Key West 2007 Last Day in Paradise

Our last day in paradise was rather uneventful. Saturday morning Kathy and I decided we needed some exercise so went for a bicycle ride on a small key east of Stock Island. It was primarily a residential with canals behind each of the homes. There were several for sale so we picked up the flyer's in front of several of the homes. The nicer homes started at $1 million and went up to $3 million. We saw a fixer upper for $785,000. Most of the homes are 1800 to 2500 sq. ft. Clearly, paradise comes at a price if you want to live there.

The remainder of the day I spent getting the motorhome ready for our departure on Sunday. Kathy spent the afternoon getting ready for our evening dinner party with Keith, Betty, Greg and Sandy. We thought it would be fun to get together once last time before we each departed on Sunday. Keith and Betty are sailing back to Ft. Myers to store their boat up river for the summer. Greg and Sandy are headed to the Bahamas for a couple of weeks before they begin their trip back to St. Louis.

Key West 2007 A Little Shopping

We are down to our last 2 days in paradise. It's been a wonderful adventure. Spending a month here has enabled us to see all of Key West at a leisurely pace. We've gotten off the beaten path and gone many places that most tourist never see. I'd recommend it to everyone.

Today we did a little last minute shopping. Kathy picked up some local plants she is going to try at home, indoors of course. I had a couple of items to pick up at the local West Marine store. This evening we watched the sunset at Mallory Square and had cocktails with Keith and Betty before turning in for the evening.

Key West 2007 Thursday Sailing to Sand Key

The winds in Key West have been quite strong for the entire month of March. I don't believe we had any days with a wind of less than 15 to 20 mph. Now on our lake in Iowa that wouldn't be much of a problem. But, here in Key West, a chain of islands with the Atlantic on one side and the Gulf on the other, the waves build considerably. The snorkeling is reported to be excellent all along the keys. But to have good snorkeling you need calm seas.


We have set out several times to go snorkeling, but the winds have whipped the seas to 3 to 5 feet, making for poor snorkeling conditions. Today was no exception. We headed out to Sand Key on "Bar Hopper" about 10 am. Sand Key as you see in the photo is no longer above sea level. The hurricanes and strong seas have taken their toll on this sand bar over the years.

It was a great sail out to Key, about 9 miles south of Key West. We hooked up to a mooring about noon. It was immediately apparent that the seas were to large to attempt to snorkel. After feeding the fish and taking photos we headed back to Key West. I guess we'll have to store the snorkel gear until we return once again.

Key West 2007 Let's Try Tennis

Well Betty and I headed out to play tennis once again this morning. You may recall that two weeks ago I injured a tendon in my calf. It slowed me down for a couple of days, but today I felt great. I was ready to play again. We were having a great match. We each had a couple of winners and were even in games. Following a good serve I rushed the net. Betty, like a good player, lobed her return over my head towards the back corner. I immediately reversed direction and was about 3 steps into my sprint when I felt a snap in my thigh, another tendon gave way. It's hell getting old. Kathy returned fro her shopping for the grand kids presents to find me limping once again. The remainder of the day I limped around cursing my old age.

Following a great pizza lunch at a local pizzeria and a couple of hours at the pool we headed to the Gordon's boat (photo) for a great pasta dinner. Betty's home made sauce was excellent. Following dinner we played 2 rounds of 3-13. Kathy won the first game, Betty the second. While skill is necessary to win at this game, good cards can make or break you. For those who have played with Betty before you know what an excellent player she is. That's why it was unbelievable that the first game she accumulated 228 points. By the way, low points are good, high are bad. Of course the second game she turned around and whipped us both.

Key West 2007 A Lay Day

After taking Denny and Paula to the airport, Kathy and I decided that the order of the day was to do nothing. We have been having a great time with all the visiting friends. Vacations are lots of fun and they are even better when you can share it with friends. For the next couple of days we are going to rest, do a little shopping, catch a couple of sites not yet seen and get ready for the trip back home. We'll be departing hear the end of the month and heading to Bradenton to visit Kathy's brother Tom. We'll probably take in a couple of other tourist attractions as we head back to Iowa.

