August , 2nd,3rd,4th and 5th

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Before leaving Key West, we all decided to jump on the trolley tour. They have these in several cities, and we find it a good way to see points of interest and get some information on whatever city we are in. The drivers do a running commentary as we are passing through the city and you can jump on and off at any of the stops. Today we got off at the Hemmingway House and  3 of us did a tour there, while Steve waited in the garden. The guides are dressed to look like Ernest Hemmingway, beard and all, and told us amusing stories of  "Papa" and his 4 wives, the 6-toed cats, and history of the house. If anyone is intested, there is lots of information online. Richard and I could not resist buying some books from the place where they were written.
We were pretty hot by then so looked for a cool place to get a drink, but everything on that street had shut down permenently and we were too hot and grumpy to continue the rest of the trolley tour, so we caught the next one back to the hotel. We got the cars and headed back to Marathon where Steve and Sheila cooled off in the 'chilled' pool, and Richard and Linde cooled off in the bar.



Bahia Honda Park and the causeway in the background



The sea was like glass



On Wednesday the 3rd, we decided to split up for a few days, as we have different interests in the next few miles of the coast. Richard and Linde wanted to experience the Big City bars, beaches, and boutiques, and as Steve and Sheila had done that on a previous trip, we wanted to explore the backroads, quiet beaches, and biology. We headed back to Bahia Honda and were very lucky to get on a 9:30 snorkeling trip out to Looe Key, which is not really a key but a reef. Unfortunatly, as we anchored the jellyfish came floating in and only one man would get in the water. When he realized how thick they were, he had difficulty getting back to the boat without getting stung multiple times. The captain then took us to another spot with lots of fish but not such spectacular coral. We saw the largest Angel Fish we had ever seen, about 1 foot long and about 8 or 9 inches deep. It was black with yellow and white crosshatches and was amazingly beautiful. We saw lots of great fish there and were very glad we had gone back to do the trip.

Then we ambled on down the road back to Florida City where we had stayed several days before, stopping at the Salt Water Crocodile Refuge. Apparently they where all sleeping and the only way to see them was to get into our bathing suits and go looking for them. We got the same hotel room, by chance, got the car unpacked and went for a swim in the pool. Just then the sky opened up and the lightening flashed, and the thunder crashed, as we sat nice and comfortable under the pool umbrella. How Lucky!!

On Thursday, we did about 130 miles on backroads around Miami, to Deerfield Beach. Much of the area is wild swamp, however, we were surprised to see that there had been a huge fire running for many miles along the road. Imagine, in all that wet soggy area!! We saw lots of Turkey Vultures and some Osprey. Deerfield Beach is a long white sand beach with palm trees and a board walk and lots of restaurants, but not as crowded as Miami. Our hotel was a block from the beach so we walked down and had dinner watching the ocean.

Friday, 5th - We are following Hwy A1A from Deerfield right along the water to Cocoa Beach. We stopped several times for a swim in the ocean to cool off and play in the waves. There is every type of home along this road, from palaces to trailer parks.