A Day In Key West

For Dixie's birthday the girls and families did some research and gave her a gift certificate for the only movie theater and the Blue Heaven Restaurant in Key West. On Monday we spent the day in Key West, saw the new Clint Eastwood movie "Gran Torino". Then off to dinner at the Blue Heaven Restaurant. The movie was classic Clint Eastwood, highly recommended but not for children. The profanity which was an essential part of the dialogue was so thick it was very funny although the movie was very serious. The restaurant was excellent; it is a very Keyesy restaurant. Fits in Key West perfectly, no high volume chain here. Two pictures: The movie theater and the outside of the restaurant lit up at night. A nice day. The cats did not approve of our getting back late but they got over it quickly with evening treats.

The lost week

Its been a while since a posting. After Joe and Kay left we were busy getting redy for a weekend visit from John and Bonnie Anderson, from Ft Lauderdale. Didn't get any pictures from their visit. We went down to Big Pine Key to the Nautical Flea Market, which was a complete bust. Lots of disappointed people but the stalls were limited and most of it was recycled junk not worth looking at. On to the regular weekend flea market a couple of blocks down which was , as usual, worth a visit. We had dinner on board Saturday night, and then the lost week began for Chet. Dixie had a small cold and I got it in spades. The next week was lost to a really bad cold. Didn't feel better until last Friday. Anyway all is better now. We lost the Microwave oven that was 20 years old; just quit. We installed another Friday.

Some new manatee came around. Here are a couple of pictures.

Joe & Kay's visit, Dolphin Research Center 1/12/09

Sunday was a day of rest. Monday we went to the Dolphin Research Center on Grassy Key about 10 miles north of Marathon. The Center is a refuge for Dolphins that cannot be released into the wild either because of injuries or having been born at the center. The are in what appear to be restrictive pens but they are really not. If the dolphins, especially the males, want to visit another pen they do on a regular basis by simply pushing on the wire. The pens are connected directly to Florida Bay but the Dolphin never stray from home. During Hurricane Wilma the 10 foot surge flooded 5 feet over the pens and destroyed all the pier infrastucture. The trainers expected to have to go out and find (rescue) the 19 Dolphin. Instead amid the wreckage they found all 19 in what was left of the pens, all quite well.

Bear with me on the pictures, they are in reverse order so I will comment on them from the bottom up. (1) The dolphin love to show off as this one does as he floats by for the camara (2)&(3) The dolphins like to watch people as much as people watch them They will stay in one place for a long time and watch people watching them. (4) A beautiful peacok wandered the grounds. (5) We had dinner on the water as we waited for sunset; a good shot of Joe and Kay. (6) Finally a perfect sunset.

Joe and Kay's visit; John Pennykamp State Park 1/10/09

On Saturday we went up to Key Largo to John Pennykamp State Park, a marine reserve designed to protect some reefs. We took a glass bottom boat out to Molassas Reef and had some really good views of the corol reefs and sea life. Not much turned out well for pictures. The one here is the top deck of the boat, Joe and Kay on the left hand side.

Joe & Kay's Visit; Key West 1/9/09

Joe and Kay Brunt, friends for over 40 years, visited us. We spent Friday in Key West. It was a good day. Key West is a unique city in the United States. The residents are different; the city is full of roosters, six clawed cats, pigeons, and anything else that wants to wander into their favorite restuarant. Some pictures: (1)We found the Blue Heavan Restaurant for which Leslie and Julie gave Dixie a gift certificate for her birthday; didn't eat there today but obviously the resident cats enjoy it. (2) Joe and Kay in front of the Half Shell Bar (Chet's favorite restaurant in Key West), (3) an example of GM's quality problems and (4) a land based buoy marking the southern most point in the US

Mast Raising

The sailboat next to us has been in the renovation mode for 7 years. It was finally time to put up the mast so an electrical service crane was hired and up went the mast at dockside. Not something you see every day or even every year.