ocean – Page 3 – The MoHo and Other Traveling Tales

Visit Dry Tortugas NP Day 3

Photos of the day are here.

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We were excited about our planned ferry ride out to the Dry Tortugas National Park today. The tiny key, sometimes called the “Guardian of the Gulf” is about 70 miles west of Key West and only accessible by boat or sea plane. The group of tiny islands are famous for their bird life, but we were most excited about the clear waters and reportedly good snorkeling.

We booked our tickets on the Yankee Freedom when we first arrived in Key West, and even though the weather forecast called for clouds and rain, it was the only chance to go. The alarm rang at 6, time enough to walk to the docks in time for the 7:30 AM check in. Walking in the early morning darkness, we encountered a crew of workers cleaning up the street mess of the previous evening’s revels. The young man said that first a crew blows the debris into the streets, then another crew hoses down the sidewalks with disinfectant, and finally the street sweepers scoop it all up into trucks to be hauled away to the landfill. Comparing the evening party on Duval street to this early morning clean-up was eye-opening.

Once on board the Yankee Freedom we settled in to a table on the upper decks and enjoyed the included breakfast while we motored out of the harbor. It was a pretty morning, but as we continued west the haze and fog over the seas were a bit of a disappointment.

After almost three hours at sea, we arrived at Fort Jefferson. From a distance, it is apparent that the fort encompasses almost the entire island, with just a few spits of sand and coral around the edges. Built in the mid-1800’s , the historic fort was constructed to protect the Gulf of Mexico shipping lanes, and was used as a prison during the Civil War. Constructed from more than 16 million bricks, with walls that are 8 feet thick, the fort was never actually completed. One of the most well known prisoners was Dr Samuel Mudd, who was convicted of participating in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln.

The islands were first discovered by Ponce De Leon in 1513 and named Las Tortugas because of the many turtles. It was called “Dry” because there was no fresh water on the islands. Our excursion included a tour of the fort and the guide told some great stories about the life of the more than 2000 people who lived there at one time. With the invention of the rifled cannon, the fort became obsolete because the thick walls could be penetrated. The Army abandoned the fort officially in 1974 and in 1908 Teddy Roosevelt established a wildlife refuge there to protect the many birds that used the tiny islands as a migratory resting place. It wasn’t until 1992 that Dry Tortugas became a National Park, one of the newest parks and one of the most remote.

The fort is an imposing structure, and is surrounded by a large moat. It seems a bit strange to have a moat surrounding a fort in the middle of the ocean, but it made for great photo opportunities, with lovely reflections of the bricks and the sea in the background. Originally the moat was planned as an outlet for sewage from inside the fort, but the design didn’t take into account the lack of high enough tides to carry the effluent out to sea. In this area, the tides are less than a foot. One of the many difficulties of living in the fort was the stench, and the salt that found it’s way into all the drinking water because of the poor design.

After our tour of the fort grounds, we went to one of the tiny beaches to snorkel along the moat wall and around some pilings. The reef was shallow and the water was moderately clear, but there were few fish to be seen. After some time we finally did see a few barracudas and some tiny silver fish in huge schools darting through the sandy channels among the corals. The water was cold as well, and after an hour or so, we had enough. We have our own snorkel gear, except for fins, and today we used the fins that were supplied along with the tour gear. The fins wore me out, and I don’t like using them at all, but Mo might decide to use them again. The biggest fish of the day was a giant grouper, estimated at more than 400 pounds, that we saw just lazing around near the pilings under the boat.

Lunch was provided with the trip as well, and it was really very good. As the boat left for Key West we found our upstairs table and settled in for the ride. This time our companions were an interesting family from the Midwest. I remember the woman most of all because she provided some crackers to me when I needed them most. I was sick, really uncomfortable with the rough ride home, and was freezing as well. I thought the trip back would never end. So much for me not getting sea sick anymore!

