December 21, 2018
Road trip mistake/mishap #57 (I dunno, I'm not really counting here): Drive to Key West.
Since we had already extended our trip down to the Everglades, I was tempted by this idea. It was also one of the scenic drives in that Reader's Digest book. And then one of Shad's coworkers who used to live in Florida got all excited that we'd be in the Everglades and said it's worth the drive. He even told us tons of places to stop, attractions, food to eat. So we got excited and decided to do it. Here's everything wrong with that: when I called to book our campground in the Everglades, I thought I was getting the one near the entrance. I wasn't. I was assigned to Flamingo, which is another 45 minutes in. Now we loved that drive and it was beautiful and worth it, but that meant that driving to Key West would be 4 hours one-way instead of 3 hours. Next thing wrong: We went to Key West in December on New Year's Eve. That's peak tourist season and all the snowbirds have migrated south for their winter warmth. Slower driving, more traffic. It took longer than 4 hours. All the attractions were crowded. I didn't even bother to get out of the car at the "Southernmost Point of the Contiguous United States" buoy. The line to get by it for a picture extended several blocks down the street in both directions. We just should've stayed in Everglades and found a trail that wasn't washed out. So without further ado, let's blow through this.
Sunrise
Ah, sunrise
Batman cuddles
Us
Sunrise with a bird
Driving out of the Everglades in daylight. Okay, this I did enjoy.
I stopped us frequently for plant photos.
#youodysseythis
I took a shower that morning, so...windows down for natural blow drying!
The dwarf cypresses. I think we appreciated these more after having seen the full-size ones in New Orlreans. These dwarfs max out at 4 or 5 feet tall. Like me!
#youodysseythis
These shells were all over the roadside.
Yeah, that elevation is the peak point of the Everglades.
As a native Coloradan, seeing this type of evergreen tree was mindboggling.
Woohoot! Park sign!
{Thora, Dancy, Katie, Tommy, Samson, Shad, me}
#youodysseythis
We took a park stop at Library Beach Park on Islamorada. Fun, quiet little place. And we saw an iguana!
Pushing Sam in the swing, he started singing "Light Em Up" by Fall Out Boy...only, he gets the lyrics wrong. Instead of singing, "Light 'em up, up, up! Light 'em up, up, up! Light 'em up, up, up, I'm on fire!" he sings, "Lotta nut, nut, nut!" Which makes complete sense.
We wanted to stop for lunch, but everything was either closed or extremely overpriced. So we kept going.
We stopped at Robbie's on Lower Matecumbe Key because we were told that the tarpon feeding was awesome. Hand feeding giant fish? Sure! Um, no. Not when they're overfed from all the other Christmas holiday tourists. I don't know why they keep selling buckets of fish at that point. Oh, yes. Feeding fish to fish. But not to the pelicans. That's forbidden.
The pelicans stole a fish anyway and fought over it.
We finally settled on a place to eat. I don't even remember which key it was on at this point. The food was fine, not amazing. But maybe it was also my mood.
{me, Tommy, Thora, Samson, Katie, Dancy}
Continuing on...
Traffic flows on the new highway and the old one is still there.
We were told to get out and explore on Big Pine Key because there are key deer EVERYWHERE. Didn't see any and the office for the Key Deer National Wildlife Refuge was closed, naturally. Thank you AGAIN, government shutdown. So we walked around this natural area that said you might see a key deer there. We didn't, but we did see other enjoyable wildlife. Alligators, turtles, and fish.
So we FINALLY got to Key West. It took us so long that we didn't get to stop at the Ernest Hemingway House; the Southernmost photo point was crazy as previously mentioned; and I figured that the recommendation for sunset at Mallory Square would also be overcrowded, so I searched Google maps and picked a beach I thought would be less populated. Higgs Beach did not disappoint.
Pelicans divebombing the water
We didn't come with swimwear because we didn't think we'd be beaching. The kids were thrilled when I told them to get wet and messy anyway. It's a beach. You have to.
When it was almost time for sunset, we walked out on Higgs Beach Pier to sit and enjoy.
I'm not skiddish around PDA at all, but I'm not one to take kissing selfies.
On a day prior to this, I discovered that my Samsung S4 Galaxy phone allowed me to take still shots while recording video. That made this sunset video and picture combo possible!
If you'll notice, it's a completely clear sky except at the horizon. I still didn't get to see a sunset of what I'd call the sun melting into the ocean.
"The sky is blank but beautiful. Nothing will ever be the same--a cup of emptiness to fill, symbols shaped into a name."
-Rachel Hadas, "The Bees of the Invisible"
And then we said to the kids, "Back to the beach!" And they took off running. Even on that metal grate pier.
"For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun. And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered."
-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
"I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."
-Alfred Tennyson
This was cool to see!
