Day 5 - April 2

Today was our last day in Key West and I planned a little adventure followed by a lot of relaxation.  We had a late start to the morning because our kayak tour wasn't scheduled until 10:30.  I was awake at 6 AM, which was at least an hour before anyone else.  Once everyone was up, we ate breakfast, watched a little TV and played some video games before getting ready to go. 

We used Blue Planet Kayak for our tour and their van picked us up at 10:00.  That was a really awesome service.  I must admit that when we got to their location, it looked a little sketchy.  The parking area was a mix of the taxi garage, some docked fishing boats and some offices.  We went to the very back corner of the offices and checked in.  Scott and Lorelei were kayaking together and Luke and I were partners.  We got in our boats and as soon as the guide was ready we were off.  Luckily there was only one other guy on our tour.  The guide took us out into the channel between Stock Island and Boca Chita.  She picked up a whelk and told us all about him.  She netted two sea slugs that promptly inked on her hands.  The kids got to touch them and see them up close.  Next we crossed the channel to an 'island' of Mangrove trees.  Technically there is no soil so it's not really an island because the Mangroves grow in the water. 

Once we got in there, she showed us a Cassiopea (upside down jellyfish) and then we started noticing them all over the place.  Next we saw a nurse shark that she tried to net but couldn't catch.  Then we saw sea stars.  That led us into the Mangroves where we saw the Mangrove crab, we got to hold a sea cucumber, we got to see sea anemone, sponges and tiny fish.  On the other side on the Mangroves, we stopped to check out a conch that stretched out of his shell so we could see most of him.  Weird.  Then back through the Mangroves and out to the ocean where Katie caught a fish and some Longspine black urchin.  She talked about Key West, the channel, the ocean and the trees.  Then we headed back to the docks to finish the tour.  It was a really great experience and I would highly recommend it. 

Once we were done and dropped off at the campground, we ate some lunch and then headed to the pool and did a load of laundry.  After a couple hours, we headed back to get showers and get cleaned up to walk 4 tenths of a mile to Hogfish Bar & Grill.  This was more of a local place and was recommended to me by a friend and one of the cabbies here.  We had alligator bites, conch fritters and their special, the Hogfish sandwich.  It was a good dinner and the atmosphere was great.  Much more like I expected Key West to be. 

We walked back to the campground and spent the evening talking, playing and getting the camper cleaned up for an early start towards the Everglades tomorrow morning.