MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 2, 2020 Report Share Posted July 2, 2020 Just got back from Key Largo, had to clean the bottom of the boat, been in the water for 3 weeks. Anyways, the madness for the 4th of July was starting early, especially for a Thursday, crowds, boats, jet ski's everywhere and driving back up, more coming down! The local keys associations were asking their members to wake up at 3 A.M. Friday morning and park their cars to block all the roadside areas to prevent people from out of town (Miami) from parking and destroying/trashing the place. If they have a heavy spike in Covid 19 cases they could easily shut it all down again,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,for mini season! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted July 2, 2020 Report Share Posted July 2, 2020 1 hour ago, MuddyBottomBluz said: The local keys associations were asking their members to wake up at 3 A.M. Friday morning and park their cars to block all the roadside areas to prevent people from out of town (Miami) from parking and destroying/trashing the place. don't understand...they need the $$$ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 These are the keep the keys private type people, the green people. Not the hotel/bar and entertainment establishments. I understand their concerns, Indian Key is state owned land and the state pays Monroe County $75,000 a year to maintain it and it cost the county upwards of $250,000 a year just to keep it clean. It's the private citizens that have formed an alliance and fighting the state, they are the ones who want to block the area(s). Truth be told: I do not know the specifics but apparently letters went out to property owners asking them to partake in this endeavor. I could only get two Miller lights and a grilled dolphin fillet with coleslaw for lunch, no conch fritters were available, no fresh calamari, nothing because of demand! By the way there was plenty of Miller lite but I was driving. Nonetheless I know they need the $$, I did my part and will continue to do it next weekend for 4 days! 😜 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPizzle Posted July 3, 2020 Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 We are heading down tomorrow for a week. I like the idea of keeping the beaches and ramps closed as it will hopefully reduce the overall people there. We had a huge influx of boats from Miami in Naples back when their ramps were closed. The most important part I took away from your post is that they only have Miller Lite. I need to bring more from home I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 It's gonna be crazy around the main inlets & channels like Jewfish creek, Postcard in, etc. One thing the key's never seem to run out of is alcohol that's for sure, you'll be fine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wthree3 Posted July 3, 2020 Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 We left Breezy on Wednesday morning after staying for a week. Monday and Tuesday evening there was only two other rooms occupied and one other boat in the basin. However heard they were booked for Wednesday and thru the weekend. Got out just in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabear Posted July 3, 2020 Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 It you travel down to the keys and are on a vegan diet it’s perfect beer 🍺and French fries 🍟 are part of a vegan diet . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post geeviam Posted July 3, 2020 Popular Post Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 A friend posted this on another forum: "An early 60’s post card from downtown Islamorada. It looks so peaceful. Can only imagine how the fishing was back then..." Me: I can remember the Keys back as far as the early 70s and it still had that peaceful easy feeling to it. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 I had a customer whose family help establish the The City of Miami, she told me back in the 20's & 30's land in the keys was $1 an acre. Nobody wanted to live in a mosquito infested swap where it was hot! Last time I talked to her was 15 years ago and she was 94 then. Man, what the invention of DEET did for the property value in the Key's! Just when I was stationed in Key West in late 80's and early 90's it was way more relaxed, no where near as much traffic. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 3, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2020 Just received another phone call, closing for mini season is on the table! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 Here's one I found.......Jewfish Creek bridge in 1954, the first main bridge into the Florida Keys. Wow! Believe it or not the bridge was disassembled, put on a barge and sold to a small county in Alabama and is still in use today, "54" is the first year of this Draw Bridge when installed! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeviam Posted July 4, 2020 Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 7 hours ago, MuddyBottomBluz said: Here's one I found.......Jewfish Creek bridge in 1954, the first main bridge into the Florida Keys. I lived about 1 mile from Jewfish Creek on Blackwater Sound in the 80s. Oceanside access through Adams Cut, and a long run to Flamingo through The Boggies. Monroe County kept the mosquitoes under control back then with expertly piloted aircraft (DC-3/C-47), like in this picture taken in 1988. They flew just above our rooftops and palm trees. It was fun to watch them fly and hear the roar of the big twins. