Trip to Sarasota

 

Sunset Saturday night

Yes, I sound like a broken record.....but....we decided to stay in Key West until Saturday. Cindy called and offered to help us take the boat straight from Key West to Sarasota. She took an 8+ hour bus trip down to Key West Friday afternoon. Friday night we met up with Doug and Chuck and had an early night. 

Saturday we checked out of the marina (again!) and were off the dock around 7:45. We originally thought that it would be a 30 hour trip, but once we were on the water, Bill did a few more calculations and we realized we would be into Sarasota by early morning. 

It was a perfect trip. The weather was great (a few showers and thunderstorms that we avoided), the wind was OK (we sailed most of Saturday afternoon before succumbing to the engine) the seas calm (beamy, but not bad). It was a stunning sunset and an even prettier moon set. Before the moon went down, the Gulf of Mexico was illuminated by the stars and orangey moon. 

Bill did the 9 pm - 12 am watch, Cindy and I did 12 to 3, Bill did 3-6 and we did 6-around 8, which is when we got close enough to the cut to get into Sarasota that we needed to get Bill up. Both the marina and Sea Tow told us that - yes, the channel was recently dredged, but no, there are no markers; use the sun. And sure enough, it was sunny enough to see the shallow spots. We had two bridges to get under a bascule and a fixed 65 footer. We haven't had to deal with fixed bridges in awhile, and held our breath the whole time. 

 

Sunrise Sunday morning

Despite living on a boat and traveling for more than a year, this was actually my first overnight trip. It was really nice to have Cindy there so I could sit with and learn from her during the watches. It was a good experience, and I do feel comfortable enough so that Bill and I could do an overnight by ourselves (although the more the merrier!) The water at night was beautiful; for me it was such a different experience being out there 'alone' (more or less) with the moon, the stars, and the flying fish. 

All in all, it was about a 26 hour trip. 

So now we are in Sarasota in our 'new home' where we will be for the next three months. We are in a great slip on the perfect dock and are happy to be here. 

Sunday afternoon Boyd drove from Boyton and we all went to dinner and are calling it an early night. Everyone is wiped from the trip and lack of serious sleep. 

 

Cindy getting ready to dock

More pictures of the trip

Vandenberg Sinking!

 

 

OK.... so we are STILL in Key West.... 

Late Tuesday night we got a call from Chuck asking if we wanted to stick around one more day to see the sinking of the Vandenberg. Bill and I were fortunate enough to be invited out on Brian's boat with Chuck, Patty, Doug, Dillon, and George. And we are so glad we stayed!!! It was incredible. 

The sinking happened around 10:20. The Vandenberg is a 522 foot decommissioned warship that was sunk in the Gulf of Mexico in order to make an artificial reef. The ship sank in less than 2 minutes.... it was actually quite amazing. There were a ton of news helicopters and hundreds of boats anchored to watch the sinking. We were less than a mile away so we had a great view. 

 

There is a great article on CNN.com on the sinking. Check it out! Here are a few more articles from the Associated Press, and Reuters. The video below is from CNN. 

After the sinking, we watched the mass exodus of boats and decided to stay anchored, hang out, and just enjoy the beautiful weather. 

This morning Bill and I were up at 5:45 ready to depart. Unfortunately the wind is out of the SE at 10-15 knots -- pushing us onto the rocks. There is a small gap between the breakwater and another docked boat, which we didn't feel comfortable navigating. Since we have about a 13 hour day ahead of us, we had to leave by 6:30-7:00 am at the latest in order to get to Marco Island before it gets too dark (we decided to stop in Marco Island on our way to Sarasota instead of doing it in one shot). So Bill made the executive decision to stay for another day. Later today when the wind dies down a little we will move slips so tomorrow morning we can leave early without any problems.  I think Key West is trying to tell us something.... she just doesn't want us to leave. We both really like it here and I am sure that we'll be back sooner rather than later! 

