Christmas Day 2016

Christmas Day

Busy day visiting, eating, chatting with a couple who literately jogged into the campground, but were staying at the Navy Lodge. They were fascinated with us staying here for the entire winter. They are thinking of going into the RV mode, but didn’t know where to start. They had looked into RV’s, but none were occupied. We gave them a tour of ours and I think they got to see how we managed the stay for the six months that we occupy this site. Just another great experience meeting people!
This noon we had lunch downtown at a Chinese restaurant. We had figured that on Christmas Day, a Chinese restaurant would be the only place open. No so, apparently most restaurants are open, but we had our tastebuds set for Chinese and so stuck to our original plan.
Key West, FL has free on street parking for the three day holiday weekend, but it isn’t to well advertised and many people pay to park. The City Parking Lots still require $20 to $30 a day parking fee. That’s why we ride bikes across town. Getting back to the Chinese restaurant, they do have free parking and we’ve always had luck in parking on their lot. The big Ford fits perfect on their corner of the lot!

Biking Challenge

If you remember reading an earlier blog, I had set a personal goal of riding 1,000 bike miles in Key West, Florida this winter! This is an update to where I’am at as of December 28, 2016. I have 618 miles to reach my challenge.

My Bird Biking Friends!

Let me explain a little about my bike and rides. I am using a mountain bike, not a road bike! The difference is the road bike weighs in around 15 pounds vs the mountain bike around 35 pounds. Hence over time, I do a mile, the road bike can do two. The difference is in the workout. I work a lot harder to get my miles than the guy on the road bike. Now, let’s talk about the actual guy on the road bike who passes me every morning like the rabbit. I being the turtle, like the old story goes. He is, I’m guessing around twenty-five years old. I being closer to 72 than 71 one makes him nearly three times younger. I watch his legs pumping at least twice as fast as mine. No problem, I’m not training for the “Tour de France”! I just want to stay in as good a shape as I can for my age.
I had a comment on Facebook the other day that my bike looked like a girls bike! Well, yes it does have a milk crate on the back. This is KW and bikes are used as a means of transportation and also to carry groceries, mail, tools, locking cables, not to mention headlights and tail lights that are stored, for security, in that milk crate. Oh yes, I did fabricate a cover for it, out of site out of mind, as well as rain protection.

The Ride!

In years past, I used to ride around the Island. It’s ten miles around, but I wasn’t really getting the exercise I wanted, because of the pedestrians, crosswalks, traffic lights and many other distractions. Last year, I elected to train with the big boys! Instead of going into town, I stayed on base and decided to cross the channel bridge over to Fleming Key and train with the US Army Special Forces Underwater Operations. Well, I don’t actually train with them, I just use the two mile, one way road to their training facility. The routine is four miles up and back three times for a 12 miles daily routine. It’s nearly every day, the exceptions are days that are above 18 to 20 knots. The wind above that is nearly impossible to conquer, that is going into the wind. The ride back is fast!

Borring? Not so!

Some might think that going back and forth along the ocean road would be very boring. “Not so”! What I imagine being boring would be going to the gym and riding a stationary bike! My usual ride happens between 6:30am and 8am. What’s so special about the time of day and the location? One big thing is the wildlife! Special, to me is the Osprey. They make their nest high on telephone poles, Florida Keys Energy, discourage this and has put up extra poles with wood skids atop. The Osprey soon pick these spots for nesting and raising

Before Sunrise Biking on Fleming Key!