Key West 2007 Bike Ride & Cuban Restaurant

We headed out on a bike ride around Key West on Monday morning. Betty was our tour guide as we visited all the tourist traps. The photo to the left is the lighthouse built in 1847 and was in use until 1969. The lens cost over $1 million when it was built in the 1800's. Kathy couldn't ascend the spiral staircase but she zoomed in for this photo of us at the top. From left to right is Denny, Paula, Gary and Betty. For lunch Betty took us to a Cuban restaurant frequented by the locals. We all liked our meals and didn't think it all that unusual. The Cuban bread was delicious.

We had evening cocktails and appetizers at Alonzo's before heading to Duval St. for the evening's entertainment. For those of you who have been reading the blog you'll remember the 2 posts regarding Sallie's show at the Bull. Our friends Denny (left) and Keith became part of the evening show. The place filled up quickly as our two entertainers wow'd the audience. By the time we left, Sallie had struck again.

Key West 2007 Tennis & Sunday Pizza

It was windy once again as Denny and Betty met to play tennis on Sunday. Like me, it had been at least 20 years since Denny had played tennis. Betty, who had played in previous years, started playing again last year. For those that know her, she plays tennis just like Ping Pong. She an excellent defensive player, she returns just about everything you hit to her. Denny started strong and was up 5 to 3 before Betty reached her peak and won out in the end. Both players were ready for an afternoon nap.

There is a tradition in the Gordon house, it's Sunday Pizza. I'm not sure when it started but I know it's been around for more than 20 years. Keith's first cruiser, a Catalina 22, in the early 80's was christened Sunday Pizza. Kathy and I and Denny and Paula were treated to an excellent Sunday Pizza prepared by Betty on their boat Sunday evening. The crust from scratch was the best I have ever tasted. Following dinner, Kathy served us a scrumptious apple cake.

Key West 2007 Kite Surfing

The beach is getting to be a habit with us. Saturday Kathy and I met Denny and Paula at Smathers Beach, our favorite. Besides great eye candy there is always something different going on. This photo of a kite surfer was one of 20 that we took. There was a group of 8 kite surfers putting on quite a show for us right off the beach. This guy was doing jumps 15 to 20 feet in the air. His speed looked like 20 to 30 mph. He would approach the beach within 10 feet before he would turn away and leap into the air. It was great! Later we watched two cops with all their gear on play volleyball with a group of guys and gals. They asked Denny not to publish the photo he snapped in the local paper. We applauded them for interacting with the beachers.

Later that evening we were all treated to a wonderful seafood dinner by Denny and Paula at Turtle Craw on the wharf. I had the seafood sampler with scallops, shrimp and mahi mahi. Kathy, who isn't a big seafood eater, was delighted by some of the best crab cakes in town. She wanted this photo for Al Reiff who is on a quest to make the best crab cakes. Earlier in our trip Terri Walker had shared crab cakes with Kathy at the Conch Restaurant. This evenings cakes were certainly a rival.

Key West 2007 New Friends

Paula, Betty and Kathy headed out on bikes this morning to the Key West Botanical Gardens. Before the WWII it was quite large, about 60 acres. During the war the military took over the property and used it as a Navy Hospital. Today the gardens are only about 7 acres and are being expanded through additional funding. The navy buildings are long gone and a portion of the grounds are being returned to the Botanical Gardens.

This evening the six of us headed to Schooner Wharf for dinner. While listening to a great 50's band we struck up a conversation with 3 gals next to us. I know it's a small world but guess what, they're from Iowa Falls. And it turned out that one of their friends is related to Denny.

Our new friends from left to right are Jan, Jane and LeAnne.

