Thanksgiving in the keys - relaxing, beautiful and energizing!
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| sunset our first evening |
We drove down on Thanksgiving with little traffic. Surprised that some hispanic markets were open along the way near Miami. We stayed in Tavenier, Atlantic Bay Resort. An older hotel with about two dozen rooms. We had a cabin so the Turk could cook, in addition to the grill.
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| egret greeter at McDonalds Ft Myers |
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| Hispanic veggie market outside Miami-no english |
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| holiday appropriate signage |
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| Turk greets hotel wildlife |
I got to do sunrise yoga each day at the dock sitting at the far end of the property - nice and quiet.
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| good morning! |
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| sun peaking thru the palms |
We hopped on our bikes for a ride to, around, Islamorada - about 20 miles round trip. Visited Florida Keys Brewing Company beer garden, galleries, and the impressive Bass Pro Shop, with some World Cup slipped in.
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| creative parking lines |
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| Turk found way home at brewery |
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| beer garden flight, must be able to bike back! |
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| meeting the locals |
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| Turk's new friends at Bass aquarium |
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| Hemingway's fishing boat, in middle of store |
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| turk tries out as captain |
The Bass Pro Shop in Islamorada (which includes a restaurant, bar, marina) also has a hand carved art deco storefront from a Parisian store, and their elevator. Very eclectic!
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| Paris department storefront |
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| art deco steel elevator |
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| World Cup USA game at sportsbar |
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| Hog Heaven sports bar |
Next day's adventure centered around Marathon with a bike ride out to Pidgeon Key via a 2 mile section of the restored Seven Mile Bridge. Pidgeon Key housed over 400 workers for the overseas railroad project in this area. Later, when the railroad was converted to a automobile roadway, the Key housed workers for this long stretch of bridge. When the railroad bed was converted to a roadway, it was only 22 1/2 feet across for the whole Overseas Highway from Key Largo to Key West and used from 1938 to 1978!
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| restored roadway for pedestrians, bikers |
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| buildings on Pidgeon Key |
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| the rest of Old 7 mile bridge, not restored |
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| side view of old 7 mile bridge |
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| Today, 1 home inhabited + kids camp in summer |
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| original railway ties used as railing for roadway |
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| Turk hangs out near ramp off the bridge |
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| inhabited home by groundskeeper |
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| over 100 yr old pillars and steel braces |
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| restored roadway from below |
Love kitchy Florida things - here are a few we saw on this trip
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| Crust-asean pizza and bait shop |
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| giant fish everywhere |
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| we found a pyramid from New York |
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| inside shows life of the artist |
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| Sombrero Beach WWII sidecar motorcycle |
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| which is ladies room please? |
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| Publix corralled local wildlife in parking lot |
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| start the day with some Cuban coffee! |
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Morning yoga -looking to the east
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| looking to the west from my yoga dock |
We spent much of the day kayaking. Water and winds were calm - so perfect! Starting at Robbies marina, we headed out to Indian Key, about 1/2 mile away. Indian Key founded by Jacob Housman in 1831 and was lively town until 1840 when Indians launched a surprise early morning attack to steal goods. The town reverted to the US Navy after that and the townspeople left. Housman died the next year, at age 41 when crushed between two ships in rough weather. His efforts had made Indian Key the first county seat of Dade County.
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| a few warnings - no bananas! |
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| off we go to Indian Key, under the overseas hwy |
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| egret greets us as we find a place to pull in |
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| street signs for actual town streets |
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| the welcome sign |
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| shells find a home everywhere |
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| foundation of wrecker warehouse |
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| Indian Key founder Jacob Housman's memorial |
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| dock dilapidated in hurricane - we ate lunch here |
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| rest of dock ruins |
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| mangrove kayaking near Robbie's marina |
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| grilled grouper, black beans rice, asparagus |
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| another beautiful ending to the day |
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| hanging out at our beach after dinner |
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| Another yoga morning! |
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| series of locks, canals in Everglades on hwy41 |
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| a few warnings-Clyde Butcher gallery in Everglades |
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| more graphic warnings complete with hand |
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| This stop on Hwy41 used to be his home |
Happy to see the Tamiami Trail construction on our way home. Converting some of the roadway to bridges, adding culverts to expand the flow of water from central Florida to south Florida - an estimated 75-80 billion gallons of water a year.
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