Day 48 - New Year’s Eve and the Conch Shell Drop

The day started with a walk to Hemingway House for a tour.  We figured the lines would be shorter earlier in the day and we were right.  We walked right in.  One of the most famous aspects of the house and grounds are the cats that live there.  It seems Hemingway was superstitious, and when he found a six-toed cat, he wanted to keep it for good luck.  Today there are 45 descendants of that first cat here, 23 of which have 6 toes.  There are signs all over the house asking you not to sit on the furniture, but the cats can, and they do!  Outside there is a cat cemetery.  Hemingway was very prolific during his years in Key West, and he wrote in a small studio building behind the main house.  The pool was put in by his second wife, Pauline, after he left for Europe with the woman who would become his third wife.  She replaced his boxing ring with a very large (for the time) and expensive swimming pool. 

 

 

 

 

 

By now the morning clouds broke for some welcome sun.  Our next was at the Key West Legal Rum distillery.  David from Philadelphia opened the place on Christmas Day 2013, so we were among his first customers.  He had 2 rums for us to taste, original and vanilla.  Both were very smooth due to the fact that they are made from sugar cane and not molasses (according to David).  The only one we could buy was the original, so we did.

 

The Key West Winery is right next door, so we stopped in there too.  We tasted 4 wines and bought 2 – Hurricane and Blackberry.  This was enough shopping for Randy, so he puttered around the boat, then walked back through the Seaport to the only store he gets excited about, West Marine.  I went back into town and bought some sandals at the Kino Sandal factory, where they make the sandals right there.  I also decided on some sunglasses to replace those that I lost when I went “swimming” in Longboat Key and picked up a couple other items.

Our New Years Eve reservation was at Azur, an intimate local restaurant that I mentioned previously.  They served a four course dinner and there were a few selections you could make for each course.  The food was excellent again with some delicious sauces and flavors.

 

Later we joined the crowd on Duval Street to watch the Conch Shell drop on the roof of Sloppy Joe’s at midnight.  We yelled out the final countdown and very much appreciated spending the evening in summer clothes and sandals rather than freezing in Chicago. 

 

 

From there we went to the Smoking Tuna, just off Duval for a drink and some music before calling it a night.

  

 

 

Day 47 - Key West - What's it Take to Get A Cab Around Here?

Another cloudy morning, so I did more laundry while Randy did some “boat stuff”.  Then we called a cab to take us to Publix, the local grocery store, to restock some of our supplies.  Our driver arrived in about 10 minutes, but warned us of how busy they were due to the holiday and all the tourists.  We completed our shopping and called the cab company for a ride back.  After waiting a half hour, Randy called to check on the cab.  First he was told that a driver had been there a minute after our call – wrong!  We had been standing outside all along. The dispatcher aid he would try to find another cab to pick us up – after another 15 minutes, he admitted that he could not find anyone to come get us.  In the meantime, I was investigating the bus stop and got ahold of a schedule and Randy called another cab company.  We were about to walk to the bus stop when the second cab company showed up.  We had now waited an hour and were very happy to see the cab.

By the time we got back to the boat and stowed everything, the sun was out so we decided to go to the pool.  We lounged there for a couple of hours, soaking up the sun.  Then it was back to Mallory Square.  I had a great Mojito from the outdoor Westin bar.  From there we wandered into Rick’s, a very basic bar that also had live entertainment.  Rick’s serves a lot of rum.  They feature a 32 ounce rum bucket, which seems like a lot of rum to me.  But wait, someone came to the bar and ordered a rum bowl; a glass container the size of a fishbowl, that contained cherry rum and well, he didn’t really know what else was in it.  It came with 2 straws and he took it back to a table to share.  I don’t know how they managed to walk out of Rick’s after that!

 

 

We capped off the night with a flatbread pizza at the Rum Barrel and, of course, more rum drinks.  This is becoming all too easy…….. 

 

Day 46 - Key West - What's Up With This Rain in Key West?

The day started out cloudy so Randy took care of some personal business and I took care of some laundry.  We made dinner reservations for New Years Eve, New Years Day, and a lunch.  New Years Eve was especially tough due to all the people in town, but we managed to secure a reservation at Azur, a Mediterranean restaurant recommended to us by Megahnne Downes (who also recommended Schooner’s Wharf and Santiago’s Bodega, where we went for lunch).

