Uhhhhh.....they were both about 3 inches long. Vicious beasts! The gator was on the dock next to Breaking Away. The guy living on his boat next to us confirmed it was a gator, and then the cute little guy scampered off. When Lee and I departed Key West, our first night was an anchorage at Bahia Honda State Park. A biologist was trying to catch something in the shrubbery and he told us they were trying to eradicate the iguana, which are non-native and wrecking the environment. He said they were up to 6 ft and all over the place, and that we'd see them for sure. We looked and walked and searched, and finally we saw one...a tiny baby one, and he scooted away too. The Great White Hunters we are!
Change of subject! These bras. Back in Key West, Lee arrived late on Feb 3. I spent the entire day cleaning the boat, changing oil, doing laundry, and tons of other maintenance things I'd put off. It was Janet's birthday, so I visited quite a bit with her too. The next day Lee and I rode around the island and later stopped in at the various watering holes the way Bert and I had. This picture of the bras is at Capt Tony's, where Ernest Hemingway used to drink (altho then it was called Sloppy Joe's). Apparently girls like to leave these autographed decorations, perhaps when it gets too hot or something. haha
Anyway, Lee and I sampled some of the bars I hadn't been in yet, searching for my lost shaker of salt. We had a good time last Friday.
Here's where we had lunch, at Kelly's -- "The Southernmost Brewery". As you can see, the weather was gorgeous. The foliage was immense and lush. The handcrafted beer was exquisite. Later, we had dinner at a vegetarian cafe.
Back at the dock on Saturday morning before we left, this huge tarpon was lying there behind my boat, not moving. If only the gator and iguana had been that large!
We were going to take the short route from Key West to Bahia Honda Key, on the Atlantic Side (south side of the Keys), but when we got out there, the swells were large and hitting us broadside. So we did a U-turn and went out the way Bert and I had come in, and took the Gulf route. When we got there, we were anchored between two bridges, Hwy 1 and the old original railroad bridge. Wasn't it a pretty setting for us? Yes, pretty, but also uncomfortable because the ocean swell coming in rocked us the entire night and next morning. Luckily neither Lee nor I get sea sick.
While walking along the sandy beaches on the Atlantic side, we saw little jellyfish thingys washed up on the shore. The park ranger told us they were baby Portuguese Man O Wars, and NOT to touch them. Later during the entire day's cruise, we saw 100s of them floating on the water as we passed by. Another vicious hazard if you want to go swimming here!
The railroad bridge dates from 1905 to 1912, when Henry Flagler built tracks and bridges all the way to Key West. However, on my mom's 15th birthday, a huge hurricane damaged the rails beyond repair, and rail service ceased. This bridge stands to this day, and they had to cut out this section so that tall boats could enter the bay.
Yesterday, on Super Bowl Sunday, we cruised all the way to the little town of Islamorada, on Motecumba Key. We anchored way out in a bay with about 30 other boats, and dinghied in to find a restaurant or bar to watch the game. Not long after we landed, Janet sent a text making sure we would not forget to take flashlights to be able to see when we returned to the boat late at night. Well heck yes we needed those, so we went back out to the boat to get them and returned a second time.
We chose a Mexican restaurant for the game, and spent four hours there. These margaritas were THE BEST, better than any I'd had in Key West (and not just because they were larger!!). The first was so good, we had a second. And that was only the beginning...for me anyway (Lee knew when to stop). We look happy, no? It was not crowded at all in there, so we became friends with the staff and we all enjoyed watching the game. Somehow I could even continue to text Janet coherently, and start and operate the dinghy, and find Breaking Away in the pitch black night.
After nursing a bit of a hangover this morning, we took a swim in the warm, clear water, and then departed on a 55-mile trek through narrow marked channels and open sounds, in and around Keys and Everglades, to tonight's gem. Isn't this spot cool?
It's one of the final Keys before Miami, and it used to belong to Mark Honeywell of the Honeywell electronics fame. He bought it in 1937 and developed it into his private estate by 1939. But then he halted work because his wife died, he sold it in 1945, and it became part of Biscayne National Park in 1985. It has a completely sheltered harbor, so we are protected from tonight's strong winds. He built this lighthouse as a decoration (the Coast Guard would not let him put a light in it). It and the other six or seven buildings here still look like the day they were built, all out of coral stone.
It's one of the best "discovery" spots of the trip, similar to when Rick and I happened upon the Fayette State Park in Michigan. Only the mosquitoes marred perfection. Tomorrow we plan to reach and explore Ft. Lauderdale.
Lee has been a super boat mate, and I look forward to our next 9 days...almost as much I look forward to seeing Janet again on that day. I miss her so much.
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