The Hungry Tarpon (or Pelican?) and Founders Park

Yesterday we started out for a day-trip to Key West...alas, we only got as far as The Hungry Tarpon Restaurant (http://www.hungrytarpon.com/) at Robbie's Marina (http://www.robbies.com/) in Islamorada--not far from where Steve and Noreen have their boat. Aside from the Caribbean-inspired food and cooking classes (sadly filled for this month), the big draw is the tarpon-feeding station out on the dock. It was a bit cold for tarpon drama (the 100-pound fish leaping out of the water to grab chum-like fish dangled by brave souls), but a fellow was trying to lure them up from the warmer depths anyway. The pelicans seemed to know they didn't have much competition and crowed around for leftovers.  Maggie thought this was great fun and had Bud not had her on a short leash, she would have landed in the drink! The pelicans were a hoot--shooing them off the dock only made them try to squeeze through the fencing--but the holes were too small. hence the silly video above.

This morning we met Steve and Noreen at Cafe Cubano (MM 91.8, oceanside) to sample their advertized "Cuban Coffee."  It was truly a treat--steamed milk and fresh-pressed espresso, so sweet you don't need sugar.  We haven't had coffee like that since San Juan.  Breakfast was good--highlighted by their Cuban toast, fresh Cuban bread (not quite a French baguette and not quite crusty Italian--it's own unique style) buttered and grilled. Yum!

We're finding that we're becoming addicted to the Dog Park at Founders Park in Islamorada (Founders Park Website). It's part of a lovely waterfront complex that includes a marina, a beach, tennis, courts, swimming pools and a great jogging/workout circuit (ok...we walk it!).  But the very best thing is the Dog Park--it's very well thought out with a double-gated entrance, a separate yard for small dogs, a kiddie-pool and watering station and several poop-bag/trash stations. There seem to be groups of regulars--early morning, mid-morning (our favorite), afternoon and evening. The owners sit around and chat, welcome newcomers, and trade dog stories as well as tips on the the best dog-friendly places to eat. Maggie runs and jumps with her new pals while we chat in the shade with our new friends--then it's home for a nap.  Not bad!







Midge with her "doodles" (Golden Retriever/Standard Poodle cross), Lucy and Roxie--Maggie's special pals!

Noreen has made friends with Lady, a Springer that looks so much like her late Lucy. Noreen would take Lady home in heartbeat, I think.

The Dog Park is also a great place to connect with "pros" like professional pet nanny Carol Trump (305 664-0539).  Lady is one of Carol's regular charges, and after watching her care-taking style for the past two weeks, she'll be the one we'll call when we need a sitter for Maggie.

Lady clearly loves her nanny, Carol!

Time to think about urgent items like happy hour, supper..getting ready for more friends arriving from the snowy New Hampshire tomorrow. At least the weather has turned warm and sunny for them, poor things!



Wind, wind and more wind!

We have been watching the news on the snow storm hitting New England...CNN is reporting 22" in Concord, NH and Jess just texted that they got almost 2' in Waitsfield, VT.  Wow...we are hoping people will send us pix!

Meantime we've had our own weather situation.  The strong wind that came up yesterday lasted throughout the day and into this morning--the video above is from 8:30 AM this morning. Bud barely rescued the chairs and table from the end of the dock--they were ready to go right in the drink! This gave us a chance to really kick back--cold, windy, no sun.  We found a local movie theatre and took in True Grit (great movie, but a bit of tear-jerker for us animal lovers at the end), then just ordered out pizza and sat in for the evening.

The wind is still here, but the sun has come out.  Wahoo! Perhaps we'll try an expedition to the south in search of trinkets, windy beaches and fun places for lunch.

Crane Point, South Florida Agriculture and a Casino

It's blustery and chilly today (ok...68 or so).  A good day for doing puzzles and hanging out inside.  But Monday and Tuesday were superb--high 70's to low 80's and bright sun! 

Monday we took our excursion to Crane Point...a preseve set up on property owned by the Crane family of Massachusetts after they bought the 64-acre tract in the 1950's. We are wondering if this is the same family of Crane's beach near Ipswich, Mass. It was a lovely walk--a little over a mile to make the loop past the Adderly House and out to the point.

The Adderly House was built in 1903 by a Bahamian who farmed Florida Bay sponges and also preached.  This was before roads. Everything was done by small skiffs and sailboats--even the 50 mile trip to Key west to sell the sponges.

