Travelogue

Lolo of the RVWe often like leaving late afternoon or early evening of the day prior to our planned departure. It always gives us the impression of getting a jump on things. That way the first “real” day of vacation is not just driving, but can contain some actual fun.

So we headed out of the driveway around 8:00 pm – we didn’t want to get to our less than exciting destination too early, as there is not too much to entertain yourself with at a Rest Area or a Walmart parking lot. You want to be nice and sleepy by the time you arrive, so that you can just pull down the shades and pretend you are somewhere else.

I had thoroughly researched our possibilities of a free overnight camping spot along the Northway. Although several travel blogs indicated that it was fine to spend the night in a Rest Area, just to be safe I wrote an email to the Adirondack Northway authorities to ask—probably not the best idea, as I think the policy is an unstated and unofficial one. I was told that the state frowns on camping in rest areas, but that a few hours would be okay, as long as we didn’t idle the motor. However, he did give me two other good ideas: a truckstop at Exit 36 and a Walmart at Plattsburgh Exit 37.

Despite the official advice, we did spend the night at the Schroon Lake Rest Area. It was just so much more convenient to stay on the highway than trying to find the Walmart. We figured we couldn’t get in too much trouble, as, after all, we were officially told we could sleep a few hours. How were they to know that we weren’t just there for just a few hours, and few is a rather subjective term. I even brought along the email, just in case.

We slept fine and rose early to head towards the border. The boys always look forward to a good border search. For some reason, me acting all nervous like I am trying to hide something seems to entertain them. We actually experienced a quite thorough one when we went to Campobello Island in 2004. I told them that it was not our goal to repeat this experience.

Description

Interstate I87 runs 334 miles along the eastern edge of New York State from the Bronx all the way to the Canadian border, where it continues towards Montreal as Autoroute 15. The portion of I87 south of Albany is called the New York State Thruway, and it has several full-service rest areas. Once you get north of Albany, the name of I87 changes to the Adirondack Northway. While there are still several rest stops on the Adirondack Northway, they do not have restaurants or gas stations. However, they do have picnic areas, vending machines, and restrooms.

There are nine rest stops along the Adirondack Northway between Albany and the Canadian border. The following is a link describing their locations and facilities: http://www.adirondacknorthway.net/exits/nbreststops.php

Although the state does not sanction camping overnight in these rest stops, you are officially allowed to spend a few hours resting there, as long as you are not idling your motor.

Travelogue

Drying Clothes Woke up at 6:00 feeling very well-rested. I stepped out onto our porch into bright sunlight, which had nicely dried our socks, which had been carefully draped over the wooden railing. This would be our last day on the trail - a mere 3.8 miles on the Nineteen Mile Brook Trail, leading to Route 16 where we could conveniently catch a shuttle bus that would bring us back to the Liberty Springs Trailhead at Franconia State Park - our starting destination from a week earlier. I had mixed feelings about our trip coming to an end. While my body was incredibly fatigued and I craved a shower to cleanse the 7 days of sweat and dirt from by body, I wasn't sure that I was ready to remove myself from the extremely simple and enjoyable lifestyle that I had now grown so accustomed to. We had covered a huge variety of beautiful landscape over the past week, but in essence every day was essentially the same - wake-up, eat, walk, eat, walk, eat, sleep. I had gotten pretty used to this lifestyle and I wasn't sure that I was ready to give it up for the more civilized existence I would be forced to adapt to when I arrived home.

Nineteen Mile Brook TrailAnyway, we said farewell to our new friends at Carter Notch Hut and hit the trail. The hike back was a relatively easy trail - wide and well-maintained - that ran along a nice little brook. We were pretty much all business on the way back - no snack or photo breaks as we wanted to ensure that we wouldn't miss the shuttle bus picking us up at the parking lot at Route 16. It turned out that this wouldn't be an issue, as the guy driving the AMC Shuttle was a good 25 minutes late, which gave us plenty of time to goof around in the parking lot taking pictures at the trailhead, eating nutella, doing abs, and even eating nutella while doing abs.

Sit-ups while eating NutellaThe shuttle finally showed up and we each gave the nice old man $19 for a ride back. We were the only two on the bus and the driver was very keen on talking to us. Unfortunately we couldn't really understand what this guy was saying, so the conversation involved a lot of "Oh, yeah's" and "uhhum's" on our end. This shuttle ride also involved a layover at the Highland Visitors Center in Crawford Notch, where our driver informed us that he would be taking an hour lunch break. Fortunately it was a beautiful day, so Nik and I didn't mind the opportunity to lounge around and check things out. I couldn't help but buy myself an overpriced turkey sub at the food place in the Visitors Center. Nik, however, had more will-power than I and refrained from paying for a sandwich, opting for leftover peanut butter, powerbars, and cheese instead.

