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| Card Sound from Card Sound Rd. |
After getting on route 1 in Key Largo I was glad to have taken Card Sound Rd. Route 1 is indeed a busy road with fast moving RVs, boats on trailers, and trucks. There is a bike bath on parts of the road but in some places it is not well maintained and fills with rainwater after downpours. I chose the shoulder more often than not, which varied from huge to non existent. Generally not a relaxing ride, but there looks to be an effort underway to create a continuous bike bath, which is better than nothing. And of course there is a lot of bridge riding.
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| Riding on the ocean in the Keys |
Annie was spot on about her friend Lee. His place in Key Largo has three stories with a roof top patio, a slip for his big sailboat, and I had my own bedroom with private bathroom. Lee explained there are 3 main activities on the Keys: drinking, fishing, and diving/snorkeling. The first night Lee took me out to dinner at the restaurant down the road where the entertainment was a solo acoustic guitar player and a dog. Every once in a while the guy would start playing a solo, which was awkward since he had no band, but the dog would start howling. Whether he was howling along in pleasure or pity remains a mystery.
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| Lee's sailboat from the rooftop patio |
The next morning I borrowed Lee's mask and fins and went on a snorkeling trip at Pennekamp State Park. I saw lots of impressive tropical fish: sting ray, barracuda, big colorful parrot fish, and a grouper the size of my leg, as well as the Jesus statue featured in the brochures. Not long after being on the boat my nausea reminded me that I am not an ocean person. I had been snorkeling before in the Keys when I was young, and recalled losing my lunch to the fish. This time I kept my lunch, but did get stung by a couple jelly fish.
Lee wanted to to grill up some fish from the fish market across from his house so I picked up some veggies to go with it. At the market Lee spent $75 on stone crab, snapper, and conch salsa. I handled the veggies and Lee handled the crab and fish. The meal was delicious, and like all the meals I ate at Lee's kitchen table, was accompanied by the local Miami news. Lee likes the weather girls. If you have not seen the Miami news, imagine a cross between a Reno 911 episode and a soap opera. Very entertaining.
On the snorkeling trip I met a kind easy going couple, Dave and Cindy, from Auburn CA traveling around the US in their camper. They invited me to join them at their campsite at Curry Hammock State Park. I was happy to accept as I had no plans and camping in the Keys is expensive and usually requires reservations.
On the ride to Curry Hammock I got caught in a downpour. Riding in the rain in the Keys is not so bad as it gave some relief from the heat. Except for my shoes, I was mostly dry an hour later. I found Dave and Cindy on the beach. Another rain storm came along and we went back to the campsite for dinner. Dave grilled steaks in the rain.
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| Rain moving in at Curry Hammock State Park |
I ate a piece of steak for the first time in a long time. After the first bite I felt stronger, the protein and heme iron nourishing my tired muscles. Just kidding! I didn't feel any different, but I was grateful to be given a hot meal. After dinner we jumped in their truck and went to Sparky's Landing for tropical drinks and live music. The band was great. It rained all night so they let me set up my tent under the awning of their camper.
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| Dave and Cindy with my bike and their camper. |
Cindy and Dave moved on to Key West the next day. I decided to check out Bahia Honda State Park, which I heard has the nicest beach in the Keys. Indeed, it does, so I spent the afternoon being a beach bum. I didn't ask about camping and found a place to put up my hammock tent in a stand of palms on the north end of the park. Nobody bothered me, except the mosquitoes while setting up my tent. The pelicans and I had a nice sunset backdrop for dinner. At sunrise I jumped in the ocean, took a shower, and ate some breakfast before riding to Key West.
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| Bahia Honda State Park sunset with the pelicans |
I didn't spend much time in Key West as I figured finding a place to spend the night would be difficult. After talking to a few people in town I figure I could have found a place to stay, but the Keys were starting to get a bit boring. Key West didn't seem too different, except more touristy and much higher concentration of drinking establishments. So for the afternoon I rode around and went to Fort Zachary, a nice park on the very southwestern tip of the island. The beach is rocky limestone, but the swimming is nice.
I decided to take the Keywest Express ferry to Ft Myers beach rather than back track and cut across the Everglades. I wanted to have plenty of time to visit my friend Dave in Sarasota, and he had another guest arriving in early December. There was also a strong headwind I would have had to fight going back up the Keys. So for about $100 I got a nauseating 4 hour boat ride and my bike got a thorough saltwater ocean spray soaking.
I met two groups of people on the boat, one retired couple from Naples/Stamford, CT and two woman from Ft Myers. By the end of the boat ride I had two offers for a place to stay upon arriving, but both were a 20-30 mile ride from where the boat came in. It was 11PM by time my bike got off the boat, so riding a couple hours at that time in an unfamiliar area didn't seem like a great idea. That turned out to be a big mistake and turned out to be the worst night of the trip so far. Details in the next post.
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