I thought I’d create a montage of some of the amusing signs and inexplicable artifacts we’re encountered on our walks around town…

Here’s another thing I love about Key West…it is so small that you travel everywhere by bicycle. And the bicycles are rolling works of art. Check out the one on the right, with flashing wheel rims and Christmas lights on the basket.

This is Barbara, one of the wonderful people I’ve met this week.

I really had fun last night. I have met some terrific people who are full-time residents. We went to a restaurant, a comedy club, and danced until after midnight. Six adults and six of their 25-year-old kids, all out together, having a ball.

All of the venues we visited were open-air and beautifully appointed. Upscale but very relaxed. The residents know all the bands on a first-name basis, and the bands are excellent.

This island certainly has a lot going for it. Unique indigenous architecture, friendly people, exciting night life, tropical weather, and a fun-loving, laid-back vibe.

One of the women asked me about my schedule – when I told her I would arrive home about March 1st, she asked me why? Isn’t it still winter then? She made me stop and reconsider my plans.

I am now thinking about coming back to Key West after my trip up the west coast. Maybe stay another month.

Today is colder (65 degrees) and windy. My next weather window is Tuesday, so I’m sticking around until then. Tonight, there is a party at John and Kiera’s house – she is the woman in the striped top. Three of the kids are hers. Looking forward to it!

Just a quick update: I’ve decided to stay in Key West until Sunday. No problem…just a number of fun opportunities conspiring to make that a good idea.

More news to follow.

The food down here is strongly influenced by Cuban cuisine (remember, we’re only 90 miles away). I am really enjoying it.

You start your day with Cuban coffee. Many order a “Bucci”; it’s a shot of straight espresso in a tiny plastic cup. With lots of sugar. Some folks call it Cuban crack. It’s too strong for me; I prefer Cafe con Leche …it’s like a latte, with a shot of espresso and steamed milk.

Then, a breakfast sandwich. The Fisherman’s Cafe makes one called El Cubano. It’s a panini containing a 2-egg omelet, plus a black bean paste, plus pulled pork, plus chorizo, plus cheese. It weighs about 4 pounds. You can eat half for brekky, skip lunch (or have a pina colada), and enjoy the second half for dinner.

Fresh shrimp and fresh fish are everywhere. They bring them into the docks several times a day. Grilled, blackened, fried. In tacos, quesadillas, or served with black beans and rice.

And I find myself putting hot sauce on everything. The Tabasco folks make a green jalapeno version that I am becoming addicted to.

I’m going to have to find a good Cuban restaurant when I get home.

Tomorrow we leave Key West. The boat is ready, and so am I. The diesel is topped off, and so are the water tanks. The holding tanks are empty. The course is plotted. And the weather forecast is excellent.

This next leg promises to be interesting…we leave Key West and head almost due north to Everglades City.

It’s a long leg – about 80 miles. Interestingly, if we headed south instead of north, we could be in Cuba in the time it will take us to reach Everglades City.

I estimate 6 hours – mostly out of the sight of land, with very few (no) navigational markers. Here’s what it looks like on the paper chart. Yes, I am a traditionalist – I still plan the trip on paper charts and then enter them into the chart plotter.

Once we leave Key West Bight, we steer to FK0200, make a 30-degree right turn, and head almost due north to FW0086. Because this is such a long leg – and because there are no intermediate ATONS (Aids to Navigation), I have created a couple of intermediate waypoints, called RRH4 and RRH5, just to reassure myself that I’m on course. If you look carefully at the top of the page, you can see the lines of longitude called out. There is a similar scale up the side of the page for latitude. I chose two points along the route, interpolated the longitude and latitude, and set them in the chart plotter as virtual waypoints. It breaks the long leg into three 20-mile increments.

So why Everglades City? Most folks would probably head due north for Marco Island or Naples. But I am intrigued by the Everglades. All of southwest Florida below Marco island is basically undeveloped – it’s the Everglades National Park.

So, we’re aiming for a place called Everglades City, up a river behind a set of barrier islands called the Ten Thousand Islands. That in itself should be an interesting part of the trip…following a winding channel through the islands to get to the river. The name is kind of ironic – there is certainly no city anywhere near Everglades City!

We’re staying at a B&B/marina called the Rod & Gun Club. Maybe I should have named my dog Gunner. We’d fit right in. Rod and Gunner…get it?

Here’s a photo of the Rod & Gun Club:

I understand that it is like taking a step back in time. All furnished from the time it was an exclusive getaway for presidents and other notables.

Anyway, that’s all for now. I’ll post again if we have Internet connectivity when we get there.

