HIGHLIGHTS OF KEY WEST

March 1, 2018....As we prepare to wrap up our month long visit here in Key West, we want to post some pictures of our favorite memories....there are also some we have no pictures of...(thank goodness!)  We really have become Key Westers......Jane would opt to stay another month, but Capt Bob is ready for the Bahamas.....next part of this amazing journey....

Better Than Sex Dessert Restaurant...beyond description

Bob, Deb and Ken...(note Bob is handling the luggage)

Jane plays with the fountain in pool

Sunsets happened every night....just like clockwork!

Jane's dinner on Sunset Key...what a presentation

So many bars....so little time!!  We hit all the favorites!

The dolphins deserve another photo....never gets old!!

Bob and New Jersey Friends...had to fight to get HIS hat back!

A familiar sight thru out Key West!  

Jane on Dingy Ride...we did several

Bob is almost happy with his "little dingy"  misses his big one in storage!

Flowers brought from Colorado last May are blooming again...they love Key West also.

Jane at Birthday Dinner on Sunset Key!  Fabulous!

OH YEA...JANE ---AFTER ONE MONTH IN KEY WEST!!  Bet you didn't recognize her!!!

KEYS DISEASE!

Saturday, February 24

😱

We got the "keys disease"...before you panic it is not a rash or anything (!)  It means, or so my neighbor says,...that you really, really, like it here.

Key West is not all, or only, Duval Street with drunken young people, although there are a lot of those...  we avoid the weekends in the pool area here, sometimes it is a treat to watch, but mostly the music (??) drives us away.  Have we  become our parents??  But we have also discovered that Key West is a  wonderful, tropical, island space with outstanding weather, beautiful aqua water, tons of great places to eat, both casual and formal..., a thriving art community  (saw a local community musical that was great,  and have tickets to see George Winston, even took in a female impersonator, and most of the bars have entertainment of all sorts! ... from doo-wop girl groups to "clothing optional" bars...  (plus, we also get just a little crazy every now and then......see below)

Today we are renting a car, and tomorrow will go up the keys to Marathon for a looper get together.  This will also give us time and transportation to "provision up" for the Bahamas.  We will be able to get to the "outer areas" of the city to larger grocery stores.  The one in town, which we ride our bikes to, is expensive, so we get the basics there and have a large list for todays trip.  Most of the population here ride bikes, or take the free Duval Loop bus.   We rely on it daily to get us to shops, post office, etc.  We have met some nice people on the bus....everyone is usually in a great mood..(could be the sunshine and most are on vacation)...lots are from Michigan and we even met a couple who live in Saline! They were impressed to meet Bob, who designed their subdivision!  (made him feel good....fruits of his past labors)

Speaking of crazy pool antics.....Friends Deb and Ken Rogers came for a weekend visit....complete with lots of fun and even "beer pong".  Like Ken says, "when we went to college, we didn't have to play games to drink, we just drank"!  We also spent a considerable amount of time playing Euchre, our favorite card game from a previous life (when we were young and crazy...now we are just crazy!)  It was quite a battle between Jane and Ken vs. Bob and Deb...  winners?? it depends on who you talk to..... The Rogers showed us all their favorite places on and off Duval St....and we had a great time...We hope to connect up again somewhere in the Bahamas.

Properly attired complete with straw hats!

Rogers showed us their favorite breakfast spot.....SO good, especially the bloody Marys that made the wait time go fast....

After a yummy breakfast, complete with "cinnamon crunch" shots...(ordered by capt Bob)...Jane and Deb went shoe shopping and the guys continued on down Duval.....

Bob meet a new friend on the street.....the women should have never let the guys go off on their own!  Now Bob wants a dog and has a plan for his next job!  This was after a few more day time shots!  Bob is smiling and having a great time....who knew daytime drinking was this much fun!

Jane waves good bye to the Key West Ferry taking the Rogers back home to Treasure Island.....see you soon!  (after we rest up!)   A good time was had by all!  See you in the Bahamas!

