Key West, FL-Florida City, FL 11/12 220 driving miles; 8 walking miles

So long, Florida Keys. Maybe we'll get back to Margaritaville some day soon. After raising a whole lot of "grey hell" last night on Duval street, we slept in, either to nurse our imaginary (I have been labeled certifiable by a pair of Florida professionals) hangovers, or to savor our last few moments in paradise. Whatever the reality, we didn't wander down Duval Street this morning for our cup of ambition until the glaring Florida sun was well up and heated to 80 degrees. Truth be told, we were in no hurry as tonight's stop, Florida City, is really just a jump off for our Everglades experience tomorrow and no great spectacle on its own. So we dawdled this morning, doubling down on our favorite Key West experiences: breakfast at Blue Heaven, a stroll around Key West, a long walk on seven mile bridge, and a final piece of Key Lime Pie at Burdine's in Marathon. At breakfast, Ed could be heard audibly sighing, oohing, and aahing over his shrimp, lobster, bacon, and goat cheese omelette. And to his extreme delight, the music duo performing for the crowd played an extremely pleasant arrangement of Hoagy Carmichel's song "Georgia", a favorite, which was performed famously by the late, great Ray Charles and covered just as famously by Willie Nelson. We've listened to Willie's version several times on this trip. It was almost eerie. Call me crazy, but I think the musicians personified Key West's send off to Ed and me. Scratching another item from the bucket list, we then unceremoniously drove away, stopping at Burdine's for a final piece of pie. I had mine regular, and Ed followed the advice of the "best" humans of the day, Ben and Holly, who said the fried Key Lime Pie was "to die for". It was either the debauchery of the night before, or the weight of the fried pie, but whatever, Eduardo napped (He calls it siesta) nearly the whole drive after. The "best" humans bring their boat and a few friends to spend a week in the Keys every year. They fish, relax, party on Duval Street, and by their own admission, turn themselves into less than "best" humans by the time they leave. They said, "The first thing we do when we hit hit town is come to Burdine's for fried Key Lime pie. We've been doing it for ten years." They once again proved to me that life is best when worked hard and played hard. So here we sit, in what may be the best motel room we've had since we got an off season deal in Myrtle Beach. Ed, as usual, is reading. I, as usual, am being driven crazy by the circular comedy acts of Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC. It's simply mindnumbing, and verifies my belief that America is an amazing place. All I can say is, "Life is good,especially today." 

The seven mile bridge.

Art shot of the day: The old seven mile road.

"Heading for the Keys".

My pie.

Ed's fried pie.

Ben and Holly.

Selfie of the day. Motel room #44 on this trip. Boy, have we gotten soft.

And back to thin gruel for dinner.