their young. Now my part in all of this is when I pedal by, I’ve picked up their distinct chirps that I’ve slowly began to copy. When I ride by, I whistle these chirps and low and behold they first started to respond by looking up out of their nest. Now, I often chirp and mother or father fly along the road with me until I’m a distance from the homestead. I wish I could video this, but unless I get a GoPro video camera mounted on my helmet that isn’t going to happen.
Other birds that I watch and who watch me are Turkey Vultures, Pelicans, White Heron, Great Egret, Anhinga (snakebird). In mid November, the Turkey Vultures and the Black Vultures show up in the Keys by the thousands. They are migrating back to South America. By the end of the month, the migration has waited for the right wind direction to continue their flight to the south across the Gulf of Mexico. A very few of these Vultures stay behind in Key West. Local folklore says that when the Turkey Vultures leave the Keys the Hurricane season in unofficially over!
Another asset to biking on Fleming Key is the Ocean. Somedays the water is flat and calm, other days the waves are choppy, but unlike the ocean along the coast no continuous wave action along the breakwaters. No loud roar of the powerful ocean like on the East or Western seaboard.
In this time of the year, sunrise around 7:30am. I’m often on the road by than. I have a super powerful USB rechargeable bike flashlight along with two red taillights. One of them being mounted on my helmet and the other below the seat. In dawns early light, it’s cool to be biking up Fleming. By the time I reach my first two mile turn around the sun is lining the distant clouds that always seem to surround islands during the night. The clouds might be caused by the island warm landmass and the cooler ocean water condensing around the Coral reef. I remember watching old John Wayne movies filmed in the South Pacific with these similar clouds present offshore. Back to the sunrise! The sun breaks above these low clouds and magical beauty and warmth appears instantly.
Maybe I’ll continue with more of my biking memories in the next blog!

That is what we saw and did!

Retired ~ With No Time Off!

December 18, 2016

I’ve been slacking in my blog writing! I really enjoy documenting what we’ve been doing down here in the tropics, but I can’t believe how busy life has become. Week after week, one activity after another…it never seems to end.

Electrician's Christmas!

One of my longest parts of writing is working in the pictures of all of the activities. I’ve been taking hundreds of pics and someday, when I really retire, I’ll have to do something with those thousands of pictures I’ve taken and collected through the years. If anything else, I enjoy flipping the pages and recalling the fond memories!
In order to write more often, I will reduce the number of photos. I realize that pictures play an important part of telling a story. Maybe things will slow down and the pictures will flow back in.

Christmas Week

With Christmas coming up next weekend, the campground has been bustling. A couple of days ago, I helped our two camp-host Jan and Sabrina setup a real Christmas tree at the entrance to the

Christmas at Western Union Wharf

campground. Last night, the campers, brought food dishes at the pavilion for a good festive meal. This was followed by decorating the Christmas tree and finally a tree lighting ceremony just after dark. There are a handful of kids in the campground (active duty families) who got a thrill with the Christmas Tree lighting!

Key West Holiday Lights!

It is strange for a northerner to come to a warm climate at Christmas time. Back home, everybody decorates with lights in windows and a few brave souls who venture out and hang lights on the outsides of their homes. I remember driving around town, Christmas week, at night, with the family, looking at all the lit decorations, in the different neighborhoods.

2nd Place Christmas Light Contest Winner...Our Favorite!

Jump down here in the Keys and it is a little different. Homes are covered with lights! That maybe expected, but what is unusual, for me, is having the home owners sitting outside and wishing passerby's a Merry Christmas. Background music playing Christmas Carols! All of this, with an outside evening temperature of around 74 degrees, which makes these outings very pleasant.

That is what we saw and did!

Social Life in the Keys

Veterans Day November 11, 2016

We’ve been in Key West for approximately a month and a few days. It is a magical place to meet people. It’s like migrating birds that come from all over the country on a migration. The birds migrate further south into Central and South America. We humans, are tethered to the earth for the most part and wind up here at the end of the road on US 1 mile marker zero! The neat thing is that most of us didn’t know each other before this migration south. The nesting place, for us is Trumbo Point. We all park our campers here, close to one another, set up our little home away from home compounds and then start to notice our neighbors. A friendly, hi, hello, how are you doing and next thing, we have new friends! We all have different stories, different places of origins but the common bond is that we all, or at least half of the spouses, served in the military. This is what makes us nearly family.
When I was in the Army their seemed to always be a rivalry between all branches of service. That doesn’t exist here! We are all “US Retired Military”. It doesn’t matter if we were privates or generals, we are retired military! Key West stands out as a military town that dates back well before the Civil War. The local economy does depend on tourist, but it also depends heavily on military and their dependents. A perfect example of this was November 11th, Veterans Day. It is without hesitation that I say that this was the finest military parade that I’ve seen! I was really impressed with the number of military personnel in the parade. We, here at Trumbo Point Campground, even had a float in the parade!
The parade naturally march down Duval Street. Key West has a beautiful monument park. On Veterans Day our fallen comrades were remembered at Bayview Park. The parade didn’t come close to Bayview, but flowers adored the memorial. After the parade we rode our bikes on the back streets to Bayview. A tour bus had just dropped tourist. Many of these were veterans who looked at the inspiring plaques with engraved scenes from all of the wars. I asked one vet, looking at the Vietnam plaque, “Where were you stationed?” He replied, “up north” another here in Bien Huh. We remembered many things from our active military careers.

