The old highway across the keys
Last night Harris was talking to a camping neighbor at the Bahia Honda State Park and found out that the shuttle launch has been delayed ten days. We were both bummed out about it since it was the impetus for the trip east to Florida. We dithered about whether to abandon the launch and left the decision to fate. If we could reschedule our reservations in Titusville, then we would stick around and view the launch. If we couldn’t get reservations figured out, then homebound was our destiny. The recording at Manatee Park didn’t sound encouraging; it stated that due to the very heavy demand for reservations on the 29th, the park would get back to us (in the order the messages were left—please don’t leave more than one). Harris thought he gave the wrong cell phone number so he called back again this evening.
Why we couldn't stay on the other side of camp
As luck would have it, he spoke with a live person who happily changed the dates and confirmed a new reservation (with no added charge). The goddess of luck must have been in a good mood! So the good news of extending our trip overshadowed the bad news of a delayed launch.
The "Bat Tower"
During the eight hours between calls we took off to Key West geocaching along the way. Of the eight or so we did on the way, one (If you build it, they will come) took us to a bat tower—or rather the planned bat tower. A speculator named Mr. Perky (We kid you not) bought 25,000 acres in 1929 when the railroad was built over the keys thinking that he would make a killing with all the tourists wanting to come out. He discovered that there were way too many mosquitoes. So, he figured he’d build a tower for bats who would then devour all the mosquitoes. Lo and behold, the bats never arrived and the tower still sits unused.
We had to find a 35mm film canister hidden here
Another cache (Flagler’s Dream) took us to a pier in front of a destination hotel where the “moneyed ones” would stay. It’s always nice to see what money can build. We were boiling by the time we did so many caches so we stopped in a Denny’s diner for a smoothie. The ice-cold air conditioning was a welcome respite and we soaked in all the coldness as well as a couple of glasses of ice water. Denny’s will have two loyal patrons for the foreseeable future.
The obligatory Key West photo stop
The other obligatory stop in Key West (the Hemingway House)
We picked up some ice and dessert for our dinner. Ice cold rum and cokes go well with our beans, hamburger, and chips. The sunset was great even if the no-see-ums weren’t. Lady luck favored Harris tonight in cards. Tomorrow we’ll stick around camp and enjoy the beach before we head to another state park back toward Miami.
Looking back from the cache site on the pier
Sunset last night in front of our site
Total miles driven today=80
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