The Hike's EndpointEventually our driver was done with his lunch and was ready to bring Nik and I back to Liberty Springs. As we pulled into the parking lot, I was very pleased to see that the ol' Civic was still there in one piece. Rather than depart right away on the 6-hour trek back to New Jersey, we killed a good hour in the parking lot goofing around more - listening to music, taking pictures, etc. Morale was through the roof.

The drive back went smoothly. I drove the first half while Nik chilled, and then Nik drove the second half. The parents were certainly pleased to see us back home in one piece, but were less than thrilled with our grimy and greasy appearance that we had developed over the past 8 days. I took a shower almost immediately, while Nik may have waited another week or so to do so.

The CivicAnd so our trip came to close. While there were certainly times on our 65 mile trek where we were both miserable, the hike was an overwhelming success. We had created enough memories that we could talk for hours hysterically recounting various anecdotes and encounters from our trip. While the contrast of our week of hiking and living in the wilderness with our normal everyday life was huge - each of them really makes you appreciate the other more. I could only wish there was more time spent hiking and less time spent in the "real-world", but I suppose there is always next summer. I can only wait and hope that my hiking partner feels the same.

Travelogue

Well, I have to admit it, that despite all my pre-trip concerns about the Southeast in August, this trip had actually been a lot of fun. It was much different from our other summer adventures – a little less adventure but a bit more play and relaxation -- but still very much worthwhile.

Also, we all had some pretty good tans to show off.

Description

Our home in Upper Saddle River, a suburb of New York City.

Travelogue

Dona & Scott with their Beach BuggyFortunately Donna and Scott are the type of friends upon whose doorstep you can arrive at dinner time, because that's exactly what we did.

Our friendship went way back to a time before either of us had children. Then we both got pregnant—Donna and I that is, not Herb and Scott—at the same time (both times) and each of us produced two wonderful sons who got along as well as their parents did. It was perfect. There was someone for everyone. Now the boys were all fully grown and going off to college. Our lives always seemed to parallel each other. Their boys were even going to the same college together (William & Mary) as ours had chosen to do as well (Williams College). Our visit felt like we had never been apart.

We had been to Virginia Beach several times in the past, even before the Bleakleys moved here. There is a truly wonderful state park located right on the Chesapeake Bay near the bridge called First Landing State Park that we have stayed at several times in the past. Besides a lovely beach on the Bay it has miles of hiking and biking trails along lagoons, forested dunes, and bald cypress swamps. It’s one of the few places north of the Carolinas where the trees are draped with Spanish moss. This time, however, we were camping in the Bleakley’s driveway, a full-service campground with home-cooked meals and an open bar. They had a wonderful setup—a beautiful piece of property right on an inlet leading out to Chesapeake Bay, with their own dock to keep their boat at. And, it was also in easy biking distance to both First Landing State Park as well as the Atlantic Ocean beaches of Virginia Beach.

The "Scott Land"We certainly made the most of our one full-day together. In the morning, the adults bike rode along the Cape Henry Trail in First Landing State Park while the boys ran it. This really is one of my favorite trails. The soft surface is perfect for running and the scenery as it meanders alongside a cypress swamp through a Spanish moss draped forest makes you forget that you are actually exercising.

We decided to spend the afternoon at the beach, which was just a short bike ride away. Donna and Scott, however, were going to ride their new toy to the beach: a golf cart. We loaded it up with beach chairs, towels, and a giant cooler and set off. I couldn’t stop laughing the entire ride. Every time I looked at them, all I could think of was Fred and Wilma Flintstone. The beach was great fun, and had a perfect surf to play in.

Andrew and Lolo on Jet SkiThe day wasn’t over yet. Scott still had some more fun toys to play with. He showed Andrew and Tommy how to drive his pair of jet skis and set them loose. They had a great time whizzing around the bay. We skipped the kayaks and went directly to Scott’s newest and largest toy, the Scottland, his 45 foot Carver. We grabbed some wine and hors d’oeuvres and headed out to sea – or at least to the bay. The boys met us on the jet skis and Andrew took me on a wild ride, which was very invigorating.

After dinner that night, we played another rowdy game of Catch Phrase, an old Bleakley/Gaidus classic. The previous night had resulted in a squeaker of a victory for the Gaiduses, or at least that’s the way I remember it. For this evening’s play, we broke up families and played the kids against the parents. Quicker reflexes and less wine consumption won the day, and the adults suffered a humiliating defeat.

The next morning we said goodbye to the Bleakleys and headed on home. Visiting with them had been a perfect way to wind down our trip.

Description

Camping in the DrivewayFriend's house along a lagoon in Virginia Beach

Travelogue

Family as 4 MusesHuntington Beach and Brookgreen Gardens was an old favorite of ours—an extremely unique combination of nature and art. Huntington Beach State Park alone would have been worth the stop, with its beautiful beaches and old Moorish castle, but the proximity of a world-class sculpture garden just across the road made it one of our favorites.