Marathon, FL-Key West 11/11 55 driving miles; 18.4 walking miles

Happy Veteran's Day/Armistice Day. Thank you for your service. Ed and I really tore up the town. We had two drinks a piece after dinner in two different bars, although the bartenders must have both been trained in the same wave the tequila bottle over the glass technique. Let's just say we drank a couple of pretty expensive tequila mixer cocktails. Before that, we joined what I understand is a nightly circus of street theater down at Mallory Square to watch the sun set and watch any number of acts from performing pigs, jugglers, musicians, fire eaters, acrobats, and of course, other tourists. It was quite a spectacle. Because it was Veteran's Day, we also witnessed an annual parade. Most of the photos I took failed to capture much of the spectacle, but the whole thing from current military groups to veterans across a wide range of service to the high school band, the drill team and scouts from cub to girl to boy to sea to explorer, and finally a large group of Harley Davidson riders all contributed to the heart felt salute. Oh, and I forgot the roller derby girls and the police. It was a fun, very respectful event. Throughout the parade a constant shout, "Thank you for your service" filled the air. We had two delicious, but light meals today. For lunch, a sweet Cuban lady ("Best" human number two) served us a great Cuban sandwich, and for dinner we ate fish buritos at the Garbo Grill. Before any of that "Best" human number one, Sarah, expedited our check in at the motel. After lunch, Ed went to Starbucks for a kicker so we could stay out until almost ten-thirty. While he did that, I went on my shopping spree. There are only 44 days left until Christmas after all. At one store, I happened to tag onto a discussion about veterans. I said, "I brought my vet with me." The lady gave me two pieces of Key Lime pie and said, "Give him a hug and a sweet from us here at Blue Heaven." We met "Best" human three at the sunset celebration. Bill, also a Vietnam vet, moved to Key West from Maine when he was eighteen. After serving two tours, he came back and has been here ever since, working mostly as a commercial fisherman. He survived hurricane Andrew in 1992 by anchoring his sixty foot house boat with two Volkswagon engine blocks, opening all the windows, lashing everything down, stocking up on fresh water, and bringing in a half dozen extra marine batteries for power. He said the boat rocked and rolled and dragged around a bit, but he survived. Quite a guy. He's done fishing now. He and his wife travel the country going to various motorcycle events (Like Sturgess) where they sell leather goods. After all that, I bought Ed his traditional Veteran's Day drink, and I asked two currently serving Marine officers if they'd take a picture with a fellow Marine. It topped off a pretty good day. When the sun set, I was completely sure that life is good, especially today.

 Our view for morning coffee.

We walked for a while over the water on the  seven mile bridge.

Sarah, who zipped us into our room early.

The Cuban: #42: pork, cheese, ham. Yum!

Christy, server of the Cuban.

Veteran's Day Parade.

Carnival act.

The pig taking a bow.

Bill, the closest thing to a local we talked to.

The sunset.

The people catching the sunset.

The first toast to Ed, even though the nice lady cut off the drinks. Thanks, Ed, for your service.

Semper Fi.

Old guys like us abide by the ten o'clock curfew, but clearly the Key West party rolls on.

Marathon, FL-Key West, FL 11/10 130 driving miles; 11.8 walking miles.

Today, we made it to the end of the trail; mile zero as it were. Cuba was just a short ninety mile swim from where we stood after a fabulous breakfast at Blue Heaven, which was recommended by a pirate we met in St. Augustine. We've decided to splurge (On the always precarious, "You only live once theory") and spend tomorrow night in Key West itself. I'm looking forward to seeing what the night brings out because it gets downright pleasant around here after the sun goes down. Today was our walking tour of the historic district, which is filled with character filled homes both large and small. We endured the stifling heat and humidity on our self-imposed march. We passed Hemingway's home which along with the Key itself was larger than we expected. We stopped in at the Little White House, and of course, we had our picture taken at the Southern most point. We also walked from the Gulf side to the Atlantic side three or four times. We found tomorrow's motel, and I walked Ed by several dive bars so he can  choose where I buy him his traditional Veteran's Day drink tomorrow ( Or two) to honor his service to our country. He'll have to have an extra long siesta if he hopes to stay awake past eight-thirty. If he doesn't, he won't get to hear any live music. We also walked by a dizzying nimber of T-shirt shops, tourist opportunities, galleries, inns, Bed and Breakfast places, and of course, bars. Key West isn't as liberal as Savannah in that they don't allow alcohol in open containers, but it doesn't seem to stop anyone. Like I said, "I can't wait to see what the night air brings out." I missed the opportunity to recognize two "best" humans yesterday, so I went back to talk with Melissa and Renee' today. Yesterday, they told us where to find good Key Lime pie. Today, they sent us to a great spot for dinner (Sparky's Landing) where we had Gumbo that was excellent, and Happy Hour shrimp and wings for thirty cents a piece (Six piece minimum). Happy Hour was lost on us because we weren't drinking, but it didn't matter because the locals were quite busy adjusting their attitudes (And possibly latitudes). It was a nice day, and we're thankful to report that life is good, especially today.  

We'll eat here again, Thursday morning. Quite good.

I opted for the Bacon Lobster Benedict with a piece of fresh baked banana bread  for dessert. Oh my!

