Day 8
Ok, I'm losing steam on this daily blog thing so here's the quick and dirty:
This morning we drove to Key West. On the way we stopped at Bahia Honda State Park just to check it out for later. It looked awesome so we knew we had to stop on our way back. The drive to Key West was long but interesting. The Florida Keys really are beautiful but this climate is really hard on man made structures so a lot of things look old and run down and not well kept.
Key West was crowded even though this is the low season. I think 4th of July week is still busy. Parking is a serious problem in Key West! There is no place to park! There are small little lots all over charging anywhere from $15 to $30! Those guys are probably making more money than most of the shop owners! We finally found a metered spot by a small church a block away from Duval Street. We wandered the streets of Key West trying to keep track of the kids. I think we had to find a bathroom three times in the hour and a half we were there! We ate lunch at a little place called Havana Cafe and had cuban french toast. On the way out we wanted to stop by the Southern Most Point in the continental U.S. (Mile 0) and see the landmark and take a picture but ended up doing a drive-by instead. Too crowded!
On the airplane on the way over I read an article in National Geographic Traveler all about the wrong place at the wrong time. I was nervous about coming to this area after I read about the travel seasons and how I had picked probably the worst time to come to the Everglades and the Keys. Wet, hot, muggy, mosquitoes. They really made it sound terrible. But after reading that article I realized that I would rather fight some of those fights and experience a place without the crowds and chaos of the busy season than come at the "right time." It has felt like we've had the place to ourselves in some spots. And the humidity kind of feels good. The rain cools you off each day and I feel like I always have lotion on. As for the bugs, 25% deet sure seems to do the trick and we've each only had a handful of bug bites. So I'm a believer in visiting places at the "wrong" time!
We had good weather the whole time we were walking around Key West which was nice. We pulled into the parking lot at Bahia Honda and it started to downpour! So we waited it out in the car while we changed into our swimsuits. Sporting only our goggles we snorkeled around and saw crabs, fish, lots of sea grass and Jason even put his hand down on a large sting ray and it fluttered away. Calvin saw it too. They were pretty excited (and a little surprised)! Mikey, Nana and I walked up to the old bridge and walked out to the edge. It was really high up there with Mikey. (Again my fear of heights with kids kicked in). Looking out over to the old bridge that has been abandoned was almost disturbing. It looked so apocalyptic. Kira said it reminded her of Wall-E.
Marathon - Keys fisheries - we went to order at the take out window (there really is no restaurant, just a bar and a take out window) - the kids waited in the car -while we waiting for our food a torrential downpour came through with scary thunder and lightning - we told the kids to wait in the car for it to pass - it lasted 20 minute - lightning right above us - thunder so loud it made us jump - I think it struck somewhere very close one time - the lightning and thunder happened at the same time and the thunder was deafening - I was scared - the kids were scared in the car but it wasn't safe for us to go get them or for them to come to us - thank goodness for cell phones - we ate our meal in the downpour and lightning - when it subsided a little, Jeff went to get the kids out of the car - (they had to go to the bathroom AGAIN!) - they ate on the pier with us in the pouring rain - a little scary but very memorable
Back home - showers - devotional - bedtime - up early tomorrow for snorkeling trip at looe key and bahia honda (hopefully it doesn't get cancelled because of the weather -
This morning we drove to Key West. On the way we stopped at Bahia Honda State Park just to check it out for later. It looked awesome so we knew we had to stop on our way back. The drive to Key West was long but interesting. The Florida Keys really are beautiful but this climate is really hard on man made structures so a lot of things look old and run down and not well kept.
Key West was crowded even though this is the low season. I think 4th of July week is still busy. Parking is a serious problem in Key West! There is no place to park! There are small little lots all over charging anywhere from $15 to $30! Those guys are probably making more money than most of the shop owners! We finally found a metered spot by a small church a block away from Duval Street. We wandered the streets of Key West trying to keep track of the kids. I think we had to find a bathroom three times in the hour and a half we were there! We ate lunch at a little place called Havana Cafe and had cuban french toast. On the way out we wanted to stop by the Southern Most Point in the continental U.S. (Mile 0) and see the landmark and take a picture but ended up doing a drive-by instead. Too crowded!
