I have been a Jimmy Buffett fan since college. His song, “Changes in Latitude, Change in Attitudes” resonated with me. Growing up in Ohio but always feeling like I was from Tennessee, I didn’t have to go all the way to the Florida Keys to feel the difference. That said, I have never been to the Keys but it was a bucket list destination. Upon leaving the Space Coast, I spent some time in Delray Beach and frankly it was like staying in an RV park in a neighborhood. It was Suburban to the Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach Metroplex. And it was nice to rest but I was ready for some adventure.
Starting at about Homestead Florida and heading south you can tell you are in a completely different part of the country. My first question is why are they called keys and not islands? Turns out the answer is that these islands are built from coral deposits over many years. So, all keys are islands but not all islands are keys. It was clear that there are two industries in the keys: fishing and tourism. Where those two merged, it was explosive. The beauty of the two bodies of water, the Gulf of Mexico on one side Atlantic Ocean on the other, was a tropical feeling that I’ve only had when I have been on a cruise ship. I didn’t know much about the keys. I knew some names but as usual I don’t do a lot of researching before I go, preferring to explore. Key Largo and Marathon were fairly well developed that I could see myself spending a winter in one of them.
It was Christmas and the Keys were all lit up for the holidays. It was strange to see Christmas lights on Palm trees (I had seen that in Hawaii, but it is not my usual views in December.) I have to say, they did a great job of being the Christmas Spirit.
Key West is known for its glorious sunsets. I took a Sunset Cruise to see it from the water. It was a catamaran sailboat that held about 20 people. Next to me were a couple that were clearly in their own world. For the most part everyone left them alone. They started trying to take a selfie against the sunset and I asked them if I could help. He handed me his phone and said thanks, please. I took the picture and went to hand back the phone. He said, “well would mind getting another couple of shots?” I nodded and with that, he dropped to his knee, pulled a ring from his pocket and proposed. And after she cried, she said yes. I was happy to be able to help them capture the special moment for both of them. That said, I got a number of beautiful pictures of other boats out against the sunset.
The nightly rate for the RV park that I was in was $167 a night and it wasn’t on Key West. It was on Stock Island which is just a small Bridge from Key West! I threw the budget out the window and was intent on enjoying every bit that Key West had offer. On Duval Street, I heard reggae, beach music, and of course Jimmy Buffet. At every turn I watched the sunsets. I even took a sunset sail to watch without the lights of Key West. I watched boats come and go, found the southernmost point in the US to match my northernmost point, listen to the pirate lore, and most importantly ate great seafood. Crab, fish, conch fritters, deep fried conch which was delicious, shrimp in all sorts of varieties and clams. Yum! The budget could only allow 3 days at those prices, but I made the most of every single day going from sunup to well past sunset. I chased a full moon to find a spot where I exactly wanted it – not perfect but I will try again. I will definitely try to get back to the Keys, but I will not pull the trailer, and I may not go all the way to keep but I will definitely go back to the Florida Keys.
