieties of bananas; 15 varieties of jackfruit trees and numerous other exotic edibles are grown and maintained here. I mean I’ve never heard of the African Baobab tree, but they have them.
And here is where we are staying in one of the B&Bs that are on site. I’m not up to writing anything else. Tomorrow is going to be as busy as today was and I need to get some rest.
[1] mbgarden.org
[2] Lyons Farms – Shop
[3] Robert Is Here
June 15 (F) – Key Biscayne and Miami
Too busy today and yesterday to really record the latest dump my life has taken. Well, maybe not a dump so much as a dream not realized and real life getting real to the point of the latest left turn. I knew this was coming but it was still a shock. I have a little breathing room for now and I need to get this straight. First the log of what we did today:
First we made a quick run back to Key Biscayne where the Bill Bagg park was:
- Crandon Park – had peacocks and iguanas which were kinda cool except a small iguana fell out of the tree it was in and fell on my head. It did so at the expense of scarring the poop out of itself. So yeah, one more dump, this one requiring me to wash my hat.
- Stiltsville - Stiltsville has a bizarre history that dates back to the 1930s, when "Crawfish Eddie Walker" built the first shack on stilts above the water in that area. Over the years more buildings were constructed, and the area got a reputation. Accessible only by water, at one time it was the place to see and be seen when visiting the winter resorts on nearby Miami Beach. At its peak in 1960, there were 27 structures on the flats, but hurricanes, fires and the ravages of being in such an exposed place made every building relatively short-lived. In 1985, the bottom land on which the stilt structures sat was deeded by the State of Florida to the Federal Government as part of Biscayne National Park. In 1992, Hurricane Andrew left only seven buildings standing, none of which existed during the area's heyday. In 2003, an agreement was reached to establish a non-profit organization called the Stiltsville Trust. The agreement is intended to preserve the structures. The park has a cooperative agreement with the Trust to rehabilitate the buildings but it hasn’t always worked out and last year’s storms damaged a couple of them beyond repair and now they have to figure out how to remove them without destroying the marine life that have come to depend on them.
- Neptune Memorial Reef[1] was a little disturbing to be honest. According to the brochure, memorialization in the Reef is achieved by carefully blending cremated remains with a natural concrete substance, which is then molded and secured within the various artistic structures, complete with an engraved copper plaque. Located in international waters, this is one of the few cemeteries where the cremated remains of pets may be mixed with their human family.
From Key Biscayne we switched to Miami and Miami Beach. We had to run through the rest of these so fast I’ll have to look at the pictures I took to remember what they were:
- Monkey Jungle[2]
- The Cloisters of ancient Spanish Monastery[3]
- The Wolfsonian[4]
- Vizcaya Museum & Gardens[5]
- Ferdinand Magellan Presidential Railcar[6]
- Burger Museum[7] (No, I’m not kidding. And no pun intended but Benny and Lev ate the place up.)
So here’s the rest of the story. Basically, that’s that. Best to pull the Band-Aid off quickly and not act like a frickin’ kid about it. I refuse to go into a long, sad story about the conversation. Better just to put it in facts. Rick chose Rosa … and her son. Or maybe he chose his Uncle’s way of doing things. Not my problem or concern either way. I’ll be honest, I’d been leaning that way myself, just it still sticks in my craw a bit even though I’ve no more right to feel that way than Rick has to feel whatever weirdness … oh, whatever. He said he realized that we’d be a mistake when I was upset about him ordering lunch and dinner without asking back at the Pyramids. I didn’t make a stink and I don’t even think I showed how it upset me so I’m not sure how he knew. Oh well. I’m not sure I understand, no I’m sure I don’t understand that, but then again maybe, a small part of me does. It kinda made me think a few things myself if I’m being honest.
Part of me knew he would or at least suspected he strongly might, be leaning the other direction. I was as well to be honest, I just didn’t want to fully admit it. But now that it is on the table, I also know it is what was supposed to happen. Things don’t happen unless they are allowed by the Creator even if we humans don’t understand why things must happen the way they do. I have some questions I’m prioritizing for when I have my turn at a face-to-face with the Eternal Commander in Chief, but until then I’ve learned that I’m not anywhere near that paygrade, so I simply follow the chain of command. Keeps things from bothering me more than they should.
Rick has been keeping everything separate more and more. That was a big clue I should have investigated when it started but I didn’t want to rock the boat. And now? I know some people might think it is weird that I’m not angry or whatever but, the inevitability of it all was just too … inevitable. I can’t even explain it without sounding stupid, but it was like guys in high school; people used to think I was finally going to have a boyfriend of some type and then bam, we wound up being friends instead. And I’m fine with that. After the disaster Christopher and I made of things I’m more than fine with that. No choice for me. Benny comes first for as long as he needs me. I know Ms. Grant told me not to make her mistakes, and I’m going to try not to. And more than likely I’ll make my own mistakes. But the truth is what it is. All things eventually end and, in the past, I’ve been tore up when it happens, but not this time. And I’m being completely honest. That more than anything tells me that this is the way it is supposed to be, and I would be stupid to fight it.
And in a way I am glad he finally came clean. He wanted to be “the man” and apparently Rosa really appreciates that. I didn’t know I wasn’t showing appreciation for that. Or maybe he just likes the helpless and needy type. And that sounds rude but I’m not really meaning to be. Rosa – without meeting her I’ll admit – just strikes me as someone like that though I would have thought with a kid to take care of she would find a way to be stronger. I don’t know. Hopefully Rick knows what he is getting into. And honestly? Maybe that is what he is into and he is just now becoming honest with himself. I just know that I can’t be that. Had I even thought about it, life would have eaten me up and spit me out like a cat hacking up a hairball. And then where would that leave Benny?
What I do know is that now I can do this final stretch, the last county, with some peace. And I mean peace. No more fritzing around. I’ve accepted an offer from Uncle Daniel which alleviates the other worry-burden I’ve been carrying. I saw the way the River House and grounds looked in December. I also saw that my cousins were doing nothing but making things worse. And yeah, I know the offer is only good for a couple of years at most. Maybe nowhere near that if he sells the property like he wants to, but that won’t happen until he gets the place and grounds cleaned up and that’s where I come in. I’m going to be Uncle Daniel’s housekeeper and grounds keeper. In exchange Benny and I will have free room and board. Sort of. Benny and I are going to park the Ark in Grandfather Barry’s garage and workshop building … in his man-cave. We’ll sleep there which will maintain some privacy, boundaries, and all the other psychobabble yada yada. And I’ll do the grocery shopping, menu planning, etc. Uncle Daniel says he needs to economize and stop eating out so much and also that his doctor is on his case about the weight he has put on as a result.
I am trying to be thankful and appreciative. I am. Really. But this is more just bandaiding the situation, pushing off more permanent solutions. But there is no permanent, at least not in my life. Everything always comes to an end. For now, I have no choice but to accept this because I need some type of stable living arrangement for Benny’s sake. A job worth doing is worth doing well. I’ll do this job for Uncle Daniel and do it to the best of my ability.
I know the house probably better than Uncle Daniel does; I know I do. Grandfather Barry taught me all its ins and outs and hidey holes. This job will put a roof over Benny’s head and food in our bellies. It will also add to my resume with something other than “vagabond.” The economy isn’t great. Other things going on aren’t great. Things may never be great again but starting tomorrow at least I know I have more control over our direction than I had this morning when I woke up. No more waiting around for other people to decide. That’s my job.
Resources:
Home
Fruit & Spice Park
Homepage | Miami Beach Botanical Garden
http://www.sunfunguide.com/sunfun/crandongardens.html
Visit Montgomery Botanical Center - Montgomery Botanical Center
https://www.hmdb.org/results.asp?Se...FilterCountry=&FilterCategory=0&State=Florida
[1] https://nmreef.com/
[2] https://www.monkeyjungle.com/
[3] https://www.spanishmonastery.com/
[4] https://wolfsonian.org/
[5] https://vizcaya.org/
[6] https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ferdinand-magellan
[7] https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/burger-museum
Jun 16 – 30: Monroe County
I have the stats of this drive nearly memorized I’ve done it so many times. US Hwy 1 is 113 miles through the Florida Straits. There are 42 bridges. Driving the fastest time I ever made was four hours and that was straight through with no stopping.
Before the existence of the highway, the only means to reach Key West was by boat or by rail, the latter which only ran one round-trip per day. That’s just on the surface. How it started is a lot more interesting and is even part of mine and Benny’s family history.
Back to the 1800s Cubans and Spaniards moved back and forth between the Keys and Cuba with a lot of regularity. This is how my mother’s people arrived in the US. There are papers somewhere in storage that show a great however many times grandfather left Spain and went to NY to make money for his large family he left behind. When he had enough money saved, he went back to Spain to help his wife and children immigrate only this time they went from Spain to a layover in Cuba where another child was born. We are descended from that child. Each succeeding generation moved a bit further north. First the family moved to Key West, then to Miami, then to Tampa. My Spanish grandparents then moved to north Florida where my grandfather got work in forestry with a paper mill. It is a common story.
