Beyond shopping and sharing rooms, meals and toothpaste, a girls’ getaway in the Florida Keys means low-tech ways to recharge and renew, as you discover abundant “BFF” adventures with your best buds.

Sun and fun, activities and renewal await during girls' getaways in the Florida Keys. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

For example, rejuvenating day spas, massage therapies or alternative-healing treatments can reconnect mind, body and spirit during a pampering spa break and wellness getaway. Spas and treatment centers are located throughout the Keys.

Among them is Marathon’s Tranquility Bay Beach House Resort, where guests can choose from a full range of therapies — including custom herbal scrubs and poultices, facial and body masks and vibrational energy balancing.

Islamorada’s The Spa at Cheeca Lodge offers massage and facial rooms, a wet room with a Vichy shower for scrubs and wraps, poolside cabanas and an oceanside tiki hut for outdoor treatments.

Seeking a beach escape? One of the Florida Keys’ most popular camping and recreation areas, the Lower Keys’ Bahia Honda, features deep near-shore waters for swimming and snorkeling as well as kayaking, camping, picnicking, watersports, a marina and rental cabins.

Deservedly named one of the leading U.S. beaches in several travel studies, Bahia Honda’s pristine sandy expanse is part of a 524-acre state park located on Bahia Honda Key between mile markers 36 and 37.

Looking for pampering in paradise? Keys spas offer treatments, therapies and body care for indulgence-seekers.

The Keys also are a great place for girlfriends to share an ultimate sports adventure. Like the fish they want to learn how to catch, women migrate from all over to land new angling skills — and embark on first-ever fishing trips — at an award-winning “Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing!” weekend seminar.

It’s held each November in Islamorada, the sportfishing capital of the world.

If serenity is your goal, appreciate the oldest practice of self-discovery in glorious sunshine and on tranquil waters that showcase the Keys’ natural beauty. Yoga on the Sea groups leave the dock from Marathon and, after a short cruise, their boat anchors in a beautiful setting for an hour of yoga designed to increase flexibility and strength through chanting, breath-work and seated and standing postures.

Or enjoy a relaxing sunset meditation to still the mind, followed by complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres. All classes are tailored to individual needs and can be enjoyed by beginners through yoga veterans.

A slice of Key lime pie is one of the sweetest things about the Keys experience -- perfect for BFFs to share. (Photo by Bob Krist, Florida Keys News Bureau)

After your day of activities, indulge with your “bestie” in culinary creativity, sampling fresh-from-the-boat Keys seafood favorites like Key West pink shrimp, savory conch or sweet and tender Florida lobster.

And FYI, it’s almost impossible to visit the Keys without sampling Key lime pie. Usually served nestled in a graham cracker crust and smothered in whipped cream, it’s a sinfully indulgent finale for any meal.

Looking for cocktails and camaraderie? Around the island chain, you’ll find the vibrant rhythms of reggae, salsa and tropical rock spilling from the open doorways of clubs and saloons … the whirr of a blender as a bartender concocts a perfect frozen margarita … the laughter and clink of glasses as new friends at a palm-shaded courtyard bar toast the evening’s promise.

Planning the perfect place to celebrate and get away together? The fun and frolicsome Florida Keys are sure to top the travel wish list for BFFs, mothers and daughters or sisters — so gather the girls and come on down!

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, On the Water, Voices Main Archive

What’s your definition of family time? For many parents and kids who visit the Florida Keys, it means sharing a soft-adventure learning vacation with the ocean as their classroom. The Keys are a great place for families to try new watersports — acquiring skills in as little as two days or embracing the ultimate experience on a weeklong adventure.

Intrepid angler Maria Newman fights her "prey" under the direction of Ladies, Let's Go Fishing founder Betty Bauman. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

For example, parents and kids can learn (or improve upon) angling skills by teaming up with a professional fishing captain for a private charter. Or they can join a group for a party-boat fishing experience, where almost everyone scores a food fish or two.

Grandmas, moms and daughters can enjoy friendly mentoring together during the annual Ladies, Let’s Go Fishing! seminar and tournament in the Upper Keys. The hands-on weekend introduces female anglers to offshore, inshore, bottom and fly-fishing tackle and techniques in a nonintimidating atmosphere. (It’s been dubbed the “no yelling school of fishing” for its supportive philosophy.)

Female anglers of all ages train with fishing tackle and tools — practicing spincasting, throwing a cast net, tying knots, boat handling, backing a trailer and even gaffing a grapefruit. One of the most popular experiences is learning to reel against pressure — with an unsuspecting male playing the role of a hooked fish.

The 2012 Keys session just took place, so it’s a great time to book a spot for 2013.