Bud and Maggie explore Crane Point. The preserve also has an injured wild bird infirmary--an interesting outdoor arrangement of large contained areas for pelicans, hawks and other birds recuperating from injuries (mostly a result of contact with with humans).





Next order of the day was...happy hour!  A local woman recommended Sparky's Landing (http://www.sparkyslanding.com/) at Key Colony. It turned out to be great--25c shrimp and wings for happy hour, the best price we have found. And very dog friendly--they brought Maggie her own bowl of ice water!

Yesterday was so calm and foggy--they ended up closing some of the highways just north of us due to limited visibility. This is at the same time highways up way up were closed due to snow and ice--go figure!

We decided to pop Maggie in the car and go north for a ride through Homestead and the farmlands to the east of the Everglades. Turned out to be interesting--mile after mile of farms.  Everything from avacados, mangos and other fruits and veggies to nurseries raising all kinds of landscaping plants.  One nursery had huge 30' palms trees in pots--row after row.  We figure they are headed for Vegas-style resorts somewhere.

Just north of Alligator Alley we happened upon a casino (ok...we were sort of headed there!), the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Center (http://www.miccosukee.com/). They have a large poker room and several rooms of slots, including a few that do keno--but the keno has extremely bad payouts.  Nothing like Foxwoods or Vegas. Nevertheless, I put $2 in to try it--and hit a $20 payout on the last 50c! Enough to fund our next happy hour.

When we got home the bay was still flat calm.  Perfect for relaxing with a book on the dock or exploring the water's edge.



Maggie browses for something interesting on our beach.




Does it get much more relaxing?



Eating and drinking and drinking and eating!

It's been a whole week since we arrived in Tavernier, and we are very gradually devovling into living life at a slower pace. Morning wake-up has changed from 5:45 AM to, well...whenever!  Mostly 8-9 AM. We have made excursions to the very excellent Key Largo Chamber of Commerce Visitor Center (www.keylargo.org/visitor.) for brochures, maps and general advice.  And after discussion over cocktails and coffee we've developed a list of things we would like to do. Some are very healthy, like today's choice of walking through the Crane Point Hammock Nature Trails (http://www.cranepoint.net/).  Some are less so--like figuring which sports bar offers best food/beer prices and atmosphere for watching the Patriots & Jets playoff game on Sunday.

Happy hour on the Happy Ours!

We had heard that retirements (even faux ones, like ours) often center around food. Where to go for happy hour...where's the best sunset dining...what to cook on the grill...should we forego lunch and have a snazzy dinner? This, I am a bit chagrined to say, is totally 100%  true--at least so far. It is very clear that we will have to structure exercise into our lives and look at our winter months not as "anything goes" vacations, but more of a measured lifestyle.

And so we exercise Maggie, take her to the incredible dog park at Founder's Park in Islamorada and work in brisk walks. Still, conversation at the dog park often revolves around the best dog-friendly restaurants. Over the weeked we ate at the Pilot House up in Key Largo (http://www.pilothousemarina.com/). We were surprised when then hostess led us through the whole retaurant with Maggie in tow and settled us on an enclosed adjoining deck. No one batted an eye and Maggie was the hit of our section! (nary a bark or anything but polite behavior, by the way). The dog park people have recommended the Outback in Marathon for it's oceanfront beach dining (not exactly like the one in Concord, NH!) and a place called the Islamorada Fish Company as well.  Both are on our list and we'll let you know how it turns out.

Maggie checks out the appetizers!

Meantime, we tried happy our on our own dock last night.  Timed properly, we catch a stunning sunset and watch pelicans skimming the water while we (you guessed it) eat and drink!

Turtles, Dolphins and Hog Heaven

A display at The Turtle Hospital showing how dangerous fishing nets are for sea turtles.

Steve and Noreen next to a life-size Leatherback turtle--immense!



Last night a very substantial wind blew in from the north, adding a bit of drama to what we thought would be quiet evening of cocktails in the hot tub and a tame game of dominoes. Gusts were in the 40 mph range (Bud’s estimate) and blew out several screens in the house. It reminded us a lot of the microburst we got caught in back in 1993 on our Key Largo houseboat vacation—though not as scary.  Being on dry land helps!

By this morning the wind had calmed down a lot, but it left a chill in the air.  Good weather for an explorative trip to Marathon Key. We packed up Maggie and picked up Steve and Noreen and headed for The Turtle Hospital, a “rescue, rehabilitation and release” facility.  It’s the only state-certified veterinary hospital in the world for sea turtles—today there were 29 patients with various injuries and illnesses. They offer 3 tours a day and if you’re lucky, you get to see actual surgeries.  Our timing wasn’t good today, so we’ll have to return—but it’s high on our list. They have a neat website at www.turtlehospital.org.

