January 5 -- our 35th anniversary

Today was a wonderful day. Not only did I get to spend it with my partner of 35 years, we enjoyed a warm, sunny day in the Keys, we saw 7 of the approximately 800 endangered Key deer, we walked along a beautiful sandy beach at Bahia Honda State Park, and we had an absolutely marvelous anniversary dinner at Franks Grill. Now for the details.

We awoke early enough today to see the sunrise from our deck. It's not the best place for sunrise photography, but the early morning was delightful. A great blue heron was fishing just across the lagoon from us in one direction and white pelicans in the other.

Key Deer

After breakfast, we packed a lunch and headed for the National Key Deer Refuge on Big Pine Key and No Name Key. Smoky checked with the ranger in the Visitor Center to find out the most likely place to see the deer, which is a subspecies of the Virginia white-tailed deer endemic to the Keys. Of course, he learned that mid-day was not the best time for spotting these little animals, but we had seen them years ago in the middle of the day, and we thought we would try our luck today as well.

Key deer doe in her native habitat

Key deer buck

These diminutive creatures measure from 24 to 36 inches at the shoulder. Breeding season spans September through December, and fawns are born April through June. The young normally weigh between 2 and 4 pounds.

Closeup of a beautiful little doe

Until the 1940s, there was no law against hunting the Key deer, and the result was a diminishing population -- all the way to about 40 deer. Beginning in 1957, the National Key Deer Refuge offered protection for both the deer and their habitat, and today the numbers have increased to around 800.

We drove slowly to the end of the main road on No Name Key and were delighted to see several deer crossing from one side to the other. We learned they like to eat the grass growing along the side of the road, and today they popped out of the vegetation one or two at a time. Unfortunately, some people have fed them through the years, and they have grown accustomed to both cars and people, which means that quite a few are hit by cars every year. Today, in fact, we witnessed a near miss when a doe ran in front of an oncoming truck as we were leaving the key. Fortunately, the deer escaped, but it was a very close call.

She's heading right toward us!

Roadside grass is a favorite meal.

Before we left Big Pine Key, we walked along the Jack C. Watson Nature Trail. Watson was known as the watchful stewart of the key deer. As the manager of the National Key Deer Refuge, he was largely responsible for recovery of these tiny deer from the low numbers in 1947. He was awarded the National Wildlife Federation Conservationist of the Year award in 1973. We were hoping to see some more deer on this trail. Even though we didn't, the trail was interesting.

Sandpipers on Bahia Honda beach

Bahia Honda State Park 

According to Deborah, one of the owners of the place we are staying, Bahia Honda State Park is one of the best snorkeling beaches in the Keys, especially if you don't want to take a dive boat out. We wanted to check out the beach this afternoon, and we found it to be a lovely place. We were there at a good time, just a few hours past low tide, so the beaches were reasonably wide and offered great beach walking. We saw a number of shore birds, too, and that is always fun.

Bahia Honda beach

Reddish egret doing her dance

With the temperature at 81 today, the ocean water felt wonderful. Quite a few people were enjoying the warm temperatures and the sunny day.

Dinner at Frank's Grill

Frank's Grill is a very small Italian restaurant a little off the main highway. It was very highly recommended to us by Deborah, who said to be sure to make reservations, as it fills up quickly at night. Now we understand why! The menu was varied, but we chose from the "specials," explained to us by our waiter. Smoky chose shrimp with penne pasta and pink vodka sauce; I had red snapper with capers. The salad we had first was so fresh and crisp, and the tomatoes were really good, especially for this time of the year. This was a good omen in my book. Our entrees arrived quickly, and they both looked wonderful. Then we tasked them and groaned with pleasure. 

I had thought on first looking at my plate that I would be taking about half of it back home. That was before the first bite. I shared a little with Smoky, and I ate every other bite myself! Smoky's dish had a great flavor, and the shrimp were very large. We had not planned on dessert until dinner turned out to be so delicious. Because it was, we decided that we couldn't pass up dessert. 

Salad at Frank's

My entree--red snapper with capers

We ordered the chocolate mousse, which arrived with a strawberry on each side and decorated with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. We were so eager to taste it that we forgot to take a photograph first! The mousse was layered with a rich chocolate cake. My, my, what a way to end a perfect dinner!

Before our dessert came, our waiter asked how we had enjoyed our dinner. I showed him my plate, on which I had indicated just how I felt, and I asked him to tell the chef how much I liked the dish. He chuckled and said Frank was in the kitchen and would like to hear that. A minute or so later, we heard a laugh from the kitchen as Frank got the news.

My message to Frank, the heart and soul of Frank's Diner!

Before we left, we stopped at the kitchen door to speak with Frank. What a treat to eat this delicious food and meet these really nice folks.

We arrived back at our little dwelling with the light of a full moon guiding our way. What a nice way to end a great day!

--Shann