Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Getting Awfully Laid Back Here

Sunday & Monday November 9 & 10, 2015                                     Most Recent Post:
Curry Hammock State Park                                                            The Hand Off and Tiny Key Deer
Marathon, Florida

 

A Lazy Sunday

 

There is a lovely sunrise.

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There is a delicious breakfast – oatmeal pancakes with chocolate chips and fruit compote.

 

There is a pastel sunset

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There is a big dinner. Dagwood sandwich with garlic hummus, roasted red pepper, cucumber, spinach leaves, sautéed mushrooms, caramelized onions, fresh tomato, and grilled pineapple.

 

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So big you can hardly get your mouth around it.

 

 

Monday

 

I must have had an intuition to bring my chair along for sunrise.  Usually I just walk out to the water at dawn and walk along the shore .  Today the light moves very slowly around the sky before settling in for a really nice sunrise.  So I settle in to watch it.

 

 

 

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With that fabulous show, morning has broken.  The sky is full of color all around.  Winnona has pink puffy clouds above her as we head back to get our bikes.

 

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We are taking the bike path along Highway 1 to investigate one of the two local swimming beaches we’ve been told about.  This one is Coco Plum Beach.

 

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It’s about a 4 mile ride, the last piece of which is down Coco Plum Drive where there is a mix of small business near the intersection and tropic colored houses and condo construction further down.   There is a “bike path” if the cars aren’t parked on it.

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Coco Plum beach has several very nice information signs on the sea turtles who nest on the beaches here.

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Although when we see the beach, we can’t figure out where the would want to nest unless they are willing at medium and high tides to have their eggs under water.

 

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We arrive just in time for the “beach raker” to come in and attempt to pick up the detritus.  I just laugh at him driving through the water.  You’d think he’d know when high tide is.  Not much sense in raking if there is no beach.

 

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Well I guess there is less detritus for all the future beach goers than there was before he came

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We take a stroll on what beach there is and meet up with a couple of local people.  We ask them if this is ever a swimming beach and they tell us it used to be before the city spent millions of dollars planting trees and grasses which took up the high beach which you can see on the right side of this lower picture.  They were pretty irritated that now the sand was actually washing away and filling in beaches further down along the shore.

 

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There may be no beach but there is illegal parking. This boat has a bright orange sign afixed to it dated October 17, 2015 and saying it is illegally parked and must be moved within 5 days. Guess this shows what happens if you don’t comply. Close inspection of the boat shows there is no way it can be moved under its own power with several holes in the hull.

 

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Well scratch that beach.  There is another and larger beach further west so we’ll check that one on another day.

 

Back at the campground our neighbors have gathered in the road around our site and in the foliage on its edge.  The largest of the group will not stay out for pictures or come out if we’re outside.  So these are the other four who reside nearby.

Meet Horace, Gertrude, Alfonse and Myrtle.

 

 

 

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Today is the first day I’ve seen anyone in the water here.  I saw them earlier today and they are still here when I walk down at 5:00 for the sunset.  They all have blow up mats and they float around in the shallow water.  

 

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Another sunset closes another laid back day in the Keys.

 

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As you can see, we aren’t hustling around down here in the Keys.
But then we’ll be down here until the end of December so we have plenty of time.
Kayaking, snorkeling and trips to Key West will all happen.

24 comments:

  1. I forgot how impressive the sunrises and sunsets can be in Florida.
    That sandwich looks really good! I wouldn't have thought to put all those ingredients together.

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  2. it's nice not to hustle around. I've found it quite enjoyable the last couple of weeks. No beaches here, but I'm loving the hot tub. :)

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  3. What an awesome sunrise! What a wonderful way to start the day! I forgot to ask you if you make your own hummus? I sometimes do, but often am lazy and just doctor up a spicy hummus with garlic and basil. Love the sandwich.

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  4. There is one shot of the sunrise that is really spectacular! Glad you took your chair so you could sit and wait for the perfect shot.

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  5. Now that was a spectacular sunrise!! I love those rays! Wow!

    That was a yummy sentence! Not sure I would have liked the pineapple, but everything else...yes!

