Our coast down to the Keys was warm, sunny, and even blessed with a bit of serendipity. Reporting on both local NPR and the NYT caught our eyes and ears that local Florida officials were considering changing the name of the Dixie Highway…at the same few hours we were driving south on it toward Key West! Those gems of moments are our little whispering signals that we’re where we need to be, and we’re in good hands.
We also (unintentionally) timed our drive so that after we had passed through several keys, charged up, and marveled at stunning waters all around, the sunset welcomed us with its glorious colors and intense brilliance as we arrived at the tip of the long, curved archipelago.
The three days we stayed in the heart of Key West were memorable for all kinds of reasons. We’ll never forget the omnipresence of chickens, nearly appearing as sentinels, one on a corner of every intersection we crossed…or the intense gusts of wind that lingered for most of our time, offsetting the warmth that we so enjoyed soaking up in the middle of winter. One morning the temps dropped so dramatically from the wind that local radio warned residents of iguanas raining down, brought to paralysis from the chill…and we were thrilled to be able to meet one of these affected reptiles. While we didn’t connect with the rowdy party-tourism-for-middle-aged-couples vibe, we found plenty of delights throughout. A fantastic dinner at The Café, expertly crafted donuts, a sand mandala being made by visiting Buddhist monks, true key lime pie while watching the sunset on the beach. This will also be the place where we finally watched The Irishman, and where we listened to the first days of the impeachment trial.
And while all of the above was unfolding, in the background of H’s mind was this sweet lovely beach tune on loop:
Hi H & G, your blog is just so darn enjoyable! Thanks for all the exciting and beautiful new photos. Love it all. Beautiful scenery, isn’t it? Didya happen to see Stephen King? (You were visiting his new stomping grounds.) How was the key lime pie? It looks sooooo delish. I know zero about this treat but, interestingly, only just recently saw a show where they said the genuine article isn’t food-dyed a faux ‘lime green colour’ (yes… am sporting the Canadian spelling of colour! 🙂 so I was drooling to see that you got the real thing! Also, love the iguana (and ALL lizards and reptiles – so awesome, and so misunderstood and under-appreciated). Well, looking forward to your next entry. Take good care! xoxo