ISLAND HOPPING

        Lucky us. South Floridians need only jump into their cars to visit exotic islands. Our state is surrounded by hundreds of them. Some are still free of condominiums. We visited one last weekend.
   Bahia Honda is a hundred miles southwest of Miami but, in many ways, is closer to Jamaica.
Its got coconut palms and a sugar sand beach that you can camp on.  For forty bucks a night we had our own piece of oceanfront.  Francesca and I were lulled to sleep by lapping waves. The next morning we were greeted by Mr. Sun peeking over a tranquil blue horizon.

     Key West is less than an hour away.  We love lunching under the banyan trees at My Blue Heaven. Chickens peck at you feet as you peck at shrimp and grits. It's wonderful but still a bit unsettling for me because of The Other Glenn.
     Fourteen years ago I was single and looking for love in the southernmost city. At the Blue Heaven's bar

I noticed a man who looked like me passing by. It was very strange and I followed him as he
headed for the restroom.   
     Its one thing to see yourself in a mirror but this was no reflection. Except for being an inch shorter, this guy was me.  Thoughts of "The Invasion of the Body Snatchers" ran through my head.  "Is this guy going to kill me and take over my life?" I thought.  Hiding behind a tree I saw him emerge from the men's room and return to the dining area.
     Mr. Lonely continued thinking, "Is he now returning to his wife...my wife?"  This clone thing, after only half a beer, was way too freaky. Of course, I followed the other Glenn from a safe distance until he sat down next to a woman who was not my type at all. I know appearances aren't everything but she looked like the last person I would want to be wedded to. How could my clone have chosen her?
    I turned and left quickly, before Glenn #2 caught on to what I was up to. I have not seen him since but I did run into  Glenn #3 (Ed Wujciak) a couple of years ago. I'm okay with Ed. He only almost looks like me and has no intention of taking my life.

    Thoughts of evil clones faded once lunch was served. Afterwards we dropped in on our friends ,Hugh and Yadira.
    They have two old houses on the ocean just next to the Southernmost Point. While Key West has changed drastically these last four decades the Morgans have managed to keep things simple. They drive old cars and prefer talking over texting.

   Our southernmost friends use rotting seaweed and dead fish to fertilized their bulging red tomatoes. Catching dinner is as simple as casting a line off the seawall.

     Good fortune has allowed the Key West couple to keep it real despite the growing glitz around them. While we don't live on the ocean, our Bahia Honda campsite allowed us to imagine being real Caribbean  castaways.

   It's not that hard to do, there are islands all around us. Make plans to visit one and plant yourself in the sand. You can do what others only dream of.
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