Getting from Key West up into the mainland of Florida took some effort back in those days. First it was boats. Then came the path originally blazed in 1912 by the railroad tycoon Henry Flagler. He did this by extending his Florida East Coast Railroad using the various keys/islands to basically puddle jump from Miami all the way down to Key West. It was quite the engineering feat of its time. Unfortunately, it only lasted a couple of decades.
The back-and-forth immigration by Cubans and Spaniards that started in the 1800s, continued through the Great Depression and up to the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, an unnamed Cat 5 storm, that killed at least 500 people half of them veterans of WW1. It also destroyed most of the Keys’ infrastructure, including the railroad. That immigration and storm has left a mark that is still evident today. Eventually however there was more traffic from the continental US side.
The railroad route stopped in 1935. There simply was no money to rebuild after the storm did so much damage as the country was still in recovery from the Great Depression. One way the government was trying to fix this in the country overall was public works programs. And one of these projects was the “Overseas Highway” to Key West though there was also controversy because of the cost/benefit argument. But that didn’t stop the builders. The highway was opened to traffic in 1938, and was completed in 1942. Not even WW2 managed to stop it, though there were some material shortages that made it take longer than originally anticipated. Kinda like what is going on today.
With the road, the military arrived in Key West late in the 1930s and established a submarine base in 1939 and the first Naval Air Station being opened in 1940. During the 1940s, U.S. President Harry Truman was known to frequent the town so often that the “Little White House” was said to be there, and it is a major tourist attraction these days.
Between 1940 to 1950, the population in Key West doubled. In 1952 the Monroe County Beach was opened with a passenger-auto ferry created to shuttle tourists from Havana to Key West. The town suffered an economic hit during 1961, when US relations with Cuba became strained by the Cuban Missile Crisis. And then a new influx of Cubans came to Key West in an effort to escape the Communist regime.
During the 1970s Key West remained a somewhat sleepy town, with the military coming, going, and then returning again. The shrimping operations throughout the area also began to decline. Today Key West has no real industry except for the businesses that support tourism. But then again, it has to be doing something right since more than three million people a year use that stretch of highway.
All of the above I thought about and explained to Benny as we drove from Miami to Key Largo.
“I guess it is a bit like going home.”
“Except it isn’t,” he said wrinkling his nose.
Giving him some credit I said, “You’re right. Except it isn’t.”
“Yeah, no Uncle Groucho or anyone else. Will going back to where you grew up be home?”
I don’t like lying to the squirt so I answered, “I’ll be honest Little Bear. I’m … not sure. I’m trying not to ask those kinds of questions yet. They make the hamster jittery.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be Squirt. They’re questions that need to be asked, I’m just not ready.”
“But we have a place to go after we’re done? Uncle Daniel says we can go live there?”
“That’s the plan. It’s a job and one I know I can do. Once we get there and things settle out, we’ll figure out the rest of it. ‘K?”
“Sure Aunt Gus, but we get to stay together.”
“Absolutely.”
That seems to be his main worry, that somehow things changing, us getting off the road, means other changes. And it does, but what won’t change is that we stay together. I need to help him find some confidence in that.
# # # # #
Rick and Lev decided that it was easier if Lev rode in the van so he could take film and photos while Rick followed in the Jeep. Sure, that was the reason. Rick and Lev are in the middle of their latest tiff. I suspect both men are glad that their time working together is coming to a close. I also suspect, and have for a while, that Rosa has a jealousy problem. The separate vehicles is just one more way that Rick is trying to address that issue. Good luck with that. You can’t appease jealous people; it just isn’t possible. No reassurances are ever good enough. But I let him have his rationalization. It’s no longer my problem or concern. Besides, and this is a bit of my own rationalizing I suppose, parking was simply going to be too difficult with the Jeep on the trailer hitch. Since I was way more familiar with the area than either guy, I will set our “flight plan” and the easiest way in my book is to use the mile markers which is how many tour books do it. We had a crazy amount to cover today. The itinerary should have included two days for Key Largo, but I got out-voted months ago. They expect this trip to be wrapped up June 30 even if they have to cram and micro-size Monroe County to get it done.
June 16 (Sa) – Key Largo
We started marking the miles in Florida City, Gateway to the Keys, at MM 127. It is a 20-mile trek across marshes, lagoons, and ponds to get to Key Largo but if that makes it sound like a difficult drive, it isn’t. To be honest it is mostly urban sprawl until we hit the first bridge and the wilderness there.
The wilderness may appear stark, but it is anything but. Traffic is always “interesting,” especially if there is a crocodile sunning itself on the side of the road. It makes the tourists absolutely nutty to see stuff like that. It also makes the tourists nutty when they are trying to figure out whether they are supposed to take Card Sound Road (MM 126.5) or US 1. If we’d been through here during a different time of day, I would have recommended we stop at Alabama Jack’s[1], an outdoor restaurant and dockside bar, just before the bridge. I’ve only been one time, and only because I had Stella with me, but it is worth an experience if you are into funky Florida tourist experiences that the locals also enjoy.
The Monroe County Line at MM 112.5 is where they set up checkpoints during hurricane evacuations and pandemic/epidemic outbreaks. We were lucky that today was all-clear because that stupid checkpoint has caused me more than one delay. There’s a little boat ramp on the bayside called Little Blackwater Sound. It is a good place to go in the water with a kayak. At MM 108 Jewfish Creek Bridge crosses the Intracoastal Waterway; it is an inside passage for boaters going to the Florida Keys from Biscayne Bay.
At MM 107.5 is Lake Surprise. Named after an unexpected encounter by workers building Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway. The lake had not appeared on surveys, and it presented a major obstacle for the project. When the crews attempted to build a causeway, the fill material was swallowed by the lake. MM106 is a famous dockside bar called The Buzzard’s Roost. They used to have a huge sign but one of the storms took it out and local gossip is that they are having a hard time getting a permit for a new one. The Keys are pushing through sign ordinances left and right because some of the signs that broke loose during last year’s storm became deadly flying debris. In the same area is a diving center at Garden Cove Marina where I renewed my dive certificate the first month we moved to Key West. The Key Largo Chamber of Commerce is in the same area, sometimes the Chamber even meets in the Buzzard’s Roost.
A hairpin left at MM106, then north a half-mile, is Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammocks Botanical State Park.[2][3] The park features one of the largest tracts of West Indian tropical hardwood hammock in the U.S. and is home to 84 protected species of plants and animals, including wild cotton, mahogany mistletoe, and the American crocodile. Most of the park’s six miles of trails are accessible to hikers and bicycles, including a wheel-chair accessible self-guided nature trail. There was storm damage but mostly to the park’s infrastructure. We were only staying an hour and even that was pushing the itinerary Admin had set. Crazy.
At MM 105.6 is the railroad depot and Key Largo town center from 1910 to 1940. The depot was in the highway median. The community was bayside. At MM 105.3 is an old Winn Dixie Supermarket where I made a quick stop for groceries to piece out what was left to get us through since shopping would be lean and mean until Key West. I mean there are places to stop and shop but it isn’t cheap and there are places where the locals are protective of what is in their stores. The storm damage has not helped that one iota. I spoke the local lingo so no one gave me a problem but that wasn’t true of another couple that were all but run out of the store.
At MM 104.5 is Florida Bay Outfitters. And where for a small fee you can launch a kayak. I know for a fact the staff there are friendly folks and they will give you advice on kayak routes and rent kayaks, paddle boards, and other water goodies. But again, you don’t come to The Keys to save money. You either bring your own or you can expect to take a haircut in the savings department.
At MM 104.1 one the Bayside is the Caribbean Club. Its exterior was used in the ancient classic Humphrey Bogart film “Key Largo,” which inspired the community to change its name. This dive bar is plastered with movie memorabilia and escaped the storm damage many businesses didn’t. It is a very old building and built the old way to survive storms and tidal surges. Looks like it paid off.
At MM 103.9 there’s a cluster of restaurants on the bay side that even locals enjoy; Senor Frijoles, Mexican food; Sundowners, outdoor seating and view of Blackwater Sound. Not very far away at MM 103.5 is the famous 1920s Key Largo Rock Castle, at the end of Oceana Drive, on the ocean side. People keep promising to buy it and rehab it but they never have.
At MM 102.5 is the Lazy Lobster, a popular Keys restaurant. I ate there once as the guest of a couple that Groucho had sent me to deliver a part to. Nice people. Definitely locals and they got a kick out of Benny which made them aces high in my book. This is before Penny took her own way out and stayed a bright spot in my life for a while when I had to deal with everything post-Penny.
On the opposite side of the road at Mile Marker 102.5 is John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. We checked in and got our campsite but needed to finish Key Largo before settling in. All life on Key Largo seems to revolve around scuba diving and snorkeling on the coral reefs in this 21 miles-long underwater paradise that reaches three miles into the Atlantic Ocean. The park has two beaches, a bustling marina with glass-bottom tour boats, dive/snorkel boats, boat ramp, kayak trails, and a campground. We left the van… and Rick… at the park and Lev, Benny, and I took the jeep to finish things up before it got too much later. Rick had to turn in a report which seemed to involve a critique of the remaining itinerary. I could have told him some of it was unrealistic and some of it was going to make for a potentially boring day but like I said, no one listened to me months ago and I wasn’t going to waste my breath or time given they wanted everything covered before the end of the month.