Key West 2007 Green Parrot

The beach is always a great place to go to watch people. So we headed to the beach with Denny and Paula following lunch. There are several good beaches here in Key West. We think the best one is Smathers Beach. It has the most action, volleyball, boat rentals and babes to watch. We watched a novice with a rental sailcat, flip the boat and then drift for close to a mile before a rescue boat came out to help. In his defense the winds are blowing 20 to 25 mph.

For dinner we headed up to Duval St. (the main drag) and ate at Cheeseburger Key West. The food hear is excellent and the prices are bearable. Following dinner we walked down to the Green Parrot to take in a new Raggae band. Denny discovered they served Yukon Jack, his favored. We had searched 6 or more stores for it and we didn't think it was available on the island. I think Denny has found a home.

Key West 2007 Wednesday Ride the Bull

Sorry for the delay in posting. Wednesday evening was too much fun!



We picked up Denny and Paula Sult Wednesday afternoon at the airport. They are staying at the Pilot House, two blocks north of Duval, right in the heart of Key West. On our way out to dinner, Betty struck up a conversation with the homeless guy in the photo. He has his hand out asking for money. He said he wasn't hungry, just wanted money for a beer. Betty told him she wanted the same thing, money for beer.


Following dinner we headed to Cowboy Bills, to see the young gals ride the mechanical bull. And ride they did. Denny bought cowboy hats for a table of gals and talked most of they into riding the bull for the first time. Denny, Keith and I met up with these three gals and the rest is history.

Key West 2007 Pool Day

Taking life easy is becoming a habit with us.

Not much to talk about, we really didn't accomplish much today. A couple of hours at the pool reading our novels, fixed a small leak under the sink, and took Jim to the airport.

We did catch a movie at the theater this evening. Sandra Bullock has a new movie "Premonition" which we thought was pretty good. The critics bashed it, said it was far fetched. But, that's what most movies are, fiction and unlikely. We'd give it a "B".

Key West 2007 A Couple of Babes

Not much going on today. Kathy's leg is bothering her a little. She talked with the nurse at her doctors office and she suggested that she rest her leg for a day or two. She believes the swelling in the ankle is from too much activity.

I worked on the ice maker in the refrigerator today. Its not making ice. I was able to obtain a service tech trouble shooting guide. I ran through each of the test and everything checked out okay except the cycle test. It will not run through a cycle. Tomorrow I think I'll remove the motor and see if it works.

This evening we met up with Keith, Betty and Jim at the Conch restaurant. Its Jim's last evening in paradise so we thought wed get together for a last drink. He leaves tomorrow around 1pm.

Key West 2007 Sunday a Day of Rest

Not much going on today. We are taking it easy, a short bicycle ride and a couple of hours at the pool soaking up the sun.

Keith, Betty and Jim came over for dinner and we cooked out, then played a couple of rounds of 313. Jim and Bob were the winners.

The photo to the left is Bob and Jan at the Conch Hotel last night at Sunset.

Key West 2007 St. Patricks Day

The celebration of St. Patricks Day in Key West began around noon. In the process of touring the city with Bob and Jan we drove down Duval St. Traffic at times was at a standstill as revelers were pouring out in the streets at the various Irish Pubs. We chose to have lunch at Sloppy Joes, the hangout of Ernest Hemingway in his day. The bar has photos on the wall of many of the visitors who looked like him. I was approached twice about my similarity in looks to "Ernie". Maybe I'll write a book. Not!

In the evening we witnessed the sunset from high atop the Conch Hotel, the tallest building in Key West. Then on to dinner at Mangia Mangia, an excellent Italian restaurant. We finished off the evening at the Green Parrot (photo) listening to an excellent Salsa band and trying our hand at Salsa dancing. St Patrick would be proud of our celebration of his day.

