March 24, 2009: Key West, FL

With high winds predicted for another two days, we decided to hop from the Bahia Honda Key Marina to dockage in Key West today. It was pretty tricky just moving off the docking wall with the wind pushing us into it with sailboats fairly close just in front of and behind our spot. We said goodbye to the beautiful beach and exited the quiet bay through the cut in the old railroad bridge. The turquoise sea was white caped but fortunately, we were moving with the wind as we cruise due west. The boat was pitching so that it was hard to take pictures, but we did see a plane taking off from the Naval Air station.

So we are spending two nights docked at the Conch Harbor Marina at the old seaport in Key West as part of my 60^th birthday celebration. We took a bike ride around the old town area including to the southernmost point in the USA which is marked by a large yellow and red bullet shaped monument. We also rode by the walled compound on Whitehead Street where Earnest Hemmingway spent his most prolific writing period. It was a place we toured the last time we were in Key West 18 years ago. There is an amazing, huge kapok tree with roots like flying buttresses in front of the Monroe County courthouse.

There was a beautiful pool with the waterfall at the marina with a large sculpture of a swordfish spouting water. We spent the afternoon enjoying the warmth of the sun and a little swimming in the fresh water. It is still very windy.

For dinner we walked over to Turtle Karrals, a restaurant named for the history of the turtle meat canning factory that was on this location. We ate on the upper deck overlooking the docks and the dinghy landings. They were serving Carolina barbeque, so we had a taste from home while we watched the sun setting.

March 23, 2009: Bahia Honda Key

Today was an excellent day. So after Tom cooked us waffles for breakfast we took a bike ride the length of Bahia Honda to Sandspur beach. Along the way, we saw a tall blue heron looking for his breakfast in the shallows.

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the Sandspur plant, I am supplying a picture of one I found at the beach. Having grown up where our yard was a nursery for them, I am painfully aware of the seeds they produce.

Although there was a lot of vegetative clutter that looked like pine straw on the beach, the water, sea oats and sand were beautiful and reminded me of home. The mile and ½ ride took us to the foot of a nature trail where we walked to find the gumbo tree, a large sea grape tree with crimson leaves, and several of the famous silver palm trees, Coccothrinax argentata. This is a fan palm tree with leaves that are dark green on top but silver underneath. It is native to the Bahamas and considered endangered.

After lunch, we went swimming and snorkeling off the crowded sandy beach near the marina. The wind and tide were creating a very strong current so we stayed close to shore. Mostly what we saw was sea grass, but it was a fun time anyway. It was interesting to hear German being spoken on the beach – perhaps there is a direct flight from Germany to Miami. As always it is surprising to hear little children who already know a foreign language! : )

Tonight after supper, we watched the sun go down beyond the old Flagler’s Folly overseas railroad bridge.

March 22, 2009 Sunday: Bahia Honda Key

With the small craft warning still in effect this morning, we opted to stay on the boat for our worship time this Sunday morning and connected to the wireless internet podcast from our home church, Trinity Baptist in Raleigh. We heard Dr Robert’s Lenten sermon from John 2:13-22, the topic – a soul searching challenge to separate your life from tolerating your own sins. It was good to hear his voice and message. Since the pod cast does not include any music, we tuned into the satellite station with some praise music and sang along with Oh Lord, Our Lord, How Majestic is your Name in All the Earth. With the choppiness of the waves, Tom got a shower on the bow pulling up the anchor.

We decided we wanted to find better shelter for tonight, so Tom found the course towards Marathon were we could pass under the Seven Mile Bridge to the Atlantic side of the Keys. We found the passage quite rough with 5 – 8 foot seas through the green white capped surf. We passed under both the old bridge and the new high bridge. From the south side of the islands, we could enter the Bahia Honda State Park. We found their small harbor with several sailboats already anchored there and proceeded inside to the boat basin and are docked there for the night. It feels good to be out of the wind.

We visited the small nature center in the park near the beach. This state park includes 524 acres and some of the Key’s most beautiful white sandy beaches. The geological formation of Bahia Honda is Key Largo limestone. It is derived from prehistoric coral reef similar to the present day living reefs of the Keys, exposed by a drop in the sealevel. On our walk around the park, we found a sample of the stone with petrified coral formations in a butterfly garden near the marina. The park is the home to a rare butterfly, the tiny Miami Blue whose wing span is less than 1 inch. We joked walking through the garden that the butterflies would have to have pretty strong wings to hang in this wind. The park also has one of the largest remaining stands of the threatened silver palm trees in the US.

