 |
| Growth on the floating piers |
Monday, 2/26 - With Jenn and Greg coming on Wednesday, there
were many chores that I needed to get done today as we will be traveling all
day tomorrow.
Hence, the boat cleaning
was completed, homes found for final items stored on the aft cabin, beds
stripped and remade (not one of my favorite jobs.), defrosted the freezer and
complied its inventory, laundry and shop (
Publix,
West Marine and
Fishbusterz Retail Seafood Market for fresh shrimp and Tile Fish.)
It took most of the day, but I’m ready.
 |
| Rain showers around Stock Island |
Pete installed the
new VHF radio head unit.
It fit in the
designated spot and works. BUT…The old RAM mike doesn’t work.
No problem! When we had the lightning strike
back in 2008, we were given a new RAM mike as the original mike still worked
with the new head unit. Pete pulled it out and when we went to install, it
turns out that the “new” mike was actually older than our original and the pin
configuration is entirely different! Grrrrr! Pete checked on line for new mikes
from West Marine and Defender.
Thankfully, the photos show the plug for the Ram Mikes and after zooming
in, he was able to identify the ones with the needed pin configuration. He
ordered from Defender and paid for 2-day delivery.
Tuesday, 2/27 - We are scheduled to leave Key West on
Monday, after Jenn and Greg leave. We
rented a car here in Key West, so we can drop the Acura at Riviera Beach
Marina. Our plan was to pick up the car
at 10 am, spend 4 ½ hrs driving north and the same for returning. After stops for breaks and food, we should be
back by 8-8:30 pm. Well… “best made plans….”
Traffic on Route 1A in The Keys is always interesting. Speed limits are restricted on most islands
and many of the drivers choose to go even slower. There was road work in Marathon and bridge
inspection along 7-Mile Bridge requiring alternating, single lane traffic and substantial
back-ups.
With Pete driving
the rental and I in the Acura, we avoided the Florida Turnpike as we only had
one pass. We should have placed the pass
in the rental and gone through without it in the Acura. They could have deducted the tolls from our
account. Instead we hit stop and go traffic from Homestead to Miami. Then there was construction on 95 in a number
of spots, with bumper to bumper traffic for another hour. Of course, there was also traffic slow downs
for no reason. It was 4:50 pm when we
finally pulled into Riviera…6 ½ hours of driving north! That’s 2 additional hours of traffic delays! Naturally, heading south it was also 5 pm
traffic, making it a 6-hour trip south.
We were finally back at the boat at 11 pm. I know, we’re a little bit crazy.
Wednesday, 2/26 - It
was an early morning for
Jenn and
Greg.
Their flight left Newark at 7:30
this morning.
The good news is that they
arrived early and were on their way by 10.
They had rented a Buick convertible.
Unfortunately, there were none available when
they arrived.
The gals at the counter apologized
and gave them 2 options: Wait for a return or get an upgrade.
The upgrade was a Mercedes C300 convertible!
Of course they said yes to the upgrade! (Years ago, when we were in Rome, Italy, they
didn’t have our car, refused to speak English, and offered us a Mercedes.
Pete was thrilled when he came back to me and
the car lot.
“Wait until you see what
car they gave me!”
he pressed the lock
button for the chirp to find the car.
Well,
it was a Mercedes, but the van seats 11!
Traveling through the old cities was a real challenge due to the skinny
streets and a full-sized van.)
We said out good-byes
to Hugh and Deb of Simplicity. They,
along with their daughter, are heading north to West Palm Beach, then on to Ft.
Pierce by the weekend. We will keep in
touch and hopefully reconnect on the Chesapeake later this summer.
I checked the marina office, but our package from Defender has not arrived. Pete is concerned as he did not receive a confirmation from Defender. He called Defender and the RAM mike has been shipped. He also gave Pete the tracking number, which shows that it was delivered. I will check tomorrow. If it is not received, Pete will call again as we need it before we start heading north.
Greg and Jenn
took our suggestion and stopped at Gilbert’s
Resort, just north of Key Largo, for lunch with a view. They enjoyed the ride down The Keys with the
top down, with the exception of Greg having missed the sunscreen application on
the left side of his neck. Before coming
to the marina, they drove the loop around Key West.
We decided to eat
locally at
Hogfish, for another great
dinner. We also discussed option for the weekend.
It was then we found out that plans changed
from our original discussions of their visit.
Instead of heading home on Monday, they will be flying home Friday
night.
Jenn has to teach classes on
Saturday. (Well, I am really well provisioned for beginning our journey north
on Monday.)
 |
| Weather Forecast |
 |
| Sunset over Stock Island |
Before heading to
bed, we took down the dinghy and got out everything needed for Greg and Jenn to
catch the sunrise over the water in the morning.
Thursday, 3/1 – Greg
and Jenn were up and out by 6:30, but the sun was already breaking over the
horizon by the time they had cleared the harbor. They still enjoyed and will have tomorrow morning
to try again.
 |
| Rusty Fishing Boat |
 |
| Greg & Jenn |
 |
| MY BLACK GOLD |
While I got things
ready for breakfast, they ran out for
Starbuck’s
coffee.
After breakfast, we decided to sail
around to Key West.
Winds were out of the
ESE at about 15. Perfect for a sail.
We
saw a pod of dolphins playing to our port as we headed south.
Everything was perfect until Jenn went down
below with her sunglasses and being hot from sitting in the sun. She returned
to the cockpit a little green.
We turned
around, hoping she would feel better once we were out of the wave motion.
Thankfully, that did work.
After sitting
back at the dock for a while, it was decided to head out for a late lunch.
Pete and I will bring the car back to the
marina, while they explore Old Towne, check out the sunset, cruise Duval and
get an UBER ride home.
Lunch was great
at Conch Republic Seafood Company. Greg shared stories of his time here in KW when
his USCG boats came here from St. Pete’s and Miami. One time, he was left here while
the boat he had come down on needed space for law enforcement aboard for the
week.
We were back by
3:30, but they didn’t get in until after 1 am.
They thoroughly enjoyed exploring, Mallory Square, the sunset, the
street performers, a bar crawl and ending the evenings at Irish Kevin's Pub. The
entertainer was great and invited all active service people on stage for sing-a-longs
and free shots. Needless to say, they had a great time.
Friday, 3/2 – The alarm went off for Jenn and Greg, but
was promptly turned off and ignored. The
sun rose without them to witness its arrival. While I prepared bacon and eggs
for breakfast, they did the run to Starbuck’s.
This store was different than yesterdays and did not have their act
together. Yesterday’s run with travel
time was about 20 mins, today’s was closer to 45. Jenn said no one knew what they were doing.
After breakfast,
they took the dinghy for another spin before saying their good-byes. They have a 7:35 pm flight out of Ft. Lauderdale. Unfortunately, in the mid- and north Atlantic
states, rain, snow and ferocious winds of a Nor’easter are raining havoc. They have been monitoring the flights, but as
of noon, the flight is still as scheduled.
By the time they were at the top of The Keys, the flight was delayed
twice, and will probably be cancelled as most of the airports in the area are
closed.
By 5, they made the decision to book a flight for Sunday,
the earliest available, and grab a hotel for the night. Great thinking!
 |
| General Patton's SV WHEN & IF |
The new RAM mike
arrived. Pete did good! We unpacked it, checked the pin alignment, plugged
it in and IT WORKED!!!
I was able to “un-prepare”
the boat for guests and put the boat back to normal cruising mode. Now time to
catch up on some reading.
Saturday, 3/3 – It is another beautiful day in Paradise. We
caught the noon shuttle to Old Towne and walked around the harbor to Marty and
Buena’s power cat, SEAPAWS. They are
friends from Kent Island, who have a home down on Florida’s Gulf side, and are
visiting KW for a few weeks. It has been a few years since we spent time
together. It was great catching up with them, having a great lunch at Pepe’s, gelato at Duetto’s, and taking in the craft’s fair along the harbor.
 |
Smart pelican on the bait float
and a friend nibbling the grass
on the surface here in K.W. Harbor |
Buena shared info
on a Facebook group called Kent Island Happenings, which will be helpful and
informative now that we spend most of the summer on Kent Island.
By the time we arrived back at our boat, Facebook
had quite a few photos of the amazing, super low water levels around Kent Island.
There was also mention of the Bay Bridge
being closed due to the high winds.
The
winds are out of the NNE and still steady at 25 mph, keeping all that water
from returning up the Bay and the moon is just past full, which also affects
the tides.
That Nor’easter
is still causing havoc even though its precipitation and clouds are out over
the Atlantic. The news reports that there
are huge power outages all over the N.E, blown transformers, trees down, homes
destroyed, high winds, flooding, and huge waves are making things miserable.
