Bahia Honda

Our trip has not gotten off to the best start. While showering the first evening, Grant slipped. Fortunately, he was not hurt, however he was stuck in the bottom of the bathtub. After a few minutes, he was able to swing his legs over the side, then scoot his bottom up on the edge. And there he was, lying on the edge of the tub. I grabbed him by the waist, and between the 2 of us, he was able to get to a sitting position, then stand. That evening, my left shoulder hurt and my hamstring twinged, but my back seems fine. My last nerve is shot.

Next up was my losing my glasses. We’d swum on the bayside, showered, then walked a short distance along the ocean beach. I was wearing my sunglasses and had tucked my others in my bra top. They were gone when we got back to the car. We have searched and searched the beach, the shower area, the car. Gone. All I can figure is someone picked them up, and I hope will turn them into the rangers. So far, they have not.

On the positive, we watched a yellow crowned night heron eat a large ghost crab. Yuck. Makes my stomach crawl. I know, I know, cycle of life. Then, on one of our 3 returns to search for my glasses (Where could they be? We walked less than a block down the beach!), I saw a white crowned pigeon, my first. It was sitting in the top of a snag, not tucked away, being hidden, and my wondering if it really was. It sat there posing, turning left and right, with its white top feathers shining in the sunlight. When it flew off, another joined it from the bush. So 2 for my life list, if I kept one.

After swimming each morning, we retreated to our cabin to avoid the 90°+ heat and sun. A turtle has been coming each afternoon to swim around the lagoon, and on the 3rd day, it was joined by 2 others and a manatee. I spent much of my time watching for it. I even managed to get it in the scope. My attempts to photograph through the scope were meh. When we get home, I’m going to practice with the attachment I bought a couple of years ago. If I can’t get the hang of it, I’m buying a different one. 

Food was fairly easy. At my insistence, Grant made our version of French lentil salad and a corn and bean salad, enough for our 4 dinners. Then we were free to have lunch out. That fits my energy level. We started with Key Fisheries, for his necessary lobster Reuben. I had a delicious shrimp fajita quesadilla. Both enough to have half for a lunch the next day. Breakfast at Key Grill; another lunch at Porky’s Bayside Restaurant (at a marina, not ocean front); and our new find, Habanero's on the Creek, at Tavenier. We also had a frozen piece of chocolate covered Key lime pie on a stick. I even drank my share of the Margaux wine Grant brought from the stock Jamey and April sent as our Christmas present last year. Since the cabin no longer has wine glasses, we went to a thrift store to buy some. When we got home, I was pleasantly surprised we’d maintained our pre-trip weights. 

To add the appropriate ending to the trip, our drive home was extra long. We stopped by RSMAS to deliver our fins and bc vest to a student. We are never going to use them; better someone else enjoy them. We kept our masks and snorkels so we can putter around from shore. At the Sandspur Beach, I saw several different size bait fish in large schools on the ocean side. And 1 medium barracuda.

Our side trip to Virginia Key meant we left Miami at 4:00, to join rush hour traffic. An accident on the turnpike and rain made the trip even slower. Then, after a stop at the Fort Drum service plaza, and “dinner” of an ice cream bar for me and salt and vinegar pistachios for Grant, since the restaurants, except for Wendy’s, were closed, I got back on the highway. Just as I merged into traffic, my brain kicked in. I was headed south, not north. In the dark, I didn’t dare slow down enough to do an illegal U-turn using one of the Florida Highway Patrol’s cut-through, so I drove 30 miles to Fort Pierce, turned around, and headed home. An extra hour to an already long day.

Finally home, Grant reheated his seafood rice, and I nuked my conch bites, then to bed. I don’t think I brushed my teeth. The Keys were marvelous if hot. We need to rethink if we can make the drive in one swoop. Perhaps a stop at Patten’s needs to always be included.