Families can catch the breeze -- and the skills required to be safe and savvy sailors -- at Florida Keys Sailing Academy in Islamorada. (Photo courtesy of Florida Keys Sailing Academy)

More interested in catching a breeze than catching a fish? Then chart a course for family sailing lessons — many targeting novices who want to experience on-the-water training. Basic through advanced cruising, live-aboard cruises and charters are offered in Keys waters.

For example, consider training aboard the Cour Volant, a 2002 Jeanneau SO40 built in France, at Islamorada’s Florida Keys Sailing Academy. Offerings range from one-day mate classes to weekend cruising refresher courses and three-day basic keelboat classes that explore sail theory and safety at sea.

After completing the course, students can safely and comfortably take a 25- to 30-foot boat out day sailing. Also popular among “maiden” voyagers are the academy’s classes taught by women for women.

Want to be IN the water instead of ON it? Learning to scuba dive is increasingly popular among family groups. The calm, clear waters surrounding the Keys, which parallel the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef, provide the perfect learning environment for parents and kids — as well as a lifetime of diving fun, adventure and memories.

Pool classes offer a way to get comfortable with equipment and techniques before diving into the ocean environment. (Photo courtesy of Hall's Diving Center)

Believe it or not, kids as young as 10 years old can learn to be junior scuba divers. And getting your scuba certification opens the door to fascinating pursuits like discovering underwater photography or treasure hunting — or even career choices like marine biology or underwater archeology.

You can dive into everything from introductory one-day courses through open-water certification classes with three to five days of training covering concepts such as basic physics and physiology, ocean waves, marine life and monitoring time and depth during a dive. That’s followed by pool and open-water dives at the reef, where you’ll be immersed in bright colors and surrounded by a variety of reef fish and marine life.

No matter what watersports pursuit piques your interest, learning new skills or expanding your knowledge can be fun when the ocean is your classroom. Why not bring your family down to the Keys and see for yourself?

Topics: Environment, Islamorada, Key Largo, Marathon, On the Water, Voices Main Archive

If you’re an underwater enthusiast or history lover, you’ll likely be fascinated by a one-of-a-kind trail that parallels the Florida Keys. Called the Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail, it’s a line of shipwreck sites from Key Largo to Key West.

Divers examine the intentionally scuttled 327-foot former U.S. Coast Guard cutter Duane in 120 feet of water off Key Largo. (Photo by Stephen Frink, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Established by the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, it encourages an appreciation and understanding of the Keys’ maritime heritage — and provides intriguing exploration for both snorkelers and divers.

You’ll find centuries-old wrecks, including a Spanish vessel from the 1700s, plus modern cargo and military ships that were intentionally sunk to create artificial reefs. Resting at depths from 14 to well over 100 feet, they’re now home to countless varieties of coral and fish in the sanctuary’s federally protected waters.

What vessels can you explore along the Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail?

KEY LARGO:

Off the coast in 25 feet of water is City of Washington, a two-masted sailing vessel used for passenger transport and cargo trade between New York, Cuba and Mexico. It sank July 10, 1892.

Key Largo's massive Spiegel Grove (bow shown here) draws dive aficionados from all over the world.

Benwood, a merchant marine freighter, lies in 25 to 45 feet of water. It sank in 1942 after colliding with another vessel. Both were traveling without lights as a precaution during World War II blackout conditions.

Duane, in 120 feet of water, was named for Secretary of the Treasury William Duane, who served under Andrew Jackson. It was sunk as an artificial reef Nov. 27, 1987.

ISLAMORADA:

San Pedro, a member of Spain’s 1733 treasure fleet, is the shipwreck trail’s oldest wreck. It’s located off Indian Key in just 18 feet of water. FYI, early shipwreck salvors called wreckers inhabited Indian Key in the early 1800s, finding it a convenient haven midway along the Keys — and a safe harbor in bad weather.

Eagle, a cargo transporter, was sunk as an artificial reef in 1985. It lies off Lower Matecumbe Key in 110 feet of water.

MARATHON:

The three-masted bark Adelaide Baker, also called the Conrad, lies south of Duck Key in 20 feet of water.

Divers can see the Thunderbolt wreck in its entirety during one dive, with visibility up to 100 feet. (Photo courtesy of Hall's Dive Center & International Career Institute)

A wreck believed to be North America lies in 14 feet of water on Delta Shoals east of Sombrero Light. This vessel was lost Nov. 25, 1842, while carrying dry goods and furniture.

Thunderbolt was donated to the Florida Keys Artificial Reef Association by Florida Power and Light Co., which bought it in 1961 to use in researching electrical energy and lightning strikes (thereby inspiring its name). Thunderbolt was intentionally sunk March 6, 1986, in 120 feet of water four miles south of Marathon.

