Wednesday, December 2, 2020

Smathers Beach, Key West, FL

ODOMETER: 80,549 | MILES TRAVELED: 2,604

 

by Grant

It’s a cool breezy day in the Florida Keys. We woke up this morning and Phoebe was snuggled up with Ellie in her bed (pretty tight quarters for the two of them). We’re realizing Phoebe does not like to be cold or wet!? Not sure she’s actually a dog! ?

We took the dogs to Higgs Beach for a jaunt and they loved it. There are two separate dog parks at Higgs Beach. One for big dogs and one for small dogs – I’m not sure what the height or weight cut off is but if it’s left up to the dogs themselves, guaranteed, the Chihuahuas will be in the big dog pen.

We chose to avoid the dog paks as our mutts are not very social. Having grown up on a property, we didn’t acclimate them to other dogs and they form a pack when another dog appears at all to be a threat.

Gamble Family Adventures and Travel Blog | Living on a Bus

The feisty little dogs seem to provoke them the most, but regardless we take the easier route of walking them on the beach where there’s less canine stimulation.

On the way home, we passed a great Cuban sandwich joint claiming to have the “Best Cuban Sandwich on Key West”. It’s a busy little hole in the wall called, Sandy’s Cafe. And their sandwiches were awesome! We aren’t in a position to validate them as numero uno on Key West, but they are great!

We spent the afternoon working and Jack and Ellie had school. We then headed to Smathers Beach which was just gorgeous. We got there just after sunset and we all captured some awesome shots of the beautiful sunset and Key West view. We then grabbed pizza from Roostica’s Wood Fired Pizza and headed back to spend the evening catching up.

There are two separate dog parks at Higgs Beach. One for big dogs and one for small dogs – I’m not sure what the height or weight cut off is but if it’s left up to the dogs themselves, guaranteed, the Chihuahuas will be in the big dog pen.

 Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

Reflection

We don’t usually eat this much takeout food, but we do like to sample the local fare. And given our desire not to eat indoors and avoid unnecessary COVID risks, we have been picking up a lot of takeout on this trip. We have also been observing mask etiquette and noting that the adherence to local ordinances requiring the use of masks seems pretty low overall. 

Some people asked if we were taking unnecessary risks by travelling during COVID and our take on that is that we stay in our ‘pod’ and respect all the expert advice around mask use,

social distancing and exposure risks, we should not be increasing our chances of exposure in any way. We avoid tourist traps and spend most of our time in nature. Whether we’re hunkered down ‘at home’ and respecting the recommendations, or we’re visiting far flung places and being equally respectful of the guidelines the experts are putting out there really only changes geography, not risk. At least that’s how we see it.  

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These are our personal thoughts on some of our experiences.

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Our Trip

Trip

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We are currently sailing the South Pacific to Australia.

 

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