The contrast between the Keys and so-called "civilization" was really brought home over the last two days.  I finally stopped doing chores long enough to put my kayak in the water, and it felt wonderful to get back out on the water and to see my old friends - the birds and the sea critters.  In the first hour I saw small nurse sharks, stingrays, baby barracuda, jellyfish, crabs, tiny snails, various kinds of herons and egrets, ibis, pelicans, and kingfishers.  I took my camera with the new telephoto lens (THANK YOU JIM!!) and had fun trying to charm the birds.

The pelicans are one of my favorites - they are the most amazing flyers despite their ungainly bodies and beaks.  They can take off with just a few flaps of their wings, and they cruise just an inch or two above the water on a cushion of air.  Appearances can be deceiving.

I thought I'd share some thoughts about what makes the Keys such a special place.  Not everyone understands the Keys, but those who do are smitten with them! 

Driving south from Miami you pass through some mangroves and cross the bridge at Jewfish Creek - now you're officially in the Keys.  It starts with a feeling that you've switched from "regular" to "decaf".  Things move a little slower, and there are very few chain restaurants or big box stores; there's probably only one Starbucks in the whole 100 mile string of islands.  You can spot the locals - they drive more slowly and actually stop to let you make a turn or let you into traffic in front of them.  The tourists drive like they're still in Miami or New York. 

The Keys have many faces: the ticky-tacky side of things - tourist shops along Rt. 1 and Duval Street in Key West, but that's not what this place is really about.  Wander into the neighborhoods and it's quiet and interesting and beautiful and sometimes funky.  For instance, the gingerbread trim on the Key West houses is all different - history tells us that ship captains came here and they brought their shipwrights along to build their homes.  Each shipwright carved the gingerbread trim in a different pattern - all gorgeous.  There are restaurants in the neighborhoods away from Rt. 1 that cater primarily to locals, though anyone who can find the place is most welcome. 

No Name Pub on Big Pine is a perfect example of a funky place that (unfortunately) was "discovered".  It was featured in a book or two and a movie, so now it's packed with tourists and aging bikers (black leather can't hide the ravages of time).  Good thing the light is pretty dim in there. 

The DeFever "gang of 12" packed into two cars and we showed them how to find No Name.  The weather was still cold so you can see we're pretty bundled up for a tropical paradise!

The walls and ceiling are covered with dollar bills (somehere north of $50,000), and the bar sign celebrates the local wildlife - the diminutive Key Deer.  Thanks to Rick from RICKSHAW for the great No Name photos!

After lunch we took the gang to see our house under construction, and they gave us our first housewarming gift - that was pretty special. 

Just to continue the theme of how the Keys are "different", here are a few more examples:  The police here in Marathon wear crisply pressed white police uniform shirts with all the usual patches and badge, the impressive Batman Tool Belt, and ratty sun-faded blue cargo shorts and nasty old sneakers. 

There seems to be a pretty high ratio of kooks per capita here.  Some are locals, some are snowbirds, and a few are even tourists.  The Keys seem to bring out the best and the weirdest in our fellow humans.  The DeFever gang got together again last Sunday for cocktails and a book/DVD exchange, and we headed over to Dockside to hear a local band.  There is just no way to explain or describe the strange people and the gyrations that pass for "dancing"... but it's entertaining. 

It's the Keys...  fun, funky, different.  Aside from the different pace though, the wonderful things are the birds and underwater critters and the ever-changing blue and turquoise water colors.  That's the part that we really love, and why we love to be here.

We had a very nice three day stop in No Name Harbor on Key Biscayne, catching up on some chores and taking long walks into town and on the nature trails around the park.  We found a large bee's nest and I got to use my new telephoto lens to check out the action.