We did our usual morning exercise and then packed the coolers and our beach things. Tim took the sunroof and the front doors off the Jeep. We picked up Sam and Vicki at Lime Tree and drove to Bahia Honda State Park. We walked the bridge trail.
We found a picnic table in the shade and enjoyed a nice lunch.
We drove to the more northern portion of the park and found a spot on the beach. It was hot and all four of us walked out into the water where we chatted and floated and swam for hours.
We met a woman out on her paddle board. She was quick to offer lessons and Tim and Sam and Vicki all took turns getting onto the board.
We all showered and dressed and Sam and Vicki met us at the campground in time to watch the sunset.
We drove to Islamorada for dinner at Lazy Days. First, we visited the tarpons. We did also see a shark.
We were lucky to get a table right on the beach. And had a delicious meal. We enjoyed conversation and fellowship with good friends.
I took my walk in the campground while waiting for laundry to wash and then dry. It’s such a good way to multitask!
We both took the gentle flow yoga class this morning.
The rest of the day, I spent preparing for visitors. Sam and Vicki were supposed to fly to Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday, but because of Hurricane Nicole, they were forced to change their plans. They arrived safely this afternoon and are staying at Lime Tree Bay just two miles away. Once they were settled, they met us here at Fiesta Key. We enjoyed good food and lots of laughs at Oceans 305. The music was pretty loud…it was the Friday Night Dance Party. We skipped the dancing and walked out onto the dock to watch the moon rise and to look at the stars. It was a great evening and we are looking forward to a fun day tomorrow. We are so excited to have our friends here…we don’t get many visitors!
Overnight the winds died down. There had been no rain. We woke up to sunny skies.
As I did my morning walk, I noticed sea grass on RV sites on the western side. The tide came up and flooded the first rows with about a foot of water. On the opposite side, the roads between sites were also covered. We are so fortunate to be camped right where we are!
We took the Jeep with our bikes and parked outside Curry Hammock State Park. We biked into the park and watched the kite surfers. This guy got great air!
Volunteers at the park collected plastic bottle tops from the beach. They created this sculpture, Ollie the Octopus, from that discarded trash.
We walked the short beach.
We exited the park and biked through the neighborhood along Kyle Avenue. There is a park with a pier that made a nice resting place.
We drove to Sunset Grill and had a late lunch. The hogfish sandwich there was good but not as good as the yellowtail sandwich yesterday!
We got a phone call this evening from David. He said that last night Austin woke up and said he missed Grandma and PopPop. Later, Austin called us to remind me to get stuff to make gingerbread men. Those little boys certainly pull at my heart strings. It is so hard to be away from them!
We stopped for groceries on our way back and we just finished putting things away when we noticed the sun was setting. We walked out to the dock.
Another beautiful day in paradise…no crazy wind and no rain!
I walked out on Overseas Highway to the bridge. It was windy and noisy but it is a beautiful walk. I got almost to the end of the bridge when I saw a person asleep in the middle of the path. The guy had his coolers and fishing rods set up and must have gotten sleepy! I turned around and went back the way I came.
We went to Islamorada and walked through the Bass Pro Shop, leaving without buying a thing.
We went to a late lunch at Green Turtle. We both ordered the blackened yellowtail sandwich; an excellent choice!
We stopped at Annie’s Beach to check out the tide.
We spent most of the remainder of the day watching the weather channel. We had sustained winds of 20-23mph all day long. We had a few light showers.
We walked out to the water’s edge several times to check for flooding. All day we wondered how bad it was going to get.
The first thing we wanted to do upon awakening was check the weather forecast. It looks like Nicole is going to go farther north. There are still no watches or warnings for this area and so we breathed a sigh of relief. There were still wind advisories for the day. We stayed in doing not so much.
Tim took his walk out on the bridge today.
We took dinner to Annie’s Beach.
When we got back to the resort, we took a glass of wine out on the point.
We are thinking of all of those in the path of the storm.
There was a great breeze this morning and it was delightful walking weather.
Tim and I both went to the Total Body Stretch class. We did some easy stretching and then more dynamic stretching. I am so glad we went. My hips and joints felt looser all day.
I spent lots of time today catching up on paperwork. Sometimes we just must pause and take care of business.
Late in the afternoon, I found myself in the laundromat.
We walked to the point to watch the sunset. By then, the wind was blowing steadily at about 20mph.
Our site is tucked in with high hedges behind us. We are well protected from the wind here.
We have been watching the weather channel and Subtropical Storm Nicole. It looks like the storm will make landfall somewhere along the east coast. So far, it looks like we will have wind and rain but we are not currently in any watch or warning areas for wind nor storm surge. We will keep watching and we will do whatever we need to do. Being in the Florida Keys and watching the predicted path of the storm, we feel limited in our ability to move.
Waiting for this storm and not knowing where it will go or what it will do feels different than watching a snowstorm come to the northeast. Somehow this feels more imminent and dangerous. We know so often that the forecasters are wrong. We are hoping that people can prepare and stay safe.
