I was worried about being seen leaving our stealth camping site, and I didn’t get more than a wink of sleep anyway, so I called off that social experiment at 6 a.m.
We passed a Publix the night before just a couple of blocks up the way. It opened at 6:00, so we made our way there. I bought a couple of bananas and some baby wipes. You know, for the most glamorous bath one has ever had.
We rode for a while and stopped at the breakfast place we saw. Surprisingly there weren’t that many. I was sure the Keys would be a brunch heaven!
So we stopped at Sunrise Cuban Cafe & Market. The ambience and service were a bit lacking. But the Spanish omelet was pretty tasty. And the key lime pie: my first in the Keys! While a bit hole-in-the-wallish, it’s popularity was obvious, with a line of people at the counter and the walkup window.
Considering our difficulty finding the lodging the previous night, we made sure we wouldn’t have the same problem by booking a room at the Key Largo Inn.
Since we rode 15ish miles we didn’t expect to the day before, our ride was refreshingly short and we arrived at 9:30ish. We did the same thing we did in Key West and asked if we could stow our bags. I thought I’d left my bathing suit back in Key West, and I asked if the guy knew of a place where I could get another. CVS and Walgreens are quite the tourist stops in the Keys, but I did accomplish my goal for not too much money at Walgreens.
A note about bike touring. Warning: this may be too much information for some… But there are some, ah, challenges than can accompany bike tours. Now, I didn’t have this particular problem when I rode 500 miles around the Gaspésie. At least it was minimal. But this trip I was having problems with saddle sores. Honestly, I think it was because I was wearing padded undies (chamois, in the lingo). I didn’t in Canada, and I was using the same saddle. But sitting in the saddle HURT, padded undies or not, and I had verifiable sores. (Yes, I looked.) Chamois butter exists, but there were no bike stores around. At least, I figured the rental stores probably wouldn’t have any. So I started Googling substitutes. I bought the below, and it did seem to help throughout the rest of the trip.
Anyhoo, by the time I got back to the hotel at about 11:00, he had a room ready for us. (Hallelujah and thank you so much!!) A shower was the first order of business. (That baby wipe bath was pretty luxurious, but there’s nothing like actual hot water to really take self-cleaning over the edge!) A nap quickly followed.
After my nap, I went to chill by the pool. I could have chosen to chill IN the pool, but that nippy water was more than I wanted. Dangling my legs was plenty. I really wanted a hot tub to soak in. Some fearless northerners did take the plunge, but even they admitted it was cold.
Drink responsibly and only if your 21-years-old or older. 
My Walgreens bikini top.
Then we started thinking about food. We went to Skippers Dockside at the recommendation of another hotel guest. I got the snapper. It was pretty good. There were quite a lot of people there.
It was dark when we walked back to the hotel. The stars were nice. There was a brisk breeze.
I went back out by the pool for a little while. Then it was early to bed for our next day’s ride.