We're Not in Kansas Anymore, Toto!

There was a monumental rainfall last night..never been in this land yacht in such a storm...the wind is howling and the palms trees are bent. Rick plans to try out his new fishing pole on the dock. As soon as he gets to the dock, the rain starts pelting down again...he practically lashes himself and his gear to the bench and can barely stand up....he's back in 15 minutes.

The rain stops and though it is about 60 degrees, the wind is a good 30 mph and it's chilly. Our snorkeling excursion is cancelled and we decide to explore by car. We go out in search of key deer at a refugee dedicated to preserving them. They are supposed to be about the size of a German shephard and live only here. We drive to No Name Key down a deserted road, park and walk down a path into the mangroves. We search there and then several other roads and paths...feels like we are on the prowl for the elusive unicorn

Try lunch at a Rob's Island Grille which I've read was great. Wrong...had inedible conch fritters and Rick's fried oysters were okay.

Stopped at a shopping center to find an ATM and discovered Key West Key Lime Co. Buy key lime chipotle BBQ sauce, ginger mustand and coconut cookies. Decide the pie will have to wait since we're going to spend the days exploring. Asked the shop owner about the wild roosters in the parking lot..he couldn't seem to grasp why I thought that odd.

Have recently heard of a resort called Little Palm Island reached by launch from Little Torch Key. Stop at their dock and find a lovely gift shop and make plans for lunch out there next week.

Grill a pork tenderloin encrusted with a Cayman Citrus Rub accompanied by garlic roasted new potatoes and a vegetable stir-fry.

A New Dawn

A new days helps. We walk the property at dawn and if one had a waterfront site, this wouldn't seem so dreary. The cranes are out in force stalking breakfast...Rick finds a real sponge on the beach that he plans to use for his watercolors if he actually ever gets to it.


Feeling better about the prospects of the next couple of days. Actually the entire perimeter of this very large resort isn' t bad at all. There's a marina, a decent pool, a little restaurant and a fishing pier. It's the interior of the place that gives me the chills...people have obviously settled in for at least the season and have "decorated" with tiki lights, faux lighted palm trees and many flamingos!


Spend the day in Marathon..not that much to see/do there....a couple of good shops with ridiculous names....Krazy Larry's & Greedy Gekko belie the pretty nice merchandise they have. Lazy Lizzard is more t-shirty, but still better than its name. All are in the Publix shopping center where we also stop to stock up.

We do find a great place for lunch..Keys Fisheries Market and Marina off the beaten track. The boats bring in the catch and they serve it up. I have a grouper sandwich and Rick, the fried shrimp. It's good, but not fabulous. But the ambience vaults it up the scale. Watch pelicans up close and personal as we eat.

Decide to run down and take a look at the Bahia Honda State Park. It is terrific. The only really good beaches we've seen and very picturesque. We plan on bringing our snorkeling gear and returning tomorrow for a day at the beach.

After that large lunch, neither one of us wants much for dinner. Take the leftover ahi tuna and grilled vegetables from the freezer...have another salad that's topped with pine nuts and poppy seed dressing.

Attitude is Determined by Latitude

I bought the t-shirt! And it proved to be a necessity! We went from the close to sublime to the nearly ridiculous.

The resort in Port St. Lucie was so lovely, but we were really anxious to hit the islands! Navigated the 200 miles to Marthon in the Keys and picked up a car. This time Enterprise was terrific.

To drive the 7 Mile Bridge has been on my life list forever. It is truly an engineering and aethestic miracle. But the exhileration of reaching our first island destination was dashed abruptly on arrival.

The Sunshine RV Resort and Marina, an Encore property, is not as advertised. Not only were we disappointed in the quality of the site, but mostly because they didn't have a record of the waterfront site I booked over 6 weeks ago. I was told I had reserved the least expensive accomodation! Yeah, like that's going to happen! There were no waterfront sites available, so after much toing and froing, we landed in a spot two rows back and if I crane my neck over the driver's seat, I can see the Gulf.

Too upset to cook...slice the left-over terriyaki steak, saute red and green peppers and onions, arrange over lettuce, top with honey mustard dressing and have a pretty good entree salad.