beach – might be baloney

Day nine Marathon Key: Tom Thumb, Sombrero Beach, smart fish, Sunset Grille

March 11, 2025 Bill Pike2 Comments

Let’s get the predictable part of my early morning routine in Marathon Key out of the way.

Yes, I fished out front.

Yes, my incompetent skills as a fisherman continue to make headlines in The Fish Daily Times News: Local fish continue to elude angler from Virginia.

Seemed as if we had a slow start to Tuesday morning. Maybe, our Monday spent in Key West required some sleeping in today.

Ever since the drive from the Miami airport, I’ve been curious about a convenience store that we kept seeing. The store like 7-11 is named Tom Thumb.

Directly across from the entrance of Tranquility Bay sat a Tom Thumb. This morning, I made a decision that I was going to cross the always busy Overseas Highway and check out the store.

No one offered to tag along with me, so I made the short walk to the highway. Interestingly, as I was just getting ready to study the traffic, a guest from Tranquility Bay was returning from Tom Thumb. He knew what I was getting ready to do, and he said good luck.

If you’ve ever watched the movie Bowfinger, starring Steve Martin and Eddie Murphy, you might remember that harrowing scene where Eddie Murphy’s character crosses a Los Angeles Freeway on foot. I wasn’t crossing a freeway, but the volume of traffic on the Overseas Highway meant I needed to be very alert.

I safely made the crossing each way.

Simply, Tom Thumb is a convenience store. It has similarities and differences in their set up like any convenience store you have entered.

As a curious tourist, I felt obligated to make a purchase. For our wives, chocolate is always a winner, so I picked out an assortment of chocolate candies.

On the day, I stopped at the bait shop and bought shrimp for fishing, I asked the clerk about a good spot to fish. He recommended Sombrero Beach. In our travels on the Overseas Highway, we had seen the signage for the beach.

This morning, Betsy, Butch, Dan, and I made the drive to Sombrero Beach. We loaded up the car with our beach stuff, and Dan brought his snorkeling gear.

We simply followed the signage, and made the turn on to Sombrero Beach Road. I think we were pleasantly surprised when we arrived at the beach.

According to the Parks and Recreation website for Marathon Key, in 2001, the city renovated this beach front. It now features full handicap access, picnic pavilions, restrooms, showers, a volleyball court, and even a fishing pier.

Additionally, from April through October, this beach positioned on the Atlantic Ocean is a nesting site for Loggerhead Turtles. The city carefully monitors turtle nesting activities, and residents can be trained to become a turtle surveyor.

As soon as we parked, unloaded, and walked on to the beach, we were impressed. It is a gem. While not a large parcel of beach front, the white sand, the views, and the shades of color in the water caught our attention.

We found a place to drop our belongings, and we started our recon walk. I know I’m being repetitive, but this is a special place. The city has done a nice job in maintaining everything associated with the beach.

I enjoyed walking the area. I was intrigued by the exposed limestone bedrock in a couple of places. Apparently, the coral reefs off of Sombrero Beach make for gentle waves rolling into the shoreline.

My three pals were braver than I was about checking out the water. Dan put on his snorkeling gear and did some exploring. I sensed he enjoyed the exercise, but I don’t think he came across any sea life.

After an enjoyable visit, we gathered our belongings and made the drive back to Tranquility Bay.

Once there, I rechecked my fishing license. I thought it expired on January 29, but it actually expired today.

So, my goal for the afternoon was to return to Sombrero Beach to fish. In my walk around this morning, it looked to be an ideal location for an unlucky fisherman like myself to possibly find some luck.

After nibbling on something for lunch, I got organized. I had both fishing rods, a glove, scissor forceps, hat, and sunglasses. Exposed parts of my old carcass were covered in sunscreen, and I had my license in a plastic pouch in my shirt pocket.

Dan and Judy drove me over to Sombrero. Dan helped me to get settled on a ledge of exposed limestone. Then I realized I had left the shrimp bait back at the condo. Kind friends that they are, Dan and Judy drove back to the condo to retrieve it.