KEY WEST

Captain Bob is now referred to as "Key West Bob".  He has his "mile marker one" charm on a gold chain and wears a straw hat!  I love this guy!!  A "little" more relaxed and lays by the pool (could have something to do with the pool view, but I love that he comes to pool with me)

We arrived here Wednesday, Feb 7.  Had a one night stop in Marco Island before deciding a little late in day (10am) to take off for Key West.   Had a wonderful ride for about the first 5 1/2 hours across, and then the last 1 1/2 hour we had quite a ride.  Waves splashing over bow making it hard to see out window, but with the trusty first mate, (me) we avoided the crab pots, of which there were many!!  WHO puts the pots out sooooo far in the ocean?   And I really want to pull a few up and see if they are full of crabs.  The whole idea intrigues me, and while I was calmly relaxing those first 5 hours, I thought I might get a job on a fish boat (when I grow up)....but once we hit rough seas, I changed my mind....(so I'm a fair weather boater!)

Finally it feels like a "real vacation"!  We will be here for a month, so we have time to relax and the first thing (the old) Capt Bob did was completely strip the back sunporch and power spray every piece of furniture and the floors etc!  I have come to the point where I don't care if he wants to work his butt off every day,  but this hindered me getting OFF the boat and heading for the pool......So, I gave in and took all the covers off all the cushions and washed them...  I do have to say that it looks as good as the day we bought the boat.  Finally Captain Bob turned into Key West Bob and is starting to unwind somewhat.

We are in Conch Harbor Marina.   We have only 1 other looper boat in this marina with us, but lots more in the adjoining marinas.  We had a "crawl" the other night.....visited 2 boats and had a good time getting reacquainted with boats we had crossed paths with previously.  Several are already on their way out and over to Bahamas.   We are here for a month and so happy.....our marina is more a "fishing boat" marina and not as crowded as the ones we visited the other night....we also have the pool (as mentioned) and FREE laundry facilities....that overlook the pool.   Not a bad place to clean your clothes.  Already thinking we will come here next year(!)....Ha.  People ask all the time  what we will do when loop is finished.....we haven't figured that out yet....!  Just enjoying the moment.

Every day has been sunny and warm....not much humidity if you stay near the water...and rain is predicted every night, but we haven't seen a drop.  The big topic of discussion is the "snow back home"...and there are lots of Michiganders here.  Saw several last evening on our first trip down to Duval Street.....what a place, and the later it gets the crazier it gets.  We left about 8:30pm..no wonder so tired today......!  Hey, we were there at 6pm to see the sunset off Mallory Square.  Happened into a bar that had a great girl group (3) singing all 60's doo wap.  The "early" show....no wonder all the people in there were our age!  It was tons of fun....Key West Bob even had a drink.

So today its back to the same old grind.....off to the pool!  THIS is the looper life style I signed up for!

Getting Warmer!

Captain Bob just came to galley and said "you know its warm when the dinghy is fully inflated".....woohoo.  I see people sitting on back of boats having coffee and Bob says it "is hot and sticky"!   WE HAVE ARRIVED!   Finally.......warm weather.

We are in Burnt Store Marina in Charlotte Harbour.  We left St Pete on Friday and took a short ride to Anna Maria Island.  Sticker shock took over as we paid the most ever for one night on their gas dock....remember, this is my boat, my bed, my sheets, etc....why then does it cost so much to tie to a dock??? (think a very nice hotel in Michigan)...  Supply and demand here in West Florida, but we had memorable evening....(memorable is defined as being special or unusual....)  it was unusual to find Bob sitting at a beachside table with a bunch of people he didn't know (half in the bag....the people, not Bob) and having a great time!  The next morning we departed, when the tide allowed, and traveled 8 hours to Burnt Store....the last hour was a challenge.  We hadn't had waves and water like this since the great lakes I believe.....we were glad to arrive and hit the bar... AFTER our much needed rinse off of LeReve.  She gets so sticky in this salt water!

One couple who saw us "land"....mentioned they were impressed by our docking.....calling it "quite a process".  Not sure what that meant, but I said "its not our first rodeo"...(I LOVE that expression, especially since my daughter and friend dressed up her newborn in a shirt that said ...."this IS my first rodeo" ......and took her to the county rodeo!!...ok back to boating!....This marina is far superior to the Anna Maria one at a half the cost.....go figure?.... am I starting to sound like the "retiree" than I am?? haha.

