i think April is my favorite time in the Keys. Especially this year. The weather has warmed up and the winds have died down. Because of the COVID-19 virus, US-1 and most public boat ramps are closed. These closures have reduced the number of people in the Keys and boats out on the water. Since our boat is tied up behind the RV, we can still enjoy getting to some of our favorite spots. Being able to get out on the boat has kept the cabin fever at bay. Especially since we are no longer going to the pool (even though it is still open). I just do not feel comfortable using the pool.
The last few weeks, the weather has been nice and calm enough to get out to Little Palm, Picnic island, Tarpon Belly and even Marvin Key. We did make it out to Looe Key when Kat was down earlier this year, but have not made it out again. Hopefully soon. We have been lucky enough to even get out fishing for a couple of days. And even luckier to catch quite a few nice fish. I know I made a few neighbors happy when we shared some of the sea trout! We caught sea trout, Lady Fish, groupers, Jack’s, channel cats, Lane snappers and a few that I am still trying to figure out what they were.
We were not sure if we were going to stay this long in the Keys with the COVID-19 outbreak but originally there were no confirmed cases here so we thought this would be a good place to hunker down and wait out the pandemic. Easter was tough being here without any family. Especially since the kids had to cancel their visit for the beginning of the month because of the lock down in Florida and the Keys. Venture Out did organize a coconut decorating event which the younger kids enjoyed finding!
A lot of our friends are being forced to leave because of Monroe County’s ban on visitors and rentals. We can stay and even extend our rental terms because we are considered long-term renters. I don’t think it is right that people that have been here for several months are being evicted. I am glad we are not having to move during the height of this pandemic. The number of cases here in the Keys, and elsewhere, are rising every day and there is one confirmed case on Cudjoe, but i am still glad we stayed. We are following all social distancing guidelines to reduce our exposure to the virus. About the only place we go outside of VO is to the grocery store. I definitely will miss going to Alexandria Bay this summer, but I don’t think traveling to New York would have been a wise decision. Randy is making use of the down time by waxing the golf cart, Jeep and RV. Even polishing its wheels. He does a little every day so that it doesn’t wear him out too much. Right now he has only 1 wheel left to polish. But this is the one the gets the most sun so he needs to either get up very early or do it right before dark. The winds die down again tomorrow so it might take a few days because fishing comes first!
For Easter celebration the Venture Out Community asked residents to decorate by using coconuts. Residents with coconut palm trees donated the coconuts!