Key West 2007 Vogels Visit

Our friends Bob and Jan Vogel (on far right of photo) arrived this afternoon to stay with us for the next 3 days. We immediately headed out fo a sail on Keith and Bettys boat. The winds have been strong the last several days blowing 20 to 30 MPH. Today they were forcasted to be 10 to 20. We had a nice sail out and back the northwest channel. It was still too windy though to go snorkeling at Sand Key.

Boy did it rain last night. We were awaken about 3:30am this morning by a pouring rain storm. The locals loved it, they had not had any measurable rain in some time.

Key West 2007 BOB

Babes on Beach

I guess you can tell that Thursday was beach day.

But first Jim, Betty and I started off in the morning with 3 sets of tennis. None of us had played much in the past so it took a while for us to get our strokes down. By 12:30 we had enough and decided to retire to the beach for a couple of hours of sun and sights.

Key West 2007 Clouds in Paradise?

What a night we had last night. I didn't mention in my earlier post that we finished off the evening at Jimmy's Margaritaville listening to a great band. We just about closed the place.

Today we slept in and spent the morning completing our registration for this years Ragbrai. We had planned on playing tennis but the winds were too strong and believe it or not it was quite cloudy. It actually made the 75 degree temperature seem cool.

This afternoon I washed the jeep and worked on the ice maker, that is not working. Jim and Kathy caught up on their reading. For dinner we grilled a couple of excellent steaks that Jim picked up at the store. We ended the evening with a couple of hands of 313 with Keith and Betty. Betty and I were the winners for the evening. I guess you would call this a laid back day.

Key West 2007 Sallie Strikes Again

Well it happened again, Sallie corralled another one of our friends and had her way with him.
But first let me report on our day. Kathy, Jim and I headed out on a bike tour of the island around mid morning. We picked up Betty at her boat and headed first towards town, then the southern most point for pictures, and then to the beach. After refreshments at a Cuban cafe we explored the inner city streets looking for points of interests and new restaurants to sample in the days that followed. After dropping off Betty we had to turn into the 20 mph wind to make it back to our campground. It seemed to take us twice as long to make the 5 mile return trip.

Following the cocktail hour and dinner at Alonzos, we driffted towards The Bull for a few after dinner drinks. Sallie was performing her usual one woman show and we could see that she was looking for her next victim. Her Bathroom Boy routine consist of following a gentleman into the boys room, while playing her guitar, singing, and encouraging other woman to follow her in this quest. She places a barret on the gentlemans head and envites him to join her on stage to become part of her act. Well here is where the fun begins. Our friend Jim happened to be her prey. As Jim was invited to join Sallie on stage a young lady followed him. It seems that Jim and his chrisma lured the young lady to be part of the show. She was lovin it and so was Jim. The rest of the story should be told only by Jim. All I can say is that by the time it was over Jim was looking for a way to remove lipstick from his body and his breifs. I told him to call Randy, as he was experienced at solving this problem.

Key West 2007 Jim has Arrived

Daylight saving time sure is nice, both in the morning and the evening. The sun doesn't come up until 7:30 in the morning so we have been sleeping in for the last 2 days. This morning Betty and I played tennis for 1 1/2 hrs. The last time I played was 1985. I can see it is going to take a while for my form to come back. We had a great time as Keith and Kathy sat on the sidelines critiquing our play.
Jim Hudson was suppose to arrive at 1:30 this afternoon. But, his flight was delayed from Des Moines and he missed the connection in Atlanta. He finally arrived at 4:45 and after dropping off his luggage we headed for Happy Hour with Keith and Betty. Schooners Warf, in photo, has a good deal with 1/2 price drinks until 7pm. Jim got right in the swing of things with a couple of Rum Runners. We headed back to camp early since Jim had less than 3 hours of sleep the night before. There is always tomorrow evening.

Key West 2007 Kids Inheritance

Ryan, Shane and Lauren we bought this boat for you guys. Title will pass on to you each equally when we pass away. We hope you enjoy her. She is 50 feet in length, has three staterooms and cost close to $500,000. Together with her slip we spent $1 million of your inheritance.