There was a younger guy to my left trying his luck. Several yards to my right was the public fishing pier.

I was going to cast into Sister Creek. It was fed by the ocean. The water was pretty and clear.

I made sure to manage my footing. If I stumbled, I knew the exposed limestone would be waiting to injure me.

Pretty limestone formation (Photo Bill Pike)

My casts were long and true with the lure. I wanted to make sure that I didn’t get hung up on any limestone rocks in the shallows.

I varied the direction of my casts each time. I kept an eye on the young man to my left. It didn’t appear that he was having any luck.

Dan returned with the bait. He had a work call coming in so he hustled back to the car.

As I was reeling in a cast, a fish hit the lure hard. That bite surprised me, and I could not react quick enough to set the hook. The distressed fish wiggled off the line.

That one hit gave me the first hope I’d had all week. I kept casting. I was getting good distance on each cast.

Once again, I had another strong hit on the lure. The fish, maybe the same one was swifter than my tardy reaction time. I missed setting the hook again.

A bit peeved at myself, I opted to switch rods and try the shrimp bait. The casts with the bait might have been shorter, but I knew the baited line had landed properly on the bottom.

I let the bait sit for several minutes. Then, I’d reel in to make sure the bait was still on the hook.

A few times, I could feel a slight twitch on the line. Felt like a small fish or a crab nibbling at the bait. But, I could never get a fish to fully take the bait.

Just shy of 4 p.m. I was ready to call it quits. I gently tossed the unused shrimp into the water. Dan helped me to collect my gear.

I had fun fishing in a pretty place. And part of my self-talk told me that I should have fished at at Sombrero Beach more. I think I would have caught a fish.

Back at the condo, we were getting ready to have dinner at the Sunset Grille and Raw Bar. The restaurant sits at the base of the Seven Mile Bridge.

We left in time to wrangle a water side table. That way, we would enjoy a good view of the sunset.

Pals (Photo taken by the waitress on someone’s phone)

We had a delightful waitress, and the sunset did not disappoint us.

The sun settling in for the night (Photo Bill Pike)

Once we were back at Tranquility Bay, Marian had another round of charades planned out for us. After maxing out our creative brain cells, Dan had the movie, You Hurt My Feelings, ready for us to watch.

We had another busy day in Marathon Key.

The highlight for me was Sombrero Beach.

I’m thankful for the leadership in Marathon Key who believed that Sombrero Beach had potential. Clearly, their plan has made the beach a good place to visit for their residents and tourists.

And though my Richmond friend, Rohn Price, will be disappointed that a couple of fish eluded me at Sombrero Beach, my old brain will never forget the priceless beauty of casting from that shoreline.

I hope Sombrero Beach will continue to provide opportunities for people to enjoy its beauty.

And I also hope the leaders in Marathon Key will always maintain and upgrade as needed this very nice beach.

And I’ll throw one more out there. I hope we, the users of Sombrero Beach will cherish and care for this little bit of paradise for a long, long time.

Marathon Key Day Six: the sun, The Stuffed Pig, cold iguanas, planet searching

February 22, 2025 Bill PikeLeave a comment

If on the morning of Saturday, January 25, I went out to fish, I don’t remember it. Maybe that is because there was a distraction—the sun was back.

When I went for my morning run the temperature was 54 degrees, wind was whipping out of the north at 12 mph, with gusts up to 28. But the sun was out against a clear blue backdrop.

For this run, I ran north along the highway on the left side facing the traffic. The road’s shoulder was a combination of sidewalks and driveway entrances into parking lots for businesses.

I ended up running past Crane Point Hammock. Then, I turned around and retraced my steps to Tranquility Bay. I clocked my time at 40:59. A good workout into a stiff breeze.

Along the way, there were a few early risers. At some point, from the other side of the highway, I heard these words: “get off the road.” I spun around to see if those words were meant for me.

I determined the words came from a passing vehicle on the other side of the road. Probably some driver with a car racked out with the technology to annoy old men on a singular Saturday morning run.

