The Keys Disease: Part 2

The whole week after Bahia Honda Finnley and I looked forward to and longed for the following weekend at Long Key State Park. It was so nice have something to think about during our daily grinds. The prior week I had ordered a new backpacking tent so we were excited to get to use it at this park. It's a Big Agnes Seedhouse 3 person and only weighs about 4lbs! A refreshing change from our 8 person, 38lb tent. While I love my huge excessive dome, it's just not practical for the day trips, hot weather, and plane travel of Finnley and I's camping future. I also ordered some Therm-a-rest camper’s sleeping pads because our huge excessive 2 person cot wouldn't fit in the new tent.

When Friday came along (also Valentine’s Day) Finnley and I were both bursting with excitement and anticipation. I felt so happy, I almost felt like it couldn't be true. I got anxiety because I thought something bad was going to happen. However, I managed to talk myself out of it and told myself that I was going to allow myself to be happy and I ended up feeling better. Finnley and I had planned on getting an early start so that we could go down to Key West first and then back down to the park. I woke up at 7:30am and tried my best to get out of bed, but my Lola was being so cute and every time I tried to leave she would get upset so I had to lay with her for a little while. It also didn't help that I was so tired my eyes were crossing.

I had wanted to leave by 9:00am, but ended up leaving around 10:00am instead. This time the drive was ok, but I noticed I was in a weird mood. Finnley drank a Redbull and was talking to me at a million miles an hour and I couldn't take it. I was having anxiety and that was making it worse. I tried to acknowledge it to myself and let him know, but that pretty much caused a fight that lasted until sundown that night. It started out playful with me smacking him in the face with straws, but escalated from there. Finnley didn't feel like driving an extra 2 hours out of the way to Key West just so I could go shop at my favorite store and that's fine, but we had planned on it so I wasn't backing down. He also freaked out every time traffic was slowing down and every time I tried to calm him down because he was driving my car, he just got angrier. I think he was so terrified we were going to get stuck for hours again. The blue water wasn't so relaxing this time. It was rough and the cars air was thick with tension. Everything just looked sad and volatile.

We stopped at Long Key on the way and checked in and checked out the site. It was a lot closer to the beach than Bahia Honda and the water was different. At Bahia Honda the beach was more sand and had waves. This was still glassy water with a floor covered in shmushy algae. It was very beautiful. The water reached as far as my eyes could see. The site was fairly shady and had a picnic table and fire ring. The only thing that was slightly a disappointment was how loud the traffic was. A little after arrival we headed out to Key West. We got there at 3:00pm and went straight to my store. I got some jewelry and we rushed back to the car. I love Key West and wish we could have stayed longer, but the sun was going down soon and we still needed to shop for food.

We made it to Publix with 30 minutes to shop and got in and out right on time. Getting back to camp with 30 minutes of light to spare, we rushed to prepare camp. The new tent was a breeze to set up and we also washed dishes and got to see a bit of the sunset. Finnley started what was supposed to be our romantic Valentine’s Day dinner/ island feast of lobster, shrimp cabobs, and scallops. When the sun went down the tension between me and Finnley dissipated and we slowly got camper cozy as we watched the enormous sherbet moon rise from the glassy waters as it drew moon beams upon. With our bellies full of delicious seafood delight we relaxed and stared out into the ocean together. I decided I should attempt some long exposure shots before I got too tired. I got my camera out and figured out how to use the little remote. I took some pictures of the moon, the fire, and our campsite. They came out pretty cool, but not as cool as I wanted. I have much more to learn about that kind of photography.

Finnley decided to get schwasted so he was pretty entertaining. One time I went to set my camera up behind the tent and I came out and walked towards the fire. Finnley was walking by and jumped back and squared his fists as I walked by. I started cracking up. He said I scared the crap out of him. It was so funny because I wasn't even trying to this time. The rest of the night before bed we sat by the fire and reminisced on last year’s road trip. It's still bittersweet. Sometimes the memories get so far from me, I feel like it never happened, like everything is same as it was before we left, like I could be leaving any second for it. I only have the changes that happened within myself to look fondly on and remind me that it really happened. However, those changes are sometimes hard to see when you’re in the exact same circumstances you were in before as I am. Not to lessen the changes because they are vast and beautiful. I have an innate happiness that never existed before as well as a drive that is insatiable in all the many good and bad ways. I'm finally learning to harness and take advantage of my Type A personality traits instead of despise and discard them.

Because we didn't have the sleeping pads yet we made a bed on the ground with a couple sleeping bags and blankets. Surprisingly it wasn't bad. My butt bone hurt a little in the middle of the night, but nothing more out of my ordinary wake up pains. Finnley slept well too. We woke up a little after sunrise, but still got some pretty pictures and went back to sleep for an hour. It was so cool I didn't even have to get out of the tent to see the sunrise, all I had to do was sit up. It was a beyond beautiful day out.