I showed Lev MM 102 where my ace in the hole was that I stopped at many times. It is a free place to stop for a picnic. Behind the Key Largo government center (bayside) is Peace Park with covered picnic tables and access to restrooms. Moored boats come and go via dinghy or kayak. If it’s free it’s for me has been my motto for a while. Most parks have parking fees at a minimum, but this park doesn’t. Or didn’t. I noted they now had license plate readers and you had to pay a minimum parking fee. That sucks.
At MM 101.3 was another option if Peace Park was full, which it sometimes was. Friendship Park, Oceanside. It’s a park with a playground, picnic tables, ballfield, basketball courts. This was once the center of the 1880s community of Newport. This park also had parking fees these days, but our pass from the other park was good for this one since we hadn’t used up the time we’d purchased.
At MM 100.5 is a treat that I had promised to Benny. It is one of the few things that he remembers of those long drives I used to take as Groucho’s delivery driver. It is a chocolate shop that has been called Key Largo Chocolates but its been managed by a lot of different people. Basically the big treat from there is a slice of Key Lime Pie on a stick though there are other chocolate items. The best thing about the pie on a stick is you can get a crust less version which made it gluten-free. Benny and I would split one about once a month and he’d bounce in his car seat all the way back to Key West.
The African Queen is at MM 99.7 and believe it or not it is the original vessel from the classic 1951 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Katherine Hepburn. Or one of the originals. The 100-year-old steamboat is moored next to the Holiday Inn Oceanside. You can take a 90-minute cruise or a two-hour dinner trip. Unfortunately we didn’t have time for either. Guess I will never get to do that. Just one of those things. I’ve been privileged to do so much that it seems selfish to want one more thing, but I had always wanted to just never had the money to waste on it. I still don’t have the money to waste but it would have been something cool to add to the film. I heard there had been a big push to save the vessel from the storms last year and that it had only recently come back to its home pier.
MM 99.4 is the Key Largo traffic light before the highway splits. It is a spot everyone knows and refers to if you are trying to give directions. At MM 99.3 and MM 99.0 — Are Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen and Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen II. I was glad to see the places had survived the storm surge that had come through. The original Mrs. Mac’s only serves breakfast and lunch and Mrs. Mac’s II only serves dinner. That’s the only real difference between the two because they are both classic Keys roadside eateries. I would have loved to have stopped in and gotten some grits and fish but all we were doing is rush, rush, rush. Harriette’s Diner At MM 95.8 is another popular eatery for locals that serves up a lot of home cooking.
We only took pictures at MM 95.2 which is the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary building before heading back to Pennekamp where we made a pretext of doing the park by taking an early evening boat tour and any of the other stuff we could cram in around it. It was ridiculous, but the sun didn’t set until about 8:30 pm. I don’t know how I managed to fit all of it in but I did. And where we were successful in one area we wound up in a jam in another that came with a solution.
Turned out that they needed the camp site as they’d failed to reserve one for us. First time that has happened. But Admin had already made other arrangements for us. Yippee skippy because to be honest I was too tired to want to deal with someone else’s snafu. We are staying in an AirBnB that has a view of the bay. These things are expensive but apparently this night is gratis thanks to the owner that happens to be a huge park lands type supporter. Benny has already drawn him a picture as a thank you. His handwriting is a lot better when he thinks of it as drawing so the note that went with the picture is more than just legible. Maybe that is the tact I need to take with him.
Rick spent most of the evening out on the balcony on the phone. He was smiling and laughing a lot at first but he ever so slowly started losing his happy. I don’t know why I care but I keep wondering if he is digging himself a hole. Maybe I need to put it down to we were … still are, I think … a crew. Three adults and our mascot. Our shift isn’t over, the assignment isn’t complete. CPO Barrymore still wants all good things for all crew members. I know I need to start disengaging but I don’t think it is time just yet. But … I was glad when Rick stopped hogging the view so that Lev and I could go out and enjoy it even if we were working. Rick is now holed up in his bedroom and I don’t think it is because he is exhausted from happy.
[1] Alabama Jacks Key Largo, FL
[2] Dagny Johnson State Park - Florida Keys Guide
[3] Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park
June 17 (Su) – Tavernier
Just to prove I could I made Lemon-Ricotta Zucchini Pancakes[1] turning them gluten-free by using my substitute ingredients. No idea where Rick disappeared to today. It was his day off and he still needed to take it. He mumbled something about meeting a friend but nothing more than that. Lev caught me as we locked up from the AirBnB after one last look to make sure we hadn’t left anything behind.
“About the Rick thing …”
“Don’t.” Oops, didn’t mean for it to come out like that. It’s not Lev’s fault.
“Er …” Lev wasn’t sure what to say.
I sighed. “I’m fine Lev if that is what you are wondering. I’m not going to let it get in the way of the pics you need to get.”
He growled, “I wasn’t even thinking about that. I know you’ll do the job even if you are missing a body part. I just want to know if you are okay.”
“Oh. Sorry.” I sighed again. I hate letting my emotions control my actions these days. After taking a second to find an honest response I said, “Fine. I might be a little sensitive when it is brought up head on, but I’m not angry or anything like that. Don’t ask me why because like my friends used to say, ‘I’m still processing.’”
“Benny said something about you working for your uncle for a while. You sure about that?” I can’t blame him for asking given what he saw at Christmas.
“Yep. It is the option of opportunity that presented itself. I’ll figure out what comes next from there. And … uh … thanks for asking even if I did almost bite your head off.”
He snorted but gave a small grin. “Nah. Know from experience that it takes more than a couple of days to ‘process.’ Just, if you need to talk … even if it is after the end of the assignment. Shoot me a text.”
“What about you? Where to next?” I asked and found I really did care and it wasn’t just to fill the airspace.
“There’s a couple of options. I’m still contracted to the current company, so they’ll let me know when they know. A couple of possibilities in the pipeline but I don’t know which one that I’m going to be sent on.”
“You don’t get to pick?” I asked, a little surprised for some reason.
“I get the option to refuse, but if I do it adds to my obligations. I try not to do things like that because it has the potential to limit my options when I need them,”
Lev’s work is a lot more complicated than point and shoot. I don’t envy him as it sounds almost like my own boat I am in.
I thought it over last night and I do think that I’m going to have to say something if they keep trying to cram stuff into the itinerary. Yesterday was exhausting. Today was better but not the best it could have been.
Short version of the local history is that in early writings, the harbor between Tavernier Key and Key Largo is mentioned as a rendezvous area for Bahamian wreckers. Wreckers are a bit like pirates only from land. They would mess with lighthouses or pretend to be lighthouses and given all of the reefs in The Keys you can imagine what kind of havoc that caused. In the early 1820s, there is some traditional stories that slaves were gathered on Key Tavernier to be smuggled into the Bahamas by wreckers, but this has never been historically documented. It was used, however, as a relay point for escaped slaves en route to the bahamas.
Another version is that today kicked my butt. Traffic was worse, people were a wee bit cranky, and there was a lot of stopping and going. If I was a coffee drinker I would have said I could have used some, but I didn’t want to face plant while driving … or any other time either.
We started at MM 93.6 which is the location of Florida Keys Wild Bird Center. The center is free, though they ask for donations. We walked a boardwalk through a mangrove forest at volunteer-run wildlife rehab facility with an informal backyard feel. It’s another place I used to take Benny since it was a nifty break point on some of our deliveries. One of the volunteers there remembered us and made a point of asking Benny if I put him to sleep in fertilizer every night since he’d grown so much. Benny remembered him after spotting his anchor tattoo and they retired Navy guy got a kick out of it. He was happy to give us a quick peek at what was going on and to be included in the grant work.
At MM 92.6 is Harry Harris Beach and Park oceanside. It is a pet-friendly park with volunteer-maintained beach, picnic tables, picnic shelters, boat ramp and a playground. The park is still free during the week but the weekends has started to have a fee structure with non-residents being charged more than residents, but you gotta have that resident sticker. Incidentally, the early community of “Planter” was here.
Lev’s stomach growled causing Benny to laugh. It wasn’t lunch time, but I figured why not. At MM 92.2 is the Blond Giraffe Key Lime Pie Factory, bayside. I pulled in and we pulled out with some crustless pie. It isn’t a request they get often but they were nice enough to accommodate, especially when I bought an entire pie rather than just a couple of slices.
There was a short mile where I noticed things from my old stomping ground but nothing worth stopping for since we wouldn’t be kayaking.
At MM 91.2 was what used to be called a strip mall. It had several little eateries but nothing really traditiona; they were all the same sort of stops you could find just about any flavor of fast food you could want. Well I didn’t want and after the pie, neither Lev nor Benny were in the mood either.
MM 90.8 — Tavernier Creek Bridge; Tavernier Creek Marina is where we stopped for a quick lunch and then we went deep sea fishing as our next activity. The boat was a little crowded in my opinion, but the fish were biting. Tarpon, Red Fish, Snapper, Jacks, Lady Fish, and Sea Trout. I caught everything but a Tarpon. A couple were caught but they were too small to keep so I didn’t get jealous. Once we were back ashore I made short work of cleaning the fish and getting it in my freezer. I don’t know when I will use it, but it isn’t going to waste.
