and Howard came out of the ocean, safely back on the right side of the force field. Just like that he would snap out of it and be a happy dog again. Some beach dog.
A few days before I decided I would be leaving the friendly confines of Howard, Gail, and Treasure Island, I was feeling like it was time to go. I most likely imagined it, but I felt like I was wearing out my welcome. I think I was just eager to get on with the next part of my journey. One night, walking back from an organic restaurant in town Gail insisted we visit, the topic of my next location came up.
“What’s next?” asked Howard, as I saw him eyeballing the ice cream shop we would have surely went in had we not been with Gail.
“Hmmm, I really don’t know.” I really didn’t know.
It was during this walk on Main Street that I realized that for the first time in my journey I was going to most likely end up someplace I didn’t know anybody. This caused me some anxiety, but it was that being on my own feeling I was craving that originally inspired me to go on this trip.
“How about the Florida Keys? Hemingway lived there; isn’t he your favorite author?” He continued with a laugh, “If it was good enough for him, it’s surely good enough for you.”
“I agree.” I said, and I did.
11
The drive to the beginning of the Florida Keys took about six hours, but because I was heading to the southernmost point in the United States, Key West, it took another two hours. What I mean to say is that it would have taken another two hours if I would have driven straight there. Instead we made a stop along the way, adding another hour to our trip.
The beginning of the Keys is sort of like driving into a new state, but that analogy doesn’t really do it justice. For example, when you are driving into Georgia from South Carolina, you don’t see any discernible differences except a sign welcoming you to the birth place of Jimmy Carter. Entering the Keys is almost like driving into an entirely different place unlike anywhere else in America.
What you first notice is that there is a two-lane highway on both sides of the road separated by a median. If you are heading south, you are driving along the Gulf of Mexico. If you are heading north, you are driving along the Atlantic Ocean. These two sides of the road are simply known as the “bay side” or the “ocean side” by the locals. To get to nearly any place on this stretch of road I learned you need to only have two questions answered. Question #1: What mile marker? Question #2: Which side? There are neighborhoods as you travel, but 99 percent of the restaurants and tourists attractions on the way to Key West can be found by following those two simple directions.
Shortly after getting into Key Largo, the first main Key, and perhaps the most popular one thanks largely, in part, to the Beach Boys song “Kokomo,” Bahama made a sound that indicated she had to use the bathroom, and quick. I pulled into a hotel resort called Kona Kai. At first I was just going to let Bahama do her duty and head right back into the car, but the palm trees, and the view of the Gulf through those trees appearing to me from the parking lot, had us off and walking.
I saw the building that was both the lobby and office. I didn’t think much of it because I had no intention of staying at this place seeing that I wasn’t planning on spending as much money as I thought this place would cost nightly, but as I got closer I noticed works of art in the building. Not much of an art appreciator, I was surprised when I found myself walking through the door. Looking back on it, I
A few days before I decided I would be leaving the friendly confines of Howard, Gail, and Treasure Island, I was feeling like it was time to go. I most likely imagined it, but I felt like I was wearing out my welcome. I think I was just eager to get on with the next part of my journey. One night, walking back from an organic restaurant in town Gail insisted we visit, the topic of my next location came up.
“What’s next?” asked Howard, as I saw him eyeballing the ice cream shop we would have surely went in had we not been with Gail.
“Hmmm, I really don’t know.” I really didn’t know.
It was during this walk on Main Street that I realized that for the first time in my journey I was going to most likely end up someplace I didn’t know anybody. This caused me some anxiety, but it was that being on my own feeling I was craving that originally inspired me to go on this trip.
“How about the Florida Keys? Hemingway lived there; isn’t he your favorite author?” He continued with a laugh, “If it was good enough for him, it’s surely good enough for you.”
“I agree.” I said, and I did.
11
The drive to the beginning of the Florida Keys took about six hours, but because I was heading to the southernmost point in the United States, Key West, it took another two hours. What I mean to say is that it would have taken another two hours if I would have driven straight there. Instead we made a stop along the way, adding another hour to our trip.
The beginning of the Keys is sort of like driving into a new state, but that analogy doesn’t really do it justice. For example, when you are driving into Georgia from South Carolina, you don’t see any discernible differences except a sign welcoming you to the birth place of Jimmy Carter. Entering the Keys is almost like driving into an entirely different place unlike anywhere else in America.
What you first notice is that there is a two-lane highway on both sides of the road separated by a median. If you are heading south, you are driving along the Gulf of Mexico. If you are heading north, you are driving along the Atlantic Ocean. These two sides of the road are simply known as the “bay side” or the “ocean side” by the locals. To get to nearly any place on this stretch of road I learned you need to only have two questions answered. Question #1: What mile marker? Question #2: Which side? There are neighborhoods as you travel, but 99 percent of the restaurants and tourists attractions on the way to Key West can be found by following those two simple directions.
Shortly after getting into Key Largo, the first main Key, and perhaps the most popular one thanks largely, in part, to the Beach Boys song “Kokomo,” Bahama made a sound that indicated she had to use the bathroom, and quick. I pulled into a hotel resort called Kona Kai. At first I was just going to let Bahama do her duty and head right back into the car, but the palm trees, and the view of the Gulf through those trees appearing to me from the parking lot, had us off and walking.
I saw the building that was both the lobby and office. I didn’t think much of it because I had no intention of staying at this place seeing that I wasn’t planning on spending as much money as I thought this place would cost nightly, but as I got closer I noticed works of art in the building. Not much of an art appreciator, I was surprised when I found myself walking through the door. Looking back on it, I
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