We End Our Stay in the Keys

We checked out of our unit the following day and drove up to Florida City. We did some shopping to pick up some things for the next 12 days, then checked into a motel for the night.

Sawgrass river

Entering the hammock

Since our check-in time at our new condo wasn’t until 1600, we had a whole day to kill before driving back to Tavernier. Florida City sits right between two national parks—Biscayne N.P. to the east:  Everglades N.P. to the west—so we decided a daytrip to one of them was in order. On our last visit to Everglades N.P. we didn’t have the time to drive to drive the 38 miles to Flamingo on Florida Bay at the end of the park road. Sounds like a plan.We drove 13 miles to the park entrance, stopping at the Ernest C. Coe Visitor’s Center to pick up another stamp (different dates, you know!) a map, and schedule of ranger-led activities. It was Sunday and the offerings were few. We headed for Flamingo, but diverted off the park road at approximately the halfway point for a short drive to Mahogany Hammock. The Everglades is a flowing river of water over vast sawgrass prairies dotted with hardwood hammocks: areas of higher (sometimes just a few inches), drier ground. One can see the water actually flowing, but given that the highest point in the northern section of the park is only 8 ft. above sea level, the gradient is quite gradual. Hidden from historic logging activities, Mahogany Hammock features old-growth mahogany trees that have grown to record size. In fact, the country’s largest mahogany tree resides in the hammock. We parked the car and started walking the half mile boardwalk trail that is elevated over the sawgrass river. Entering the dense, jungle-like hammock we found a variety of lush tropical vegetation including gumbo-limbo trees, air plants, strangler fig trees, poisonwood trees, and all types of palms.

The big daddy!

At the Flamingo Visitor Center

We drove on through the coastal lowlands to Flamingo, and were surprised by how attractive the facilities were. Our first stop was the visitor’s center where we collected the Flamingo Visitor Center’s stamp and then viewed the exhibits and the museum.

The license plate says QUEBEC!

Our new digs

Ocean Point"e"

Beach and marina cafe

We wanted to have lunch at the Buttonwood Café, but the limited choices and services sent us back to the minivan for lunch from our own stores. We drove over to the marina which had a really nice public boat ramp and marina store.

The marina has houseboat, canoe, kayak, bicycle rentals and boat tours. We left Flamingo and drove the park road back toward the entrance, diverting once again the Royal Palm Visitor Center. However, we didn’t stop; we left the park and headed for Tavernier. It was a good addendum to our first visit and the first park we have re-visited in the National Park Service’s Centennial Celebration.

Jane at the point

Arriving at Ocean Pointe (the “e” on the end makes it classy!), we checked in. The complex is large (170 units), gated, and well maintained and lies right on the Atlantic Ocean just off of U.S. Highway 1 (the Overseas).

Capt. Lar's new friend

This would be home for the next 12 days. We unloaded the minivan and settled in, had some supper and called it a day. The next morning we explored the complex as part of our morning walk. We could really enjoy the facilities if the weather would cooperate.

Capturing those creatures

It seems like we have one cold front after another move through giving us cloudy skies, when it’s not raining, and cool temperatures. The weather pretty much kept us condo-bound, but the forecast for the next day was going to be a good one.

Beautiful

Having lunch

So many varieties

Scarlett & Rhett

Camouflage?

Add caption

The forecasters got it right and the next day was beautiful and called for a road trip. When we previously visited Key West for the Seafood Festival, our neighbor told us to be sure and visit Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. When we previously visited Key West for the Seafood Festival, our neighbor told us to be sure and visit Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory. Way opposite the Seafood Festival on the southern end of Duval Street, we didn’t get a chance to see this attraction on that trip, but today would be perfect. We did our morning walk, cleaned up, and headed for Key West. Two hours later we had the car parked and headed over to the Southernmost Point, just around the corner from Key West Butterfly. There was a really long line for picture taking, so we just snapped a couple of pictures that framed the monument from a distance. After paying the Butterfly admission, we entered the exhibit area that had hundreds of butterflies on display and was broadcasting a video about the life cycle of the butterfly. We watched the video, viewed the exhibits, and then entered the conservatory. The sight of hundreds of different species of butterflies flying around the lush tropical vegetation in the glass-enclosed room simply took our breath away. This was going to be awesome. Capt. Larry started working his camera to capture the beauty of these creatures. Jane was also working her phone camera and was able to catch a “hitchhiker” that landed on Capt. Larry’s shoulder. We slowly worked our way through the conservatory snapping images at all different settings as we went. There were two flamingos, Scarlett and Rhett, that were constantly squawking to an almost annoying level. After we had worked our way to the path’s end, we backtracked and took some video of the butterflies in flight. We exited the conservatory, making sure we had no “hitchhikers,” and went to the gift shop. There were some very interesting butterfly art that are made from the dead butterflies (their life span only averages 10 days) that are shipped from all over the world. This artwork can be customized for wedding invitations, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. and is absolutely beautiful. The link will show you some of the things that can be designed: http://keywestbutterfly.com/gallery.htm.

Other creatures too!

It was lunchtime so we left the attraction and headed to a street-side Cuban sandwich shop, The Conch and the Cuban, and ordered a couple of authentic Cuban pork sandwiches and aside plate of rice,

I was here first!

 black beans, and fried plantains. It was delicious. Wanting to avoid rush hour traffic on the Overseas, we headed back to Tavernier.

Butterflies everwhere!

The good weather didn’t last, though, so we spent the rest of our extended stay walking the streets of Tavernier and hanging close to the condo.

Hmmmmm!

Next up, a cruise to the western Caribbean.

Sunrise