Sat, 12/29/07

Sugarloaf Key: Floyd and Marty caught a bunch of mangrove snapper the other day so they decided to cook them up and invited us over also. So we headed to the grocery store to pick up some things since we’re bringing a green salad, a bottle of wine and a desert. Betty, Floyd’s wife, is doing the cooking. She’s an excellent cook. She prepared them Florentine style. I don’t know what that means, but it was delicious. After dinner we played Jokers for a while.

Wharfside--Historic Seaport, Key West

Sugarloaf Key: Drove into Key West and did the laundry this morning. The one in Key West is much better than the one in Big Pine Key. After that we stopped at the box office of the Tennessee Williams Theater and got a schedule. They have some good shows coming up. Went to Boondocks for their Friday pig roast and then played miniature golf. Mike usually beats me, but we actually tied. Came back and walked around the lake and watched the beautiful sun set. A fantastic evening—still in the 80s.

Red Bougainvillea

Sugarloaf Key: Went to the pool this morning. Had the whole pool to myself until Mike came over. Water not as warm as it could be, but was refreshing. Sat around the pool and read and sunned. Then we drove up to Big Pine Key and had lunch and picked up another Bougainvillea for our site. A white one this time for the picnic table. Played croquet with some of the girls. 83 today. Great!

Residence on Caroline St.; Key West

Wed, 12/26/07

Sugarloaf Key: Went for a walk this morning. Came back and made smoothies for breakfast. Relaxed and read my book—“Alaska” by Michener. A great read. Another beautiful day. 80s. Left-overs for dinner.

Brown Pelican--Historic Seaport, Key West

Tue, 12/25/07

Sugarloaf Key: Christmas day. Baked cranberry/orange bread to take over to the Christmas dinner today. Frosted the chocolate cake. Cleaned. At 3:00 we headed over. Sat with our friends Floyd and Betty from California and Marty and Donna from Michigan. They are both full-timers now. Had a great meal and then after cleaning up a bunch of us played Jokers. We were on the third game and the power went off. Guess it was out in the entire Keys. At least that’s what one of the guys said. Of course everyone was three sheets to the wind by then. Then someone started the rumor that the seven-mile bridge collapsed. That would be great because we’d be stuck here for a few years. When the power didn’t show signs of coming back on soon, we went over to Floyd and Betty’s campsite and played Spades for a while. Another beautiful day—in the 80s. A great Christmas. Late night.

Tall Ship Liberty Clipper--Historic Seaport, Key West

Mon, 12/24/07

Sugarloaf Key: Made a chocolate cake today to take to the Christmas dinner at the club house. Relaxed around the campsite after that. Talked to our friends David and Steven on the phone. Haven’t talked to them since we left St. Louis. Had baked chicken breasts for dinner.

Tarpon -- Wharf area in Key West

(about 6 ft. long!)

Drinks at B.O.'s Fish Shack

Pepe's Cafe--Oldest eating establishment in Key West

Sugarloaf Key: Decided to go into Key West this afternoon—to the historic seaport area. Walked around the wharf area for a while. A guy from one of the wharf-side restaurants was feeding the tarpon. These things are huge—6 ft. long. After walking around for a while we stopped at B.O.’s Fish Shack and had a drink. Then walked over to Pepe’s Café for dinner. We both had mahi mahi. Really good. Then we drove around Duval to check out the Christmas decorations. Pretty impressive. A beautiful night with a full moon. Still in the 70s at 8:00. Love it.