Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Cool and cloudy today—and going to get cooler.  We spent a lazy day pretty much staying inside and watching movies.  We’ve noticed in our forays up and down the Keys this year that they are really expanding the bike paths.  Especially in the lower Keys.  Pretty soon we’ll be able to bike from our park all the way into Key West.  Gerald wants to go on another bike outing.  We’ll see.  We don’t have much time left.  Low 70s today I guess.  

Farewell flowers--they start blooming right about when it's time for us to leave.

How beautiful!

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Rainy this morning.  After our morning ablutions we headed to Key West.  Mike had to pick up a license plate holder for the truck and I had to go back to the yarn shop on Whitehead.  Got that done, parked over at the Eco Center and then walked over to Santiago’s Bodega for lunch.  Our first time at this tapas-style restaurant in the Bahama Village section of Key West.  Excellent lunch under a clearing sky.  We both had spicy shrimp soup; I had tenderloin, Mike had lamb patties, and we shared an excellent bread pudding for dessert.  Walked back to our truck and then drove back to Sugarloaf.  Guess we’ll probably go to the dinner tonight.  Floyd and Jerry are roasting a whole pig.  We won’t eat much I’m sure. I already have a headache from the champagne I imbibed at lunch.

Lots of roosters walking around.

This guy came up to our table.

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Charlie and Maple stopped by this morning.  After they left we got everything together and went to Big Pine to do the laundry and the grocery shopping.  Rewarded ourselves with pizza for lunch and headed back.  Took our pizza bones (crusts) back for Maple and Foxy.  Chatted with our Canadians for a while and headed back to our site to put everything away.  Relaxed outside reading for a while.  Then headed over to the point for a memorial get-together for two of our friends we lost last year—Joe and Dale.  85 again today.

Photos from last night's sunset sail aboard the America

Approaching a cruise ship just leaving Key West.

Schooner Western Union

Schooner Western Union in the setting sun.

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Another very warm and sunny day.  Our usual Monday—Mike goes for donuts in the morning and shoes in the afternoon.  I got the cleaning done in the morning, with the added fun of defrosting the freezer.  Instead of happy hour tonight, we’re going to take a sunset sail aboard either the schooner America or the schooner Western Union.  Both are historic.  Schooner America won the 2011 Chesapeake Bay schooner race and the schooner Western Union was built in 1939 and was used to repair and maintain all the telegraph cable from Key West to Cuba and throughout the Caribbean.  It’s on the list of historic places and is the largest of the schooner fleet in Key West.  After our cruise we’ll probably have dinner at the Conch Republic Seafood Restaurant again.  It is so good!  85 today.

Schooner America

Schooner America sailing past Ft. Zach.

Western Union

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Sunny, warm and beautiful today.  After showering and getting dressed I walked over to the office to drop off our Netflix, but the office was closed.  Oh well.  Stopped briefly to see Johanne and Charlie.  There was a big NASCAR party at the clubhouse today, but we opted to stay home and watch.  I actually watched most of the race for the first time.  Danica Patrick won the pole position.  Wanted to see how she did.  She did very well.  Now we’re watching the Oscars. Very humid out there, so a good day to stay in the AC and watch TV.  85 today at least. 

Cute little cottage on Southard.

Love the door!

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Charlie and Maple stopped by again this morning.  Mike wasn’t even up yet.  Made Charlie a cup of coffee and woke Mike up.  Poor Maple had to go to the vet again yesterday.  She has kennel cough among other things.  She’s 14 so they have to be careful with her.  After they left we dressed and headed to Key West to the art show on Whitehead Street.  Parked at the Eco Center and walked over to the show.  It’s amazing how creative some people are.  There was all kinds of interesting stuff there—all expensive.  Didn’t buy anything at the show, but stopped at my favorite knitting shop and bought some yarn for a shawl thingy I’m going to knit.  Planned on going to Pepe’s for lunch, but they were slammed.  So we went over to the Conch Republic Seafood restaurant on the wharf and had a delicious lunch.  I had snapper and Mike had pork chops.  Really, really good.  Drove back to Lazy Lakes and stopped at Esther and Gerald’s and talked with Esther for a while and played with Foxy.  Back to our site and relaxed the rest of the day. 84 today and beautiful.

Schooner Western Union

Schooner America

Cute cottage on Southard St.

Cute little Foxy

C

Saw this truck where we parked today.  The owner has created a reef on the truck.  Only in Key West!

Lazy Lakes RV Park, Sugarloaf Key, FL:  Charlie stopped by on his way around the lake with Maple this morning.  After they left we put the bikes on the back of the truck and headed up the road a bit to Sugarloaf Drive.  There is a bike path all down Sugarloaf Drive and at the end we take the old county road which is barricaded off to car traffic and biked down to the lake.  A beautiful day for a bike ride.  Walked out to the Atlantic and then started down the old, unmaintained part of this county road which goes to the other side of the burned out bridge.  Went quite a ways and then turned around and biked back to our truck.  We had the wind in our face going out which makes it harder biking, but the wind was at our back on our return trip—for the most part anyway. Took another shower and then relaxed. Going to the KOA tonight to see Howie.  Just him and his acoustic guitar tonight.  Should be fun. 85 today!  YES

This canal goes from the residential area on Sugarloaf (bayside) out to the Atlantic.  This is where it empties into the Atlantic.

The canal from the other side of the bridge.  People dive off the bridge and picnic on the flat rock.  A couple of guys were walking up the flat rock on the right when we biked back.  They were all wet.  I asked them how the water was.  Cold! they said.  One of them did a back flip off the bridge just before we left.

Taking a break on the bridge.

What a great place to bike!  We have a two-lane road all to ourselves.

Bay side.  We also pass lagoons and lakes along this beautiful biking experience.

Walked half way around the lake and took a path out to the Atlantic.  All this great flat rock to walk around on.

A little resting spot on a little beach--a little lagoon on the bay side.

The Atlantic.

Hard to believe this is still the old county road.  Plants have taken over this portion.   Somebody maintains the main part of the old road.  Not sure who.  Volunteers probably.