When I went out to walk this morning there were some light sprinkles. The rain stayed offshore out over the water.
We drove to Islamorada this morning. First, we biked around town. We found a small beach area at a dead end.
We visited the Farmers Market and today we found some fresh produce, focaccia, and empanadas.
On our way back to Fiesta Key, we stopped at Annie’s Beach and walked the boardwalk.
It is Sunday and so it is chore day and football day and today is also the final NASCAR race of the season.
The race was exciting but only because Joey Lagano stayed out in front and finally won! It is his second championship.
We walked out to the pier to watch the sunset. We almost missed it because of the time change. There was a rainbow with a nearly full moon in one part of the sky while the sun went down. It was hard to choose which way to look! Simply beautiful!
After my walk, I headed to Islamorada. I had an appointment to get my hair cut and it was so nice to be pampered! The hairdresser is also an avid traveler, hiker, cyclist, and walker so we had lots to talk about. I asked her about the effect of Hurricane Ian on the Middle Keys. She said that the officials did not even evacuate tourists. If they are concerned at all, they mandate that tourists leave. No one wants a bunch of people in the way if circumstances change quickly. The winds during the storm reached 40mph here but natives are used to wind.
I did a few errands in town and got back in early afternoon.
We packed salads for our dinner and drove back to Veteran’s Park at Seven Mile Bridge. Tim took the top off the Jeep!
There was a squadron of 8 pelicans fishing. I love watching their acrobatics as they soar and dive. The violence with which they plunge into the water is astounding. The light was changing as I continued to take pictures. I discarded a ton of images but I kept lots too. I may be posting too many…but I like them!
I walked from the Ibis Bay Resort to the junction of Route 1 and A1A and then back again. It was a little cooler and less humid this morning. I saw a pair of small sharks in the shallow water along the seawall.
We packed the car and left Key West behind. The drive is just so pretty; every single time!
We stopped at Veteran’s Park before the Seven Mile Bridge. We both waded into the water.
We got some groceries in Marathon and we were back at the RV in early afternoon.
We took our dinner out to the beach here at Fiesta Key.
It was really windy and the water was coming up over the wall.
We walked to Sunset Point to witness the end of the day.
Austin’s school picture. This boy always makes me smile <3
838 November 3, 2022 Fort Zachary Taylor State Park
I began the day with breakfast by the water. Does anyone else see the irony in having the paddleboard rental right next to the shark feeding station…feedings at 1pm and 5pm…if the sharks show up!
I walked on the northern edge of the island along the seawall.
I saw a guy on a trike cycling toward me. He was trying very carefully to put his beer bottle down on the walkway. As he did so, he tipped over and fell off his bike. I was still a way off but I was watching to see if he needed help. He struggled to his feet and got himself back on his bike. As I got closer, I could see that he had cuts and scrapes on his legs. I tried to reach out but he was not interested in help and gave me an angry response. There are a lot of homeless people here in Key West and it is very clear that many of them have mental health issues. I wish there was something that we could do to change their circumstances.
When I got back to the hotel, I was hot and sweaty. I sat on the small beach at the resort. The tropical breeze cooled me down. The ibises were out looking for breakfast.
We took the Jeep and our bikes to the Truman Waterfront Park. We biked into Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. We tooled around, riding on the various paths. We found a bench in the shade and sat. We saw a manatee feeding in the seagrass near the rocks. We saw lots of silvery skipjacks thrashing and jumping around in the water. We saw some bigger fish swimming through the schools of smaller bait. It is rare for Tim to sit still, but we stayed there for 45 minutes.
We watched this shrimp trawler move across the water, followed by a huge flock of gulls.
We went back to feed our parking meter and biked over to the cruise ship terminal.
We then cycled into town to see the Custom House. Built in 1891 with intricate brickwork, terracotta, and brownstone, Tim had dubbed this a masonry masterpiece. He is not a person to bestow this title easily. This building is magnificent.
Old US Coast Guard Building.
We found a Cuban restaurant, El Meson de Pepe, near Mallory Square. I enjoyed the most delicious Cuban sandwich I have ever had with plantains and lots of cold water.
This chicken sat on the table next to us. Was it rude that Tim was eating a salad with grilled chicken right in front of her?
We went back to the hotel and took afternoon naps.
We took the 6pm shuttle to Duvall Street. We had 6:30 reservations for dinner at Bagatelle. We sat on the balcony overlooking the street below. It was an excellent meal and great ambience.
We watched a rooster fly up and settle in the tree.
We walked across the street to listen to some live music at Hogs Breath Saloon.
We walked after dinner through town and to an empty Mallory Square. We caught the 9 o’clock shuttle back to Ibis Bay. The past two days here in Key West have been a real treat. A vacation for us. Staying in hotels and eating out so often is not part of our usual schedule. We enjoyed our time here and as always we are so grateful.
