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. 

Catfished

 5/30/25

I (Oliver) have been getting a little tired of venison every meal and we don’t have ready access to a grocery store here so Opal and I agreed to do a little fishing this afternoon to give ourselves a chance to catch a fish for dinner. The area around our housing is cut grass and then mangroves and then sea, except for one gap in the mangroves twenty or so feet wide where you can access the water directly. At the time we went out the tide was high and falling which meant there was a bunch of floating seagrass that stretched four or five feet into the water. As soon as we started fishing I got a bite and reeled the fish in as far as the grass but once it got tangled and bogged down it broke my line. Opal bravely went in after it and retrieved what looked like a football sized clump of weeds but revealed itself to be a catfish. The catfish down here aren’t big and tasty like Missouri catfish. They are more known as a nuisance that take your bait before anything desirable can get to it. We were only catching catfish. Every time we hooked something we would get excited only to inevitably bring a catfish. I started saying “you got catfished!” every time it happened. Eventually it got late and we were on our last frozen shrimp and Opal caught a slightly bigger catfish. This one we decided to keep, although I don’t hear about people eating them here how different could it be? We wrapped up and got two very (very) small fillets which we had with broccoli and rice. The verdict is although Florida catfish don’t taste anything like Missouri, if you put enough butter on anything it tastes pretty darn good. 

Opal-

A few more things. After catching a few catfish I actually caught a crab. Now you would think that I would have enough sense not to get grabbed by crab claws but unfortunately in that moment I did not and now have the scars to prove it. Oliver also caught a small mangrove snapper. To make it look bigger he held up his hand far behind the fish and we lined up the photo just right. Because what else are you supposed to do when you catch a small fish. The carcass of the filled catfish was put on a heavy duty rod and wire leader. It sat on the shore during dinner in a rod holder and when we came to pick it back up something had bent the metal leader and ripped the hook and carcass clean off. Who knows what it was but big creatures swim in these waters. 

What a weekend

 5/24/25 - 5/25/25

Opal-

We started the weekend by waking up at 7 am and driving to south Miami to look at a boat. This one was 16 feet and a Mercury 25 motor. Speaking as someone who doesn’t know boats that well. I generally go by if it’s well kept and clean it’s probably better taken care of. This one checked that box. Then we headed to Publix for some breakfast and I decided on yogurt and Cheerios which I know may not sound great to some but it was a childhood staple of mine. I also added some popcorn chicken to my shopping cart for lunch which later came in handy. After breakfast we went right next door to a goodwill. Let me tell you this was the most organized and clean goodwill I have ever seen. You might think this is a plus but oh no. It meant that there were no good finds. No real thrifting or sorting through old Tupperwares without lids. Everything was just right there in front of you. How horrible. So we quickly moved on to a Salvation Army. One of my rules for thrifting is never look for specific things because you will never find them. We were looking for very specific things:

Two small desert plates

Misquote netting

A Water pitcher (which was eventually thrifted)

A lid for an 8 inch diameter pot

As you might guess none of these items were found at Salvation Army. By then it was about time to look at another boat so we decided to go get out some cash. Now this is where things went south. 

As you may know this country recently switched to only using Real IDs. Well it turns out when you want to remove more than $2,000 in cash you need a real ID. I DO NOT HAVE A REAL ID. So I was denied the money and we were left at the bank a bit out of luck. Eventually after calling Oliver’s parents and my bank (5 different times, none of which they picked up for) we decided that our best option was to just go look at the boat and figure things out afterward. This boat was 15 feet and also nice by my standards. Its owner only spoke Spanish (we were in Miami) so communication was a bit rough. I attempted to ask a few questions using my classroom Spanish but they don’t teach you the vocabulary for buying a boat in Spanish class. Eventually the owner called his brother who spoke English and had him translate for us. After looking at that boat we were famished and feasted on my popcorn chicken that had gotten quite warm in the heat of the car. Then we faced the dilemma; which boat to choose, and the other dilemma; how to get money to buy that boat. We concluded after much debate and discussion. 

1) We would make an offer on the first boat (it suited our needs better) and then buy that one if it was accepted.

2) With the money we would have to get out as much as we could today and then wait until tomorrow to get the rest out. Bank of America ATMs have a limit of $2,000 a day and both boats were listed above $3,000

To initiate these plans we went to a bank. We got out $2,000 from the teller and were walking past the ATM when Oliver said “Why don’t you just try to get the rest out now.” I was skeptical but started putting my information in. After each step and new screen we waited to be denied. But suddenly cash started coming out of the ATM. We were shocked. This had to be a glitch. If it was it was a good one and we didn’t stick around long to find out. Next up was a Walgreens, a dollar store, and a line of thrift shops all blasting Latino music and promoting Memorial Day sales. Here we encountered swim suits for our later beach excursion and our offer on the first boat was excepted. Things were looking up. Unfortunately the guy who owned the first boat didn’t get off work until 9pm so we had a lot of time to kill.

