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09/19/2015, 11:44 PM | #76 |
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Thank you so much for this awesome, fun, informative thread.
I'm just tagging along. Looks like I have a new spot to visit on my next drive! I'm in Tampa Bay, and miss my annual keys trips. I think we may before this "season" starts. What's a cost effective bungalow or motel for a night by this Bahia Honda ?
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09/20/2015, 06:03 AM | #77 | ||
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And if you go to the Dry Tortugas, be prepared to relax on a long boat ride each way. And I hope you get the kind of really calm water we had! I'm looking forward to hearing about your trip. Quote:
If you are looking for inexpensive places to stay, my recommendations would be: Blackfin Resort & Marina Kingsail Sea Dell They are all about the same price (inexpensive as prices in the Keys go). And you need to pay attention to the time of year (or ask the motel). If it's lobster season, power boat race week, mini lobster season, or some other big event, prices go up. They also go up late Fall thru early Spring which is the snowbird season. But late Spring and all of the Fall are our favorite times because the water is warm enough, the weather is good (less afternoon thunderstorms and less risk of hurricanes) and less people! All 3 motels are mom & pop type places, not chains like Holiday Inn. I think all 3 have their own websites so you can see them in photos. They are all a bit 'homey' meaning the rooms are clean and comfortable, but the amenities may be a bit older. They all have nice pools. Blackfin and Kingsail have docks for boats, I think only Blackfin has a boat ramp on the property and is the only one with a tiny 'beach' and a swimming area. We stay at the Blackfin and use an efficiency. They are a bit away from the other rooms, quieter, and closer to the swimming area and cost a bit more. We always swim/snorkel out the 100 yards to the small island just out from the mouth of the marina. It's not spectacular snorkeling, but if you look around you can see lobsters, juvenile tropical fish, feather dusters, anemones and sponges. We make that our first 'in the water' event of our visit to see how warm the water is so we know how to suit up for the next days more serious (much longer) snorkel. If you have any questions, please ask. My wife and I love snorkeling the shallows near shore and we'd like to make your experience as much fun as possible, so I'm happy to offer any advise I can. Between her photos and my collecting, we always have fun. And if the weather is bad (windy) and snorkeling visibility is bad, there are lots of other sites to see. Here is a marked up Google Earth map of the Blackfin Resort and the little snorkel island:
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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017 Last edited by Ron Reefman; 09/20/2015 at 06:39 AM. |
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09/20/2015, 08:21 AM | #78 |
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Nice !! That's perfect !
Thanks for all the insight. Just what the doctor ordered. I've dove a lot of the middle keys, but my lady is starting to get into my hobbies Much more and she's willing to get her feet wet, so to speak :0) Which is great, as now I can I least snorkel the shallows with her and blow her minds experiences until she's ready for a bit of diving. Today is my big 40, betcha can't guess where I was waking right now :0)
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09/20/2015, 12:28 PM | #79 |
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Congrats on the big 40 and on getting your... girlfriend, significant other, wife... whatever, into the water.
I love snorkeling with my wife. She has great eyes and sees more cool stuff than I do. In fact, I love snorkeling and I think she loves it even more than I do! But the aquariums are my hobby, she just enjoys looking. Her hobby is the yard/garden/lanai. Fifteen years ago our yard was 99% grass, not it's 75-80% gardens and trees and only 20-25% grass. This is 15 years ago, just after I laid the patio. Basically the same shot taken just inside the line of Washingtonia Palm trees in the first pic.
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09/20/2015, 04:25 PM | #80 |
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Lordy that's gorgeous. I'm sure you have some nice finds in the shallows around your house too!
Bout an hour south of Venice ? I've taken the catamaran trip from there down to key west.
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09/21/2015, 05:35 AM | #81 |
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My wife says "Thanks." She started with some plants and then we did some serious butterfly gardening. Now we have butterflies buzzing around like this was O'Hare Airport at rush hour! Then it was bromeliads, and then tillandsias (air plants) and now it's orchids.
And I sell corals to club members and on Craigslist, she gives away cuttings as much as she can or else they get thrown away! We have about 10 or 12 volunteer Bismark Palm trees (new starts that are just 8"-12" tall) that cost good money at the nursery. And lots of bromeliad pups (she has between 30 and 40 different species growing in the yard). And cactus cuttings, and... well, you get the idea. If you ever want to drive down and take home a load of plants, just let me know! And yes, we are about an hour south of Venice, just west of Fort Myers. And I'm serious about giving away plants! Here are 3 freshly hatched Zebra Longwing butterflies. They like shady areas and last year was the first time in 15 years we had any in our yard. Now we see them fairly regularly along with 6 to 8 other species. And this is not an ordinary pineapple. It's about 4/5ths the size of a dole, more red outside, almost white inside and just enough more tart than a 'normal' pineapple to make it interestingly different. OK, back to discussion of the Keys (sorry about the side track).
