It's a beautiful, sunny day in the Keys! It's been a long time since I wrote my last blog post, but "here we go again"! Steve and I have an agreement and that is we spend three months on our boat Kathryn. If you have watched our "wanderings", you know we have been across the Gulf, around the Gulf and up and down the coast of Florida. Well, this is the year for us to head to the Bahamas. Dear Steve is the adventurous one in our marriage, but I always trust his planning and seamanship and don't feel frightened or afraid. So, with all that in mind, Steve and his crew (aka Jim and Buford) left Corpus Christi on April 2nd. They made it to Port A and the winds were just too brisk, so they did an overnight and took off across the Gulf the following morning. This will be his tale to tell, so I will fast forward to my travels. While "the boys" were sailing, I flew to NW Indiana to see the kids and grandkids for five days. That is always a joy for me to get to be with them , hear their tales and just have fun! AND we did!!! On the12th, I flew to Ft. Meyers and my "taxi" was awaiting me! Our old friends, Elaine and RJ Smith, picked me up, entertained me for the evening at a great resturant named Two Meatballs in the Kitchen, gave me a comfy bed and then delivered me to my ride the next AM. Marie Tipton (wife of crew member Jim) had driven all the way from CC, so that she and Jim would have a car once they reached Key West. So, Marie and I did a day trip down I-75 and then down US 1 to Key West! That, of course, is a beautiful drive with aqua water on both sides of the highway! Jim had stowed away a bottle of wine for us all to toast our arrival, and we were all happy we had arrived safe and sound!
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| The Boys (Buford, Steve & Jim) |
Now we have been at Stock Island Village Marina for a week and enjoying every minute. It is the marina we have been at the past three years, and we love the amenities it offers. The best being they have a van which delivers us to downtown Key West five times a day. (it does a Publix Grocery store run, also!) We have been here long enough to have found "favorite spots". I'll just give you a few "snippets" of some of our best times. Irish Keven's is a bar/restaurant on Duval. One evening as we walked past, we were standing in the doorway just listening to the music and seeing if we wanted to go in. The guitar player sees Steve, announces to the whole bar that Kenny Rogers is here, motions us in and he goes into The Gambler. The bouncer shakes Steve's hand, people are looking and pointing to their friends as if to say, "there he is" and we just smiled! Another good spot was Alonzo's Oyster Bar. Great happy hour and food. That's where we started visiting with Sue and Ryan from....you guessed it, very close to Vinton, IA where Steve grew up. They wanted to see our boat, so the next day they took a taxi out to the boat, joined us for a drink and then we all went back to downtown for dinner. I just love Key West because I am a people watcher....oh my, I have a full time job! There are just so many great people to meet and enjoy!
Another thing I watch are boat names. Some folks are very clever. We have two such boats here in the marina. The first is an old but beautifully restored sailboat called When and If. It was built for General George Patton of WWII fame. The story goes that he chose the name When and If so that "when and if" he returned from the war he would sail it around the world. He did return but was never able to sail it around the world. The other boat is called Taza Mas which translates to "many cups". On board is its owner who is 92 years old and is in the Keys for another month. Why the name, you may ask??? He invented and pattened the styrofoam cup!!! (I might add, this is NOT a small boat!)
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| Pepe's Oldest Cafe in Key West |
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| Stock Island Marina |
So, this morning we have called our "weather man" and have an okay for a trip across the Straights of Florida starting tomorrow afternoon. We are ready to go to the Bahamas. So, we will see where this next adventure takes us!