Meandering thoughts of a sailor, traveler and foodie.: Lower Keys Day trip by car/foot

At which the end of this--we thought, uh, why didn't we bring the folding bikes with us?

So, our plans for St. Patrick's day sail were circumvented by a bad case of lots and lots of alcohol the night before. Blame the lovely crew at America 2.0 and blame Jack Flats for showing the KU game.

So, what's the best way to cure a hangover? Go hiking about the Keys in 80 degree temps and 80% humidity. Boo Ya!

Oh, and strap it in--this is a long post.

So, first order of business was food (of course....) and our KU compatriots from Jack Flats the night before (from Lenexa-whoo hoo) told us to go to The Wharf in Summerland Key. We are always up for a good recommendation, so we thought we'd give it a go.

We were not steered wrong. Simple menu, good eats and a fish market to boot. Now what be wrong with this equation.

Nice lunch time view.

NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM

So, what next. Tim decided that this was the time to find the home port for Fat Albert. Now Fat Albert is the local name for a Aerostat balloon that does anything from spy on Cuba, to broadcast Radio Marti to track drug runners to weather--it all depends on who you ask and how much alcohol was consumed at the time.

However, if you want to get some halfway reliable info, click here.

If you want a story that is quintessential Keys storytelling, click here. And just in case you don't feel compelled to click through, this story involves Fat Albert, a thunderstorm, a fishing boat, Cuba and fighter jets out of Key West Naval Air Station.

Yeah, that's what I thought, I'll wait. Go ahead, enjoy the story.

Hey, you back now?

So, after not going along with my husband's attempt to once again pimp me out so he can get something out of it, we found a nice boat ramp that we could view Fat Albert's home base from.

Fat Albert--has kept me company on many a trip down the Keys.

Fat Albert with the Air Force station behind my spouse.
Oh, and that water, yeah, not bad at all.

So, next stop. Pigeon Key, just past Marathon (when you are going down the Keys). Pigeon Key is a old work camp from the Flagler Railroad days. And since it is the 100 year anniversary of Flagler's folly, we thought we'd give her a go. The boat ferry out there didn't work our schedule, so we decided to do the two mile walk out on the old bridge. Now, let me explain something to you. They used to have a 'train' take people out to Pigeon Key, but lack of funding and something called 'compromised bridge integrity' shot that down.

So why not take a two mile walk on a 100 year old bridge 50 feet above the ocean? Oh, yeah, that be two miles EACH way.

Thankfully, the wind was a-blowing and kept me from having complete heat stroke. And it wound out being a fantastically cool walk across the bridge. There's a campaign to save the bridge, a lot of folks use it for jogging and such.

Pigeon Key was nice, but as with a lot of historical sites that have no funding--it needed some help--maintenance-wise and historically. Most of the buildings are used as dorms for student groups and college interns. Not a bad gig--where the hell was I when they were handing these assignments out!

On our walk back, is when I wished that I had my big kid camera and a polarized lens, because with our vantage point from the bridge, we saw the BIG KID sea life. Several reef sharks, Southern Rays and big beautiful leopard rays. And not just a passing glance. They were abundant. I'm thinking there must have been some sort of feeding opportunity there.

The biggest reef shark was probably 10 feet long--he/she looked huge from the bridge. At one point, there were eight leopard rays in formation swimming below us. So beautiful and so graceful. The water was so clear that with our polarized sunglasses it was like watching in an aquarium.

Needless to say, our walk back took forever.