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.

Sugarloaf Key: Walked around the lake this morning and continued on down Johnson Road. After passing the mangrove flats, the road on both sides is covered with a plethora of tropical vegetation from which emanate the most wonderful scents. There are two cottages on this road up where it intersects with Rt. 1. One of these cottages belongs to the owner of the Sugarloaf Baking Company. Her company makes the most mouthwatering cookies, breads, cakes and other treats which I try to stay away from—especially the frosted ginger cookies. Her yard is enclosed in chain-link fencing which contains her German shepherd, Daisy. On my walks Daisy always greets me with snarls and barks—the whole time her tail is wagging. I keep saying I’m going to take a dog treat with me next time to try and win her over. Stopped at the office on my way back to see if my remote had arrived yet. No such luck. A pretty day. Mostly sunny and upper 70s. Making pasta for dinner tonight.

Sugarloaf Key: Drove into Key West and did the laundry this morning. Walked down to the Cuban café after we got the clothes into the dryer to get a fresh squeezed orange juice and a bagel, but new owners and their menu had changed. They don’t do fresh squeezed orange juice and no bagels. So, instead we had lunch at Boondocks. Then back home and put everything away and decorated the palm tree in our site. Sat outside and read for a while. Then Debby came home and brought Rusty out and we took him for a walk while she took a shower. Tonight is happy hour night. I walked over to the KOA and Mike drove over shortly after I left. He passed me on the road. Had a great time with everyone. Left at 8:30 so Mike could get back to see the last episode of Boston Legal.

Cute little Rusty--a bundle of furry energy

Sugarloaf Key: The weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do today. It was cloudy at first this morning, so I put on sweats and a sweatshirt; then it cleared so I decided to walk around the lake, and by the time I changed into shorts and a tee shirt it clouded up again and looked really threatening. So, back into sweats and a sweatshirt and stayed that way the rest of the day. Chilly and overcast—although most others were in shorts and tees. Took some pics of Rusty—Debby and Craig’s new puppy. He is so cute. It’s Pearl Harbor day today and no mention of it at all on any TV programming. How soon we forget.

Lance and Nancy

Sugarloaf Key: Got up early this morning. Mike slept in since he’d been up just about all night playing spades on the Internet. Good morning to sleep in though—drizzly and cool. Started clearing off around 2:00 so we headed out to hit the flea market and take the DVDs back. Flea market closes at 2:00. So, we just took the DVDs back and rented another one. Back home and sat outside and read for a while until it got too chilly. Mike looking forward to the Mizzou game this evening. Talked to our friend, Lance, in Portland, ME. He’s not coming down this year because the water ride he invented is about to go into production and he’s really busy. Besides, he says there isn’t much work down here this year. He’s an extraordinary carpenter. This water ride he invented will make him very wealthy. We can say we knew him when.

New plant for our table...

Fri, Dec 5, 2008

Sugarloaf Key: Up early again and took care of some bank account stuff on the computer. Joan Rivers is going to be performing at the Tennessee Williams Theater in January. Got on line and made reservations for that. There’s also a big reception after the show—usually with food and drink. Not sure if she’ll make an appearance. Also made reservations for a concert at Fort Zachary Taylor—a couple of steel bands. One of them is MM24 which I’ve been wanting to see. They’re also having an evening tour of several historic inns and homes in Key West that are all decorated for the holidays. I’d like to get tickets for that. Late morning we headed to Key West and bought a portable DVD player. Works great, so that takes care of our DVD problem. Stopped and had lunch at the sea food bar and grill attached to the Blue Lagoon Motel. My mother stayed there back in the 70s. Can’t believe it’s still there. Drove to Big Pine Key and rented a couple of DVDs—one was “Taxi to the Dark Side” which was a very good documentary. The other was “The Happening” which was terrible.

Our visitor...

Sugarloaf Key: Finally got the DVD out that was stuck in our living area TV and took them both back to the rental place. Got my money back. She wasn’t happy. Stopped in and got my hair cut. Came back and Mike was cleaning the outside of the RV. I ate lunch and helped him. Finished that up and relaxed for a while outside. Partly cloudy today but warm—mid 70s. A large iguana visited our site. Made chili for dinner tonight.