Got another call that our end point for today was a local motel called Creekside Inn. Fine by me. Food was also ordered in. Turned out it was catered for us so we wouldn’t use the kitchen and make a mess. I was tired enough at that point that it took great effort not to say anything snarky and the only way I managed to keep my mouth shut was by remembering Benny was watching. My Barrymore did not like the inference that I would make a mess for someone else to clean up.
Rick was back on top of that, and he didn’t look like his day off had gone as expected or something. I didn’t ask. Not my place. We’re crew members, I’m not his confessor. So … I focused on the food. Jerk chicken and Garlicky Shrimp with chayote and mango slaw, and Plaintains as our sides. I pulled out some gluten free tortillas to act as the bread and tadaaa! Good eating. And no real clean up since they’d sent paper plates and the rest of it. What they didn’t know was that I used my little hibachi outside to make Banana Caramel S’mores[2] for our dessert.
After I put Benny to bed – he isn’t quite sure what to make of our changing sleeping arrangements as he said they feel too big – we had a three-way discussion. I asked what the sleeping accommodations were going to be since on this leg of the assignment they’d all been “TBD” up to this point and not even Rick seemed to know. I think Benny has finally gone to sleep because putting him to bed hadn’t meant him going to sleep and it has taken him a while to actually go to snooze. Time for me to do the same thing. Rick took the sofa bed so he could be on the phone for a bit (yeah, right) and I’m just hoping that Benny doesn’t bruise my kidneys with his sharp elbows and knees.
[1] Lemon Ricotta Zucchini Pancakes
[2] Banana-Caramel S’mores
June 18 (M) – Plantation Key
Gluten-free Blueberry-Almond Toast (page 117, recipe-a-day) from a bakery delivery. Good thing it arrived before I’d started to cook or I would have been hacked. Rick could have clued me in but he was on the phone. Again. I would have preferred feeding everyone something more substantial but I didn’t get to pick.
After going ninety to nothing – or maybe that should be the other way around – we only did one place today. Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park is one of the best historical sites in Florida to visit for people interested in geology. After Key West was settled, 'Conch' families moved up the Keys to establish small farming and fishing communities. In the mid-1800s, the Russell family homesteaded Umbrella Key, Windley Key's earlier name. The Russell family lived on the land until it was sold to the Florida East Coast Railway in 1908.
The railroad was completed in 1912. The quarries and Windley Key Station continued to operate with local trains stopping daily to deliver fresh water and pick up mail and passengers. On return trips, shipments of polished 'keystone' were railed back to the mainland. The quarry was active into the 1960s and today stands as a preserved geological treasure.
For a small state park it is really cool, it is made completely of fossilized coral. The park is built on the quarry that was used to create famous Floridian Henry Flagler’s railroad. We got to wander through ruins that feature old quarry equipment, walk along where the mine was, and followed the map for five different self-guided tours.
For lunch, because it was so hot, it was a simple picnic of cheese, sausage, with rice crackers. I also made Mango Skewers using the fruit that we’d picked up in Miami. Staying in a hotel tonight. Not loving this though the AC is cool … and yes that was a pun.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Many thanks Kathy.
June 19 (T) – Islamorada
Breakfast was another food delivery. At least someone had some sense and made sure the food was gluten free but what dingbat thinks it is okay to send cupcakes with fire engine red frosting on them even if they were gluten-free. I felt so bad until Little Bear asked with a horrified look, “Do I have to eat that Aunt Gus?”
“Buddy …”
“Because it will make me sick. I don’t wanna get sick.”
I got down on his level and said, “I am so proud of you. You’ve got more brains than I had at your age. You know what isn’t good for you. Keeping using that brain.”
He lit up and I hope he also learned from the way Lev and Rick were acting this morning. I could have dumped them on the side of the road. Are you kidding? I could have dumped them out in the middle of the Gulf as chum. They were bad enough separate but when they were together I thought I was going to have to get involved a couple of times. There were a few times that I got into physical fights with crew members but never with crew members who were friends, but today … I’m so serious, I could have dumped them both on their butts and broken a few things along the way. They were mental and I’m fairly sure that the red dye and excess of sugar wasn’t the only reason.
Really, really not loving what is happening. Someone in Admin screwed up is my guess and things are starting to bleed into morale and our ability to do our job. They wanted The Keys to get a lot of attention but being unfamiliar with how things really work down here they didn’t book soon enough since camping and RV spots have even less availability due to storm damage. Beyond that, maybe there are people fighting over the tail end of the money that is supposedly available. The other thing I don’t like is that it seems that Rick knows what is going on well before Lev and I do. I am reminded how Little Bear must feel when I don’t explain things to him or keep him up to date. I’m going to give it one more day and then I may mutiny.
The keys are the sportsfishing Capital of the World, but there’s more to do here than fish. Eating is a big attraction too. At MM 89 there is Jersey Boardwalk Pizza. At MM 88.0 is the obviously named Marker 88 Restaurant that has past US Presidents that called it one of their favorites. At MM 88.0 also is this place called the M.E.A.T. Eatery and Taproom with oceanside views and burgers and some ungawdly concoction that Groucho liked to drink called a beer milkshakes. I had to bring him back one every once in a while in a cooler full of ice. A friend of Groucho’s got me a fake ID just so I could do the guys from the bike shop favors like that. I was never really inclined after the once incident that shall remain nameless. Lawrence threatened to put me in dance class, make me take modeling lessons, and untold other horrors including losing water privileges for an entire semester. So yeah. No. Wasn’t inclined. And now that I’m officially 21 still not interested. I prefer things like MM 87.7 where I can gorge on whatever the special of the day is at the Twisted Shrimp. A stomache from too many shrimp is much preferable to a hangover of any kind.
At MM 86.7 is the Rain Barrel Artisan’s Village. I’m not into tchotchkes but the place is a fun browse because of all the weird arts and crafts there. And everybody has to get their picture taken with Betsy, the giant lobster out front. Betsy is an anatomically correct Florida lobster that is 30 feet high and 40 feet long that has been around for decades. I have a series of pictures that I’ve taken of Benny in front of Betsy that mark how much he’s grown. I took another one today and … yeah, feelz happened but no one knows but me. One of these days Benny is going to grow up and go on but at least I’ll have memories.
Another place Groucho would have me stop is the biker bar place at MM 85.3 called Hog Heaven Bar & Grill. It’s a popular sports bar and seafood eatery. I mean you totally can’t miss the sign but you gotta hunt for the place because it is tucked behind a building on the oceanside. Just look for all the Harleys, Indians, and old hot rods.
At MM 84.8 is one of the popular resorts and marinas; Coconut Cove Beach Resort and Marina. I don’t know what happened to the place, or should I say what happened to the owners because it doesn’t look like a lot of work has been done since the storms. Boats and pieces of boats are stacked all over the place. Lev got some film but I wasn’t interested in taking Benny in the place. More trauma the kid doesn’t need. Not too much further down the road at MM 84.3 is the center of the community of Quarry that thrived during the construction of the railroad. It is barely a spit on the map but the difference a half-mile made was jaw dropping. Gossip I picked up is that the owners of the Coconut are waiting for their insurance to come in, or that they took the insurance and ran. Either way it was depressing.
Luckily MM 84.2 — Theater of the Sea is still standing and operational. The theater was established in 1946 and is the second oldest marine mammal attraction in the world. Its saltwater lagoon was originally a quarry for Flagler’s Overseas Railway. Live dolphin shows, exhibits, swimming, and various ways to interact with dolphins, sea lions, or rays are a popular way to spend some time. Yeah, it was a little Plain Jane since most of the artwork still needed to be repainted, but overall, I like what they had done to the place. They protected the animals and they’d also updated everything, including the animals’ habitats.
MM 84 marked Whale Harbor Bridge which spans a navigable waterway connecting the ocean to Florida Bay. On the oceanside, a long sandbar emerges at low tide, which draws a crowd of recreational boaters and swimmers. I saw they’d already replaced all the signs about staying clear of protected sea grasses south of the inlet or face stiff fines. And they’ve tripled the fines since I was there last, so they are dang serious.
Finally tonight we got a spot at an RV resort but only because I pushed the issue by stopping just to see if they had anything. Super tired of the AirBnB route. Got lucky and they’d just had a cancellation. I told Rick he was welcome to continue on to the other place and he took me up on it. Lev, not so much. And he is sleeping in the van though he isn’t real communicative.
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
Yay glad I check back.
June 20 (W) – Lower Matecumbe Key
I got into it with Rick this morning. I was happy to have us camp again last night. I just felt better, felt that it was what we were supposed to be doing. This morning I felt good, no hotel hangover. No rushing around wondering what is for breakfast. Even with both men acting cranky I still managed to put pancakes and bacon on the table with a good appetite. And then Rick makes some kind of smartass comment about of course I was happy, because I got my way and had AC when the AirBnB only had ceiling fans.
