Hemingway said, “The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” I could certainly feel that first part after losing my mama. Life had unraveled for me during her illness, as every day for a few month’s felt like a rollercoaster. She would be good for a short while, insisting on taking care of everyone else despite not feeling well. Then she would end up in the hospital, weak but hopeful. Mama was the next strongest person I knew (only topped by her mother, who passed too soon as well). So suffice it to say, when she rapidly declined in October, I wasn’t prepared for her passing. My whole world felt like it shattered when I witnessed her last breath.
I know the depth of my grief was hard on everyone around me, especially Thom. Bless him–he did everything he could think of to help. If I needed to be alone and write, he let me be. If I had a rough day, he’d whisk me off to watch a sunset. Eventually, he pushed for us to get away for a week. We had originally planned to take a road trip to Key West in the fall of 2024, but it was pushed back several times because of my mom’s failing health. Mama was gone and spring was on the way, so there was no time like the present. The trip was a chance to get away and process my loss, but also an opportunity to celebrate our 30th anniversary a few months early. Thom was gently reminding me that the best way to get out of the darkness is to look towards the light.
Striking out early on a Saturday morning, we headed towards Malabar FL. There wasn’t a lot of excitement on this drive, unless you count being excited that we made it through Atlanta with no traffic delays. Of course, we had obligatory stops at Buc-ee’s and (later on) at the Florida Welcome Center. There’s just something magical about seeing the palm trees, getting free juice, and grabbing an enticing array of brochures you definitely don’t need. And, hey–this time we got a rare Florida map that still notates the Gulf of Mexico! We had a good lunch in St. Augustine at Taps Bar & Grill…then, you guessed it, a stop at Buc-ee’s.
We ended the day in Malabar to stay with our friends, Chris & Shelby Muse, at their amazing house along the eastern coast of Florida. They have such a cool place, living on lots of land that used to be a plant nursery. We stretched our legs while wandering the land, mesmerized by the pond, turtles, fish (including koi and tilapia), birds, flowers, plant relics, and animal tracks. We had dinner from a pub in nearby Melbourne and retreated to their back porch to catch up, watch the stars come out, and wait to see that night’s SpaceX launch. (Thom had never seen a launch and the Muse house is super close to the launch site.) The launch was sadly cancelled, but the time together was blissful.
On Sunday, we woke up extra tired between the late night and losing an hour to the time change. After a lingering breakfast and southern goodbyes, we got back on the road going south. Our first stop was Everglades National Park at the Shark Valley Visitor Center. We had quite the wait getting in (due to the recent National Park staffing cuts nationwide). But, the canal and thicket along the entrance road was filled with life, so even the wait was enjoyable.
After learning about the Everglades, we went to a nearby tourist trap, Coopertown Airboat. Neither of us had ever been on an airboat, so cruising through the Everglades on one seemed like the perfect way to spend an afternoon. Let me just say, this was more fun than I even imagined. We careened around corners in search of gators and other wildlife. I had to laugh on the inside a little at the end when folks were talking about how many alligators we saw…like maybe TEN! I think these people would faint if they ever wnt to the Okeefenokee, where the gators outnumber the guests probably 100:1 (and that’s just the ones you see).
After our Everglades adventures, we ended the day in the little town of Homestead. It was relatively close to Miami but felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. We had a delicious seafood feast in a nearby restaurant. On the outside, it looked like an old Taco Bell building. On the inside, it was decked out with murals and art knick-knacks. Don’t judge a place by it’s cover!
Monday morning was an early start, so we could fully enjoy the drive all the way to Key West. Our first stop was Biscayne National Park. We enjoyed the visitor center museum and films, learning a lot about the park and the general area. The trail around the center was simply delightful–right against the water’s edge. I had funny little stalkers on my walk. This lizard scooted along the brush on my left (freezing whenever I stopped). The bird flew and landed periodically just ahead of me on the right. I’m pretty sure he was not to going to follow the rules with that no fishing sign…
Just a few minutes from Biscayne, we were on the Overseas Highway! Many naysayers told us not to bother with this drive. It was noted as long, monotonous, and traffic-ridden. However, I’ve learned over the years to ignore these kind of comments, no matter how much I love the person sharing the advice. We’ve been told not to bother with Niagara Falls (just an overrated waterfall) or the Grand Canyon (just a big ditch)…and we’ve loved both of these places. So, off we went on the 113-mile road.