Our goal met, one way or the other.

This guy was impressed.

These two mocked us a little bit.

There are several magnificent homes in Key West.

 And there are also quite a few clapboard houses tucked away down the side streets.

Hemingway's house, quite a palace actually, is located on prime real estate.

 Ed says, "I'll have the fish."

And a piece of Key Lime Pie for a chaser.

Melissa recommended Sparky's Landing.

Renee' recommended Burdine's.

They say it's Christmas everyday in their shop (You should see the Christmas room).

Gumbo yummy, Crawdad!

Happy Hour wings and shrimp.

The view from our table at Sparky's Landing.

The only hurry is get on down here. As Curly, the coffee guy said, "I came here to go fishing, and I never left."

Naples, FL-Marathon, FL 11/9 183 driving miles; 7.8 walking miles

We had a nice cup of ambition at the downtown Starbucks in Naples, a quite lovely place, even if a bit too stylish for our tastes. After a fairly medium breakfast, we made our way down Aligator Alley (Highway 41) toward the keys. Notable was the absence of aligators, but the vast swamp land of the Everglades promised that "them 'gators" are out there. Just as notable were the miles and miles of bird egg blue concrete barriers along side the road and median. Only in Florida, I guess. We scouted a couple of possibilities for our boat ride in the swamp on our way back from the keys, and generally enjoyed dipping our toes in the keys. We're staying two nights in Marathon, using it as our base to tour Key West tomorrow. In the morning, we'll travel the 55 miles to "the end of the road" and spend the day there. It remains to be seen if we'll like it enough to rent a room there. Ed has done his usual superior job of arranging our accommodations. Tonight's suite at the KingsSail Resort is really quite charming. We could cook in the full kitchen if we chose to. The pool is very nice, and the back dock, which is an entrance to the gulf is a very nice refuge. This evening, Ed spent time reading the paper while I cooled off with a dip in the clean, cool water. We were directed to a very nice bayside "tiki" restaurant by a local lady we met at the T- shirt shop. Ed wanted the "best" Key Lime pie in Marathon. It turned out our plates of Mahi Mahi were excellent, too. After eating, (We both ate too many of the delicious hand cut fries), we decided to get in a few steps. I was on a mission to get a manicure while Ed felt the need to walk off the meal. He still wouldn't cross the manicure street ( Too girly), so while I had my nails done, he walked back. The Cuban girl (Leidy Laura Alfonso) who did my nails is the "best" human of the day. She has been in America for six years, has a three year old boy, a hard working husband, and her sister and parents are here as well. She is exactly what America promises. She came, went to cosmetology school, and is now working hard to improve her life. I asked her what she liked about America. Her reply, "Everything". I can tell you one thing. Her English is far better than my Spanish, especially my "Cuban" Spanish. I've been reading a book called Dixie Be Damned, which is about labor revolts in the South, both of slaves and poor white mill workers. I've just finished the story about the revolts in textile mills in Appalachia which was a response to the "mill town" enslavement during the depression. One sriker was quoted as saying, "Our choice was to starve and work, or to starve and starve." They chose to strike instead. When I see a young mother like Leidy who is trying to do the best she can for her family. Who am I to refuse her the opportunity? I, for one, can't think in terms of building walls. I think bridges would be better. But guess what, they're not asking me. I'd wager that Leidy agrees with me, though, that life is good, especially today.

Naples, a very pleasant place, is coated in soft pastels.

Our first look at a "key" beach.

Moms applying sun screen.

Vistas.

Selfie of the day: Palm Timmy.

Gulf toes.

Good spot!

Good food.

Leidy Laura Alfonso.

Eduardo lounging like he likes to do.

The pool.

 Last picture of the day.

One road in.

One road out. Tomorrow we head for the setting sun. 41 bridges, one stretch is seven miles long. Can't wait. ( I hope I haven't built this place up too much, you know, like that Christmas present that doesn't hold up). We'll see.