They Ruined Happy Hour

 

Sunshine Key Rv Resort, Ohio Key, Florida (high 68, low 56)

 

Yesterday was another very windy and cool day.  I think the temperature might have reached 70 degrees, but with the winds gusting to 39mph most of the day, it felt much, much cooler.

We started our day with a long walk along the bridges. 

We both wore rain jackets with hoods.  The sun finally came back out yesterday after a few days of cloudy weather.  It was nice to see the sun again, and if the wind would just quit we’d be able to get out in the water.

 

I had some health insurance paperwork I needed to work on and after I finished, I had to fax something.  We drove up to Marathon to find an Office Depot.  They charged $2.29 to fax one sheet of paper.  Ridiculous.

We made a quick stop to Curry Hammock State Park looking for " Bob”.   He is the huge iguana we saw last fall.  In case you missed that blog post, check here to see how beautiful he is.

We never found Bob.  Iguanas are an invasive species and they are trying to eliminate them from the Keys.   I would sure hate to think he had been killed.   He was such a magnificent creature.   Hopefully, Bob is still alive and well and we’ll cross paths again.

We did see this cute little bird.  A Kestrel, I think?

After we left the state park and faxed our paperwork, we drove around a bit, and decided to go to the Sunset Bar and Grill for happy hour.

The restaurant/bar is situated right on the Atlantic Ocean side and they have a beautiful heated pool.  When it gets dark the pool lights change colors.  They have green lights in the ocean by the dock, and combine that with the setting sun and tiki torches, and it’s a wonderful place to watch the sun set.

In case you missed the beautiful pictures at sunset, here is a link to a previous blog post.  It’s so beautiful at sunset.

We were last there in late November and December when the days were shorter.  They have happy hour specials between 3pm and 6pm and at that time of year, it’s timed perfectly with the setting sun.

However, with the time change and the longer days, it was bright and sunny when we arrived and just the same when we left.  It’s not that we couldn’t go later, but we like the cheaper happy hour prices.

Beyond the pool is the Atlantic Ocean and over to the right hiding behind the palm trees is the 7 Mile bridge leading back to our campground.

We sat up on the covered top deck hoping it would be a bit warmer, but the wind was blowing straight at us.  We had our trusty rain jackets on, but were still a bit chilly. We could have moved, but that’s the best view.  After two vodka tonics, I didn’t notice the wind quite as much.  :)

It amazed us how many people were actually in the pool swimming.  It was mostly kids, but a few adults and many of the parents were walking around in bathing suits.      The kids didn’t seem to mind even when they got out of the heated pool.   I guess we’ve lived in Florida too long and our blood is too thin, because we were chilly even with jackets on.

The wind never did die down and was still gusting to 39 mph when we went to bed.  I read blogs from people out west that have trouble sleeping at night because the wind rocks their rigs all night.  We noticed some shaking, but for the most part the coach was stable.  I would get pretty nervous if we  the rig was rocking, so I’m glad the wind didn’t get any stronger.

The sun is out again this morning and the winds have died down a little bit.   It’s still not kayaking or snorkeling weather, but we think maybe we’ll jump in the truck and head south and see what we can find to do.  We might just try to find a little beach out of the path of the wind and have a picnic and read our books.  I guess we’ll see what the day brings.