KEY WEST:

Amesbury, built for military combat, is better known as Alexander’s Wreck. The former destroyer escort is broken into two sections that lie 200 yards apart, five miles west of Key West in 25 feet of water. 

ARTIFICIAL REEFS:

The Adolphus Busch, shown here at its sinking, offers divers a remarkable opportunity for exploration off the Lower Keys. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

As well as the vessels of the shipwreck heritage trail, three artificial reefs sunk in the sanctuary in recent years beckon divers and snorkelers from around the world.

Spiegel Grove, a 510-foot Navy landing ship dock, is the third-largest ship ever intentionally sunk to create a new reef for divers. Sunk in May 2002, it’s positioned about six miles off Key Largo in 130 feet of water. Divers recently celebrated the 10th anniversary of its scuttling, and it remains one the Keys’ most intriguing sites.

West of Looe Key in the Lower Keys lies the 210-foot freighter Adolphus Busch Senior. Since Dec. 5, 1998, divers have been exploring this artificial reef approximately five miles southwest of Big Pine Key.

The second-largest vessel intentionally sunk as an artificial reef is the 524-foot General Hoyt S. Vandenberg. The decommissioned Air Force ship once tracked space launches off Florida — and “starred” as a Russian science ship in the 1999 film “Virus.”

Divers explore the superstructure of the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary off Key West. (Photo by Haig Jacobs, Florida Keys News Bureau)

In May 2009, Vandenberg was sunk about seven miles off Key West. The bottom of its hull rests on sand in depths averaging 145 feet, but its superstructure begins about 45 feet below the surface.

Only a few ships in Florida Keys waters carried gold or other rich cargoes. But from Spanish galleons to vessels more recently sunk as artificial reefs, they all offer treasures for today’s divers and snorkelers: prized and colorful marine life and a unique glimpse into history.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Highlights, History, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Marathon, On the Water, Voices Main Archive

Scenic drives abound throughout the U.S., and I’ve traveled many of them — through the Great Smoky Mountains and up the California coast among them. But my hands-down favorite is the Florida Keys’ Overseas Highway.

The amazing Overseas Highway stretches over 42 bridges and offers breathtaking vistas of open water. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

With its 42 bridges connecting key to key, the highway offers breathtaking views of both the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s hard to keep my eyes on the road with beautiful blue water stretching to the horizon on both sides.

Though I’m an active senior, I like to take it easy on longer drives. And the Overseas Highway provides plenty of chances to meander and explore. From Key Largo and its colorful building painted by marine life artist Wyland, to the end of the road in Key West, you’ll find things to see all along the road.

Husband Joe and I made several trips to the Keys before becoming full-time residents, so we visited many different attractions, eateries, and places we wanted to check out.

For example, I’ve enjoyed many meals at Gus’ Grille at the Marriott in Key Largo. Sitting on the second floor overlooking the water, sampling fresh seafood, is a real treat. But then, I could eat my way down the Keys!

The African Queen is the original vessel from director John Huston's classic film by the same name. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Speaking of Key Largo, I well recall watching the 1950s film, “The African Queen,” with Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn. The boat that “starred” in the film is home-ported at the Holiday Inn in Key Largo. As well as seeing her, now that she has undergone extensive renovations you can take a 90-minute cruise on her.

Heading on down the Keys, one of our regular stops was the Rain Barrel in Islamorada. This artisans’ village features sculpture, jewelry, paintings on coral, stained glass and more — much of it by local artists. A stroll through the Rain Barrel always showed us something new and made us marvel at the talents of others (since ours certainly didn’t lie in the art world!).

I also love browsing through the fishing and sports gear, clothes and accessories at Islamorada’s World Wide Sportsman. Here’s another place that offers a perfect view of the Gulf — and the shoreside restaurant is a great place to watch the water and savor casual Keys dishes.

Mandy Rodriguez, the guiding spirit behind Dolphin Research Center, enjoys a swim with a couple of good buddies. (Photo courtesy of DRC)

Interested in joining dolphins in the water? Your drive down the Keys will take you past Grassy Key’s Dolphin Research Center at Mile Marker 59 — and you can plan ahead and book time for a swim with these wonderful creatures of the sea. Even if you can’t swim with them, stop at the center for a tour and learn fascinating information about dolphins, sea lions and other marine creatures.

Incidentally, while you’re in the Grassy Key and Marathon area, consider a stop at Marathon’s Keys Fisheries for a world-class Gulf view and Keys seafood.

