Settled in Key West

Thursday, January 19 - Friday, February 4

This past weekend we prepared for a "big blow".  A cold front had slowly made its way across the country (leaving lots of destruction in the Southeast) and finally got here Sunday night.  As the front approached, winds started building to 25 mph from the Southeast, then Sunday night the front blasted through with a little rain and a wind shift to the West with up to 40 mph.  I had taken a hint from a fellow RVer and bought 100 feet of webbing which I tied across the slide toppers to keep them from ripping or making too much noise.  By Monday night, the winds started subsiding and things are back to normal.

Ready for the big blow

Clara made a New Years resolution to start exercising.  She is walking a mile or more every day.  Anna sent her a Fitbit to help her track how much and how far she is walking.  I'm really proud of her!

Before the wind started picking up, Saturday I went on a kayaking trip with a group from the base.

Saturday evening we attended a "Luau in Paradise" here on base.  It was Hawaiian themed, good food and not so good entertainment.

We've finalized plans for a trip to the US Virgin Islands.  We have met a couple, Steve and Linda DiStatio, who full-time in the motor home and in discussions, found that they are also sailors.

We broached the subject of perhaps flying over to the Bahamas and chartering for a few days.  From this, we looked into chartering here in the Keys, and finally decided that the Virgin Islands were as cheap (airfare is actually less than going to the Bahamas), we are much more familiar with the waters and the weather was probably better.  So, we're leaving February 21 for 7 days on a 38-foot catamaran out of CYOA in St Thomas.  We chartered there in 2014 and really enjoyed it. We especially enjoyed sailing and snorkeling around St John.  So that's the plan.

We'll leave the motorhome here and return here for a few days before thinking about heading North.

Wednesday evening, we had some friends over for a shrimp boil.

John, Bob, Lynn, Nancy Clara Steve and me

Thursday the winds were perfect for trying out a different boat at the Key West Community Sailing Club.  I had been disappointed in the first boat I had tried, the O'Day.  So today I tried a little Hobie Cat Wave - and I loved it.  It handled magnificently and is very easy to sail.  I'm sure I'll be sailing it quite often.

I sailed several miles over to the Sigsbee Campground and Clara went down to shore and took this pictures.

Steve and I have been out a couple more times on the Hobie, but unfortunately, the winds were fickle.  Although we sailed a couple hours, it wasn't as much fun. From now on, I'll pay a little more attention to the weather forecast rather than assuming it's always going to be perfect.

Saturday evening we were sitting outside late in the afternoon, and suddenly the wind got a chill in it.  It was foreboding of a few days of cooler temperatures.  And Sunday, for the first time since we've been here in two years, it rained most of the day.  We had several things that we needed to get done so we took advantage of not playing all day and got those out of the way.  Primarily I worked on our annual book of photos for 2016.  It was fun replaying all the memories of a great year.

Steve's wife, Linda is out of town, so we've gotten together with him for a couple of dinners.  Steve and I get along real well.  We can go out sailing and don't feel that we have to continuously have a conversation.  I think we both just enjoy the silence and aren't concerned with trying to keep a conversation going all the time.

Eureka is gone.  A couple from Charleston SC has bought her and left Saturday. It's been a great boat, but we're ready to move on to something different.

Jean Speights, our neighbor in Beaufort made this statement upon learning that Eureka is sold.

"I imagine that it must be a bitter-sweet moment in time for you and Clara.  I trust that She’ll be sailing on to another good home and will be well loved and cared for in the manner in which she was accustomed.   I’m glad we all had the opportunity and privilege to dress Her with lights and parade Her in the Flotilla.  That was a wonderful time that we’ll never forget.  She was so beautiful, and we have wonderful memories to keep!  You could easily say that She departed your harbor with grace, beauty and style and will carry those qualities with Her as she embarks on Her proud new journey"

There is no better way to say it.

Tuesday, January 31 was a special day.  In recent correspondence with Kent Meyer, I learned that they are taking a cruise out of Miami to Cozumel, and their first stop is Key West.

