[Rhodes22-list] Keys Trip

[CT]

I'll second the description for everything except Key West - I haven't been
there in years.  Coconut Grove is a great place to take a day or getting to
know folks before moving out and one could spend weeks diving Pennekamp Reef


CT
 
-------Original Message-------
 
From: The Rhodes 22 mail list
Date: Saturday, November 08, 2003 06:22:57 AM
To: The Rhodes 22 mail list
Subject: [Rhodes22-list] Keys Trip
 
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
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