The drive was more bridges than land, or so it seemed. I didn’t keep count, but the data says there are 43 islands–most with towns of varying sizes. With 43 islands that means 42 bridges, so we had a fun Douglas Adams-themed discussion about that! Key Largo (the first real town) was, in fact, very touristy and traffic-packed. I wonder if some folks only make it that far, assume the whole road is like that, and turn around. Their loss, as once we cleared Key Largo, there were countless gorgeous views. There was occasional traffic, but nothing to match the traffic we have all the time in Atlanta.
We stopped for lunch along the way in Marathon, at a place recommended by DDD (Guy Fieri)–Castaway. I had hoped to try lion fish, but alas it wasn’t in stock that day. Brandon had shared stories from a prior scuba trip where they were searching for lion fish (to help kill this invasive species). I wanted to join the movement and do my part by eating one. Despite that small disappointment, the food was delicious and we got to watch some of the iconic Keys iguanas frolicing around the docks. In talking with our server, we mentioned we were on the lookout for manatees (having never seen them in the wild). She laughed and told us to go outside the back of the restaurant and look in the water. Sure enough, just under a drain off the building, there were three large manatees in the water. They were so fun to watch as they slow-motion jockeyed for position to drink the dripping water.
After lunch, we came upon the Seven Mile Bridge. I got out and walked a mile out on the old bridge that parallels the current bridge. The wind was crazy, and it seemed a storm was pushing in. Nonetheless, I took a few moments to feel the wind on my face, the sun on my back, and to visually soak up all the beauty of life–from birds soaring on the wind to the waves splashing on the bridge columns. Back in the car, we traversed the long bridge and soaked up the beauty. We were also delighted to see the ever-resilient Fred the Tree. He’s a good reminder that life finds a way.
Back on land (for a moment), we had hoped to visit the National Key Deer Refuge and see the tiny deer. Alas, it was closed that day, so on we went towards Key West. As we approached the final island, the previously looming weather made it’s grand entrance with thunder, rain, and wind. The first challenge was to find street parking near the hotel, as most of the hotels don’t include parking and the parking deck was quite a walk from our hotel. We got lucky with an empty spot just a block away, and the storm blew out just as we parked. We checked into the cutest hotel ever–The Bishop Key West. I highly recommend this place for a couples getaway. While only a few blocks from most everything, it felt remote once inside the complex. The rooms were all along the perimeter of the property and the middle was open with two pools, a hot tub, and a pool bar. It was a great home base for our days in Key West.
Not long after checking in, we got the sad news that our sunset dinner boat tour had been cancelled due to the wind. We enjoyed happy hour at the pool while figuring out what to do with our newly-free evening. We managed to land a last minute reservation for the exclusive restaurant, Latitudes. The reservation came with a boat ride over to Sunset Key, where the restaurant is located. Of course, we had to get to the boat first. There were two possibilities: walking about eight blocks or giving the free bus system a whirl. Off we went, a block down from our hotel, to catch the Duval Loop. As with any free transportation, it was not without issue. Over our time at Key West, we not only perfected the system of using the bus, but Thom found a transportation app that tracked the bus and proceeded to teach every baffled tourist how to use it. That’s my IT guy!
As we approached the waterfront, the wind nearly bowled us over. All the boats along the docks were rocking like crazy. There was also a cruise ship still in dock, and we heard some of the passengers talking about how they were staying docked all night because of the high wind. I downed some motion-sickness meds, and we took a wild (but thankfully short) boat ride to get to dinner. It turns out that it was too windy to dock right next to the restaurant. So, they dropped us off on the other side of the small island instead. We definitely worked up an appetite walking all the way to the restaurant! We fully understood why there had been cancellations, but were still glad it allowed us to get a reservation. Latitudes lived up to the hype with great food & atmosphere.
Tuesday morning was to be the highlight of the trip–the proverbial cherry on top. We had reservations to take the Yankee Freedom Ferry over to Dry Tortugas National Park for the day. We packed a day bag and our snorkeling gear and schlepped the five blocks to the docks. Upon arrival, we saw the notice that it was an “Option Day” due to high winds and rough sea. Apparently, we could get a full refund. Of course, I was set to follow the Key West approach to weather: It’ll rain, then it’ll shine.” So we went to check in, and the window clerk laid out all the warnings: Seas with 7-9 foot waves, winds over 20 knots, zero visibility for snorkeling. My heart sunk over the loss of snorkeling, but I was determined we were still going. Plus maybe conditions would improve!? (I understand now, thanks to my scuba-loving boys, that improved winds wouldn’t immediately improve the water visibility…didn’t know that at the time.) When I told the clerk that we were still going, she tried talking us out of it. She bluntly said that those conditions for a 2.5 hour boat ride will have most everyone puking over the edge of the boat. She said we wouldn’t have a good time & would just end up giving the Ferry a bad review. She said we should just come back another day. I agreed we wouldn’t go if we could go another day, but there were no openings in the coming days. She did tell us about going on standby the next day and said they often get at least four standby spots that open up each day, although there was no guarantee. Thom pointed out how I already have motion-sickness issues and I conceded temporary defeat. We resolved to come back the next morning for standby.
