Big Pine Key, Florida - October 29 - November 4, 2015

Big Pine Key, Florida - October 29 - November 4, 2015

October 29, 2015

Most of the day was spent driving from Hollywood, Florida, down the Keys in Florida.  It was slow going since there is only one road down and there is a lot of traffic.  There are many bridges, the longest being the seven mile bridge, just before the Sunshine Keys RV Park, where we will be staying for a week.

We had a very nice clerk that took us out in the Park to pick out our site.  She also told us about the bus that would be going to Fantasy Fest the following day.  We decided to rest up and go into Key West the following day.  The big day is Halloween, but we didn’t think we were up to the crowds.

I think it is fair to say that there is no danger of us ever moving here.  The heat and humidity are about killing us.  Also, there are more bugs than we are used to.  Washington state and Arizona look better to us all the time.

 

October 30, 2015

The cats are nearly out of food, so we decided to make a trip back to Marathon, Florida, to get a few groceries, go to an ATM for cash, and check out Keys Fisheries Market & Restaurant.  We have been looking forward to having some Stone Crab.

We got our chores done – it is not too difficult to find your way around, because there is basically one main road and a few minor roads in each of these towns.

We got to Keys Fisheries, just as it was opening at 11:00 a.m.   We started “breakfast” with an order of Steamer Clams – complete with nectar – which has not been available much on the east coast.  From there we moved on to Stone Crab claws – the season started October 15, so we were in the prime.  We decided that we would be back a couple more times before we leave the area, and we will go back to the RV and empty the freezer, so that we can take some with us.  We finished off with Peal & Eat Shrimp.  All of this was at the outdoor bar overlooking the gulf.  There was a breeze, so the humidity did not make us crazy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We decided that we had better get back to the motorhome and get organized for the bus trip at 2:00 p.m. heading into Key West.  We are very conditioned bus tour riders after the Fantasy tours that we have been on.  Of course, we were there in plenty of time, so we didn’t miss the bus.

 

“The first Fantasy Fest was held in 1979 when two local businessmen, Tony Falcone and the late Bill Conkle, organized a party to stimulate business. The event has escalated to a ten day celebration that includes balls, a parade, costume competitions, AIDS fundraisers, body painting, drag queen contests, costume parties, alcohol, and pet and neighborhood parades for the whole family. Fantasy Fest has grown to rival New Orleans’ Mardi Gras as an event drawing out-of-towners.

 

The highlight of Fantasy Fest is it’s a parade featuring humorous floats, including one carrying the annually elected Conch King and Queen. In recent years, attendance at Fantasy Fest has surpassed 100,000 people, or more than three times the population of the island itself.”

There was about an hour ride into Key West.  We are SO glad that we did not attempt to drive.  There are SO many people, and we don’t have a clue where we are.  We deliberately wanted to be there on Friday rather than Saturday, since we didn’t want to fight as big a crowd, therefore we did not see the floats, just the parade of people.

We had been told what to expect at Fantasy Fest, but seeing it was totally unbelievable.  Many of the people were “dressed” up for Halloween.  Dressed is a bit of an exaggeration.  Many only had body paint as their dress.  Others didn’t even bother with that.  For us that was an eye opener.  Many of those that did not bother to be dressed should have been covered up.  Yikes.  They all have much more self-confidence they we do. 

 There was plenty to eat and drink along the way.  You can drink while walking on the street.  We only had one beer, and then stopped for a bite to eat and do more people watching.

Even though the bus was not scheduled pick us up until 9:00 p.m., we were more than ready to head back by 7:30 p.m.  We had walked up and down Duval Street many times.  The heat and humidity just wore us out.  The bus came promptly at 9:00 and we were back at the RV by 10:15 p.m.  It didn’t take long for us to fall asleep.

It was definitely an experience of a lifetime. 

 

 

Fire Department

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

 



 

 

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Stan's New Girlfriend
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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October 31, 2015

After our busy day yesterday, we decided to stay in the motorhome in the air conditioning all day and do chores.

Between, laundry and cleaning, the day was over before we knew it.  We didn’t even have time for a nap. 

Happy Halloween – we didn’t even have any Trick or Treaters.

 

 

 

 

November 1, 2015

With the change to daylight savings time, there was an extra hour to sleep.  Our goal today is to rest. 

We started out by playing cards, taking naps, and then watch the Nascar race in Martinsville.  After that the Seahawks will be playing Dallas.  We have missed so many races and football games this trip that we are living it up today.

This morning, the lady next door came to check on us, to make sure we were still alive, since she hadn’t seen us in a couple of days.  I guess with the age group of those that come down here, that is a valid concern.

 

November 2, 2015

Bev started the morning with a walk so that she could sweat before she came back to take a shower.  While on her walk, she visited a couple of cute dogs – her favorite.  By the time she returned to the motorhome, she was dripping.  Yuk.

We decided to go back into Marathon and do some more checking around.  Of course, we HAD to go back to Key Fisheries to have Stone Crab Claws, Steamer Clams & Peal & Eat Shrimp.  We devoured it all. 

While we were there, the place was very busy.  To Bev’s delight, there was a very cute dog, Duke, who was sitting with his master.  In talking with the master, Bev found that Duke was a rescued dog.  She said that she was on a walk when she saw someone throwing Duke into a lake inhabited by alligators.  She rescued him and saved him from certain death.  Duke is such a mild manner dog, and loves children.  He is used as a child therapy dog.  What a wonderful thing. 