We coordinated meeting each other at the Customs House (near the cruise ship terminal) at 10 this morning and spent two hours catching up.  What a great coincidence.

We called Slade to suggest that he let Anna go to Colorado for the summer to be a counselor at YMCA Camp Chief Ouray, where Slade had gone when he was 15 years old when Kent was the Camp Director there.  I don't think Slade thought that was a good idea.  It's amazing the difference in perspective when it's your baby girl.

Wednesday, February 1

It's hard to believe that January has slipped away.  Clara commented tonight that it only seems like a few days.  We're over the half-way point on this trip.

Tonight we returned to the Tennessee Williams Theater for a tribute performance to The Carpenters (a singing group that Anna has never heard of).  It was fun to break the routine we've settled into, which is doing nothing. The singing was good, the performance not so great.

This is where Clara spends most of her days.  We are located where a lot of people walk and lots of them stop and talk - and of course Clara loves to talk.  So this is perfect.

Thursday, February 2 we met with Joe and Susan Johnson, friends from Beaufort who come down every year for a week or two.  It was good to catch up on all the news from Beaufort.  

Clara and Susan have established the southernmost chapter of the Beaufort Garden Club

Friday, Jim invited me out for a sail on his Hobie.  A great boat.  I want one!!

Welcome 2017 from Key West

Saturday, December 31, 2016 - January 18 ,2017

Well, we've made it to another year.  2016 has been an exciting and fun year, primarily because we've had the chance to spend much time with Slade, Candance, Anna and Evan.

We've spent a lot of the year in our beautiful motorhome, starting just after the start of the year only a few feet from where we are now - here at Sigsbee Naval Base in Key West.

We're falling into a comfortable routine and really enjoying the wonderful weather.  We've had only one day since arrival that could be called less than perfect and on that day, the biggest problem was the wind.  A cool front went through, it turned a little cooler - like the low 70's one day and a night when the temperature got down to the low 60's.  Good sleeping.

Generally, we start the day with a few minutes catching up on news (on the Internet) and e-mail.  Then I've found several small projects to do on the motorhome.  I've started waxing a small section each day, organizing things and generally just catching up on minor maintenance - fun things.

Then around noon, I'll either go to the fitness facility or to the pool.  I've also started taking the Florida Boaters license course so we can rent a boat at the on-base marina.  Depending on whether I've had a drink or two, I can usually pass the test sections (there are six and I've passed two).

By three in the afternoon, we're usually relaxing outside, talking to people we've met (there are a lot), listening to music, reading, walking or just chillin'.

Most afternoons, groups gather in the shade and enjoy meeting each other.

Clara's starting to walk a couple miles every day.  She found an app on her phone that will track her distance and speed, so she is challenged every day to beat the day before.  Plus she has somebody stopping by all day to chat.  We've fixed her swing up and she'll "hold court" as long as anybody's willing to stop and chat.

On Wednesday evening, we attended a broadway production of "42nd Street" at the Tennessee Williams Theater on the campus of Key West Community College. We were absolutely blown away by this incredible production.  It's done by a touring group and they are fantastic.  I had bought the tickets (along with three other upcoming shows) back in November.  Last winter we found that every production at the theater was sold out before we even knew about it.  This year we're better prepared.  If the next three productions are as good as this one, we will see some pretty amazing stuff.

There's a so-called Sigsbee Shuffle every morning as the exchanges go on with people moving out of the full hookup up campsites and back into the dry sections, and a group of people moving from the dry section to full hookup.  We're doing very well without the full hookups.  We just have to run either the big generator or the little Honda for a few hours a day to keep the batteries charged.  The big energy culprit is the residential refrigerator.  If it weren't for that, we'd have very little energy usage.  And a few times we've cut the air conditioners on in the evening to cool the coach down before bed time.  It gets pretty warm in the late afternoon inside but cools off nicely at night.  Just running the air conditioners a few minutes makes it more comfortable sooner.

I've added a "Gen-Turi" to the motor home.  It's a generator exhaust extension system that helps dissipate exhaust gases away from the ground.  When using the generator in a crowded area with little wind, the exhaust gases can stagnate and start bothering neighbors.  By venting them up high, they dissipate without causing odor problems.

