The Florida Keys

WRITTEN BY PETE AND SUE!

Florida Keys.

The journey began on 5th June 2008, Our R.V was ready to go, we had 30 days warranty on her, and needed to 'stretch her legs' a little so we decided to head down to Key West and the Florida Keys, for some sun and sand,with a view to fully test the RV and return to Lazydays in around a months time to get any 'teething problems' ironed out before we headed North. This was also the first time i had towed our Jeep Liberty behind us on the Towbar, so this would be a good opportunity to get familiar with hitching up and ensuring we had disconnected the 4WD/Auto drivetrain correctly.

I estimated the drive to Key West would take around 8 hours so we were up bright and early (5am) and were parked at the exit of The Rally Park (where we were staying) ready to hitch the car up. This is where the first problem arose, we managed to get the car into position,disconnect the auto box and the 4wd according to the instructions, get it all locked into position with hooks, pins, cables,split pins and all the other bits and bobs that came with the towing equipment. However, when we attempted to plug in the electric cable so that the rear lights of the car worked in conjunction with the RV, we found we had the wrong connection to plug into the RV'S electrical socket!
"Not a problem" says I to Sue (these words would return to haunt me!) "lets just nip back round to Lazydays and see if one of our mechanics who had prepped the RV will change the end of the electrical cable" It was, by now, around 90 degrees and very humid and at 07.30 was very sticky and uncomfortable. The guys in the service/repair bays started their shift at around 8am, so we gingerly pulled out of Rally Park, i watched the car behind us in the reversing camera monitor on the dashboard, and i'll tell you, its the strangest thing to watch!!!! You can actually see the cars wheels turning and following the path of the RV, very strange to see when there's no-one actually in the car!!
Fortunately, the service bays are only about 600 yards from the Rally Park, so we pulled outside 'our' teams sevice bays and i wandered off in search of one of the guys who had prepped our RV and whom we had got to know very well during our 6 week stay at Lazydays. It didnt take long for me to locate Dale, next to the coffee machine "what the hell are you doing back?" he asked. I explained our problem and gave him the electrical cable and he soon swapped it for another cable with the correct configuration. I gave the thumbs up to Sue who was waiting in the RV, and gave her the 'high five' sign, signalling to her that we would be on our way in 5 minutes.

RV & car outside the sevice bays, awaiting electrical repairs.

This is where problem 2 arose! We plugged in the cable, connecting the RV to the car, but no side-lights on the rear of the car and no nearside turn signal, "you have a serious electrical problem somewhere" Dale pointed out, and at that, i kissed good-bye to a nice early start.
Within 20 minutes or so, we had Dale and John, another member of 'our' team, looking at all the electrical sockets and connections on both the RV and the car, and at one point both rear lenses were off the Jeep and laying on the floor with electrical testers hanging out of the bulb holders on both sides! It didnt look good.

However, by 09.45, the problem was narrowed down to 'dodgy' wiring on the RV and promptly fixed. We were finally on our way and headed out of Lazydays onto Interstate 4 West, and then onto Interstate 75 South.

I was just getting comfortable with the car being towed so closely behind us on, what is similar to an 'A' frame in the UK, when Sue just happened to say " did you see that terrible crash in the newspaper yesterday? a petrol tanker swerved to miss a car in the rain and smashed through the guard rail on a bridge and crashed onto the road below the interstate and exploded" I mentioned that i had briefly seen the photo of the crash on the front page of the Tampa Tribune, but had failed to read the story (my mistake!) I dont know why i asked because, deep down, i already knew the answer "where was the crash and do you know what interstate it was on?" Sue retrieved the newspaper and scanned the story for any details of the location. "I75 South at Bradenton, where-ever that is" she said. It was at that point that the next exit sign said 'Bradenton, next exit 5 miles' This is where problem three arose!

