Cottage on Southard

Mon, 2/23/09

Sugarloaf Key: Mike went for donuts this morning and I went to Big Pine Key to get my hair cut and pick up a few groceries. Mike went over to play shoes at 1:00 and I hung out and did some cleaning. Happy hour at the KOA later on.

Big yacht coming in really fast

(look at that wake!)

Doors of Key West

Sun, 2/22/09

Sugarloaf Key: Another big party today. It was broadcast live on cwcolt.com. We wandered over early and had something to eat. They were supposed to have three artists performing—one of them being Howard Livingston and the MM24 band. C.W. Colt was another. One was to perform from 1-3. Then Howard from 3-6. Then the other from 6-9. They switched it so Howard was last but didn’t bother telling anyone, so we waited and waited for Howard to start. But it was a great party and we had a good time. Stopped by to see the Canadians after the show and sat around with them for a while. Some people are going to be really hurting tomorrow.

Beautiful orchids--1890s home

Home & Garden Tour

Woodpecker on a Palm

Truman Annex

Sugarloaf Key: Back to Key West this morning to see the last house on the home & garden tour. This home is very different and pictures would never do it justice. A semi-circular entrance hall leads up to a spacious living/dining/kitchen area, opening onto a deck, pool and garden. Built on four levels, this home has so many creative little details. For example, in the master suite, the walk-in shower has a glass ceiling that slides over so it’s an open-air shower. And on the night stand there is a little sculpture and they painted a shadow of this object on the wall behind it. There are so many little details and lots of unusual and eclectic art work. There’s a large pool in back with a spacious outside living area along with a tiny guest house. It’s the only home not in old town. After touring the house we drove over to Azur and had a wonderful brunch. Left there and parked at the Eco Center and walked over to the art show on Whitehead. Some really nice stuff, but really expensive. Decided to see the aquarium which we hadn’t done yet. Small but interesting. Walked around Mallory Square for a while and then we went over to the Key West Speedway and Mike did 4 races. Then we walked down to the Tropic Cinema and saw “Revolutionary Road”. Interesting.

Home on Newton Street

Side porch--home on Newton Street

Dipping pool and garden

1890s private home on Fleming Street

Orchids in garden

1890s private home on Fleming Street

Outside living area

Home on Carsten Lane

Home on Carsten Lane

Sugarloaf Key: Headed to Key West to the House and Garden Tour. The first stop was a former railroad hotel turned into condominiums. The hotel was built in 1880. The first condo apartment we toured was owned by artist Peter Vey. I liked this condo the best. It was beautifully furnished in an eclectic style. These condos had a kitchen, bedroom, bath, living area and large porch. The building has three stories and a garden and pool in back. Pretty nice. The next was a single family home on Fleming Street. This two-story home was built in the 1890s. Floors are old wide plank pine, doors are old, and most of the large windows are original to the house. In the back was a large outside living area, garden, and dip pool. The next home was on Newton Street (circa 1896) in an area known as the Meadows. The next home was on Carsten Lane down by the Key West cemetery. Built in 1928, this home is owned by the owner of Knit Wits—my favorite knitting shop in Key West. This is a pretty little place with a nice pool and garden in the back. It’s on a dead-end street in a quiet area. The last one we’re going to see tomorrow. We walked back to Duval and had an early dinner at Mangoes. Back home and walked over to see our Canadian friends for a little while.

Cafe Pierre--Morada Bay

Islamorada

Approaching Indian Key

Kayak in the mangroves

Another beautiful sunset

Sugarloaf Key: Decided to head up to Marathon today to check out the turtle hospital and the dolphin research center. .Esther, our Canadian friend, stopped by and told us about a restaurant she and Gerald had stopped at yesterday, so we decided to stop there first for lunch. The restaurant was Café Pierre on Islamorada. A really pretty place on the bay side. Mike got the seafood sampler and I got the grilled shrimp salad. Both very good. While on the way up to Islamorada we noticed the boat out to Indian Key was running again, so we decided to check that out. We tried to do this last year but the key was still closed. The state park boat had already finished for the day but we found a private boat captain to take us out there. We ended up with four people total. We had to wait for a while for him to get the boat ready and walked around the dock. There were huge tarpon swimming around along with a bunch of pelicans. We finally boarded the boat and off we go. Indian Key is very historic. In 1836, Indian Key became the first county seat for Dade County. At that time, this tiny island was the site of a lucrative business--salvaging cargo from shipwrecks in the Florida Keys. There are a bunch of ruins out there and the founder is still buried out there. After an Indian raid that killed a bunch of people and burned most of the buildings, most of the survivors headed to Key West. Anyway, we’re heading out there in this little electric powered boat and the waves are rocking us around pretty good. Then we get there and the dock is pretty high so we had to climb up this ladder while the boat is getting rocked around by the waves. But we all made it safely onto the dock. Walked around this pretty little key and checked out the ruins and then headed back to the boat. Was even trickier getting back in because we had to climb down onto the front deck and then climb aboard through the front. On the way back we went around the lee side of the key and it was much calmer. And we saw a Portugese Man of War on the surface of the water. Very pretty, but very deadly. Then we cruised all through the mangroves—I think the prettiest part of the trip. Back to the dock about 4:15 and by now we’re ready for dinner. So, after several recommendations we drove back to Islamorada and went to Lazy Days restaurant on the Atlantic side. I had the mahi-mahi prepared lazy days style—encrusted with Japanese bread crumbs, pan seared, and then covered in a key lime/butter sauce. That was the best seafood I’ve had since we’ve been coming down here. Back home. Stuffed. A fun day!

Wed, 2/17/09

Sugarloaf Key: A nice day, although it clouded up in the afternoon. We met with Joe, the new owner, at our site at 1:30. Really enjoyed talking with him. After meeting with Joe we went to the Galley Grill for a late lunch. Came back and sat outside to read for a while.

Azur Restaurant--corner of Grinnel and Fleming

Original Marine Hospital--Circa 1840s

Truman Annex

Tue, 2/16/09

Sugarloaf Key: Got pretty warm today (74) but didn’t feel it at all because of the wind. Mike had set up a meeting with Joe, the new owner, for 11:30. But he got tied up in traffic on Hwy 1 and said he’d be late. We sat around until after 1:00 and then left and went into Key West to do the laundry. Came back, put everything away and went to the clubhouse for dinner. Spaghetti and meat balls. Sat with the Canadians—always a good time with them.