At Roger's suggestion, I've put this on a separate thread. If this isn't OK, with Tyboo or DaNag, let me know, guys, and I'll go back to the other thread.
To answer a few questions: no, we haven't been in the water, yet; we have snorkle gear onboard. The water temp is 73-75º... warm by PNW standards, but not by my delicate comfort level. Not a lot of beachy kinda places in the Keys, and the reef offers protection for the Atlantic side, so I haven't seen anyone surfing.
Here's an update, with images for the last couple days...
With the boats in the harbor at Bahia Honda, we took a bus to Key West. Relatively easy, but not on any particular schedule... we waited for the bus across from the entrance to Bahia Honda. After a half hour, there was some consideration given to hitch-hiking.
When the bus finally came, I took this shot below.
Notice the guy behind Brent - I think he may be in the Witness Protection Program. The bus was easy - $2 for the 37 mile ride to Key West ($1 for older folks who's name I won't mention), another buck for the city bus to Old Town. We had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise and began the “Duval crawl”. We parted with Brent and Dixie for a few hours and spent our time with a walking tour of Old Town... lots of neat architecture, bed and breakfast homes, etc.
At 5:00, we met up with our friends at Mallory Square to watch the street entertainers perform. Here’s a shot of Joan explaining something to Brent and Dixie while a rooster listens in.
There were jugglers, acrobats, a sword-swallower, dog performer, a magician, musicians, vendors selling shirts, jewelry, food, artwork... a definite street fair atmosphere with the slightly irreverant twist that Key West provides. Years ago, it was mostly folks who gathered to watch the sun go down. While that is still the premise, there is an entire industry built up around “the Mallory Square Experience.” Yes, we did our part by putting money in the hats of the entertainers.
This is as close to sunset as we got. We have seen the illusive green flash a handful of times in the past, but it was not to be today - a cloud layer right at the horizon obsured the actual moment of sunset.
With the sun down, we made our way past the honky-tonks along the docks and back to our bus pick-up point. Fortunately the conversation was good, because the bus was over 45 minutes late. Also, I promised Dixie I wouldn't mention how she had a margarita and knocked over a bicycle rack... so, you didn't hear that from me. 8)
Back at the transfer place, we waited a bit less and caught the second to the last bus going north (yes, that was our plan - just in case we messed up, there would be one more chance). The character of the bus riders changed a bit by night - one guy with a chip on his shoulder tried to bully some kids; another guy made sure he didn’t. Life in the weird lane. We compared notes on the way home to see who walked the most today... I think it was a tie.
It was a beautiful night when we got off the bus: still around 70º at 9:00 pm, clear as a bell, and more stars than I remember seeing in a very long time. Breathtaking!
Friday, February 9th. Joan and I were up early, fed Molly the cat, and walked over to the showers. You really appreciate a leisurely shower after a week of “timing.” Back at the boat, Joan made us breakfast. While I took Molly for a walk on the dock, Joan got this shot of a blue heron not far from our boat.
I checked weather on the computer and we decided to make today a short treck - if you’re following along with your charts, we went 12 whole miles from the marina at Bahia Honda to an anchorage between Ram Rod Key and Little Torch Key. Aong the way, a local came up to us in his run about and asked if we knew where we were going; Joan assured him that, in spite of the shoals, we were on our way to anchor out. We are the only boats in this area.
The water is that beautiful clear turquoise the Keys are known for. We anchored in about 5 feet of water, easily able to see that the anchor got a good bite in the sand. Discovery is anchored a couple hundred feet or so away from us, and is fishing while I am writing this.
In case anyone is concerned, Molly has had lunch, made a couple laps around the coaming on the boat, and has settled in for a nap. I think I may do the same. Joan fixed us some sandwiches and we are relaxing in the cockpit. This is truly “island time.”
