Boating in South Florida - Monument Island

Now that the weather is finally hot enough to go on the boat without a windbreaker, El Hombre and I have started venturing out onto the high seas again. Boating is a nice alternative to going to the beach here in the Spring and Summer for a few reasons - on the boat you can explore lots of different places instead of being squashed into one space, you can spend the majority of your time with only a few people instead of the perpetual jam of people on the beach, you don't have to listen to every reggaeton song that's ever been recorded and you can still get sun and be in the water.

Anyways, on one of our recent excursions, El Hombre and I decided to head over to Flagler Monument Island. When I lived on the beach I never really paid attention to this small island with an obelisk just off the Venetian Causeway. In fact, I didn't even know what the island was until I went on the Miami City Tour a few years back.

Flagler Monument Island is just what it seems, it's a small, man-made island in the bay that was built to honor Henry Flagler in 1920. The island monument itself is quartered off by fences, but has statues at each corner of the square base. Though covered with the same trees and underbrush which are typical of all the bay islands, Monument Island is a nice place to tie up your boat and stop for a picnic or a short walk (though I recommend sneakers or some other type of covered shoes if you plan to walk through to the monument itself.

There are trash cans all around the island to dispose waste, but I don't think they are collected too often, and you will see some trash on the island. Don't get me wrong, there is not a ton of litter all over the beaches, but it's definitely there. Fortunately organizations like Ecomb do frequent outings with volunteers to go clean up the island, and in fact El Capitan has participated in this recently.

Can you spend a whole day admiring the beauty of Monument Island? Probably not, but it's definitely a recommended spot to stop for a walk and some firm land - just please pick up your trash and take it with you.

Images below:

A Memorial Trip to Key West

I have been longing for a vacation for quite a while now. Between the stress from work, everyday life and the economy, I have just needed a break. The kind of break where I just chill out and relax, without access to email and the internet. This past weekend, El Hombre took advantage of the long weekend and headed down to Key West to see friends and have a mini-vacation.

If you don't already know, it is virtually impossible to be stressed out in the Keys. That vibe just doesn't exist there and that's why I love going. This was actually my third time staying overnight, but I had many first-time experiences. Including trying oysters, which I have always been too grossed out by the texture to even try them. But I wasn't given a choice. El Hombre and I went with one of his friends to Alonzo's Oyster Bar and got a medley of tasty, very fresh seafood. There's nothing better than sitting down at a table overlooking the water after a blistering hot day, having a glass of wine and chowing down on sesame seared tuna, conch ceviche, crab claws and oysters.

Fishing, as evidenced by this pic, is a huge pastime and industry in the Keys, so you know your seafood will be good:


While there we rented bikes to get around, which is the best, and arguably the only way you should see Key West. Forget scooters, you can get horribly injured, and parking a car is a nightmare. With bikes you can get around everywhere, tie them to any loose pole and explore. Riding at night is my favorite, once the temps in the 70s and 80s, the wind blowing and the only sound is the occasional creak of the bike, the crickets and the frogs.

While there we also got to see one of my favorite bands, Suenalo, play two nights at the Green Parrot, a local dive on Whitehead Street. As usual they were awesome. I dance half the night away, hurt knee and all. Saturday night the bar was packed, so we stood outside. The rain opened up, cooling off the whole scene, and the band played on, through the thunder and lightning. It added a whole different vibe to the atmosphere as everyone packed in.

On the way to the Green Parrot from Alonzo's, I had to stop and be a total tourist. It's just in my nature:

The most photographed and most stolen sign in Key West

Another restaurant we tried was Bo's Fish Wagon. This place was built up all weekend, and we were not disappointed when we finally tried it. They had the best conch fritters I have had so far. Super delicious. They also have a blackened cheeseburger and a fried grouper sandwich, both are awesome. This is a small building, built off a wagon across from schooner's wharf. It started out as an actual wagon on Duval, but about 10 years ago the owner moved it across from the West Marine Store. I highly recommend it. Plus it's cool looking:



And on Memorial Day I finally got to go boating. I have been in South Florida for 5 years and have not been on a boat yet. It was amazing. The water was perfect, the weather was perfect. We boated out to a sandbar and hung out, swam and repeatedly coated ourselves with sunscreen with a few other people who apparently had the same idea:




And on our way back home to Miami, I saw the greatest sign ever.

The three things you always need to get in drive through, right?