Kitty's Key West Adventure

The Sea dog

By JGM

So, a few weeks ago, Robert and I went to Key West for our traditional get-out-of-jail (Virginia), wedding anniversary vacation. By mid-February, the cold in Virginia starts to get monotonous, so pairing our anniversary with a little warm R&R over the years has worked out well.

Just to say it, our wedding anniversary is always celebrated as a “big” holiday. More so than most others. It's the day about us - and we take great pride in our marriage.

I have always had a hankering to go to Key West, ever since 1990, when the Key West reefs became a marine sanctuary, and I learned about the connecting bridges that run down the string of Islands just south of Miami. Key West is one of the larger islands and is the southernmost.

However, the truth is I had an ulterior motive. I had this little dream of bringing Kitty, the Pomeranian terrorist, with us. The island of Key West has become known as the most dog-friendly and accommodating, to dogs that is, place to vacation in the USA. And they are not wrong.

Mexico or?

When we visited Key West, something struck us almost immediately. All the sandy beaches seemed to be on one side of the island. It wasn’t our imagination.

Key West sits between two very different bodies of water. To the north is Florida Bay, which is shallow and full of seagrass and mangroves. To the south is the open Atlantic. The Atlantic side gets waves and currents that push sand towards the shore. The bay side does not. So most of the island’s sandy beaches end up on the southern and southeastern side.

There is also a funny truth about Key West. For a place famous for turquoise water, it is not really a classic beach destination. The island is built on coral rock, not sand. That means long, natural sandy beaches are rare.

People come for other things. Boats. Fishing. Diving the reef. Wandering around Old Town. Watching the sunset with a drink in hand and pretending they do not have a return flight.

If sandy beaches are the priority, the south side of the island near Smathers Beach is the best place to stay. If the goal is restaurants, music, and wandering around historic streets, Old Town wins. If snorkeling is where you are at - and you don’t mind going out to sea to get to the best reefs, Key West is a great choice.

The other thing is, Key West is a safe, friendly place at a time when a lot of the world is falling apart - where Mexican cartel members don’t wander about openly.

The Health Certificate

Kitty has become attached to my feet, so to speak. As in, no matter where I go, there she is. Room to room, outside or in - she never misses a step. It pains her greatly that for an hour or so each day, she gets locked in the house when I go riding. I think she still worries that she will get left permanently. But she is also a bit bossy, and likes to be in charge - Robert thinks that one day she will be alpha dog in the house. I don’t - just cause she knows how small she is, and gives the other dogs lots of berth and respect. But they are all very tolerant of her and of the fact that she has colonized me to such a large extent. So, Kitty gets to vaca - while the rest of the crew stays home.

Now, to fly to an island with a dog, even in the Caribbean, requires a veterinary health certificate - showing the paperwork to the airlines, etc. A major hassle and a little risky, as you are under the thumb of an arbitrary and capricious system, where each airline interprets the USDA rules and regulations differently.

With United, flying domestically is a breeze. No paperwork required.

Road Trip

So, the plan. Fly into Miami. Rent a car. Drive the 3.5-hour trip down the causeway to Key West for a five-day getaway from Virginia’s snow and ice. We decided on a hotel with a Cuban theme, called Havana Cubana, which was advertised as dog-friendly and has a nice pool and hot tub.

I often tease Robert about his inability to multitask. When he gets involved in a project, whether it be working on a project car (vintage cars are his secret passion - but don’t let him know I told you) or writing an article, he gives it 200% effort. I, on the other hand, tend to be doing ten things all at once and juggling a three-ring circus. The truth is, we complement each other’s work styles very well. But we work very different than each other.

However, here he is in the airport - texting, walking, and holding Kitty all at the same time. Proving that yes, if he put his mind to it, he actually is capable of multitasking.

