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... or, more precisely, we reach mile marker zero:
This weekend was a rare occurence of not having Ben to care for, so Kris and I decided to go away for the weekend. We ended up heading south for the Keys. Friday evening right after work we went out for dinner at the Rose and Crown Pub in England (at the World Showcase in Epcot). It was a very pleasant evening, the weather was perfect, and we were sat at a table right on the lagoon. Our waiter was very nice, and the food was excellent. After dinner was over, we hit the road.
We arrived in Key Largo just before midnight and after visiting three hotels we finally managed to secure what was apparently the last available room in the Keys. We took a few minutes to take in the view of the water from the back of the hotel, and then fell into bed. Saturday morning, after a pretty mediocre breakfast at the hotel buffet, we went over to the Penenkamp Coral Reef National Park. (Just a side note: if you are ever driving down to the keys and looking for this park, the entrance is on US-1 directly across the street from the Adult Video Super Store. You're welcome.) The park was beautiful. The water in the Keys is crystal clear, and you can just wade on out and watch the fish swim around you. I managed to snap a picture of a very young barracuda, only about six inches long. We also went on a walking path that went out among the mangroves. If you aren't familiar with them, mangroves are unique as being the only tree that grows in salt water. They root on the solid limestone just off the shore and mass more like bushes than like trees, with their lower branches curving out and growing back down into the water to spread into another tree. The serve as a transitional barrier to protect the shoreline, with natural canals forming in them to reach up to the shore. Anyway, after that we went out on a glass-bottom boat to see the coral reef itself. On the way out we passed a (pod? group?) family of dolphins who splashed off to the side of the boat, as well as several loggerhead sea turtles. The water remained stunningly clear, and looked like it was only maybe fifteen feet deep. The view of the reef was fantastic, and we we couldn't have picked a more perfect day - it was in the upper 70's, not humid at all, lots of sunlight to illuminate the reef, and the ocean was about as calm as it could possibly be.
After seeing the reef, we decided to head down to Key West for dinner. I am running out of words to say "beautiful", so suffice to say that the scenery driving through the Keys was <insert another word for "beautiful" here>. There is a point about halfway through the Keys where you drive over the Seven Mile Bridge. Running alongside it is the old bridge, which clearly hasn't been used in many years and has turned into a roost for pelicans and other sea birds. At another point you cross through a Key that is entirely a wildlife preserve for deer. Eventually we arrived at Key West, and we took a turn south on A1A to see the beaches. We visited the southern most point of land in the United States, and then turned up and connected again with US 1 where we finally reached mile marker zero. The town was jumping, but we found a place to park with only a minimum of circling. Then we spent the next hour or two just wandering the streets of Key West. We went into a store that was all about hot sauces and chili peppers. We went out on the pier and saw a guy riding a ten foot tall unicycle while juggling fire and knives. We had a lovely dinner sitting at a table right in front of the stage for the live music (which was also excellent). And of course we had the key lime pie. It was a full evening, and eventually we found our way back to the hotel at Key Largo.
This morning before coming home we took a side trip to Miami. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Vancouver, BC in terms of architecture. The freeway there sucks, though, and is in desperate need of re-paving. The drive home was blissfully uneventful. I don't know what else to say except that it really was a perfect weekend. We'll definitely be going back to the Keys again in the future.
This weekend was a rare occurence of not having Ben to care for, so Kris and I decided to go away for the weekend. We ended up heading south for the Keys. Friday evening right after work we went out for dinner at the Rose and Crown Pub in England (at the World Showcase in Epcot). It was a very pleasant evening, the weather was perfect, and we were sat at a table right on the lagoon. Our waiter was very nice, and the food was excellent. After dinner was over, we hit the road.
We arrived in Key Largo just before midnight and after visiting three hotels we finally managed to secure what was apparently the last available room in the Keys. We took a few minutes to take in the view of the water from the back of the hotel, and then fell into bed. Saturday morning, after a pretty mediocre breakfast at the hotel buffet, we went over to the Penenkamp Coral Reef National Park. (Just a side note: if you are ever driving down to the keys and looking for this park, the entrance is on US-1 directly across the street from the Adult Video Super Store. You're welcome.) The park was beautiful. The water in the Keys is crystal clear, and you can just wade on out and watch the fish swim around you. I managed to snap a picture of a very young barracuda, only about six inches long. We also went on a walking path that went out among the mangroves. If you aren't familiar with them, mangroves are unique as being the only tree that grows in salt water. They root on the solid limestone just off the shore and mass more like bushes than like trees, with their lower branches curving out and growing back down into the water to spread into another tree. The serve as a transitional barrier to protect the shoreline, with natural canals forming in them to reach up to the shore. Anyway, after that we went out on a glass-bottom boat to see the coral reef itself. On the way out we passed a (pod? group?) family of dolphins who splashed off to the side of the boat, as well as several loggerhead sea turtles. The water remained stunningly clear, and looked like it was only maybe fifteen feet deep. The view of the reef was fantastic, and we we couldn't have picked a more perfect day - it was in the upper 70's, not humid at all, lots of sunlight to illuminate the reef, and the ocean was about as calm as it could possibly be.
After seeing the reef, we decided to head down to Key West for dinner. I am running out of words to say "beautiful", so suffice to say that the scenery driving through the Keys was <insert another word for "beautiful" here>. There is a point about halfway through the Keys where you drive over the Seven Mile Bridge. Running alongside it is the old bridge, which clearly hasn't been used in many years and has turned into a roost for pelicans and other sea birds. At another point you cross through a Key that is entirely a wildlife preserve for deer. Eventually we arrived at Key West, and we took a turn south on A1A to see the beaches. We visited the southern most point of land in the United States, and then turned up and connected again with US 1 where we finally reached mile marker zero. The town was jumping, but we found a place to park with only a minimum of circling. Then we spent the next hour or two just wandering the streets of Key West. We went into a store that was all about hot sauces and chili peppers. We went out on the pier and saw a guy riding a ten foot tall unicycle while juggling fire and knives. We had a lovely dinner sitting at a table right in front of the stage for the live music (which was also excellent). And of course we had the key lime pie. It was a full evening, and eventually we found our way back to the hotel at Key Largo.
This morning before coming home we took a side trip to Miami. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Vancouver, BC in terms of architecture. The freeway there sucks, though, and is in desperate need of re-paving. The drive home was blissfully uneventful. I don't know what else to say except that it really was a perfect weekend. We'll definitely be going back to the Keys again in the future.