I hauled him to the other side of the van and let him have it, albeit privately. “First off, I only ran the fan not that I need to justify that with you. Second, you could have stayed, you chose not to so don’t pull the attitude crap with me. If you are tired it is because you stayed up hours on the phone and don’t give me crap about it being work or work-related because you’ve been doing it every night since we left Miami and I doubt last night was any exception. Whoever is on the other end is your business, but don’t dump your business on the rest of us. You will not like the crap I will let fly if you keep this up. You are leaving us out of the loop with itinerary changes and if you’ll do that what other crap are you doing?”
“Don’t talk to me like that,” he said like he had some control of me. Wrong move.
“I’ll do more than talk if you don’t get your crap together. Got news for you that I thought you had already figured out. I’m not Rosa. I take my responsibilities to my nephew seriously. This job ends for me on the 30th. That means no one … No. One. … is going to screw it up at this late date and make it hard for me to find another job.”
“Job? You’re going to live with your uncle.”
I was starting to feel mean and that was not a good thing under the circumstances. “Let me repeat. I’m. Not. Rosa. I’m not getting a free ride, nor would I have ever expected to. The fact you can say that to me means you never really got me. But I will give you the fact you were right about one thing, we would have never worked out. No one picks up my tab and I’m not going to let anything or anyone get in the way of taking care of Benny.”
“You …”
I got in his face and CPO Barrymore started leaking out. “Last time. Do your job. And your job isn’t to act like lord and master and keep things back and then bitch and whine when things don’t work out to your satisfaction or comfort. I get you’re stressed out. But damn Dude, use some sense and get control of it instead of letting it control you. We’re a team, a crew. And if we aren’t then let me off this crazy train and I’ll continue on with my life instead of playing chief nurse and bottle washer for a guy that could give a crap about the rest of the crew.”
I had to turn and walk away. I was that close to putting hands on him. It isn’t because I was still “in like” with him or anything. I mean, sure, feeling a little stupid for not seeing some of the things that are so obvious to me now, but Rick isn’t really a bad buy, he’s just a guy in a bad position that he’s using to make himself feel worse and piss off those around him so they can feel worse too. But damn I hated that kind of stupid when my other guy friends would fall into it. Girls I expected to be emotional train wrecks on occasion, it’s kinda built into the DNA I guess. But guys? The Y chromosome was supposed to balance that sort of stupid, or so I thought. At least after puberty. Apparently not.
The problem was there was no place for me to go to work off the fury. When Benny grabbed my hand I almost jerked away and told him don’t. I didn’t want to hurt him. Instead he said, “Let’s go do push ups Aunt Gus. They always make you feel better.” And for the life of me that is all I could do. I picked Benny up and climbed in the van and shut the door a little harder than I normally did. It took me to fifty to even start calming down. I switched from push ups to sit ups and then back to push ups. I’d just stopped a series when there was a knock.
“I’m busy.”
It was Rick, “Er … got a sec?”
Oh man did I want to tell him to go screw himself but I am the adult and trying to set an example for Benny. I grabbed a towel and asked Benny to stay in the van.
“What?” I asked starting to get angry all over again.
“Yeah.”
“Yeah what?”
“Yeah, I’m stressed out. And yeah, I shouldn’t have made the comment I made.” When all I did was give him ice face he blew are out his nose and added, “And yeah, I’ve got issues I’m dealing with.”
“Dude, don’t care. Not because I am trying to be a bitch about it but because it is none of my business. I tried to be a friend. Not the romantic stuff that was nonexistent but because I was really trying to be a friend. Didn’t work out. I tried to be a crew member, and that’s failing too. The difference is one sucks and the other could make future life suck for my nephew because a bad review or referral will mean no job opportunities in a market that in case you haven’t noticed, completely sucks. I’m all he has. That’s my job. I really don’t give a crap if your love life is complicated. I give more of a care about your uncle’s health but that’s because I get the position you are in. But no one, not you, not Lev, not anyone, is going to get in the way of me taking care of that ultimate responsibility. I’ll keep my distance and do my job, but you better not make my job harder than it already is.”
Without looking at Lev I said, “Shower. I’ll be out in five. Let me know when or if you are ready to go.”
# # # # #
Well, since we are sitting here at the old Kon Tiki Resort, we are still a working crew. It wasn’t easy and Lev had to work around me for most of the remainder of the morning but I finally got back into the groove but Rick and I are keeping our distance and I’m pretty sure that is Lev’s doing because I heard him complain, “Dude, every time you come near her it’s like watching a volcano try not to belch. Hang back, stay out of her line of sight. She wasn’t exaggerating about being fed up with your spew. She’s just been holding back up to this point. If you can’t talk to us, at least write one of those damn memos you are so fond of.”
At MM 83.5 there is a big marina and restaurant area. Lots of new wood on the docks and buildings. There’s Wahoo’s Tiki Bar, the Whale Harbor Marina where you can catch fishing charters, rent a jet ski, and get out and use paddle boards. The Shuck ‘n’ Dive is a waterfront, outdoor cafe that serves Cajun, or at least that is what they call it. The Sandbar is your typical roof-top dive bar. We got a small plate of samples from the Whale Harbor Seafood Buffet. They claim to be “world famous” and I have no reason to doubt that as the selection is huge and very good. On top of the small plate, I realized one of the new management team was an old friend of Stella’s and recognized me. He was happy to hear they were still in Florida and I gave them the new shop’s number as he had a friend looking for some rare Indian motorbike parts and if anyone would know about that stuff, or another contact, it would be Stella as that was her specialty. Before I could leave I wound up with a heaping Styrofoam box of shrimp scampi to serve for dinner … and it was Benny-safe. Can’t beat that with a stick.
The History of Diving Museum as well as Ziggie and Mad Dog’s are both at MM 83. I almost didn’t get Lev out of Mad Dog’s. He was fascinated but a lot of those guys are the real deal and I was praying Rick wouldn’t try to go in after him because he smells of the wrong kind of people to get a pass. Lev they could laugh at and with, Rick would have come out headfirst and with more than a few scuff marks. Instead, after pulling Lev away we got back on track by visiting the museum which collects, preserves, displays, and interprets artifacts, antiques, books, documents, photographs, and oral history relative to the History of Diving. It isn’t a huge place, but it can be ingesting if that’s what you are into.
The Islamorada Beer Company, at MM 82.2, is a craft brewery and tap room adjacent to Islamorada Distilling, which makes rums, gin and vodka. Lev took Rick in and they came out with a couple of bottles in brown paper wrapping. Lev gave me a wink where Rick couldn’t see. I’m not in favor of using alcohol to cure what ails you because it all too often winds up being what ails you, but after Benny went to bed sure enough Lev pulls out a the bottles of wine and proceeds to get Rick more than just a little loose. Not my business but it better not be my problem tomorrow. And if they hurl, they can be the ones to swab the deck.
For the next two miles there was nothing but resorts, inns, and bars except for the Florida Keys History & Discovery Center, a two-story museum that tells the stories of people and events in the Keys. Open Thursday to Sunday. Good for people who want to learn more about the fascinating history of the Keys.
At MM 81.5 is the Hurricane Memorial. The Hurricane Monument tells the story of the devastating 1935 hurricane. Several times over the years they’ve tried to develop the area in a cultural district but from what I saw, it looks like last year’s storms may have ended that, if not for good, for a good long time. In the same area there is a replica of Ernest Hemingway’s wooden fishing vessel, the Pilar. Kinda okay in a touristy way, but then again that is the purpose of the grant. There’s also the famous Islamorada Fish Company where I had to deliver a part one time to a guy waiting in the tiki bar, and the Green Turtle Inn which has been around since the 1940s despite all of the storms over the decade. Lots of people who live on their boats dock nearby just to come be a barstool sailor there for an evening … or two, or three.
Almost every restaurant in The Keys serves key lime pie, and all claim to have the best. There are some good ones I will admit, but there are also a lot of wannabes so watch out. Rick insisted on picking up another pie and I suppose it was to be a peace offering. Fine. I’ll take it. No sense in getting mad if you don’t expect it to make a difference.
Another couple of miles of resorts and restaurants and then at MM 79.1 was Tea Table Channel Bridge.
At MM 78.5 IS San Pedro Underwater State Park we cleared off three state parks and a lighthouse. How’s that for being efficient?
Lignumvitae Key Botanical Site, bayside, is virgin tropical hardwood forest once typical in the Keys, anchored by a 1919 home with a windmill for electricity and a cistern for water, which serves as the visitor center. Accessible only by boat. Indian Key Archaeological Site, oceanside, was the first county seat of Dade County (1836) and home to salvagers, now a ghost town with overgrown ruins and paths that follow the grid of early streets. Accessible only by boat. San Pedro Underwater State Park, oceanside, is an underwater preserve featuring the remains of a submerged shipwreck, the San Pedro, part of a Spanish fleet that ran aground in a 1733 hurricane. Lastly, Alligator Reef Lighthouse, oceanside. Named after a Key West-based Navy vessel that shipwrecked here in 1821.