Finnley started making breakfast and I tried to help, but I was distracted by the beauty all around me. After we ate we decided we would go kayaking. After renting the kayak Finnley took it back to the campsite via the water while I drove back. I wanted to bring my GoPro out there, but I forgot to charge it and I was not happy about that. I had to bring my Iphone instead. We paddled out pretty far because I planned on getting some topless kayaking in and Finnley had his own motives. I remember looking down and watching this reef formation drift behind me so fast I could have been in a car. At that point I got a little nervous, but we were able to paddle back to the coast with some man power. I knew my arms were going to be sore. When we got to the coast the water calmed down. It was nice and clear and tinted in a sea glass green. We paddled to some land that looked like it was a part of the nature trail on the North end of the park. We walked around on the shore for a little. The sand in the shallow water was so mushy it almost trapped Finnley in it because he was wearing sandals. I had to help him out.

We got back on the kayak and headed north. It was cool because there were a lot of trees and a little trail that took you through them. Finnley decided to stand up on the kayak to see what all the raving about SUP paddle boarding was about and he ended up liking it a lot. He said he could see everything, all the fishes and what not. He made me stand so I could see too. It was pretty cool, but felt a little unstable. When he stood back up he saw a baby nurse shark and later I saw another one, but it kind of looked like a hammerhead shark. It was really cute. Afterwards we headed south a little and then back to drop the kayak off. We walked back to camp and went to pay for the 2 hours and return the vests and paddles.

When we got back it was about time to start cleaning up, but I really didn't want to go. I really love Long Key, better than Bahia Honda, and if I could go every weekend I would! While Finnley starting packing up I tanned a little and took it all in. We were out of there around 12:30pm and went to go eat at the Islamorada restaurant by Bass Pro. There was actually some sort of Chili Festival going on and I wanted to go, but Finnley didn't because there was a 30 minute wait at the restaurant and he said the buzzer wouldn't work over there. Can you say Party Pooper? We went to this fish market instead and he bought some smoked fish. We went outside and ate some until the buzzer went off. We ordered a lot of food. It was definitely a seafood feast kind of weekend. We got the fish dip appetizer which was amazing! Finnley got the sampler for his meal and I got coconut shrimp. We were both really sad to be leaving. I wish I could stay there forever. It's like paradise. I have the camping bug now worse than ever and I plan on scratching that itch as much as possible. Here's to continuing the adventures!

The Keys Disease: Part 1

Last month in a last effort to find a place to camp for Valentine’s day with my Finnley, I got on my determined finders face that I often get in these dire vacation situations and went onto Reserve America at work in a scamper. Mind you, everywhere worth going had been booked the previous day, leaving my past plans of camping in Ocala that weekend with my cuzzy, dead. However, as I browsed the pages I came across a rare and majestic opening at Long Key State Park in the Keys. My scamper increased tenfold and my fingers flew to book the site before I could even process what was happening. I was so happy I couldn't stop smiling. It was definitely one of those cheek sore moments.

As I was trying to focus and get back to work I started thinking "damn I'm feeling lucky" and it came to me to check for the current weekend. As the first page popped up I see Bahia Honda State Park lit in a blue that I have never seen for this park before. There was one site available. I got dizzy, my eyes blurred. If Long Keys availability was rare and majestic, Bahia Honda's was the King Unicorn of Never-never land. 

Fireworks, confetti, and star ships flew from all my facial orifices. I thought I might explode as a direct result and consequence of filling up with that much joy. I was at max cap. I was literally Will Ferrell in Elf when his boss announced Santa was coming. Slow panting, mumbling, and all. I couldn't remember another time I had been this happy. I never get this lucky. People literally wait to camp at Bahia Honda for months. Anyhow, I tried to ask Finnley if he wanted to go, but he didn't answer...so I booked it anyway. I figured even if he was mad, he wouldn't regret it once we were there. After-all, this was known as South Florida's best beach.

So instead of the promised Friday date Finnley and I had planned we both packed our gear up and went off to bed in anticipation of the much needed adventure filled weekend ahead. We got an early start the next morning and finished off our packing. When I got to Finnley's house we went to the grocery store to buy our meals. By noon we were off to the Keys with a salty breeze and the close to comatose inducing blue water ahead of us.

The drive down was as relaxing as usual. I always compare it to the 2 hour drive to my cousins house or the 3 hour drive to my grandma’s because though it is longer, at least to Key West, it feels shorter than both of those drives. A wave hits you the second you start seeing the glassy turquoise water. Reggae starts flooding your mind, the car windows come down, the suns shinning in your sunglasses, the sky a glowing blue, the smell of salt and sunscreen wisp under your nose. Basically, all your cares slip away into the island waters.