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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017 |
09/21/2015, 07:32 AM | #82 | |
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Right now is the slow season so this will be the cheapest for motel/hotels/vacation rentals. It gets pricey from the end of October for the festivals and throughout the winter. And of course during the summer as well. |
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09/21/2015, 07:54 PM | #83 |
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Bahia Honda is pretty much booked for at least the next year you'd be very lucky to get a site.
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09/22/2015, 07:05 AM | #84 |
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09/22/2015, 02:12 PM | #85 |
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Amazing photos and thanks to all that posts these amazing creatures.. Our oceans are beautiful...
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09/22/2015, 04:57 PM | #86 |
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09/26/2015, 02:33 PM | #87 |
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Ron, I have a place in the keys that badly needs some of the stuff your wife is growing. Particularly the Bismarck has been on my wish list. How can I reach you. Can you PM me?
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09/28/2015, 08:55 AM | #88 |
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09/29/2015, 12:14 PM | #89 |
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Went to Bahia Honda on Sunday just for one night. Unfortunately it was very murky and a storm hit us like at 7:30pm. It was definitely an event though and had fun with my friends before I get married this upcoming weekend.
The tent site I reserved was great! Definitely a must in the future, just need to plan it for a better time in the year. Don't think the future wife would like being in a tent during a storm. |
10/01/2015, 04:48 AM | #90 | ||
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Quote:
Quote:
B) I'm on probation here, mods just won't cut me a break as it's been 2 years! So I can't PM or access you profile info. C) As icy1155 said, go to SWFMAS.com, register and then you can PM me or just start a thread, Ron Reefman (same as here). We have lots of plants, wife has potted a few Bismark Palms and we have more volunteers we can try potting. I'll be heading down to the Keys early the first week in November. We could meet then? I'm a Miata fan, but the Acura in 3rd is a friend of mine from Ohio and he ended up winning the race on the last lap!
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10/01/2015, 05:02 AM | #91 |
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G Sanab922, glad to hear you had a good time with friends at Bahia Honda. We've never camped there, but we are considering camping for a night at the Dry Tortugas before the rainy season starts up next May/June. We want to go when there is a new moon so we have as dark a sky as we can get. That would make for better viewing of the Milky Way stretched out across the entire sky.
And congratulations on getting married! I'm a big fan of marriage... I've done it 3 times! But then I'm my wife's 3rd husband as well. We met in 2000, dated for 4 years and have been married for over 10. They say the 3rd time is the charm, we've been together for 15 years in total now and we still haven't had a single argument. Not bad for 2 people who have 4 divorces between them! My advise is, "Don't sweat the small stuff, be very willing to compromise on the big stuff and let her know you love her EVERYDAY!" Best of luck to both of you!
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10/01/2015, 10:56 PM | #92 | |
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Thanks Ron and i appreciate the advice. Like they say, "Happy Wife, Happy Life". For sure alot of compromises, when i get my fish room she can get her room full of shoes Bahia Honda sunrise time lapse, short and sweet. This was after the storm and another one was coming in. https://youtu.be/Ayzv23y42WQ |
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10/11/2015, 05:56 AM | #93 |
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Heading to the Keys for a few days of snorkeling in just 3 weeks and counting! I can't wait!
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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017 |
11/01/2015, 05:20 AM | #94 |
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Heading to the Keys on Monday. It looks like it's going to be a bit more windy than I would like, but we'll play do our best to work around the wind and possible visibility issues.
Hoping to meet up with AWL (post #87) on Tuesday. We'll post some pics and thoughts while we are there.
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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017 |
11/01/2015, 05:09 PM | #95 |
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Likewise, I'll be there.
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11/01/2015, 05:38 PM | #96 |
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Anyone snorkel at fort zachary taylor? I will be taking a cruise into key west this week and am thinking about trying some snorkeling there
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11/02/2015, 05:24 AM | #97 | |
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We were there for the day and snorkeling was our main objective. But the fort is so cool, I want to go back and have more time (hard to do as you have to live by the charter boat schedule). So we plan to do an over night camping trip next Spring (as close to a new moon as we can get). The other advantage (if we get a clear night) is a chance to see the Milky Way from as far south in the US as we can get. Being 70+ miles from the nearest lights is a real help for star gazing as well! And doing it early in the spring means getting to see some constellations to the south that we don't normally get to see in the US. Pics from that trip:
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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017 |
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11/02/2015, 07:26 PM | #98 |
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I believe where you went is called dry tortugas? That is about 40 miles out and need a boat to get to correct? Would love to go there as I heard that is the spot to go, but a 2.5 hour trip each way is too much for what my time permits
I was looking at fort zachary taylor which is right off of the cruise pier |
11/03/2015, 05:50 AM | #99 |
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My bad, I was in a rush. My eyes saw Fort and my brain went Dry Tortugas (Fort Jefferson). Sorry.
We arrived in the Keys yesterday (Fri afternoon) and the wind wasn't too bad. We have our fingers crossed for Tues and Wed.
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The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it. (Neil deGrasse Tyson) Visit my build thread http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2593017 |
11/03/2015, 10:02 AM | #100 |
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The wind has been whipping up over here. Hopefully it gets better but I doubt it, this time of year is when it gets windy.
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