We stopped at MM 77.0 where Robbie’s Marina is to Feed the Tarpon and then at a few other places before turning around and staying at the campsite offered by the state parks. Too keep myself busying and to go with the shrimp scampi I made Jerk Salted Corn and some gluten-free linguini. The Key Lime Pie served as dessert. That’s when Lev pulled out the wine and I vacated to the van to put the other half of the pie in the frig for tomorrow.
I’m done and done in. I’m way too good at getting mad when I start to lose control. Benny has needed some extra time from me tonight which I suspect is a combination of my own emotional crap and the changes that are coming. I need to remain calm for Benny’s sake. Maybe I’ll drink a can of caffeinated water and just sleep this off.
June 21 (R) – Long Key
Marathon encompasses 13 islands in the Florida Keys, from Long Key to the Seven Mile Bridge, boasting some of the best deep-sea, reef, and flats fishing in the Keys. Add waterfront restaurants, jet-ski tours, kayaking, paddle-boarding, snorkeling, or just cruising turquoise waters. Sounded like a prescription for Gus … me I mean. The hamster has me by the brain cells tonight. I’ve got way too much on my mind.
For my own contribution towards detente I made Raspberry-Ricotta Toasts[1] with what was left of the loaf of gluten-free bread for breakfast. It got inhaled so maybe it wasn’t just a miss after all. I think the other thing that helped out was that we spent the majority of the day at Long Key State Park (MM 67.5). The park used to be a popular oceanfront campground, but it was wiped out by a hurricane in the 20’s. It is still a popular day use area however and we spent the day swimming, kayaking, and fishing with a little backcountry paddling as well.
There’s a decent pullover on the bay side at MM 66.5. It is on the leeward side of the island. Good place to just sit a minute if there is time, or to drop your kayak over the low wall. I’ve taken Benny with me from there a couple of times but getting both in and out of the water with him got a little hinky.
Another place I took him on those long days right after Penny chose to leave us was at MM 65 to the old Long Key Bridge, the second-longest bridge (3 miles) of Flagler’s railroad. The old bridge parallels the new one and has been resurfaced for bicyclists, hikers and fishers. Considered one of the best fishing bridges in The Keys it’s also a fun bridge to bike across. That’s back when he really did fit in the bike carrier, and I would just ride until he fell asleep. There were a couple of weeks there when that was nearly the only way I could get him to fall asleep with the medicine he’d been prescribed.
We’re at a RV park tonight. Not the best, but not the worst of its species either. Mostly I just want to sleep to escape. Mostly I need to sleep to escape.
[1] Raspberry Ricotta Toast
June 22 (F) – Duck Key & Vaca Key
The two most popular things to do on Duck and Vaca Key is the Dolphin Research Center at MM 59 and Curry Hammock State park at MM 56. The Dolphin Research Center is focused on education. It is a 501(C)3 that, rather than choreographed shows, trainers hold informative sessions as visitors stand on the dock around open-water tanks. Benny and I got a VIP reservation and we spent the morning interacting with what they call their dolphin family and some sea lions. Benny was thrilled to help one of his new dolphin friends paint a unique Dolphin Art shirt. He got to take it with him and tonight he had a confab with The Crew to show it off but reminded them not to get jealous as it was just “part of the job.” I swear he can make me nearly bust a gut in the middle of the worst situation. I love him to pieces for that alone. We also accompanied trainers out to the docks to observe dolphins in actual training sessions. Then we got to slip into the water and, guided by our trainer, experienced meeting one of the dolphins close up. I was more hesitant about it than Benny was when we got to go around their lagoon on a dolphin dorsal pull. The Center provided several photos (and the shirt) but Lev got plenty of shots and said as soon as he can he’ll put them on a digi-dot for me. Nice of him considering how busy he is.
Our next stop was also where we are camping tonight. MM 56 and Curry Hammock State Park. It has the best of the remaining beach camping here in The Keys after the demise of the campgrounds at Long Key State Park and Bahia Honda’s Sandspur Beach. Both of those were wiped out in a 2017 hurricane and the state park system, despite several attempts to bring them back, have never opened those areas back up for overnight use.
The ocean is shallow at Curry Hammock, and the surf mild and currents are weak most days, making it ideal for families with small children. I’d always wanted to take Benny there but had never really had the opportunity to do much more than a day of sea kayaking. Well it was worth the wait even if Rick and I nearly came to blows again. I don’t wanna hear about what all his precious Rosa is going through and how she is “overcoming such trials” because frankly she dug her own hole and needs to be the one to dig herself out, so she doesn’t make the same mistakes again. He let slip that he was bankrolling a lawyer for her here in the States. It made me see red, never a good color for me. Maybe I shouldn’t have said it where he could hear it, but I know what I’m talking about. I know I’m not feminine. Big. Freaking. Whoop. He better hope I don’t show him just how “not feminine” I can respond. He’s let himself go and my muscles are more defined than his which I also think t’s him off or he wouldn’t have mentioned it when I was doing push ups on the yoga pad in camp.
I was really angry again. As dangerous as the color red because I become the color red. I asked Benny if he minded hitting the nature trail again and he was all for it. What cooled my jets more than anything was the anger in his eyes when he looked at Rick. He’s not like I was at his age. Benny rarely gets angry. In fact I haven’t really seen him get angry in a long time, not since Penny. Frustrated and irritated, yes. But, not angry. He is feeding off me. That’s so not good. I gotta get control of my emotions if for no other reason than him.
Still, that extra walk on the nature trail did us both good. A 1.5-mile nature trail wound through a rockland hardwood hammock to an overlook of Florida Bay. Uneven terrain — definitely not for flipflops.
When we got back to camp I was going to go straight into the van with Benny but Lev asked if I’d sit down … and Benny too. I didn’t know what was going on but agreed since it was Lev asking and not Rick. Him I wouldn’t even look at in the beginning.
Bottom line, we all agreed to keep our personal crap under control. Lev shared that at the end of the assignment it was going to be expected that stressors would increase as the people on the other end of our job usually dished some unrealistic expectations. Both professionally and personally. It is no different than when you give notice at a regular job and suddenly everyone realizes they need something from you before you leave or just want to dump on you because they can’t follow you out the door. He made sense and I’m glad I was able to hear what he was saying.
I think things have – or at least will - get better with the crew. I can no longer call them my caballeros but at least we are working together to make the end product a success. I will say that I noticed that Rick is ignoring his phone again in favor of finishing the project. There’s only a week left, we can hold it together that long surely.
June 23 (Sa) – Marathon and Boot Key
Breakfast today was at MM 53.4 at The Island Fish Company Tiki Bar & Restaurant. Seems crazy but along with being a popular tiki bar and restaurant with a sunset view, they have a real good breakfast that not too many people know about except for locals and those directed there by the resorts. Good food, nice views. It is adjacent to a boat ramp, parking lot, and site of a former retail complex where shallow water and a rocky shoal attracts parrotfish and other colorful sealife. Benny and I both love to watch the tropicals scoot around in the shallow water.
At MM 53.1 is the Vaca Cut Bridge and at that point you are entering the business district of Marathon for the next 8 miles. And in case it isn’t obvious, it is also where the traffic can stack up, especially from the local tourist attractions. At MM 53.0 is the Lady Fishing Boat, a 73-foot party boat that is currently only making one trip per day instead of two due to the smaller number of travelers willing or able to spend the money. It isn’t cheap because the booze that flows is included. Of course rumor is they water it down but that’s on them.
Next door at MM 53.0 is the Florida Keys Aquarium Encounters. I never took Benny there before and now I remember why. It is expensive for what it is. It has a coral reef tank, shark tank, tarpon basin and a tide pool touch tank but not much else to it. It was interesting for kids, but I’ll admit that a family on a budget would be spending money they could use on something like paddle boarding or kayaking.
Lots of little hole-in-the-wall type food spots in this section – Frank’s Grill (52.7), Triton Seafood (52.7), King Seafood Market (52.5), the Wooden Spoon (51.1), and Brutus Seafood (51.0) which is still a local favorite.
Between the old Kmart strip center (finally fell down in the storms last year but has only begun to be stripped to the ground) and the Publix Supermarket at MM 50.0 is Sombrero Beach. There are few “real” beaches in the Keys, but Sombrero Beach is one of them. Turn south at the Publix Shopping Center and follow Sombrero Beach Road to the end. Plenty of parking. Beach has been fully restored since last year’s storms. That also meant that it was busy however and that “plenty of parking” is a relative term.
We played in the water just long enough for Lev to get all the film he needed and for Rick and Lev both to turn pink as they were both in tank tops due to the heat. At least Rick wore a hat. Lev’s hair seems to get a little lighter every time we are in the sun. It, and his beard, also get a little wilder. The man needs to learn what conditioner is. After the beach was another strip of restaurants, most of which I’d either eaten at or eaten leftovers from since Stella is a master of bartering. Cracked Conch Cafe, Hurricane Bar and Grill, Florida Keys Steak and Lobster House, Overseas Pub and Grill (around since 1937 and claims to have the coldest beer in town), The Stuffed Pig (great BBQ or fish filets), and Keys Fisheries (a funky place right on the lobster and crab docks).
The community hospital used to be in the area but it was evacuated and then severely damaged in last year’s storms and gossip is that it isn’t coming back. That’s bad. Good medical care is difficult enough in The Keys without entire hospitals being shut and razed to the ground.
