[Rhodes22-list] Keys Trip

[Bill Effros]

Rummy,

I've been thinking about the same trip.  Planning for February.

There is a nice city owned marina in Coconut Grove.  They have both a ramp and a crane; and a lot of transient slips.  The last time I checked you could rent a slip for around $20 a day.  There is a funky dockside joint next door where the down and dirty boating crowd hangs out.  Good cheap food.  Nice view.  During the week you can hang out all day.  If you look, you will see manatees.

Biscayne Bay is beautiful.  If they haven't torn it down, there used to be something called "Stilt City" where people built shacks (and in some cases mansions) in the middle of the bay on stilts.

There are a number of exclusive islands off Miami, and many communities with canals that suggest ways to live quite different from the way most of us live.  I understand that the Coast Guard is extremely active around Miami, and that there are places you are no longer allowed to be.  

John Pennekamp State Park is a great site for snorkling.  I think you are allowed to go there by private boat.  It's off Marathon.

The little Keys along the way were still like another country the last time I went through them.

There are some major resorts you can get to only by boat.  Some will let you sleep on your boat while enjoying the resort facilities.  Most charge by the foot, and are thinking of boats substantially longer than ours.

The last time I was in Key West, it was dominated by the (not Mt.) Gay lifestyle, and something of a disappointment.  It was hard to find the "conchs" who had defined the tone of the place in the past, and you couldn't avoid the overbuilt, over-priced resorts and restaurants.  We got out of there as fast as we could.

If we take the trip this year, it will be at a leisurely pace without structured goals.  If we like where we are, we will just hang around until we tire of it.  But if a group of Rhodies is floating through, we'll certainly hook up at some point.

Keep us all posted,

Bill