Daily Routine

We have pretty much settled into daily routine now.

• Early risers around 6:15am (Later than the 5:15am back home in NH)
• Shower
• Breakfast around 7:30am
• Exercise (Helen walks with one or two girls…3 to 4-1/2 miles) I ride my bike on Fleming Key 12 miles…gold for this year is 1,000 miles…840 left to go.
• Coffee break around 9:30 am
• Depending on which day of the week it’s Bocce Mondays and Fridays 10am to 12noon Tuesday and Thursday our Tai Chi classes at 11:30 am
• Most everyday we bike to these classes and games. From the classes and/or game we bike another couple of miles to check our mailbox down on Whitehead Street.
• Afternoon are reserved for groceries or anything that needs to be done.
• Normally we eat at home in the evening, except for Friday nights when we make it a point to go out to a restaurant and reflect on the pass week.

Volunteering

If there is one thing that you can do as much as you want in Key West is volunteering! Every single day there is another type of activity, parade, marathon. You name it and Key West has it! All this leads to the need for volunteers.
Last week our latest volunteerism was the Key West Film Festival. Another free tee shirt to add to our collection. It is interesting and fun to do these events, we see and meet lots of people, both participants and spectators.

That is what we saw and did!

ROTC Cadets!

Trumbo Point ...Our Float!

KW was a Sub Base in "Years Pass"

Looking Sharp US Navy

And The Beat Goes On!

36 annual Key West World Championships Super Boat International

Super Boat 1st ~ Little Bird ~ Helicopter 2nd!

I never realized how retelling one’s daily activities would be so difficult with all of the events that continuously happen on down here in Key West, Florida. We just finished Fantasy Fest week. Next, the International World Cup Speedboat Races this past week. I’m not a connoisseur of any boat racing, or, for that matter anything to do with boats.

Race Start

It was truly an eye opener to view, not so much the races, but to explore the staging area where all of these boats and trailers, trucks and equipment parked. This was open to the public, but at an entry fee. This event took place on Navy property and with our, handy dandy, military ID we walked right in. On racing days, they charged $20.00 a person. “Thank you very much for the ID cards, Uncle Sam!” If you bought a pass for the week, it was a mere $800.00!

Tilt Super Boat

If you owned a boat, it was $$$$$, but who’s counting. Speaking of money, these racing boats do not cost thousands of dollars, but millions. They are not made of fiberglass, but of carbon fibre…same stuff as the stealth fighter planes. They have specially designed trailers that tilt the boats nearly vertical. so they can be transported down the highway. Why would they have to be tilted, you might ask? They are 12 feet wide and some 50 feet long. The trucks pulling them are show pieces in themselves. Some owners have matching color show cars that enhance both the boat, truck and poshness of the rigs. Most of these racing teams are large corporation sponsors, hence an advertisement right off. An example of this would be “Stihl”… you know, the chain saw people.

Stihl Super Boat

They’ve been racing every other day with the last big event tomorrow. I’m not sure how everything is talied, but winning points play a big part in the scheme of the winning. The Super-boat heats are capable of hitting speeds of 180 miles per hour. On the day we watched, they were doing 140 miles per hour. It’s the wave conditions that limit the speed. Even at 140 mph, we often saw them getting airborne as they screamed by. There average speed was 111MPH on the 4.2 mile course. It was a cool sight to see! Actually, I should rephrase that and say it was a very hot sight to see, as we were on the Mole (pier) watching in the very hot sun!

