JerJourneys: florida keys

still searching for more warmth, i drove as far south as i could get - all the way down through miami

and then out along the keys...

i was keeping an eye out for a potential place to sleep in the keys. to bad it was high tourist season because that meant all of the parks were already full. some camp sites informed me that they become full 11 months in advance through reservations. hmmm

i really wanted to sleep in my van somewhere on the keys for free, but would have also considered taking a cheap camp site if only they were available. the lady at the keys visitor center said i'd be arrested if i parked on a street overnight and the only option she came up with was for me to go into a church nearby and ask the priest if i could park in their lot. seriously? i mean, that's a fine idea and something i would probably consider trying anyway, but the fact that she mentioned that as an option surprised me. : )

even if i had to drive all the way back, i wanted to go all the way to key west. i love that drive. it takes about two hours to get all the way from the southern tip of mainland florida to the farthest key. my hope was to get there by sunset, and i made it just in time.

the key west beach was beautiful

i really wanted to stay in key west so i could watch the sunrise and explore it in the morning instead of going all the way back to the mainland to sleep. after several unsuccessful attempts, i gave up on the idea of finding a camp ground. parking somewhere without permission was not an option. driving to burger king and mcdonalds to ask for permission was next on my list.

then my mom contacted me and mentioned bill who was a pastor she new who lived in the keys. i called him. as it turns out, he was pretty close and his car was broken down at the grocery store. i went to find bill and rescued his ice cream as i also took home one of his friends, tim. tim lived above the church, only a key away in big coppitt key, and let me sleep there on a bed!