I wrote about an abandoned neighborhood on Boca Chica Key. After spotting the development from an airplane, I did a deep dive into what I could find on the history. Check it out here.
We stopped on our way to Key West the other night to check it out from the road. The entrance was blocked with a gate.
With no way to check out the property from the roadway, we took the kayak (and dog) down this morning. We were able to put in on the east side of the Boca Chica Bridge and paddle to the deepwater inlet providing boat access to the area.
The round trip paddle was about 4 1/2 miles. On the way we saw a couple of turtles and a large stingray. An unexpected bonus was the airshow out of the Naval Air Station on the south side of Boca Chica Key. The Navy owns most of the land on the island including what are locally known as the submarine pens. (More on that to come).
From what we saw there has definetely been some “unauthorized” activity here, though there were no signs posted on the water or adjacent land to keep out.
Whether they were really built to house and service subs during the Cold War is debatable. There are definitely clues that offer either explanation. In my next Storyline, I’ll go into both sides of the discussion.
In my youth I spent summers with an uncle stationed at Boca Chica NAS. Fond memories. I am looking forward to your next adventure novel.
I just finished the recent Kurt Hunter novel. Very nice.