Cowgirl ~ Racing Fan

Earlier during the week, in the early evening, the racing teams had a parade down Duval Street strutting their stuff, with trucks, trailers, cars and boats! Money, money and more money to advertise their companies and/or products!
Sunday rolled around and the final day for racing was here. Before getting into the racing details, I have to mention that it’s not only the racing boats that show up for this week’s festivities, but several dozens, so called “Cigars” boats made their way down from the Miami area to watch and run around the Keys. These smaller boats are not your typical 75 HP outboards, but usually two automotive type engines “300HP” each. Even at idle, these guys sound very powerful! One night, at three in the morning, most likely after the bars on Duval Street closed, one of these “Cigar” boats, cruised the channel between Trumbo Point and Fleming Key.

The rescue

At first it sounded very much like a diesel locomotive chugging along until it passsed the bridge pillions. It rounded the corner, parallel to Fleming Key with exhaust pointed towards the campground and the guy or girl hit the throttle. At three in the morning, with the windows opened, it sounded like I was at New England Drag-Way, with a Dragster coming off the line!

Back to Sunday’s final race

In the morning, we weren’t sure if we were going to attend. The temperature would be very hot and little wind on that side of the island. This is such a difference from the Northeast side where the campground is located!

1500 HP Super Boat

Well, our neighbor Lou Schadie came over and was telling us that some of the other Trumbo campers were there early to get good shady site at Fort Zachary Park. Before we knew it, we were pedaling over across the Island to the State Park. Lou, a disable veteran has a “Veterans Disability State Park Pass". He was able to get as many as eight people on his pass. Once in the park, we were amazed at how many thousands of people lined the beach!
The race started, with three helicopters flying low covering the boats as they flew by at ear piecing noise! With only a dozen boats in the race, the engine noise doesn’t last very long.

Turn Three

The pack soon spread out as two boats took the lead. The 4.2 mile course is visible nearly from one end to the other. My 18 to 300MM lens got a good workout. From our position, I could get some good shots as they turned from turn three. I really won’t get to see exactly which photos will be the best of the hundreds that I took until I get home to my large monitor and Lightroom software.

Closing In !

In turn two, I was able to get one of the boats getting air borne and flipping over! It was a mass confusion from the air as well as from the water. Rescue personnel, from one of helicopters performed the rescue of the two crew members. They (the rescue team) have things pretty well covered in that department.
That is what we did and saw!

Rain in Paradise?

Thursday, Oct 27, 2016

The Eyes have it!

The local radio station 104.1FM weather forecast this morning was for rain. A low pressure in the Caribbean to our East and a Hi pressure to our West in the Gulf met over the Key West today, resulting in rain off and on for the last few days! It hasn’t dampened the Fantasy Fest activities because they were able to have the daily parades without getting wet.
Last night, we saw the “Locals” parade. Very interesting! I always wondered why they called it “Fantasy Fest”. I don’t have to wonder any more. If you can get my drift about body painting, you’ll understand where I’m coming from. Using an expression from an old friend, “Unbelievable” is the least I can say. I took many pictures, but unfortunately, I can’t publish most of them for ethical and moral reasons!

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Did I say the eyes have it?

Finally, Saturday night has arrived. The “Big Final Parade”! The crowds predictions were to be arounds 80,000 people, but the latest estimate was around 60,000 spectators…whose counting. The parade went off smoothly with no rain!
One had to think, at the beginning of the parade, as two bomb sniffing dogs made their way along each side of the packed street. No devices were located and no major incidents occurred. I found a good place to take pictures, or, at least I thought it was a good place. Just as the parade started, an EMT, ATV type, vehicle parked right in front of us. I asked the guys if they could move and they said no matter where they parked they would be blocking someone’s view. So, I did get pictures, but mostly after they had gone by our location. Some of you would say, “why didn’t you move” the answer was that 60,000 people were standing next to me.

