Margaritaville, et al.

     Today is the day to explore.  Pete has to leave for Philly tomorrow, so we had “reservations” at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville at 1 for the 8 of us. Pete managed to get all of us hats from the marina before we left. Pete and I walked down to Duvall Street ahead of the rest so we could explore and take pictures while they stopped in at West Marine.  Pete found a Pandora Key West “Eagle” for my bracelet.

    Besides drinks, most of us had “Cheeseburgers in Paradise” for lunch.  They were really good and the servings were generous. Then we made the necessary stop at the Margaritaville Store. 

     Pete and I agreed to meet up with the group later so we could continue our explorations.  We opted to do the Conch Train Guided Tour.    We missed it last time we were here with the Freedman’s and Applebaum’s.  We were glad we did it this time. The 90 minute tour crisscrossed historic Key West.  We saw and learned a lot from Dan, our “Engineer and guide.” Some of the interesting facts of Key West’s history included: At one time Key West was the richest per capita city due to ship’s salvage (all the ships breaking apart on the second longest coral reef in the world), all animals are protected (hence the Key West “eagles” are descendents from the fighting cocks of immigrant Cubans’. The bank across from the train station was begun by the immigrant Cuban cigar makers (who didn’t trust American banks).  Stony Street is so called, because the Union soldiers would march by on this road and the confederate supporters would throw stones at them, and the homes that were build in “the Meadows” were built by ship builders without nails.  These homes have weathered all the storms for the past century and beyond because they give and sway. Lastly, at the only Catholic Church on the island, a nun built a grotto to pray during storms.  Since the grotto was built, no hurricane stronger than a force 2 has hit this island.  Today, many still visit the grotto when storms are near.

The Former Cuban Bank

Some of the great architecture found just
on Doral Street

     When we returned back to the boat we learned that friends of John and Betty had pulled into A & B Marina on the other side of the Harbor.  We were included in the invite for cocktails aboard Forever Young. Richard and Lorie purchased this beautiful 72’  Hatteras 10 years ago with no previous boating  experience.  I was amazed at Lorie’s criteria for a boat. “The most boat we could handle.” When questioned further, she was referring to bedroom space and bathrooms! What might have been a rocky beginning has definitely turned into a wonderful cruising lifestyle for both of them. They were very gracious in sharing their experiences. We look forward to seeing them again . . . out on the water.

     We returned and grabbed more munchies and watched some of the semi-finals of the football game between the Jets and the Steelers aboard Andiamo. Once again “boater’s midnight” beckoned and we returned “home” to Pekabu. Oh yea. . . Kelli will be thrilled . . .  Steelers made it to the Super Bowl this year!

~  ~ (\_~ ~ ~     Kathy and Pete