Sunday, February 28, 2016 -- Our last full day here in the Florida Keys.  I planned to go on a snorkeling expedition to Cheeca Rocks, reputed to be some of the best underwater tourism in the area.

But, it was not to be. We drove down to Islamorada to the expedition launch at Islander Watersports, but as soon as we got out of the car, I knew this would not work.  The wind was blowing a good 15 knots and as the guide said, the water would be so roiled up that visibility would be nearly nil.  

Instead we went to the Theater of the Sea, an attraction built on dolphins, sea lions, and other creatures.  The location was originally the site of a pit dug to provide fill dirt for Flagler's railroad from Miami to Key West, an enormous engineering and construction project in the 1910-13 years.  The railroad was damaged in the 1935 hurricane and went out business.  The land was sold for $800 and today is the water basin for the Theater's dolphin and sea lion shows. The artificial lagoons and gardens feature Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, California sea lions, sea turtles, tropical and game fish, sharks, stingrays, alligators, marine invertebrates, and birds.

This was, to our surprise, a much better show than some

others of this sort we've seen.  They had a series of exhibitions with trained dolphins doing tricks, then sea lions doing tricks, a bottomless boat tour, a well-narrated guided walk through the sea life in various pools, and a demonstration routine with trained parrots.  (Parrots are very smart.)

We finished the day, and our time in the Florida Keys, with one last sunset at Marker 88's outdoor bar and dock where you can watch the golden orb decline over the Florida Bay.

Our stay ended with dinner at Pierre's at Morada Bay, reputed to be one of the best restaurants on the Middle Keys.  (I would not quarrel.) It has the atmosphere of an early Florida two-story plantation mansion with a veranda running around all sides.  The lounge has a classic mahogany bar and deep leather armchairs. The dining room features dark planked wood floors, an eighteenth century Indian arcade, natural textured walls, and teak tables on kilim rugs.  There are Moroccan, Indian, and African artifacts everywhere you look.  And the food was excellent. 

Sunset at Marker 88

 

Saturday, February 27, 2016 -- There's a garden show today, and because it's cool (about 65 degrees) and windy, we decided to go.  

The start point was a garden club just up the road toward Key Largo from us. 

There was a festival of crafts and art objects as well as free coffee, tea, basil lemonade, as well as cookies and brownies. 

Well, after the $25 per person donation, maybe the cookies were not so "free."

The Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center was also on the list of places to be visited, but we've seen enough of that recently.  We moved on to the first garden on the tour, "Zen" fandel at 158 Rushton Lane, a short walk away.

"Zen" fandel

This garden featured a lot of small spots with an Asian flair, and good explanations of the plants and their characteristics.  I liked the way the owner used what came to hand, and seemed to trust Mother Nature to decide.

Next was "Villa Verde" at 603 Burton Drive, also not far away from our marina. I've run by here in the mornings on the way to Harry Harris Park and noticed all the painted crab trap floats hanging in the trees.  It apparently  belongs to a family who have been in Tavernier many years.  They have six lots backing up to a lake.

I kind of liked the cactus garden here (above) as well as the plaque with instructions for how to survive a hurricane (right).  They also had a nice firepit and outdoor grill area built of brick retrieved from a sunken Spanish ship -- the brick had been ballast.





The last garden on the tour was a spectacular one up the road toward Key Largo.  At 106 Point Pleasant Drive, it was a little hard to find, but a spectacular location for a house.

Entrance to Point Pleasant

 The artificial turf made a lot of sense under the tree canopy which the owner admitted made growing grass a challenge.  I was surprised the garden club allow a site with artificial grass on the tour, but it was beautiful, with orchids growing in the water oaks in the front yard.

However, the back garden facing the bay is dramatic.

No Key Deer, and No Fish Either

Friday, February 26, 2016 -- A day to venture down the Keys toward the Seven Mile Bridge, Bahia Honda, and Pine Key.  The last of those is home to the endangered Key Deer, a small species that seemingly thrives in this part of the Middle Keys.