I imagine the driver had quite a laugh when he/she saw me whip around searching to find the culprit.

Back at Tranquility Bay, we were in motion. We were gathering ourselves for a short walk to The Stuffed Pig for breakfast.

Bundled up for the wind, we made the walk to the restaurant. Inside seats were already taken. So, we were directed to an outside seating area in back of the restaurant.

My pals at The Stuffed Pig (Photo Bill Pike)

Yes, the air was a bit brisk, but we settled into our table, and placed our orders. When the delicious food arrived, the chilled air was forgotten.

I can only describe our orders as this—a cardiologist would see dollars signs. I’m sure my arteries, heart chambers, and veins enjoyed every bite of my homemade biscuits smothered in warm sausage gravy. For the next six days, I was powerfully tempted to return to The Stuffed Pig to up my cholesterol, but I resisted.

Along with the delightful breakfast, the staff at this restaurant is most impressive—they are polite, hardworking hustlers.

With this cool air, we had read a notice from weather forecasters to be on the outlook for iguanas falling out of trees. This cool air impacts their metabolism.

Iguanas crawl into trees to sleep. Being cold blooded, in these cool temperatures iguanas can lose their grip on the tree limbs.

When the grip goes, the iguana falls. If an iguana had clunked down on me after breakfast at The Stuffed Pig any health problems related to cholesterol, bladder, and bowel would have been instantly cleared.

But we did see a green iguana poking his head up out of shrubbery. It was if the iguana was seeking the warmth of the sun. Perhaps, this iguana was silently saying to the sun—thank the good Lord you are back this morning.

An iguana catching some sun (Photo courtesy of Betsy Pike)

Past breakfast, Saturday was quiet. The abundant sunshine kept us in motion.

My Richmond friend, Mike Cross, had alerted me before heading to the Keys that an alignment of planets would take place while we were there.

So prior to sundown, Betsy, Dan, and I made the trek to Seven Mile Bridge. Butch, Marian, and Judy would follow later in the car.

Our location looked to be a perfect for watching the sun set and planet searching.

Betsy and Dan capturing the sunset (Photo Bill Pike)

Prior to the sunset and planet search, we walked around. We noticed an iguana on a concrete ledge. Our guess was that earlier in the afternoon, the iguana had been reheating his body from the warm concrete.

Another iguana warming before nightfall (Photo Bill Pike)

Gradually, darkness began to arrive. The shades of color in the sky dimmed. Our first glimpses of sparkles in the heavens began to appear.

For the next half hour, our necks craned toward the dark yonder. Anything with some size and brightness caught our attention.

I’m no expert on the twinkling stars at night. I can find the dippers, but that’s about it.

Consulting the internet and a variety of apps, Dan and Betsy started to piece together the appearance of the planets.

Here is what our pals at NASA had to say about our search for this alignment of planets:

“In the first couple of hours after dark, you’ll find Venus and Saturn in the southwest, Jupiter high overhead, and Mars in the east. (Uranus and Neptune are there too, but a telescope is needed to see them.) Planets always appear along a line in the sky, so the “alignment” isn’t special. What’s less common is seeing four or five bright planets at once, which doesn’t happen every year. Is it a “planet parade”? This isn’t a technical term in astronomy, so call it what you wish!”

So, we kept looking and rationalizing what our eyes were seeing. By the time the rest of our gang showed up, I’m reasonably sure that Dan and Betsy had spotted Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars.

With creaky necks and weary eyes, we piled back into the car. A shrimp dinner and another round of Marian’s charades await us.

The shrimp were delicious, and the charades always bring some surprises and laughter.

Before turning in, we talked briefly about an outing to explore Pigeon Key on Sunday morning, and a sneak peak at Key West for Monday.

What a difference the return of the sun made. Its light certainly casts us into many different directions.

