The original Sloppy Joe's

Blue Hole

Weather balloon, or spy balloon???

Tue, 12/16/08

Sugarloaf Key: A beautiful day. I set up a pot roast in the crock pot for dinner tonight. Mike worked on the bikes. Ended up taking them to the bike shop on Big Pine. He needed new tires and a new seat and my rear wheel had to be adjusted. Also stopped at the thrift shop and bought some books. Relaxed outside reading for a while. The warm sun felt so good. The iguanas were very active. After dinner we watched a DVD we rented, “Trans Siberian”. Very good movie.

Key West Bight

Mon, 12/15/08

Sugarloaf Key: Had breakfast this morning at the Galley Grill—formerly Captain Crossbones. We’re glad to see it reopened as we used to frequent the place a lot. Mike wanted to stop at the facility which houses the “weather/spy” balloon since it was really low this morning. He took a couple of pictures and we headed over to Big Pine to do some grocery shopping and decided to stop at the Blue Hole on the way. They’ve extended the bike path on this road all the way to the shopping center where we buy groceries, so we can park in their lot and bike all the way to the end. We usually see a lot of key deer here also. And there’s a hiking trail at the end. There were also some improvements at the Blue Hole. They paved the parking area, painted the deck out over the water, and added some more signage. The couple working there turned out to be from our campground. They’re right across the lake from us. We mentioned we were planning on going to Utah and Arizona this summer which prompted a long conversation on some of the better places to go in Utah. They’ve spent a lot of time there. We’re going to get together with them and get some pointers. These two (Ray and Bonnie) are volunteers and work at the Blue Hole one day a week, maintain the trails around the area, and Ray volunteers at the Eco Center in Key West one day a week. Busy people. After grocery shopping we discovered that Floyd and Terry had returned and were just getting set up. Talked to them a little bit and then back home to put everything away and relax a little bit before happy hour. We went over early and had a great time catching up with people returning for the winter and getting to know some people here for the first time. A beautiful day today--low 80s.

Staircase is cast iron

Historic Key West City Hall

Sun, 12/14/08

Sugarloaf Key: Another iffy day today. The sun would be shining one minute and then it would cloud up and start sprinkling. Ended up hunkering down all day. Did some cleaning. Watched Jeremiah Johnson in the evening. A great movie.

Tiki Hut at Sugarloaf Lodge

Sat, 12/13/08

Sugarloaf Key: Another cool and breezy day. Too windy to sit outside and read. Stayed inside most of the day watching old Lucy episodes. They are still funny even today. After dinner we walked around the lake. Wind is dying down. Tomorrow is supposed to be warmer.

Fri, 12/12/08

Sugarloaf Key: Cool and windy today. Washed out some things and hung outside to dry. Stayed in most of the day. In the afternoon we decided to go see “Australia” and dashed out of here at the last minute. When we got to the cinema they had changed the time. We would have had to wait an hour to see “Australia”, so we decided to see “The Day the World Stood Still”. It was pretty entertaining. Our favorite Christmas decoration is up again this year… the “HO HO HO”.

Sugarloaf Key: Overcast this morning. Then the sky got black. Then it poured and the wind blew like crazy. Hunkered down inside most of the day. Went to see “Four Christmases” in the afternoon. Pretty funny. Stopped at the clubhouse and played the bowling game for a while, then watched some people playing darts. Walked around for a while and then back home. A beautiful evening—full moon. The water was like glass.

Audubon House

Sugarloaf Key: Had breakfast this morning at Sugarloaf Lodge and then headed to Old Town Key West. Walked around the wharf area for a while and then headed over to Duval and Key West Harbor. Stopped at the Audubon House and toured it. The house was built in the 1830s by Capt. John H. Geiger, a master wrecker and sea captain. It has nothing to do with Audubon—supposedly was named in honor of the Audubon visit to Key West several years later. They probably call it that to attract tourists. At any rate, the house is fantastic and it was occupied by members of the Geiger family until the 1950s. And the outhouse was used until the 1950s! In 1958 the house was saved from the wrecking ball and restored. After we left there we discovered a NASCAR simulated racing venue which Mike tried. The cars are just about full size and it’s kind of a virtual reality thing. In the second race he was in the lead for several laps before he wiped out in the grass. Fun to watch. After that we wandered over to the large pier by the Hilton and watched a cruise ship pulling out. It’s amazing with those side thrusters how they can turn on a dime. There was also a huge yacht moored there. Stopped at Louie’s Backyard to have dinner but we hit it at 4:30—too late for lunch and too early for dinner, so we had a drink on the deck and then had dinner at Salute on the beach—just down the road. Biked by it several times but never stopped to eat. Back home. A beautiful day—mid 80s and breezy.