Leaving Marathon, you’ll travel across the Seven Mile Bridge — by far the longest of the Keys’ 42 bridges, offering panoramic views of endless blue water and tiny uninhabited islands. The bridge is closed for half a day each year so 1,500 runners can compete in the famed Seven Mile Bridge Run.

In the Lower Keys, take a detour out Key Deer Boulevard on Big Pine Key to the Key Deer Refuge. There, if you’re lucky, you’ll glimpse tiny Key deer indigenous to the area, roaming the refuge that provides a safe environment for them.

A Key deer doe licks her chops after grazing on a plant. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Once past Big Pine Key, begin looking up (passengers only, please!). On a clear day you’ll spot a large white blimp, locally known as “Fat Albert.” Albert is tethered to a base on Cudjoe Key and is part of the NORAD surveillance system. Every time we drove down the Keys, if Fat Albert was up there, we knew all was well with the world.

Further along, on Lower Sugarloaf Key at Mile Market 17, is the site of the Bat Tower. This peculiar structure was built in 1929 by Lower Keys landowner Richter Clyde Perky, who thought he could house bats there to eat marauding mosquitoes. His plan was a failure, but his tower still attracts curious visitors.

Now you’re almost at the end of the road — literally. The Overseas Highway goes through Key West until it reaches Mile Marker 0, in front of the courthouse. And hasn’t it been a beautiful drive?

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Environment, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

In 2007, crowds of people watched internationally acclaimed marine life artist Wyland create a massive panoramic mural showcasing the Florida Keys’ underwater world. Located at the gateway to the Keys in Key Largo, the 7,500-square-foot mural wrapped around all four sides of a four-story building at mile marker 99.2, in the median of the Keys’ Overseas Highway.

Marine life artist Wyland takes a break after putting finishing touches on his 7,500-square-foot marine life mural in Key Largo. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

From Oct. 12-21, the artist and environmental advocate who lives in the Upper Keys is planning to do something even bigger.

Wyland, who credits the Keys reefs with inspiring much of his world-renowned marine life artistry, will spend 10 days restoring and repainting his three monumental outdoor murals along the island chain.

All three depict marine creatures that inhabit the continental United States’ only living coral barrier reef, which parallels the Keys — and he created all three to increase awareness of that vibrant ecosystem and motivate people to preserve and protect it.

As well as Key Largo, Wyland’s murals can be found midway down the island chain in Marathon (mile marker 50), and in Key West’s Historic Seaport (201 William St.).

Wyland portrays the Keys reef environment on traditional canvases and in large-scale outdoor murals. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Join him to watch and enjoy the restoration project Oct. 12-14 in Key Largo, Oct. 16-17 in Marathon and Oct. 18-21 in Key West.

“We want to inspire the public to see the beauty of the Florida waters and the Florida Keys in particular through public art, and we want to restore those murals so they will continue to inspire,” explained Wyland, who volunteers his time to create his public art murals.

(The paint, by the way, is being donated by the Dunn Edwards Corporation, which deserves many kudos for supporting such a worthy environmental project.)

Watching Wyland paint is fascinating since he works freehand, confidently outlining massive marine creatures with sweeping lines and then layering color and adding detail. Yet observing him at work isn’t the only attraction for visitors to the mural sites.

At each site, you can explore the Wyland Clean Water Mobile Learning Experience (the Wyland Foundation’s interactive science center on wheels), discover the artist’s recent paintings and sculptures in a traveling gallery, and even hear live music from members of the Wyland Blues Planet Band.

Wyland details the eye of a manatee during the creation of his Key Largo mural. (Photo by Gary Firstenberg)

“What I’m planning is to bring the Wyland experience — the art, the conservation, the community — together,” Wyland explained. “We’re inviting everyone to join us to bring the message of conservation, with the goal of inspiring people to be ambassadors for the planet.”

Wyland himself has been an ambassador for the planet throughout his career. He uses his art to encourage people to protect the world’s oceans, waterways and marine life — and notables from scientist Jane Goodall to former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan have lauded his environmental commitment.

A member of the International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame, Wyland has spent nearly 30 years diving and observing underwater life in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

“It is one of the premiere dive destinations on the planet,” he said, “and the beauty that I see in the Florida Keys is reflected in my paintings, sculptures and murals.”

Wyland's environmental efforts focus on protecting and preserving the world's oceans. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

In addition, the artist often gets involved in the community. On Saturday, Oct. 13, he’ll be master of ceremonies at the grand re-opening luau for Snook’s Bayside in Key Largo. Destroyed in a fire and subsequently rebuilt, the local landmark will welcome old and new patrons for an evening of fun, food, and frolic.