Just imagine it, 40ft of RV plus a good 18ft of car behind it, a driver who has only been driving the outfit for around 20 minutes and still isnt familiar with all the buttons and switches, a co pilot who cannot map read and a diversion straight through the city centre of Bradenton!! I think Panic was probably the wrong word to describe the pandamonium inside the RV as we scrambled to get all the Florida maps we had accumalated over the past 6 weeks and trying to explain to Sue where we were, where we were heading for, and where NOT to head for!! Then i stared at the dashboard and spotted the handset to the RV's pre-installed CB radio!! I switched it on and as i adjusted the volume, all you could hear was the good 'ol trusty truckers telling each other all about the diversion, which way to go, which signs to look out for and of course the location of each car containing a scantilly clad female. Of course i wasn't interested in the latter Ahem.... Anyway, needless to say the diversion proved to be an 'eye opener' in more ways than one and also got me used to driving the RV in very heavy traffic and down narrow streets, and over 2 hours later we left the city limits of Bradenton and rejoined the I75 and continued Southbound heading for The Florida Everglades, Alligator Alley and then on down to the Florida Keys!

Bluewater Key.

It was a good trip down and seeing the 7 mile bridge was fantastic, I hope the photo's do it justice, this bridge runs parallel to the old one which was built from 1909 to 1912 but was badly damaged by a hurricane in 1935. Then hurricane Donna in 1960 caused more damage so the new one was built from 1979-1982 the length is 35,862ft. Just a bit of information for you folks!

Seven Mile Bridge

Seven Mile Bridge

Short video of the Seven Mile Bridge.

After nearly 10 hrs on the road we arrived at the Bluewater Key RV Resort but the office was closed, however they had left us instuctions on how to use the key coded gate and where our pitch was and what a beautiful place this was , please click on the link: http://www.bluewaterkey.com/ and see for yourself. Each pitch is privatley owned and all are of a very high standard but they come at a price, which at $120 a night,will probably be one of the most expensive sites we will stay on. We have enclosed some photos of our immaculate pitch!. We had a tiki hut over-looking sea with big comfy seating, very big palm trees for shade and a floating dock on each site so you can swim. Did i mention that the sea is 75deg? how warm is that? it was like getting in bathwater, Amber (our choc lab) thought it was great, her own heated swimming pool.

View from our windscreen, on site at Bluewater Key.

Rear view, on site, Bluewater Key.

Amber, with her ring, Bluewater Key.

Amber and me swimming. Bluewater Key

Amber, with her beloved ring. Bluewater Key.

Key West.

On the morning of Fri-6th June we were up and ready to drive into Key West which was about 5 mile's away and what a place! ladies, you can shop till you drop!!! It is very laid back in the Key's, and it would be a great place to live, as many of the house's are Colonial. Victorian or Carribean styles are very typical and great colours too! Most of the properties in 'Old Key West' are so full of character but the prices are so expensive so for us,that's just a dream.

Old Town Trolley & sun hats made from palms.

Old Colonial House's. Key West.

Big Conch shell, Key West.

You could spend 3 month's in KW and not see all that there is to see, any water sports you can think of is available here, along with Aquarium's, Gator pk, Ghost tours and Museum's every where. One museum, which is called Pirate Soul, has the story that in the 1600's & 1700's ship's with silver, gold and emerald's from Mexico, destined for Spain, were attacked by the captain's of ships authorised by the goverment of England,France,Holland and Portugal they were called privateer's when England and Spain made peace in 1713, the privateer's were out of work but decided to continue attacking the ship's! Although now not authorised hence they became pirate's , good history story eh! There has been a lot of treasure found around the Key's and many Museum's display the emerald's, gold chain's, treasure chests... etc.

Church at Key West.



Cemetery with dramatic angry sky. Key West.

Parking is a big problem in K W so we booked to go on the original trolley bus that take's you to the place's of interest it is, by far, the best way to see as much as possible without the hassle and expense of parking the car. You can hire an electric scooter or an electric car! They look a bit like a smart car with 4 seat's but no door's. They can be a bit pricey, but a fun way to discover and explore Old Key West, Downside is that you have to find the places of interest, which if you know where they are, no problem! We also wanted to learn of the history of Key West AND see the tourist sights, so it was the Trolley for us. The tour guide was very informative telling us how Key West was called 'Cayo Hueso'( Island of Bone's) because 16th century explorer's found remain's of indian's there. Florida belonged to the Spainish right up until the late 18oo's and then sold Florida to the Americans this is why 'Espanol' is predominantly spoken in many parts of Florida.

Oldest House in Key West & an electric 'Smart Car'

Southernmost point, Key West.

