To key largo

So out of Miami I go today. Wake up to beautiful weather and it looks like my day to move on out! I'm ready. I loved Miami but this trip is about keeping it moving, so moving today I am. I get up and run to the corner store for my last Cuban coffee fix, damn those are so good! I pick up to pastillita's too, they are a Cuban pastry. And I buy a souvenir shirt that is really kinda stylish.

Then I get a message on facebook that my old high school friend I haven't seen in years is sitting at a cafe in south beach. I thought he was messing with me but I go over and sure enough there he is Steve "erb" Newhart...haha. Man we go way back! He surprised his wife with a weekend in south beach from Philly. I get to sit and chat with him while they are finishing breakfast, that was cool! I tell him the local haps and take off to key largo. 

It's 11:00 and I'm in the rode, I discover some beautiful shots of the city on my way out so I'm constantly pulling over and snapping pics. I make it out of south beach and right through the middle of downtown! Woah what a ride! Cutting through a maze of skyscrapers and weaving in and out of the downtown rush. 

I ride through homestead and find a pollo tropical, it's a fast food joint I've been meaning to try. It's real good and I sit outside and have lunch. 

I decide to take a back way into key largo and it turns out to be long, windy and boring but oh well I'm in. And I crossed a really cool bridge on the way. I head to the state park and there is like nobody around. I meet a guy and his fiancé from Miami. They are just there for the day grilling and chilling at the moment. Cool guy, he says he is a photographer and he wants to contribute to my trip by snapping some photos of me and my bike with the key largo palms, beach and water ad the backdrop. Amazing photos!! He will email me in the morning.  So John pennekamp park doesn't have campsites because of construction, but they do have the glass bottom boat and snorkeling that I will be doing in thebmorning!

So I chill for a hour and take off in search for my home for the evening! Hampton inn wants 130$ a night. I find a campsite and slide in. I ride to the edge of the water with nobody around. I sit still for an hour and watch the sun set. There is crazy amounts of wildlife going on. Birds flying, schools of fish jumping, dolphins, all kinds of stuff as the sun tucks away and turns the sky purple and orange I once again am reminded about gods beauty and how lucky I am to be seeing so much of it!

I set up in the dark and take a nice hot shower, removing all the pieces of bug stuck all over me from today's ride. Nice place to call home, but it's just a couple hours, I break camp tomorrow at sunlight so I can get on the snorkeling trip. 

Only 100 miles to ride and my parents are in their place in Florida ready to pick me up at ft myers when the key west express pulls into port at 9:30pm. I wonder how I'm going to feel at that very moment when i get to see them and retire the bike, blog and trip. Well we will find out. I already figures out my last blog is going to be a gigantic gratitude list, listing everybody and everything included in this trip. By the way everyone reading the blog has helped me tremendously. Because everyday I know I have to keep going forward, remember something interesting about the day and then I get to reflect in it as I write it. So thanks in advance to everybody I know that has been involved in this process.