New Gen-Turi to get rid of the exhaust gas from the generator

On Friday, January 6, about two weeks after arrival, we make our first move to a full hookup site.  It's our first time at what's called the "rock pile" campground just down the road.  This is probably the least desirable (desirability is a matter of degree.  All locations are desirable, it's just that some sites are closer to the water or may have a little better view of the water) of the three campgrounds on base. The sites in the "rock pile) are a little more crowded and there isn't much grass, but it hasn't bothered us at all.  We still meet the same people we've made friends with, and with each move we meet new ones.

The view isn't too bad from the "rock pile"

A lot of afternoons, someone will mention a restaurant they've enjoyed, and a group will head out to out for "happy hour" and dinner.

"Happy Hour" at Two Friends restaurant in downtown

A great spaghetti dinner at John and Nancy's.  They were our neighbors for a few days before we moved.

Sunday, January 8.  The weather changed rather dramatically yesterday.

I had scheduled to be checked out on a small sailboat the Key West Sailing Club at 1 o'clock. Just as the instructor and I pulled away from the dock about 10 feet, the wind started howling and it started raining.  We rapidly made our way back to the dock and bolted for shelter.

The weather change is part of a massive cold air system covering the Eastern US, and the cold (cool) front hit with a vengeance.  The winds have been 25-30 knots all Saturday afternoon and all day Sunday, and Sunday's high temperature is 66 degrees (Beaufort's high temperature is expected to be 27 and Spruce Pine 17 so I'm not complaining).

It's a good day to get caught up on things that need to be done inside the motorhome.

The winds howling on the Gulf

I'm looking forward to getting more familiar with the Key West Sailing Club.  It's a small club on the waterfront near downtown run mostly by volunteers (there appear to be a couple of paid staff).  They have several 20 foot O'day sailboats and several Hobie catamarans.  Their annual dues are $210, and for that I can go sailing as often as I want to.  We're looking forward to spending some time sailing around the area.

Saturday, January 14

I have been very negligent doing the blog.  It seems that there is always something to do.  And as I've told Anna, if I don't do the blog every day, you lose it. Although there really isn't much to lose right now.  We've fallen into a routine much as we would if at home, except it is warm.  In fact we're getting very familiar with Key West and it's beginning to seem very familiar.  We haven't stayed in a place as long as we have here since we started RVing, except for home and Spruce Pine.  We were here about 6 weeks last winter, and we'll be here for nearly 12 weeks this year.

I did get checked out on the O'Day sailboat at the club.  The O'Day's are in pretty bad shape, but they are at least a sailboat.  Since I checked out last Tuesday, the winds have been blowing about 20 +  most of the day and that's a little too much for that little boat, especially with the shape it's in.  There are other boats, and I'll probably become a regular at the club.

We've been out to dinner several times with different groups.  Our favorite restaurant this week has been Two Friend Patio Restaurant on the corner of Front and Ann Street (sounds a little familiar) in downtown.  We've been three times and not been disappointed.

I did a bike ride with a group from the campground.  We took a back route to downtown that I don't think I could replicate.

We've enjoyed having full hook up - not having to worry about keeping the batteries charged has made it a little nicer.  However, we'll go back to dry camping next Friday.  We're actually looking forward to it - a little - because the sites are larger.

I've been using the "heated" swimming pool at the local community college this week.  It's kept at 82 degrees.  The pool at Trumbo (Naval Base a mile or so away) is not heated and the water temperature was around 76 the last time I was there.  It only hurts for a minute or so before becoming acclimated.

A spontaneous party sometimes happens at sunset.

Friday, Clara went to the Home Tour with some friends she's met and the guys met them for dinner at Two Friends.

Candy, Nancy, Edith and Clara on the Homes Tour

Sunday, January 15

Today, we took advantage of some of the culture of Key West.  I had seen a promotional piece for the group "Canadian Brass".  I've heard of them for many years, and have generally always enjoyed bands of this nature.  So, we bought tickets to their concert at St. Paul's Church on Duval Street.  Not your ordinary concert hall!