Sloppy Joe's Bar. Duvall St, Key West.

Hard Rock Cafe, Duvall St. Key West.

'Harley' shop, Duvall St, Key West.


As we had only booked a week on Bluewater Key, we wanted to see as much as possible of Key West and we did try, and on the last Friday evening we decided to go to the Historic Seaport, which is located in Old Key West, for a meal.

The Western Union, Key West's Flagship, Old Historic Seaport, Key West.

Sue, before the meal, but after a large Malibu & coke.

There is so much choice of resturant's and food we found it hard to choose, then we saw a place on the sea front called the Conch (pronounced conk) Republic Seafood Co, We proceeded to have a couple of drinks and then asked if there were any tables available, 5 minutes later we were seated at the outer edge of the restaurant, over-looking the Marina and we sat watching the boats come in and staring at the famous 'Kew West Sunset'. After reading, what was, a vast menu, we decided to have conch fritter's and Mushrooms stuffed with crab, followed by lobster, and a fish called Dolphin (no,not the flipper kind)and of course, for dessert, Key Lime Pie! I was already hooked on this sweet but sharp, creamy meringue style pie, and now Pete is too! We have some in our fridge of the RV, as we speak, hence I have a weight problem.

The Key West Shell Warehouse, Mallory Square.

Mallory Square, Key West. (Note the figure heads)

'Wreckers Memorial' Mallory Square, Key West.

Rear View of Wreckers Memorial.(note the small child on the mans back!)

The Wreckers Sloop 'Mary'

History plate on 'Mary'

Pigeon Key and Knights Key RV Park.

After spending what was a very pleasurable, if not expensive, week at Blue Water Key, exploring Key West, we moved up to a new site called Knight's Key Park, ( www.keysdirectory.com/knightskeycampground ) its location is further up the Keys, at Pigeon Key, which is just over the 7 Mile Bridge and is on the 'Ocean-side' . This site is said to help you relax after the hustle and bustle of Key West, It's not so hectic here but there is still lot's of thing's to do and see if you choose to. The weather here can be very humid which sometime's make's thing's you want to do a real effort,even the little rain we do have will not cool it down but the storm's are amazing to watch with lot's of lightning .We started to look at other campgrounds around this area for our next move ,we have to be back at Lazy Day's by the end of June for any warranty work that may need doing, so to stay at sites on the way up the Key's breaks up the journey instead of just driving 8 hours, plus we get to see more of these fantastic 'Islands'.

Our site at Knights Key.

Tent site's at Knights Key. What a spot!!

One of the Residents, Knights Key.

Bar, restaurant and patio area, Knights Key.

Sue and Amber. Knights Key.

We decided on a visit to the Turtle Hospital and we were shocked as to the condition that some of these turtles are found in. Fishermans line and hooks causes severe external injuries while rubber balloons, plastic bags etc etc.. damages the internal areas of the turtle, some of the photo's were quite disturbing! There was a huge hurricane in the 90's that all but destroyed the Turtle Hospital, but it was soon rebuilt and , you'll be pleased to know, all the turtles survived. As the hurricane approached they all swam down to the bottom of their sea enclosures and weathered the storm. Clever eh? They do 3 'programmes' a day, which is like a guided tour, however they were fully booked for the next 2 weeks, so we had to settle for a look around the research room. We left a donation for the turtles and made our way back into the 100 degree heat and 87% humidity... nice!

Marathon Key.

23rd June (Monday) saw us at Marathon Key, our final stop in the Florida Keys leg of our 'rv tour of America'. Our campground for the week would be the Curry Hammock State Park. The campground itself is only 2 years old and all the facilities and pitches were still in a 'as new' condition. We were fortunate to be able to experience this state park as it was their first year that they were open all season, and would normally be closed during this time of year due to the extreme temperatures. The Park itself is State owned and managed, and provided us with reasonably priced camping,($25 per night!) excellent security, controlled by a keycoded barrier and overall, a lovely, modern campground, right on the beach. We really couldn't fault it.

On site, Curry Hammock.

Big sites with picnic tables and charcoal bbq's. we're in the background! Curry Hammock.

View from the sea towards the RV park. Curry Hammock.

Nice white sandy beach, Curry Hammock.