MM 48.5 is the Turtle Hospital. One of the few places that I paid an entry fee to take Benny. It is located in a former motel bayside on the Overseas Highway, and supports its program of rescuing and rehabilitating about 100 injured sea turtles a year through the admission price paid by visitors. I even brought an injured sea turtle there after pulling it from the water when some idiot on steroids ran over it with a jet ski. Everyone at the beach had to get out of the water because the blood attracted a good sized shark. Benny and I saved the turtle and took it to the hospital but not before I decked the kid (guy about my age) who shouldn’t have been driving anyway since not only did he not have a license (required), he’d been underage-drinking. The Beach Patrol hauled him off and didn’t even issue me a warning. Booya.
More restaurants linked each side of the highway. The Faro Blanco Lighthouse Grill, the Chiki Tiki Bar and Grille, Porky’s Bayside BBQ, and Captain Pip’s Marina & Hideaway. Pip’s has been around since the 1950’s when it was known as Thompson’s Villas and Marina. Ernest Hemingway, Jimmy Hoffa, Elizabeth Taylor and Eddie Fisher were regulars. Food is very good and reasonably priced and that’s where we ate lunch. Normally only the locals know the history of places like this but when Lev started asking the manager about the place he let slip that I carried the story. Turns out the guy is another one of Stella’s “friends” and remembers her fondly. Lunch was comp’d since we were legit and put the word in for them with the State who was looking to have a few meetings down in The Keys.
At the foot of the Seven Mile Bridge is another Grille and Raw Bar where you can crab a drink, some bar food, and watch the sun go down. The place was being renovated but I prefer Pip’s anyway. At MM 47 is the famous Seven Mile Bridge - the longest bridge in the Keys. (Really just 6.8 miles long.) The old bridge was replaced by the new bridge in the 1980s, leaving a 2.2-mile section to Pigeon Key. This section of the bridge was rebuilt and reopened in January 2022 for hikers and bicyclists. It’s a great place to view sunset too which is what we did before heading to an RV camp for the night on this side of the bridge.
None of us were particularly interested in a full meal because of all we’d had at Pip’s so I put together a couple of bowls of popcorn and then made Frozen Hot Cocoa[1] just to make Benny laugh. I can tell he is getting overwhelmed. The stress between the three adults in his life, trying to cover so much in a single day, the heat, the memory/non-memories that he is scared of facing, and probably other little boy worries. He asked if he could go to sleep up in my bed and I said yes. He accepted that he would have to move back to his bed but I’m thinking I’ll just leave him there tonight as long as we don’t make a habit of it. Maybe Aunt Gus has her own memories and worries she is trying to face.
[1] Frozen Hot Cocoa
sssarawolf
Has No Life - Lives on TB
What yo stay up all night? Hope not, but a big thank you this morning from me.
June 24 (Su) – Bahia Honda Key
Rick’s last day off of during this grant and he couldn’t seem to get away fast enough. I really thought we’d worked things out, but he is now running cold again. I suspect after taking a call this morning after not answering the multiple calls last night. I asked Lev about it because I am at a loss.
“I don’t know what else to do,” I told him.
“Probably nothing you can do,” he responded. “He’s gonna have to work things out himself. I will admit that I’m getting tired of the ‘tard routine. If it wasn’t for you and the kid I’d probably be about as glad to see the backside of an assignment as I ever have. He’s pushing my buttons and I can’t figure out if he is doing it on purpose or is just plain oblivious.”
Well I know how he feels, and he said he felt better that someone did but he added he hoped that Rick would come to his senses for my sake. I didn’t want to get into a long, drawn-out discussion but I’m sure that ship has sailed. Any guy that will intentionally push my buttons like Rick is doing isn’t the guy for me. It’s just too dangerous for my peace … and I couldn’t trust him with Benny. That was the kiss of death of any remaining feelz on my part.
Not having to make sure I didn’t lose the Jeep in traffic was a relief. At MM 43.9 is Moser Channel, the highest point on 7-Mile Bridge. Sombrero Lighthouse can be seen on the oceanside. The bridge ended at MM 40.0, and I’ve put a kayak in at Veterans Memorial Park a few times. It is a public park on the Oceanside that is also a swim beach. Bonus is they have clean bathrooms that are open from dawn to dusk and then locked thereafter so you know you aren’t going to be running into “beach bums” sleeping off a toot.
There are a few more bridges in short succession at this point. Missouri-Little Duck Channel Bridge (MM 39.5), Ohio-Missouri Channel Bridge (MM 39.0), a marina at MM 38.8 that used to also be an RV resort, and then at MM 38.7 there is the Ohio-Bahia Honda Channel Bridge.
At MM 36.8 was our target for the day and where we would be staying the night. And Lev made a funny surrender about sleeping in the van. He threw his hands up and then said in a scaredy cat voice said, “I thought you’d never ask.” What a goof.
In the same area is the four-land Bahia Honda Bridge, the Bahia Honda boat launch, and the Scouts camps (both male and female high adventure camps).
Bahia Honda State Park features a fantastic beach, a boat launch, marina, campground and cabins. The tents-only Sandspur campground and Sandspur Beach remain closed due to heavy damage from Hurricane Irma (September 2017).
The day was really warm today so for lunch we had Burrata-Stuffed Tomato (page 139, recipe-a-day) and for dinner I used the solar oven (something I don’t do often enough) on top of the van and “grilled” kielbasa and Corn with Hot Honey[1] and Peanuts (page 140, recipe-a-day). The three of us mostly just drink water but Lev insisted that drinking a few cans of non-caffeinated root beer wasn’t going to kill us and that’s what we did with the PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches[2] using gluten free cookies that I made for dessert. Rick sent a group message that he was going to meet us tomorrow at our first stop. Guess his Michigan butt just can’t handle the temps we are experiencing. Whatever. Lev enjoyed the fan enough that he said the AC would have been too much overnight after getting used to sleeping in a tent. Good deal Lucille. I could have done it, and would have, but not running down the batteries is now a worry I won’t have to have.
[1] Southern Hot Honey Butter Corn
[2] PB&J Ice Cream Sandwiches Recipe
June 25 (M) – Big Pine Key
Lots of kayaking and diving opportunities on the stretch we did today. I didn’t actually get the kayak down but we made several stops so that Lev could take pics. There are also a few RV spots, from fancy to primitive fish camp locations. From what I saw there were no vacancies, so there’s definitely some people still roadtripping this summer.
The big thing on this stretch is the speed warnings. Big Pine is home to the endangered Florida Key Deer, and the speed limit is strictly enforced — 45 mph, daylight; 35 mph at night. Off the highway, the speed limit is 30 mph.
At MM 30.3 is the National Key Deer Refuge Visitor Center. The endangered Key deer are found in the lower Florida Keys and nowhere else in the world. The refuge takes up most of the island, and the refuge’s Visitor Center is located in a log-cabin structure, making it more visible and convenient to travelers. We were going to stop at the visitor center but it was closed (staffing shortages) and their peeps were out rehabilitating key deer whose habitats were disrupted due to the storm damage. I was okay with that.
MM 30.2 is the traffic light. And I mean the traffic light. They’ve turned everything else into speed humps and roundabouts which is not the easiest to navigate in the van. Can’t imagine it in a full-size RV. That intersection is where most of the merchant action is. It is also the turn off for The Blue Hole, an abandoned rock quarry used for nearby road fills and Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad. It is a rare freshwater pond, which makes it a gathering place for birds, snakes, alligators, key deer, and green iguanas. It is part of the National Key Deer Refuge
MM 29.3 is the North Pine Channel Bridge. At MM 28.5 is Little Torch Key which is where a resort is but damage has it closed at the moment though it is obviously in reconstruction mode with lots of activity in and around the site.
MM 28.0 — Torch Channel Bridge – leads to a natural bike trail at MM 27.8 that I’ve taken Benny on before. If you do the full thing roundtrip you get in 15.5 miles.
MM 27.7 is Torch-Ramrod Channel Bridge that takes you onto Ramrod Key. It is named for a ship, the Ramrod, wrecked on a reef south of here in the early nineteenth century. From there you just keep hopping bridges. MM 26.6 is South Pine Channel Bridge, MM 26.0 is Niles Channel Bridge, MM 23.5 is Kemp Channel Bridge, and then you hit a couple of fancy restaurants – Square Grouper and Fanci Seafood (used to simply be a market) – before hitting Blimp Road at MM 21.0. Blimp Road was named for an Air Force surveillance blimp that was taken down in 2013.
We are in a “last resort” kind of RV campground. Rick is back and polite but that’s about it. We had a team meeting to discuss what little remains of the itinerary. I did notice he didn’t take a single phone call despite his phone lighting up about a gazillion times. Not that it is any of my business but whatever it takes to survive these last five days.
June 26 (T) – Upper Sugarloaf Key
Not sure how Lev and Rick feel, but I’m feeling better. Most of the day was spent in strenuous activity; two bike trails and some kayaking. After a breakfast of smoothies since the heat was already so fierce we crossed
Bow Channel Bridge to Sugarloaf Key at MM 20.2. Too bad Mangrove Mama’s wasn’t open. It is an iconic roadside eatery. Typical of The Keys. It has cracked conch and conch chowder, along with a healthy serving of Keys atmosphere.
