Key Largo Memories

Shopping included art shows. Annette stopped a tennis match I was in to try to show me this present she bought for me. I couldn't get around the fence so I asked her to show me later. She had it shipped home where it will hang in my den.

The people at Marina Del Mar where we spent the winter for the second year are wonderful. Their leader is Patty. She is a special lady with a love of seahorses which we brought back for her whenever we went out shopping in the Keys.

Tennis was a daily two and one half hour delight for me. We had as many as 25 or so regular players who faithfully showed up everyday. One guy, Sonny, asked me one day what I did for transportation while I was here. I told him we walked or rode our bicycles. He asked if I would like to drive a Corvette while I was at Key Largo. You know my answer. Here's basic transportation at Key Largo. I had a great time playing tennis. They were another group of generous and interesting people. We had a pasta and wine party with one of the players acting as chef and explaining the process and the wine choices as he went through the preparations in the kitchen. Some of the players went out on our boat to rendezvous with Sonny's boat, Saturday's Child, a Hunter 35. I will miss this part of the Key Largo experience a lot.

The caption for this one could be an old fossil contemplating another old fossil. We had brunch that morning at the totally decadent Rusty Pelican with its chocolate fountain and unlimited mimosas. To balance the decadence, we pursued the intellectual at the planetarium and science museum nearby. These dinosaurs are from China and that in itself is a unique event as the Chinese are reluctant to send them out of the country. The discovery of fossils that link dinosaurs with modern birds in China was a highlight of the exhibit. We attended a presentation regarding this link conducted by an expert at the museum.

For Valentine's Day, we had (what else) a party. We had parties for Superbowl, and whenever one of the boats was leaving and any other time we could find the slightest reason or not. We even celebrated Cosmo's birthday. He's the handsome one on Walt's lap. This is most of the gang that spent the winter at Key Largo plus and minus a few.


For Valentine's Day it was a desert party. Annette made her English Trifle which was a big hit.

The Miami Boatshow was a must go see for us. We had a great day oogling all the pretty boats. Here's a go fast boat that uses as much gasoline in an hour as we would use in a week in our SUV. We are happy that Sabbatical only uses a half gallon of diesel an hour.

We spent a day exploring South Beach with the Washers. The nearly naked volleyball games were interesting. The beach is beautiful and the small hotels that line the streets are tres chic.

It's a tough life here in the Keys. Our dockmates, Howard and Dianna, were hard at work one day on their boat. Naturally, we wanted to document with this image their collective contribution to the betterment of life on the docks this particular day.

Annette became an internet user par excellent. She can find the nearest source of the rarest of yarns in a flash and communicate with children and grandchildren with IM and email. While she has been here in Key Largo, Annette has become the dock guru on knitting, leading a number of the gals into the hobby.

Of course grandma must still keep her green thumb green. This is one of the plants we have on board to make that all possible. This gardenia is called "Brenda", named after a friend here at the marina whose love of gardenias inspired Annette to get this one.

This creature was the original project for the knitters in Annette's "classroom". The local suppliers of knitting products gained a number of sales out of this endeavor. Alligator scarves will obviously be the next big thing. You saw it here first.

Here's what the real thing looks like. These are some of the 250 gators in the breeding pond at an alligator farm we visited. We also took an airboat ride while there, with Mark and Gary sitting up front in the macho seats which basically meant that they got wetter than anybody.

Mark thought this guy was a nice wardrobe addition until he found out he would have to keep his purse full of dead mice. However, snakeskin shoes may be in his future.

Vicki, not to be outdone, thought she would start small and train this guy to fetch (she didn't say what she would teach it to fetch). Judging by the looks of the people near her, it probably isn't going to make her more popular. We had a great time with my personal highlight being the Florida panthers. My impression had been that a Florida panther was relatively small and black. The Florida panther is a close relative of cougars and looks like the mountain lions we associate with the West.

Annette's next excellent adventure paired her with Dianna in the Cole kayak. While Howard, Gary, and Steven Washer biked to The Pilot House restaurant, the intrepid explorers braved the mighty Atlantic in their little boat to reach the lunch site.

After a mighty lunch, our heroines once again were off to find the ends of the earth. They made excellent time, returning to the Key Largo canal in good spirits and only a little wet.