Key West Week 2

Friday, February 5

We're starting our second week.  And so far it's been great.

Last night a cold front came thru around midnight.  All of a sudden the wind picked up and I had not prepared for it.  We are wide open to the Northwest from the Gulf, so we get the benefit of a direct hit from wind in that direction.

Everything outside was out and loose, so I had to get it all packed away so that the 25 mph winds didn't blow it away.  It can get noisy when the wind blows, especially the slide out toppers (the awning that comes out above the slide outs to keep trash and water from gathering on top of the slide outs).  So around 1 am, we decided to retract the slide outs to keep the noise down so we could sleep.

The wind has blown vigorously all day.  I had planned to go on a bike ride with a group this morning, but decided against it because it was so cool (68 degrees) and windy.

We have decided that we're staying here until March 17.  Clara has some doctors appointments scheduled back home the week of February 22, so we'll fly back home on the 20th, and return here on the 28th.  Last year we went home in early March to from cold weather, and this year we're going to try and avoid as much of that as possible.

We should arrive back in Beaufort around March 20.  Hopefully, we'll miss most of the cool weather.

Saturday and Sunday, February 6 & 7

Generally, the weather has been rainy and windy.  Which is rather unusual this time of year.  It seems that cold fronts keep moving through,

However, Sunday afternoon, it was nice and we went downtown for lunch.  After we got into a parking lot near the waterfront, Clara was waiting while I got the tickets for parking and all of a sudden Carol, Les and their friends drove up.  Wow!  What a surprise.  If we had been looking for them, we would have been very unlikely to find each other without some pre-arranging it.  However, without any planning - bam - there they are.  Strange things do happen some times.

After getting over the shock, we had lunch to Pepe's restaurant, a real run-down looking place that turned out to be fantastic.

A great lunch in a place you might not consider

Monday, February 8

As a matter-of-fact, we went back to Pepe's today.  It was that good.

The weather was great today and I was able to go kayaking for a while.

Tuesday, February 9

A do nothing day.  Except this evening we met the Beaufort bunch for dinner.

The weather has been a bit uncooperative.  Overcast a good part of the day and temperatures in the upper 60's.  Definitely not what we've come to expect here.

Tonight we had dinner with Les and Carol, John and Susan, Tom and Sandy Pugh (the friends that Carol and Les are here with) at a nice upscale restaurant, Michael's.  It's almost like Friday night at Clawson's.

Wednesday, February 10

Our adventure for today is visiting and climbing the Key West Lighthouse.

Built in 1847 (older than Cape Lookout - 1859), it is 14 feet above sea level and is 86 feet high.  It was decommissioned in 1989.

View of the Southernmost house in the United States from the top of the lighthouse

Clara is getting pretty desperate for someone to talk to

Thursday, February 11

Clara is recovering from a bruise to her foot, so I took off to a couple of things that she isn't especially interested in.

Fort Zachary Taylor on the Southern waterfront started construction in 1845 to protect Key West Harbor.  When finished, it was one of the most important forts in the United States because it defended the waters around Key West, the Straits of Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

Peering out the gun port

This afternoon I visited the retired US Coast Guard Cutter Ingham, a National Historic Landmark. With over 50 years of service, the USCGC Ingham is a quintessential portrait of Coast Guard history from 1936 to 1988, when it was decommisioned.

Interestingly, the volunteer who was working when I went aboard turned out to be parked two spaces down from us here in the RV Park (Jim and Elaine).

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A contrast of the old (Coast Guard Cutter) and new (Cruise Ship)