We spent 2 weeks in St. Pete.....had a great time.....This picture was after a 3 bottle wine lunch with my Bible Study Best Friends.  We all lived in the same "hood" when this was home to us...Sandi, Lauri, Denise and mother Jane.  What a group!..long story behind the "flamingo" shirt... (and we did have a legit Bible Study, and IT HAS carried each and everyone of us through the valleys, some deeper than others, but we will all attest that it is our Lord and our friendships that bind us just as deep.

Speaking of this group, Bob and I are SLOWLY making our way out of Anna Maria Island area, and this go-fast boat flies by us, and the girl on the back is screaming......."THAT'S JANE.....JANE!!"
Here is was my friend Sandi and her husband!  They were on their way on a boat weekend get-away to celebrate his birthday!

We also had the usual best time with best friends, Ken and Deb Rogers.   They have been our friends forever!  Their son, who is 35 reminded us that we were HIS AGE, (actually younger), when we started hanging out together and doing crazy family vacations together.....where did those years go and how did he get older than we are??? (He, like our kids, is married with a son of his own!)...Why did we not take a picture of them for my blog?   Oh, ... because it was so windy and rocky when Ken and Deb came to dinner on LeReve that we could hardly keep the plates on the table, let alone focus a picture.....we do however have 
a pic of Capt Bob winning the Pot of Gold jackpot at their local weekly Bingo game!!

We went through 3 rental cars in 2 weeks.....first one a/c didn't work, 2nd one had a flat tire the morning after we traded out the 1st one....it is difficult enough to remember what kind of car you are driving and where it is parked, without changing it out every day!  ha....(memory retiring also!)  When we are somewhere for over a week or so, we like to rent a car.  Especially when we have lots of jobs to do  (ie: several trips to West Marine and hardware stores!)

Here is a pic of the Sunshine Skyway Bridge we went under as we left Tampa Bay.....quite a site off the bow of our little boat....




We once again had lots of dolphins swimming along side us and enjoying our wake.  I will attempt  to get a video of it, but I get so excited at seeing them so close I could pet them that I forget the camera!  We have figured out when they will swim with us...they jump in front of our bow, go under and show up along side of us....amazing.

While in St Pete we took a ride across the bay to the TECO plant....this is where the manatee hang out in the warm water of the plant....because the bay has been so cold there were hundreds of the big sea cows....they looked like baked potatoes in the water!

This one has a baby on each side

We are off to the pool to enjoy the "SUPER" day here before the big game!

THE CROSSING

We made it, we did it, we accomplished it, we are here and we are tired!

We left Apalachicola, Florida at 1:30pm  (a little earlier than planned, all of us got antsy)  Arrived at east pass at 4pm where we to join up with a few boats from Carrabelle (they had also gotten antsy) so they had left ahead of us.  We were 3 boats traveling together that we called the "Clearwater group"....then we had the "Tarpon Springs Group" behind us with another 3 or more boats.   We did this in groups (depending on where you were headed) and had a hourly check in process that put us in contact with our group once every hour thru the overnight.....It worked great and even helped the time go by as we were anticipating "the roll call".

We saw our last sliver of land and a beautiful sunset.....

Capt Bob had installed heat up to the cockpit so we weren't cold....except when he took this picture of me trying to sleep!

I did sleep off and on thru out the night, but up at the helm (just in case help was needed----refer back to the pic of me sleeping)  In between naps, I did manage to serve us a stew that I had going in the crock pot and then around midnight, made up another crock pot breakfast casserole.  So even though I wasn't much help at the helm, I did keep our mouths full and our morale up!

It wasn't as dark as I anticipated it would be.  We had a sliver of a moon, that disappeared into the darkness (where does the moon go??) and then a splendid array of stars that did reflect off the water....which by the way was FLAT!  We couldn't have asked for more perfect water pattern!  All our days of waiting for the "perfect cross" was worth it!   It did get just a little choppy for just a couple hours about 4AM, not too bad, but did make us happy when it calmed down again.  I said I was glad we didn't have that the whole trip, as it is DARK and hard to tell where the waves are coming from.