A few days later, Oct. 18, Wyland will host a screening of his documentary, “Blues Planet: Sounds,” at Key West’s Tennessee Williams Theatre. He’ll also create sumi brush art, with proceeds from its sale benefiting the local college’s Wyland Marine Science Scholarship Fund.

As if that wasn’t enough, he’s taking his Clean Water Mobile Learning Experience to the Lower Keys’ popular Boondocks Oct. 20-21 for a high-energy gathering featuring live music and art.

Wyland invites everyone who loves the oceans to join him in the Florida Keys to be part of his 10-day art-and-environment experience. Don’t miss it!

Topics: Arts, Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Environment, Events, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, On the Water, Voices Main Archive

After practicing a sport for several years, often we want something more out of it — a different benefit or end result.

Creating a coral "Christmas tree" helped blog author Julie find her purpose as a diver. (Photos courtesy of the Coral Restoration Foundation)

As a diver since 1989, I still enjoy exploring shipwrecks and reefs, dropping off a wall into the deep blue; as an instructor, I’ve trained hundreds of students, hoping their newfound enthusiasm would grow. Yet I have wanted to make this fantastic recreation of mine more purposeful beyond just the enjoyment of underwater life.

I found my answer in hanging corals on a tree. And I am hooked.

It all came about when I volunteered for an experience with the Coral Restoration Foundation in Key Largo. CRF is a nonprofit organization that, since 2000, has been restoring staghorn and elkhorn corals — two important and threatened reef-building species.

CRF’s repopulation effort is the largest marine restoration project of its kind — seemingly a Herculean task, but one that more than 20 other volunteers and I were excited to tackle as we departed on a local charter boat for the coral nursery just a few miles off Key Largo.

Staghorn coral fragments cut in the coral nursery will continue to regenerate and develop more branches on the reef.

The trip followed a morning presentation where we had learned about coral’s health, its critical function in marine ecosystems, what natural and manmade threats exist and ways to protect coral in the Florida Keys. Now we were ready to get wet and get to it.

Ours would be a maintenance dive. Our mission was to collect any broken or loose staghorn coral segments, or branches, to attach to nursery “trees” — cross-sections of PVC plastic tubing rigged to the ocean bottom and buoyed at the top to sway gently in a current.

Seemed simple. Descending to only 25 or 30 feet of water we divided into smaller groups, each with a task to complete as we knelt on the sandy bottom.

My group joined Ken Nedimyer, CRF’s founder and president, who was laden with a tool belt of crimping pliers, wire ties, sections of monofilament and various capped jars of clamps.

Ken Nedimyer is the guiding spirit behind the Coral Restoration Foundation's pioneering work to preserve the coral reef ecosystem.

After we surveyed the nursery rows, Ken collected branches that he clipped into nubs. Our job was to clamp a piece of monofilament around each coral nub, thread the other end through pre-cut holes in the empty PVC tree, and (with pliers) close the clasp around the line so the coral nubbin would hold steady but could sway and, more importantly, grow.

Wow, the hour flew by. Admiring our handiwork, we felt like we had decorated a Christmas tree when the last “ornament” was placed. Months from now, our nubbins will be transferred to the reef to grow larger, attract fish to the reef habitat and be enjoyed for generations to come.

Other groups scrubbed algal growth and barnacles from nursery pedestals, untangled any corals in the line nursery or collected fragments that were ready to be transplanted to the reef.

Stephanie Roach (in blue wetsuit), the science and education director at CRF, demonstrates how to use a small chisel and hammer to clean the attachment site on a reef.

Volunteers get to “outplant” too, using chiseled hammers to clean away a surface, and securing a coral fragment to the ocean substrate utilizing the “Hershey kiss” method (squishing a round ball of epoxy in its middle to make the fragment adhere better).

More than 3,500 staghorn fragments have already been replanted on Key Largo’s reefs. That’ll be my next volunteer dive.

A tropical fish collector turned scientist and toolman, Ken Nedimyer is a rare lightning bolt of passion, commitment and comedic sense. After a single dive I was enraptured by what this hands-on effort means for people everywhere — not just eco-minded travelers or divers, but anyone who can recognize that no matter how small, our human efforts can help better a place and positively impact its future.

Topics: Environment, Highlights, Key Largo, On the Water, Voices Main Archive

The recent (and sadly unsuccessful) attempts by athletes Penny Palfrey and Diana Nyad to swim from Cuba to the Florida Keys remind me of another marathon journey — a triumphantly successful one — that ended in Key West.

Bob Voris dips his bike tires into the Atlantic after ending his 6,300-mile trek at Key West's Southernmost Point. (Photo by Tony Gregory, Florida Keys News Bureau)

This trek took place in 2005 and, admittedly, was attempted on land instead of water. The athlete who accomplished it was a 55-year-old Alaskan middle school teacher.