    Love your four new friends!

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  6. More and more I enjoy being in one place for an extended visit. It just takes the rush out of life!!! Boy will the Keys do that to you. I am constantly asking Bill what day it is and his reply is... Just another day in Paradise:o)))

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    1. That is pretty typical of Keys visitors. A lot of people come down the first time for a week or two and each year they extend their stay until they end up being there all winter. That certainly happened to us. It's truly a magical place, isn't it? Howard Livingston who is a local musician, has a song called "Living on Key West Time" and it is very true. Enjoy it for us! Wish we were there. :(

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  7. That boat must have been out for a 'three hour tour'. :)

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  8. Those sunrise pictures are wonderful.
    Like Nancy said when you're in the Keys you're on Paradise Time.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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  9. That sandwich looks so good. I bet that grilled pineapple is delicious. Did you find the Big Pine flea market open on Sunday? As the snowbirds start to arrive, there will be more and more vendors. They usually have a lot of cheap and fresh produce. There is a health food store on the Atlantic side on Big Pine past the Winn Dixie light. Last year they had organic produce delivered once a week, Thursdays I believe.

    I was under the impression it was illegal to remove the seaweed and sargassum grass because it's a nice habitat for juvenile fish and crabs, so I was surprised to see them cleaning it off the beach.

    We're not big beach people, but if I remember correctly, Sombrero Beach on Marathon has a lot of nice white sand and I seem to remember it had a better swimming area. (We usually take the boat out to a sandbar and that's where we find our beaches. ) Higgs and Smathers beaches in KW also are nice, but I realize you are a tad far from KW right now.

    Love the sunset/sunrise photos. Nothing like a sunrise over the ocean.

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  10. I think you need to patent that sandwich before some big food chain (McDonald's) comes along and makes a fortune selling it.

    Very interesting neighbors you have there. Have you invited them over for happy hour yet? :c)

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  11. Looks like an incredibly relaxing place to hang out for a while. I love it when we stay somewhere long enough to truly relax!

    Those dragons are really neat...can't say we have anything as glamorous/exotic as that out West...!

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  12. One thing most people don't know is that there aren't really many beaches in the keys... that said we liked sombrero beach the best

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  13. Some amazing sunrise pictures. Not sure I want to meet all of our "neighbors" but imagine I will. Love the laid back days.

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  14. A lazy and tasty Sunday! Mondays would have a much better reputation if they all started like that one :-) Do people just not do the research before spending tax dollars to screw something up that they somehow think will make it better? Geeez!! The little boat looks more abandoned, even washed up from elsewhere, than parked - wonder how long before they actually get it out of there. Love your fancy dressed neighbors, they are just faaaabulous :-))))

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  15. Those lizards are surprisingly photogenic!

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  16. Lovely sunrise pictures again. I bet they're spectacular every day. Grilled pineapple is so good!

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  17. Hilarious that you've named the iguanas! Looks like you're definitely settling in to the laid-back Keys vibe -- your sunrises are just fantastic. I think you'll really enjoy Sombrero Beach -- if it's the same as it was two years ago, it's a great swimming beach with white sand and beautiful water.

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  18. I would fly if I could to break the morning with you. Those are amazing, serene sunrises. I guess I am really jealous at this point that you are having a wonderful time just doing nothing at the Keys.
    How did you come up with those names? I met only one of their kin at Long Pine Keys. It did pose for me.

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  19. It's more than OK to be lazy sometimes. That sunrise with the rays is breathtaking. I am confused by the beach raker. Love you "neighbors".

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  20. Beauty is everywhere and you did a great job capturing some of what we have seen here. Paradise is everywhere it seems. That abandoned boat on the shore looks very old based on many repairs & many coats of paint. The locals suggested it was a common sight to have Cuban boats washing up. It it weren't for the holes in the hull, I expect this boat could have been kept afloat. Perhaps our new relationship with Cuba will change all that.

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  21. I love the iguanas and that you named them :) The sunrises really are lovely there. That dinner looks delicious...impressive with the grilled pineapple. Put that on the list for when I come down :)

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