SATURDAY JANUARY 16

Our gracious Looper Harbor Hosts, Janice and Joe, loaned us their vehicle so we made a trip to the grocery store to load up on provisions.

Shortly after our return we all headed to the Seafood Festival at one of the parks in Key West. There were food tents set up so we sampled some shrimp and also conch fritters.

One stand was making homemade ice cream. They probably had the longest line. Home for them was Wisconsin though, not Florida.









Ross gave the ice cream a big thumbs up.















Besides food there was
entertainment too.
Various bands played
and this group got a
conga line going.










This guy was some type of
entertainer, but it was his dog
with all the talent. The dog did
amazing tricks and then would
walk around the crowd and
collect dollar bills and then go
drop them in a bucket. Maybe
the dog will buy his owner a
trip to the groomers?




































Fun people watching.


This guy was enjoying
the day with his parrot.

















Even found some Vikings fans.















This Vikes fan had on a
John Beargrease sled dog
marathon shirt. The John
Beargrease is a 400 mile dogsled
racethat takes place in Minnesota.
He said he’d raced in it 7 times.










We spent quite a while visiting with him and found out his name is Arne Engstrom and he’s from my home town! He knows my parents and brother very well so we enjoyed hearing some stories. In fact my Godparents, Musz and Al Bailey, use to go to each check point along the John Beargrease race and cheer him on. Such a small world.


If you'd like to know more about
the John Beargrease and
Arne's "mushing" click on this link.







There was a booth giving H1N1
vaccinations so we got in line.
Ross made the comment to
the nurse that he'd never had
a vaccination while drinking
a beer. Her response?
"Welcome to Key West"



















This guy?


What can I say? I hate this guy!

FRIDAY JANUARY 15TH

Finally, a warm sunny day. I even put shorts on. We hopped on our bikes and enjoyed the warm breeze as we peddled the 3 ½ miles into downtown Key West.

We toured “The Pirate Soul” museum. It was interesting with excellent displays. We felt it was a bit overpriced at $14 a ticket, but we were glad we went. I guess we need to keep in mind that a drink is $8 around here, so maybe the museum was really a bargain?

Decided to return to Blue Heaven for lunch since it was warm enough to sit out in their backyard garden. There are tables scattered beneath the large trees and of course…….the Key West chickens!















This hen was busy cleaning up at a nearby table.












This handsome guy came to
strut his stuff by our table.

















I rewarded him by feeding him a little rice from my hand. Felt kind of guilty that we’d ordered the chicken special.









I’ve been talking about the various conch dishes served down here in the keys. You probably ask yourself what they do with the leftover shells. Well, maybe you don’t ask yourself that. Anyway, they clean and polish them up and sell them to the tourists. They will even carve your name in to one! How can you pass that up? Who doesn't need a big shell with their name on it? We’ll be in town for another day or two if you want to put your order in for one.

THURSDAY JANUARY 13TH

We took off in the dingy for Old Key West. About half-way there by water, we changed our mind and came back. If the wind picked up, it would be a nasty ride home. Plan B, bike ride in to town. On our ride in, we noticed this nurse shark that had come in to the shallows trying to stay warm. You can see a dead fish in the top left part of the photo. There were hundreds of dead fish in this area.

We biked to a place called Blue Heaven. Our plan was to sit outside but it was too windy and chilly. There were a couple of people outside eating and the local chickens come over to your table and beg. I tried to get a photo before we moved inside but the chickens knew we didn’t have food yet so weren’t interested in us. There are chickens everywhere here! Key West has a leash law they must strictly enforce or I don’t’ think there’d be so many.




We ended the day at the Schooner Warf Bar. It’s right along the docks and was full of people enjoying drinks, cigars and live music.







The photo is a little fuzzy because I had to take it from a ways a way.They served the dog his own little beer and he drank it. At one point we noticed a large bulldog type dog come up to the bar. He stuck his head up as far as he could and that’s how I noticed him. Just his face appeared over the edge. The bartender brought over a glass of water and had someone set it on the floor for him. The dog drank it and took off. Guess he must be a regular there? The weird and wacky of Key West.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 12TH

A work day on the boat. Ross scrubbed the salt off the boat and I did laundry. The laundry facility is a healthy walk away from the boat, so we both got our exercise in today. It is still so chilly here that there is a big fish kill. Its disturbing watching the fish in the marina struggle to live. Schools of fish and minnows gather in any spot where the sun is shining. The locals tell us the wind has blown so hard for so long that it blows in the cold water from the Gulf. It is to start warming up by the weekend, but that will be too late for many creatures.