Actually, when Bob Voris pedaled his bicycle up to Key West’s Southernmost Point marker on Aug. 20, 2005, he looked like any other visitor eager to have his photo snapped at the southernmost spot in the continental United States.

But for Bob, a resident of Eagle River, Alaska, the arrival meant much more than a photo opportunity — it meant he had completed an approximately 6,300-mile ride that began in Homer, Alaska, to raise funds for the American Cancer Society.

A long-distance cycling enthusiast whose previous accomplishments included participating in a Race Across America event, Bob began his “End of the Road for Cancer” cross-continental ride June 10. His trip was inspired in part by the loss of his younger brother to leukemia and other family members’ struggles against cancer.

Bob's journey through the Keys took him the entire length of the amazing Overseas Highway. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

He chose Key West as his destination both because he enjoyed visiting the island in the 1970s and because it’s about as far as he could ride from Homer.

“I started at one end (of the continent) and will finish at the other,” he said after crossing the Florida state line. “And hopefully cancer will see its end of the road before too long.”

Unlike long-distance walkers or bikers who travel with friends or support vehicles, Bob decided to make his trek alone — because, he said, battling cancer is essentially a solo journey.

His arrival in Key West, however, was anything but solo. He was greeted at the Southernmost Point by local American Cancer Society representatives and cancer survivors — as well as Aaron Coenen, who completed an Alaska-to-Key-West fundraising bike trek just a day before Bob’s finish.

After pedaling an almost identical route, Bob and Aaron meet for the first time -- incredibly -- at the Southernmost Point. (Photo by Gerry Goradesky, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Aaron, at that time a 22-year-old engineering student who lived in Milwaukee, dedicated his bike marathon to raising money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and education. An admirer of the multi-year Tour de France winner, he was motivated in part by his grandmother’s fight against cancer and Armstrong’s own battle.

Unlikely as it sounds, Bob and Aaron completed their separate Alaska-to-Key-West fundraising rides, and arrived just over 24 hours apart, without once encountering each other on the road.

“We were really surprised that we didn’t cross paths,” Aaron admitted. “We definitely wouldn’t have missed each other if we’d been on the same stretch of road at any point.”

Bob visited family members and friends along his route, some of them cancer survivors or fighting the disease, as well as meeting cancer patients at hospitals.

So where did Bob go to celebrate his marathon achievement? Key West's legendary Sloppy Joe's, of course! (Photo courtesy of Sloppy Joe's Bar).

In addition to raising money, he collected more than 80 signatures of cancer survivors on a rain jacket he carried.

Bob began his ride by dipping the rear wheel of his bicycle into the waters of Alaska’s Kachemak Bay.

His journey officially ended when, beside Key West’s Southernmost Point, he dipped his wheels into the warm subtropical Atlantic.

Then (like any ordinary out-of-towner visiting the island city), he headed for the landmark watering hole known as Sloppy Joe’s Bar to celebrate his arrival.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Districts, Events, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Marathon, Quirks, Voices Main Archive

The iconic original vessel from John Huston’s classic 1951 film “The African Queen,” starring Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, is plying Key Largo’s nearshore waters and canals again — and visitors can come aboard to cruise like Captain Charlie and Rose did in the film (without, of course, raging rapids or deadly pursuit by enemy soldiers).

Key Largo visitors can now cruise on the boat used in the iconic film "African Queen."

One of the first passengers to take that cruise was Bogart’s son Stephen, who was the guest of honor at the re-launch of the newly restored boat that carried his father in one of his most famous films.

The boat, by the way, is now an astonishing 100 years old and, fittingly, is registered as a national historic site.

The story of the African Queen’s journey to America and recent $70,000 restoration has almost as many twists and turns as the plot of the film.

The African Queen’s 100-year history began when it was built in 1912 in England. Originally named the Livingstone, until 1968 it shuttled cargo, hunting parties and mercenaries on the Congo’s Ruki River for the British East Africa Rail Company — with a “sabbatical” to appear in the film after it was spotted by John Huston.

In 1968, the boat was purchased and shipped to San Francisco, but was stripped of almost all gear. For a while a restaurant owner tried to run tourist trips on the vessel using an outboard engine for propulsion.

The original African Queen is shown here out of the water during its extensive refurbishment in a Key Largo boatyard. (Photo courtesy of Suzanne Holmquist)

Around 1970, a man named Hal Bailey found and purchased the African Queen for the price of the boatyard bill.

He put it into seasonal passenger operation on an Oregon river, and then decided to transfer it to Central Florida for year-round use — but plans fell apart.

