Cute little cottage in Old Town Key West

Sugarloaf Key: When we got up this morning it was already 77 degrees. I did some cleaning and Mike went over to play shoes. Grilled steaks for dinner. Went for a walk around the lake after dinner and saw a beautiful sunset. I think it got up to 84 today.

Sugarloaf Key: Sat outside and read my book for a while. Mike watched the Daytona 500 (yawn). A nice day—81.

Saturday, 2/16/08:

Randy in his Cher persona

Randy in his red headed persona

Sugarloaf Key: Mostly cloudy today, but really warm—low 80s. Just hung out and read my book. Mike watched the NASCAR race (yawn). Went to La Te Da for dinner and the drag queen show. Dinner was excellent and so was the show. Invited Terry and Floyd to go along. Had lots of drinks. Then stopped at Mangrove Mama’s on the way home and had more drinks. When we got back Debbie and Craig in the motor home across from us had their big screen TV out watching a movie so we sat over there for a while. I was really a mess. Stumbled home, threw up, and went to bed.

The old Navy hospital--circa mid-1800s

Hard to tell, but this is the shark. His head on on the right

Stingray

One of the entrances to the fort/castle

This thing is amazing. It has two rooms. He must stay here at times because there are a couple of chairs and an oil lamp and some tables and shelves. He's got cactus growing outside, a coconut palm, he's lined the walkway with rock. A lot of effort he has put into this place.

Boat that some Cuban refugees came over in

Sugarloaf Key: Off and running at 10:00 this morning. Stopped at the Sugarloaf Lodge for breakfast and then headed to Key West with the bikes. We biked from where Hwy 1 turns onto Roosevelt, past the beaches and down to Casa Marina—the hotel that Flagler built. On the way back we stopped and walked the nature trail that just reopened after Wilma. Wasn’t much of a trail. Biked out on the huge wharf just past the beaches. Stopped at one of the kiosks and bought some drinks and sat and watched people for a while. Continued biking back on the path along the sea wall and saw three sting rays, a shark, and some crabs. The water there is only a couple of feet deep. Followed the shark for quite a while and as soon as I got the camera out to take a picture he started heading for deeper water. Biked down to the Navy base hospital and took a picture of the really old hospital building. Must date back to the early 1800s. Then biked back to the truck and loaded up the bikes. There was a lot of F18 activity so we decided to head back to the little beach on the south end of the Naval air station on the way home to see if we could see them take off. Unfortunately, they weren’t using that runway. But I did get some pictures of the old boat the Cubans came over in and the fort/castle/house that some guy built. What a great day! Temps in the low 80s.

Lilly Pond, Hemmingway Home; Key West

Sugarloaf Key: A little chilly this morning. I sat out in the sun for a while. Too chilly in the shade. Started my new book, “Pillars of the Earth” by Follett. Went to Island Fish Co. on Marathon Key for Valentine’s Day dinner. Had a table by the water. I had snapper cooked in white wine/butter sauce. Mike had sea food pasta. Both were very good. Took home a piece of four berry pie for desert. Temps in the upper 70s today. Nice.

The lighthouse across from Hemmingway home

(rumor has it that it guided him home many nights after drinking at Sloppy Joe's)

Sugarloaf Key: I was just about to go outside and relax with my book when one of the guys from the campground came by and told us to turn on the Weather Channel—that there was a big storm coming. And boy it hit fast. Mike barely got the awning down and it hit. Lots of wind, some rain, but no thunder and lightning. The worst of it went by pretty quick. We just hung out and read/watched TV. Mike was on the computer. I put a roast in the oven. We had roast pork loin, southwestern mashed potatoes and squash for dinner. Mike put the awning back up and we settled in for the evening.

Schooner Appledore

The schooner Appledore we sailed on in Maine and Key West.

Sugarloaf Key: Rainy and stormy today. We actually had lightening and thunder a couple of times. Doesn’t happen very often. So, we hung out and read and watched TV. Dinner at the clubhouse tonight. Didn’t stay long. Supposed to be stormy for a couple of days. Still in the upper 70s though. Great!