Tuesday, February 04, 2014

Oops, He Did it Again

 

Sunshine Key Rv Resort and Marina, Ohio Key, Florida (high 81, low 75)

 

I’ve been doing so well sleeping in later in the mornings.  At least until today. It’s 4 am and I’ve been awake since about 2:30.    Oh well.   We have to take the boat up to Key Largo this morning, so I guess that was on my mind.  It’s about a 70 mile drive, so we set the alarm for 5 am and intended to leave just before sunrise. 

Key Largo is the first of the many different islands throughout the Keys, but we never stop there since we’re in the motor home when we go through.  Today will give us a chance to see some of the sights up there, so we plan to make a day of it.  We’ll leave the boat there and hopefully we can pick it up tomorrow or the next day with it’s pretty new motor.

I found some interesting facts about the Florida Keys.

There are more than 800 keys, stretching over 180 miles.  The longest key is Key Largo, which is 30 miles long.

The word “key” actually comes from the Spanish word “cayo” meaning “little island.”

The third largest coral reef in the world is off the coast of Key West. That reef is 160 miles long.

The temperature in Key West has never dropped below 41 degrees.

Back in 1889, Key West was the largest city in Florida.

The highest elevation in Key West is 18 feet above sea level.

 

We didn’t do much exciting yesterday.  I cleaned house and did some laundry, while Al worked on the boat. 

We took a walk up to the bridge and then around the park.  Yesterday was the day they were trimming the coconut palms.

coconut palm trimming

I personally think this is coconut palm murder.  Notice the before and after.

coconut palm trimming 

We did find bunches of coconuts lying on the ground free for the taking.

coconut palm trimming

I don’t know why they waited until the busiest time of the year to do the tree trimming.  If this would have been my Rv, I would have been very unhappy.  I guess it’s better than coconuts falling on the rig though.

coconut palm trimming

 

Later in the afternoon we decided to take a drive down to Summerland Key to try to find a little park and kayak launch that we had heard about.

It turned out it was on Little Summerland Key, not Summerland key, but we eventually found it.

It was a beautiful 2 acre piece of property right on the Atlantic, with a cut through to the bay side.  A family had generously donated it to the state. 

This was our first view of the property.

Park with kayak launch on Little Sugarloaf Key

The entire 2 acres is fenced off with a big gate saying no vehicles permitted.  The entire property is gravel and there were plenty of places to park, but for some reason you couldn’t bring your vehicle inside the gate.  You could use the property, but had to park along the road outside.  I’m sure they had their reasons, but we didn’t know what they were.

These pictures were taken from the bridge above the park.  If you looked one way you saw this property with an open view of the Atlantic.  Notice the nice kayak launch?

Park with kayak launch on Little Sugarloaf Key

If you looked the other way you saw this mangrove area which leads to the open bay.  Either way was beautiful and would make for a nice kayak trip. 

Park with kayak launch on Little Sugarloaf Key

This is what the property used to look like.  You can see they also had a boat ramp.

Park with kayak launch on Little Sugarloaf Key

I was talking to a couple who just came back from a paddle.  While I was talking to them, Al got out of my sight and in trouble again.   :)    Just two months ago, he cracked open his head on the slide out.

See all those big pretty rocks?   Guess who decided to walk down them towards the water?

Park with kayak launch on Little Sugarloaf Key

Guess who fell and almost ended up cracking his head on the rocks right as he was rolling towards the water?

Guess who has a bloody scratch on his leg?  He’s lucky he didn’t get hurt worse.

Park with kayak launch on Little Sugarloaf Key

Tell me, what was he going to see by walking out on those rocks, that he couldn’t have seen from the safety of the land?

Park with kayak launch on Little Sugarloaf Key

We decided we would definitely come back to this beautiful spot for a kayak trip.  Yesterday was just a reconnaissance mission. We also decided it would have been a wonderful spot to put an Rv site.   Maybe they could use a volunteer to guard the park? 

 

By the time we got home, it was time for happy hour (for both us and the kitties)   We sat outside for a while and enjoyed the cool breezes.  No mosquitoes here.

14 comments:

  1. You may need to put him on a tether. I was going to say "leash", but that would be just rude.
    Did you keep the coconuts that were just *lying* on the ground?
    "Laying" is transitive, sorry, can't help myself. Unless they were laying eggs.

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  2. I thought you were going to tell us that he cracked his head again. There are lots of coconuts washing up around here these days.

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  3. Sorry for the double comment but I just thought of this. Yesterday, I saw a t-shirt that said "Scars are tattoos with better stories". Maybe Al needs one.

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  4. How did you open those coconuts?
    You better get Al one of those devices your mother wears. He is making me very nervous being out by himself....lol

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  5. Oh dear poor Al. Prone to accidents? Except for that, I love being in the keys with you. Looks like the only way I'm going to get to see them. Do let me know if you open one of the coconuts. It's a real deal trying to do it I thought.

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  6. DO NOT allow Al to open those coconuts...seems as if he and Jerry are in the same accident prone time in their lives...I do wish he would get over it soon as I am sure you hope for the same. Stay safe!

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  7. How about a helmet for Al. Jim is always coming in with scrapes and bruises no matter what he's doing. I, too want to know what you did with those coconuts.

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  8. I sure wouldn't want one of those coconuts landing on the roof of our rig!

    It's a wonder Al only got a slight cut from falling on those rocks as they looked pretty dangerous.

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  9. Thank goodness Al only busted his leg instead of his coconut!

    That certainly is a beautiful place you're spending the winter months at. You sure know how to pick these little places of paradise. Can you teach me how? Pretty please? :cP

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  10. Excellent choice, fresh coconut...and someone else got it for you :-)

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  11. We are parked under a rather large fur tree that has very little cones. (I almost wrote pine cones, but a fur tree would have fur cones wouldn't it?)

    Back to my comment. The cones fall when the wind blows and the sound like big rocks. I would hate to hear a cocnut come down!

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  12. I can not imagine one of those coconuts landing on one of our solar panels! Glad they trim them off before they ripen and fall on their own.

    Does Al need some bubble wrap to all around him when he goes out? I think you can get large quantities at costco?

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    Karen and Steve
    (Blog) RVing: The USA Is Our Big Backyard
    http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com
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