The drive from Anastasia State Park near St. Augustine to Huntington was a pretty long one, close to 7 hours. Since we only had one night to spend at Huntington, and there were so many things we wanted to do, I kept anxiously looking at my watch along the drive, hoping that we would arrive early enough to spend some time that afternoon at Brookgreen Gardens before they closed at 5:00. There are a lot of really beautiful state parks along the beaches of South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, but only Huntington has Brookgreen.

Lolo & Boys photographing Brookgreen GardensHuntington Beach State Park and Brookgreen Gardens have a common history. Back in the 1930s, the sculptress Anna Hyatt Huntington and her husband purchased the land that both the State Park and the gardens are on today. They built an intriguing Moorish-style castle, which they named Atalaya, on the grounds of what is today the State Park and used it as a winter retreat. They used the land across the road, which is today Brookgreen Gardens, to display their extensive sculpture collection. Today the gardens cover 50 acres and contain more than 900 sculptures, spanning the entire history of American sculpture. Now you know why we were in such a rush to get there.

We pulled through the gates of the gardens around 3:45 and purchased our tickets, which are valid for 7 days, allowing us the option of coming back in the morning for free. Fortunately, we were quite familiar with the layout of the park, so we didn’t have to waste any time figuring out the lay of the land. Brookgreen Gardens actually has a whole lot more than just the sculpture gardens to explore on its 9,000 acres, but we were going to focus this time on just the gardens.

Tommy sharing bench with art - AJGThe walkways through the main garden are designed in the shape of a butterfly with outspread wings, all leading back to a central garden area. In addition to the butterfly garden, there are several other rectangular gardens off of it, each with a large prominent sculpture and many other smaller ones. It’s kind of like wandering through a maze with sculptures to guide you along the way. The placement of the sculptures within this beautifully landscaped setting creates an extraordinary blend of nature and art. We took many, many pictures that afternoon.

My favorite is still the Fountain of the Muses, a series of four whimsical figures in a pool, representing the four muses of the fine arts: poetry, architecture, music, and painting. Every time we visit, we can’t resist mimicking their poses for a family photograph. Well, actually Herb and I can’t resist—the boys hate it. They reluctantly agreed once more, but only after we promised that we wouldn’t use it as our 2009 Christmas card shot.

Atalaya Castle interior viewIt was closing time, so we drove across the highway to the State Park where we had a camping reservation for the night. We were surprised to find that the campground along the beach that we had stayed in back in 2001 had been closed for ecological reasons, and the only camping area remaining was the one that was set back a little more from the ocean. It was still very nice and just a short walk over a boardwalk to the beach.

Our time here was too short to let a little inconvenience like dinner get in our way, so we went straight to the beach. It was still very warm out and the surf was just the way I like it. Even after seeing many of the beautiful beaches of Florida, this one is still near the top of our list.

The boys went off for a run while Herb and I went for a walk over to Atalaya, the old gray Moorish castle which was once the Huntington’s winter home. This place must have been something in its day, but sadly it is now in much need of repair. On our past trip here in 2001, the door wasn’t locked and we were allowed to just wander through the gray-stone passageways on our own, but now it is restricted to certain hours and there is an admission fee.

Andrew & Lolo enjoying sunsetAfter Atalaya, we decided to walk back to the campground along the beach. I can’t even begin to give justice in words to the incredible sky that preceded sunset that night. It started out as a typical mackerel sky, but then we watched as its color transformed from white to pink to a vibrant red. Andrew came back from his run and met us on the beach just in time to see it. Tommy, unfortunately, had gone directly to the shower. Andrew took off his sneakers, swam out past where the waves were breaking, and just floated on his back gazing up at the sky. Every trip usually has its peak moment, and for Andrew this was his. I was so jealous that I didn’t have my bathing suit on.

The next morning, we paid the small admission fee and walked through the stone passageways of Atalaya before heading over once more for a final visit to Brookgreen Gardens. Then it was on to the final stop of our trip: our very good friends’ home in Virginia Beach.

Description

Sumo Frogs SculptureHuntington Beach State Park and Brookgreen Gardens lie on either side of U.S. 17 about 20 miles south of Myrtle Beach.

This 25,000-acre coastal wilderness was once owned by the sculptress Anna Hyatt Huntington and her railroad-magnate husband Archer Huntington. In 1931, they purchased this property, which was once a rice plantation, in order to preserve the local flora and fauna as well as to build a winter home and studio on the beach. They wintered in their Moorish-style castle, called Atalaya until Archer Huntington died in 1955. After that, Anna Huntington moved her studio across the highway to Brookgreen Gardens, where she died in 1973. The Trustees of Brookgreen leased the 2,500 acres along the coast to the state of South Carolina and it became a state park.

Huntington Beach State Park

Lolo on Huntington Beach with 2 drinksWhen you enter the park, the road winds through a dense forest and then emerges onto a causeway with a freshwater lagoon on your right and a saltwater marsh on your left. Alligators are often spotted on the freshwater side of the causeway.

