Long Key

I'm at the Long Key State Park pretty much in the middle of the Keys. Tomorrow I head for Key West. The Keys are definitely meeting my expectations. I must really be an Island Girl at heart. Where I'm at right now reminds me much of the places we used to go in the Gulf Islands of Canada, where it's sunny, breezy, salty, relaxed, and your options to cover the territory are better by boat than by car. Of course in Canada, you catch crabs in traps in the water using bait. Here, the blue sand crabs are big enough you could eat them, and I swear I could catch one walking down the state park roads and trails. Not gonna try it, though. (Charley might - he's fascinated by the crabs running back to their holes in the sand!)

I couldn't be parked closer to the Atlantic and still feel safe. In fact, despite the fact that other campers were parked just as close, I checked tide tables before I went to bed the first night here. The water ranges from browns in the mangroves and at water's edge, to blues, to the most beautiful turquoise colors (I suppose I should use the term "aqua.") Driving across the bridges between keys, I'm really struck by how beautiful the water is.

Today I drove into Marathon, looked (unsuccessfully) for a place to do laundry so I wouldn't waste Key West time on it, went to an off-leash dog beach, and stopped by a tiki bar for happy hour drinks and dinner. It was a good afternoon. I'm constantly feeling muggy, sweaty, salty, sticky with sunscreen, and windblown here, and when I look around at the other people when I go to a resort, they look the same way. So I must fit in just fine.