The Florida Keys

The Andersons and Blatters left for The Magic Kingdom Wednesday morning, and Joe & I left for the Florida Keys.  Once we made our way across the state, the drive became much more interesting.  And, of course, once we got to Key Largo, things got really interesting.  The first stop we made was in Islamarado.  Bougainvillea is one of my most favorite things on the whole planet, so I couldn't resist taking a few pictures of the beautiful blooms.  It was an incredibly gorgeous day.  

It was fun keeping up with the Keys we drove through and seeing many, many other uninhabited islands to the north and south of us.  We loved driving across the bridges that connected the islands.  The longest one was about 7 miles, so that was pretty spectacular.  We stopped at one point so I could get some pics.

We stopped on Marathon Key and booked a room for the night at Rainbow Bend Resort.  It was an older establishment, but the room was clean and the beach area was gorgeous.  From there, we made our way to Key West, which is where we spent most of our exploring time.  We went to the area where the Sunset Celebration takes place each evening, and watched the sun set at the southern most tip of the United States.  From there we walked and walked and walked to get to the marker designating that spot as the southernmost point of the continental U.S.A.  We passed a lovely lighthouse along the way.  

Dreading the long walk back, a young man from Argentina fortuitously appeared and pedaled us back to the area where we had parked.  He was a graduate working to get experience in the tourism industry - hoping to go back to Argentina and bring groups of people to the U.S. and act as their tour guide.  After he completes his stint in Key West, he said he would be going to New York to get some experience there.  Anyway, he was an incredibly nice young man (and quite handsome).  He told us he has a twin brother working in the tourism industry, as well.  It was so nice to not have to walk all the way back.  We were so glad that he showed up at just the right time, and we tipped him nicely.

He had given us some suggestions for places to eat so we started walking again to check out the possibilities.  We thought we had decided a few different times, but the wait times were incredibly long, so we kept looking.  We finally settled on a place called Schooner Wharf.  There was live music and we really enjoyed listening to the very talented musicians.  We had a nice meal (shrimp for Joe and mahi mahi for me).  I've never liked shrimp before, but I usually get a bite when Joe orders it just to see if I've changed my mind.  I really liked it this time. 

We very much enjoyed our time at Key West.  I only wish we could have had more time to walk along the streets in the old part of town.  We did see Ernest Hemingway's house and it was wonderful.  The oldness, the architecture, and the amazingly huge and interesting trees made me wish for more time to explore.  But, all good things must come to an end.  Oh, I almost forgot.  We also had a piece of Key Lime Pie before we left Key West.  It is all the rage in the Keys.   No wonder.  It was delish.

The next morning, we spent some time on the beach area of the place where we stayed.  It was a beautiful morning and the setting was so peaceful.  Wonder what it would be like to live in a place like that?  I think I could get used to it.  Simply gorgeous!  We ate a nice breakfast before beginning our journey back to Clermont.

The traffic wasn't nearly as bad driving back through the Keys, so we could enjoy the views along the way much better than we had been able to the day before.  We made one stop in Key Largo.  When you see the pic, you'll know why I couldn't resist.  I had another piece of Key Lime Pie - this time dipped in chocolate.  Oh, my.  Joe had a butter pecan ice cream cone.  Unbelievable since the prevailing flavor in the shop was lime.