Left of the causeway is a parking area for a boardwalk that extends 500 feet out onto the salt marsh to a covered viewing deck. This is a popular area for crabbing. From this same parking area, the 1.5-mile Sandpiper Trail leads the opposite direction into a forest of live oaks and loblolly pines. The trail eventually crosses the dunes and heads north along the beach. At the very northern end of the beach is a jetty, which is a good place to fish for flounder and spottail bass.

Right of the causeway is the 2-story beach pavilion and popular day use beach area. Next to the beach are the remains of a Atalaya, a Moorish-style castle which was once the Huntington’s winter home. It is open daily for tours. The state park also has a 107-site campground, a short walk to the beach.

Huntington Beach State Park contains 3 miles of some of the nicest and best preserved beaches along South Carolina’s Grand Strand. In addition to the excellent swimming on this beach, there is biking along its hard sand.

Brookgreen Gardens

Lolo photographing statueRight across the highway from the state park are the sculpture gardens and wildlife preserve of Brookgreen Gardens, founded in 1931 by Archer and Anna Hyatt Huntington.

Today Brookgreen Gardens is a National Historic Landmark with one of the most significant collections of figurative sculpture by American artists in an outdoor setting. The collection currently contains over 900 works, spanning the entire period of American sculpture, from the early 1800s to the present.

The Huntingtons planned the garden walks in the shape of a butterfly with outspread wings, all leading back to the central space, which was the site of the original plantation house. The placement of sculptures within these beautifully landscaped settings creates an extraordinary blend of nature and art. In addition to the sculpture collection in the gardens, there are also two indoor sculpture galleries.

Family enjoying sculpture competitionAlthough the sculpture gardens are the focal point of the park, there are thousands of acres of forested swamps, salt marshes, and fresh tidal swamps to explore in Brookgreen’s Lowcountry History and Wildlife Preserve. The natural habitats in the preserve include a waterfowl aviary built over a cypress swamp, a bird of prey aviary, a river otter pond, an alligator swamp, a fox glade, a wild turkey exhibit, and a white-tailed deer savannah. In addition to exhibits of the native animals that populated this region, there is a domestic animals exhibit with examples of historic rare breed animals that were commonly seen on plantations in the 18th and 19th century, such as Red Devon milking cows, Tunis sheep, Dominique chickens, and Guinea fowl.

One can either explore the grounds and gardens of Brookgreen on their own, or join one of the many tours or programs that are part of the admission price. For an additional fee, Brookgreen also offers daily excursions along the rice fields on the Springfield, a 48-foot pontoon boat, and overland through old plantation sites on an all terrain vehicle called the Trekker.

Travelogue

Mom and Dad on Anastasia Beach - TJG7 hours of driving was just about enough. That would give us some time to have fun today, and only leave us with another 6 hours to get to Huntington Beach tomorrow, enough time to have some fun there as well. The flat tire we had along the way didn’t exactly improve our timing.

Since it was already close to 4:00 when we arrived at the park, we headed directly to the beach rather than stop at the campground. That’s the nice part about RV camping—there is no need to check-in and unpack. You’re always checked in.

As we walked towards the beach, we noticed the two pretty flags flapping in the breeze at the end of the walkway, one yellow and one purple. Florida uses a system of warning flags to alert beach-goers to any possible hazards. The yellow flag indicated a moderate hazard due to high surf and strong currents, probably the result of the tropical storm that had chased us from Key West. That one I could deal with. It was the purple one, which meant “Dangerous marine life” that I didn’t like. Marine life is a pretty broad term; I wanted specifics.

Not sharing my sense of urgency in the matter, the Gaidus men settled into their beach chairs, while I, and my maternal need to protect the family, strutted off down the beach towards the lifeguard stand. “Excuse me, but exactly what kind of marine life are we concerned with here?” I asked the young lifeguard, fully expecting to hear the dreaded word “sharks.” I think it was even Shark Week on the Discovery Channel. “Jellyfish,” he replied. “But don’t worry, they can’t kill you. It’s kind of like just getting a bee sting.” I didn’t want a bee sting.

Herb on Anastasia Beach - LEGI reported back to the men. They told me they weren’t going in anyway. It was late in the afternoon and they were going for a run—two of them anyway. Herb would have a beer and man the beach.

I decided to ride my bike along with the boys to get some exercise while still keeping up with them. Since today was their long run day, I suggested running the 4 miles into the Old Town of St. Augustine.