My Legacy 32 has been the perfect boat for this trip, but I have something simpler in mind for my later life:

The photo above was snapped on a nice calm night, but I have seen this thing packed with tourists on choppy nights. No one in life jackets. Insane.

Tomorrow will be a busy day: after studying the wind forecasts, I’ve decided to leave on Thursday for our trip up Florida’s west coast. January 7th. So tomorrow is for final prep. Key West has been GREAT, but it’s time to move on.

Today we went snorkling at Looe Key, a coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the south of Big Pine Key; it is part of the reef system that defines the Hawk Channel, which runs down the outside of the Keys. There is not an actual Key per se: nothing above the water, but the reef is very close to the surface, and it’s clearly visible as you float on the surface. Of course, you see more if you free-dive down alongside the reef.

My dock-friend Jane DiPietro came, along with her son Steve, an active surfer and kite surfer. (The folks from Beach Haven.)

We chose a day with very moderate winds, but there was still a strong surge: swells rolling in from offshore. No bad once you were in the water, but the swim back to the boat (into the swells) promised to be exhausting, so we kept our dives rather short.

Nevertheless, it was a living coral reef: good to see one again, and sad to realize that it is something our grandchildren may never see. We saw sea fans, brain coral, and a great variety of fish, turtles and dolphins. It was a real treat; I had not been diving in many years.

A nice ride out and back, although Guinness got seasick while we were at anchor in the swells.

It’s defined as  a “state of prolonged torpor or inactivity, inertness of body or mind,” 

It’s definitely settling in…I should be cleaning and oiling the teak decks… I should be dropping my laundry off at the Dockmaster’s office…

Instead, I am simply relaxing. Or maybe learning to relax for the first time in my life. Key West is working its magic on me.

So – with apologies to Keats for the uneven meter – here’s an Ode to Indolence that I composed this afternoon:

One day as I lay idle and serene,

Indolence subsumed my blissful scene.

I thought of tasks that I had yet to do,

But quickly took a more lethargic view.

In fact, it’s just too hard to lift my pen;

I doubt that I will ever strive again.

********************************************

It’s a good thing we’re scheduled to leave here on the 8th. This could become a permanent condition.

Yesterday, we visited the building known as Truman’s Little White House. Guinness wore his Service Animal vest and was very well behaved. Here’s all you need to know:

The house itself is a very simple, unpretentious two-story building. I liked it, in part because it is a snapshot of a simpler time. No TV, no air conditioning, no water view. Entertainment involved whiskey, golf, or poker. There is a great life-size cutout of HST in a Hawaiian shirt, holding a golf club. Sorry, we weren’t allowed to take photos. The house is beautifully decorated; very calm and relaxing.

Interesting footnote: Truman’s ratings fell to 22% after he fired General McArthur- the lowest of any sitting president. But history has amended that: he has now been ranked #5 of all Presidents by CBS News. A farm boy from Missouri, who never wanted to be President. He assumed the office upon Roosevelt’s death in 1945.

1. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Lincoln’s first-place standing in the C-SPAN survey is due to high ratings across the board, but historians hold him in highest esteem for crisis leadership.
2. George Washington (1789-1797) The nation’s first president ranked above all others for moral authority, economic management, and overall performance within the context of his times.
3. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933-1945) Historians laud Franklin D. Roosevelt for his skills at public persuasion, ranking him first among all presidents in that category.
4. Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt (1901-1909) Theodore Roosevelt ranked highly for public persuasion. Just 42 when he became the youngest president in the nation’s history, he had the excitement and energy to convince Congress to pass progressive reforms and a strong foreign policy — exemplified by his motto, “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”

Truman wins praise from historians for his crisis leadership. 

After V-E Day, when Japan refused to surrender, he ordered atomic bombs to be dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, finally ending World War II in the Pacific. Shortly thereafter, Truman watched the signing of the charter of the United Nations, established to preserve peace. 

The wind has been howling the last two days. Just 20 kn, but the sound it makes in the rigging of all the sailboats is melancholy and unsettling.
i’m glad we’re safely tucked into a marina and not on the anchor. I don’t think I could sleep all night, worrying that the anchor would drag.
The days have been lovely, in the high 70s, but this wind is unnerving.

Last night, a HUGE 75′ Hatteras rolled in with an AMAZING sound system. Usually, that kind of thing would annoy me, curmudgeon that I am. But they had the best dance playlist ever: The Bird is the Word, YMCA.

The wife of the owner, Trumpers from Texas, was so much fun, it was contagious. You get it. Fun ensued. EVERYONE dancing to YMCA.

Unfortunately, the woman who was taping it all never sent me the videos.

Probably just as well.

I cannot believe the size of the boats they are wedging into these slips. So far only one collision – no damage done.