Love, Mom & Dad

Key West 2007 R and R

We like our site hear at Boyds. Everyone is pleasant and the weather is great. Every day is Saturday in Key West so we did not feel like we were missing anything by hanging around the campground, catching up on a weeks worth of mail delivered today and getting some rest. This past week was a lot of fun, we got to do and see a great deal with our friends the Walkers. I dropped them off at the airport about noon, they are scheduled to arrive back in Des Moines about 8pm. Sunday, we will go to the store and restock our supplies, do some laundry and work on a couple of motorhome projects. Our good friend, Jim Hudson arrives Monday afternoon, followed by other good friends, Bob and Jan Vogel on Friday.

Key West 2007 Sunset from the Tower

We started off the day by taking Randy and Terri to Duval St. to pickup some final gifts. This was their last full day in paradise. Following a wonderful lunch in a second story restaurant that was built out into the trees, we headed to Ft. Zachary State Park Beach. This beautiful beach was formed with the materials from dredging the ship channels in Key West.

This sunset photo was taken at the top of the Conch Hotel. After a sunset like this one it is easy to see why thousands gather each evening for this event.

Key West 2007 Snorkling at Sand Key

What would a visit to Key West be without a sailing and snorkeling adventure. Mid morning on Thursday we headed out on Barhopper with Gordons, Walkers and Rex. Sand Key our destination for snorkeling lies about 7 miles southwest of Key West. We had a strong wind blowing out of the north and out trip went pretty fast. The seas were choppy but we made pretty good time. Sand Key has 10 to 15 mooring balls around the mostly submerged key so we did not have to rely on our anchor. The water temperature was a little cool, about 74 I think. Rex and Randy, who were more experienced than some of us, jumped right in. They said the temperature was ok but the waves and current where just to strong for serious snorkeling. The remainder of us thought we would try another day when the seas were calmer and you would be able to see more of the coral reef. The sailing was great, both to and from the reef. On the way back in to port, a very large cruise ship passed with 150 yards. Boy was it big.

Only one day left for Randy and Terri so we have a full day planned for Friday.

Key West 2007 Lipstick on Your Collar

Sorry for the delay in posting our activities for Wednesday. We didn't return to our motorhome until the wee hours of the morning.

Thursday was a day packed with adventure. We started at mid morning with a Kayak trip into the Mangroves between the two islands that make up Key West. Our guide was none other than Betty Gordon. Utilizing a map from the marina she expertly guided us through the Riviera Waterway, past the million dollar residences and into the Mangroves. She took us off the beaten path and into areas where the average tourist would not have gone. I would not say we were lost, we new where we were, we just were not sure how to get out of the salt ponds we ventured into. But her instincts were right and an hour later we came back out to the main waterway. It was great! Thanks Betty for an adventure we will talk about for some time.

Following a well deserved nap the Burgers and the Walkers headed out at mid evening to see the nightlife of Key West and were not disappointed. We met up with Greg and Sandy, Keith and Betty and Rex. There are some real crazy people in Key West, and on Duval Street you can see it all. At the Bull, Sally, the guitarist in the photo has a great time at the expense of some members of the audience. One of her skits is called Bathroom Man and our own Randy Walker was a willing participant. I can not divulge everything that happened on this G rated site. Ask Randy and be prepared to give him some advice on how to removed lipstick from underwear.

Key West 2007 Beach Day

The temperature was forecast to be sunny and reach a high of 75 degrees today. So, we decided this afternoon we would hit the beach. But first we hit went to the southern most point of the United States for a photo opt. We also took a photo of us parked at a handicapped spot. We are going to label it the southern most handicap spot in the U.S. We finished up the morning by visiting the art gallerys on the east end of Duval street. At lunch we hit the beach for a couple of hours to turn our bodies from Iowa winter white to Florida bronze. Randy and Terri love the palm trees and the white sand beach more than the ice covered trees and white snow of the north.

