January 3 -- traveling to Long Key

Today was a travel day. We thought the drive from Florida City to Long Key would take about an hour or hour and a half. That meant we really didn't need to hurry through breakfast or get on the road early. Then we decided to stop at Walmart in Florida City for a few things before heading for the Keys.

Lunch stop

As it turned out, it was lucky for us that we did a little grocery shopping while we were at Walmart. We still felt like we had plenty of time to get to Long Key by 2 for early check in, that is until we actually got into the flow of traffic headed for the Keys. My, my. It seemed as though everyone in Miami had decided to spend the day in the Keys!

Smoky was a mostly patient driver, considering we were in stop and go traffic at its worst! He finally decided to adopt a very slow speed, hoping that this approach would eliminate some of the stops. It actually worked until he got tired of so many cars cutting into the line in front of him.

We had lunch on Key Largo at Hobo's Cafe. Their special was grouper with curried raisin sauce. This dish sounded like it had a lot of potential, but it turned out to be a sandwich, a little fact that somehow slipped right by me. We enjoyed it anyway!

View from common area at our Long Key rental

Back in the car, traffic was moving along a little better overall (not quite so many stops before a go). We were watching the mile markers to make sure we didn't miss our next stop. The Trading Post at MM 81.4 is well known for its key lime pie, and we planned to buy a whole one to enjoy this week. And of course, we had to get some whipped cream to go with it.

Not too far down the road we crossed onto Long Key and found our turn to the studio apartment we are renting for the week. Our host, Deborah, was here greeting renters who were checking in today. She told us the unit we have had been the one she and her husband Jerry used, and then they decided to fix it up and rent it along with the other three units. Since that time, they have had no place to stay!

Common area showing saltwater lagoon and mangroves
in Long Key State Park

Their building is right on a shallow saltwater lagoon. It has a great common area that all the unit's residents can share, complete with outdoor grill and eating area. From this common area, the view across the lagoon is of mangroves in Long Key State Park.

We enjoyed feeding the fish from the built-in dock that borders the common area, and Smoky tried out his GoPro camera, taking underwater video of the fish. Sunset was at 5:47 this evening, so we decided to stay and see whether it might be a good one. We weren't disappointed.

Sunset from our common area

After dinner and a short walk, we took flashlights down to the dock to see what kind of activity we might find after dark. Deborah had told us the manatees come down the lagoon, and we were hoping we might see one.

Well, we didn't see the manatee, but we did spot a large sting ray making its way slowly down the lagoon into the larger, more open water area! That was really exciting.

I forgot to mention that the key lime pie was delicious!

Tomorrow we'll explore around the area a little. Stay tuned. Maybe the manatee will come for a visit.

--Shann