Once on shore, however, I recuperated quickly and enjoyed the walk home through town. We walked east on Simonton Street, another main road that we hadn’t managed to find previously. I saw a sign that said “Pelican Poop Shoppe” and couldn’t resist. What a magical find! Once inside the shop there were walls and walls of colorful metal sculptures, flags, flowers, fish, kitschy stuff but also quite lovely. A tiny sign led to the garden where a whole new world opened up before our eyes. The shop proprietor told the story of his father’s purchase of the building as a burned out, run down warehouse, and how he gutted it and rebuilt it. After 15 years of magic, the interior gardens have tropical plants that reach to the open sky, the old cistern is a deep reflecting pool, and the 21,000 square feet of living space around the garden houses 4 family members. It was a great example of the kind of artsy goofy people and places that can be hiding in Key West.

After that treat we ambled down to Whiteside Street, and feeling very hungry and tired, started looking for a place to eat. Sloppy Joe’s Bar in Key West is an icon, and we had passed it a couple of times on our previous walks. This time, however, we decided to brave the noise and crowds and go in for our supper. It was great, if a bit raunchy, bawdy, and very loud. I ordered the Sloppy Joe made famous in this very bar and it tasted just like a good sloppy joe should taste. We had a drink and listened to the very loud band singing a bit in between very dirty jokes and waved at the webcam. It was fun to do once, but we surely don’t have to do it again, and probably wouldn’t recommend the place to anyone.

Our day ended happily with a stroll back to our soft little blue and yellow room up the narrow staircase. Once again we were too tired to take advantage of the delightful little pool in the gardens below our window.

Key West Day 1 and 2

Photos of our drive south and our days in Key West are here and here .

The drive south to Key West from Miami is one of the most famous in the world. Along with Highway 1 on the California coast, Highway 1 in Florida is a road trip worth doing at least once in a lifetime. It is mostly a two-lane road that stretches more than 125 miles over dozens of islands strung together by bridges. The Atlantic is on the west, the Gulf of Mexico is on the east, and there are some spectacular vistas of turquoise seas and emerald vegetation all along the way. Taking photos of these vistas is challenging, since on the highest points of the bridges, there isn’t any place to stop, so as hard as I tried, many photos have sky, a sliver of sea, and a barrier dominating the foreground. It was still breathtaking, and I so love the magical shades of turquoise, blue and sea green. In places where the limestone and coral was very near the surface, the colors were an incredible shade of pale blue-green, almost like an opal in the sunlight.

The accepted form of marking your way is by mile marker, with Key West at mile marker zero. Restaurants and attractions advertise their position by that notation. “Best Seafood in the Keys, at MM 73.5” This drive between the ocean and the gulf was a part of this trip I had especially anticipated, and it didn’t disappoint me.

We took our time, and arrived in Key West just in time to check in to our historic guest house at 3 PM. Angelina’s Guest House was charming, and considering the prices for lodging in Key West, was very reasonable at around $111. per night. We did have to share a bathroom with other guests, and our room was tiny, but I loved it. The owners were helpful with suggestions about where to go for happy hour, and where to eat, and everything was handled well. The location was nearly perfect as well, being only 2 blocks from the famous Duval Street, on the edge of the historic area called Bahama Village. While some folks warned about the neighborhood, we found it charming.

By the time we checked in, we were ready for supper and walked down Whitehead street to the recommended happy hour at Kelly’s Caribbean Bar, Grill, and Brewery. The Key Lime Marguerita was a special at $4.50 each and one was more than enough for me. Kelly’s is a brewery as well, and had a great wheat beer included in the happy hour menu. The chicken wings were truly fabulous, so large and meaty that Mo said, “Didn’t we order wings? These look like drumsticks.” They were perfectly done, crispy on the outside and the jerked sauce served on the side was the perfect touch of Caribbean flavor so famous in Key West. It was our first taste of what was to be a vacation of eating great food. While we sat there watching everyone laughing and having a good time, we discovered that the couple next to us was staying at our same guest house. It wasn’t the first time we would have a delightful conversation with someone we didn’t know. People are in Key West to have fun, and everyone, both locals and visitors, seems especially conversational. We decided the wings were a perfect dinner, and with a happy glow, (the one marguerita was as much fun as a glass of champagne for me) walked down to Mallory Square for the famous sunset.