Instrument panel in dark....get your eyes adjusted!

I must say, Captain Bob did an EXCELLENT job of "co-piloting"  LeReve (auto pilot)....and she ran beautifully the entire 24 hours straight that the trip took!!   (that has something to do with Capt Bob also)..... and we burned much less diesel than anticipated.

Once day break appeared....a few hours later than I thought it would, but I am not awake for many daybreaks.....Bob finally said "I have to rest my eyes"....and I did take the wheel (along with auto pilot) and as long as I could see the water in front of us, felt confident with him sleeping just a few feet away.  After a brief rest, he took the wheel again to navigate us thru the countless\endless crab traps that are floating in and around the inlets to the intercoastal waterway.  It is all true what we were told about not arriving before daybreak as they would be impossible to see in the dark and you do NOT want them wrapped around your prop.

 We arrived at John's Pass, just south of where we parted ways with our "Clearwater group" and bid them a fond farewell..... we will miss the "looper" friends we had spent sooooo many cold nights with, both in Panama City Beach and Apalachicola. But, we know our paths will cross again (hopefully in daytime) in the spring, as we all make the trek up the east coast.  People say that the friends you make are the best part of this trip.....and by experience, we would have to agree!

This is Jane with Mark and Laurie (off "Ladybug") at the Apalach Oysterfest a week ago.  Note the winter coats!  But good food and sunshine.....don't let the sun deceive you......we experienced nights of 25 degrees!

Once we were in the intercoastal waterway we met "new friends".....lots of them, eager to swim alongside us!  It is something to see!..they love to swim in our wake and put on quite a show!

We arrived at the "Venoy" yacht basin, downtown St. Petersburg, about 1:30 pm.....24 hours since our engines started and ran non stop.  Once we docked and checked in, we decided to forgo the "Bacon and Beer Fest" going on in the adjoining park and opted for a much needed rest!

We will "plan" (that awful word) to stay here a few weeks.....Lots of former friends to visit and share stories!  Then on to Key West for new ones.  Now that we have "crossed" we almost feel like real "loopers"!! ...not sure I want to do it again, but hey, it's like child birth!

Thank you Lord for such a wonderful crossing and watching over us along this whole trip!....Thank you to our "pray warriors" also.  Keep praying!

Finally moving on to southern Florida...we hope!

This morning Chief Stew (Jane) and I are enjoying what promises to be our last day on the 'Forgotten Coast' of Florida. We are in Apalachicola (26 degrees last night), and we are scheduled to leave with a caravan of boats for Clearwater at 2pm tomorrow (Friday).

We have enjoyed the panhandle immensely. We have re-acquainted ourselves with PCB, and gotten to know Apalachicola (and several loopers in waiting) during our 7 day stay here. Very proud fishing (oysters) history here...as opposed to 'little drinking village with a fishing problem'. We have expansive views of brackish river and marshlands emptying in to the Gulf of Mexico. We have been in the panhandle area for 67 days now, having spent nearly 30 days of that in Michigan with family.

Christmas Tree in Le Reve at PCB

So what does one do with the other 37 days?

In addition to the trips to 'the PIG' (Piggly Wiggly) in the marina golf cart, light shopping in nearby town, two rounds of golf in PCB, several movie outings (loved Molly's Game), Happy Hour with other loopers, occasional dinner in the town, and a couple days on the beach back when it was warm....Captain Bob has had a couple projects:

• Installed mounts and extension to hold my tablet with Navionics software at the helm that is removable and fitted to a suction mount in the dinghy. I LOVE my Navionics charts and now I can use them on Le Reve, or in the dinghy.

Helm Tablet Mount

• Routed Salon A/C and Heat to the helm area in the flybridge. Originally intended to keep us a bit cooler on very hot/still days, this will be much appreciated for the heat when we cross the gulf in 35 degree temps!

New Helm HVAC Diffuser

• Sanded and oiled the time worn teak parquet floor in the galley.

Reconditioned Teak Galley Floor

• Replaced sundeck refrigerator/freezer/ice maker.
• Measured/sourced/ordered rolled teak and holly flooring to spruce (excuse the pun) up the two heads.
• Sanded and re-oiled the teak swim platform to good as new.

