Caravan to Florida Keys

Sunday, November 2, 2014


After having made our reservations at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo months ago, it was finally time to head to Florida's southern most paradise.  Four anxious couples from Ancient Oaks RV Resort departed late Sunday morning planning our arrival time ahead of the 3:00 pm check in time.

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park is the first under sea state park in the USA covering nearly 70 nautical square miles.  The park has a well equipped marina that offers glass bottom boat tours of the coral reef, scuba and snorkeling tours, as well as canoeing and kayaking around the mangrove and tropical hammocks of Key Largo.  It also has a small beach and picnic area, snack and souvenir shop, and a 30,000 gallon salt water aquarium with many of the tropical fish that inhabit the coral reef a few miles from Key Largo's eastern coast.

After checking in and setting up our campsites, we all agreed it was time to get something to eat.  There is a great restaurant just a short jog from the park entrance called The Fish House.  But, instead of jogging there we all piled into two vehicles and made the short drive to quell our hunger pains.

It's time to eat! L to R: Ted, Pat, Kitty Debbie, Susan, and Randy (behind the open truck door).

The Fish House meal was really good and we planned to visit this place again and again!


Monday, November 3, 2014

After enjoying a scrumptious home made breakfast the girls had fixed, all eight of us plopped into Ted's Yukon for a short exploring drive around the nearby keys.  After driving through Key Largo making mental notes of all the restaurants, gift shops, and ice cream stops, we headed a little farther south on the Overseas Highway.  "Hey, let's head to Long Key and check out the campsites at the state park there," someone said, and so we did!  After enjoying the conversations and scenic views of the ocean and small quaint keys, we arrived at Long Key State Park and decided to check out one of the walking trails.  Here's what we saw...

Photo taken by Randy

L to R: Craig, Randy, Kitty, Debbie, Pat, Ted, Susan, and Barry

The campground was on the other side of the park, so we all filed into the Yukon for the short drive to the campground.  The security gate at the campground entrance proved to be no match for eight conniving seniors and we drove through the sixty ocean front campsites in short order.  Most of the sandy sites would accommodate RV's up to 28 feet, and a few would accommodate RV's up to 45 feet long.

"Hey, lets head to Marathon Key and find a place to eat lunch," someone said, and so we did!   The Island Fish Company looked like a great place, so Ted wheeled the Yukon into the parking lot and eight seniors unloaded ourselves to the amazement of those in the parking lot who watched this process.

Randy is all smiles after enjoying his lunch at the Island Fish Company!

After lunch, someone said, "Hey, lets drive over the seven mile bridge," and so we did!  Then Ted said, "It's not that much farther to Key West, so let's check it out," and so we did!

You know you are in Key West when you see bicycles that look like this!

You know you are in Key West when you see Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville Cafe!

You know you are in Key West when you see a Walgreens that looks like this!

Walking along Duval Street towards Mallory Square, we saw this statute commemorating the efforts of the early settlers who created the first economy in the keys by salvaging ship wrecks and rescuing sailors who ran aground in the shallow waters around the keys.

"The Wreckers"

Disney's ship "Magic" is docked at Mallory Square.

This is a view of Sunset Key taken from Mallory Square.

The sun is getting ready to set and Key West is already starting to celebrate.

The setting sun brings the wonderful impromptu day to a climatic end as we peeled our tired bodies back into the Yukon for the long ride back to Key Largo.  We all agreed, the unplanned fun today was a great way to begin our stay in the Keys.  Don't go away, there's more to come.