Key West…The Cuban Restaurant

The morning again was filled with daily chores. I installed a plug-in charger next to the dinette. This will enable us to charge small devices, phones, Kindle Fire, I-pod and even a our laptop. This plug runs off the camper battery which is recharged by a solar panel and the truck alternator (when running). Everything is running up to par, but one always wants more.(It’s the American way). I most likely will buy a Honda EU2000i generator when I get back home. The best price comes from a company in New Jersey. They will even free ship to this campsite lot address. I just don’t want to gamble on delivery time.

Paul Doucette and Helen

After lunch, we went to the “Ship Wreck Museum”. It was a learning experience. A whole industry sprang up from the salvaging of goods lost on sunken ships. Hundreds of them went down during hurricanes. Many of them were over a hundred  feet long and forty feet wide. Tons and tons of valuable cargo was to be had. The men who did these salvage jobs were called “Wreckers”. The people who would carry all this cargo to shore were called “Lumbar”. Entering the museum, we were met by staff who played out the different characters of the day. They got us involved by asking questions and saying things like, “remember this, it’s going to be on the test”. The building itself was the original warehouse where this priceless cargo was stored. At the top of the second floor stood a tower. This tower is, sixty five feet from the ground. The purpose (originally) was to have lookouts to spot ships that ran aground on the reefs. These towers were placed all the way up the Keys. If a ship was spotted a call was shouted “Wreck Ashore!” The whole town would run for the rescue and possible salvage claim.
A short walk back to Trumbo Point for a rest before the Cuban dinning experience. I should point out that there is a man gate near the waters edge. This gate is locked. I was lucky enough to get the entry code number. This saves us a couple of miles (to and from) the main gate.

I just had to add this for show!

Being at a military installation is so unconventional. This morning around six am a platoon of Navy sailors were jogging in formation. I love to hear the platoon leader singing cadence and repeated by the sailors. Yesterday, I spotted this helicopter high, high in the sky. It was maybe eight thousand feet right above the campground. All of a sudden, six black dots appear. Soon the parachutes deploy and in a line they all come down and land in the water just off into the bay! Where else can you see something like that on a daily occurrence. The day before they jumped out of a C-130 aircraft.
We met Paul Doucette at the church parking lot as planned. The restaurant was just around two corners. I think it was called “Si Bonne” (spelling most likely wrong) It wasn’t high class, but very packed. A good sign. You can’t go wrong with a family run restaurant. Helen and I tried grilled Grouper. Paul ordered us an appetizer. The appetizer was chopped Plantains, flattened, grilled and served with marinated onions. It was flavorful! The Grouper also came with sliced onions, sweet cooked bananas, yellow rice and black beans. (Excellent!) Did I mentioned the bread? Cuban bread, yummy! The meal exceeded our expectations and was very reasonably priced.
It wasn’t long before we were back at Trumbo for the night and with that goodnight.
That is what we did and saw!