We “killed time” by going to a wonderful art museum, eating Vietnamese food and relaxing on Miami Beach. Then on our way to pick up the boat we stopped by home depot for some misquote netting and took a few wrong turns onto a few wrong highways. We were very tired by this point. Eventually at 9:30 we secured the boat and headed home but not before stopping for gas. That hour and 30 minute drive felt like the longest drive in history. We were both on the lookout for pythons when we entered the park and while we didn’t see any we did see a few vehicles well equipped with side lights and off road cages. Hunters. The road stretched on and on and each minute felt like an eternity until finally we reached our turn and missed it. So we turned around unhitched the boat and stumbled into bed at 12:30 am.  

On Sunday morning we fixed up our room, putting bug net over the windows, sweeping, and arranging. Then we took our leftovers and headed out with the boat. Good news, it floats! We drove up and down the channel and then decided to come back in and relax for the rest of the afternoon. That night there were less misquotes out, we made a dinner of venison quesadillas and sat on our porch overlooking the bay. It was a nice end to a long first weekend in Florida.

Husband and Wife

 5/20/25-5/23/25

It’s been a week since we arrived in Flamingo. They weren’t lying when they said it was hot and buggy here. After cleaning and settling into our room on Monday we had a nice dinner on our front stoop. Our door opens to Florida Bay and we can see small keys from our room. We share a kitchen with five or six other employees. It’s as you would expect a community kitchen to look with two fridges a sink and a stove that has two settings; the fiery depths of hell and off. 

Opal-

I am being trained at my job in the restaurant to do everything. I serve, I buss, I prep food, I manage money, I do inventory. Practically everything but cook. The restaurant itself could seat about 60 people at max capacity so it’s a fair size. However the most people I’ve seen in it so far are 10 of the company’s employees coming in on their lunch break. I knew summer in the Everglades was slow but I didn’t think it would be this slow. There’s about 40 employees here total which may outnumber the amount of guests. But that makes for an everyone knows everyone situation. We are definitely the youngest ones here and everyone keeps asking “why did you pick the summer to come work here?”

Friday evening we were both off work by 5pm. We decided to take the paddle board out on the bay. Now to get out on the water you first have to paddle your heart out past the mosquitoes. This is hard when you have to balance two people on a paddle board. We did manage though and made it out to the breeze. We were out for about an hour at sunset taking in the view and paddling through seagrass. At points when we stopped moving you could hear and see constant jumping and movement of fish in the water. We saw a few small sharks swim by and even followed two for a while. It felt like the bay was alive, teaming with life. Then Oliver noticed a weird looking fish swimming nearby. We got closer and that weird looking fish turned out to be a stingray. It glided through the water along with us then settled in the silt. The sun was setting a glorious pink and orange classic Florida sunset as we turned back towards our beach. We paddled over the ray again without noticing and were quite shocked when it splashed up and swam off. I think I let out sharp yelp. By the time we got closer to shore the tide had gone out quite a bit. This meant for Oliver pushing the paddle board with his feet in the muck while I sat at the front and dug my hands into the ground. I’m sure we looked quite foolish heading back towards employee housing to anyone who saw. 

- Oliver 

So far I am enjoying my job. My coworkers and manager are all good people and the work is difficult but rewarding. What I don’t enjoy is the mosquitoes. Even with long sleeves, long pants and a bug jacket you’re not safe. It’s bad enough to work in but what really gets me is coming home and having mosquitoes in our room or having to walk to the car and be constantly swatting at them. Still, I am learning a lot and am doing work I feel like I can take pride in. 

Opal wasn’t lying when she said we are the youngest ones here. In fact, the average age is high enough that people seem to have forgot about dating and all assume Opal and I are married. After are first day of work we both told each other that enough people had assumed it that we were just going to roll with that story. It didn’t come up much until one of my coworkers asked me about our wedding and now we have been married two years, our anniversary is August 15th, and I don’t remember when I said my vows. If he knew how hot August 15th is in Missouri was he might have caught on, but he didn’t and now we’re in too deep to go back. 

The few (Hundred) mosquito bites sustained while weed whacking Friday. 

The Trip Down

 5/19/2025

We spent two nights driving down to the Everglades and both places we stayed had swimming pools. The first was in Manchester Tennessee at the Microtel. We got there just before the pool closed, rushed to put on our swimming suits and found it so murky you could not see past the third step. Opal said no right away and although I consider myself adventurous, stories of brain eating amoebas from stagnant water were enough to make me agree. In the morning we woke up early to get on the road and found that the folks at the Microtel put in about as much effort into making breakfast as they do at cleaning their pool. The second pool was at Opals grandparents condo and much nicer. This one we did swim in and enjoyed very much. Her grandma was a wonderful host and even gave us a bag of snacks to take on the road, thank you KK.