Evening sunset. Curry Hammock.

On the Wednesday, we took a trip to Islamorada and the 'History of Diving Museum' which was only around 40 miles away and proved good value for money at around $11 each admission. We started with a 10 minute video all about the early divers and their diving equipment and how diving has evolved into what it is today. Then it was through the large double doors and into the museum itself. Exhibits included early diving bells, helmets, hand operated air-pumps from the 1800's, recovered sunken treasure chests complete with treasure and more! On show also was an original 'Halley's diving bell' (yes, the same guy who's name is associated with the comet!!) and which all early diving bells were based on. Also on display was Captain Nemo's submarine and helmet, from Jules Vernes 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

History of Diving Museum, Islamorada.

Homemade diving helmets! not sure about that! might send Sue in first!!!

See! told you she'd be ok!!!..............Phew!

I think i've seen this in a James Bond film.

Watch those hands Sue! He'll be feeling your sunglasses!

It really is a huge collection of just about every piece of diving equipment used, some dateing back over 200 years. As we were walking through one of the exhibition areas, Sue happened to say to me, jokingly, " I think some of my diving stuff should be on display here" As we rounded one of the display cases, low-and-behold, just like magic, there it was!!!....... "Thats my bloody life jacket there" said Sue! Well, i tried not to laugh (hysterically, i might add!) but it was too much and i reckon half the people in the museum must have heard me laughing!

Here it is.... Sues famous orange lifejacket.

The treasure and treasure chests were very interesting and on display were real gold bars and coins, pieces of eight, swords and much more! Alot of the treasure was recovered from sunken Spanish ships, wrecked off the Florida Keys and Key West. Men, women and children would risk their lives to rush to a wrecked vessel to see what they could rescue, it was a dangerous and perilous voyage.

All in all an excellent and very interesting diving museum and a great few hours spent! We also got chance to feed some Tarpon fish on our way back with a Pelican keeping a good eye on us! We then returned back to our RV, took Amber for a walk and a swim, and settled down with some cold beers, ready to light the BBQ! A good day out!

Tarpon fish, near Curry Hammock.

These Tarpon would actually take food out of your hand! Near Curry Hammock.

You can just see them, grouped together. Near Curry Hammock.

Sue taking a minute from feeding the Tarpon. Near Curry Hammock.

This Pelican watched our every move!

The last few days.

All that was left was for us to do was to take in some restaurants and bars, catch a bit of sun and just chill out for the remaining days left on Marathon Key which saw us swimming, little bit of shopping and lounging around our RV on the beach.

We finally left Curry Hammock State Park on the 29th June (Sunday) and headed North, out of the Keys, towards Miami, Back through Alligator Alley, and finally arriving at Lazydays Rally Park early evening.

We were booked in at the service bays at Lazydays, for about 10am to have some warranty 'niggles' that had developed over the past month that we had owned our Monaco Dynasty, and to be honest, she behaved exceptionally well with only a few minor faults that were soon rectified the next day (Monday) and by 17.00 that evening we were back on Rally Park planning our next move, which was onwards and Northwards to Georgia and South Carolina!!!

Goodbye, for now........ but not farewell!

Just before we bring this Florida Keys leg to a close, we just want to mention, and thank, a few friends that we have made at Lazydays and to mention the fact that without all their help, co-operation, patience and understanding, we probably would still be months behind schedule.

'Our' team that looked after our RV whilst we were at Lazydays were absolutely faultless and they are a credit to Lazydays, nothing was ever too much trouble for them and they treated us, almost, as one of their own. Well done Guys!

Top left to right: Me, Dale, Harold.

Bottom left to right: Andre', John.

Also a big thankyou to Raquel, who works on the Concierge desk at lazydays and also to her husband, Mark, with whom we have become great friends and attended 2 fantastic dinner invitations. May i just point out that Raquel is originally from the Bahamas and is an excellent cook, while Mark will make any American proud with his laid back 'bbq-ing' skills. Thanks for everything you guys have done for us, we really do appreciate it!

Mark and Raquel at one of their fab BBQ's

And if it wasn't for you Mark, I would not have discovered Morgans Spiced! (Please note the rather large blue rum 'container'!) Cheers Buddy!

THE END....'till we move again!