Key West 2007 Trolley Tour

From left to right are" Keith, Betty, Kathy, Terri, Gary, Randy and Rex sitting on the square at Mallory Square.

We got an early start this morning because Kathy and Terri wanted to shop on Duval St. It is a mile and a half long street with bars and shops and art studios that has the wildest stuff I have ever seen. For lunch we went to Jimmy Buffetts Margaretiville and we all had a cheeseburger in paradise. Following lunch we took the Trolley tour around the island and then shopped till we dropped. Luckily we were near Keith and Bettys Barhopper where we took refuge and received several libations to rejuvenate our system.

We headed down to Mallory Square along with 10,000 others around 6pm to await the evenings sunset in the western sky. We were not disappointed, the sunset was spectacular. The photo above does not do justice to the actual event. Sunset is a big event in Key West. As I said thousands traverse to the pier to witness the event. Of course where there are so many congregated, street entertainers show up to perform and collect tips. A visit to Key West is not complete without participating at least once in this daily event.

Key West 2007 Boat Show

This morning we decided to go to the Key West Boat Show, the temperature was suppose to be cooler than yesterday which was 84 degrees. And it was cooler, the temperature only made it to 72 today and the wind was blowing 20 to 25 mph. They call this winter weather. The Key West show was not very large, probably 30-40 boats and they were all power boats. They also had 15-20 booths with various nautical gear. I bought a new line for my roller furling and Kathy found an orchid.

Our friends, Randy and Terri Walker arrived at the airport about 5:15. After we picked them up we dropped off their bags at our motorhome and went to Keith and Bettys boat for "Sunday Pizza". As usual, it was great! Tomorrow we will plan our attack of Key West.

Key West 2007 A Day of Sailing

The weather was warm today, about 83. Keith and Betty thought it would be a good day to go for a sail. Over the next several days there is a cold front coming in and the winds and waves would be increasing considerably. On TV they said that we would be returning to normal winter temperatures. When I first heard winter temperatures I was envisioning 40 to 50. Fortunately, winter temperatures here mean low to mid 70s.

Our sail lasted about 4 hours. We sailed no place in particular just a nice close reach sail out of the marina and back. There are a lot of shallow areas around here, but Keith is quite experienced and had local charts to refer to if needed. While we were sailing we saw what looked to be an iceberg, according to Betty. We never did figure it out.

This evening Kathy cooked a nice turkey meal and we spent the remainder of the evening reading through the weekly package of mail that was delivered earlier in the day.

P.S. I received a new phone to replace the 2 previous ones that failed over the last 2 weeks.

Key West 2007 Another Day in Paradise

The weather was a little warm today. The temperature hit 84 degrees. This morning Betty Gordon and I rode 13 miles around the Key West Island. Most of the time we rode right around the seashore. Kathy laid by the pool sunning herself while Keith cleaned the stern of the Barhopper.

This evening we hit the bars for 1/2 price cocktails and appetizers. We ended up a Jimmy Buffetts Bar . The music did not start until 11pm. A little too late for us.

Key West 2007 We are Here!

We headed out of Key Largo about 9:30am this morning. The speed limit is 55mph along US 1. It is only 2 lanes so it is best just to sit back and enjoy the scenery. The longest span of bridge was approx. 7 miles. I am not sure what they do in case of an accident. We arrived at Boyds Campground a little before noon. It was a real struggle to get into our site. The streets in the campground are very narrow and most people park their vehicles alongside their site. Backing in was very tight. It took close to 1/2 hour. When I was finished, the crowd that had assembled, applauded.

After catching up on some laundry Kathy and I headed into town to meet up with Keith and Betty. They have a great slip at the marina in the heart of Key West. It is adjacent to the boardwalk with many excellent restaurants and bars. Following cocktails on their boat we headed to an old bar called the Schooner Warf for dinner , more drinks and some excellent blues. WOW! Life is tough!