We arrived late afternoon in Miami, picked up the car and finally arrived "home" around 10 pm.
Thursday, March 2
We quickly settle into our "Key West routine" - eating, drinking and relaxing. We're only a few spots from Steve and Linda and we get together often for dinner and chatting. Saturday, Clara and Linda take off the whole day shopping at the Flea Market. Thankfully, I don't have to go.
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| Clara and Linda decide to paint toenails, so they settled in with wine for a couple of hours. I'm not sure what got painted before they finished |
Friday, the winds start picking up and blow a constant 20-35 mph for several days. Thankfully, we're on the back row and don't get quite the winds that some of the RVs are getting up closer to the water. But the wind is still shaking the coach quite a bit.
Saturday evening, Steve and I take Jim and Edith out to dinner in appreciation for "baby sitting" our coaches while we were in the islands.
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| Jim, me, Steve, Edith, Clara and Linda |
Monday, Steve and I find two adjacent sites closer to the water and better protected against the wind and moved our coaches next to each other. This way, the girls can keep in better contact. Steve suggests that we rig a tin can and string between the two so the ladies can talk.
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| We seem to have a get-together every evening somewhere. |
Wednesday, Steve and I can down to the sailing center and take out one of the Hobies for an afternoon of sailing. Unfortunately, and due to a rigging issue, we entangled with a channel marker and tore up a sail.
We've decided to start back home (via Tony and Jills) on Monday, March 13. That's about 3 months since we left Beaufort. We've put it off, but we've got to get back home to get ready for our next adventure.
Thursday, March 9 was North Carolina night. Bob and Lynn have a recipe for NC Bar-B-Q sauce that they developed and brought with them. And WOW! It puts Smithfield Bar-B-Q to shame.
Lynn, Linda and Clara decided that we'd share some good ole NC Bar-B-Q with some of our friends. So that bought a big hunk of meat, put it in the crock pots all day with the recipe. The RV was really smelling good.
We held the event between Steve and our coach. Everyone bought something to go with the Bar-B-Q and we had one of the best parties of the season.
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| The ladies are working diligently to chop up the meat. |
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| Good ole NC Bar-B-Q with Cole Slaw. Nothing better. |
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| Left to right Steve, Linda, Lynn, Joann, Charlie, Edith, Vince, Jim, Jim, Alena, Nancy, AJ, Bob,, Judy, Reid, Judy, Clara and Dave |
Key West has more plays, concerts, and events than any place we've ever been. We could easily go to an event 2 or 3 times a week and still not experience them all. Afterward, we dined a 2Cent restaurant and had dessert at Blue Heaven (the most original key lime pie)
Saturday, we went to the Marathon Seafood Festival.
Monday, Clara and I go on a real long kayak trip all the way with a group around the island - about 3 1/2 hours.
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| A couple of the bridges were rather low |
Between the events mentioned above, there seems to be a going away party for someone nearly every night. We are all beginning to think it's time to head back North.
We had planned to leave Monday, March 13, but on looking at the forecast for home (COLD), we've put it off until at least Wednesday, March 15, and maybe not then. We don't want to have to put on socks and long pants.
Wednesday, March 15
We left Key West today. We've put it off as long as we can.
It has been a wonderful winter, probably our best in retirement.
Last year we enjoyed our first winter here. It was fun, and we knew we wanted to do it again, but we didn't realize how much more there was to do and how many more wonderful people we would meet.
We hardly did any of the "touristy" things this year. And yet it was great.
We've met new life-long friends - especially Steve and Linda. It's interesting how we kind of knew almost immediately that the two couples would find so much in common and enjoy each others company so much.
What made the winter so special?
First the people we met.
Then it was the beautiful weather (most of the time).
I joined the Key West Community Sailing Club and Steve and I went sailing on their Hobie Wave every chance we got.
Both Steve and I got our Florida Boaters License and we jointly rented the power boat and pontoon boats at the base marina, thereby being able to take more friends out on the beautiful water.
We snorkeled at Sand Key, which in retrospect was by far some of the best waters we've ever snorkeled in. More fish, more varieties of fish, and incredible underwater formations.
And swimming. I found that the community college has a beautiful heated swimming pool and a swam every chance I could get. And there was also the on base pool at Trumbo. It was nice, but not heated so it was a bit chilly sometimes. And there's the waters just off shore from the campground where I was able to swim many times.
There's also a great gym to work out.
We could ride our bicycles to the BX and Commissary and anywhere we wanted to - including a trip downtown.
And kayaking. We enjoyed several trips including the big three+ hour one around the island (and under the low bridges).
And the parties, and the super bowl game, and the sunset get-together and the dinners out, and dinners with friends, and the NC Bar-B-Q night, and Christmas with the kids in Tampa.
And the trip to the Virgin Islands with Steve and Linda - and the great sailing and adventure.
It was a great winter!
And now we're headed back home to some of the coldest weather of the year - in March. It was 12 degrees in Spruce Pine last night and in the 20's in Beaufort.
Next year, we need to plan better and go back in April.
Tonight we're staying at a Broward County Park just West of Fort Lauderdale. I think we've found another jewel. It's a beautiful park and you'd never know we're near a big city. Within the park is a disc golf course, a shooting range, tennis and racquetball courts, mountain bike trails, dog park, nature trails, observatory, boat ramp right on a canal and just bunches of other stuff.
Thursday, we slowly and unenthusiastically worked our way North to Patrick AFB. Here we stayed in the overflow portion of their park, which was just a parking lot. But it worked great for us and was dark and quiet.
Friday, we meandered further North to Jacksonville Naval Air Station. This is our first time here. We usually stay at Mayport Naval Station, but they had nothing available. Actually, the Air Station is much easier and quicker to get to, so we may stay here more often on our future trips to Key West.
So far
Tomorrow we leave Florida.
Saturday, we had planned to stay at Santee State Park, where we've stayed several times, but they were full (because they are renovating part of their campground). We found a commercial park close by, one of the few we've stayed at on this trip. And as always, not nearly as good as public parks.
Sunday, we drifted back into Beaufort - and it's cold (50 degrees).
It's been a great winter. Now we're looking forward to a great summer.
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