We picked up breakfast from a street vendor and went back to the hotel. After breakfast and some hot tub time, we ventured out with a new plan for the day. We took the Conch Train tour and learned all the highlights of the Conch Republic aka Key West. After the tour, we wandered over to Blue Heaven for a delightful lunch. The best part of lunch was the Mile High Key Lime Pie! We wandered a bit after lunch, in search of the Key West Rooster Cemetery, but somehow we couldn’t find it. We found lots of roosters though (including in the trees). The late afternoon brought cocktails around the pool at our hotel.
As the day drew to an end, we headed over to Mallory Square to enjoy vendors, musicians, performance artists, and then the big finale of a Key West sunset. Never in my life have I experienced such a sunset (and y’all know I’m a sunset girl). The masses, tourists and locals alike, pushed up to the water’s edge like they were at a concert trying to get a front row seat. The crowd chanted a countdown to the sunset. And when the sun dropped below the horizon, everyone erupted with clapping and cheers. It was a magical moment for sure.
We headed home after that and ordered cuban sandwiches from the highly-rated Sandy’s Cafe, located inside a laundromat. Yeah, we eat at some crazy places. However, they’ve been around since the 1950s, so you know they’re doing something right. It was both the cheapest and most delicious meal of the entire trip. With full bellies, we hit the hay early so we could be the first people in line for Dry Tortugas the next morning.
At 3:45 in the morning on Wednesday, we packed the bags again and made the walk to the docks again. The roosters (who seem to never sleep) were the only ones making noise, save for one lone motorcyclist going down the road. We were told the line for standby started at 4:30am, but we were there by 4:15am. We weren’t the first ones there, but there was only one couple in line in front of us. By the time the regular passengers started checking in at 7, there were over 30 people waiting behind us in the standby line. We went through the boat and park information meetings and waited patiently to be called for boarding. At 8 o’clock, the ferry manager came out and said, “boat’s full–there are zero standby spots”. I stood there dumbfounded for a moment, as it took a moment for his words to sink in. I must admit that I cried right there on the spot. Not a few inconspicuous tear drops, but a full-on, unstoppable stream of tears. I could blame it on the motion-sickness meds or the lack of sleep…I could blame it on the fact that I was crying often about missing my mama; but it was simply the raw emotion of disappointment. We were leaving the next day, so this dream was over (at least for now).
We went to breakfast and I gave it my all to be positive. I wondered if we should’ve just risked it and gone the day before. There was no point in all that; we just had to move forward. All the emotions were just too overwhelming, and I just had to go take a nap after breakfast. (I had to include a picture of our outrageous breakfast–Key Lime Pie Stuffed French Toast!) After a little rest, we made plans for our last day in paradise. We were able to rebook our sunset snorkel cruise (that had been cancelled the first day). We grabbed some lunch and tooled around the Old Town area, shopping and sightseeing. I felt like some of my DragonCon kindred spirits were in Key West with all the googly eyes on things! We had a late afternoon Key Lime Pie stop with Kermit before boarding our boat.
On the way out, we passed the boat coming back from Dry Tortugas–I did my best to brush that off and not let it get me down. The boat took us out to two spots for snorkeling and we saw so many cool underwater creatures. My phone in a waterproof case didn’t take the best pictures, but it’s what I have. After an hour of combined snorkeling, the boat turned back towards Key West. We had drinks and watched the sun drop lower and lower into the sky. While this sunset didn’t have the same fanfare as Mallory Square, it was still exciting and beautiful. At the last moment of sunset, we were blessed to witness the rare green flash. Everyone cheered and toasted one another, making it another joyous moment in the Keys.