The 5 piece brass band gave a wonderful performance.

Then, to complete our "cultural" day, we walked across the street to the world famous Margariteville Cafe and had a "Cheeseburger in Paradise".  And it was a pretty doggone good burger.  Of course, Clara continued her tradition of conch fritters.  I think she has had them every time we've gone out to eat since arriving in Key West.  She hasn't had a bad one yet!

The morning was spent cleaning and waxing the front right hubcap on the motor home.  It didn't look too bad to start with, but now looks terrific.  I will hopefully do the other three, but it took over 3 hours just to do this one.  It was in pretty bad shape.

Tuesday, Clara fixed bar-b-que ribs in the crock pot.  We fixed out plates and walked across the road to enjoy dinner watching the sunset.

As the sun set, a neighbor came out and blew his conch shell, celebrating the end of another beautiful day.

Wednesday, January 18

Happy Birthday to Anna.  Today is sweet 16!

What else can I add that says it is wonderful to be able to enjoy this beautiful weather?  Probably nothing!  I guess I'd have to say that it is a good thing that Key West is not a lot bigger, or else the whole United States would be here for the winter and everything in the Northern Tier would be shut down due to a lack of interest.

We're waiting to find out if the sale of Eureka is finalized.  Meanwhile, I've started thinking about a good replacement.  I've been looking and found a 24 foot Sea Ray that I think I like.  This morning, we met the owner at the boat for a first look - and I like what I see.

This afternoon we took the kayaks out for a while.

The water is beautifully clear, but unfortunately, there isn't much to see.  When I went swimming this afternoon, I did see a few tropical fish, but mostly, just a few fish and sea grass.

As we kayaked near the mangroves, there were several iguanas sunning in the trees.

The iguanas look like something left over from the dinosaur age.

We met up with Jim while kayaking, whom we met last year, and Clara went for a sail on his Hobie.

This afternoon, Lynn and Bob, who live in Havelock and we met last year, arrived and this evening we had dinner with them at the Sunset Grill here on base.

Ending 2016 in Key West.

Wednesday, December 21 to December 31

We've settled in, started meeting our neighbors and getting set for the winter - and looking forward to a  trip this Saturday to Tampa to meet the kids for Christmas.

Having spent a couple of months here last winter, it almost feels like home. We're only a short bike ride from all the amenities (grocery, retail, work out etc,) and everything else we might need is only a short ride off base.  Even though the traffic is heavy, it's only a short drive to everything.  Unlike our winters in Fort Myers where traffic was a nightmare and it was impossible to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time.

It's so easy to meet our fellow military retiree RVer's.  Military RVer's are a small subset of a small subset of people.  Not a lot of people are RVers and an even smaller number of Rvers who are ex-military.  It's easy to meet them and start a conversation because all us have something in common having served in the military and we quickly find that there usually only a couple degrees of separation before we have something in common - a base where we were stationed, a plane we flew or worked on, a base where we've Rv'd and some other commonality.

Christmas in Key West

The Motorhome across from us decorated for Christmas

After a couple days getting everything set up, Saturday morning we got in the car and head to Tampa to meet the kids for Christmas.

After a comfortable 7+ hour drive, we arrive at the condo's we're renting within a few minutes of each other.  The kids have been at Disneyland in Orlando for a few days so they had only a short drive.

This is a first for us, never having celebrated Christmas away from home.  But we find that it makes little difference where - it's all about who!  And we have the who.  And we find that we can make as big a mess in a condo as we can at home.

Monday we go to an arts center in St. Petersburg, the Chuhuli Collection.  It's an interesting area where a glass-blowing community has evolved.  The centerpiece of the area is the permanent Chuhuli Collection of artist Dale Chuhuli.

After having watched a glass blowing demonstration, it is hard to believe that someone was able to create these beautiful pieces.

Monday, we head back to Key West on what turned out to be an agonizingly long drive.  We don't have any idea why, but around Key Largo, traffic was nearly at a standstill and we lost an hour and a half just getting through there, ending in an almost 10 hour drive.  I guess the lesson is - stay in Key West.