I may get out my guitar later, tune it up, and play a couple songs... after all, I did buy an official Jimmy Buffett guitar pick while browsing at Margaritaville.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
To answer a few questions: no, we haven't been in the water, yet; we have snorkle gear onboard. The water temp is 73-75º... warm by PNW standards, but not by my delicate comfort level. Not a lot of beachy kinda places in the Keys, and the reef offers protection for the Atlantic side, so I haven't seen anyone surfing.
Here's an update, with images for the last couple days...
With the boats in the harbor at Bahia Honda, we took a bus to Key West. Relatively easy, but not on any particular schedule... we waited for the bus across from the entrance to Bahia Honda. After a half hour, there was some consideration given to hitch-hiking.
When the bus finally came, I took this shot below.
Notice the guy behind Brent - I think he may be in the Witness Protection Program. The bus was easy - $2 for the 37 mile ride to Key West ($1 for older folks who's name I won't mention), another buck for the city bus to Old Town. We had lunch at Cheeseburger in Paradise and began the “Duval crawl”. We parted with Brent and Dixie for a few hours and spent our time with a walking tour of Old Town... lots of neat architecture, bed and breakfast homes, etc.
At 5:00, we met up with our friends at Mallory Square to watch the street entertainers perform. Here’s a shot of Joan explaining something to Brent and Dixie while a rooster listens in.
There were jugglers, acrobats, a sword-swallower, dog performer, a magician, musicians, vendors selling shirts, jewelry, food, artwork... a definite street fair atmosphere with the slightly irreverant twist that Key West provides. Years ago, it was mostly folks who gathered to watch the sun go down. While that is still the premise, there is an entire industry built up around “the Mallory Square Experience.” Yes, we did our part by putting money in the hats of the entertainers.
This is as close to sunset as we got. We have seen the illusive green flash a handful of times in the past, but it was not to be today - a cloud layer right at the horizon obsured the actual moment of sunset.
With the sun down, we made our way past the honky-tonks along the docks and back to our bus pick-up point. Fortunately the conversation was good, because the bus was over 45 minutes late. Also, I promised Dixie I wouldn't mention how she had a margarita and knocked over a bicycle rack... so, you didn't hear that from me. 8)
Back at the transfer place, we waited a bit less and caught the second to the last bus going north (yes, that was our plan - just in case we messed up, there would be one more chance). The character of the bus riders changed a bit by night - one guy with a chip on his shoulder tried to bully some kids; another guy made sure he didn’t. Life in the weird lane. We compared notes on the way home to see who walked the most today... I think it was a tie.
It was a beautiful night when we got off the bus: still around 70º at 9:00 pm, clear as a bell, and more stars than I remember seeing in a very long time. Breathtaking!
Friday, February 9th. Joan and I were up early, fed Molly the cat, and walked over to the showers. You really appreciate a leisurely shower after a week of “timing.” Back at the boat, Joan made us breakfast. While I took Molly for a walk on the dock, Joan got this shot of a blue heron not far from our boat.
I checked weather on the computer and we decided to make today a short treck - if you’re following along with your charts, we went 12 whole miles from the marina at Bahia Honda to an anchorage between Ram Rod Key and Little Torch Key. Aong the way, a local came up to us in his run about and asked if we knew where we were going; Joan assured him that, in spite of the shoals, we were on our way to anchor out. We are the only boats in this area.
The water is that beautiful clear turquoise the Keys are known for. We anchored in about 5 feet of water, easily able to see that the anchor got a good bite in the sand. Discovery is anchored a couple hundred feet or so away from us, and is fishing while I am writing this.
In case anyone is concerned, Molly has had lunch, made a couple laps around the coaming on the boat, and has settled in for a nap. I think I may do the same. Joan fixed us some sandwiches and we are relaxing in the cockpit. This is truly “island time.”
I may get out my guitar later, tune it up, and play a couple songs... after all, I did buy an official Jimmy Buffett guitar pick while browsing at Margaritaville.
Best wishes,
Jim B.
:beer