Roads and airports closed, the water in the Chesapeake Bay has been blown out
by 40+ mph winds. Photos show water levels down about 5-6 feet from normal high
tide on Kent Island, which usually has 18-24" tidal difference. But worst of
all, 9 deaths are attributed to the storm. Greg and Jenn are still safe, warm and
enjoying the sights around Miami. They made the right decisions yesterday and
will go home tomorrow.
 |
| Standing guard outside laundry |
Sunday, 3/4 – I was lucky last week, so I figured I would be
pretty safe starting my laundry around 8:30 am.
There was already 2 washers and all 4 dryers in use. Once I loaded the last 2 washers with my
wash, more people came in to also do laundry and had to wait. As it turns out, when the wash was done I had 2
dryers available and one had 22 mins remaining.
Since this is my last laundry here I wanted to use all the monies on the
card. With the 22 minutes remaining I
only had to add 10 minutes more, using my last $0.25 on the card! There is some good karma in this world. Last year, I had just put $20 additional onto
my card since we were supposed to be here another 3 weeks. Unfortunately, a day later, I was hospitalized
and couldn’t return. Pete returned the card when checking out, and someone got
very lucky.
 |
| Reading & chillin |
We set down and
discussed the wind predictions for the upcoming week. We are supposed to leave tomorrow, which isn’t
a problem with the winds foretasted later this week. Our concerns are how to stay in protected
waters in the Key Largo/Rodrigues Key area on Wednesday. The anchorage we usually use will be totally
open to the 20-25 mph winds out of the ENE. Our other concern is that we have
some place out of the strong winds for Sunday.
Passage weather is a great resource in our planning. We will stay an extra day in order to be safe
when the winds do arrive.
The rest of the day
was lazy. Reading and people watching
were great.
Monday, 2/5 -
We opted to stay one more day. Since we have the monthly
contract, the extra day is prorated at the monthly fee. Hence the
extra day is only $45.
Pete has a big
project and need to spend most of the day with George on Go-To-Meeting, which
requires internet connections. He had a very busy morning, but were in a
holding pattern after lunch. He took
advantage of the time by checked the engine, batteries and bilge. He had to check the valves in the hose as the
pump wasn’t functioning. Thankfully, it was a quick fix.
I put the day to use -
I was able to catch the 9 am shuttle and get dropped off at Publix. I
was ready and waiting when the van returned to pick me up 30 minutes later. By 10:30, everything was organized and put away. I did some light house cleaning, tried to get
everything ready to post to the blog, so we are current before leaving.
While
I was shopping, Dorine stopped by and invited us over for cocktail hour aboard
DULCE VENTO. Since I was prepared for Greg and Jenn to spend the
long weekend, I had plenty of appetizer makings. I used up the
veggies with Marie’s Ranch dressing as dip. Ranch dressing is not on
Pete’s radar, but he approves of Marie’s.
It has been
wonderful getting to know Doreen, John and Cindy. We wish them
smooth sailing. They head to Miami over the weekend to wait for their window to
cross over to The Bahamas. Can’t wait to hear about their adventures. We
will reconnect once they return to the Chesapeake in June. Unfortunately,
it looks like Cindy will be making her home here in Key West. She
has fallen in love with the place, not that I can blame her. There
are great opportunities for marine mechanics and crewing on boats. We
plan to keep in touch, so I look forward to hearing all about her adventures.
It was a great
visit here in Key West; fabulous weather, plenty of areas to explore, good
food, nice exercise facility and some wonderful new friends. The past 5 weeks
have gone fast, but we made a bunch of new friends and caught up with old ones. Definitely
made some great memories!
~ ~ ~ /) ~ ~ K & P
As we were
passing under the bridge, we were cut off by a sailboat coming out of the
Marine Stadium. We passed him and were the second of 3 sailboats heading
towards of the inlet. It was a surprise
to see 6 cruise ships at the terminal.
While motoring along the opposite side of the terminal, we were hailed
by a tug and barge that needed to swing around the pilots’ station with his
fuel barge for the cruise ships.
When we returned
to the Marina, the Sunday’s Farmer’s Market busy. I perused the area. There was clothing,
jewelry, fruits and veggies, plants, live entertainment, and food. I brought a
delicious looking Tart from the French bakery, which we enjoyed after dinner.