After dinner and walking off the unlimited boat drinks, we had a quick night swim and got packed up for travel the next day. When we left on Thursday, we had to return to one spot for an different photo at the Southernmost Point. Okay, let’s be honest for a minute. This is NOT the southernmost point. Even from just the touristy Southernmost Point, you can see land that is further south. But I digress…we’ll just pretend and have fun. It was comical how many things in that area were the southernmost fill-in-the-blank. Southernmost hotel. Southernmost bar. Southernmost beach. And so on. So, we decided to get in on the action and have the Southernmost Mustang. ;)
Our drive on Thursday, featured all the sights of the prior Overseas Highway but in reverse. We didn’t make any stops, as we were on our way to South Beach, Miami for a tattoo appointment. Long ago, we watched & enjoyed the show “Miami Ink” and had vowed to get tattoos there if we ever found ourselves in Miami. So off we went to Miami Ink (now renamed “Love Hate Tattoos”) to get new ink. We originally talked about doing matching tattoos and decided it needed to reflect our times together driving the curvy roads and watching sunsets. Thom decided to get the Caution-Curvy Road sign. I thought about that and even thought about a play on it (the extra crazy one from “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”). In the end, I decided I didn’t really want a road sign on my leg, so we adjusted the plan to have thematically-matching tattoos. I went with a curvy road leading into a mountain sunset.
Thom’s experience was pretty straightforward. He showed them the sign art, and they blew it up to the right size. My experience was a little more comical. I had some art with the road and the mountain and knew the colors I wanted it to be, but I needed the sunset to be added in. I told my artist’s assistant to add in a setting sun between the two mountain tops. She came back with a tiny, flat sun. I said, no, it should be bigger, like when the sun sets. She came back with it only a little less tiny. I further clarified this time, it should be like sunset in the mountains. She shrugged and said she’d never seen a sunset in the mountains. So, she grabbed the artist, and he immediately mocked up a good picture. He laughed and said the sun looks different when it sets over the ocean.
Tattoos complete, we proceeded over to the beachfront. After grabbing some drinks, I ditched Thom in the shade and went for a walk on the beach. With my sun meter filled, we toured Miami on the way to our hotel in the Coconut Grove section of town. There was nothing special about the hotel, but we did set an alarm to get up in the night to go out to see the lunar eclipse. We had the hotel parking lot to ourselves, other than the security guard who wanted to know what we were doing. We didn’t stay for the whole eclipse, as it had been a long day at the end of a busy week…but it was cool to catch a little of it.
Friday morning, we hopped back in the car to start the journey towards home. We decided to drive the Citrus Highway (US 27) to check out middle Florida, and it was pretty cool. There was the all-familiar canal running alongside the road and filled with wildlife. There were all sorts of farms, including some busy with sugar cane harvesting. As lunchtime approached, we took aim for Lake Okeechobee for a scenic picnic spot, and it was all we’d hoped it would be. Our particular stop was at the Canal Point Recreation Area. The lake looked more like an ocean, and we had the place to ourselves most of the time. We lunched to a soundtrack of waves lapping the shore and birds calling out to one another. Before getting back on the road, Thom took a nap in the shady picnic area, and I wandered the shoreline soaking up the sun and listening to the bits of sound carried to me by the wind.
After lunch, we drove The Grade, aka Martin Grade Scenic Highway. This 12-mile drive was beautiful from start to finish. We cut in and out of dense tunnels formed by tree canopies with passing glimpses of orange groves, wetlands, and pastures. This might be the only road where cars were passing us…we had the Mustang in savor-the-view mode.
We ended the day with family in St. Cloud. Tiny & Cory treated us to drinks and dinner (and Kayley joined us!), plus we got to see a SpaceX launch from afar. It was great to catch up with them, and experience a little bit of their local life.
Saturday arrived and it was sadly time to get home. We stopped for lunch with Debbie in the Villages to fill up on oysters and fish. We had a great visit, but eventually had to say our goodbyes and make the long drive through Georgia and the ever-present Atlanta traffic.
All said, our trip clocked in right at 2000 miles. Despite there being zero mountains or curvy roads from Georgia to Key West, we enjoyed the trip thoroughly. It was both hard and good, as I thought of my mama through so much of the trip. There were certainly a fair share of disappointments, but we mostly pivoted well and made the most of things. The only negative is really the same negative as every trip–not enough time. Maybe someday we’ll both have remote-work jobs at the same time, and we’ll just live and work on the road. That’s the dream.
P.S.–I know you thought a blog about Key West that started with a Hemingway quote was surely going to include a visit to the Hemingway House and a picture of a polydactyl cat. Alas, Thom was not so eager to stand in a long line in the sun to walk through an old house (cats or not). I actually got a part-day visit to Key West during my infamous Covid Cruise, and WE did go to the Hemingway House. So, not to disappoint…here’s your six-toed cat…
Standing Strength 