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 Ah yes, then they switched to helicopters who were either ex-Vietnam helicopter pilots or they inhaled way to much of the chemical they were spraying, they were nuts! I remember tourists staring up at the helicopters with their mouths open thinking it was an airshow while all the locals would quietly go inside. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JT Quinta Posted July 4, 2020 Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 You want today’s view ? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 4, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 Ah yes, definitely a weekend! Jet Skiers in a preserve, all the white water behind the boats in a no wake zone through the creek, it made me feel like I was there! Nice video, that drone was up there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeviam Posted July 4, 2020 Report Share Posted July 4, 2020 I haven't been back to The Keys for 23 years. A lot has changed! Looks crowded. If you're standing in a Local's shoes, any excuse to shut down the Mini-Season and slow down the onslaught, probably sounds good to you right about now. Nice bridge system at Jewfish Creek though! Cool video too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 2 hours ago, geeviam said: I haven't been back to The Keys for 23 years. Aren't you in South Florida? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 I live in S. Florida and have no use for the "Florida" Keys anymore. Unless we are going to Hawks Cay or a few other destinations for the week we do not bother. Hard to relax there on the weekend. Has changed drastically in the last ten years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeviam Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 3 hours ago, MuddyBottomBluz said: Aren't you in South Florida? Upstate South Carolina since '97. Lived in Homestead when Hurricane Andrew just about leveled the town in '92. Southern Dade County was never the same after that. I miss everything related to the sea down there - fishing, diving, fresh seafood and beautiful waters - but that's it. Moving out of South Florida was the right decision for us when we had the chance to. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 geeviam, You are absolutely correct. Hurricane Andrew was a major turning point for Homestead and Florida City. Also for South Broward County. It was a major shift in traffic patterns as well. You would not recognize Homestead now. It is currently still going through a housing boom. They are building houses everywhere. They all work north. The commute up and down the turnpike is crazy every morning and afternoon. If my kids ever leave this area I will be right behind them. My son is an hour and a half north already, just waiting for my daughter to finish college and see where she lands. The only thing I would miss is My Church and Everglades National Park. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 I was born at Homestead Air Force Base, I remember going to my Dad's ol'e Air Force buddies homes as a child in Homestead from Kendall. It was a car ride that felt like was the ends of the earth! Nothing along the turnpike, he would take back roads and there was nothing but farm fields. Now your lucky to find a farm field! Maybe we should have bought that swamp land in Florida! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geeviam Posted July 6, 2020 Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 16 hours ago, jh141 said: geeviam, You are absolutely correct. Hurricane Andrew was a major turning point for Homestead and Florida City. Also for South Broward County. It was a major shift in traffic patterns as well. You would not recognize Homestead now. It is currently still going through a housing boom. They are building houses everywhere. They all work north. The commute up and down the turnpike is crazy every morning and afternoon. If my kids ever leave this area I will be right behind them. My son is an hour and a half north already, just waiting for my daughter to finish college and see where she lands. The only thing I would miss is My Church and Everglades National Park. I hear that. We moved up here for a change of pace and more of a small town atmosphere. However, the population growth, housing boom, and traffic congestion have changed everything here too. I have come to the conclusion that I was meant to live in the middle of 100 acres, far from cookie-cutter subdivisions - if that's even possible anymore. My wife and I got hooked on the TV series "Heartland" recently. Living on a ranch in Alberta is sounding pretty good these days, lol. Btw, we are currently living in a cookie-cutter subdivision 😜 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted July 6, 2020 Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 Hope they do not close the Keys down again . Got a house rented down there in mid August for two weeks . 🙏🏻 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuddyBottomBluz Posted July 6, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 1 hour ago, THE OUTLAW said: Hope they do not close the Keys down again . If we are all lucky they will just stop mini season state wide and keep the keys open for business. It is the influx of people at a specific (short) period of time. They cannot just close it in the keys so it would have to be state wide. If they stop visitors from entering the keys during mini season yet leave the season open so keys residents can lobster, there would be some serious trouble then and things could get ugly!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted July 6, 2020 Report Share Posted July 6, 2020 Not worried about da s—t show , they call mini season , just want to be able to have our family vacation , after school starts in August ! 🇺🇸🏴☠️ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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