Long Key, Florida

February 23 - 26, 2010

Long Key State Park

Long Key, Florida

We arrived here at Long Key State Park, in the Middle Keys, with the temperatures in the 80's and the humity just off the chart. We weren't meeting Sue and Wayne until the next day so we immediately got the kayaks in the water and got out in the beautiful, crystal clear waters of the Atlantic.

It has been awhile, but we decided to take Barney out again...if he didn't like it, we certainly were close enough to home to bring him back. At first, he was a bit timid and really didn't want to leave Ken's lap! But he finally relaxed and seemed very comfortable as we got going. (Note his life jacket!!)

He even got a bit excited when we got in a cove of dead mangroves and he saw all those birds resting on the dead branches...maybe there's some bird dog in him!

I know I have probably said this before, but Barney is turning out to be the perfect dog for this lifestyle. We really enjoy his company!!

Next morning we met up with Sue and Wayne and their traveling companions, Nancy and Phil and Don and Fay. (For those of you who don't know, that's Sue and Wayne in front of Ken.)

Because the weather wasn't the best, the group decided to make it a "relax" day and just hang around, so we headed off to their condo to either "get to know" or "catch up" with each other. By the way, the last time I saw Faye (sitting next to Sue) I was 13, so we really had a lot of catching up to do!

When the rain let up, we headed back to our site and Ken and Wayne took off in the kayaks. We thought we would have time for everyone to take a turn, but the thunder and rain came back and the kayaks had to be put away -- much to Suzie's dismay; she sooooo wanted to get into that kayak!

We finished the day with dinner at Little Italy (who goes to Italian restaurants in the Keys?--but they did have some good seafood too!) Then it was time to say good-bye; couldn't believe our day was over so soon.

The next day Ken and I headed out to explore Islamorada, translated means "Island Home", however today the town calls itself the Village of Islands. We visited the Hurricane Monument erected in memory of those lost in the Category 5 storm of Labor Day, 1935 when almost 600 people lost their lives during the storm surge of 18 to 20 feet and sustained winds of almost 200 mph hit the region of Islamorada. It remains the third strongest Atlantic hurricane on record, surpassed only by Hurricanes Gilbert (1988) and Wilma (2005).

And of course, one must stop at all those tourist stops where you sometimes see great art but are just as likely to see a lot of junk!

Again we have gone through the phases of heat and humidity where your face is melting off your head and you can't keep your clothes dry, to the cold and damp where the blanket goes back on the bed, heat goes on and you're still cold!! We did get to sit outside and enjoy our beautiful site here at Long Key for one night and our view out the front window felt like we were really on the water and now we're longing to plan a cruise.

See you next in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo.