Key West Week 4

February 28

We're back!

After an absolutely fantastic week back in Beaufort, today we flew back to Key West.

What made the week absolutely fantastic?   Clara got a clean bill of health.  Everything is going great.  She has one rib that is still healing, but that's better than five.  It was certainly worth the trip home to find that out and to clarify that a previous CT scan provided a false indication of further problems.

While at home, we had dinner with the same group that was down here in Key West a couple weeks earlier - Les and Carol and Joe and Susan.

Although it was nice to be home, it's great to be back where we don't have to close the windows and we can wear shorts without freezing.  The temperature yesterday morning in Beaufort was 35 degrees.   Here it is 73 with a low of 65.  Yeah!  Key West is Okay!!!

Last night we went to bed at home with the heat on.  Tonight, we'll go to bed at home with the windows open and enjoying the cool ocean breeze.  Lovin' life!

Key West on arrival

We had a smooth flight back.  The only problem was that the batteries were low on the motor home.  But a little generation will solve that problem.

We're probably going to stay here for a couple of weeks, soak up the warmth and then slowly meander back North - where we hope it's warmer than when we left.

Monday, February 29

We quickly fell into our routine - work out in the morning and do an adventure in the afternoon.

Today's adventure was a tour of the Little White House, Truman's Key West Retreat.

Slade had recommended that we go to a restaurant - Blue Heaven.  We got there too early for dinner, but they were serving Key Lime Pie.  And what a pie

We spent a pleasant afternoon just walking around.

There are a lot of statues around town.  I think this is the biggest one.

As we were walking down Duval Street, we saw Janie Jones from Carteret County coming toward us. We knew she was in town, but certainly did not expect to run into her that way.  It's pretty amazing considering the thousands of people and the various routes we could have taken.

Tuesday, March 1

I had ordered a new slide-out tray for the basement and it came today.  We spent a good part of the afternoon  installing it.  It will certainly make it more convenient to get chairs out.

Our new-found friends from Havelock, Lynn and Bob invited us to ride downtown with them for Happy Hour.  We had a great evening getting to know them better.

Wednesday, March 2

This is our third day back and it has been in the upper 70's each day.  This is what we came for.

After having installed out new slide out tray yesterday, today it was time to completely reorganize the basement.  Now I have extra room.  As with any home, we find that we accumulate stuff we don't need and the same is true in the motor home.  I'll be unloading quite a lot when we get home.

After sweating through all the work cleaning up the basement, I took to the water and had a great swim off the beach behind the motorhome.  Lovin' Life!!

A neighbor told us that the local American Legion hall is having a Lasagna dinner tonight.  Having no other special plans, we went, had a nice dinner, met some real nice people.

Thursday, March 3

Our highlight of the week!  Today we took the Park Service Ferry to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas National Park.

We were ferried to Fort Jefferson on the Yankee Freedom

The ferry was very comfortable and certainly did not seem to have 175 people on it.

I had previously visited this remote island at the end of the chain of keys stretching South from Florida 20+ years ago by sail boat.  The occasion of that trip was with a group of friends from Asheville.  A friend of ours had moved from Asheville to Key Largo, bought a 40 foot sailboat and lived aboard.  He invited us down and we sailed from Key Largo to the Dry Tortugas in a very memorable trip.  It was my introduction to sailing, which led to many new found adventures over the years.

Today, we went in a much faster and smoother riding boat for the 68 miles out to the Fort, taking only 2 1/2 hours rather than a day and a half.

68 miles from Key West to the Dry Tortugas National Park

This fort was built over a period of years starting in 1846 by the U. S. to protect our interest in the Gulf of Mexico.  ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Jefferson_(Florida).  It seems rather archaic today to comprehend how a huge fort sitting 60 miles offshore could be of strategic value, but, as the guide explained it, it made good sense at the time.  The Dry Totugas are a small group of islands that are actually attached to the Florida Keys by reefs and small islands, making it impassible to ships of the day.  In order for any ship to get to ports in the Gulf region, they had to sail around these reefs.  Thus, the fort provided a formidable obstruction to any country intent on trying to attack any of these Southern ports.

At one point, there were nearly 2,000 people (including some officer and enlisted wives and families) living at the fort.

There was no potable water on the island, so cisterns were built into the walls.  However, they were so massive that they quickly developed cracks in them allowing sea water to contaminate the fresh water.  They eventually developed a system of boiling the water, condensing the steam and making fresh water.

Just about the whole island of Garden Key is occupied by the fort

As it turns out, the fort, although huge and fully armed was never finished and never fired a shot nor was it ever challenged.  It served as a prison during the Civil War and afterward.  Obviously, it served well in that capacity as no one could swim to the mainland.

This fort is the largest ever built by the U. S.  Fort Macon would fit inside this fort many times.

After a tour of the fort, Clara tried snorkeling a bit, but she isn't ready for that quite yet.  However, I did get to enjoy a nice long swim while viewing a few fish and coral.

On our return to Key West, I noticed an unusual use of a weed eater 

It was a very pleasant day, and we're both very tired tonight.

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.

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)