Pink Shrimp on the Barby

Saddle Bunch Keys, Florida

We had another lazy day in the Keys.  We spend most of the day at the RV park swimming and kayaking. 

The wildlife here is amazing.  I mentioned earlier the number of birds we see daily.  Lower Sugarloaf Key also has a lot of fish.  Earlier today we heard a noise that sounded like a boat blasting through the water.  It turned out to be a shoal of mullet escaping from some other predatory fish.  About 4 or 5 waves of the mullet looking like ocean waves breaking on a shoreline continuing for 30 seconds or so until they were in deeper water.  Of course I didn't have the camera so no shot of that.

Anything watersports oriented is available and done here in the Keys.  Seems that every house has a boat or two in the yard or in the carport.  Paddle boarding is popular here as well.  We saw this guy coming across the sound with his dog on the board with him.

 I have not tried paddle boarding but my sense of balance is not all that great.  I think I would have a hard time standing upright and paddling by myself, much less with a dog on board!

Mid afternoon we drove up to Ramrod Key to a fresh seafood market and bought a pound of Key West Pink Shrimp.  We grilled those for our dinner.  We had a bag of broccoli slaw (just add mayo) and some whole wheat tortillas.  This combination made some very good fresh shrimp tacos.

We are headed back to that same seafood store tomorrow go pick up a couple of Florida Keys fresh Lobster for the grill.

Sightseeing Day

Today was the first day in a week that the  clouds didn't move out with the arrival of the sun.  It rained pretty hard during the night, and when we awoke this morning, the wind was blowing from the southeast and there were heavy clouds.

We decided to tie things down and take a day trip.  First over to Key West to see what was going on there.  As usual, lots of traffic and lots of people.  We drove out to the Truman Annex and Fort Zachery Taylor to see the beach.  At the gate we were informed by the nice security guard that we would have to pay the $7 entry fee to drive in and look at the beach.  We decided we didn't really need to see it that bad, but here is an aerial view according to their web site.

 We continued back to Duval Street and wound our way around some of the other more scenic streets in Old Town. 

After that we decided to head back up US-1 toward Marathon.  There were a couple of shops there that we wanted to check out.  And I always enjoy crossing the Seven Mile Bridge.   My question is: Why do people think the MUST pass on that bridge?  I was actually going 60 MPH...5MPH over the posted speed limit.  There was a line of cars in front and plenty behind.  Three different cars felt the need to get in front of me.  Of course they couldn't get any further ahead than the few cars in front of me, so at the first traffic signal in Marathon, I pulled up right behind them.  I guess I just don't understand.

Just north of Seven Mile Bridge is a quirky gift shop with a nautical islandy theme.  A lot of pottery, Sun art, and yes, PINK FLAMINGOS!  We have been looking for a pair to decorate our RV space wherever we are, so we stopped and bought a pair.

 

These are the cheap kind, pink plastic with metal rods for legs.  Very tacky and just what we had been looking for.

On the way back we took a right off of US-1 at Middle Torch Key.  This leads to a short causeway on Dorn Road that goes north for several miles on Big Torch Key.  This has to be one of the most isolated Keys in Florida with a paved road on it.  Very few houses in this area.  I'm not sure but it looks like the ones that are there are self sufficient with their own power and water cisterns.

Not too far from the end of the road we pass a "compound" carved into the mangroves and Live Oaks.  It contains a building that looks a bit like a Buddhist shrine, and a very interesting sign on a pole near the road.

In case you can't read it, it says "Watch for Children"  "They Taste Like Chicken"!


 

The Daily Air Show

Saddle Bunch Keys, Florida

A very lazy day in the lower Keys for us today.  We really took it easy.  I mean the easiest of the take it easy kind.  Well I take that back, we did wash a load of clothes in the laundry room here at Bluewater Key, and we took a short ride over to the Atlantic side of Sugarloaf Key. 

There is a small park with a boat launch and a parking area where Sugarloaf Creek runs into the Ocean.  Sugarloaf Creek is the way to get from Lower Sugarloaf Sound to the Atlantic Ocean.  Just offshore is the reef and a light tower.  There are a couple of picnic shelters at the parking area.  Here is a picture of Pam in one of the shelters with the Atlantic Ocean beyond.