Colorful Costume

The parade ended around nine-thirty, but we made another miscalculation earlier in the evening. We had crossed the street before the continuos barricades had been closed. We had to walk in a different direction from our campground, circle around towards the waterfront and then head home. Remember, we were walking, no bikes or vehicle tonight. It was a good experience in any event to witness Fantasy Fest for the first time.

Floats...Fantasy Fest Parade 2016!

Tuesday Nov. 1, 2016

A new adventure started today for both of us. I read an add in the paper that stated a Free Tai Chi class was starting on Tuesday and Thursday. I called and got us signed up! Tai Chi as explained by Will, our instructor, is a martial art that does nearly everything in slow motion. Unlike Con Fu, which relies on force and speed, Tai Chi relies on control balance and putting your opponent off balance. No, we are not looking for martial art for defense, but better body balance and muscle toning. Will is very good at explaining the warmup exercises, breathing required to improve body mobility. I think we are going to enjoy these classes! If we wanted to really get into the martial arts, he also does another class on Higgs Beach on Sunday morning.

Wednesday Nov. 2, 2016

I spent the morning cutting grass, removing sod from our rear concrete pathway and just getting things looking good. By mid morning, it was contagious! I was the first to mow grass since the campground opened and after I finished my lawn, all three mowers were going in the park for the rest of the morning. In the afternoon, I was beat and sat, in the shade, got my whittling tools out and did some carving on my Eagle Head Cane project. It is the first time I ever tackle wood carving. It is relaxing. I also enjoy being able to sharpen my tools razor sharp with the help of a buffing compound and a leather strap.

Thursday Nov 3, 2016

Bright sunny, warm day, no or little humidity! Started the day by washing camper windows again. I like clean windows to lookout at the sunrises. It’s a 10 minute job with my squeegee. Next came the truck…Looks like “Coral Dust”…Better wash the truck! We are not allowed to wash vehicles with a hose in the park. Our alternative is to fill one pail with soapy water and another with rinse water for the other chamois. It does take very long to get that big F-250 shine up.

Tai Chi class at 11:30am

Tai Chi… A Chinese martial arts and system of calisthenics consisting of sequences of very slow controlled movements. Will Soto, our instructor, is by profession a tight rope walker. Checkout his link: www.willsoto.net Back to Tai Chi basics! I am very impressed with the class. It is very interesting to learn how balancing of your inner circle (body movement) can be used in either defense or offense. The warm up exercises stimulate your body. It is easer to balance one’s body actions.

That is what we saw and did!

Trumbo Point ~ Friends

Wednesday, Oct 19, 2016

In the last blog, we were waiting for Trumbo Point campground to open. We were the second campers to checkin. Our preferred site was waiting for us along with the 102 other sites. As I said, at 9am, only two of us were here, but by the end of the day 46 other retired military campers invaded the giant field. A couple of these campers are active military.
When you arrive, it seems that there is a million of chores to tackle for the setup. By late morning, I was well established on my site. I volunteered to help a few of the other guys. I gave Willy a ride back to Sigbee to pickup is car. He has a motor home and he was having a very difficult time of coming over here with three flat tires! Yes, I said (three) flat tires! Another guy needed a ride, but I had a conference call (Water Works Board meeting at 12pm). I did the meeting despite all of the commotion. The afternoon was spent helping and talking to old friends as they rolled in from all over the country. Helen and I actually talked to a gal from Australia. She is married to an American Navy guy. It is truly amazing to meet and chat with people from all over.

Horrifying 

Last night, I would put our GoWiFi internet to the test. I streamed the Presidential Debate live on my computer. From the computer I cabled the debate over a HDMI cable to our digital TV, for a larger screen view. I ran the sound to my Pioneer car stereo in the camper for a surround sound experience. Hillary and Donald came through loud and clear! I would say, that my site, literally next to the WiFi repeater, is going to work for me just fine. I even streamed a movie from Amazon Prime with no problem in buffering. I’m a happy camper so far.