Now that we're back, we're really settling in for the long haul.  We'll probably rotate to a full hookup site in a week or two.  Meanwhile, we keep the batteries charged with the little Honda generator, supplemented by the big boy in the motorcoach.

On Friday, Dec 30, we had our first cold (cool) front come through, and the temperatures Friday night dropped down to 60.  Good sleeping.  It's supposed to be back in the low 80's now for a while.  It's always surprising how cold 60 degrees feels after getting used to the warmer weather.

I did take a swim in the Gulf one time this week.  The water is comfortable, but it's easier to go the pool to swim.

New Year's Eve Party

Heading South for the Winter

Wednesday, Dec 14 - Tuesday, Dec 20

It's time!  The past couple of days in Beaufort have been pretty typical of winter here.  50+/- degrees, cold and wet.  This is more typical for January and February, but it reminds us that it's time to start for warmer climates.

So, around noon Wednesday, we get everything ready to go and head South.

Wednesday night we made it to a Walmart just South of Wilmington.  This gives us a chance to check all the motorhome systems and get all clothing and food stored.

Thursday we traveled on to just North of Charleston to an Army Corps of Engineers Buck Hall campground just North of Charleston that we stumbled on last year.  It's right on the Intracoastal Waterway and is a very comfortable place.

Friday morning we continued to one of our favorite military RV parks, Pelican Roost on Naval Station Mayport.  We've been here many times in the past and it's a great location.  We're staying here 2 nights for two reasons.  First, After three days of travel, we enjoy a break and second, recently I learned that a high school classmate and 3 doors away neighbor when I was growing up in Nashville live near here.

Martha Willey and I grew up and attended Nashville Elementary, Middle and High School which was just across the street for both of us.  She lived 3 houses from us and we often played together as children.

We got together with Martha and her husband, Mark Saturday evening for a great evening of fellowship and renewing our last 50 years.  We met them at their beautiful home and after drinks and appetizers, went to a wonderful restaurant near their home.  They have recently purchased a home near Asheville, and we plan to get together again either there or here in Jacksonville.

Unfortunately, on the way back to the base, I realized that I had lost my military ID card.  I've had a military ID card since 1972 (not the same one), and this is the first time I've every misplaced it.  I know exactly where I lost it (coming out of the base fitness facility where I had gone swimming Saturday afternoon) and went back to see if I could find it.  Unfortunately, no one had turned it in at the fitness facility or at security police, so I'll have to get a new one when we get to Key West.  Really stupid on my part!

Sunday, we headed further South (and it's getting warmer - actually hot this afternoon) to Cape Kennedy area.  I made reservations on the way down at a County Park.

Upon arrival around 1:30 pm, I found out that a rocket launch is scheduled this afternoon at Cape Kennedy, and this RV park has one of the best views around for watching the launch.  The launch happened around 2:15, just in time for us to grab our camera and go down to the shore and watch.

It was impressive.  We watched a NASA channel later the replayed the event and gave all the details about the launch.  It was a commercial launch of a satellite for high speed Internet service.  It's amazing to think that only 30-40 years ago, a  launch like this would have been broadcast on National TV and attracted world-wide attention, and yet, here we were with maybe 50 other people at this RV park just passing an afternoon watching another satellite going into space.

Monday, we moved on further South, stopping for the night at an older resort in Florida City, only a few miles from entering the Florida Keys.

Seven Mile Bridge South of Marathon

And finally, Tuesday and we're at Sigsbee Naval Station, our winter destination. We quickly checked in and found our site.  We're located only a couple hundred feet from the Gulf of Mexico.

The RV Park is about 60% full, but in a week or so, it will be full as the other snowbirds make their way here.

Before setting up, we went to the on-base Car/Motorhome wash and cleaned up the motorhome.  Afterward, we stopped by the dump station and completed all the necessary functions for readying for a couple weeks of dry camping.

Finally, we're settled in for at least three weeks (then we'll rotate to full hookup for a couple of weeks).

And the weather - perfect.  Highs in the low to mid 80's and lows around 70.  No need for air conditioning or heating.