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

 Manatee!

 Civil War Days at Fort Zachary Taylor.

 Church service at the Fort.

 Civil War dress

 Cool tree!

 Our harbor. Can you find the Pura Vida?