Reconditioned Swim Platform and Stairs

• Replaced the seawater rubber impeller on the starboard engine as routine maintenance, Old one was in good shape, so deferred changing the port engine impeller until in get to a marina and let them deal with the much smaller space on that side.
• Replaced 10 zinc anode rods on the engines and transmissions.

Science lesson.

The zinc is less stable than the valuable steel engine parts such as rods, crankcase, pistons, etc. There is always stray current in the water, especially saltwater, and this current will corrode steel...damaging the engines. These zinc rods are a 'sacrificial' metal that is designed to corrode before the steel will, thereby protecting the engine metals. These must be changed monthly now that we are saltwater.

• Washed air filter elements.
• Disconnected the 'Lo Water Temp' alarm on the Depth/Temp/Speed indicator. It is an original instrument (28 years old) and sending a false alarm that disturbed the Chief stew...I couldn't hear it! After fussing with it for a full day and talking with the repair service, we determined best to just disconnect the alarm. Much to do about nothing.
• Rigged a second anchor.
• Repaired display face on the Windlass display panel.
• Removed unsightly old caulk around rub rail (over 100').
• Removed old caulk around helm and re-caulked.
• Removed, resealed and replaced dinghy cradle on top on sundeck.
• Removed, resealed deck hatch window (grandson Ben's favorite escape route from the front stateroom).
• Many trips to hardware, West Marine, Caterpillar and other stores for materials. 

View from our dock at Apalachicola

 

So, on to SW Florida. This will be a 180 mile voyage from Apalachicola, through East Pass near Carrabelle, and then directly to Clearwater Pass. We will leave our dock in Apalachicola at 2:30 pm on Friday, and arrive at Clearwater Pass around 10:30 am on Saturday. Yes, this will be an overnight voyage, because we must depart and arrive in daylight. We will be asea for 20 hours at  9.5 MPH. Once we arrive through Clearwater Pass we will proceed another 20 miles to the                  Venoy Marina in the heart of St Pete. We will have FINALLY arrived in St Pete on January                20th...not December 12, as we had planned.

All is good, and I am loving every minute of this adventure.

Happy New Year to all,

Captain Bob

Is this REALLY Florida?

As of this morning, Captain Bob claims he has worn his long underwear more on this trip than he ever did when we lived in Colorado!  Probably True.  It is FREEZING.

We DID move the boat on Thursday and are presently in Apalachicola, Florida .....home of OYSTERS!  In fact, today there is an Oyster Fest.....the presenters are setting up this morning in 30 degree weather, and we are hunkered down below with all the heaters going.  We left Panama City Beach Thursday morning in extreme fog, hung out in the mouth of the bay until it lifted so we could at least see the front of boat, and as the sun got brighter, conditions got better and we had a good trip until we got to Apalachicola where the fog set in again.....lifted enough so we could find our marina and slip.  The highlight of the trip were the several pods of dolphins that would dive in front of our boat and then come up behind us and jump in our wake.  It was very entertaining!  If I hadn't been so engrossed with them, I would have taken pictures.....next time!   It felt good to get the engines going again and be moving.  We decided to come this far and wait for a window to cross.  One is suppose to open on Monday eve, Tuesday....(although we have heard those promises before, this one is looking better each day)  We are traveling with one other boat at this point, but think there are others in different marinas here waiting also.  We both felt we needed a change of view, after spending 6 weeks in PCB....and that we did get....It is very much a "working" shoreline here along the riverbanks, meaning the marinas are far from deluxe, usually just a tie up with electricity.  We have the luxury of a complimentary golf cart!!   Could be because their bathroom (singular) is 3 blocks down!  So happy for the onboard bath facilities on LeReve.  The downtown is within walking distance and there are lots of oyster bars, an ice cream shop, complete with old soda fountain atmosphere, and some nice shops.  Yesterday was a nice day (sandals, not gloves) so we "toured" the town.   Want to get out to the farmers market this morning but haven't gotten up the courage to think of leaving the warmth of the boat just yet.  Some call this adventure "chasing 80"  as in degrees.....right now we would settle for 60 or even 50s!!    brrrrrr.