August 12 - 18, 2009

The days are running together, and we find ourselves frequently asking what day of the week it is. No, we haven't lost our minds nor is it old age, it's simply that we are truly living on island time. After our lobster feast the night we arrived, we went to bed and slept until 9:30 a.m., when our friend Rob came and knocked on the boat. He welcomed us to Key West with a couple of handfuls of Key Limes, which were promptly put to use in our water, rum drinks, and chicken dinner. It also made me crave the famous chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick. We needed to go to West Marine to order our throttle cable, and of course had to walk right by the Key Lime Pie Factory (home of this delicious treat) to get to there. So we stopped in for one and enjoyed the frozen chocolate covered pie. Other than going to West Marine to order the throttle cable and then the Waterfront Market for some food (where, although in close proximity, we will not shop again – a gallon of milk was $6 - ugh!), we really didn’t do much on Wednesday. It was our wind down day.

Thursday I got up the energy to do some laundry, and swam in the pool while doing so. Our friend Kat stopped by with her mom, whom she was visiting here in Key West. Kat is a sixth generation conch, which is rare these days. Most people in Key West are from all over the world - folks who came for a weekend and never left. Key West has that allure. Then, around 3:30 Harry and I decided to try out our new kayak. We have a Hobe Mirage Outfitter, which you can paddle, peddle, or sail. It also has plenty of storage in the hull, enough space to fit our snorkel gear and lobster nets. We dropped it into the water, loaded her up, made a couple of rum drinks, and headed out of the harbor. Harry put a small lure in the water (oh yeah, the kayak also has rod holders) and we trolled past the Coast Guard station toward the anchorage at Fleming Key, which we are considering once we leave the Galleon Marina. The anchorage seems nice, and there appears to be plenty of water, but we forgot to bring our portable depth sounder to be sure. We then headed toward the mooring field on the other side of Fleming Key, which is another area we are considering once we leave the marina. The mooring field would allow us the amenities of the nearby marina, including a dingy dock. Should we choose to anchor rather than moor, we would not have those “luxuries” and would need to get a dingy permit in order to dock it when we came into Key West. As we neared the mooring field, right in front of us was another CSY. We saw activity on the boat, so we decided to approach. We pulled up along side and introduced ourselves as fellow CSY owners, and we were invited on board for a drink. Scott and Annie have lived aboard Carpe Diem, a 44 foot walk over, at this mooring field for two years. They are going to be heading up to Marathon in about three weeks and then over to the Bahamas. We exchanged information about our boats and each other, enjoyed a couple of rum drinks, and were happy to make new friends. The sun was beginning to drop from they sky, so we decided it was time we head back to Gypsy Wind before the sunset.

Friday was another lazy day (again, we are on island time). We did some clean up and organizing on the boat, and our friend Jimmy, an old Tampa Bay Parrot Head member now living in Key West and managing Schooner’s Wharf, stopped by the boat to say hi. We walked with him over to Harpoon Harry’s and met Rob and Eric for lunch. After seeing Jimmy off at Schooner's Wharf, we did a little shopping near the Harbor Walk. Later that night we decided to walk over to Mallory Square to see the sunset. It was too cloudy for a sunset but still a pretty sky. We walked around Duval for a bit, did a little more shopping, had a slice of pizza at Angelina's (the best piece in town), and then headed back to the boat and turned in for the night.

Saturday was also a nothing to do day, but that was because the tropical wave, which became tropical storm Claudette up near the panhandle, was on top of us all day. At about 10:30 a.m. Rob came and picked us up and we went up to his and Michele’s place on Little Torch Key with the intention of watching the Bucs game. Unfortunately, the NFL Network is not showing all of the pre-season games, so we watched Da Bears, and I got to see Denver’s mistake (letting him go), Jay Cutler, take a few snaps. Michele made a big pot of gumbo and we made pineapple drinks – another welcome to Key West feast. Yep, gotta love island life.

Sunday, Michele drove us back down to Key West and was nice enough to stop at the Winn Dixie along the way so we could shop for some food at a more reasonable price. We still have no transportation here, but Harry is headed back to Clearwater on Wednesday to get our car and bikes. He's riding up with Rob, who has to go to a seminar in Orlando. Sunday afternoon our friends Jeremy and Lori from the Daiquiri Deck in Madeira Beach (where we held our Bon Voyage Party) surprised us with a visit. They had Jeremy's sister and her husband with them, who had never been to Key West, so they were reaping the effects of the night before on Duval Street. We made them some boat drinks and welcomed them aboard. Here less than a week and we've already had two visitors from home. I have a feeling there will be many more.

Monday started with a little rain - there are storms brewing in the Atlantic, none of which will affect us terribly, so don't worry. We had breakfast, showered, and did a I did little work on the website while Harry continues to write his log. We then took a walk around Key West, trying to get our bearing on where things are. We made it to the post office, and opened a PO Box so that we can receive our mail here. Harry's brother Eddie is collecting mail from our Seminole PO Box and sending it to us. We popped our heads in the bank across the street from the Post Office to say hi to Michele, who is Vice President of Commercial Lending there - and saw the beautiful flowers Rob got her for their anniversary. Seven years ago today Harry performed their marriage on the beach. Happy Anniversary Rob and Michele! We love you guys!
We took a walk down Duval, stopped in to see what's new at the Wyland Gallery - amazing stuff. Walked over to Schooner's Wharf to say hi to Jimmy, and then headed back to the boat for dinner and the sunset. Later tonight we may hook up with some people down here for the week that Shirley has blindly introduced to us. Hey, it's Key West - why not? May make for yet another story.

So, our first week may not make for great writing material, but believe me, being here is like heaven. We are still in awe and loving every minute of it. The water is beautiful, the weather fantastic, the surroundings laid back, and we fit right in.