Anyway, other than a few little miffed barks, Kitty settled down on the plane and went to sleep. We had a reservation with Herz Rental Cars because they are very lenient about having a dog in the car. But it turns out that Herz has a little issue at the Miami branch. At the Herz check-out counter, the line zigzagged around like a popular ride at Disney or the TSA line during a DHS government shutdown. I did line duty, while Robert had kitty. It took an hour and a half to rent the car. When I finally reached a clerk, I empathized with his situation - dealing with long lines, and he replied that this was a normal day! Whelp, I knew there was a reason I tend to rent with Alamo.

Photo credit: saltwaterseafari.com

The drive down to Key West was interesting. A bucket list thing to see all those coral reef islands, and I am glad we did it. But all in all, it was one long straight drive over a concrete causeway to the next small island, then the next, then the next, which were all a claptrap of touristy shops and restaurants, protected areas - fenced off, with some, mostly hidden, residential areas. But still, a fascinating drive.

Next time, we will probably fly into Tampa or Fort Myers, then get passage on the ferry from Fort Myers to Key West. Which we have been told is a lot of fun and also takes pets. The one downside to this plan is that a car is always a nice thing to have, and although there are scooter and golf cart rentals in Key West, traffic is a little brutal. Although I am sure there are plenty of Uber drivers around.

We left home early in the AM, and arrived at the hotel at about 6:00 PM. A long day for Kitty and us.

Bar sitting - Kitty style

So, Robert and I rarely, if ever, sit at bars to eat. As neither of us drinks much, we travel or work together, and we don’t tend to socialize with people we don’t know, so we just don’t do it. As strange as this sounds, up until this trip, I don’t think I have ever sat at a barstool at a bar.

Anyway, we started joking about it and decided to eat some of our meals at the hotel bars. It turns out that Kitty is a very experienced bar sitter. For that matter, stick her on a restaurant chair, and she is as happy as a pig in mud.

But the best laid plans... Back to work!

There was crisis after crisis in the capital city of Oz, which kept Robert in meetings for most of the first and second days of the trip. Still, we managed to swim, relax, and take it easy for at least a couple of hours each day. Plus, we got to sit on barstools, Kitty’s favorite sport.

It also turns out Kitty is pretty sure dogs sometimes get fed just for looking cute while sitting on barstools. Who knew?

At nearby restaurants, everyone was very accommodating to Kitty. Yes, Key West truly is dog-friendly. And family friendly too.

On the third day, we took a beautiful walk at the Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden, a 15.2-acre, frost-free tropical forest and botanical garden. Being winter, this was not the best time to stroll through the forest, as the butterflies weren’t out, a highlight of this garden, but still… It was a lovely walk, and the number of native plants there was a delight.

After an exquisite dinner at the Dorada restaurant, we headed out for a beach walk by the moonlight. This culminated in a stroll along a completely empty, beautifully maintained pier clearly used by hotel guests arriving by boat from faraway places, such as Miami.

Snorkeling in Looe Key Reef

I did some research before the trip and booked us a four-hour chartered boat trip with Saltwater Seafari to go snorkeling off the Looe Key reef. That reef is about five miles from Big Pine Key island, just north of Key West, and the only way to reach it is by boat. When Jill made the reservation, she asked if it was okay to bring a small Pomeranian. Jennifer, the friendly person on the phone line and co-owner, said no problem; they just don’t advertise that they allow dogs because not all dogs are suitable, especially large, unruly ones.

Well, obviously - we have never actually taken Kitty on a boat, so we had a little trepidation. Hence, we came armed with a carrier, doggy lifejacket, and harness. Turns out Kitty took to boating like a duck takes to water. It also turns out that Saltwater Seafari is a family-owned business, and the owners, Jennifer and Matt, also own a Pomeranian! So, while we snorkeled, Kitty had a doting babysitter in Matt, our captain! I think Kitty was quite smitten!

Spending time with Matt on the boat was a delight, and knowing that this is a family-owned business with strong values made the trip all the more special.

