Everglades City - Florida Keys

Saturday, February 24. In Everglades City the Everglades Isle Marina and Resort was highly recommended and it did not disappoint! They welcome transient boaters and greet you with open arms to enjoy the resorts ammenities and activities. The RV portion includes tiki style patios, where folks with mcmansion motorhomes purchase to enjoy during the mild winter. This full service resort came with a beautiful clubhouse with swimming pool, poolside bar/restaurant, FREE laundry, lovely showers and all of this is extended to the boaters. We even were given free breakfast burritos as we walked through just at the right time.

When in Everglades City an airboat ride was top of the list of things to do.

Our first and so far only alligator sighting in Florida. Not sure how to tell this is a male alligator, but we were told by our guide that the male alligators don’t attack humans unless they can’t find a mate during mating season—OR they are hungry. Hmmm.

Brian our guide. Going very fast but keeping us informed using the headsets. He was great.

Zipping through. There were 5 of us on this tour—one passenger asked if there are snakes. Yes, however if the guides see them on the ride they normally would be on the overhanging trees. What kind of snake? Pythons. Oh we could have skipped that knowledge—I couldn’t stop looking to see if I spotted one as we zipped.

We toured the museum and spotted the actual crab pots they use for the famous Stone Crabs the city is proud to say they are the Stone Crab Capital of the World. They are very good.

Sunday, February 25th. We left Everglades City at 7:00am for our next destination at Little Shark River 43 miles away.

Darth and I dinghy’d through the mangroves at Little Shark River as ‘they’ say its a must do. We laughed when we both shared we couldn’t help staring up at the trees for snakes….back to the boat.

Monday, February 26th. As we headed to the Keys, we were still traveling with the same two boats. Paul & Karla (Current Plan) and Darth and I had reservations at Bahia Honda State Park, Brian & Chrissy (Lady Jane 3) were heading to Key West to meet with their family.

We forgot to let my brothers know we would be out of cell service shortly after leaving Everglades City and would not have service again until we were close to the Keys. Big oops. Lucky we are that they keep track of us and we felt bad we didn’t let them know.

We were very early on our way and watched the sun come up.

Working our way across the Gulf—no land in sight at this point.

Our resident manatee at Bahia Honda State Park.

Tuesday, February 27. We absolutely love Bahia Honda State Park. We were greeted with wonderful staff that offered us each a drink of choice (pop or water) and a bag of ice. This is a daily offer for all who are staying in the park. They also have a great little ship store and snack bar—with ice cream. The ice cream was a daily ritual and delicious.

The first day we tended to boat chores and paperwork. After spending most of the day on the boat, Darth and I took a bike ride to explore the Bahia Honda campgrounds.

These are amazing sites right on the Atlantic Ocean. The shower facilities for campers and boaters are top notch all the way.

Wednesday, February 28th. We scheduled a bus ride with Paul & Karla, June & Eugene (Barefoot Jones) to Key West the following day. Th.e cost is $1 each all the way to Key West

This is Darth—which way should he go?

We actually stood in line for this photo. : )

Darth and I toured Ernest Hemingway’s home.

The polydactyl cat was not bothered by the 15 people on our tour. We saw many of these cats roaming the grounds.

Thursday, February 29. Our spot in the marina. We visited with many boaters, campers that walk the marina—the blue/green catamaran is a diving/snorkeling boat that takes people out for the day. The fee is just $29 and they supply wetsuits and snorkle gear.

We rode the bikes to get another view of the sunset.

These three folks sound off on their conch shells at sundown.

This is the Bahia Honda Rail Bridge that connected the Bahia Honda Key with the Spanish Harbor Key. Originally part of the Overseas Railway, the State of Florida purchased it after the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and converted it for automobile use as part of the Overseas Highway in 1938. After a replacement BH Bridge was opened in 1972, two spans were removed for the safety of boat traffic and to prevent pedestrian access to unsafe parts of the bridge.

We walked up the bridge the following evening.

Friday, March 1. We stayed near the boat to finish up paperwork—taxes. Paul offered to scuba dive under the boat to check zincs and make sure all looks good. The water can be very shallow in places and I don’t think many boaters get through Florida without having the warning beep of extremely shallow water under the keel.

This guy did quite a few slow passes and sometimes with his friends.

On a bike ride we walked on the Atlantic side of the park and saw several of these jellyfish on the beach. They do sting—I’m told-not from experience.

This is a manatee swimming between the boat and the dock. Very entertaining.

And we had our own private aquarium.

Monday, March 4th. We said goodbye to Karla & Paul. We still had another two nights before we would begin our journey up the Keys. We hope to catch up to them along the way.

Later in the day we were invited for docktails with fellow Loopers out on a sailboat that was anchored just outside the marina.

A sand exhibit at Bahia Honda’s Sand & Sea Nature Center.

Wednesday, March 6th. It was time to start heading up the Keys. Our destination would be the Safe Harbor Marina in Marathon. We can’t say enough about the last 10 days spent at Bahia Honda. When we were gathering information at the AGLCA Rendezvous and hearing experiences of fellow boaters, we heard the same statement over and over when asked what was your favorite part of the loop. Always the answer was ‘the people you meet along the way’. Until we actually were on this adventure did we fully understand that answer. It is wonderful to experience seeing and learning about where we are, but the people we have met have truly been a blessing. This also magnifies how blessed we are with the family and friends we have at home.