Tues, Jan 19, 2010 - Useppa Island / Cabbage Key

We awoke to a gorgeous morning. After breakfast, Gale and Lucy took off in the dinghy to do some exploring. They headed back toward Blind Pass where Lucy got out and ran on the beach. On the way home, Gale decided to fish for awhile and ended up catching our dinner – a 24-inch redfish! He also had an even bigger fish on the line for a few seconds, but it spit out the hook and continued on its way. Gale wasn’t sure just what kind of fish it had been.

We talked to Nick, Jane, Gary and Marilyn and made a date for lunch at the Green Flash Restaurant for tomorrow. The Green Flash is located a few yards north of Tween Waters Marina and accessible by boat, car or seaplane. At 2 pm, we pulled up the anchor and made our way to Useppa Island and Cabbage Key, about 12 miles away. It was another lovely, mild day to linger and enjoy the sunshine.


At 4 pm, we set our anchor just off the shore of the private island of Useppa, a lovely 100-acre island standing 37-feet above the water due to the numerous shell mounds found here. We lowered the dinghy and scooted across the waterway to Cabbage Key which lies in the lee of Cayo Costa Island. The Cabbage Key Inn is the former home of the son of Mary Roberts Rinehart, the famous mystery novelist. The marina is tucked into the foot of the 38-foot high Indian shell mound that sites the Old House Restaurant and Inn. For years, visiting fishermen, passing to and from local tarpon-fishing hot spots, have taken rest and refreshment here. The story goes that to guarantee a cold beer on their return, they started the tradition of posting signed dollar bills on the bar and restaurant walls. The accumulated currency has piled up dollars deep over every square inch of wall and ceiling space, now adding up to more than $50,000. We ordered our own beers and the hostess showed us around. The Inn had recently refurbished all the rooms and they were lovely. They also have several cottages which we saw on our walk around the nature trail. The island’s 60-foot high water tower constructed in the 1930’s, holds 6,000 gallons of water and is the last standing original water tower in this area – all the others have been destroyed by hurricanes.









Back aboard Blue Heron we enjoyed a fabulous sunset and a wonderful dinner of redfish and vegetables.