As we sped off in a flurry toward the reef, with water splashing on both sides and the wind whipping around us, Kitty just cuddled up between Robert and me on the front deck of the boat. Totally happy and content in her extra-small life jacket.

Well, the snorkeling was spectacular! As in way better than just about anywhere we have been before. At places, the water was only a few feet deep, yet there we were in the middle of the ocean. The diversity of fish was incredible.

About Looe Key Reef

Looe Key is a vibrant underwater haven teeming with over 150 fish species! Spanning about a tenth of a mile wide and a half mile long, there is a lot to explore. The water was clear, with fantastic visibility. We were able to see everything we wanted just by snorkeling. The tropical fish species were vibrant and fascinating to watch. Matt also took us to a different area where turtles, rays, and hammerhead sharks live - although we didn’t see any. Frankly, I came for the tropical fish, as I have seen plenty of turtles and sharks, and honestly, even little sharks, make me nervous.

The Coral

The reef is bursting with dozens of colorful coral varieties, which are truly breathtaking.

The reefs around Key West are part of the Florida Keys Reef Tract, the third-largest living coral barrier reef in the world and the only such reef in the continental United States. Stretching over 360 miles from Key Biscayne to the Dry Tortugas, this reef system lies just 5 to 8 miles offshore and supports over 1,400 species of marine life, including 40 species of stony coral and 500+ tropical fish

Coral reefs are often called the rainforests of the ocean. They cover a tiny fraction of the seafloor but support an enormous amount of marine life. Fish, crustaceans, and all sorts of strange little creatures depend on them.

But reefs are under stress. Although many blame climate change, it is more likely that pollution and the resulting diseases are causing widespread coral bleaching. The petrochemical fertilizer (nitrogen) runoff into the ocean is a major issue (ref). When corals bleach, they lose the tiny algae that live inside them and provide most of their food. If the stress continues, the coral dies.

Because reefs are disappearing so quickly, scientists are experimenting with ways to help corals survive. One idea that gets a lot of headlines is genetically engineered coral. Using gene editing tools, researchers are trying to identify or modify genes that might help corals tolerate higher temperatures or resist disease. The hope is that more resilient corals could eventually be planted on damaged reefs.

That said, much of what people call “GMO coral” is actually something simpler. Scientists are also selectively breeding corals that naturally survive hotter water. In other words, they are accelerating evolution rather than inserting new genes.

The law of unintended consequences

Supporters argue this may buy reefs time. But the risk of unintended consequences is also real. Change the genetics of an organism that builds entire ecosystems, and you had better be sure you understand what you are doing. Furthermore, remember that there are 40 coral species in this area alone. And various fish species depend on different coral species to survive. What happens to the diversity of fish when one species of coral becomes more or less dominant?

For now, most reef restoration still relies on old-fashioned coral farming. Small coral fragments are grown in underwater nurseries and then transplanted back onto reefs.

Island Hoping

Once we were done snorkeling, mostly because I started to feel slightly seasick, as there was wind, which caused a swell at the reefs, Mat took us to a little island, where we jumped out of the boat and waded in - then hung out for a while. Yep - with Kitty being held, we waded right on in to the sandy-covered islet. She never batted an eye or worried that we might drop her. Once there, she amused herself checking out under the shrubs and vigorously digging in the sand, looking for the entrance to China, while Robert and I hung out in a little hammock situated nearby.

We then toured other islands by boat and did some bird watching. Notable were the white pelicans, frigates, and osprey.

Back to reality

The next day, we headed home. The drive back to Miami was pleasant, and the flight home uneventful.

Robert is already talking about returning. The fact that Key West is both warm in winter and very accessible, and, yes, there is an airport, are key factors. But the truth is that the little downtown area and marina are darling, the restaurants are outstanding, and the ambiance is relaxed and friendly. We might even make it a family vacation, rent an Airbnb, inviting the kids and grandkids along.

And here we are, three weeks out from the big trip and already planning another.

---

---

---