No Boat Travel.
8 Miles by Bike
Timing for our trip to Key West turned out to be somewhat problematic in that we had personal business to attend to during this time that required internet and telephone access. Our stay in the Everglades last night provided neither of these services. Consequently, Clark had many phone calls and much internet work to attend to this morning.
With Clark occupied by phone calls and such, I slipped away to make use of the laundry facilities at the marina. Since the laundry room provided not one chair to sit in while waiting for the wash to finish, I set my timer and walked back to the boat only to find some moderately interesting action on our dock. The catamaran behind us needed a tow, and I watched Sea Tow in action from the stern of our boat.
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| Watching from the back of Sunset Delight as Sea Tow takes a catamaran for repairs. |
It could not be helped, but I found myself sorely disappointed to be paying Key West dock rates to spend time on the boat or doing laundry. When Clark announced that he needed to overnight mail something via FedEx located four miles away, I jumped at the chance to ride our bikes there just to get off the boat and see something.
"On a mission" to get to FedEx asap, Clark took off down the road with me following. With his speed, I worried that I might get so far behind him that I would get lost. I had made the mistake of looking up the address on my phone, so he took it to guide the way. Without a means to contact him if we got separated, I felt very vulnerable. When I did catch him at some point, I took his phone in exchange as a "crutch" to feel safer.
The fast, 4-mile bike ride to the airport, where FedEx is located, took just about 25 minutes of non-stop biking. He ran in and dropped off the item to be shipped. Before he took off again, I traded his phone for mine. As he started to speed away, I yelled to him that I had thought to bring the camera along for the ride. As a result, the trip back to the boat, with photo ops added in, took more time than the trip out to FedEx.
Even so, I lost him at one point along the way and had to call him on the phone. He was nowhere in sight, and I did not know if I had passed him or was yet to catch up to him. It turned out he was way ahead of me, around a slight curve, and behind a pole taking a picture when I called. I "read him the riot act" and told him "not to loose me again".
The scenic ride back to the boat included the following views.
Historic Structures:
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| Fort East Martello Museum |
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| Civil War Era Fort in Key West, Florida Near Key West airport |
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| Key West Firehouse Museum |
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| Fire House #9 circa 1907 Oldest FH in Florida Used horse-drawn steamers and hose carriages until 1914 |
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| Key West Post Office and Custom House |
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| Old Lantern-style Light in front of Custom House |
Memorials:
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| No trip to Florida would be complete without finding at least one tribute to Henry Morrison Flagler |
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| AIDS Memorial in Key West, Florida |
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| AIDS Memorial Pier and Park |
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| Engraving at AIDS Memorial Pier and Park |
Interesting Scenery:
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| Palm Tree "Forrest" |
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| Clean, Sandy Beaches |
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AIDS Memorial Pier in the distance |
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| Crud-covered Beaches needing to be cleaned up |
When Clark found the upcoming marine weather to be non-conducive to taking our boat out to Dry Tortuga this week, he purchased us tickets on the Freedom Ferry to take us out there tomorrow. I had heard of Dry Tortuga from fellow boaters but did not know what to expect. Clark said we should plan on two things - touring Fort Jefferson and snorkeling. To go snorkeling I needed to rent a wet suit. That was our first destination in town.
Upon entering the dive shop, Clark inquired about the water temperature at the National Park. The salesperson responded, "It's f***ing cold!" From that we decided I would definitely need a wet suit, and he found one for me to try for size. I had Clark come into the back room they used as a dressing room to assist me with getting into the cumbersome full body suit. Even though the salesperson gave me directions, I put the darn thing on backwards. Both Clark and I should have known better, but I guess we just weren't thinking.
When we asked the salesperson about the fit, he rolled his eyes and said, "It's on backwards!" Talk about feeling stupid! No wonder it was choking me! Not surprising, when I put it on the right way around, it not only fit very nicely, but I could even breathe in it!
From the dive shop, we walked over to the ferry docks to scope out the area. We have to be at the ferry at 7:00 - an ungodly time for us. Since we might be half asleep, we decided we better know where we are going. We found three guys employed by the ferry service sitting around chatting.
The one guy pointed out the ferry and said in a very matter of fact way, "You'll be going out on that one - Yankee Freedom III, the first two sank so now they are on their third one." He followed that comment with, "Just kidding! They're just constantly making improvements and upgrading." In return I said in a serious tone, "Well you had me convinced. I'm not coming back!" Clark laughed as we walked away.
Our last stop at a store was at the "New Market" grocery store aka corner market. I needed some essentials and thought perhaps they might have something of interest. Before going there I had looked on line where one 5-star review said, "This store is amazing. For a small place, they have everything you might need." As I looked around and saw nothing I wanted to buy, it dawned on me that the reviewer must have needed wine, beer, or dog food because those three items took up most of the floor space in the store. I left empty-handed.
This is our third time visiting Key West. Each time coming here so far, we have eaten at Camille's restaurant owned by a high-school friend of Clark's named Mike. We hoped to go there for lunch today, but Clark's frantic phone calls got in the way. We decided to go there for dinner instead.
Camille's is on the far side of Key West a.most one-mile from our boat. Since it would be dark by the time we finished dinner, we walked instead of using our bikes to get there. Clark called ahead and told them we would be there in about 30 minutes or so. They told him they were not busy so no worries.
We arrived to find the restaurant mostly empty - their biggest draw is breakfast and lunch. In fact their menu says, "also serving dinner". Certainly, there was no need for Clark to call ahead for a table; we had our pick of anywhere. As we sat down, Clark inquired about his friend Mike and discovered that the restaurant had been sold to new owners. We learned that Mike now works there as a cook for breakfast and lunch a few days a week, and we would not see him today.
Given that turn of events, we wondered if the walk had been worth it. When the waitress announced that they had a BOGO special going on for dinner, we could not believe it. Buy one entree and get the second one free? How can that be? I ordered the Lobster Ravioli. It was delicious! Clark almost ordered the same thing. It is a good thing he did not as one of the ingredients was sausage. He could not help me eat this meal, so I ended up taking half of it home with me when we left.
Camille's is on Simonton Street which we walked to get there. I suggested that even though it was a block in the wrong direction we cut over to Duval Street and walk back that way. Duval has so many interesting things to see. As we strolled along we popped into ice cream stores to check out their flavor offerings, meandered through a couple of art galleries, stopped in a clothing store and bought two shirts, and admired the city lights.
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| Happy New Year!!! 2018 in flashing lights at the Bourbon Street Pub in Key West, Florida |
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| Holiday Decorations Key West Style |
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