January 6, 2003 Our 9 ft. oar bags caused some confusion at the US Airways check in counter but only after we had our baggage tags.  The service representative had not had any experience with oversized luggage.  As I walked away toward the gate I heard someone telling him that those long bags were way over sized and that he should have charged us for them.  He shrugged and said it was too late.  US Airways thereby made the first corporate contribution to the Damien House Row.

Arriving in Miami we waited a long time for our blue dry bags. Guess what item of luggage was the last one out.  Getting into the small Thrifty van with the Nine foot oar bags and the three dry bags was miraculously easy.  The oars fit inside the rented jeep and we were on our way to Key West in minutes.  An exploration of Key Biscayne and a look at Biscayne Bay and Miami harbor from the bridge took an hour and a half and delayed us long enough to but us in rush hour traffic heading south out of the city.  Finally we hit the FL Turnpike and got to Rte1, The Overseas Highway, and progressed fairly quickly to Key Largo where we stopped to get information on camp grounds.  There we found an older lady handing out information with the attitude of a career clerk at the DMV.  Our needs did not fit her script.  We went on to find the motel room I had reserved in Islamorada.  My selection process had been random.  The Tropical Reef Resort we found at last and a half dressed fellow with a cigarette in his mouth smelling of cheap whiskey took our MasterCard and gave us a key, a map and a TV remote and pointed where to go.  We managed to find our room and carry in our bags. Of course, I had to check out the quality and performance of the plumbing fixtures. The toilet was a 1960s era avocado green 5 gpf water hog with a different color green seat rather loosely attached.  The sink was a rusted steel lav that had been painted over several times but the paint was not sticking and large areas of rust blisters showed through.  So much for my random pick in my estimation:  How could I do this to poor Heather! But the bed was OK and we slept well after a good dinner at the Outback Steak House we found up the road a few miles next to a clean Hampton Inn which surely must have had TOTO toilets.  I fell asleep thinking that it had been entirely unnecessary to make a reservation.