Big Pine Key

We have arrived in the Florida Keys! Big Pine Key to be exact (located a little more than halfway down the Keys, about 30 miles north of Key West). My dad Bill, and his girlfriend Katherine, have a place on the island where they generously offered us a piece of their driveway. If you have even been to the Keys, or know anything about them, then you know just how expensive and difficult it can be to secure a camping spot down here. Chances are if we didn’t have this place to park we would only be able to spend at the most one week down here, so to say we are grateful is an understatement.

Pretty much perfect in every way!

Our plans are up in the air at the moment, but we will probably stay here through January at least. As time goes on I’ll share with you all the amazing things that make this area so special, including the turquoise blue water, long bridges, abundance of wildlife, fresh foods, unique culture, and much much more. For now though, here’s a mini tour of the house and yard. Starting with where we are parked.

A quiet, dead-end road

The driveway is off a skinny dead-end street. Very few cars drive by, and the two houses across the street are currently unoccupied, which means it is much quieter and more peaceful than many campgrounds. The driveway is just long enough for us to fit. Right behind our bedroom windows is the door into the house.

Into the house…

You walk in and are greeted by a quaint, functional kitchen.

Into the kitchen

Fun kitchen details: pottery fish, conch shell door knob, custom made bench seat

From the kitchen you can go straight through the end door into the yard, or turn left into the living room and then out the french doors onto the screened in porch. This has quickly become my favorite spot. I set up my computer in here and spent an entire day enjoying some productive time and cool breeze away from the confines of the Airstream.

The best spot in the house

Out through the screen door and into the yard you will find a large work bench and outdoor kitchen. Right now the workbench is covered with concrete geckos. My dad crafts these geckos from a custom made mold and then stains them various colors. The yard down here is almost completely covered with these interlocking geckos. They make a great patio that is nice on the feet and pleasing to the eye. As you would expect, people who see the geckos often want their own gecko patio. In fact, the ones on the bench are the start of a custom installation for one of his neighbors.

Geckos on the workbench with the outdoor kitchen behind

Gecko patio

Continuing past the outdoor kitchen and workbench you can follow the geckos to the bocce court on the left.

Follow the geckos

Bocce is a pretty popular game in the Keys. I don’t remember exactly when my dad became interested enough to build his own court, but I do know that this particular one has been around for 15 years. Prior to that the original court was wiped out when Hurricane Georges came through in 1998. At some point I’d like to write an entire post on bocce and the bocce game that happens here every week. For now just a photo.

Bocce Court

To the right of the bocce court is the pyramid sitting area. The pyramid roof was built using the exact coordinates of the ancient pyramids of Egypt. At one time it had a palm frond thatched roof, but these days it’s just wood slats, allowing a nice breeze to come through. In the middle of the table is giant lazy Susan turntable, perfect for passing around snacks and drinks.

The Pyramid

Past the Pyramid area the gecko path continues alongside the Bed and Bath house where around back you will find the outdoor shower. An outdoor shower down here where the average winter temp and humidity hovers in the mid-80s is pretty much the best idea ever. There’s nothing better than showering in the middle of tropical jungle with a warm breeze tickling your nether regions :)

The Geckos path continues past the Bed & Bath House, the outdoor shower, and a gorgeous flowering vine hanging off the Bocce Court.

Now we’ve reached the far corner of the yard where you have your choice of sitting areas under the giant palm trees.

A great place for relaxing

Hammock Time

Providing shade & coconuts

This side of the yard also has a raised bed garden. The current crops are broccoli, carrots, and cucumbers.

The garden

At the very end of the yard is a bamboo door that leads out onto the street. From here we turn and look back down the bocce court while admiring the hand painted fern wall on the right.

Fern wall, Bamboo door, Far end of the Bocce Court

Thats all for now. At some point I’ll give a more in depth tour of the different plants around the yard. There are a great variety of palms, ferns, flowering vines, a few fruit trees, and even a cactus.

A few days in and we’re already settling into our routine here nicely. Enjoying the tropical air, going for long bikes rides, and doing our best to deal with the voracious no-see-ums that have left my legs looking like I have a bad case of the chicken pox (not an exaggeration, apparently I am having a particularly bad reaction to them). I can’t wait to share more with you all as the days go by. I’ll leave you with a photo from our first night.

Our first Florida Keys sunset

Happy New Year Everyone!