Florida Keys Day 4

Tuesday February 17, 2026

Our plan today was to rent bicycles and bike across the old bridge to Pigeon Key. I love biking was too excited and was ready an hour early. I had a scare this morning, Wendy had brought home a hermit crab shell she was "just sure" didn't have a crab in it, she carried it home in her bra from Bahia Onda beach. When I went to fix breakfast a dead crab was hanging out of the seashell she had set on the counter, yikes!!! I put it on the back patio, bleh! We all had a good laugh that Wendy put a live hermit crab in her swim bra and let it die on the counter lol.

What fun! I loved the biking way more than the snorkeling. Amy is a mermaid but I'm definitely a mountain goat, I prefer the land. We biked 3.5 miles to the smallest key (about 5 acres) and paid for the tour there. I bought a sweatshirt for Fiora and a book for Juliette about Pigeon Key. We caught the last half of the tour, ate lunch, then caught the first half of the tour. It was a worker camp for many years while they constructed the railroad then after the hurricane destroyed that workers built the current highway. One of the bridges extends 7 miles across the ocean water!

We found a great spot to put our stuff down and snorkel on the longest pier/dock on Pigeon Key. We took turns watching the bags but it was so safe there probably didn't need to. I read my Sacketts Land book and tried to sleep, but I just can't sleep if there is noise around me. There was not much to see but it was a nice swim and I jumped off the pier into the water. Wendy and Kim found 2 conchs and a large orange starfish! We laid in the sun and snorkeled there for a few hours, the tour guide guy had to come tell us they were closing the island and we needed to get on our way at 4 pm. We biked the 3.5 miles back to the bike rental and shopped a bit. 

We stopped at a pub called Herbies on the way home and bout a key lime pie. It was less $ to buy the whole pie so it lasted us a few days. Pretty good! Very dense, like sweetened condense milk, but very limey. Seeing as how it was "Fat Tuesday" we also stopped at "Conch Custard" to get some ice cream. They had a key lime pie variety I tried, it was SO GOOD! And we were getting a kick out of saying "conk custard anyone?" We found a Surf store and there were tons of things to buy there, I got myself some clothes and a manatee for my pretty shelf. I love my long sleeve shirt that says Marathon Keys.  I was determined to stay up as late as the ladies this time so I watched Danny Kay's version of Walter Mitty with Kim and Shawna, Amy joined too. I was sleepy hyper so not sure what I said or did but it was hilarious cuz I was laughing up a storm. Hope I didn't disturb Wendy! 

Florida Keys Day 3

Monday February 16, 2026

This was our scuba dive/snorkle excursion on Big Pine Keys day. Good old Shawna got up and worked out with me in the fitness room even though she stayed up late. We packed up early and got to Big Pine at 8:40 am to get checked in with a bunch of other tourists who would be with us on the boat at 9am. We got in our wet suits (those things are hard to get on!) and took a 35 minute boat ride to a coral reef. Amy Kim and Wendy did the scuba dive and Shawna and I snorkled. Unfortunately, the ocean swells were about 2 feet high in the water this day, and even thought the Captain Hooks tour guide people insisted the weather was good enough to go on the tour, the rough waters kicked up too much sediment to see anything very well, and after the first dive half of the passengers got sea sick. We call that boat the Barf Bot because 7 people were puking over the side, including Amy and Kim. I was a bit nauseous myself on the ever rocking boat. 

The snorkling was cold but once I got used to the temperature I noticed there were many fishes of all sorts and colors and shapes and the purple coal leaves. I have a hard time peeing in a wet suit so I was uncomfortable until our 2nd dive spot when I got back in and finally forced myself to pee. Kim and Amy couldn't go back in the water but Wendy did the second dive. I got out after a swim around the boat because the swells were too high, sometimes 3 feet it seemed, and the water was murky. So many poor sick people waited for the divers to come back and finally get back to land. So thankful for safety and the fun we had despite the non-ideal diving conditions. 

We stopped at a park in Big Pines to eat the lunch Shawna made for us--chicken salad sandwiches and grapes. I was ravenous but Amy and Kim could barely eat a thing. It was a beautiful park by the ocean and we had a nice time talking and enjoying the scenery. We went home for a rest and cleaned up, then went to a Cuban Restaurant and Wendy and I shared a Cuban Sandwich, they are huge! And so good. We went to Sweet Savanna's after dinner and got some key lime pie there, that is a happening place with a line through the building into the next shop. I bought an overpriced T-shirt that said Sweet Savannah on it for Sav and to wear as jammies because I forgot mine. They had the best pie there! My favorite one, creamy but a good lime tang. The girls stayed up late talking again! I had to go to bed at 9 again. Kim and I shared a room and she is very clean quite and considerate, I hardly knew she was there!