At 5 o’clock, we were invited to the Looper Harbor Hosts’ boat. We had drinks and appetizers and learned a great deal of local knowledge from them. They are very friendly and fun and we enjoyed meeting them. We left with the plan to get together on Sunday with charts so they can share info and anchorages with us.

TUESDAY JANUARY 11TH

Okay, I know I’m a few days behind on the blog. The days just seem to zip by. Suddenly I’m behind again on the blog. So here’s whats been happenin’.

After spending 4 days at the Key West Bight City Marina we moved to the Sunset Marina on Stock Island. It was a convenient location downtown, but very spendy and no security what ever. First thing we noticed at the City Marina were many boaters had giant padlocks on their power cords. Ross couldn’t find a padlock large enough for our cord so jury rigged a cable around it so if they wanted our cord, they’d have to work for it. It was also recommended to us that we keep our bikes locked up even if we had them on the bow of the boat.

A sunny but still chilly day. We followed the directions emailed to us as to how to enter the marina. They failed to include a simple “do not” statement that would have kept us from hitting bottom. It gets very confusing with markers and where to go sometimes. The sun being out makes it much easier to read the water; where it’s shallow, deep, rocky. And Ross is good at reading the water or we would have been in big trouble. Thank goodness it was just a sand bottom where we where and high tide.

The Sunset Marina is very nice with floating docks. Shortly after arriving we were greeted by the Looper Harbor Hosts here, Janice and Joe of The 5th Quarter.

We rode our bikes to the West Marine store to pick up a part for our grill. Biking is very easy here. No hills, and a wide paved bike path. We came upon this iguana in the middle of the path. It was maybe two feet long. I know you don’t have any sympathy for us when we complain about the cold weather down here, but this is the effect it has on life down here. I don’t know if it is dead or just torpid. It was trying to gather warmth from the pavement.

We rode our bikes to a Publix grocery store for supplies. Thought we’d grab a coffee to warm up before heading back to the marina. We left the bikes where we could see them next to the table and chairs outside a little coffee shop. Hadn’t even ordered yet and we spotted a guy making a bee line to our bikes. (and our groceries and grill part!!!) I scooted back outside and the guy acted like he was just on his way to sit at the table. Right. This guy appeared from no where. Ross came out about 5 minutes later with the coffee and the guy immediately took off. We normally lock the bikes up and even run a cable through the seats. We’ve noticed people riding bikes without seats and figure that’s what happened to them. A bike is the normal mode of transportation around here.

MONDAY JANUARY 11

The wind has calmed somewhat
and the sun is out. Did a little
sightseeing this morning. We
went to the Key West Historic
Cemetery for a self guided
walking tour. Most all of the
graves are above ground
because of Key West being on a coral.







This is the headstone at the mausoleum of B.P. “Pearl” Roberts. She was known as the local hypochondriac.You can see the headstone on the right side of the doors.


There is a Jewish section to the cemetery. Ross and I found it interesting that there were stones and rocks placed on the graves. Turns out, it's an age old symbol of respect for the deceased.











Another “must do stop” is the Southern Most Point. It is a large cement marker in the shape of a buoy to mark the southern most point accessible by people in the continental U.S. The monument notes that Cuba is only 90 miles away, and just to its right, a plaque commemorates the brave Cubans who have drowned trying to get to America, "The Leader In Democracy."

Had a fun bike ride around town. Didn’t hit any of the chickens, which are everywhere! We stopped at the post office that had a large park area out front. There was a big chicken rumble going on when we left. Must have been a turf war as roosters where chasing one another every which way. Actually the roosters are kind of nasty. We watched one later in the day chase and fly at a jogger.

Met up for dinner with the DeGroots of Spirit Dancer, the boat we crossed the Gulf with. It was fun to see them and catch up on what all they’ve been doing since we last saw them.

SUNDAY JANUARY 10

Still extremely windy and much colder. We went bike riding and had to return to the boat because our hands got so cold. This is dangerous cold down here. People don’t experience it enough to know what to do. There are heat shelters set up for families to go to. There isn’t a need for people to have furnaces down here so lots of cold folks around. This cold is also tough on critters and vegetation.

By late afternoon we were getting cabin fever so decided to head up to one of the bars and watch football playoffs. Had to laugh at all the customers bundled up in winter coats watching t.v. Including us. No heat in the bars and restaurants either. Brrrr.

SATURDAY JANUARY 9

The wind and cold arrived the middle of the night. The wind has been howling ever since. We are tied up secure, but the boat is rolling back and forth and bucking in the slip. Sometimes its tough to walk around on the boat without grabbing something for support. Rain makes it miserable to be outside. We pretty much hunkered down, read and watched some t.v.