July 20-21, 2020

Growing up, siblings can be anything but fun. Mom! Make Ethan stop! Grace won’t give me my shirt back! Ugh, Micah won’t leave me alone! There is typically more arguing than having fun, but my sister is my best friend which makes life so much sweeter. During our family move to Florida this summer, Grace and I were home together for about a week and decided, Hey, let’s go to the Keys. We don’t plan well, have a high-profile agenda, or meet basic human needs, so it was an incredibly fun and easy trip to take. All we packed was a backpack, some cash, and our longboards, and this was one of my favorite memories ever made with her.

            We left our house early in the morning, hoped in the car, and was passing through Miami by 8 a.m. This was my first time driving through the city, and I was in awe; it was beautiful! The shiny buildings quickly faded into the distance and we found ourselves driving through rural, southern Florida for the next four hours. Island after island we “ooo’d” and “ahh’d” stealing glances at the passing houses and was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the green and blue ocean in every direction. Who are the incredibly lucky people that live here?! I could not even imagine the tropical life that the families get to experience.

            We jammed with the windows down, daydreamt about being in the Netflix show Outer Banks, and just enjoyed doing whatever we did together. We drove past Skydive Key West in Summerland Key, looked at each other and said, “We’re coming back to do that!” And mark my words, we will haha. We drove across the 7-mile bridge and made a few interesting stops before arriving in Key West. During one stop, we were in Islamorada and were able to go into this artisan village that had incredible crafts and items for sale. We also went to a state park that was….um, subpar at best. We didn’t bother to pay to go to another one.

            We stopped at restaurants, random overlooks, construction sights, no-trespassing signs, and jungle-looking streets. We pulled out our longboards a few times and just let the warm, ocean air wick our hair and shirts back as we cruised down the road. We would randomly look at each other, smile, and be in awe. How are we lucky enough to experience something like this together? No plans, no desires, no problem.

            Later in the afternoon, we arrived at Key West and just drove the streets stealing glances at the houses, people, and shops. The island isn’t very big, so we didn’t have to make too many loops before we figured out the layout. We ended up parking the car and walking around for the next few hours. Streets were narrow and full of vegetation. The construction style reminded me a lot of New Orleans and had an old, southern charm to it. There were a lot of people walking about which surprised me because it was the dead middle of summer. Florida is hot in July and consistently humid, which does not make for the best vacationing time in Key West. We had to stop and rest in the shade a lot because many businesses were closed on the inside due to COVID.

            We walked down Duval Street and spent some time at Mallory Square, and I was finally able to spot out the island that I wanted to live on when I was younger: Sunset Key. I would spend hours on Google Maps planning out my future life on that island, and there it was. It can be seen right off of Mallory Square but one can only get there by ferry. The residents have a private ferry service that takes them home and back to Key West. It’s not far off the coast, so if they had their own boats or jet skis, or if they really wanted to swim they definitely could. I was seeing something I had only seen on a screen my entire life appear right before my eyes. I might have been star-struck for a second, but I quickly recovered.

            After taking some pictures and scouting out the snorkeling company we would be adventuring with the next day, we decided it was time to go to the beach. We moved our car and went to Smathers Beach on the other side of the island. It wasn’t as big as I thought it was going to be, but it had a bathroom and outdoor showers and that was all that we needed. We threw on our suits and laid out in the sun for a little as we watched it dip behind the palm trees. Grace brought her ukulele so she played a little song that she knew, and I climbed a palm tree. We took some photos together and included a special guest – a coconut. There were not many people around us, so we felt free to just be our goofy selves. We laughed, made jokes, watched the water crash against the rocks and sand, and just relaxed together. It was one of the best days of my summer, and I was just happy to be spending it with my sister. We just so happened to be in Key West; that never hurt anybody.

            We ran back to the car and grabbed our change of clothes and showering necessities, and dunked our heads under the outdoor showerheads that were provided on the beach. We shampooed and conditioned with our bathing suits on and laughed about it the whole time. We were able to get sufficiently clean and dry, and relished the salty and sun-kissed skin we had. We didn’t care who was watching or what people thought, but we definitely felt homeless because for that night, well, we were.

            We drove around for a place that was open to eat at, sit down in, and charge our phones. We ended up choosing to stop at an IHOP and handed our waitress our phones to charge while we stuffed ourselves with pancakes and milkshakes. I remember watching the sunset from the backside of the island over the water and being in awe yet again. We sat on a wall next to the road to watch the sun sink below the horizon and praise God for yet another incredible day together. He blesses in so many incredible ways.

            However, the most fun was yet to be had; we needed to sleep in the car. We decided that the back of a Publix could possibly be a safe place to sleep, so we pulled in, opened the trunk, and started to make a make-shift bed for two. We hung our clothes out the cracks of the windows and brushed our teeth with water bottles. Once we felt successful in our survival skills, we turned off the car, closed the trunk, and fell asleep next to each other under a wad of blankets and pillows.

            It got pretty hot throughout the night, and I guess it started raining because I woke up to Grace in the front seat driving the car at 3 a.m. I looked at her, and she looked at me, and I asked, “Are you kidnapping me?” She let out a small laugh and said it had started to rain so she closed the windows and started the AC.  I didn’t know where we were going, nor did I really care, so I shrugged and went back to sleep.

            I woke back up around 8 in the morning in the parking lot of a CVS to Grace saying she was going to go inside to use the restroom. Now is as good of a time as any, I thought. I went with her too and bought mini-chocolate donuts for breakfast and a Key West visor which I love. We sat in the car, feeling satisfied with our successful first night sleeping in it, and opened an email that said our snorkeling tour for the day was canceled due to bad weather. There wasn’t any, which was annoying, but that just means we will be back for another adventure! We didn’t have plans anymore, so we decided to take our longboards back out and ride around town. We rode for a couple hours and went into a few shops to see what kind of merch they had. There was a plethora of chickens running around the streets, so it was fun to chase them down with my Landcruiser. But, after a while, we decided there really wasn’t much else for us to do before we left to go back home.

            With one last stop, we went to go see the southernmost point of the continental United States at the big, famous buoy. Huge waves were crashing over the walls and into the street causing large puddles to form and cars to pass by slowly. And, feeling satisfied with our trip, we hopped back in the car and put in directions to our new Florida home. The drive back, as you know, was still an experience, both visually and physically, as we stopped for lunch at an incredible mom and pop place. I had mahi I believe and it was probably the best mahi I have ever had in my life. We had a conversation about God with an intoxicated man at the restaurant because I was wearing a “Jesus Loves You” shirt. I am not sure if much fruit came from the conversation, but at least seeds were planted.

            A cool spot that had been recommended to us on our drive back through was a place called Robbie’s. I think you could eat and hangout and camp here if you wanted, but we came to feed the fish. And they weren’t normal fish. I forget what kind they were but they were huge and jumped out of the water to eat the smaller fish we would feed them. Grace got her arm grazed by the mouth of one of these monsters and she screamed, startled by the strength they had. We ended up stinking and smelling like fish at the end, but it was definitely a must-do for first-timers in the Keys.

            We rested all the way back home and were able to see the Miami city lights as we passed by on the interstate. It was one of the best adventures I had all summer, and that’s saying a LOT. I love the spontaneous, crazy journeys my sister and I go on and would not trade them for the world. I am just excited that there are more to be had. Thank God for his goodness and provision! Let the Adventures Begin!