ssloop: February 2015

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Goodbye Key West - Feb 17-23

On Tuesday our friends Paul & Cindy Takken arrived. We have not seen them since September when they joined us at the beginning of our Loop, crossing Lake Michigan and starting down the rivers.

Our plans were for them to spend a couple days with us in Key West and then begin traveling with us on the boat up the Keys. However, due to continued high winds we were not able to move on during their stay. We did still have a great time with them on the boat, exploring Key West and provisioning the boat as they had a rental car.

During this time we were visited by Bob & Camie from Eclipse. Their sailboat is still in Fort Myers Beach. They are hoping to move down to the Keys next week (also waiting out the weather).

Steve's cousin Gary Sterk along with his wife and sister (both Karens), drove down to visit from Duck Key where they were vacationing. It was fun to see them!

Even though we have been in Key West nearly 5 weeks, we could easily stay longer. Key West has so much to offer. A & B Marina has to be the best marina in Key West. The location, facilities and staff were outstanding. With mixed feelings we acknowledge that it's time to turn the Pura Vida around and begin plotting our course North.

Paul & Cindy enjoying Peel & Eat Shrimp

Yum!

Paul makes a mean breakfast!

The Sterks!

Cruise ships are really big from our dinghy!

Typical Key West view.

A&B Marina

Monday, February 16, 2015

Key West - Feb 10-16

We continue to enjoy our time in Key West. They weather has been sunny, mid 70s but windy. We are not complaining however, since reports from home sound cold and nasty. Our days continue to be filled with exploring the island. We have had a couple pleasant surprise visits. Mike Kooiker (a painter that Steve's company works with) and his wife called to see if we were still in Key West. Come to find out they were at a restaurant at the end of our dock! We had them over to visit our boat. Also, a builder Steve works with, Dan Vis and his family stopped in Key West on a cruise. They were able to come over for the nickel tour too.

On Thursday, Deb Deters (Sheli's friend ever since kindergarten) and her boyfriend Jeff Kolk joined us.

We had a great time showing them around for 3 days. We saw most of the island by bike or walking.

We ate lots of good Cuban food and Seafood. We were treated to an awesome manatee show right from our dock. We watched for a long time as he surfaced and slowly moved around right in front of us. At times he was so close we could almost reach out and touch him. There was also a 2nd manatee that swam right under our boat. It was great to see Deb and Jeff and share some Key West adventures.

Banyan tree and the captain!

Local rooster. They are everywhere!

Silly friends!

Pepes for breakfast with Deb & Jeff

Cannon at Fort Zachary

Manatee

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Key West - Jan 31-Feb 9

It's time to get ready for our next guests. Our friends Dave & Cindy Kraai flew in from their winter home in Phoenix to spend a few days with us. While they were here we enjoyed biking to the beach, hanging by the pool, attending the local United Methodist Church, watching the sunset at Mallory Square and taking a dinghy ride. On our dinghy ride, we saw the craziest thing! We were watching a 3 ft iguana sunning himself in a yard along the canal when suddenly 2 large dogs came racing after it. The iguana looked like a flying squirrel as he leaped off the 4 ft bank into the water. What a belly flop! The 4 of us will always remember this funny episode! It was fun sharing time with Dave & Cindy.

On Thursday we had our 1st rainy day at Key West. It was a good day to get some projects done on the boat. Captain Handyman installed a couple new light fixtures and fixed a few other things including the kitchen sink. We were invited for dinner onboard one of the other boats down the dock. Eight of us shared a spaghetti dinner and a fun evening.

There is a strong Cuban influence here in Key West. On Friday we went to a small Cuban restaurant named El Siboney for lunch. Wow was it good. The other highlight of our day was seeing a manatee right by the docks. We can see why they call them "sea cows"!

The winds have been a blowin! Saturday was another windy, but sunny day. We biked to Smathers Beach but to due wind there, we continued on to Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park. Construction of the fort began in 1845 and was decommissioned in 1947. The park also has a nice beach area. After spending time on the beach we walked through the Fort as they were having their annual Civil War Heritage Days.

On Sunday morning they had a special church service at the Fort, which we attended. The preacher, the musicians as well as most of the attendees where dressed in Civil War costumes. It was a fun experience and the message was great. In the afternoon we took advantage of calm winds and took a long dinghy ride. We cruised around the East end of Key West and into the Atlantic Ocean waters. That was a first in our dinghy!

Monday was wash and errands day. We rode bike to Winn Dixie for groceries and the hardware for some misc items. Returning back to the boat we spotted a 4ft bull shark in the marina. No swimming here for us! Late in the afternoon we convinced a security guard at the Galleon Resort next door to let us onto the rooftop observation deck to check out the views and get a few photos of the marina and surrounding area. The views were awesome. We even spotted a manatee swimming and surfacing for air 70 feet below us. Now that's clear water!

Dave & Cindy