Cloudy. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High near 85F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph..

A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible early. Cloudy early with some clearing expected late. Low 79F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph.

What do airplanes and dragons and bees have in common? 

Longtime Key Biscayne resident, Victoria Jackson.

You may be familiar with the honey Jackson sells from her front porch. But did you know she also races dragon boats, or that she has been a flight attendant since 1989?

Jackson, widow of recently deceased Village firefighter Ron Erbel, used to live in Coral Gables. But as a flight attendant, she would go out of town for long stretches, and she was concerned about the security at her apartment building. So, after visiting friends in Key Biscayne, she decided to move to the island, feeling the security would be better.

“It was the best choice I ever made for so many reasons,” said Jackson. 

In December of 1992, while getting her new place ready for Christmas, she was precariously perched on her sofa attempting to hang a picture. Three firemen, there to inspect the building, saw this through her open door and offered to help. Little did she know that 20 years later she would end up marrying one of them.

For years, Jackson and Ron Erbel, one of the helpful firefighters, would run into each other at local events, or getting morning coffee at the Oasis. 

“We were just casual friends for years. I never thought of him as anything but a buddy,” said Jackson. “I even tried introducing him to my girlfriends, thinking they might date.” 

On her 30th birthday Erbel arrived in uniform, with his crew and a fire engine, and said, “Do you need help putting out those candles?” This further cemented their friendship, but it wasn’t until 10 years later – at her 40th birthday party – that their friendship became something else.. 

“All of a sudden I saw him in a different way, and we were never apart again,” said Jackson.

Years later, at his 60th birthday party, with hundreds of guests watching, he presented Jackson with a paper bag containing a pair of socks.

“He said the socks were in case I got cold feet,” she recalled. “And then he proposed to me.” 

They were married in February of 2012, and we had a true Key Biscayne style wedding at the Lighthouse, with the reception at University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.”

Jackson began her career as a flight attendant in 1989, with American Airlines: “I did a number of things before flying and thought it would only be a ‘gap period.’ But I actually fell in love with it.” 

She and Ron used to use her access to flights to travel all over the world. “We had so much fun,” Jackson said, with a smile. “Ron used to like to tell his friends that he was going to lunch in London that day, or dinner in Argentina, and they would think he was joking. But we really were.”

She is now returning to full time flying, after taking a year off to be with her husband during his cancer battle. Ron had gone to NYC for 9/11 recovery with a crew of Village firefighters, and was exposed to many pathogens.

“I was so blessed not to have to work, and be able to spend every day with Ron before he passed,” said Jackson. “It is now time to step back into my life.”

One way she is doing this is through the pursuit of another of her passions: racing dragon boats. Save Our Sisters Dragon Boat Team began 10 years ago when they bought their first boat. “Big Pink” was named in honor of the crew, 22 women who all survived breast cancer. 

“The paddlers are all ages, all phases, and all breast cancer survivors,” said Jackson, noting that they bought a second boat, “Group Therapy,” and now have 62 team members ranging in age from 23 to 80. 

There are 22 people on a boat: 1 drummer, 1 steering and 20 paddlers. They participate in 4 to 6 races a year. During COVID, however, they switched to kayaks to keep separated for safety.

“Every four years there is an international race. It is like the Olympics of dragon boats,” said Jackson. Her team has flown to several of these. 

“I love the group. It was my blessing for having had cancer,” she said. “We are together to share our journeys and to celebrate life.”

Jackson and Erbel also shared a passion for keeping bees. Key Bee Honey began as their hobby, but over the years it brought in as many as 55 hives to Key Biscayne and Virginia Key.

“It started when Ron inherited three hives from a friend, and we put them in our backyard. We started having so much honey that his children – Jenny, Jesse, Ashley and Joshua – used to go around the neighborhood with a wagon selling it,” she said.

It has now grown into a thriving little business. Jackson and volunteers remove the honey from the hives, then spin and filter the honey in a room at her house. Besides selling the honey, she now has students from local schools who participate in the process. 

Over the years, Jackson and her Erbel helped many families on the island bring hives to their backyards. “We foster hives if anyone wants to try working with bees,” she said.

Maintaining this passion for bees and honey is just one more way for Jackson to keep the legacy of Ron Erbel alive. 

For more information on bee hives, processing honey, or dragon boats, you can reach Victoria Jackson at dragonboatbarbie@gmail.com