I have read about this sunset celebration often, and while it is a very touristy thing to do, it is also a lot of fun. The square is filled with happy people, and the locals performing throughout are a kick. We wandered about a bit, watching the acrobats, and strange musicians playing combo instruments before we happened on Dominique and his Circus House Cats. Needless to say, being a cat person, I was entranced by his ability to encourage his amazing cats to leap and play and do whatever he asked them to do. Dominique himself was a small Cajun man, with a crazy accent, a mop of wild graying hair, and some very strange mannerisms. He was hysterical. We watched him until the sun set, and even though it was less than spectacular, the sails against the sky made for some great photos.

We walked home along Duval Street, marveling at the galleries, and the bars, and most of all the people. I had expected this, bars and shops full of kitschy souvenirs, but I hadn’t expected Key West to be so entrancing, so pretty. We finally arrived home to our little room and a great night’s sleep listening to the winds in the palm fronds just outside our open window. Another surprise, there were no bugs! Our window didn’t even have a screen. Who knows if that would be different in another season, but for us it was perfect. Not a fly, not a mosquito, nothing.

Thursday morning dawned warm and gorgeous, and we took advantage of the relatively quiet streets to walk the rest of Duval and shop. Key West people are fascinating, and so willing to tell their stories. Stopping at the GreenWorld Gallery, we found an interesting man, Stephen, “Koz” Kozlowski, with an amazing story and the willingness to share it. Of course, I bought a tee shirt. Koz exemplified the sensibility I found throughout Key West, artisitic, creative people, who are willing to live outside the box.

We continued our walk to the Southernmost Point and on the way stopped at a little French bistro called the “Banana Cafe” where I had the most amazing Key Lime crepes and a real cappuccino. Once we arrived at the “Southernmost Point” with it’s bright colored marker, we laughed at the long lines of people waiting for their chance at a photo op. It was more fun watching all the people than taking the actual photo, so we didn’t bother to stand in line.

Walking back west toward our guest house on Whitehead street, we came upon the Lighthouse and Museum, just across the street from the Hemingway House. We climbed to the top of the lighthouse for the great 360 degree view of Key West and a chance to work out our thighs. The museum is small but done extremely well, and we especially enjoyed listening to the recorded voices telling the stories of the women who were the light keepers for so many years. I hadn’t realized that Key West had such a long, illustrious history, and was significant in the Civil War. Most of Key West residents were southerners, but the city itself was held by the Union. It made for some interesting stories.

After enjoying the lighthouse, we paid another $12.00 fee to enter the famous Hemingway House. I realize that these attractions are considered touristy, but they are touristy for a reason. Both were great. We learned some details of Hemingway’s life in Key West and in Cuba and some stories about his wives. Pauline lived with him in the Key West house for 8 years and her mark is everywhere. She took out all the ceiling fans and installed some gorgeous European chandeliers. The museum guide says they all curse Pauline in the hot summers. The famous Hemingway 6 toed cats were everywhere, of course. What I loved most about this house were the lime painted shutters against the white walls. The color isn’t really lime green, but more of a key lime yellow green that catches light in a way that enhances the lush tropical greenery from the gardens surrounding the house.

Back home, we napped in the afternoon breezes and then headed back to Kelly’s for another amazing marguerita and more interesting conversations. On this evening, we chose to have dinner. The freshly caught Mahi Mahi was encrusted with macadamia nuts, the pineapple rice was fragrant, and the coconut shrimp appetizer was perfect. I could get used to eating in Key West very easily if I didn’t have to think about money. Eating there isn’t an inexpensive thing, with almost all entrees at most of the restaurants around $23 to $30 at a minimum. But oh, such fresh, succulent seafood! Yum!