Just getting from the beach to the park entrance was over a mile and a half. This was a very large park. From the park entrance we made a right onto Anastasia Boulevard and ran, or rode, another mile and a half to the Bridge of Lions into the Old Town. I must say that the section along Anastasia Blvd was a bit dicey. Finally at the Bridge, where you could look across the inlet to the historic buildings of Old Town, things got pretty interesting. It was like entering a totally new—or more appropriately old—world. The first landmark on our right as we came over the bridge was the Castillo de San Marcos, a huge military fortress built by the Spanish in 1672. We continued through a nice park and then along some cobblestone streets past several Spanish Colonial era buildings. A little Fountain of Youth juice would have hit the spot about now, but I knew from a previous trip here that that was well over a mile north of the bridge. Then it was back over the bridge, along the same cheesy Boulevard, and back to the campground. Before actually entering the campground, we made a side trip to see the Lighthouse.

Herb and Boys on relaxing on beach - LEGOnce we entered the State Park, I rode ahead and told the boys that I would meet them at the campsite. We hadn’t been there yet, but we knew the site number. I had to ride over a mile back towards the beach to get to the campground road. From there the campground road doubled back so now I was going the exact opposite direction that I just come from. The campground road seemed to just go on and on and on. It was the kind of campground that had loops off the main road, and our site was on the 6th and final loop. The 6th loop was another mile from the start of the campground road. Ironically, when I looked at a campground map, I saw that we were literally just about 100 yards away from the campground office near the entrance. If only I had known and could have cut through the forest, I could have saved myself 2 ½ miles. This really was going to be a long run for the boys.

The campsite really was quite nice and very private. However, I think the park brochure is exaggerating a bit when they say the campground is a short walk to the beach. That’s certainly not the case if you’re in loop 6.

Description

Mom and Dad enjoying surf - TJGAnastasia State Park is located on Anastasia Island, just south of historic St. Augustine. The park has 4 miles of pristine beaches and a lagoon bordered by rich tidal marshes.

Activities in the park include:

• Ocean swimming at a beautiful white sand beach
• Windsurfing in the lagoon
• Canoeing and kayaking
• Fishing

The park contains a large wooded campground within bicycling distance to the beach.

Travelogue

Lolo and Boys post Curry Hammock runWe never really intended to come back to Curry Hammock this trip, but the torrential rains in Key West made staying there for sunset pretty pointless. Why go back to a campground that costs $100 a night and just huddle there in the rain, when we could get a little driving north under our belts and spend half the price at a state park campground?

This time we got a campsite right on the water with a lovely view of a mangrove tree out our back window, and the rain even stopped. I found myself hoping that the sun wouldn't come out, because I really would regret having missed out on a classic Key West sunset.

Tomorrow was to be a big driving day. We had two days to drive the 780 miles to Huntington Beach State Park in South Carolina, and I wanted to have some fun along the way. Fortunately, I was prepared with my list of about 10 state parks along the Florida and Georgia coast. We would just drive until we got tired of driving and then turn right to the beach.

Description

Currry Hammock beachfront campingCurry Hammock State Park is located on Little Crawl Key at Mile Marker 56.2 on the Florida Keys, two miles northeast of Marathon.

The park’s 1,000 acres were set aside as a state park in 1991 to protect its large areas of mangrove swamp, rockland hammock, and seagrass beds, which are essential for the ecosystem of the Florida Keys. The marine grass beds and tidal swamps serve as a crucial nursery for many important species of fish and crustaceans and provide rich feeding grounds for many wading and diving birds.

Although its shallow, seaweedy waters are not ideal for swimming, there are several activities in the park:

• Kayaking/canoeing along the pristine coastline on both the Florida Bay and Atlantic Ocean sides of the island, as well as along a beautiful mangrove creek
• Windsurfing/kiteboarding on the ocean side
• Birding – the park is an important stop for migrating birds. Every fall HawkWatch International conducts a census of raptors passing through.
• Fishing – on both the bay and ocean sides of the park
• Hiking – 1 ½ mile trail through the hammock

The park contains a 28-site, full-facility campground on the oceanfront.

Travelogue

Lolo and Tommy at Southernmost Point BuoyWe were very excited about going to Key West. Not being able to do a real full cross country trip this summer had been a real disappointment, so we wanted to see someplace exotic or at least very different from what we were used to. Well, Key West certainly fit the bill.

I had spent a bit of time prior to leaving researching Key West campgrounds, and what I had discovered was that they were extremely expensive. These were not just campgrounds, but “resorts”, costing $130 a night for a family of 4—pretty pricey for a place to park. However, a Google search for Key West Campgrounds brought up a name I hadn’t seen in my old copy of Woodalls: El Mar RV Resort. Their off-season rate for a family of 4 was just $100 ($80 for 2 people plus $20 for the kids). Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that $100 was a bargain for a campground. I got on the phone to make a reservation. The gentleman was very nice and told me that I didn’t need a reservation that time of year as it was their off season. Being the paranoid trip planner that I am, and the fact that we would be arriving in Key West on a Friday, I decided to book one night anyway and leave the second night as an option. He put me in for a site that was literally two feet from the water.