The Turtle Hospital's Ambulance

Staying with the theme of animal research, we stopped next at the Dolphin Research Center at Mile Marker 59 on Grassy Key. (the Overseas Highway—US Route 1—begins at 0 in Key west, and counts up to over 100 by the time you get to Key Largo.  The miles are marked off by Mile Markers, which people tend use almost more than actual addresses.) We were immediately impressed by signs that pets are welcome and found that, once again, our timing was poor.  They were about to close—but we’ll come back and spend time watching the training and meeting the dolphins and sea lions. We’d like to have a nice warm day and lots of time.  They also have a website at www.dolphins.org.

So we had to settle for another Happy Hour—this one at Hog Heaven, a sports bar on the ocean side where you can reserve tables next to the outdoor flat-screen TV’s and watch the football game of your choice. Not bad (and also dog-friendly) but quite a different atmosphere than Happy Hour at Snappers.

 

Amazing Dog Subculture...and New Hampshire Seafarers Arrive

Maggie eyes the ball her new pal Hershey the Chocolate Lab has at Sunset Park's morning play group.


 


Yesterday morning we got Maggie duded up in her best leash and headed for the 9 AM dog play group at Monroe County’s Sunset Park—the one on Sunset Street (nearly everything on the Florida Bay side of the Keys has “sunset” woven into its name). What did we find? 10-12 dogs running and jumping—all giggles and grins!  The owners were wandering about throwing balls and Frisbees or sitting and chatting in a neat circle of portable chairs under a fabulous spreading tree (mangrove…oak?  Don’t know yet.)

We’d barely closed the car door and a friendly fellow came to greet us. We introduced him to Maggie and he invited us to come and meet everyone. In a nanosecond Maggie was running with the other dogs—never looked back! Soon we were in the loop about all the dog-friendly parks and off-leash play groups in the upper/middle Keys and turned on to the best dog-friendly restaurants—there are lots! I’ll do reviews as we go along.

Steve called from his cell to give their ETA on the run down the Intracoastal from Fort  Lauderdale to Islamorada and, amazingly, we spotted their boat from our deck! Now we know the Intracoastal stretches along in front of the house, though it’s a ways out.

After they got settled in their slip for the month, we had to go back to Snapper’s for Happy Hour—awesome faux margaritas (tequila sours with salt) for $2.50.

Bud had 40 lb. Maggie on one line and Steve's 40' Carver cabin cruiser on the other--what a guy!

When we picked Steve and Noreen up we noticed another nearby dog park and decided to try it this morning.  It was the same thing!  Owners sitting around chatting and having coffee while their dogs played—like the other park, most were regulars, but all very welcoming and more tips on restaurants and beaches were flying around along with the dogs. Poop-baggies are apparently provided at most parks (though we carry our own, of course) and I can say that the parks are spotless! There seems to be a very active and wonderfully friendly canine subculture down here—makes me wish New Hampshire could get in the groove.

For everyone out there who is NOT gaga about dogs, I’ll be writing about other stuff.  Steve and Noreen’s being here will surely give me more material. Tonight we have a hot game of dominoes scheduled!

Rasta Poodle or Afghan Hound?

Maggie retrieving a stick at Cocoa Plum Beach, Marathon---Rasta Dog?



After a bath, pelican watching on our dock.

Our first full day was a bit of frustration—still no internet or phone at the house—but also instructive and fun. We haven’t gotten to relaxing yet!

 We wanted to get Maggie (and ourselves) into a routine of exercise and were hoping to find a long beach for walking and running.  But when we had checked into the hotel in Daytona Beach the receptionist warned us that walking a dog on a posted public beach in Florida is an “arrest-able offense.” So we needed to proceed with caution. Luckily a friendly local bartender (and dog owner) told us about a dog park on Sunset Street here in Tavernier, less than a mile from our house.  We were a little late yesterday--apparently the park is full of dogs and owners from 8-10 AM. But a nice woman across the street popped over to give us details and point us towards Cocoa Plum Beach down in Marathon, where dogs can swim and run. As we were talking the mailman drove up and stuck his head out to admire our “beautiful Afghan Hound.”  Ha!

