Naples Pier

Ayk and I headed to the Naples Pier after the zoo. We would have checked out the animals longer, but there was a wedding there that evening. Look, I love animals too, but zoos smell foul. Who gets a whiff of sulfurous swamps and wildebeest dung, and thinks “Now THAT’S what I want wafting through the air while reciting vows.” What a romantic.

The beach was too chilly for swimming, but that didn’t stop us from dipping our toes in the gulf. We stayed on the pier till twilight. People watching should always come with a sunset backdrop.

So long, sun.

Beaches to the left

Beaches to the right

Dutch fisherman (Ayk swears he was Serbian) was kind enough to let me document his fish-gutting process.

It has teeth!

Expert gutter

Open wide

Looking back to the beach

Awkward nighttime flash

“Don’t touch it! It’s an electric eel!” the kid said as the fisherman reeled in his catch. Shocker: this guy wasn't giving off any hertz (baazing!).

Now it’s bait.

Sunset on the pier
 

Playing with perspective

For dinner, Ayk and I went to Café Barcelona. The only reason I’m mentioning this restaurant – not for the forgettable tapas – is because a Big Boyz Bail Bonds pen, ubiquitous in Baltimore restaurants, found its way to Naples. We asked the server, and she wasn’t sure where the pen came from. Guess someone wanted to share a bit of Baltimore with the Sunshine State.

Key West: Bahia Honda

If we had known to make camping reservations a day in advance, this is where we would have stayed: an idyllic, hillbilly-free spot on the water. Camping or no camping, we still deserved a day at the beach before we headed back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Fried hogfish sandwich for lunch.

Aside from a few visitors comparing the beach to Ocean City, the beach was peaceful. 

“Is that a koala in the water?” – Ayk without his glasses

Pelicans diving in the water for fish. 

Walking along the defunct bridge, ruined by a hurricane.

It runs parallel to Route 1.

Key West: Sunset

Sunset at Mallory Square

Everyone who has ever been to Key West says watching the sunset at Mallory Square is the thing to do.  Though I’m not sure it’s what the locals do, it does draw a massive crowd.  Thousands of tourists pack themselves into the tiny pier to see street performers, buy kitschy artwork and jewelry, eat street food and – of course – watch the sun sink into the Gulf of Mexico.

Think of it as where the Venice Beach frequenters go for vacation when they retire; just replace Sublime with Jimmy Buffet, weed with booze, and skateboarders with tightrope walkers. It’s definitely not our scene, but we got a kick out of watching the patrons as much as the street performers.

One man's trash is another's way to sell overpriced trash to tourists. 

Ayk took this picture and it is possibly one of the best from the entire trip.

It took us at least 5 tries and 4 different locations for us to get this picture right.  I had to swerve in and out of the densely packed crowd, dragging Ayk behind me, to find the best spot.  I might have gotten a few dirty looks, but at least my persistence paid off.  This is one of my favorite pictures of us from the trip.

Some religious nut making Glenn Beck look almost sane.

Captivating an audience of two.