To my mind, the pace of life should slow down in a place like Bahia Honda. I wish I could take a pure vacation but work obligations will not allow that, so I've done the most I can by working early in the morning and late at night.

I've said before how useful the ranger talks are at state and national parks. So I "rescued" Brad from his late-morning drowse and we headed over to the old bridge to hear about the old Keys railroad financed by Henry Flagler from 1905 to 1912. It's another great railroad debacle story like the one I heard in Anza-Borrego State Park last January. The railway is gone now. Route 1 covered it, and the only vestiges are some abandoned bridges.

There are nice beaches at Bahia Honda, and they are quiet this time of year. We took a picnic cooler and spent the afternoon wading through the shallow waters. Despite cold weather virtually everywhere else in the continental US, the Keys have once again been in the low 80s. I'll be sorry to start heading north again so soon.

Brad and Mary came over last night for dinner. Brad has some experience in the restaurant world, and so he's a handy cook. We let him do some of the work last night...

... while Mary and Emma played games and watched a little "Pinky & the Brain" on the big new screen.

We have debated whether to try to get another day here in Bahia Honda. The consensus seems to be that we won't try, because we have a few stops we want to make on the way back up to Tampa and we don't want to rush. Our schedule is being driven by airline tickets to depart Tampa on Monday. We'll be flying to Vermont for what Emma calls "fake Christmas" for a week. After the sun and balmy weather here on the Keys, arriving in Vermont will be a shock indeed.