Kon-Tiki Resort Islamorada

... Gulf side of the Keys was calm and perfect for whipping around on the Jet Ski - we managed to go 50 miles an hour which is 80km! Woop, woop. Bek also managed to roll us at about 65kmph which wasn't so woop, woop. But it was water, so we bounced a bit, splashed in and were on our way again. As part of the Jet Skiing we joined a tour that took us completly around the island and detailed some of the history of the area ...

... than that.

After a leisurely lunch we're back on the road again; next stop; South of the Border where Artie wanted to pick up some souvenirs for whatever reason. If you've never stopped at South of the Border, I'm not sure you'd need to. It may have been that it was out of season or the downturn of the economy but most of the stores were ...

Tuesday and the last day before the trip back. George and the Paul squared head out to the Spiegel Grove for a final day of diving while Artie and I head out to the History of Diving Museum. Who knows where Buster was, the last we saw of him he was chatting up some babe he had met ...

... back at the houseboat where he relaxed and took a kayak out for an hour or so.

That evening we took another short road trip to Whale Harbor for the all you can eat seafood buffet. It was okay but don't think any of us would recommend it.

Pictures from the Trip Five Guys ...

... and it was 1:30 in the afternoon... and a little too hot. The trip in quickly turn into an adventure as I had spun around quite a few times while taking photos and while I had a map of the "canoe trail" and was next to marker number five, I couldn't figure out which way was "in." By using the sun to roughly point me west and guessing that the current was going "out" I start to head against it. That was when the wind started picking ...

... on film -- such as hawks, owls and smaller birds; it is much more difficult creeping up on these very aware birds (wish I had the 1.7X-lens option for my camera). I scaled the highest point in the Everglades (Mt Shine), about fifty feet above sea level, which is a man-made hill created in trying to reclaim old farmland that had been overrun with Brazilian Pepper trees. These non-native plants are extremely difficult to eradicate and will likely take numerous ...

Made it to the Keys. The campground is situated about a third of the way from the mainland on the way to Key West. The internet connection seems to be coming from one of the other campers. So this will be brief. Just want to let everyone know where I'm at. I know some of you worry ...

... you get deeper. This, however, does major things to your body. Every time I dive I thank those people (and animals) who sacrificed their life, so diving became safe. Two major things are happening: 1. Your air chambers in your body (lungs, sinuses, ears,...) get compressed. If you would take a nice, big, red, firm tomato in your hand and dive to 30 meters, it would be squeezed, like by a giant hand, closing on it firmly. Having your airbags in your body squeezed is very ...

... have feet up with scotch watching storm get bigger and the frolicking birds having baths (Cardinals are the cutest). Rained solid until 16:00 - expect drizzle all night. Went to bed at 19:00 to read listening to the patter on the tent. Day 28, Tuesday February 13: Cloudy, humid and 80+F - infrequent thunderstorms. Weathered the storm well --- must have got 3+inches of rain yesterday. But still nothing seems to dry. Instructing Bucky on how to properly repair a couple of ...

... I didn't get home till 6am!!... naughty bc!!... The next day was spent doing much of the day before, R & R in the sun!!... Ended up going to the cinema (it is at least a weekly routine for me), watched Cinderella Man (3.5 stars)... on my way home a car passed me by... slowing driving past, obviously looking me up and down... this could be a good thing or a really bad thing... I just kept walking.... Two blocks later the car passes me again.... Slowing driving by ...