Key Deer (from Internet)

Despite explorations of several parks and reserves on Pine Key, especially including National Key Deer Refuge, we did not see a single deer.  After lunch at Kiki's Sandbar, a server told us for sure we should see some if we went back and drove through the residential areas.  No luck.

So we proceeded over to Bahia Honda and the end of one span of Henry Flagler's railway to Key West.  Until it was destroyed in a 1935 hurricane, the rail line was an engineering and construction accomplishment on the same scale as the Panama Canal.  Today the remains of the railway line, including many old concrete bridges of the Overseas Railroad remain in use as fishing piers and pedestrian paths called the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail along the Keys. 

Fishing Bahia Honda

Before we headed back to Tavernier, I stopped to try my luck with a fishing pole and the strong northerly winds and rollicking currents under the bridge.

It's safe to say, no fish died at my hands this day.

Kayak the Keys (Just A Little Bit of The Keys)

Wednesday, February 24 -- We went down the Overseas Highway to Islamorada Mile 87 to Backcountry Cowboys and rented a couple of kayaks.  They suggested that because of the south wind (about 15 knots) we should paddle the Florida Bay side (north side).  The wind did, by the way, make it cool and comfortable in the 86 degree sunshine.

We  launched from a spot at the end of Blackwood Drive.  It was helpfully located very near a 300-foot tall radio tower, so we could easily find our way back.  The kayaks came with a "dry bag" for cameras, car keys, and cell phones.

We paddled southwest around the bay, looking in on the mangroves, the fish swimming in the clear water, and people relaxing on decks and pools along the water.  We passed marinas, townhouses, repairs places, and restaurants -- not to mention the Islamorada Fish Company (a super place to get fishing equipment, lures, rods, clothing, etc.)  It also features a replica of Hemingway's favorite fishing boat, the Pilar.

We poked around for about two hours, finding it best to paddle close to the mangroves and shore on the south side because of the wind.  In fact, a trip back across the bay required some serious paddling because of the wind.  

After a couple of hours of paddle work, it seemed like lunchtime.  We headed over to Lorelei Beach Club and Restaurant, beached the kayaks and ordered conch fritters and chicken quesadillas. A photo had to be taken to mark the spot.

At the end, we found our way back to the launch spot and called Backcountry to come pick up the kayaks. All worked very smoothly.  Maybe another day we'll go out the ocean side to Indian Key.

The Bird Sanctuary

Tuesday, February 23, 2016 -- This evening, in hopes of a good sunset and some wildlife photos,  we decided to go at sunset to the Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center.  It's just down the road from us, in the direction of Key Largo.

There's no admission, but a donation of five dollars per person is requested.  At the beginning there are a number of birds in screened cages, many of them rescues who suffered injuries and now live out their lives at the Center. They included several kinds of owls.  An enormous cage the size of a couple of tennis courts housed pelicans, turkey vultures and some other birds.  

We were more interested in the outdoor birds who might visit the bay shore behind the Center.  

I think this guy sitting on a rock, motionless, watching the water for something to catch, is a Baird's Sandpiper.  He was absolutely still until he struck for something.

Baird's Sandpiper

We had a big pelican who sat in a tree and dried his wings for quite a while in front of us.  He was lit by the setting sun, so he was easy to photograph clearly.

Florida Brown Pelican

We also a little red-bellied woodpecker who was working on a tree nearby.  He was a jittery little guy, and thus very hard to photograph clearly because he kept moving.  But a pretty bird....

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Toward sunset, a tri-colored heron came into the water just off shore, clearing thinking this might be a good dinner spot.  

Tri Colored Heron

As the sun was setting, he took off across the bay.  Lifting gently into the air and leaving us with a lovely image.

Lift off

And, at last we had a perfect sunset at 6:18 p.m.

Lifting a Skater 388

It has a catamaran style hull

Monday, February 22, 2016 --A little excitement around the Mangrove Marina this morning when the red and orange speedboat that docked yesterday was readied for lift out.   We heard the engine of the Skater 338 roaring as they maneuvered carefully into the lifting dock. If you have to ask, yes, it has a 280 gallon fuel tank and burns Jet A.