First stop of the day was a bike trail at MM 19.5 where the paved bike path follows Crange Boulevard (Bayside) all the way to Florida Bay. We didn’t take it that far, just enough to get our muscles good and limber and prepped for some kayaking off Sugarloaf Sound at MM 19.0. the launch is oceanside, near a yellow traffic barrier, with a short path to get to the water.
MM 18.6 is Upper Sugarloaf Key, MM 18.8 is Park Channel Bridge, MM 17.8 is North Harris Channel Bridge, then we stopped at MM 17.7 and the Sugarloaf Lodge and Tiki Bar for lunch. It is a laid back, circular open-air tiki bar overlooking a beach and bay. Was quiet on Tuesday so they were happy to have our patronage. I didn’t know the waitress or guy behind the bar and they told me a lot of the people from last tourist season didn’t return. That’s sad. I hope The Keys don’t lose their flavor. Then again, even people like Stella and Groucho have left after years and years down here. I know it was the best for them but it still seems sad.
Harris Gap Channel Bridge was at MM 17.6 landing us on Lower Sugarloaf Key. At MM 17.0 was another bike trail. It was on Sugarloaf Road in a residential area. Round trip from Sugarloaf Lodge is 15 miles and that was most of the remaining afternoon. Also there was the Bat Tower, a Relic of the early 20th Century’s attempt at early mosquito control, but it didn’t work. The story goes that the bats escaped the next day and never returned. The tower was blown over by Hurricane Irma in 2017 and now lays across the ground like archaeological ruins. I suppose one day they will clean it up but who knows when.
In another RV camp. I don’t know what Rick expected but this is obviously banging his personal issues. Or maybe he is just more of a snob than I took him for being. Or maybe he expected better. Don’t know. But it makes me want to laugh at him a bit which doesn’t say much for me. I offered to have them stay in the van but Rick’s “no” was fast and unequivocal. Fine. Suffer on your own. I could see Lev wanting to accept but he didn’t to prevent a fight I guess, or to keep from handing Rick any ammunition to fight. Oh well. I did hand them the two solar fans. Lev accepted gratefully but Rick waited long enough I just sat it on the picnic table and went back in the van. I’m beginning to think … never mind. I have Benny. That’s more than enough and no regrets.
June 27 (W) – Lower Sugarloaf Key
Warmer and warmer. Not unusual but Rick and Lev are both drooping despite the ocean breeze which I personally find exhilarating. Not a word I normally use but I’m trying for a little self-improvement. I need to spiff up to find a job that will support Little Bear and me.
Sun was blazing and no clouds close enough to come ashore. The humidity is constant, and I think that is what is getting to them the most. I don’t know about Rick, but Lev is a little disgusted. He says he grew up in the South in a house that had a single window shaker to cool things off during the day, and screens on the window for at night. It was never quite like that for me, but I spent almost every waking moment I could growing up being outdoors and busy. It was the only thing that kept my brain from jittering to pieces and me driving everyone more up the wall than I already did. I’d laugh about it but to be honest, what was funny to me probably wasn’t funny to Dad and the others. Grandfather Barry was more accepting, but he did have rules I knew not to cross unless I wanted consequences I wouldn’t enjoy.
After breakfast we crossed the Lower Sugarloaf Channel Bridge at MM 15.8 and Lev looked at me when I took a sudden turn off the highway at MM 15.0, then he got the same look on his face that a zombie gets when it’s hungering for brains. Baby’s Coffee. Stella sent me here when they were running low in the coffee cabinet. The beans are roasted fresh daily. Baby’s is also a good place to park and bicycle the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail to Key West and back. Benny and I didn’t really bike far, but it was long enough for Lev and Rick to enjoy two full cups of coffee while we worked off the wiggles.
A bayside gate goes to an old U.S. Army transmitter site. Now Radio Marti at Bay Point Park. I knew not to accidentally go on that property and Benny was so ready to get a chance to peddle. Lev raising the seat and handlebars has just about extended the life of his bike for as far as we can take it. He needs a new bike. I need to be on the lookout for one.
Back to the coffee shop and the guys were ready to go and in a much better mood. I don’t see the attraction myself, especially with it being this warm, but whatever it takes Dude, whatever it takes. MM 14.6 took us across Saddlebunch #2 Bridge and then passed a luxury RV park. MM 14.2 was Saddlebunch #3 Bridge and a kayak launch on the oceanside, under the bridge. MM 13.1 was Saddlebunch #4 Bridge, MM 12.8 was Saddlebunch #5 Bridge, and MM 11.4 was Shark Channel Bridge. Basically, we were just hopping from one bridge to the next.
Got in the water just a bit at the Shark Key Boat Ramp at MM 11.0. Just enough for Lev to get some photos and for Rick to take a phone call. I’d prepped lunch while I was cooking breakfast so as I was getting the kayak tied back down Lev and Rick plated up Tomato-Herb Salad and the Parmesan-Basil Corn Cakes that I’d made to go with it. After we pulled out … Rick in the jeep and the rest of us leading in the van … I handed Benny and Lev the two remaining corn cakes and it was like I had given them the frosting bowl to lick.
Lev asked me why didn’t I pull over at the next beach and I laughed. “No way, not with Benny.”
“Huh?”
At MM 10.5 is Boca Chica Road … and a clothing optional beach. It’s popular with the tourist but no freakin’ way. I fell for Penny’s directions/joke the one time I brought her back this way and … uh uh, never again. There’s not enough eye bleach on the planet. You know what you think you’ll get at a nude-y beach? Welllll … you do, but packaged on people that really should not be letting it all hang out, if you know what I mean.
Instead, we kept driving … Rockland Channel Bridge (MM 9.7), East Rockland Key (MM 9.2), the tourist welcome center (MM 8.5), passed the entrance to the Key West Naval Air Station (MM 8.0), and then we stopped at MM 6.1 since it had the better parking area at Boca Chica Channel Bridge to put the kayak in again. It could have been a pain to take the kayak down and then put it back up, but it wasn’t. It was something to do to take my mind off things.
I nearly stopped at MM 5.3 but the public boat ramp was in heavy use on Stock Island. Way too much traffic so I was glad we stopped at Boca Chica. Instead I stopped at MM 5.2 to see the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden[1]. There were only a couple of people there. It is billed as the only frost-free, sub-tropical, natural conservation habitat, native plant botanical garden in the continental United States and I believe it. It helped me to find my center and it was something extra for the itinerary.
I bypassed the medical center, golf club, and community college in the same area. MM 5.1 was also busy with its campground, RV resort, fisheries, and a couple of bar and grill type joints. It was getting late and people were starting to hunt up their last meal of the day. I just wanted to hunt up our campground and make sure our spot was there since no one had answered my call during the day.
Whew. Thankfully at MM 4.8 was Leo’s Campground, a place I remembered as it was just down the road from Cow Key Channel Bridge which is what I took too and from Key West. Leo’s is small. You might even call it “cute” as long as you didn’t do it when the big, beefy camp host was around. Best thing about it was it had the lowest prices in Key West, very good wifi, along with a bathhouse and laundry facility even if they didn’t have hook ups at every site. I was all set to fix supper but was haled by someone I hadn’t seen in over a year.
“Yo! Gus?! That you girl?!”
“Fuzzy!! Dude! Do I wanna know why you’re limping like an old pirate?”
The man old enough to be my grandfather laughed and said, “Not fit for your ears Girly. Or that rapscallion there. Boy, you done growed.”
“Mr. Fuzzy! I remember you!”
That tickled the man and while Rick and Lev went off to have a drink at the Hurricane Hole with my blessing, I walked over to find Mrs. Fuzzy and Benny and I got invited to dinner to share news and gossip.
They’re leaving Key West. Matter of fact they are leaving the Keys completely and moving to their son’s fish camp north of Tampa to keep an eye on it when he is running a shrimp boat out of Hooker’s Point. They said it was time. They got out just ahead of the storm with all of their valuables but they were wiped completely and they didn’t feel like rebuilding yet again. Too many storms and too many expenses. They sold their lot for enough that they could retire comfortably and that’s what they were going to do. Plus, they’d see family more often and Fuzzy would even be able to help out with the hauls when they came in.
They let me in on the fact that I hadn’t know which was that Groucho hadn’t come back around as well as they’d hoped he would. The healing is slower than it should be but he was still Groucho for the most part. Stella was in her element as caregiver so there is that. And Kirkland is now doing most of the work in the garage though he insists on getting Groucho’s say so on the special jobs which keeps Groucho’s ego from collapsing. I’m not sure what to do with that info. The two of them made it fairly clear that they’d kicked me out of the nest and expected me to remain free and independent … and maybe out of their business. Maybe I’ll just drop Kirkland a line to let me know I had seen the Fuzzies and that they were moving north. I’ll think on it.
Tomorrow is going to be quite some day. The end point. Or at least this end point. I need to think on what that means as well.
[1]Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden