I had to postpone this one a few times because the last thing anyone would want to read was me blathering on about the sun and sea in the Keys while London burned. It felt strange to be sitting in a tropical island, longing for a breeze and another cool drink, while stories of mayhem from Tottenham Hale retail park and Wall Street flooded my twitter feed. It was genuinely frightening not simply because of what was happening but the ominous potential for things to get so much worse.
We've arrived today in West Palm Beach, the Keys are many miles behind us, the riots seem to have passed and so here is the recap in case you're interested.
Our drive to the Keys was uneventful: drive 99.6 miles and you have reached your destination on the right were our instructions. To be fair there isn't much room for turning and changing highways as route 1 snakes its way from the mainland down to Key West.
The scarcity of land means that this was to be the most expensive site of the trip at just under ninety dollars a night! However, it was the nicest of the lot with its own little stretch of beach. Soon enough we were all in the sea. The gulf waters are beautifully warm but by no means empty and after J was stung by a jellyfish we beat a hasty retreat to the pool.
There's a pub too where they will pour a third of a bottle of spirits for you for three dollars. Ah the Keys - pay through the nose for a patch of grass to park on but forget all your worries and your name for the price of a loaf of bread.
The next day was a pure Harriet day so we stayed in the pool and the play-ark.
The last day was a trip out to Key West proper (our campsite was in Sugarloaf Key). This place is very hostile to RVs and we drove around for ages looking for parking (lots of No RV parking signs everywhere). In the end the campsite directed us to the Welcome Center who let us park and we took a taxi into town. Pip was back in her travel bag but only for five minutes.
The taxi driver recommended a couple of places and we eventually gave up looking and took his advice. As ever I was a little nervous about Pippin but relaxed immediately when we entered Schooner's Wharf bar because there was a dog sitting on the stage.
It was an inspired choice/recommendation. I'm not saying it was the best food in the world but it was all fresh (my crab salad had just walked out the sea I'm sure). Pip was very welcome and had her own bucket of iced water and a shady spot.
(See what I mean about going all Boris Johnson - at that moment our English friends were genuinely and legitimately concerned for their safety)
Back to the pool and the following day we said farewell. Today was a long drive north via Miami Beach (it rained so we didn't stop) to a safari park west of West Palm Beach.
The coda to a long, boring drive was this evening's play-park visit. Harriet met a girl, Amanda, her own age and the two of them played for ages on the slide. Both girls looked beautiful and were at that perfectly compatible age where a few words of encouragement ("let's go", "ready, steady, go!" etc) were all that was needed. As ever, I refer you to J's pictures and videos for the full effect.
Be safe everyone.
We've arrived today in West Palm Beach, the Keys are many miles behind us, the riots seem to have passed and so here is the recap in case you're interested.
Our drive to the Keys was uneventful: drive 99.6 miles and you have reached your destination on the right were our instructions. To be fair there isn't much room for turning and changing highways as route 1 snakes its way from the mainland down to Key West.
The scarcity of land means that this was to be the most expensive site of the trip at just under ninety dollars a night! However, it was the nicest of the lot with its own little stretch of beach. Soon enough we were all in the sea. The gulf waters are beautifully warm but by no means empty and after J was stung by a jellyfish we beat a hasty retreat to the pool.
There's a pub too where they will pour a third of a bottle of spirits for you for three dollars. Ah the Keys - pay through the nose for a patch of grass to park on but forget all your worries and your name for the price of a loaf of bread.
The next day was a pure Harriet day so we stayed in the pool and the play-ark.
The last day was a trip out to Key West proper (our campsite was in Sugarloaf Key). This place is very hostile to RVs and we drove around for ages looking for parking (lots of No RV parking signs everywhere). In the end the campsite directed us to the Welcome Center who let us park and we took a taxi into town. Pip was back in her travel bag but only for five minutes.
The taxi driver recommended a couple of places and we eventually gave up looking and took his advice. As ever I was a little nervous about Pippin but relaxed immediately when we entered Schooner's Wharf bar because there was a dog sitting on the stage.
It was an inspired choice/recommendation. I'm not saying it was the best food in the world but it was all fresh (my crab salad had just walked out the sea I'm sure). Pip was very welcome and had her own bucket of iced water and a shady spot.
(See what I mean about going all Boris Johnson - at that moment our English friends were genuinely and legitimately concerned for their safety)
Back to the pool and the following day we said farewell. Today was a long drive north via Miami Beach (it rained so we didn't stop) to a safari park west of West Palm Beach.
The coda to a long, boring drive was this evening's play-park visit. Harriet met a girl, Amanda, her own age and the two of them played for ages on the slide. Both girls looked beautiful and were at that perfectly compatible age where a few words of encouragement ("let's go", "ready, steady, go!" etc) were all that was needed. As ever, I refer you to J's pictures and videos for the full effect.
Be safe everyone.
