Day 1 - Changes In Latitude - Changes In Attitude
Thursday, July 2, 2015
We loaded up the RV early Thursday morning and headed South for a change in lattitude and a change in attitude. Stopped in Boynton Beach to pick up our son Scott and daughter-in-law Halle and made the trek down Floridas Turnpike to Florida City, the gateway to the Florida Keys. Traffic wasn’t too bad and we came up on Jewfish Creek and decided to get acclimated for a long Keys weekend and stopped for a fresh grouper sandwich and rum runners at Gilbert’s! Yummy as usual!
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| Gilberts Waterfront Tiki Bar |
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| Knot At Sea docked at Fiesta Key |
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| Our Waterfront View |
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| Fiesta Key - Mile Marker 70 |
Back to the RV for more cocktail hour before heading over to the Lobster Crawl restaurant for more seafood and a picture perfect place to watch the sunset. Great food and drinks with a couple we met at the pool, Terry and Jason. The sunset was partially obscured by a cloud, but a sliver sunk into the sea in all its glory. Our good friends John & Pam stopped by to visit and we all hung out on the patio and enjoyed the evening heat with a cool drink! Finally turned in for our first night here, anticipating tomorrow’s adventures.
Day 2 - Headed for Mile Marker 0 - Key West
Friday, July 3rd, 2015
Fiesta Key is at Mile Marker 70 and we hadn’t driven to Key West in awhile, so after a wake me up breakfast prepared by Scott, off we go in a car loaned to us by Tom, we headed West on the Overseas Highway. Passing through Marathon and crossing the world famous 7 Mile Bridge, the names were all too familiar, Bahia Honda, Big Pine, Little Torch, Summerland, Cudjoe, Sugarloaf, Saddle Bunch, Boca Chica, and on in to the Southern-most city in the USA, Key West. I forgot how nice the drive was down there with so much to see, Including the beautiful waters of the keys.
We arrived around lunch time and just had to have some more seafood and found an open air grill called The Turtle Kraal located waterfront by the marina area of Key West. Grouper was on the menu, so we ate fish again and topped it off with a half dozen oysters on the half shell wand washed it down with a couple of rum runners.
After lunch we did a little shopping, Halle got her 6 month supply of hot sauce at Peppers then cruised down Duval Street calling out all the bars and dives we had visited many times before…Captain Tony’s, Sloppy Joes, Irish Kevin’s, Margaritaville, Blue Heaven and many more names made famous by all those Jimmy Buffett songs we all know by heart. There was one more stop we had to make on our way back up the Overseas Highway, a place I had been to everytime we were in Marathon: The 7 Mile Grill. Great fish sandwiches, but we didn't have time to indulge, just a quick photo opp.
And of course, a quick stop at the Post Card Inn and Tiki Bar for one of the best Rum Runners in the Keys.
As we headed back, Tom Fryer a friend of ours up in Key Largo sent us a picture of his big catch for the day. Fish Fry Tonight ! Mmmmmm, nothing like fresh caught Mahi Mahi ! and Conch Fritters fried up by John Barrett.
Tom invited some of his good friends and neighbors to join in the feast and a great time was enjoyed by all!
Day 3 - Happy Birthday America
Saturday, July 4th, 2015
Today, our friend Tom Fryer, who caught the fish, picked us up at Snake Creek in his awesome boat and we took a ride down to Lower Matecumbee on the Florida Bay side and anchored next to a beach area where a lot of boaters anchor and took a leisurely swim and enjoyed a few tropical cocktails and lunch. After lunch we cruised through the canals looking at the homes built up on columns to protect them from hurricane surge and rising waters. We heard the prices of the homes in this development ran anywhere from $1 million on up.
We ran back up the Intra Coastal Waterway to Snake Creek to get the loaner car and headed back to Fiesta Key to get ready for a bar-b-que and fireworks at a friend’s condo on the Atlantic side.
