A better Keys experience

 6/21/25 - 6/23/25

Oliver-

We are not writing blog posts as much as we would in an ideal world. That is partially because we don’t have Wifi connection in our dorm and partially because we are busy, and often tired. Today, I find myself with some extra time, Opal gets off in a couple of hours and she graciously agreed to hold off dinner so we could have it together. This is what we did the past weekend.

 

Friday after work, I drove up to Fort Lauderdale airport to pick up Opal’s mother and sister. We got a fried seafood basket near the airport and had a nice time catching up on the drive back down. Saturday morning, we got an early breakfast and left around 8:30 in order to catch a snorkeling boat Nicole (Opals mom) had booked for us. Traffic was light on the way down, so we had time to stop in a thrift store where Opal and Iris (Opals sister) got ridiculous green dresses. Nicole pointed out a shirt that John (Opals dad) had a version of and I really liked it but it borderline didn’t fit and when I saw it was 35$ it defiantly didn’t fit. After checking out we drove to the snorkeling shop, got checked in and devoured some Publix sandwiches we picked up. The boat was a large pontoon type boat with two 300HP Yamahas much like the tour boats here. It had maybe thirty people on it about half of which were snorkeling, and half was scuba diving. It was a thirty or so minute drive out to Looe Key which is not a key at all, but a reef. We snorkeled on the reef in two spots for an hour each and saw many fish. Opal, Iris and Nicole even saw a shark. The staff were all friendly and experienced and we all had a blast. After getting back to land we drove to our Airbnb which was right on the water. Opal and Iris got in the water and noticed some lobster remnants which enticed Nicole and I to get in to investigate. What we found blew my mind. The seawall was made of rocks that ranged from the size of a microwave to an oven and in every crevice where there could be a lobster there were multiple. I think the most I counted were five, all hiding together. They weren’t any little lobsters either, all quite large. In total we probably saw fifty in five or so minutes of exploration. Unfortunately, lobster’s are not in season and Opals family have morals so we didn’t catch or cook any, but I’ve been looking at going back when season does open. After we all showered, we headed to dinner at the Island fish co. It was a bit of a wait but way worth it. For about the first time in my life I got a salad, and it was delicious. It consisted of Ahi Tuna, Seaweed Salad, Lettuce, Pineapple, Tomatoes, Pickled Ginger Blue cheese and a Teriyaki Vinaigrette dressing. It was hands down the best salad I have ever eaten and was so large I could barely finish it. Satisfied and full we drove back all very content with the day. The next day was Opals birthday, we had a nice breakfast of eggs, ham fruit and mini muffins and headed off towards key west. We spend most of mid-day walking around popping into shops and seeing all the cool architecture. Then we went back up to Bahia Honda state park and swam at their beach which is one of the better beaches in the Keys. It was a little crowded but nice and it felt good to float around in the water after walking around under the hot sun for most of the day. For dinner we went out to a restaurant I can’t remember the name of but its not super important because I would recommend Island Fish Co. over it. Not that it was bad, but it was more pricey and when I asked if they do anything for birthdays, they said they would bring out a piece of cake but forgot. We drove home and I would tell you about the next day except for me it was mowing and painting. Opal had another day with her family though and so I will ask her to write about it when she gets off work. 

Opal-

First I would like to say that I did not have a pub sub but instead opted for their $5 popcorn chicken meal deal. (One of the best decisions I have ever made in my life) It came with a whole lot of popcorn chicken and TWO sides. I got corn and fried rice and although everyone made fun of me for raving about the popcorn chicken meal deal I would get it again and again. 

Also Iris and I wore matching outfits completely not on purpose on my birthday. Oliver said it was a bit weird how similar we looked.

Secondly on Monday my mom and sister and I took out one of our companies pontoon boats and I showed them around the Everglades backcountry. We then had some leftovers from the restaurant Oliver couldn’t remember the name of (Lazy Days). I had gotten their yellowtail cooked in key lime butter and topped with Parmesan, diced tomatoes, and scallions. It was delicious. They did forget my sweet potato fries though and our waiter was overly nonchalant to the point that we were mimicking him in the car ride home. After leftovers we walked around the marina. My mother and sister decided to try to attract manatees by turning on a fresh water slicker that we definitely were not supposed to touch. I kept trying to get them to stop (not wanting to get in trouble at my place of work looking like a tourist) but they wouldn’t and good thing because soon enough manatees popped up right under our noses. They drank the fresh water and we watched for a while. Then I finally convinced Iris to turn off the water and we walked over to look for crocodiles on the other side of the marina. There was one hiding in the shade. It took off under the water as soon as a boat came near. On our way back to the car we noticed the manatees were very active. We watched for a while and it appeared that they were mating. We joked that the fresh water we gave them made them frisky. Eventually we left and Oliver and I made dinner for my sister and mom that evening. 

It was very nice getting to see them and spend the weekend away from the bugs. Although they were surprisingly tame while mom and Iris were here. 

Dolphins on the bow

6/14/25

Yesterday Opal and I decided to take advantage of probably the best perk of working here which is free skiff rentals. We set off at around ten o'clock in a 16 foot Carolina skiff that felt like the perfect size for two. The boat rentals are restricted to the backcountry which you may think is limited but its more area you could explore in a summer. After heading out of the Marina we traveled down the Buttonwood Canal which was dug for boat traffic and to help build the main park road. The canal took us into Coot Lake and then to a smaller riverway that leads to Whitewater Bay. The bay is actually a lake and is the second largest in Florida behind Lake Okeechobee. This fact can be a little misleading though because the bay is full of islands which make it feel far smaller. When you look out it seems like there is one 'tree line' but as you approach the shore it always turns into a mangrove island with more water behind it. We drove some distance into the bay and then turned south east heading to a Chikee for shade. The water way got more and more narrow to where it felt like a river and here we got a glimpse at some dolphins which was the first time we had seen them this summer. After some more exploring we found the Chikee which was in its own little lake. The wind was strong which made sitting in the shade very comfortable with very little mosquitos. We spent a good deal of time here tanning, eating lunch and doing some fishing. I caught a Snapper, Blue Runner and Needle Fish but none of them were eat'n size. We stayed most of the afternoon until we had to go back to return the boat. On the way back out we got an even better view of dolphins, once getting splashed by them jumping on the bow. We returned the boat, paid for gas ($24 for the entire day) and got ice cream bars. All in all one of the best days so far. 