In actuality, neither this campground nor Boyd’s was actually on Key West, but rather on Stock Island, just over the bridge to Key West. Herb really hates driving the RV through unknown cities and hassling with parking and such, so we were very glad to learn from the campground owner that Key West was a very bicycle friendly city, and we were just 4 miles away from Duval Street and Mallory Square. It actually turned out to be more like 6, but that was okay. We like the exercise anyway.

Houseboats on bike ride to Key WestI was feeling pretty smug about my campground choice until we actually arrived on Stock Island and couldn’t find it. We had an address: 6700 Maloney Avenue, and we had a GPS, so how hard could this be. Boyd’s address was 6401 Maloney and we had already passed their fancy little entrance with palm trees twice in our search for 6700. I was beginning to think that I had been had and that this campground really didn’t exist. We stopped again at the spot where our GPS’s annoying little voice said, “Arriving at destination.” We sat for a moment outside a white fence which opened onto what looked like a gravel driveway. No welcome sign, no palm trees, and not a tiki bar in sight. We pulled through the gate and realized that this was actually it. There were no other RVs in sight. The only way we could tell that it was actually a campground was by the electric boxes located next to about 15 parking spaces. There was no office, just a small white shed with the door locked. I immediately got on my cell phone and dialed the phone number for El Mar RV, and I use the term loosely, Resort. “We’re here,” I announced to the nice gentleman on the phone. “Oh, just take any site you like and someone will come around later to check you in.” Okay, this was a bit weird, but maybe it was the way they did things in Key West. We drove to the end of the short gravel driveway and took the last site, which was right on an inlet with a 180 degree water view. It was great. Just a little strange.

Rather than try to navigate the RV through the narrow streets of the Old Town, we hopped on our bikes to ride the 5 miles to get there. The first 4 miles or so through New Town were pretty uneventful, like the outskirts of most cities, and it didn’t get very interesting until we reached Whitehead Street, which marks the start of the historic Old Town. It is a very cool place with some very interesting characters on the street. We stopped at Mallory Square, the site of Key West’s famous “Sunset Celebration.” Nothing much was happening there yet, just a few homeless people, getting an early jump on saving a good position for tonight’s show.

Lolo and Andrew at Zachary Taylor State Park beachIt was pretty hot out, so we decided to save Duval Street for later and ride over to Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, which was rumored to have the nicest beach in Key West, and as the ranger told us at the entrance station, a sunset view to rival Mallory Square. The beach was lovely, with plenty of shade trees at its edge to keep cool and a small café to get a treat. The only problem with the beach was that it was very pebbly at the water’s edge making it difficult for tender-foots such as myself to get in and out while maintaining some grace and dignity. A large rock, a short distance offshore, was a good destination to swim to and a great photo opportunity from shore. We spent a few hours swimming, enjoying the shade, and people watching. We met a very nice 75-year “young” woman traveling the country with her 20-something grandson on a journey to discover what they wanted to do when they grew up. She had quite an interesting past, but very much did not believe that all the good stuff in life was behind her. She was quite refreshing.

The beach was so lovely that we decided that we would come back the next day with the RV—there was plenty of room to park it—and use it as a base camp to explore Key West. We could spend some time in Old Town in the morning, swim in the afternoon, and stay to watch the sunset that night.

After leaving the State Park, we biked to Southernmost Point at the end of Whitehead Street to get in line to take our picture next to the big striped buoy marking the southernmost spot in the continental U.S. Andrew declared it a tourist trap and refused to participate, so Tommy and I got in line behind a large troop of girl scouts, whose leader proceeded to take photographs of them in every possible combination. I got mad at Herb when I found him taking pictures of them too. They really were hogging the buoy and starting to get people a little annoyed. Finally, we got our turn at the buoy and Herb took our picture. It just had to be done.

Lonely Laze Daze at El Mar RV Resort - AJGWe started to rethink our plan of staying for sunset at Mallory Square that night and then biking back to the campground. The ride through New Town had not been that great and was not something we were looking forward to doing in the dark. We would just catch the sunset tomorrow instead when we had the RV with us to ride back in safely afterwards. Unfortunately, tropical storm Danny would have other ideas for that plan.

On our ride back, Tommy wanted to stop at a bookstore because he had forgotten to pack any books and was getting a little bored just watching us read. We found a great bookstore on Fleming Street right across from a Peep Show advertising that “couples were welcome.” Key West certainly was diverse. The bookstore had some really interesting used and rare books and we could have spent hours there. Herb was probably thinking the same about the Peep Show. Tommy finally settled on some light reading, Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History of Time. Herb the engineer was so proud.

The rest of the ride back was uneventful and we soon arrived back at our still deserted campground. While the boys were out running, someone finally did come over to collect our money for the night. We decided to not commit yet for another night, but to wait and see what we felt like doing after watching sunset in Key West the following night. After all, this place, although inexpensive by Key West standards, was still $100 a night, a lot of money to just pull into to park after sunset. I don’t think we had to worry about the place filling up.