However partial I may be to mountains, there is just something innate within me that feels nurtured by an island setting. I feel at home. I always relate well with the island life. I have fantasies of being an island girl walking through my fruitful gardens of palm, mango, pineapple, avocado, and star fruit trees, collecting my ruby treasures, barefoot with some sort of colorful ankle length skirt sweeping across my feet and checkered sunbeams kissing my cheeks.

We arrived at Bahia Honda around 3 in the afternoon and checked in. When we got to our campsite we were both beyond pleased to see the ocean tide right behind us. We even had a little pathway that took us to the beach (not all the campsites have this). The site itself was a bit small for our excessive 8 man tent so we had to rework the layout a little, but all was well. At first Finnley was disappointed because there was no fire ring at the sight, just a grill, but we ended up making a fire in the grill later that night anyway and it worked out pretty nice. Our setup went swifter than usual because the stakes were easy to get in due to the campsites are in sand and we didn't need to put the rainfly on because weather was supposed to be clear.

Finnley decided to start making his clams and I went to check out the beach. It was pretty, but there was a lot of seaweed which I'm not used to seeing at the beaches up north. There were also rocks all over the surf, but they looked cool. It definitely wasn't the swimming area, but I can't complain about a view of endless horizon. I took a bunch of pictures and tried out my new lenses for my iPhone. Finnley enjoyed his clams and we went for a walk. As we walked further north the beach cleared up a lot and it looked pristine. The white sand was soft and comforting even under the 75 degree water.

 After our walk we relaxed at camp and talked and just enjoyed our surroundings. I felt like the two in Blue Lagoon. It felt like our island. I found it interesting and pleasant that although I knew this campground was literally full I didn't see that many people and it didn't seem to be crowded which was impressive. The sun was going to be setting within the hour and we had plans to watch it, but Finnley got a little too excited and we ended up making love as the sun set instead. We managed to see the last couple minutes.

Finnley made us dinner when it became dark. I had ginormous shrimp and he had a skirt steak. I always love the organic taste of seafood near the ocean. When our bellies were full we sat by the fire and talked and relaxed. It was so wonderful being back snuggling under the stars and feeling that camp grim all over me. However, I started feeling ill as the night progressed. I had a bad headache and felt in a daze. I think I was extremely dehydrated as I often am. I really didn't feel right. I had to chug a bottle of water and lay down. Finnley tried to make me feel better and give me a massage. It helped a little, but I still couldn't get up.

This was a disappointment because I didn't want to go to bed at 9:00pm. I had plans of astrophotography and whatever other night adventures came to mind, but my body was not having any of it. Finnley came to bed a little after me and we fell asleep, but I ended up waking up at 11:00pm wide awake or so I thought. This continued all throughout the night. I'd wake up, get up, feel dizzy and confused, and go back to sleep. I had so much anxiety because I thought something was wrong with me. I had strange dreams all night one of which was of a raccoon biting my hand and because I was in such a daze I had to think really hard if it was real or not. I determined because my hand didn't hurt that it probably didn't happen.

By morning I felt quite drowsy, but it was an improvement from the night before. We got out of cot early enough for sunrise. As we walked down the pathway towards the ocean we saw dolphin fins pop up right in front of the sun and continue to swim along the shore. The no-see-ums were really bad and we forgot bug spray, but we managed to watch the sun come up. It was as beautiful as it always is. 

I love sunsets, but there is just something about a sunrise. It's like a medallion for hope, ever symbolizing that sentiment and newness, changes, and the bright futures of us all. It is the Grand Marshal of optimism and positivity; it is the cup half full. I took trillions of pictures and we got ready for breakfast. The no-see-ums were so bad at this point I literally had to fan them away from Finnleys legs with a paper plate while he was cooking.

During breakfast a fellow camper came over to talk to us about our tent. He admired it and said he also had a Cabela's tent, but a smaller one. While we were talking two crazy ibis, a red winged black bird and some other birds came over to say hi (and stare at our food). 

After breakfast we went to check out the other side of the park. We walked around and on the old railroad and took lots of pictures. Finnley really wanted to kayak, but I wasn't in the mood because we didn't have much time left there. So instead we went back to the beach by our camp and played in the water and took fun pictures with the GoPro. I had never really used it in water except on the Maid of the Mist so it was cool getting to see it really in action.

We started packing up around 12:00pm and were out of there before 1:00pm. We planned on going to lunch at one of the cool restaurants along the overseas highway, but ended up running into some monstrous traffic. We were dead stopped before the Long Key Bridge. Eventually we heard there was a head on collision involving 5 cars. We decided it would be better to turn around at this point. We went looking for a place to eat, but all the cool places were packed so we just ended up at KFC. We drove back and ended up sitting in traffic for another 2 hours on the bridge. I figured at least we had a good view. We got home around 8:00pm that night exhausted, but with the sweet sea smell reminder of the weekend to come in Long Key State Park all over us.