We walked to Truman’s White House, a Key West home built on Navy property where Truman spent close to 200 days during his terms as president.  It was an interesting tour and it is certainly easy to see why Truman wanted to spend so much time in Key West.  As we left, it began to sprinkle lightly.  In addition to the stray cats that wander Key West, chickens and roosters also wander, and we ran into some near the Post Office. We walked to the Bahamian Village to eat at Santiago’s Bodega.  The menu was all small plates and we shared several, including grouper, tuna ceviche, shrimp and chorizo, and Brussels sprouts.  Randy even ate a few of the sprouts!  This restaurant is excellent – a little off the beaten path, but well worth it.

 

Hemingway House is not far from Santiago’s, so we thought we would go there next.  There was a line to get in and now it was raining harder.  So instead we went to the Lighthouse Museum.  We snatched up the last 2 poncho they were selling for $2 to keep us dry.  We climbed he 88 steps to the top and could see the whole island from there.  The old lighthouse keeper’s house was also part of the museum and we toured that too.

 

Due to the clouds and rain there was not much of a sunset celebration.  One brave performer was giving a show.  We went to Captain Tony’s and had pirate punch instead.  Captain Tony was a famous resident of Key West, mayor and bar owner.  This was the original location of Sloppy Joe’s, which is now on Duval Street.  Jimmy Buffet used to hang out here and write songs.  All of this is documented in framed news articles that are hung on the walls.  Outside, the sign that hangs above the doorway includes an open-mouthed fish.  People stand with their backs to the sign and try to throw a coin into the fish’s mouth.  Cheers broke out with successful throws.

The rain had stopped by now and we went back to the boat and relaxed for awhile.  Later we walked the harbor boardwalk to the Conch Bar for appetizers, drinks, and more live music.  What fun is this!

 

Day 45 - Marco Island to Key West - We Reach Our Goal!

When we first started planning our Loop last spring, one of our goals was to me in Key West for News Eve.  100 miles of open water now separated us from that goal.  The day started out cloudy and slightly cooler as we pulled lines from the dock at 8:05 a.m.  We navigated the channel with the charter fishing boats.  We passed by the Snook Inn where we ate with our friends the day before.  Waves on the Gulf started at about 1 foot, building to 2 -3 feet with an occasional 4, then settling back to all 2 footers.  The high speed ferry left Marco Island at 8:30 a.m. and it passed us at 9:18 p.m.  We saw two other boats that appeared to be traveling to Key West; one stayed with us for a while, then speeds ahead; the other is a larger trawler and we pass it.  Crab pots are in this area, but not as many as in other places we have been.  About 20 miles from Key West we saw a shrimper, then more fishing and pleasure craft as we draw closer.

Galleon Marina is the first Marina off the channel on the north side of the island, and we pulled in at 1:05 p.m.  The weather is now warm and sunny and we eagerly walk into town for lunch.  Key West is overflowing with people!  All the hotels are full and 2 cruise ships are docked.  We ate at Caroline’s on Duval at Caroline Street.  We shopped our way to Mallory Square for the sunset celebration.  After watching the sunset, Randy got a chair massage to relieve the stress in his back from steering the boat around crab pots.  The famous cat show is now over by the Westin Hotel and by the time we got there, the main show was over.  We saw a few minutes demonstration by the 1 year old cats who were in training.  No worries as we would be here for 5 days and could catch the show another night.

We walked along the water through the Old Seaport neighborhood, where several marinas and restaurants are located.  We had appetizers and drinks at Schooner’s Wharf – drunken shrimp and seafood chowder, and the best rum runner Captain Randy had so far on the trip.  The live music was also very good and this was a fun place to top off our first night in Key West.

 

Day 44 - Naples to Marco Island - Perfect Timing!