We also walked up on the old remaining section of bridge that we came by on our way in to the marina. Henry Flagler built a railroad from Miami to the deep water port of Key West beginning in 1905 and completing in 1912. This railroad later became a highway and the old train bridge which became the old two lane road has been preserved as an observation pier. It gave us a beautiful vantage point to see our boat in the basin beyond the beach and to watch the sailboats coming in for refuge. The big green schooner was obviously the host to a group of young people who were going snorkeling in the inlet between the new and old bridges.

March 21, 2009: Big Pine Key

Last night was a rough night with the wind picking up to 20 mph and a small craft advisory announced by the Coast Guard. While ours is not a “small craft”, there was a lot of pounding by the waves where we were anchored last night due to exposure to the north. So this morning with the weather forecast for continued wind from the North / North East, we moved the boat to a more sheltered spot on the waterfront near the bridge between Big Pine Key and No Name Key. We had several big crabbing boats come by us loaded with wooden crate traps.

Our outing for today, was to take the dinghy with our bikes into shore to find lunch and a grocery store. We took the dinghy under the bridge to a tiny little marina where we paid $5.00 to tie up to their wall. Tom had found a recommendation for the “No Name Pub” which was just a short way up the paved road. The restaurant opened in 1936 as a general merchandise store and was called the oldest pub in the Keys with large live oaks snugged up to the block construction. We had to wait for 30 minutes to get a table, but had a fantastic ham and pineapple pizza there.

The waitress there told us that the No Name Key had a national wildlife reserve and that we might see deer if we rode over the bridge. The National Key Deer Refuge was established in 1957 to protect and preserve the Key Deer and other wildlife species unique to the Florida Keys, such as the Keys Marsh rabbit. So after lunch we took that ride, but it was not until we had come back across the bridge to Big Pine Key did we see deer scampering down the side of the road. I almost got a picture, but they were too quick.

The grocery store turned out to be farther away than we thought. It was up on US1, the highway that runs the length of the Keys, – a five mile round trip, so it was great that we had the bikes. The Winn Dixie was a huge, modern store with daily specials on grouper and shrimp being announced over the loud speaker as we shopped for bread, milk and strawberries. There were little signs in the meat department giving the origin of each of their meat products as information on the food supply chain, complying with the new FDA law for tracking food sources. We also found the First Baptist Church where we will go back tomorrow to worship.

We had supper on the boat as the winds picked up and the clouds rolled in. We did see a dramatic sky with the sun behind the dark clouds before it got dark. We were able to see the UNC victory over LSU and then the Duke game on NCAA.com using the wireless internet.

It was a good day.

March 20, 2009: Big Pine Key, Fl

We pulled away from the green roof of the Naples Boat Club, and moved on to the Municipal Docks to fuel up with diesel on the way out. Across from us was a catamaran that was loading passengers to a "dolphin sighting" cruise. It was sunny with a light breeze.

On the way out of Gordon River this morning we saw an old familiar sight. There was a large bird’s nest of sticks perched on the top of a channel marker and it was guarded by a large brown and white Osprey. We think she was already sitting on eggs, and it is only March.

We left Naples and cruised south past Marco Island. Even from a distance, you could see the high rises crowded together along the beach. Today was a long trip in open water on the Gulf and with seas 2 to 4 feet it was definitely not as calm as I had hoped. We cruised about 25 miles off shore in about 30 feet deep water and amazingly, there were crab pot floaters even out here.

We had a treat of encountering a pod of dolphins who swam along in front of the boat, playing and leaping out of the water. The water today was actually truly teal, deep blue green, and beautiful. Along the way we saw a very tall tower that looked a like a big pitch fork. Tom had read in a guide book that the Air Force has electronic towers out in this area that track the airplane traffic and can be used to analyze the paths of planes engaged in training missions and mock battles in the area.

As we found land after the crossing we passed the Keys Deer Reserve and around 3:30 we reached the Saddlebunch Keys. This area is not populated and the little keys are largely areas covered with mangrove trees which grow in shallow water as well as actual dry land.

This afternoon we anchored just north of Big Pine Key near where there is a bridge to No Name Key (that is actually its name!). We settled into the clear 6 foot deep water and took a few minutes to take a swim before supper. We are accompanied in this anchorage with 3 or 4 sailboats also enjoying the solitude.