 

Here is a link to all of our pictures from the sinking. 

travel tips from real simple

 Last night I was reading the latest issue of Real Simple magazine and enjoyed a travel article titled "10 Things Every Traveler Should Do" by Pico Iyer. I am including a link to the short article because after traveling for over a year I agree that (most of) the ten things are great tips when traveling and wanting to get a true feel for the place you are visiting. Here are a few examples: 

Savor every moment from the first few hours..... I can honestly say that our first day in a new place is my favorite. We always seem to see and do more and are the most excited. It sort of sets the tone for the next few days.  For example, when we went to Savannah, neither Bill nor I had any idea that it would be the absolutely fabulous city that it is. We were so impressed with the beautiful parks, the small city vibe, the energy around the holidays, etc. that we decided to stay an extra day (which isn't unusual for us as you know, but that time we stayed because we wanted to see and do more of the sites instead of staying because we had chores or weather.) 

Embrace the prospect of being a tourist..... Sometimes Bill and I try to fit in and "act like locals." Other times, such as in Key West, everyone is a tourist and we have allowed ourselves to do "touristy" things -- like take an airplane tour of the island and visit Sloppy Joes for expensive drinks just because it is Sloppy Joes. Even after living in Boston for so many years I regret that I never acted like a tourist and always skipped the Duck Tours. Maybe this summer...  

Read the daily newspaper.... Reading the local newspaper really gives us an idea of what the place we are visiting has to offer. It gives us a chance to find out about local events and ideas on what to do while we are visiting. 

Leaving Key West

 

Our plan is to leave Key West early tomorrow morning (around 6:30) and head for Marco Island. We turned the boat around today in the slip with the help of the marina so we are all set to go in the morning. We have had a great time here and have enjoyed every minute of the sites, sounds, and people of beautiful Key West. 

Minimal Regatta

On Sunday afternoon Bill and I went to the Minimal Regatta held in front of the Schooner Wharf Bar in Key West. It was absolutely hilarious to see 47 boats race around 5 buoys. Each boat was handmade and was built out of one sheet of plywood, two 2x4s, fasteners, and one roll of duct tape. Some of the boats were incredible, others not so much. There were thousands of people there and we had a really great time. Several of the boats sank, most were cleverly painted/decorated. I think my favorite was the 10 year old who won his heat in a batman boat and costume. We took a ton of pictures..... 

 

 

 

The was a lot press was there.... here are some links to Reuters, KeysNet, Fox,

Flying

 

 

On Saturday Bill and I went for a 45 minute flight around Key West and the islands and reefs southwest of Key West in a Waco biplane. It was incredible. Neither Bill nor I had ever been in a biplane before. It is a strange feeling; you feel very 'exposed' with the wind blowing in your face. It was an amazing ride. Seeing the water from above was fantastic. The colors were so rich, the reef just awesome. We even flew over the marina. If you look closely you can see Mary Elizabeth next to the breakwater. Very, very cool. Afterwards we went to Sloppy Joe's for a cocktail and then had dinner on the boat. 

 

 

To see all of the pictures from our flight, click here. 

Sticking around

 

Bill and I have decided to stay in Key West until the low pressure system does something! We still haven't decided whether we are going to go straight from Key West to Sarasota (about 36 hours) or hopscotch our way up the West Coast. The other issue is that we aren't sure how we are going to get out of our slip. It's hard to explain, but we are on an outside slip next to the breakwater. So Bill will either have to back the boat out of the slip about 150 yards into the fairway, or we'll have to turn the boat around in the slip using lines and the bow thruster with the help of the dock hands. You can see from the picture below how tight of a squeeze it will be, especially since other boats are docked in the outside breakwater slips. 

Either way, we aren't worried about it now since we'll be here for another few days at least. And since it is Memorial Day weekend, I am sure that Key West will be especially fun/crazy/crowded. 

 

We continue to have fun in Key West. The weather has been mostly rain off and on with lots of wind, which of course we aren't complaining about! Bill and I met up with some of Cindy and Boyd's friends who live in Key West. Great people! We now know where to go for the best happy hour. Last night Bill participated in their Texas Hold'em tournament and had a good time. 