Tom and Judy Webb hosted the bbq at their lovely condo by the sea at mile marker 78. Judy is Pam Barrett’s sister and Pam & John were also there for the weekend so we got to enjoy time with them as well as a few other new acquaintances . Delicious food and drinks were consumed by all then out on their dock to watch some local fireworks as well as the ones in the surrounding Keys ! It was a great evening enjoyed by all! Headed back to Fiesta Key and settled in by midnight.
Day 2 - Headed for Mile Marker 0 - Key West
Friday, July 3rd, 2015
Fiesta Key is at Mile Marker 70 and we hadn’t driven to Key West in awhile, so after a wake me up breakfast prepared by Scott, off we go in a car loaned to us by Tom, we headed West on the Overseas Highway. Passing through Marathon and crossing the world famous 7 Mile Bridge, the names were all too familiar, Bahia Honda, Big Pine, Little Torch, Summerland, Cudjoe, Sugarloaf, Saddle Bunch, Boca Chica, and on in to the Southern-most city in the USA, Key West. I forgot how nice the drive was down there with so much to see, Including the beautiful waters of the keys.
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| World Famous 7 Mile Bridge - Pigeon Key |
After lunch we did a little shopping, Halle got her 6 month supply of hot sauce at Peppers then cruised down Duval Street calling out all the bars and dives we had visited many times before…Captain Tony’s, Sloppy Joes, Irish Kevin’s, Margaritaville, Blue Heaven and many more names made famous by all those Jimmy Buffett songs we all know by heart. There was one more stop we had to make on our way back up the Overseas Highway, a place I had been to everytime we were in Marathon: The 7 Mile Grill. Great fish sandwiches, but we didn't have time to indulge, just a quick photo opp.
As we headed back, Tom Fryer a friend of ours up in Key Largo sent us a picture of his big catch for the day. Fish Fry Tonight ! Mmmmmm, nothing like fresh caught Mahi Mahi ! and Conch Fritters fried up by John Barrett.
Tom invited some of his good friends and neighbors to join in the feast and a great time was enjoyed by all!
Day 3 - Happy Birthday America
Saturday, July 4th, 2015
Today, our friend Tom Fryer, who caught the fish, picked us up at Snake Creek in his awesome boat and we took a ride down to Lower Matecumbee on the Florida Bay side and anchored next to a beach area where a lot of boaters anchor and took a leisurely swim and enjoyed a few tropical cocktails and lunch. After lunch we cruised through the canals looking at the homes built up on columns to protect them from hurricane surge and rising waters. We heard the prices of the homes in this development ran anywhere from $1 million on up.
We ran back up the Intra Coastal Waterway to Snake Creek to get the loaner car and headed back to Fiesta Key to get ready for a bar-b-que and fireworks at a friend’s condo on the Atlantic side.
Tom and Judy Webb hosted the bbq at their lovely condo by the sea at mile marker 78. Judy is Pam Barrett’s sister and Pam & John were also there for the weekend so we got to enjoy time with them as well as a few other new acquaintances . Delicious food and drinks were consumed by all then out on their dock to watch some local fireworks as well as the ones in the surrounding Keys ! It was a great evening enjoyed by all! Headed back to Fiesta Key and settled in by midnight.
Sunday, July 5th, 2015
We knew we would have to get an early start to get ahead of the thousands of cars, boats, and RVs that headed south early that week and would now be heading north after the holiday weekend so we packed up camp and we were on the road by nine a.m. Scott was the pilot in command for the drive home and he brought us home safely in good time. Like we didn’t have enough of sun and fun the last few days, we quickly unpacked and went from the RV to the boat to spend the last few hours of the holiday weekend at Peanut Island with John, Marisol, Scott & Halle Steph & Keith and some of their neighbors.
It was another successful adventure in the RV and Brent and I are beginning to fall in love with our plans to share more good times ahead with family and friend land cruising aboard “Knot At Sea”!
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