After breakfast on the boat, Captain Randy washed the boat and checked on the wind and wave conditions to Marco Island and Key West.  We stopped in the clubhouse to use the internet.  Almost all of the marinas we have visited offer internet service, but it tends to be very slow on the dock.  So apologies again for getting behind on blogging, but it can be very time-consuming with the slow service, especially uploading pictures.  We walked back to the Tin Shed area and 5^th Street for a daytime look and pictures.  One of the stores had a cat wandering inside their display windows and I couldn't resist taking it's picture.

At 11:32 a.m. we left Naples and I texted our friends Jen Finkl and John Koutoupis, who we had planned to meet up with in Marco Island.  Jen, her 2 kids Ally and Nick, and John had flown in Naples the night before.  They were in a rental boat on the way to Marco too. They were travelling on the ICW but we went out to the Gulf so we would not have to continually slow down for small boats.  I let them know where we were docking and we agreed to meet up there.

It was another beautiful day in paradise and only 1 foot waves on the Gulf.  South of Naples the visible shoreline was sand and trees.  As we neared Marco Island, more homes came into view.  We took the Capri Pass off the Gulf into the ICW and there were our friends!  Despite our different routes, we all arrived at the entrance to the channel to Marco Island at the same time.   We were excited to meet up with friends again on our trip! They followed us to our marina in Marco, The Marina at Factory Bay.  More floating docks made the First Mate very happy.  The six of us sat on Kristin Says, watching a dolphin who swam around the boat for several minutes, giving us quite a show.  We could see that he had a fish in his mouth.

 

 

John ferried us over to the Snook Inn Restaurant and Chickee Bar for lunch.  Some of us had very tasty grouper sandwiches and Ally got the key lime pie she had been wanting.  At the gift shop, Jen bought us a Snook Inn Christmas ornament for the tree on our boat.  John dropped us back at our boat and they went back to Naples.

We walked to Café de Marco for dinner.  Randy had their specialty, giant prawns and I had a seafood “stir-fry” dish.  Both were excellent.  We have had wonderful seafood since we hit the Gulf in Mobile, so good that we don’t want to order anything else.

 

Later, Randy did some laundry and I hung our new ornament on our tree, very special as it was given by a friend.  What a perfect day!

Day 43 - Sanibel to Naples - A Long Journey by Land and Sea

We got an early start today because we have a lot of miles to cover.  First, we are off to North Miami to drop off our friends Chuck and Pam at their Mercury dealer – they have had new engines put on their boat – then across the state to Sanibel and our boat.  Clearly the post Christmas crowds have arrived as Sanibel Island was very crowded.  We did not have a chance to explore the island, but liked what we did see.  We "checked out" with the dock master and left the dock at 2:25 p.m..  We left the ICW and ran near the shore on the Gulf to Naples, passing the Sanibel Lighthouse on the southern tip of the island.

The day started cloudy and drizzly, but turned partly sunny and warm in the afternoon, and the water was calm.  There were not too many crab pots so we had more time to watch the scenery.  Lots of older midrise hotels and condos line the shore, with more large homes as we drew closer to Naples.  The Municipal Pier appeared just before the Gordon Pass, our inlet from the Gulf, and we followed the Gordon River a few miles to our destination, the Naples Boat Club.  The River is a flurry of boating activity; fishing boats, tour boats, private boats, large and small were all around us.  More gorgeous homes line the town side of the river while low trees and beaches line the other side.

 

 

We get to the marina fuel dock at 4:30 p.m., waiting a few minutes for another boat to finish fueling.  The dock master directed us to a large slip with floating docks and cleats – hooray!  The well-maintained marina has a very nice clubhouse and small pool.  The only downside is that it is right in the airport flight path and regional jets roar over our heads.  Living near O’Hare Airport, it was nothing new to us!  Later we walked to the Tin Shed area of Naples for dinner at Pincer’s Crab Shack.  Tin Shed is the older section of Naples and the buildings likely were used for packing and shipping seafood in the past.

 

After dinner we walked over to 5^th Street, the “main drag” of Naples.  Tons of restaurants with sidewalk seating dominate, with upscale shops mixed in.  The crowds have arrived here too and almost every seat is filled.  I heard many different languages, so Naples seems to be a popular spot with foreign tourists.  Naples is a much larger and more developed “resort town” than where we had been so far in Florida, from the Panhandle down the west coast.