African Cemetery at Higgs Beach
"Near this site lie the remains of 294 African men, women and children who died in Key West in 1860. In the summer of that year the U.S. Navy rescued 1,432 Africans from three American-owned ships engaged in the illegal slave trade. Ships bound for Cuba were intercepted by the U.S. Navy, who brought the freed Africans to Key West where they were provided with clothing, shelter and medical treatment. They had spent weeks in unsanitary and inhumane conditions aboard the slave ships. The U.S. steamships Mohawk, Wyandott and Crusader rescued these individuals from the Wildfire, where 507 were rescued; the William, where 513 were rescued; and the Bogota, where 417 survived. In all, 294 Africans succumbed to their confinement. They were buried in unmarked graves on the present day Higgs Beach where West Martello Tower now stands. By August, more than 1,000 survivors left for Liberia, West Africa, a country founded for former American slaves, where the U.S. government supported them for a time. Hundreds died on the ships before reaching Liberia. Thus, the survivors were returned to their native land, Africa, but not to their original homes on that continent."
Nyamae Biribi Wo Soro
"God, I know there is something in the heavens."
Symbol of Hope and Faith
Even in the worst of circumstances, God is always there. This timeless knowledge has been preserved in an African American gospel song,
"...Up above my head, I hear music in the air,
Up above my head, there's a heaven somewhere,"
and in a wise Brazilian proverb:
"Don't tell God that you have a great problem.
Tell your problem that you have a great God."
Osram
The Moon
"The moon does not hasten on its way around the world."
Symbol of Steadiness, Peace and Patience
"This, too, will pass." A reminder that patience is required in awaiting any outcome. It is necessary to know that everything must run its course in Divine time. Even the nightmare of the Middle Passage and slavery had to end in its due time, but it was necessary to remain strong, resistant and patient throughout its duration.
Adinkra Symbols
The symbols on these columns are know as adinkra (or edinkra), and originate in Ghana, West Africa, where the Atlantic "slave trade" began. Each symbol stands for a proverb or idea. They are traditionally stamped onto cloths in rhythmic patterns. Adinkra means "farewell," and the cloths were originally worn at funerals (red for younger people and white for elders). Although these symbols are traditionally associated with death, they also represent new beginnings.
Mate Masie
"What I hear, I keep."
"I have listened and I have learned."
Symbol of Knowledge, Wisdom, and Prudence
There are lessons to be learned from every experience in life. "Even when the foot speaks, the wise person listens."
(African proberb)
In spite of all the horrors they endured, the captives aboard the three ships learned and kept valuable lessons from their survival.
Gye Nyame
"Except God"
Also translated as
"Unless God," "Be but for God," or "Only God."
A proverb states, "I fear nothing in the universe, except God."
The most popular adinkra symbol, representing the supremacy and omnipotence of God.
Nkkonsonkonson
Link of Chain
"We are linked by blood in life and in death."
This very popular symbol is a reminder that all of our Ancestors, in that long chain of generations, as well as all of our future generations are alive and present within us today. This symbol is even more significant, for the descendants of those who were forcibly brought across the ocean in chains, as a reminder of our eternal links to the African Motherland. Those who were buried here are permanently linked to their homelands near Whydah and the Congo River Basin.
Akoma Ntoso
Linked Hearts
Symbol of Agreement, Understanding, Share or Common Purpose
Although each person had to be as strong as possible individually, all knew that their real strength came from unity of understanding and collective consciousness. Survivors who made the crossing aboard the same ship forged particularly strong lifelong bongs. Those who came to Key West also bonded with those from the other ships and with the local community.
Wawa Aba
Seeds of the Wawa Tree
Symbol of Hardness, Toughness, and Endurance
To endure and survive the Middle Passage (as the Atlantic crossing of at least six weeks was known) captives needed to be resolutely strong and resilient--physically, mentally and spiritually.
Epa
Handcuffs
"You are the property of the one whose handcuffs you wear."
"Do not let this happen to you," is the warning embodied in this symbol, which is also the symbol of justice and equality of all persons before the law.
The binding of their hands was the first indication to the African captives that their lives as free human beings had ended. The Africans who were rescued from the slave ships Wildfire, William and Bogota came from parts of Africa as distant as the Bight of Benin (modern Nigeria and Benin) and the Congo River Basin (modern Congo, Gabon, and Angola).
Sankofa
"Go back to fetch it."
A reminder that the past must be a guide for the future. We must "return to the source" retrieve and remember what has been lost or forgotten, in order to know who we are, to make wise decisions, and to be spiritually fulfilled.
The important and once-forgotten story of the Key West African Cemetery was brought to light by Florida Keys Historian Gail Swanson in 1997, 137 years after the events of 1860 unfolded in this small island city. The citizens of Key West joined in supporting this memorial just as their predecessors joined in supporting the rescued Africans, of whom 295, mostly children, were buried at this site.
Shad had a beach race for the kids. Minus Thora.
And one last sunset picture.
Overall, Key West (and other keys) was OKAY. Definitely wouldn't go back during tourist season. Probably won't at all unless we read and fall in love with Hemingway.
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