We talked to a couple of guys unloading their kayak for a trip out to the reef for some diving.  There is alot of wildlife in the area.

Here is a picture of the coast looking NorthEast:

 And from the same spot looking in the opposite direction out toward the reef.  That is Sugarloaf Creek in the foreground.

Back at the RV park, we did some of our own swimming.  Here is Pam doing some Keys Noodling.

I mentioned the daily "Air Show".  There are always plenty of birds in the keys.  This fellow spent the afternoon watching us from the dock next door:

And of course, there is always Fat Albert, a tethered blimp with a somewhat mysterious background.  Stationed at Cudjoe Key, we can easily see the blimp from our RV site.  Pictures are very difficult to get due to the distance and the fact that he blends in with the sky.  Here is Fat Albert almost down from his fully tethered position.  Look hard and you can see him:

It is very hard to get the proper scale on a shot like this, but that blimp is about 7 or 8 miles away, and is only about 20% of his normal flying altitude!

The "air show" also includes the fascinating buildup of those big puffy clouds as the wind brings the moisture from the ocean.

We also watched an Osprey fishing in the sound today.  After several dives he brought up a pretty large fish in his talons.  Of course, I didn't have the camera ready for that one. 

Another part of the air show is watching the occasional flight of jets based out of Boca Chica Airbase.  Those pilots are awesome and to see their speed and the way they fly in such close formation is amazing.

Oh well, as I said, another lazy day in the keys.  Goodnight Bobbi.

Fire in the Cuban Sky

Saddle Bunch Keys, Florida

Another beautiful day in the Florida Keys.  I cannot imagine anything more boring than being a weather forecaster in this part of the country.  If you pull up the Accuweather Forecast for the Florida Lower Keys, it's the same every day.  With a rare exception of course; as in Tropical Storm Isaac a few weeks ago.

We pretty much hung out at Bluewater Key  all day swimming and kayaking around Lower Sugarloaf Sound.

Tonight again there were storm clouds building many many miles out over the Atlantic south of the Keys.  Last night the same thing happened.  The clouds are so far away that you can see the lightning but never hear any thunder.  So far away that you can see several complete thunderstorms.  The lightning inside and around the huge clouds puts on quite a show.  Monday night, I commented to Pam that they are so far away that they are probably over Cuba.  And when I pulled up the weather radar online, sure enough, they were over the north coast of Cuba.
 
Tonight we saw some of the same type of storms.  Again so far away over the Atlantic that no thunder could be heard.  I decided to try to get a few pictures.  They are a bit grainy, but the best I can offer under the circumstances.

The first few are shots toward the East.

 

This one is more toward the South East:

  

 

This shot is due South:

For anyone that is interested, the first 3 shots were taken at f2.8, ASA1600, with a shutter speed of 15 seconds.  The last two were f2.8, ASA800, shutter speed of 15 seconds.

Quick Trip to Big Pine and Marathon

Saddle Bunch Keys, Florida

We were awakened at about 4:00 AM with a loud clap of thunder followed by a torrential downpour.  But by 8:00 AM when we actually got up, the sun was out.  But there were big rain clouds around and it was a bit windy.

So mid morning we decided to ride up to Marathon.


As we approached Big Pine Key we could see a big blue cloud ahead, and as we passed Bahia Honda up to Seven Mile Bridge the bottom fell out.  Its a strange feeling being on such a long bridge and only able to see a few feet around you due to the rain.

Once in Marathon we went out to Sombrero Beach.  This is a nice little city park, but on a rainy Monday during school season, the place was deserted except for a couple of guys fishing on the nearby pier.

Sombrero Beach, Marathon, Florida

Time for lunch!  (Srini if you read this, please keep in mind that one of the key things I learned from you is that you cannot plan for lunch too early!)  There is a very cool place on the bay side of Marathon called Keys Fisheries.  It is a retail seafood market with a kitchen and a bunch of picnic tables around the dock area.  The grouper sandwich was good!

Pam at Keys Fisheries