At the start of the lift

This is a careful loading operation that seems to have everyone on deck, and several of us spectators around as well.  The 38-foot power boat seems even longer, perhaps because of its low, sleek design. There are six body-conforming seats, but no seatbelts.  Instead the four rear passengers each have prominent handgrips. She is going to be placed on a trailer and taken to Miami.

Up in the air

The Marine Bull hydraulic left groans just a little at it lifts the boat up and prepares to turn and place it on a custom trailer nearby.  You notice that the forks only extend about one third the length of the boat.  All the weight of those twin inboard 1350 hp Mercury motors is back there, I guess. Both boat and trailer are made by Douglas Marine Corporation in Michigan. 

On the custom trailer

There is a lot more careful measurement involved in setting the Skater 388 onto its custom trailer.  It has to fit just perfectly for the next move...  

Up in travel position

...which is to tip it up on one side for road travel!  

The owner explained that the 11-foot beam of the boat is too wide for normal highway travel unless you get a "wide load" follow vehicle with yellow lights. Loaded this way the craft's height is not an issue, except under low overhangs with less than 13.5-foot clearance. 

Three Garmin screens are protected by aluminum covers, but still the interior looked about like that of a Cirrus aircraft. The boat was being trucked back to Miami.  

I thought about offering to just pilot it back to Biscayne Bay.  I wonder how much fuel that would consume?

Tavernier, Florida Keys

Monday, February 15, 2016 -- We arrived after dark at the Mangrove Marina, but Heidi was here to show us around and help get settled quickly.  We'll get a chance to look around more tomorrow.

View from of our boat looking from Dock 300 to the northeast.

Tuesday, February 16 -- It looks pretty good so far.  The supermarket is within walking distance, and we have quickly found everything we need.  At night the wind plays quiet songs in the halyards of boats, and the waves slap gently on the boat.  

From our dock, looking NE

The houseboat, named Sand Dollar, is about 500 square feet of living space, with a loft which we use only for baggage.  It could be sleeping quarters for a couple of kids. We have a shower, toilet and washbasin in the bath, a queen-sized bed with two night tables, and a gas kitchen with refrigerator/freezer, a living room with sofa and a porch on each end.  The east porch - toward the 200 dock - is our entranced and it's screened, mostly.  There are two televisions and two A/C units which we've not used.

Looking west

Since I got my fishing rod and reel at the Islamorada Flea Market and Festival on Saturday, I've been fishing from the west porch, which faces the so-called 100 dock.  For some reason you can fish from your boat but not from the docks.

The marina has a number of live-aboards who seem to be spending the winter here.  However some boats do come and go, and this is clearly a place for fueling as well as lifting boats out or into the water. There are shower and toilet facilities on shore as well as washing machines and dryers.

February 17 -- we stopped at Robbie's to see the tarpon and the pelicans fight for fish.  These white herons are posing everywhere, and they were much easier to photograph than the submerged tarpon.

We also paused at Whale Harbor for a few minutes of "near sunset" photography, but the view would be better of the sunrise.

Whale Harbor

We ended the day Wednesday at the "Pulse of Islamorada,"  the Lorelei Bar overlooking the ocean view. There were people everywhere, cars parked all over, bartenders going crazy. Pretty cool place for a mojito just as day fades to night.

February 18 -- Anne's Beach, further down the Keys toward Key West, is a lovely Florida state park. Keys Beach is located on the Atlantic Ocean, but there is almost no wave action, due to the wide, shallow water typical extending out from the land. There is a boardwalk that meanders through the mangroves from one parking area to the other, and that's where we saw this little guy.

 February 20 -- The big annual Islamorada Nautical Flea Market is today, so we parked at the school and rode the shuttle to Founders Park. It's a super place for bargains on boating fishing, diving, and nautical-themed gear.  We didn't need much of that, so after the pancake breakfast, we mainly walked and looked. Lots of used boat fittings and electrical parts, fishing and boating clothing, jewelry, etc.

Oh, yes, and many clever signs.  I thought this seemed especially original.  I kind of wonder where it comes from, or on what kind of location it was meant to be placed?