above: One of the swimming beaches at Bahia Honda.
The Bahia Honda State Park was one of our top choices for a place to stay in the Keys. Unfortunately, like many parks in the Keys, one needs to book a spot a year in advance! But, the park was just one island away so we could take advantage of their nice beaches and nature center even though we weren’t camping there.
The Dudes were really excited about trying out their new snorkeling gear and the park was a perfect place to get some practice before going on a snorkeling trip to Looe Key 12 miles off shore. The Lil’ Dude was so excited that he had his snorkeling gear on in the morning before even took his pajamas off!
left and below: The Lil’ Dude trying out his snorkeling gear and BBrrrrr, the water is too cold!
The Lil’ Dude was also the first one to step into the water and I could tell by the way his body suddenly lurched to a stop and straightened right up that the water was not as warm as we would have liked it to be. We were all able to wade up to our knees but that was as brave as any of us could be.
above: “wimps”(notice they are standing on a log)
We saw some Europeans frolicking in the waves and enjoying themselves but they obviously have a stronger constitution than we do. When it comes to swimming in cold water, we’re basically wimps.
above: coral rock used for fences and paving stones.
I had done some SCUBA diving in the Keys in the 70’s and 80’s and really wanted to share the experience of seeing the beautiful reefs and colorful fish with them but the water temperature was still in the low to mid 70’s which would only be comfortable with wetsuits which we don’t have.
left: Colorful coral washed up on the beach.
right: The brave boy goes in up to his knees.
Realizing that we would have to save snorkeling for another trip, we put our gear away and took a long walk on the white sand beach. The Dudes found many different pieces of coral and small shells among the sea grasses washed up on shore.
right: The Lil’ Dude finds some coral.
We also took a self guided nature walk through a mangrove forest and ventured to the highest part of the island, the remnants of Henry Flagler’s Railroad bridge. There are 42 bridges that link the keys together and it started in 1905 when Flagler put all of his money into the project that would connect the mainland to Key West.
left and below: The Dudes decorate a “driftwood tree” with shells.
New bridges have since been built with pieces of the old ones turned into fishing bridges or disconnected from the islands to remain as a memorial to the man who undertook an almost impossible project. Some of the ones not being maintained, with their crumbling concrete and rusted broken railings, are a little scary to look at especially thinking that I drove on them 30 years ago.
The small nature center had a large collection of shells and mounted birds and also offered state ranger badges which the Dudes enthusiastically took advantage of.
We had a great day at the park and the disappointment of not snorkeling will just fuel our desire to make another trip back to the Keys.
A teacher of conversational English collected “bloopers” from her class about snorkeling:
I know how to sky dive in the ocean.
You have to put big bottles on your back so you can have good breath.
You should have big rubber feet.
At this time, put the glass over your face so your eyes don’t get salted.
Then you can jump on the ocean.
Try not to get water in your snozzle.
This is how you can drown in water without being dangerous.