Our very generous campsite |
We arrived at our
southernmost destination two weeks ago: NASKW
(Naval Air Station Key West) Sigsbee Beach Annex. We are “dry camping” which means we have no
electricity. But with our battery and
propane we have everything except air conditioning and the microwave oven. The first week was too hot and humid for us
central coast Californians. But there
are always cool restaurants for lunch, the cool camping office for wifi, and on
weekends, a bracingly cool pool at another NASKW annex. After a heavy two-day wind and rain, the
temperatures cooled off to the
Dave's Life Is Good t-shirt |
high 70’s and the breeze picked up so we are
more comfortable and enjoying life more.
Or maybe we are just acclimating! Unfortunately we had to take down our tent canopy when a gust broke a piece of it. But we have enjoyed it's shade and wind protection for many days!
Best meal: filet, southern beans, red potatoes, salad |
This place is
full of surprises. One is that the keys
are coral rock, so there is very little sand.
Another is that the pace of life is very, very slow. People drive slowly - often from necessity
because of the congested, narrow streets. People are very helpful and friendly – tourism
is the main industry today. The history of
Key West is
fascinating – we have accumulated bits of pieces by frequenting the many
museums. Although our
campsite is at the edge of the Gulf and we have been to beaches both gulfside
and oceanside,
we don’t swim. (too cold, Man o’ War jellyfish, rocky bottom, etc.) There are beautiful roosters crowing all over the island - originally brought here by Cuban cock-fighters, they are protected here and flourish. We have enjoyed worshipping for two Sundays at the beautiful St. Paul's Episcopal Church. As modern as it appears on the outside, there are beautiful, old-world style stained glass windowsn..We have been introduced to Pickle Ball - does anyone know of a place to
play this in Monterey???
We were told
that it is a different culture down here.
Some of that culture probably revolves around Duval Street, Mallory Square, and the many restaurants
and bars. But bar-hoppers we are not! However, since we spend a lot of our
time at the campground, we have discovered the “winter camper culture.” Most of the folk at our campground have come
here year after year, not just for two
weeks like us, but for three to five months. So many folk have made friends down here that
they reunite with year after year. While
we have met really nice folk, we probably will not come back to Key West. There are too many other places to visit in
our US!
Jay and Julie visited for a fun day! |