Today I went to the Key West Museum of Art and History. There were lots of exhibits on the maritime history of Key West as well as famous people who called Key West home -- Hemingway,  folk artist Mario Sanchez, shipbuilders, etc. Not bad. 

There were two cruise ships in port today so the streets were crazy. All cruise ships have to depart by sunset since the cruise ship dock is also Mallory Square, where all of the street performers are. Bill and I went to Mallory Square on Saturday night and saw a few good shows (jugglers, fire breathers, etc.)

Tonight we tried a sushi restaurant and just missed the downpour on the way back to the boat. There is something so cozy about being on the boat when it rains. And the lightning is spectacular.  

We have plans to go diving (Bill) and snorkeling (me) tomorrow so we are hoping the rain holds off until the late afternoon. Should be fun. There are several reefs around Key West. 

 

We have plans to leave for Sarasota on Thursday. We are not sure if we are going to do one straight shot (about 36 hours) or if we'll hopscotch. We are in no rush; our contract doesn't start in Sarasota until June 1 anyway. 

The air card came in the mail and Bill dealt with the installation "set backs" with the brilliant people from AT&T so we are now up and running with Internet again. Yeah! In the meantime, I dropped my phone and it shattered into a million little pieces. That too is now fixed. And we ordered another faucet which we (aka Bill) will install when we get a mail shipment (probably in Sarasota).  Life is good. 

Still... in... Key... West

 

Bill and I have been having a great time here. We rented scooters for a few days and were able to see the whole island (which isn't very big....) Bill has been to Key West more than a dozen times starting when he was in college up through his days in the Air Force. The Air Force and Navy would have air fights at Boca Chica and they would stay here in Key West at the Truman Navy Annex. So... Bill knows all the sites, restaurants, and beaches. Mary Alice has also given us good tips on restaurants to get to. 

 

We visited Fort Taylor and a few beaches on the scooter. It has been really, really hot during the days. 

 

One of my favorite things about Key West, which I think is different from anywhere else we have visited, is that there is live music all the time in almost every bar or restaurant. This would be a great place for a musician. We have enjoyed listening to all types of music from locals and visitors alike. 

 

We have decided to stay another week in Key West. Our contract in Sarasota doesn't start until June 1st and we are in no immediate rush to get to the West Coast (which we estimate will take about 4 days if we take our time and stop in Marco Island, etc.)

Our internet connection, or rather our air card that gives us an internet connection via AT&T is broken (again!!!!). Bill dealt with the AT&T folks this morning and they will send a new one to the marina here. In the meantime, we are using Bad Ass Coffee for their internet connection (and great coffee). Other "broken" issues include our faucet for the kitchen sink. I was doing dishes last night after dinner and the nozzle basically sheared off. Not sure how we are going to handle that one at the moment.... 

Hemingway House

 

Here are a few pictures of the Hemingway House and other sites that we saw this weekend. Yesterday Bill and I rented a scooter so we will be able to see parts of Key West that we can't easily walk to. We rented it fairly late in the day, drove around to a few beaches, and then went over to the Navy Annex. 

 

It was a lot of fun and we look forward to exploring more today. 

We had dinner on board last night and watched the Sox. What a great series against the Rays. We did find the "Southernmost Red Sox Nation" bar where we watched the Saturday game with fellow Sox fans! 

 

 

Beautiful sunset

 

Going..... 

 

Going.....

 

Going....

 

Gone! 

Sites of Key West

 

Bill and I had fun exploring more of Key West yesterday. We went to Sloppy Joe's for lunch and to listen to the bands (they have live music all day and night). We then walked all of Duval Street and saw the "Southernmost point in the United States." After we headed to Mallory Square and had an afternoon cocktail before the shows at sunset started. We caught the end of the Red Sox game and then headed back to Sloppy Joes for more music and dancing. It was a fun day.