Key Largo

Ask anyone and they'll tell you that half the fun of going down the Florida Keys is the view from the Overseas Highway (or A1A as it is also known). We had the added thrill of going back up the Keys to Key Largo, effectively the first of the Keys after one leaves Miami or the mainland generally.  It is about a 2½ hour trip from Key West to Key Largo.

Last day spree on The Key

We ended dining at the hotel on our last night.  This is undeniably convenient. Our server (a young woman of obvious intelligence) is living in Key West with her naval boyfriend.  She told us her mother is pushing her to get married to the chap as soon as possible but clearly she is not to be pushed.

Dinner by the Sea

Our favourite dining spots are: 1) breakfast at the Reach in a nearby hotel also run by the Waldorf Astoria; 2) dinner at Louie's Backyard; 3) lunch or casual dinner at the hotel.  In the past we've ventured towards Duval Street at La Te Da and the Pier House which, while both good, were too much work to get there and back. We've also tried a new start-up place located between the hotel and Duval Street but it was rather more intense than I wished to repeat.

Cycling on Key West

My fondest recollections of Key West involve touring about the island, something I began about 40 years ago by foot or bicycle - and, if I am to be completely honest, occasionally by crawling homeward in the early hours of the morning. Those days of indulgence have long gone.  Now my delight is bicycling along the coast (South Roosevelt Boulevard) from Casa Marina to the bridge near Thompson Island. The sidewalk is wide enough for both bikes and pedestrians; and the sunshine is interminable!

Down to Key West

It was just shy of 7:00 am this morning when we pulled onto Longboat Club Road and headed directly east through the Florida Everglades towards Key West. We stopped somewhere along the way for a very sustainable breakfast at Perkins.  Then it was an exceedingly pleasant drive over the emerald waters of the Gulf of Mexico to our destination.

Polished and Pumped

My attempt to get a head start on the day partially fizzled.  I was able to gas up the car and put it though the wash, no problem; but when I landed at Ace Hardware my enthusiasm had got the better of me. The place doesn't open until 8:00 am.  This is Longboat Key after all, not the customary vernacular for the working classes on any level! Rather than give up I decided to kill some time (it was by then only 7:35 am) by driving further along Gulf of Mexico Drive. I hadn't any destination in mind.  On my way I thought about checking out "the Village", the old residential area of Longboat Key at its most northern end near Longboat Pass (the bridge leading to Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island - or Key - as it is sometimes called). The Village is nearby Mar Vista Restaurant which we've inhabited several times.

Summary of Material

"It is very hard for the mind to disengage itself from a subject in which it has been long employed.  The thoughts will be rising of themselves from time to time, though we give them no encouragement: as the tossings and fluctuations of the sea continue several hours after the winds are laid."

Addison, Joseph. “Essays and Tales”

Martini, Darling?

Five years ago I quipped that upon turning 70 years of age I would recover the erstwhile custom of drinking martinis - and smoking cigars. That milestone has arrived - rather more speedily than I had anticipated. To complicate things we depart Sunday next for Key West, the acme of immoderation. As I don't expect to get any younger over the following several days, the issue has arisen concerning these compelling additives.

Ice Cream Surf

A strong easterly wind rolled the powerful waves northward along the shore today. While swimming I don't believe there was a rip current at play but I wasn't taking chances by venturing too far beyond the incoming crests. Clearly I was being carried along by the force of the sea as I swam, soon finding myself well beyond my starting point. When later I casually walked upon the shore the fierceness of the waves created an accumulation of frothing surf like ice cream upon the beach.

The Cumulative Effect

The unfolding of events today raced with the speed and inevitability of the crashing waves upon the shore, hurtling whatever was drawn by the moon's magnetic influence from the sandy bottom of the sea onto the beach where it was as hastily washed back into the unknown. Like a passing fancy the chimera of apprehension has come and gone.