That night in our lonely little campground was great. We set our beach chairs near the wall at the water’s edge, watched the sky fill with stars, and listened to what seemed like a pretty good party going on across the inlet at the Hogfish Bar and Grill.

Family & Lazy Daze under Key West PalmsThe next day we awoke to some pretty cloudy skies, and the weather radio didn’t make us feel much better about the prospects for our day. Tropical storm Danny was in the neighborhood and we were very likely going to get hit with some rain and big winds. Ironically, after all the days of Florida sunshine, we chose to use as our Christmas card this year, the picture of us taken that morning standing happily in front of the RV framed by palm trees. If you look closely, you can see the ominous clouds approaching us in the background.

We drove into Key West, but by the time we got to the entrance to the State Park it started to rain pretty hard. Rather than pay the admission to sit in the rain all day, we decided to go to the Eco Discovery Center right next door first and hope that the weather improved while we were in there. The Eco Discovery Center was a good way to pass the time on a rainy day, while learning a lot about the Florida Keys’ unique ecosystems. My favorite was the underwater cameras you could peer through to see life on a coral reef.

Andrew approaching Blue Heaven RestaurantThe rain did not look like it was going to let up any time soon. In fact, it was getting much worse. We decided to put on some rain gear and brave the storm in search of a good place to have lunch. I resisted the temptation of doing the touristy thing and going to Sloppy Joe’s, Ernest Hemingway’s old hangout on Duval Street, and instead steered the family to the much quieter Blue Heaven restaurant on Thomas Street. It actually turns out that Hemingway frequented this place as well, and even refereed cockfights here, but it’s still not as crazy and noisy as Sloppy Joe’s. I had done my homework well. Blue Heaven truly was heaven. It would have been nice to eat in the outdoor dining area, which is considered “the quintessential Keys experience,” but the weather still wasn’t cooperating. We waited for our inside table on the porch behind the restaurant, and watched the chickens freely wandering about as if they owned the place. This Key West free-ranging chicken thing was pretty unique. I knew already what I wasn’t going to order. Needless to say, the food and the atmosphere were great, and our moods were much improved.

We wandered out into the rain again and walked the length of Duval Street. The southern part is fairly quiet and classy, but as you go north towards Mallory Square, things get rowdier and tackier and a bit more interesting. There were plenty of t-shirt shops and bars, and I’m sure that those plastic cups that people were carrying on the street didn’t have fruit juice in them--and this was only mid-afternoon. I couldn’t imagine what went on here at night. There were also some very impressive galleries and some very impressive key lime pie to be had on Duval Street. I’m embarrassed to say that I had never tried Key Lime pie before, and being the chocoholic that I am, I had my doubts, but from everything I’ve heard Key West was the place to try it. Not sure that we would like it, we bought just a slice and each took a bite. It was wonderful. On our drive out of town I made Herb stop at a Publix so that I could buy an entire pie to enjoy on the rest of the trip. It didn’t last more than a day.

It was late afternoon and still raining, so rather than go back to our Key West campground for another $100 night, we decided to start driving north and stay at a more reasonably priced state park.

Description

Blue Heaven RestaurantKey West is located 150 miles south of Miami at the very tip of the Florida Keys. It is the southernmost point in the continental U.S.

Many of the residents of Key West call themselves Conchs (pronounced 'conks'). Technically, Conchs are people that were born in Key West. Those that merely moved here after they were born can refer to themselves as "Freshwater Conchs" once they have lived in Key West for 7 years.

Conchs pride themselves on their tolerance of all peoples and hosts a large gay population. Its tolerance also extends to chickens, who roam freely through the dining rooms of many restaurants, despite the efforts of state health officials to end this practice.

The primary tourist destination on the island of Key West is the historic Old Town area on the very western part of the island (which most think of as the southern part). An excellent way to cover the sights of the historic district is to take the Old Town Trolley or the Conch Tour Train. Bicycles are another great way to get around the Old Town. Some of the highlights of the Old Town include:

Duval Street

Duval Street, the main touristy street in Key West, runs north-south from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean. It is the location of many famous restaurants and bars (such as Hemingway's favorite watering hole, Sloppy Joe's), t-shirt shops, and art galleries. It's carnival-like atmosphere lasts until dawn.

Mallory Square

Mallory square is located just west of the northern end of Duval Street, next to the cruise ship port. It is the site of the "Sunset Celebration", a nightly event that attracts hundreds of tourists that gather to watch the sun set over the Gulf of Mexico. The celebration also includes street performers, craft vendors, food carts, and a colorful collection of regular attendees. It begins two hours before sunset, every day of the year.

Eco Discovery Center

This 6,400-square-foot attraction includes replications of a variety of Florida key habitats, touch-screen computer displays, and live underwater cameras showing the coral reefs.

Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum

Ernest Hemingway wrote about 70% of his books while living in this home between 1931 and 1942. 30 minute tours begin every 10 minutes. Admission required.

