Key West Week 3

Friday, February 12

The Old Island Restoration Foundation is having their annual Key West House Tours today and tomorrow.  Obviously, this was at the top of Clara's list.

There were five home on the tour, ranging from the late 1800's to the 1980's.  There were even a couple that I found interesting.

Anyway, it was a fun day and we must have walked 4 or 5 miles.  Tonight we're both suffering a bit.

This was by far the most interesting home on the tour.  It was built in the 1840's and was recently completely renovated with some very interesting features, such as all the siding was removed from the original structure and turned around and stained.  It is all heart pine. 

This was one of the most interesting pieces in the home.  It is about 10 inches across and is made entirely of very small sea shells.

This home was built in the 1980's on land formerly owned by the government.  It was by far the most elegant of the homes.

Chickens are everywhere, even here on the base.  I really don't understand why they put up with them.  This one had just jumped up on the rail from the table across from us.  They are in all the outdoor (and some indoor) restaurants.  I question the sanitation!  Note what looks like water on the middle of the table where the roster had just been.

Lunch

Saturday, February 13

This evening, we had NC Bar B Que (or at least some Smithfields Bar B Que sauce on some pulled pork).

When working out at the fitness facility, I had been meeting the same people most days.  This morning I overheard a couple of ladies talking about Havelock and some other local things about Carteret County.  I spoke to them and we had a conversation about a couple things and learned that one of the ladies and her husband live in Havelock.

This afternoon, she came by and invited us to dinner with them and the other couple from the fitness facility.

The only problem was it was rather cool, probably 65 degrees or so, and the wind was howling, so it felt pretty cool.  Quickly after the sun hit the horizon, we were inside their fifth wheel and had a great evening chatting.

Also, a neighbor (Jim) had heard of my interest in sailing and dropped by to invite us to go sailing with him on his Hobie.  He has a two seat kayak that has pedal rather than paddles and also a sail.  It's an interesting boat and I look forward to a trip soon.

Sunday, February 14

Today, another couple we have met (Gary and Marianne) dropped by and invited us to a pot luck dinner this evening.  A couple of guys had been fishing and had caught enough fish to feed just about everyone in the park.

Again, a great evening of socializing and meeting new people.  It is amazing the wide variety of interest and backgrounds of a lot of people.  That's what makes this lifestyle to interesting.

Monday - Tuesday, February 15 - 16

Quiet days.  It seems that there is always someone dropping by to chat.  We love it!

Tuesday we had planned to go the a Butterfly Garden in downtown, but the weather was so nice that we just enjoyed being here and enjoying it.

This afternoon it was warm enough that I decided to try swimming in the Gulf again.  The last time, I wasn't really prepared.  But this time I had a partial wet suit, so it was much more enjoyable.

There is a navigable channel near shore and many boats and jet skies run through there.  Therefore, to be safe, I tie a dive flag behind me when swimming.  It works well and doesn't interfere with swimming at all.

Wednesday, February 17

Just as we were getting ready to head out for the day, Jim, a guy we met earlier who has a Hobie sailboat came by and wanted to know if I'd like to go sailing.  Well!  Of Course!|

He has a Hobie Sailing kayak with foot peddles for propulsion.  A multipurpose boat - kayak with paddles, foot peddles that drive fins, and sails for sailing.  It also has outriggers for stability.  I've seen them and always wanted to try one.

At first there was another lady on board with us (Jim is known throughout the community here as always inviting people to go sailing).  She got chilled.  We brought her back in, I switched from the front cockpit to the rear cockpit (where it's a lot easier to appreciate what is going on) and Jim and I went out for another "vigorous" sail.  What fun!

Now we're peddling with the foot propulsion

Finally, sailing

Now I'm in the rear cockpit and we really get to sailing

A pretty simple boat to rig and de-rig

Now, I think I'm going to have to have one.  A really neat boat.

Thursday, February 18

We went to the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum where a lot of the gold, silver and other items from the Atocha, which sank in 1622 are displayed.  it was nice to see, but I don't think I'd go back again.

The estimated $450 million cache recovered, known as "The Atocha Motherlode," included 40 tons of gold and silver; there were some 114,000 of the Spanish silver coins known as "pieces of eight", gold coins, Colombian emeralds, gold and silver artifacts, and 1000 silver ingots.^[2][1] Large as it was, this was only roughly half of the treasure that went down with the Atocha. The wealthiest part of the ship, the stern castle, is yet to be found.^[4] Still missing are 300 silver bars and 8 bronze cannons, among other things.

This afternoon I went on the "Sigsbee Shuffle".  It is a moving party that's held periodically here at the park.  This evening we moved to 4 different homes, with drinks and treats at each.  A great way to meet people and experience life.

The "Sigsbee Shuffle" in action

It's interesting that in the past few days, we've met several people from North Carolina, and more so that 4 couples we've met are from within 20 miles of Beaufort - Cedar Island, Swansboro, Havelock and Morehead City.

Tomorrow, we will be leaving Key West and flying back to Beaufort for 9 days for some doctors appointments, then back here on Sunday, February 28 to continue to enjoy this great weather for another couple of weeks.