On the airplane on the way over I read an article in National Geographic Traveler all about the wrong place at the wrong time. I was nervous about coming to this area after I read about the travel seasons and how I had picked probably the worst time to come to the Everglades and the Keys. Wet, hot, muggy, mosquitoes. They really made it sound terrible. But after reading that article I realized that I would rather fight some of those fights and experience a place without the crowds and chaos of the busy season than come at the "right time." It has felt like we've had the place to ourselves in some spots. And the humidity kind of feels good. The rain cools you off each day and I feel like I always have lotion on. As for the bugs, 25% deet sure seems to do the trick and we've each only had a handful of bug bites. So I'm a believer in visiting places at the "wrong" time!
We had good weather the whole time we were walking around Key West which was nice. We pulled into the parking lot at Bahia Honda and it started to downpour! So we waited it out in the car while we changed into our swimsuits. Sporting only our goggles we snorkeled around and saw crabs, fish, lots of sea grass and Jason even put his hand down on a large sting ray and it fluttered away. Calvin saw it too. They were pretty excited (and a little surprised)! Mikey, Nana and I walked up to the old bridge and walked out to the edge. It was really high up there with Mikey. (Again my fear of heights with kids kicked in). Looking out over to the old bridge that has been abandoned was almost disturbing. It looked so apocalyptic. Kira said it reminded her of Wall-E.
Marathon - Keys fisheries - we went to order at the take out window (there really is no restaurant, just a bar and a take out window) - the kids waited in the car -while we waiting for our food a torrential downpour came through with scary thunder and lightning - we told the kids to wait in the car for it to pass - it lasted 20 minute - lightning right above us - thunder so loud it made us jump - I think it struck somewhere very close one time - the lightning and thunder happened at the same time and the thunder was deafening - I was scared - the kids were scared in the car but it wasn't safe for us to go get them or for them to come to us - thank goodness for cell phones - we ate our meal in the downpour and lightning - when it subsided a little, Jeff went to get the kids out of the car - (they had to go to the bathroom AGAIN!) - they ate on the pier with us in the pouring rain - a little scary but very memorable
Back home - showers - devotional - bedtime - up early tomorrow for snorkeling trip at looe key and bahia honda (hopefully it doesn't get cancelled because of the weather -
Old Bridge at Bahia Honda
Heading out to sea. Calvin & Jason saw a stingray snorkeling today.
Kate was so brave and snorkeled all the way over by the bridge with Jeff & the big kids.
Kira with her cuban french toast.
Our dinner seaside in a tropical storm at Keys Fisheries in Marathon, FL. Honestly the day had been a tiny bit disappointing so far: busy and frustrating in Key West; rainy, choppy and low visibility for snorkeling at Bahia Honda and nearly 4 hours in the car. We were feeling a little bummed about the day. On a whim, we decided to stop for dinner here on a recommendation from Nolan & Lisa. The crazy adventure of eating great local seafood in a torrential tropical rainstorm and eating seaside at the marina on picnic tables with the wild thunder and lightning all around us made our day absolutely memorable and priceless (and a tad bit scary)!
We spent an hour or two wandering the streets of Old Key West. On our way out we decided this was a much easier way with kids. We drove the streets and rolled down the windows. I'm mostly kidding. It was fun to explore the city a bit, but a crowded, touristy city is really hard with 5 little kids. This would have been much easier. :) I loved seeing all of the Key West style houses on the drive. I love that style of architecture.
Mesmerized by moving marble maze art at an art gallery window.
Lunch at Havana Cafe. I think the staff was terrified and mortified that our party of 9 walked into the restaurant. The host even asked us to please not make a mess with a nervous laugh. The irony was that there was not another soul in the restaurant! And we left a good tip! So you're welcome Havana Cafe. :)
Coconuts mon?
We did this the lazy way. We drove out to see it and there was a line of 25 people waiting to take their picture with this landmark and no parking within blocks. So I leaned out the window and took a drive-by picture of it. We were still there, right?
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