In 1982, Florida Keys attorney Jim Hendricks, Sr., a Bogart fan, found the vessel languishing in a Florida pasture and purchased it for a reported $65,000.

By that time, the African Queen needed significant work. After investing another $65,000 or so to get the boat up and running, Jim Hendricks began offering visitors rides in 1983 out of Key Largo’s Holiday Inn.

In 2001, after an admirable tenure afloat, the African Queen suffered a broken engine. It was never fixed, but the historic boat remained on display for curious tourists and film buffs to view.

Suzanne Holmquist applies new lettering to the African Queen during the restoration. (Photo courtesy of Suzanne Holmquist)

Last year, Keys residents Captain Lance and Suzanne Holmquist signed a long-term lease with Jim Hendricks’ son to restore and operate the vessel again.

Since then, they’ve overseen repairs to bring the boat back to its appearance in the film — replacing steel in the hull, replacing the boiler and oiling the black African mahogany to condition the wood.

“It’s important to me because I love old movies and films — and just to see the amount of interest that this boat is still generating, even as dilapidated as she had gotten, it was incredible,” enthused Suzanne Holmquist. “I think restoring the African Queen has firmly sealed the tie and connection with the Bogart name to Key Largo.”

Apparently so does Stephen Bogart, who journeyed to Key Largo to see and ride the vessel and help with its re-launching celebration.

“You know, I’ve never really been on many movie sets — and this is like being on a movie set,” he said. “To be able to ride on the African Queen, and to be able to have it back in operation, is absolutely tremendous.”

The restored African Queen cruises Key Largo waters. (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

Visitors can come aboard the historic vessel for 90-minute canal cruises offered several times each day.

Two-and-a-half-hour dinner cruises, featuring a three-course meal at Key Largo’s Pilot House, are offered Friday and Saturday nights.

Want to step back in time and cruise on the boat that carried Bogart and Hepburn? Just call 305-451-8080 to begin your African Queen adventure.

Topics: Arts, Highlights, History, Key Largo, Local Color, On the Water, Voices Main Archive

Since the islands of the Florida Keys are surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Florida Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it makes sense that water plays an important part in the lives of Keys residents. And visitors from around the world are drawn here to participate in water activities from near-shore paddling to deepwater scuba diving.

A green sea turtle swims amid the Florida Keys coral reef tract near John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. (Photo by Frazier Nivens, Florida Keys News Bureau)

But a state park underwater? You bet! I’m referring to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, and it’s located in Key Largo.

All up and down the Keys, we’re proud of and eager to preserve the beautiful coral reef that runs parallel to the island chain. It’s the only living coral barrier reef in the continental United States, and we care deeply about keeping it healthy.

John Pennekamp was a newspaper editor for the Miami Herald and a devoted conservationist. Among his achievements was helping establish Everglades National Park. He later helped get a state park created offshore along the Keys coral reef. Dedicated in 1960 to protect the reef, it now bears his name.

Pennekamp State Park was the first underwater park in the United States — and its water activities abound. Whatever your preference, you’ll find it here. For example, there’s a glass bottom boat tour where passengers can get an excellent view of the reef without getting wet. (If you’re a non-swimmer, that’s the way to go!) The tour takes you out to Molasses Reef, a little more than six miles offshore. The boat is accessible to those in wheelchairs, as are most activities in the park.

Visitors on the Spirit of Pennekamp tour boat peer through viewing ports above the coral reef. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

If you can swim, you can snorkel — no matter what your age. (I tried it, and it’s true!) After a brief lesson at the park, take a deep breath and immerse yourself in the underwater world. Pennekamp’s snorkeling tours usually go to reef areas where the water is from five to 15 feet deep.

Scuba training is available at Pennekamp as well, and the diving is so spectacular that Key Largo is known as the dive capital of the world. The park offers a one-day resort course to introduce novices to diving the reef — so even if you’ve never tried the sport, you can take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

But not all activity is focused on the offshore waters. The mangroves that abound in the park provide a natural habitat for a variety of birds, and bird lovers with binoculars can take a kayak or a canoe out to explore the mangrove wilderness. Canoeing in the backcountry waters has been a favorite activity of mine since I was a young woman.

Even if you’re a total landlubber, you’ll find opportunities for enjoyment at Pennekamp. Try embarking on the boardwalk trail through the mangroves, where hikers can view the unique ecosystem, or follow another trail through the hardwood hammock of the park. These are loop trails so you end right back where you started.

Kayakers paddle along mangroves at Pennekamp, which encompasses 70 square miles of coral reefs, seagrass beds and mangrove forests. (Photo by Bob Care, Florida Keys News Bureau)

While I didn’t hike the trails during my most recent Pennekamp visit, the picnic areas drew my eyes. Although no ground fires are permitted in the park, barbecue grills are provided so picnickers can savor hot dogs (or even steaks!) after a day on or around the water.

