This is the longest road trip Earl and I have ever taken. It’s a warm-up for the one we’re planning mid-August where we’re driving to Yellowstone National Park and back. It will take about four weeks, whereas this one took a little under three.

Here is what we’ve learned: We need to take a larger cooler on the road, so that we can keep water, as well as our other provisions, cold. On this trip, we had to keep the water out of the cooler because it was too small. We need to have trash bags of some sort and Handi-Wipe®s too. You’d be amazed how much trash collects on a road trip and how often your hands get sticky. A large atlas is a must, as are Tums® for a bad meal. A pillow and a blanket make snoozing more enjoyable; sunglasses make staying awake easier.

In scoping a hotel, there are criteria: king sized bed, no smoking, Internet access, working television, breakfast in the morning, and a local restaurant for dinner instead of a chain.

Once we’ve checked in, we need to be wary of what hotel clerks tell us. When one says, “It’s just a couple blocks,” it’s probably a mile or so. When another clerk says, “It’s the next exit on the Interstate,” we need to ask how far up the road that really is. Last night the next exit was ten miles, and we went there only because the clerk said there was a nice restaurant waiting for us. After we exited, we ended up at Sparky’s Bar which really didn’t meet our definition of “nice” because cigarette smoke was the main concession to ambiance.

What we really don’t need is about half the clothes we dragged along because, when we get on the road, we tend to wear the same outfit more than one day. We also don’t need a GPS repeating how many yards to the next turn (as long as you have an updated map system), Starbucks® (although it’s nice to see one every once in a while), and that hair dryer which takes up a ton of room. (Most motels have one, although it may not be the same as the one at home.) And I definitely don’t need the jewelry I brought, unless I am afraid to leave it behind. All in all, I’d say our practice excursion to extended road travel has provided some excellent information.

Tomorrow Earl and I pack up and head north, so it’s the end of the road for our second annual stay in Marathon, Florida.

What are the highlights this year? I would say the food, not necessarily the quality or the quantity, but the typical-ness of it. The Florida Keys are known for fresh oysters, fish tacos, shrimp cocktail, and Margaritas. We visited more than one restaurant where these were featured.

After a while, the Tiki bar format becomes familiar, almost boring. At the same time, I had oysters whenever I could because we can’t get them back home this time of year.

We also visited a Dolphin Research Center which had twenty-two dolphins in residence for studying. I don’t mean the dolphins were studying; I mean researchers were studying them. We met one, Jax, that had been attacked by a shark and abandoned by its mother. Marine researchers discovered it and nursed it back to health. Now visitors can pay to swim in the water with Jax. One could argue this is a zoo-like existence, but the truth is Jax does not have the skills to survive in open waters.

We drove the sixty-one miles to Key West a couple times. It’s a new tradition to visit Sloppy Joe’s Bar there for the signature sandwich, which is sweet and gooey and not to be missed. The bar itself was originally made famous by Ernest Hemingway, who probably liked it more for the alcohol than the sloppy Joe’s.

And, yes, Earl played tourist and bought a T-shirt from another bar called Hog’s Breathe. I’m not sure if the name refers to the animal or to serious bikers. But its motto is, “Hog’s breathe is better than no breathe at all.”

In the telling of it, our vacation wasn’t marked by “WOW” moments; rather, it was more like a return to familiar surroundings that added to the memories of the year before. I suspect we’ll return.

One reason we come here to Duck Key is so I can swim every day. But just like home, there are schedules to consider. Up north I navigate the times between the aqua classes and the lessons for little children. I study the calendar for free swim times. ‘Free swim’ is shorthand for “You can do laps unless something else is scheduled.”

Here at Duck Key it’s a little less structured. At the same time, I am usually in the pool around 8 AM and swim until 9 AM. I don’t wear a watch, but the calypso music comes on at 9 AM, so I always know when I’ve done my half hour to forty minutes. Additionally, around the time the music starts parents come with their children to splash and scream and jump into the middle of the action. It’s my time to retreat.

I head to the cafй and a Starbucks® latte, knowing that tomorrow things will be less busy. Because tomorrow is Monday and the resort depends on weekends, while I plan to swim every day that we’re here.