After dinner we walked through the the very upscale and spotless Truman Annex to Zachary Taylor State Park to enjoy another Key West sunset in a bit more natural environment. The fort was closed, but the park was still filled with people along the beach waiting for the sun to descend. Again, the skies were a bit cloudy and the colors subtle rather than brilliant, but it was still lovely. As the night darkened, we again walked Duval Street, enjoying the people watching and window shopping. I am not sure how long it would take to tire of the street scene, but we certainly weren’t in Key West long enough to do so. I would have wished for some more time to walk more of the side streets, to find hidden galleries and guest houses, and to just marvel at the tiny “conch cottages” that are covered with flowers and painted in pastel colors. In the part of town where we stayed, many of these cottages are more than 100 years old, and most of them are cared for lovingly by theirs owners. We saw evidence of repair and remodeling going on throughout the area. I think these tiny cottages no doubt cost a small fortune.

Off to the Keys

I have traveled to Florida many times in the last 10 years, since my friend Bel moved there in 2000. I immediately fell in love with Florida, even though it isn’t cool to love Florida if you are from the western part of the country. Westerners don’t know what they are missing. There is a gentleness in Florida, reflected in velvet air, soft gulf waters, fluffy white clouds amid blue skies and soft winds that send the treetops swirling. Sometimes too much swirling, of course, but not when I have been there. In spite of my many Florida excursions to the northern part of the state, I could never manage to get past the human crowds of Miami to get to the the Keys.
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We planned this trip for the MoHo, with long stays in lovely state parks, but that one will have to wait a bit. Instead of waiting for that day to come, we scheduled a quick flight to Miami, rented a car, and drove the magical drive via the Overseas Highway 1 to Key west. My goal is turquoise water, white sand, warm velvet air, and tropical plants. I also plan to market test as many offerings of Key Lime pie as I can manage and drink a few margueritas.
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We have traveled to Miami twice in the last year, both times as a destination for embarking on a cruise. This time, however, we flew from Sacramento, with a short stopover in Houston, and arrived Miami at 10:30 pm. Once there, however, things were a bit messy after we picked up our little Chevy compact. Leaving the rental facility, with simple directions to downtown, everything seemed just fine. We entered the toll booth, paid our fare, and continued another few hundred feet before red signs warned us that I-95 South was closed all lanes ahead. Hmmm. As we drove north, with no clue how to get where we were going, I attempted to give Mo an on-the-fly lesson on how to work the iPhone mapping system since I was the one doing the driving. It made for some very funny moments, and eventually we pulled up in front of the Rodeway Inn, Miami Airport. Ha!
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Accommodations in Miami run the gamut, but inexpensive isn’t on that list. The place was the least expensive, at a clean 90 bucks, we got a bed. Period. With a stay of one short night we didn’t mind, but I surely wouldn’t want to have to spend any more time there.

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Next morning, wakened early by the lovely sounds of Miami traffic, we ate the complimentary breakfast in the little cafe next door (not much to speak of there) and headed for the Keys. The drive through the southern parts of Miami-Dade county was interesting to see once. Traffic was steady, but I was amazed at how smoothly it flowed. Within an hour we were in the southern glades and approaching Key Largo. Surrounded by water and leaves on all sides, we knew at last we were beginning the adventure part of this trip.

Day 3 ByWay to Bandon

We love byways and backways. You can find all sorts of information about these amazing beautiful highways on the internet, in fact I even found a national geographic book all about some of the nation’s greatest byways. Today we traveled the Charleston to Bandon byway along the Seven Devils road parallel to the coast, and out to the beach. This loop is part of the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway of Oregon.

The most amazing thing on this trip was the lack of cars and people along the route. The Seven Devils road winds over the hills that are between the South Slough area and the coast, traveling through young forests that were heavily logged about 70 years ago.

We stopped in at the South Slough Estuary interpretive center, hoping for some additional information about the slough. Our original plan was to kayak the slough, but the winds were too strong so we abandoned that plan. The Estuary information center is wonderful, though, with the best large scale aerial photograph I have seen in a long time. It is about 10 feet tall and shows the estuary at low tide. There is a tremendous amount of information about this estuary here, I could have stayed for hours, but we were headed for Bandon, so onward.