Camper? The park has great camping facilities too. Whether you favor a tent or an RV, there are full-facility campsites complete with water, sewer hookups, electricity, picnic tables and grills. What more could you ask? Even furry friends are welcome if they behave themselves.

All in all, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park offers something for everyone. After dinner, the kids can enjoy the playground while Grandma and Grandpa relax with friends around the picnic table or take a sunset stroll. And campers are pretty well guaranteed to sleep soundly after a day spent exploring the world’s first underwater park.

Topics: Environment, Highlights, Key Largo, On the Water, Senior Adventures, Voices Main Archive

Let’s face it — there are some people who simply belong in the Florida Keys. Take me, for example. I was a naïve 20-year-old Minnesota girl when I first arrived in the island chain, taking a break from college and fleeing a sub-zero February.

Jimmy Buffett, the Keys' "pirate laureate," waves to some 3,500 "Parrot Head" fans during a 2011 surprise concert on Key West's Duval Street. (Photo by Rob O'Neal, Florida Keys News Bureau)

I had only seen the ocean once before, and evergreens were a far more familiar sight than palm trees. Yet after just 48 hours in the Keys, I called my mother and told her to send my belongings — I had found my home and, mercifully, was smart enough to recognize the fact.

My story is absolutely not unique. Again and again, you’ll hear variations on the same theme. People come down for a vacation, a temporary job, a visit with an island-dwelling friend — and become mesmerized by some indefinable magic about the Keys that makes them unwilling or unable to leave.

So how can you tell if you’re among the lucky few that belong in the island chain? After 30 years of living here, I can offer a few tips. And if more than three or four of the following apply to you, you might as well start considering relocation — because sooner or later, that magic will sneak up on you and you’ll be powerless to resist.

Even Al Roker of the "Today" show, shown here at right during a live broadcast in the Keys, learned why Howard Livingston (left) penned "Blame It On the Margaritas." (Photo by Andy Newman, Florida Keys News Bureau)

1. You know all the words to at least four Jimmy Buffett songs and at least two by Howard Livingston. Buffett, the Keys’ “pirate laureate,” took inspiration for anthems like “Margaritaville” from his Key West days in the 70s and early 80s. And Howard, a Lower Keys resident whose Mile Marker 24 Band is a trop rock favorite, penned the equally meaningful “Blame it on the Margaritas.”

2. You have a strange urge to celebrate the nightly setting of the sun. In Key West, the nightly sunset is an excuse for a combination carnival and street party at Mallory Square overlooking Key West Harbor. With lively street performers and vendors selling creative handmade wares, it’s a happening that can’t be missed.

3. You can actually make a sound when blowing through a conch shell. Blowing the conch “horn” is a Keys tradition that dates back to the shipwreck salvagers of the early 1800s. Today, there’s an annual conch shell blowing contest in Key West — and a group of Key Largo denizens recently attempted to break a world record for the largest number of people “conch honking” simultaneously.

Captain Finbar Gittelman, a master seafarer with a roguish sense of humor, is the builder and skipper of the Schooner Wolf. (Photo by Rob O'Neal)

4. You’ve met Captain Tony. Or Captain Finbar. Or Captain Richard Stanczyk. Or all three of them. All three are Keys icons renowned for their storytelling as well as their other talents. Tony was the owner of Key West’s legendary Captain Tony’s Saloon, while Finbar skippers the majestic Schooner Wolf and reigns as admiral of the Conch Republic Navy. And Islamorada fishing captain Richard Stanczyk is world-renowned as one of the pioneers of daytime swordfishing.

5. You’ve eaten a Lobster Reuben at Keys Fisheries, hogfish at the Hogfish and breakfast with the roosters at Blue Heaven. Once you’ve sampled the renowned Lobster Reuben at Marathon’s waterfront Keys Fisheries, you’ll never crave a corned-beef Reuben again. Hogfish, caught only by spearfishing divers, is a light white fish best enjoyed at its namesake eatery. And Blue Heaven’s breakfasts? Savored in a funky open-air courtyard while semi-tame poultry scurry nearby, they’re simply beyond compare.

6. Every time you arrive in the Keys, your everyday stresses seem a little less important and you find yourself smiling. Need I say more? If this is true in your case, you might as well start packing … because the chances are awfully good that you, like me, simply belong here.

Topics: Big Pine Key & Lower Keys, Highlights, Islamorada, Key Largo, Key West, Local Color, Marathon, Quirks, Voices Main Archive