The Florida Keys - week one

Saturday, Dec 9 … Yet another cloudy, windy day in the Florida Keys. We contracted for sun each and every day.but we got shorted a few days! Tomorrow we have to move to another site in the park as we couldn't get 2 weeks at our current site. Well, we thought we stayed away from the Poisonwood trees while we were hiking however....Mike started to get itchy red bumps the next day and Dixie started the next day! Guess we need to stay out of the forest!!! So far it's not as bad a the poison oak Dixie got before.
Friday, Dec 8 … We got up early and began our trek to Key West around 8:00 a.m. The day was cloudy and cool with a stiff wind blowing. We had online tickets for the trolley tour and boarded at 9:30. The trolley made a couple of stops but we got off near the cruise ship terminal on Duval street. At the department store Fast Buck Freddie’s, we met up with our friend Hector who at one time worked for Continental Airlines, and his friend George. They were on a cruise ship that had docked at 7:00 a.m. We had a great time visiting over lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch we continued the trolley tour which included the Southern Most Point in the Continental U. S., (35 miles farther south than Brownsville, TX) the Hemmingway house and the Truman Little White House. On the way home we stopped in Key Colony Beach for happy hour at the Deep Blue restaurant where we ate peeled shrimp and chicken wings. We ate inside because the wind is still a stiff one.
Thursday, Dec 7 … We drove to the post office in the a.m. and saw that the park flags were at half mast. Then it occurred to us that today was Pearl Harbor Day, the “day that will live in infamy”. Later that morning, we packed a lunch and rode the bikes east on the bike trail from the park. Had lunch on the banks of a small, what could be described as a lagoon. Then we rode west, past the park entrance, to the outskirts of Marathon (Key Colony Beach). Of course, we stopped in a couple of gift shops as well as ogled at the boats along a canal. We want to go back on Sunday evening for the Christmas boat parade.
Wednesday, Dec 6 … With a slight breeze blowing and temps in the mid-70’s, we got the hiking gear out and Dixie fixed lunches for a hike to the Gulf side of the park. The walk consisted of about 1 mile on a hike/bike path then another ¾ of a mile into the gorgeous bay overlook in the Gulf of Mexico. The terrain was very tropical with many varieties of plants including the poison wood tree that we were told is very toxic to the skin if contacted. We made sure we stayed well away from it. There was also a lot of coral reef rock from some 20,000 years ago. The total hike was approximately 3.5 miles in length. Although it’s not all that noticeable, on October 24, 2005, hurricane Wilma, with winds of 110 mph, passed just north of this area causing a great deal of flooding and damage to the forest.
Tuesday, Dec 5 … A windy day with the temp only going to be about 75. We’re driving to Marathon to shop for ink refills for the printer. Went to a very cluttered Kmart store (no Walmart in the area) but didn’t find what we needed. Dixie needs to complete our Christmas card/newsletter. Ended up, as usual, at a grocery store; Publix this time.
Monday, Dec 4 … This morning about 9:00 we rode the bikes -on the bike trail- to Marathon which was about 3.5 miles one way. Also visited the Visitor’s Center and picked up several brochures and information about the area including Key West where we’ll drive to on Friday.
Sunday, Dec 3 … Blast off to the Florida Keys and the Curry Hammock State Park near Marathon, FL. The 180 mile trip went well. We stopped for fuel at a Valero station and lunch at a Walmart in Florida City. We’ve been to a lot of different Walmart stores over the country but we have never seen one busier than this one. We were lucky to find a place in the large parking lot to park the motor home. Of course, we had to venture inside to purchase a few things. Fortunately, they had many checkers and we didn’t have to wait long to check-out. Always like to use Walmarts’ not only for their great prices but when using the debit card, can get up to $100 cash back at check-out. We arrived at the state park at about 2:30p.m. Our site is facing the Atlantic ocean about 40 yards from the water. Absolutely beautiful!! Temp about 80 so we sat on the beach for awhile. Later, we took our beverage and watched a wonderful sunset.