October 20, 2016

This morning, it was time to wash the camper windows and remove the road grime that followed us down that long road from New England. I have a squeegee that makes this a quick job of doing all the windows including the pickup truck. It seemed that the rest of the day just flew by.

October 23, 2016

The weather changed last night. The wind is out of the North and the humidity is gone. Temperature is in the mid 70’s…reminds me of New England weather in the fall.
This afternoon, I moved another 5th wheel from the storage area over on Fleming Key to here at Trumbo Point, a total of about 1,300 feet. This is the third 5th wheel that sat on my hitch. They all seem to pull alike. Paul, the owner, has a Ford 250 with a truck camper on it. With me moving his 5th wheel, he didn’t have to download the truck camper, just park it in his storage area.

Very Festive

This is the beginning of Fantasy Fest week in Key West! It is a crazy week with a lot of activity. Tonight it was the bike Zombie Parade with thousands of Zombies riding all kinds of bikes and wearing bloody costumes! We were there taking pictures for about an hour until it really was getting crowded.
Back at the campground, we were surprised with the arrival of two couples pulling in with their 5th wheel and motor home. John and Cheryl, who stopped in for a visit back in New Hampshire and Paula and Charles who have two Shar Pei show dogs. Shar Pei never has an “S” even in plural form. Paula explained that very clearly to me last year.

Monday Oct 24, 2016

You Name it...And They Came!

The weather is still perfect. Low humidity, mid seventies, slight breeze still blowing from a northerly direction. A good day to play Bocce. We play Monday and Friday over at the end of White Street. They have outstanding courts which are City owned. It is our chance to meet and play with locals. Most of the locals belong to a league who play four nights a week. It is a lot more serious on those leagues than our 10 to noon play for fun.

A Pretty Bloody Mess

We spent the afternoon doing groceries, checking our Post Office Box for mail and then relaxing around the camper. I did manage to lube both bicycle chains and adjust and tighten odds and ends to keep both bikes in good shape. Tonight, was a good time to bike over to Truman Annex (the Navy Side) of the Island. To our surprise, the usual gate was shut down because of major construction, just outside the gate area. The City of Key West is building a large amphi theater and other improvements to the State Park entrance. Well with the gate closed (for a long time), we were directed to use the United St gate. We biked through the Bohemian village to get to the other gate. Now this could be a little scary, especially in early evening with a lot of people sitting on the sidewalk drinking. We’ve been there before and had no problems and we didn’t either on this occasion. The United Street gate is normally never open, so we got to ride into an area that we never had access to on the base. It brought us to “Southern Joint Force Command Headquarters” a highly restricted area. By now, it was already past sunset as we arrived at the Truman Annex beach. There was only one other couple sitting at one of the picnic tables. Even though the sun had set the blue/orange of the sky was mesmerizing. I had my backpack with my trusty D-7000 Nikon to grab a few memorable shots.

An Estimated 8,000 in the Parade

Wednesday, Oct 25, 2016

Started the day, detailing my truck. It is such a joy for me to relax and tend to such activities. It took most of the day! Well, it works like this; someone walks by and a conversation starts up. A little later a neighbor needs help with his awning, and so goes the day. Life in Key West…the way it should be!

That is what we saw and did!

A Long Ride to "Mile 0"

We made Key West, Florida this morning at 9:30am. Wow, I was tired and still winding down from four and a half days of driving. I averaged over 500 miles everyday! My total for the trip was 2,153.7 miles. Last year it was 2,003 miles from Berlin, NH. The reason that it was 150 miles longer was the recent hurricane that havoc North Carolina. On the radio today, I heard that North Carolina still has 620 roads closed due to flooding. We stayed in the Appalachians Mountains on I-81 to skirt around the flood area. I-81 is a good road, but it is hilly and is also a heavy truck route. My F-250 Super Duty had no problem going up the mountain passes, but some Diesel trucks pulling larger 5th wheel up and over the passes left me chugging along at 38 miles an hour on some of the extreme mountain ascents!

