Wanderlust

Well, it took two tries, but we made it over to Key West. The first attempt was on the bike, and a major downpour pre-empted our fun. Good thing Cujo bought a tarp and ponchos on the way - we ended up pulled over on the Overseas Highway crowded under the tarp laughing our asses off. Well.... I was at least... Out second try (in the truck) the next day was a success. Beautiful weather and not a drop of rain. Of course. Timing is everything.

On the drive over the Keys, we stopped at Cudjoe Key (how could we not?!) and saw this iguana and two of his buddies. Also, another Papa Joe restaurant - this one is for our Papa Joe!

Key West was the closest thing to a 'city' that I'd seen since we got here. The other, of course, is up north, off the Keys, but that's a good hour away as well. Key West struck me like New Orleans, except it didn't smell like puke. But we were there during the day, so maybe if you add a few hours, it'd smell the same too. Same party atmosphere, is what I was trying to get at. And a great example of American capitalism. Tons of stores with tons of shit to buy. We only went in the Duval area, though, so I could be biased.

They also have a winery there - but the 'wine' is not made of grapes. Huh? Yeah, I was curious too... It was flavored - any flavor you could imagine like mango and lime, we tasted, and went on our merry way. I will say though, Key West beer is very yummy.

During the drive, you just can't help but hear the Kokomo song in your head. Plus Cujo's constant whistling of the tune... La la la. Takes me back to the Beach Boys concert in Nevada that I was on stage with the amazing Mike Love. Where is he now dammit? Ahhh, but I digress... The Southernmost point of the 'mainland' US has a statue and and the beginning mile marker of the Keys - 0.

On the way home, we stopped at one of the 'top beaches of the USA' as quoted in brochures and paper paraphernalia - the Bahia Honda beach. The sand was different - not sure, but we thought it had to be man-made, in that the sand only went out so many yards before it turned into rocky bottom. Beautiful scenery, perfect weather, and numerous languages being spoken in this nice beach.

There is a casino boat just down the street - it's the same place there is a boat called the African Queen - apparently a famous boat from the silver screen? Anyway, we figured we'd try it out - can't go wrong with casino - free drinks, fun folks, laid back atmosphere...right? Well, for the most part. We found that most of the people are serious gamblers. Not a laughing matter, and not necessarily party animals. And get this - you get on a boat fully equiped with slots and tables and then go out into the ocean. You are stuck on that boat until another boat comes to drop off another group. Three hours. Doesn't sound like much, but oh just wait. If you aren't a big ole gambler, then it's a big ole chunk of time to fill after you lose your allotted 'waste' money. (20 minutes for me) Thankfully, they had FREE food! I was happy. And focused on that soup, obviously. We had a boat guy that told us jokes while we hung out on the deck and looked at the great view. He'd pull a Costanza and tell a joke and take off. Then come back and repeat. Repeat. I only remember one of the ten he told, of course. Go figure. It served us beautiful views and a great opportunity since we haven't been on a boat since we got here. You definitely want a boat down here - the beauty here is only intensified from that perspective.

Ahhh, the Everglades.

Take two. This was the *true* Glades. Much more user friendly than the other entrances. They had a Visitor's Center about 30 miles south of the main entrance, and it was still recovering from the last big hurricane. Used to have lodging, a restaurant, lots of charter options; now they have a store and one boat tour. The store sold food and beer, which we took on the lovely boat tour.
This osprey caught a fish and we were all in awe viewing it's dinner hour. They have two breeds of vultures that are abundant - the brown and the black - guess which this is. About an hour into it, the sky grew dark and lightning started, so we turned back around. The weather changes here on a dime, and most folks are extremely respectful of the power of Mother Nature. After we were done with the tour and docked, we walked around and saw two sunbathing alligators.

The hikes were what I was going for - they get you in the thick of it all while letting you experience the park without imminent danger. However - the bugs that do get you are MOSQUITOES! As seen by this picture, they like to fly in your face too. Now, even though they aren't West Nile carrying breed like back home in Idaho, they still bite and they still itch like a mother. Thankfully there were some dragonflies, which eat 400 mosquitoes a day. So don't be swatting any dragonflies, deal? Don't have to look hard - there are alligators EVERYWHERE! And when I heard a little boy yell to his family - TORTUGA! - of course I ran to beat them all there. hehe.

After leaving the Everglades, there is a store called Robert Is Here - like a farmer's market, but more. This place was crazy. Cats and kids running around, tourists eating key lime shakes, and any fruit or vegie you want times 10. The odd thing was that in the back, they have a zoo of sorts. In one big pen, we saw turtles, goat, geese, donkeys, birds - all cohabitating. Seemingly happy. Kinda nice. After leaving the world of panthers and alligators. Yes, of course we bought food - bunch of vegies - and it's all really good. Passed on the boiled peanuts - tried them though - a bit too meaty to still be a nut for us.

I have never spent time somewhere it lightnings so damn much. I have not gone a day without lightning. And I love it. It's really awe-some. Lights up everything. Sometimes it comes along with loud boisterous thunder that you can feel in your bones. Very, very groovy.

The poor chameleons run and hide when the rain comes down - it's short but it's hard and comes on fast. I don't know how many freaking lizards are around here. If I see them (and I'm not the most observant) as much as I do, there's gotta be at least three times what I see. And inchworms. Lotsa them. I go for a bike ride and come home with new pets on my shirt. Good thing those don't bite. Wonder if they could eat mosquitoes too. I swear, the mosquitoes are horrendous. A baby reptile seemed to like Cujo one night. Or at least tolerate him. Or maybe he just wasn't quick enough for the great escape.

Fish - these are my babies outside the back door in the waterway alley. Cujo keeps threatening to catch them, but I'm not convinced he will. So bond with them, I will. There are little tiny minnow looking ones, then bigger snappers, then there are some very colorful parrotfish. Groovy, eh? Our luck he'd catch a parrotfish - can you eat those? We have a cleaning station by the dock, but it's frequented by a fruit rat. UGH! Eww. Aaargh.

The lunar eclipse view from Florida - it dawned before it crossed over here, but I got to see the first part of it and the actual eclipse.