When we turned west to the Seven Devils Beach wayside, the winds were blowing hard, but not so much that it explained the completely empty parking lot. The beach is gorgeous, long and sandy, with hard packed sands that you can walk on for miles. Of course, it was windy. I posted a video on YouTube to show just how windy it was. I was still amazed to have that beach all to ourselves during July 4th week. Oregon is still wild and free in so many places, and still uncrowded as well.

We drove on to Bandon, stopping in town for a bit of shopping at Winter Rivers Books, a warm and friendly locally owned bookstore, for an artsy clothing purchase at Siren Song, one of my favorite clothing shops in the west, and some great clam chowder at Tony’s Crab Shack. The wind was still blowing furiously, (didn’t they say something about breezy?) so we decided to drive to the famous beach for photos, but didn’t walk there. Maybe next time. The beach in Bandon is one of the most beautiful on the Oregon coast in my opinion, but most of the times I have been there, the winds have been blowing furiously, often including clouds and rain. The sun was gorgeous today, but the winds still blew.

Day 2 Shore Acres Gardens

We planned our first full day on the coast as an easy time of getting to know the area, driving to different access sites, finding a grocery store, and learning about accessing South Slough, our planned kayak adventure. It was amazing how the entire day passed so gently, so effortlessly, timeless, yet never really still. One great thing that we learned is that the kitties are quite satisfied to be caged at 3am or so when they think it is time to get up and start wandering and meowing. Into the cages they go, so there, and amazing to us, not a peep out of them till I let them out at 7am. Great thing to learn when traveling with cats, and not a bad thing to know at home either! A good nights sleep is a perfect way to start a perfect day!

Up then, slowly, easing into the day with morning coffee, hot and strong from the french press, a simple breakfast of egg and toast, a bit of warm heat to offset the night chill of the ocean. the sky was crystal clear as we headed south on the coast road to Shore Acres, the viewpoint overlooking Shell Island, and Cape Arago. This entire part of the coast is one form of state park or another, with trails down to the coves, trails through the incredibly thick forests, trails to the tide pools, over the mountains, and around the headlands. We aren’t likely to run out of hiking trails around here ever.

The beautiful roses are part of the display at Shore Acres State Park formal gardens, a legacy of the son of the man who established Coos Bay with his ship building and lumbering business. Louis J. Simpson loved to spend money, and his home at Shore Acres reflected that. The mansion is gone now, but the gardens have been handed down to the state of Oregon, and are now enjoyed by anyone who can drive here. Our twenty dollar fee for camping at Sunset Bay includes our night of camping with power and water, a free pass to all the parking areas at all the local beaches, entry to the rest of the day use areas , and to Shore Acres and the gardens.

There are flowers blooming at any season, but I can imagine the rhododendrons and azaleas in may would be breathtaking, and the dahlias in August and September are a focal point for the central gardens. Right now it is the roses, which surely seem to love this coastal weather, protected from the salt spray by huge firs. Not a sign of a bug anywhere. Wandering the gardens was like slipping back in time to a more refined era. After lunch we ambled into Coos Bay, maybe 12 miles or so to the north, and found a grocery store and a hardware store. Finally here there was just a bit of traffic, a bit of a hurried feeling right around “Freddies” (Fred Meyer stores for those not from the northwest), and the new Safeway. We saw the new boardwalk at Coos Bay, but it didn’t tempt us much, as it was basically a board walk along and some boats, no shops or much else to look at.

Driving back down the highway from Coos to Charleston, we laughed at all the “rv parks” which seemed to be nothing more than someone deciding to open their front yard to parking on the grass. Seems as though all old rv’s come here to retire and spend their last days.

Charleston is very tiny, with a few kitchy souvenir shops and a restaurant or two. We chose to have fish and chips at a restaurant with pale blue walls, white lace curtains, big pots of hanging purple petunias, and a very nice waitress. In spite of the pastel decor, the fish and chips were fabulous, today fresh caught halibut with perfect breading, not the least bit heavy or greasy, and a refreshing light glass of pinot gris. Ahh.