We found Cocoa Plum Beach on the Atlantic Ocean side of Marathon Key.  It has a beautiful long sugar-sand beach and wonderful posters of all the different kinds of sea turtles--and dogs are allowed. Maggie loved it and turned into an insane Rasta dog, diving underwater to find a stick Bud was throwing for and then running it up onto the sand.  Great fun, but she needed a full bath and combing when we got home. Afterwards we all hung out on the dock until sunset.  Our first, and a real beauty. Maggie had fun watching the pelicans—luckily she was not inclined to dive in after them.

Tomorrow we’ll start at the dog park, take along walk and get ready to greet friends Steve and Noreen who arrive by sea later in the day.

Margaritas and Maggie!

Our dock at dusk

Maggie meets Ouzo, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel at Happy Hour on the water

We’re here in the Keys!  Our last day of travel was great—sunny and 79 degrees. We rolled up to our rental home for the next month right on time. Checking the speedometer, we found that MapQuest figured the distance within 1 mile—amazing. Gasbuddy.com also figured our fill-up stops right to the town.  Other helpful travel aids: the GPS which always let us know distance to and time of arrival for each stop and Bud’s iPod, which kept us amused with audio books. We finished Hiasson’s Skinny Dip and moved on to Stephen King’s Duma Key.

The rental is fabulous. The driveway is looong and feels like you’re entering the scene in Duma Key where the main character stumbles into a strangler fig grove—other-worldly!  Our private beach is sandy, the water is clear and the new dock is snazzier than some we’ve seen at yacht clubs. The house is on stilts (hurricane design) and clearly is someone’s home—not just a rental. The kitchen is big enough for several cooks.  There’s a ton of storage and lots of indoor/outdoor “hanging out” space.

Once we got settled and made a grocery run, we found a dog-friendly (true!) Happy Hour at a local waterfront bar down the way a bit. Maggie made instant friends with a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Ouzo while we had margaritas and peel-and-eat shrimp. By the time we had supper (great lobster reuben and fried tilapia sandwiches) and got home, it was dusk and the dock lights were on.

This morning we are off to find the dog-friendly beach for a good run. It’s our first full day of faux retirement!

Downpours, Pet Toilets and Palm Trees

Rain woke us up early this morning in NC, so we got up and hit the road by 5:30 AM--blowing off the free waffles, fruit and hot coffee at the hotel. I was looking forward to seeing the changes at the uber-tacky "South of the Border" mega-concession just over the border in South Carolina--having last been there about 40 years ago. It is now much more than a fireworks and hot dog stand--in fact they have huge billboard announcing a Pet Stop, with Pet Toilets. We stopped and sure enough they have a fenced in area so dogs can run free while attending to business. It has little mini-golf-like amusements and lots of cold water. Maggie agreed to pose briefly, but wasn't happy about it.

We pulled into Daytona Beach, the Comfort Suites right on the beach, around 5 this afternoon.  Glad  to get here.  The driving was very tough in spots all through South Carolina and Georgia...downpours like you don't see up north, and very heavy traffic. So many big RV rigs and cars with New York license plates!

But we are in the home stretch now--a leisurely 5 hours or so down to Tavernier Key tomorrow. The sun came out as we pulled into the hotel and (unlike the last hotel) the slider/windows open so we can hear the surf. It's 77degrees. There are palm trees everywhere.  We're definitely not in New Hampshire anymore!

Hello from North Carolina!

We left NH at 6:20 AM (I know, a bit later than we hoped) but have made it all the way to Rocky Mount NC. The weather was great all the way to Richmond, when it started to rain just at dusk.  Somehow the building in the city seem to be all lit with lights outlining their shapes--not sure if that is a Christmas thing or a signature Richmond thing?

Traffic was a breeze until DC and below...I think there are MANY snowbords making their way south!

We made better time than we thought we would, so the hotel reservations I made (with pet-friendly Choice Hotels) got blown out of the water.  I had signed us up for their Choice Priviledges (free) program, though, and made one cell phone call and they canceled the ones we didn't need and found a new one further south--all with one phone call. The hotels aren't destinations, per se, but boy it was nice to have everything settled with one call.  They will be on our list for US road trips.

Maggie is the dream travel dog--sort of.  She won't eat her regular food, so is now on a hamburger diet.  She also has not done her business since leaving Bow.  This is in spite of our stopping in every single state to offer her the chance--I even jogged around a very elaborate rest stop just south of Quantico,VA.  Nothing!

We have given up and and are going to bed.

Chase, Bud and Maggie

PS...thanks to Lucy, we have been doing audio books to great success.  We started with Carl Hiasson's Skinny Dip, set in FL. We'll finish before South Carolina and then start on Stephen King's Duma Key.