Day 10..."been there, done that"

Day 10...been there done that

As it was said  in Louis L'Amour's book, The Empty Land, "...he made his brag".  So, with clouds building to the south I took a deep breath and set out on the road to Key West, the southeast corner of the US.  One song kept running through my mind as I dashed south down Hwy 1.  From 1982, enjoy....Key Largo

The rain cut my day short yesterday...I had planned to make it to Miami/Homestead but ended up about 100 miles short at the suggestion of some nice sheriff's deputies who thought it would be unwise to fight the storm AND traffic.  This made for a long drive and by the time the dust settled for the day I'd logged over 400 miles in 90+ degrees and 90+ humidity. 

With Key West as my ultimate goal, I buckled on my helmet and hit the road determined to make it or bust.  My route took me along Hwy 41 through some intriguing swampland.  Both Big Cyprus National Preserve and the Everglades.  I took the time to take a nature walk in Big Cyprus and saw an alligator in its natural element.  I also saw a million fish and swatted at 10,000,000 mosquitos.  (Note to self, if you are going to walk through a swam on a warm day with no wind... bring 'skeeter juice',). It was interesting and even though I've seen gators before, there is something quite exciting about seeing one just 10 feet away, basking on the edge of the swamp.

The Everglades are magnificently immense.  It goes for miles and miles.  The grassy 'meadows' are all boggy and accessible most readily by airboat. I wish I'd have had the time to take one of the airboat rides offered by several of the native American tribes along Hwy 41.  I'll do it some day.

The Keys are much more 'built up' than they were in 1976 when I was learning to fly Phantoms at Homestead AFB.  I went there several times while I was a 2nd Lt. and I don't recall the number of houses and commercial enterprises along the roadside.  Progress.... sometimes it sucks.  But there are lots walking paths along the beach and if you look you can see some interesting local flora and fauna.

 

 

I rode into Naval Base Key West at bout 3:30 PM and immediately saw the clinic... so I whipped in and asked if they'd mind taking the stitches out of my foot.  It was a good opportunity for a young corpsman to practice so they agreed and even though they were done for the day, they happily used me for a demonstration opportunity.  They were super friendly and I'd recommend them to anyone needing stitches removed.

 

I did not have much luck at the Navy Lodge though.  There were no empty rooms on the installation.  So I went out the gate to see what kind of motels they had available.  I can sum it up in one word... expensive.   They are in the process of gutting all the lower priced motels leaving only the Marriott and such... and I was against spending $200 a night.  So, it was back on the bike to head to Miami and more reasonable prices.  And as I headed south past Marathon Key and Islamorada I rode into the teeth of yet another afternoon tropical thunderstorm.   Luckily I found a super place right at the leading edge of the rainstorm and was able to park my bike in the front of the building (just outside the windows) and keep it out of the rain.  On the negative side, the only place close enough to eat without getting soaked was a Burger King.

I've been in Florida long enough and feel like I've "been there, done that".  So tomorrow I head north.  I'll continue to 'push it up' and try another state as soon as I can.....