As we headed south from the Miami area, we set our sights on several days in the Florida Keys. The Keys are a continuation of the coastal islands that are all along the Atlantic Coast of Florida. However, the Keys don't have any mainland. In the early 1900's a very wealthy person built a railroad across all these keys. Apparently, the route was a flop, and the railroad failed. The bridges were converted to a car route, in several places the road was built on top of the train trestle. Since then, a new modern road has replaced the old steel structure. However, the old bridge is still standing in many places and is sometimes even accessible to pedestrians.
We didn't realize that school had just gotten out, so the campsites were quite booked. Still we managed to get one night in Long Key and reservations in Bahia Honda for the following two nights. Long Key State Park was nice! Our campsite was right on the beach. The warm water was calm and shallow. People were fishing, floating, tidepooling, and kayaking. We were excited to break out our inflatable watercraft. Our armada consists of a
Two Person Floatie and a
Two Person Kayak. We had never used the kayak before, a neighbor gave it to us. He was getting rid of it to make room for something. We were surprised and relieved that it was in excellent shape!
Noelle was quite eager to try fishing from our "sport" boat. On our way to Bahia Honda State Park, we stopped into a bait and tackle shop. $45 later, we were armed with a rod-n-reel, sinkers, hooks, and a package of frozen bait. At the park, we towed the floatie, some beers, and our fishing gear out to a buoy. I'm pleased to report that Noelle reeled in a horse-eye jack fish in less than an hour in Bahia Honda. I took a shot at fishing and was less impressed with the honeycomb cowfish I reeled in. We released both of these fish, but beers were not as lucky. Great fun, and an excellent all-day activity in the sunshine.
Bahia Honda didn't spray for bugs, like Long Key did. I wish they had! At night I was the victim of
No-see-ums. These tiny insects are the smallest member of the mosquito family. They are about the size of a grain of sand and were able to get through the bug screens on the van. As I type, I'm covered with enough bites to suspect I have chicken pox. ITCHY!
Not all the insects were as horrible. The wildlife in the Keys in robust and colorful. The island had beautiful butterflies. We saw a hermit crab the size of a softball! We were stunned by these glowing beetles at night. You'd see in the bushes what would appear as two glowing eyes! Another island boasts pigmy deer, 1/4 the size of normal deer!
All of the pictures below are from Bahia Honda. Overall it was an awesome camping experience, rounded out by some real cool camping neighbors that treated us to a laser light show and gave us great tips about camp spots in Florida.
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| View of the old bridge from the boat cove on Bahia Honda. |
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| Typical scene on the bridge. |
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| In some places, the old bridge is quite dilapidated. |
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| View from the campsite in Bahia Honda. |
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| We were able to walk up onto the old bridge near our campsite. |
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| Stunning colors during sunset! |
We didn't realize that school had just gotten out, so the campsites were quite booked. Still we managed to get one night in Long Key and reservations in Bahia Honda for the following two nights. Long Key State Park was nice! Our campsite was right on the beach. The warm water was calm and shallow. People were fishing, floating, tidepooling, and kayaking. We were excited to break out our inflatable watercraft. Our armada consists of a Two Person Floatie and a Two Person Kayak. We had never used the kayak before, a neighbor gave it to us. He was getting rid of it to make room for something. We were surprised and relieved that it was in excellent shape!
Noelle was quite eager to try fishing from our "sport" boat. On our way to Bahia Honda State Park, we stopped into a bait and tackle shop. $45 later, we were armed with a rod-n-reel, sinkers, hooks, and a package of frozen bait. At the park, we towed the floatie, some beers, and our fishing gear out to a buoy. I'm pleased to report that Noelle reeled in a horse-eye jack fish in less than an hour in Bahia Honda. I took a shot at fishing and was less impressed with the honeycomb cowfish I reeled in. We released both of these fish, but beers were not as lucky. Great fun, and an excellent all-day activity in the sunshine. 
Not all the insects were as horrible. The wildlife in the Keys in robust and colorful. The island had beautiful butterflies. We saw a hermit crab the size of a softball! We were stunned by these glowing beetles at night. You'd see in the bushes what would appear as two glowing eyes! Another island boasts pigmy deer, 1/4 the size of normal deer!
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