The good, the bad, and the ugly

 5/30/25 - 6/2/25

The good 

On the third night of my (opal) now three day weekends I decided to cook Oliver a delicious dinner with my extra time. I wanted to do something other than our normal which is venison these days so I choose beans as the basis for the meal. Now I know this bluegrass song called Cornbread and Butter Beans. I kept thinking about buttered beans and that is how the meal was formed. It is a Cajun flavored meal with rice and beans at its heart. 

Ingredients:

2 cups Red Kidney Beans

1 cup chopped onions

2/3 stick of butter

1 cup collard greens

1 cup chopped broccoli

2 diced garlic cloves or garlic powder

About 7 chopped “Little Smokies Hotdogs”

1/4 cup tomato sauce

Cajun seasoning 

Sage

Cumin

Paprika

Pepper

Salt

Diced fresh mango

However much rice you like to make

Instructions:

Start rice boiling, or in a rice cooker (we don’t have one) 

On low heat add olive oil, onions, and garlic to a pan and sauté until the onions are turning golden brown.

Add half the butter and melt.

Add collard green and beans and about a cup of water. Let sauté for a few minutes until some water boils off.

stir in all the spices and tomato sauce to taste. 

Add the broccoli and Little Smokies, let simmer.

Add the rest of the butter.

Serve over rice and top with the mango.

This dinner was a success and we ate it while watching the first thunderstorm of the season pour outside our door. The mangos came from Oliver’s manager Frank. So thank you Frank because the dish was good on its own but the mangos made it perfect. 

The bad

Two weekends ago was rather discouraging so this past weekend I asked Opal if she wanted to go to the Keys. She said yes so we booked the only campsite available from Key Largo to Key West, gathered fishing and snorkeling gear, and set off. The first place we stopped at was John Peddencamp state park where we thought we would be able to do some snorkeling. Evidently we thought wrong and the only snorkeling available was at the end of a $50 ferry ride. That was about $45 more than what either of us wanted to spend so we settled for a paddle around some of the mangrove channels on the paddle board. This was nice but we were on limited waters and soon got hungry so it was a rather short lived adventure. By the time we got packed up we were properly starving and raced to find food which we found in the form a McDonalds. After eating we got groceries and went to Long Key state park where our campsite was. To get to the campsite you have to walk in about a quarter of a mile which is not terrible but we found it got old after the third time hauling all of our stuff. All of this walking under the hot Florida sun caused us to build up quite the sweat so I pumped up the paddle board once more. When trying to launch it though we discovered that it was a low tide and we had to muck through a bed of mud and seagrass to get to the water. After doing so we found that the water nearest the shore was orangish and smelled foul much like the sulphur pools in Yellowstone. Eventually though we worked our way out past all the nasty and were able to paddle around and give snorkeling a shot. We didn’t see anything of note but it was good to finally swim in the ocean for the first time this summer. After slugging through the muck again on our way back I determined that the tidal conditions made fishing imposible so we focused on cleaning up and making dinner. Dinner was unremarkable, instant rice things we had found at the grocery store, but enough to fill us up. Then the no-see-in’s came out and we were forced into the cover of the tent.

Sleeping that night made me realize why Satan chose heat as the ultimate punishment in hell. The temperature never fell below 80 and our campsite was tucked in and received little breeze. At two thirty I walked back to the car and got Opals bug net and put it on a hammock. At two thirty five it started raining. Ten minutes later after setting up the rain fly, which blocked the minuscule breeze there was, the rain stopped. Needless to say we ‘woke up’ tired and hot. Also the tides had completed their cycle and were low again which meant no fishing. We weighed our options and figured that there was not much point in sticking around the Keys and we better make for home. On the way back we stopped at the busiest Walmart I have ever been in to get groceries and a gas can. 

The weekend wasn’t all bad by any means but I have fond memories of the Keys and it did not live up to my past experiences. Most of what went wrong could have been avoided with better planning and after getting home Opal and I had a good conversation regarding things we need to work on and dealing with the disappointment that comes with adventures like this one. 

The ugly

Like Oliver said most of what has been going wrong isn’t that bad and most of it could be avoided with better planing. When you have things going wrong every time you try to do something (like we have had this past weekish) it gets hard. Especially when you’re trying to do everything low budget. We’ve lost a fishing pole*, had to replace our boats gas tank, been bitten up by mosquitoes at dusk, and had to put lots of time into keeping our room clean and bug free as well as figure out cooking together. It feels like we have brain fog which is likely due to the heat. But I am feeling very decision fatigued. All of this is mostly transitioning into a new place and getting adjusted but it has put us in a negative headspace. We’re trying to lower our expectations a bit and shoot for less until it feels like we’re in a better position.

*Oliver here. For one of my birthdays, my parents gave me a sleek new Abu Garcia bait-caster fishing reel. I don’t know how much it was but it felt like a million bucks. A few nights ago we were fishing at the marina and the reel and a rod were lying down on the dock when a fish must have bit and they zipped into the water and disappeared. Sorry mom and dad.