Back in Key Largo

We finally have internet access back after over a week without.  Our friends Pam and Peggy joined us on Monday in Key Biscayne for a week of sailing and we have moved south again to Key Largo.  The weather has returned to sunny, warm, and dry which is much appreciated.

One of the things I  have noticed about the Upper Keys is that there are no central shopping districts, at least none that we have found.  Stores, post offices, restaurants, etc. are scattered up and down the islands.  There may be small enclaves of shopping, for example, a super market, laundry, and pizza shop together in one place, but to find a location (from the water) where one can go in and "browse" a variety of stores - not so much. 

We have been trying to locate a gift shop our friends found in a guidebook intended for car drivers.  It sounded very cool, like something we might enjoy visiting.  But it has been daunting to 1) determine the location of the store relative to the water, 2) find a reasonable anchorage which is close to the location of the store, and 3) find a place to which we could take the dinghy and tie up that is within walking distance of said store. Being a tourist is a lot easier from land than from water unless you are in towns such as Key West.  Maybe further along the chain of keys we will find something different.  Or maybe if we were driving we would find something different. 

I remember the first time I drove down the Keys from mainland Florida.  I had a somewhat romantic image in my head of what the islands would be like.  It goes something like: tiki bars every mile or so with Buffett tunes playing continuously, lots of cute little, funky stores with wonderfully different items to purchase that no one at home had ever seen, beautiful beaches spread out for miles, and great food and rum drinks.  I was much younger than and I was greatly disappointed.  My tastes and expectations are different now but the reality is about the same.  So we head to quiet anchorages much of the time (of which there are many) and usually only venture into "town" for specific needs.  I'm not totally immune to the lure of the touristy places, however.  I am looking forward to eventually getting to Key West again and revisiting the uniqueness of all that that town has to offer.