Later, as we were ready to leave we noticed another dog sitting at one of the tables.  Didn’t get the name, but it weighed three pounds and was about six years old.  “Mom” carries her in a purse type bag.

We did some driving around to check out the area.  We visited the Pigeon Key Visitor Center, where we found out about some alternatives for purchasing Stone Crab to take home.  We returned to the motorhome to see how much we could get out of the freezer in order to take home lots of Stone Crab.

 

November 3, 2015

We decided we wanted to go into Key West for a visit that was not Fantasy Fest.  It was quite different and we really enjoyed it.  

The first thing we wanted to do was take the Conch Train Tour of the city.  It was very informative and we thoroughly enjoyed getting an overview of the city.  It was quite different without all of the traffic caused by Fantasy Fest.

After we got off the train, we had purchased tickets to the Harry Truman Little White House Museum.  It was so informative and very enjoyable.  We had a great time.

Before we left Key West, we needed to do some souvenir shopping.  We were worried that we had overstayed the time we paid for parking.  We were pleased that we got back before we got a ticket.

It was time to get out of town.  We were going to return to the motorhome, but decided we best head back to Key Fisheries for the Sunset Toast at the restaurant.  We again had steamers, shrimp & crab claws.  You can’t beat that.  Yum

While there we met a nice young man that had served in the US Army in 6 tours, then lived in Seattle for a few years.  We had a nice visit.  Bev also found Bowser, a cute dog that she did not get a picture of.  Bummer.

Before we headed back to the RV we decided to buy some of the Stone Crab Claws, to see how much more room we had in the freezer.  We only bought seven pounds to start.   We decided to go back tomorrow to eat a Lobster Rueben and buy more claws.

November 4, 2015

We started this morning playing some cards, and we even had a Bloody Mary to start our day.  Bev continued to try getting the motorhome organized – not an easy task. 

For lunch, we decided to head back to our favorite place, Key Fisheries, to have their Famous Lobster Rueben.  We had been there several times, but had not been hungry enough to order it.  We decided to order that and a cup of Stone Crab Soup.  We had that sitting out on the patio by the water.  What a wonderful setting. 

When we finished that, we decided that we needed to buy some more Stone Crab Claws for the freezer.  We bought another 10 pounds of Claws, a pound of peal & eat shrimp, and a pound of “Large” Claws. 

On the way back to the RV Park we stopped at the Pigeon Key Historic Site, where, Bev walked down to check out the area and take pictures.  It is an interesting place, as there is a walkway down to the old railway track, where you can walk out to Pigeon Key.  We have driven by the Key many times, and if we were to stay longer, Bev would love to walk out there.

“Pigeon Key is a small island containing the historic district of Pigeon Key, Florida. The 5-acre island is home to 8 buildings on the National Register of Historic Places, some of which remain from its earliest incarnation as a work camp for the Florida East Coast Railway. Today these buildings serve a variety of purposes, ranging from housing for educational groups to administrative offices for the non-profit Pigeon Key Foundation. The former Assistant Bridge Tender's House has been converted into a small museum featuring artifacts and images from Pigeon Key's colorful past. It is located off the old Seven Mile Bridge, at approximately mile marker 45, west of Knight's Key, and just east of Moser Channel, which is the deepest section of the 7-mile span.”

We went back to the motorhome and put it all in the freezer.  Luckily, there was room.  We needed to take butter, cheese, blueberries out in order to get all the seafood in there.  It was worth the effort.

After we had been back at the RV for a short while, Bev wanted to go for a walk to the water.  Stan agreed.  So off we went, to the Atlantic side of the park.  We walked along the water and Bev put her feet in the water.  The water was amazingly warm. 

From there we walked to the Gulf side of the Park, where there were boats docked in the marina.  We walked out onto the dock where people were fishing, then wandered back on the docks toward the park.  While we were walking around we met several people that we walking.  Some of them told us that there had been five Manatee in the marina the day before.  We were so bummed, because we had wanted to see one, but had no idea that they would come that close. 

While we were visiting with one of the couples walking “Tramp” the dog, we realized that they were the same couple we had met waiting for the bus Friday returning to the RV Park from Fantasy Fest.  They had both gone to college in Bemidji, Minnesota. 

We spent some time visiting with Julie & Al talking about our Bemidji connections.  How fun is that?  It turns out that Julie is a “Gregg”.  We will keep in touch.  Her brother still lives in Bemidji and probably knows Bev’s brother, Al.

After returning to the motorhome, we found out that Bev’s brother, Al,, was in the Bemidji, Minnesota hospital with a Staph infection and that her niece, Monica (Al’s daughter) was in the Jamestown, North Dakota hospital, having a C-Section giving birth.  Bev talked to Al in the hospital, and he will be there on IV for a couple of days and then possibly surgery on his hand.  We hope for the best..

The good news is that Monica gave birth to daughter, Vera Bea Meadows, born at 7:45.  She was 7lbs 9 oz and was 20 ½ inches long.  Monica had a long labor, but the wait was worth it, she is love with little Vera.  Daddy Will loves holding his little bundle.  Congratulations to Will & Monica.  Their life will forever be changed.