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

The state park contains a Civil War era fort as well as the best beach in Key West. There is an adjoining picnic area with barbecue grills and shade trees and a snack bar. The state park is also a popular spot to watch sunset.

Southernmost Point

The Southernmost Point, located at the end of Whitehead Street, is perhaps the most photographed site in Key West. It contains a big striped buoy marking the southernmost spot in the continental U.S. 

Travelogue

Andrew catching some raysWe were very much looking forward to our stay on Bahia Honda, as it has the well-deserved reputation of being the best beach on the Keys. Fortunately, I had made reservations well in advance, because it is an extremely popular park and one you can’t just show up at and hope to find a site. Another reason we wanted to stay there was the price. Commercial campgrounds on the Keys are extremely expensive, some of them costing more than $100 a night for a family of 4, but since Bahia Honda is a state park, it was a steal at about $40.

With spirits high, we entered the park and headed to beautiful Sandspur Beach on the northern end of the island. None of us commented on what I’m sure we all were wondering: “What was that horrible smell?” Then we saw the sign: Warning, swimming not recommended due to high bacterial levels. Needless to say, we were not pleased that are best beaching experience in the Keys was being thwarted by some foul-smelling, bacteria-ridden, something or other. Did something very large expire on the shoreline? It certainly smelt like it. It turned out that the culprit was far less dramatic—seaweed. Now what? I started fantasizing once again that I was on Martha’s Vineyard rather than Florida in August. Didn’t help, the smell was still there.

Since the section of the beach we were on didn’t have that much seaweed, we unanimously decided that we would go in anyway, but just make sure we didn’t swallow any. There were plenty of other people already doing the same. We played a vigorous and highly exhausting game of running bases in the water, a Gaidus classic which involves 1 pinky ball, 2 people playing base, and 1 poor schmuck running back and forth between the two. Running in water reminds me a lot of running in a dream—lots of desperate motion and very little progress.

The beach really was quite lovely—lots of soft sand and aquamarine water—and we did actually have a very good time.

Lolo with sunset wine at Buttonwood CampgroundThat evening we stayed at the Buttonwood Camping Area, one of three campgrounds on the island. This one was located on the Gulf of Mexico side of the island, near the bridge towards Key West. The campground was fine as campgrounds go. Our site was no where near the water, but there was a really premium vacant one right on the Gulf. I immediately hopped on my bike and rode back to the ranger’s office to inquire, but was told that all the sites in the campground were reserved; the lucky owner of the site for that night just hadn’t shown up yet. Herb and I decided to squat on their picnic table with a glass of wine and hope that they didn’t show up until the sun set. Meanwhile the boys went for a run.

After awhile we moved our operation to under the bridge to see if the fishermen were catching anything. That was when the strangest thing happened. A couple and their two daughters approached us and asked if we were the Gaiduses. My heart stopped at first, because the only thing I could think of was that one of the boys had gotten hurt running and had asked these people to find us. They must have seen the startled look on our faces, and quickly informed us that they had recognized our RV and us from our website and had come to find us to tell us how much they enjoyed reading about our travels. It was so weird, knowing that these people knew a heck of a lot more about us than we knew about them. Just then the boys showed up and I introduced them, not realizing that I didn’t really have to, because anyone that has looked at our website has seen them grow up over the 10 years of our travels. I struggled not to say something stupid that would ruin the aura of me being a famous world traveler. This family was really nice and quite adventurous. They had taken the snorkel trip to Looe Key and done quite a bit of fishing during their two week stay on the Keys. In fact, they were on their way to go fishing again that night. I felt less than “extreme” in comparison. They invited us to come along, but since we hadn’t even eaten dinner yet, we declined. Too bad. I’m sure it would have been a lot of fun.

The whole encounter really blew our minds—the first face-to-face contact with an actual “fan” of our “Lolo’s Extreme” website. It was so exciting! We had always joked that someday, during one of our less than pretty family moments, we would be discovered by a reader of our site and exposed as the dysfunctional family we can sometimes be. Fortunately, we weren’t doing anything embarrassing when they found us.

Description

Sandspur BeachBahia Honda State Park is located on Bahia Honda Key between Mile Markers 36 and 37 on the Florida Keys.

Bahia Honda is unique among the other islands in the Keys in that it has long sandy beaches and water deep enough to swim in. There are three beaches, two on the ocean side and one on the Gulf. There is also some underwater life a few hundred feet offshore, which makes for some pretty good snorkeling as well. The channel at the island's west end is one of the deepest natural channels in the Florida Keys.

Activities in the park include:

• Ocean swimming at Sandspur Beach
• Bayside swimming at Calusa Beach
• Daily snorkeling trips to Looe Key National Marine Sanctuary
• Two marinas – one for the public and one for campers
• Kayaking – rentals available
• Tarpon fishing

The park contains three campgrounds, with a total of 80 campsites