And in those directions, I’m thankful for the caring light found in our dear college friends, the solitude of an early morning run, the people skills at The Stuffed Pig, any iguana that didn’t clunk my head, sunsets and aligned planets, shrimp catchers and shrimp cooks, and the heartfelt laughter in a game of charades.

Good night.

Day Two Marathon Key: exploring

January 31, 2025 Bill Pike1 Comment

Day Two Marathon Key Tuesday, January 21, 2025

Well, after our day of travel, we slept. Some longer than others, but we slept.

My internal alarm clock had me up by 4:30, but I did sleep.

It was a quiet start.

Before breakfast, Butch and I explored the grounds of Tranquility Bay. We came upon an egret in the high grass who was possibly stalking for breakfast too.

Egret in the tall grass (Photo Bill Pike)

After breakfast, we piled into the car.

We drove toward Seven Mile Bridge.

We quickly discovered that the bridge is seven miles long. Once you are on the bridge, there is no getting off until you reach the other side. I think when we reached Veteran’s Beach, we were able to turn around and head back to Marathon.

Back on Marathon Key, we were curious to check out Sandals. This was a store that we had seen constantly along U.S. 1 on our drive into Marathon.

Turns out that Sandals is a beach store. It is not unlike the Wings stores that we find on every other corner in various beach towns along the mid-Atlantic coast.

After Sandals, we made a grocery store stop at Winn-Dixie, a chain that I remember from growing up in North Carolina. They were a Florida based chain. With all of the changes and challenges in the grocery store landscape, I was surprised to see that they continues to live.

Lunch time was approaching. We decided on the Sunset Grill. This open air restaurant sits at the foot of the Seven Mile Bridge. The restaurant is properly named as it is the ideal location to watch a sunset.

I ordered conch chowder and a blackened fish sandwich. It was interesting to note the differences in the conch chowder from my similar order on Monday at High Tide in Key Largo. This version was much sweeter and featured less vegetables in the mix.

After lunch, we were in pursuit of shrimp for dinner and bait for fishing. We found both.

The clerk at the bait shop directed us to a water front seafood market where we purchased three pounds of fresh caught shrimp for our dinner. Bubba and Forrest would have been pleased.

For the remainder of the afternoon, we took advantage of the sunshine and comfortable temperatures.

At the heated, saltwater pool, Dan tried out the snorkeling gear that he brought with him. He was prepping for swims in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean to view sea life.

At guest services in the lobby, we picked up golf balls and putters to test our green reading ability and patience on the synthetic putting greens in the open space in front of our unit. Additionally, we reserved three bicycles for a ride back down to the Seven Mile Bridge.

After the putting practice and bike rides, I put together the fishing rods and set them up to use on Wednesday morning. My non-resident fishing license issued by the state of Florida was only good for seven days, so I wanted to try my luck and not waste my pennies.

As we pushed toward dinner with our shrimp, a few of us ambled toward the water in search of a sunset.

Toward the end of day two (Photo Bill Pike)

Thanks to gray clouds, the sinking sun was obscured, but I did capture our brides who are the braintrust for this trip.

The brains of our outfit (Photo Bill Pike)

Prepared by Butch and Marian, our shrimp dinner was delicious, and it was topped off by a Florida favorite—Key Lime Pie.

Our post-dinner entertainment was organized by Marian. We participated in an assortment of games that made us think a bit, but that also generated humorous commentary.

Soon sleep was calling, and we talked about our thoughts for Wednesday.

Turns out that cold air we left back home was going to find its way into the Florida Keys.

Whatever disappointment the gray clouds, sparse sun, and stiff winds would bring, I needed to remember it was much colder back in Richmond.

But beyond the weather, I’m also reminded to be thankful for this opportunity to get away.

And I must always keep in front of me this fact—some people from the day they are born until they make the leap to heaven never have the opportunity to get away.

And maybe there is no better way to ponder this by referencing a song written by John Lennon.

On his 1980 album, Double Fantasy, Lennon’s song, “Beautiful Boy(Darling Boy)” is about his son, Sean.

In the song, Lennon used this quote from Allen Saunders: “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

Amen.