The Florida Keys

We left Delray Beach on Wednesday morning to head south to the Keys.  We've previously stayed in the southern part of the Keys at Key West and at Sugarloaf Key.  This time we decided on Marathon which is pretty much the middle of the Keys.

We are staying at the Jolly Roger Travel Park which is on Grassy Key, just north of Marathon.  The park is on the Gulf of Mexico, has free cable and free WI-FI.  They have a roped off swimming area and are in the process of putting in a pool.

We were just set up when the neighbors to the back us and the neighbors to the side of us introduced themselves.  Very nice park and lots of friendly folks.

Just a few steps from our RV site.

Great Blue Heron who greeted me on Wednesday.

On Thursday, we headed to the Curry Hammock State Park for some beach time.  It was very windy that day and there were many kite boarders out.

This has only been a state park since 1991 when a school teacher from Miami donated 1,000 acres of land that she had inherited from her father.  Rockland Hammocks are closed canopy forests dominated by tropical evergreens and shrubs.  They are critical habitats for plants and wildlife.  This park is the largest uninhabited parcel of land between Key Largo and Big Pine Key.  Not much of it is accessible by car, but there are lots of trails, kayak rentals, a small campground and a nice stretch of shallow beach.

Doug walked part of the beach and brought back a small crab.

On Thursday night, we sat to watch the sun go down.  I had on Doug's Michigan sweatshirt (not because I was cold, but it had pockets in which to put my camera and other stuff).  Another couple who was sitting there said "Hey, what part of Michigan are you from?"  We meet alot of folks who ask us that.  Because Saline is a sort of a small town, we usually respond with "near Ann Arbor" and that it is what we said this time.  They said "Hey, we're from Manchester" so of course we said "Hey, we're nearly neighbors.  We're from Saline".

We started chatting about who's retired (they are and Doug is) and who is not (I'm still working), where we all used to work, how long we've all been on the road, where we've all been, etc.  When Doug told them he was a retired electrician from IBEW Local 252, Louie asks his wife, Robin, "I wonder if he knows Claude?"  I said "Claude Crumb?" and Robin says "That's my son!"  Talk about a small world!  We meet lots of people on the road from Michigan, but we've never met anyone who lives as close to us as Manchester let alone someone who is related to someone we know well.

Robin and Louie

They are great people and we're so glad we met them.

Doug and I have always been big fans of sunrise, but it was a beautiful sunset.

Thursday was also Jackie's 4th birthday, so we celebrated with some ice cream and Mango Key Lime Pie.  I can't believe that she's four already.  Jesse will be five this May.  This is Doug's plate, but Jackie did get a bite of ice cream!

On Friday, we went back to Curry Hammock State Park for a few hours.  There were lots of  shore birds and I think this may be a Green Heron.  My sisters, Karen and Gloria, are the real birders, so I will leave positive identification to them.

We then took a drive south over the Seven Mile Bridge.  At the southern end, we found Veteran's Memorial Park with a view of the bridge.

We were also able to walk out into the water about 100 yards and the water never got deeper than just below my knees.

It was a great day and I watched the sunset again.  

"Coffee smells like freshly ground heaven."  ~ Jessi Lane Adams

And with that said, I think I'll have another cup!