Sunset at Sigbee's Naval Air Station Key West, Florida

I did have a few close calls with people drifting into my lane. I honked on the horn a couple of times and they moved over. Another time, I had to really stomp on the brakes to avoid a tractor trailer that just pulled out from a construction area. I smoked the trailer tires! No damage done. Other than that, the weather was good, the Cracker Barrel Restaurants that we selected were excellent! Quiet is the main requirement. We only rejected a couple that were located in large cities with no easy access for our RV parking. It is sometimes very stressful to be trying to maneuver a 53 foot truck and camper in city traffic, trying to turn into small parking lots with vehicles and curbs all over the place. In any event, we are here safe, sound and happy.

It Doesn't Get Any Better !

Our arrival at Sigbees RV campground was another first experience for us. One of the whole ideas of coming early to the Keys was the chance to get a prime RV site at Trumbo Point campground. Some campers prefer different sites for different reasons. Some like to be next to water, some like being close to the restrooms. My favorite site was to be closer to the WiFi repeater to get good internet reception.

Double Rainbow at Our Destination in Key West

Here is how the process goes. You arrive and sign-up on a (non official) sign sheet and put your name and site number. The catch is that you have to stay at the signup station until they call your name on Monday at 9 am. Yes, that means sleeping at the office outside! That’s the price you pay for first come first served! So, sixteen of us spent the night sleeping in lounging chairs, trucks or what ever was comfortable. Helen was in the 5th wheel and I stayed and slept in the cab of the truck. It wasn’t that bad, I had a sleeping bag (not needed for being cold, more for added padding) I actually slept most of the night, only waking up when I rolled over. I sort of enjoyed looking straight up threw the windshield and watching the stars above. On Monday morning, at 9am, my name was called and we got our preferred site number 522. We can’t move over there until Wednesday when the campground opens, but I did manage to go checkout the site and mow the grass at our site.
Our next to do, on our checklist was a few groceries. A stop at the Sigbees’ Exchange was to see if we could get a PO Box. The last box was sold just before we got there, but we are first on the standby list. The clerk said that if a guy didn’t call in by the end of the day, we would be next. Time will tell.

Thats what we saw and did!

"On The Road Again" The Journey!

October 12th and 13th

Two days of 500 miles a day has put us on the Virginia~Tennessee border. This may sound like a long day behind the wheel, but in reality its just like a normal 6am to 5pm work day. It is about 8pm, sitting here in the camper at another Cracker Barrel restaurant, writing the first blog of the snowbird season. I can honestly say that last night’s stay was ultra quiet. I only mention this, because five minutes ago, a truck pulled up next to us here in the parking lot. A couple of guys went into the restaurant. I couldn’t imagine what kind of noise I was hearing from what I thought was a camper. Our shades were drawn and it was dark outside. Finally curiosity the best of me and I took a peak. It was an aluminum trailer filled with cattle! They weren’t mooing, but were walking around on the aluminum enclosed trailer deck. Thankfully, the cowboys had just gone in for a meal and weren’t staying the night. In the meantime, I turned the radio on, tuned in to a country western station and listened to cattle footsteps and country music! This is a sure sign of an adventuresome, upcoming season.
This trip south is a little different from in years past. Hurricane Matthew has flooded parts of Interstate I-95 near Lumberton, NC. This made us stay north and west of the coastal areas, at least until we were safe from detours and closed highways. Tomorrow, we will take a left and head into North Carolina and catch I-85 towards Atlanta, GA. We won’t enter the heavy traffic in Atlanta, but take the beltway and catch I-75 into northern Florida.
Our plans are evolving as we move south. We are fortunate that we have friends (Lou and Sue) that are already Key West and are keeping us abreast of campground openings and other pertinent information. We also got a phone call from Fr Serious Gerkin (a former neighborhood neighbor) He lives in Inverness, Florida. We might stop in and say hello. He would only be 20 minutes out of our way. Maybe, if the arrival time there is late in the day, we might stay the night in the church parking lot.
We really don’t have an exact date on the opening of Trumbo Point campground. The fire department has to do a pressure test on all of the hydrants around the park. This has to be scheduled sometime next week. It isn’t like we would be out in the cold…that’s not right…it doesn’t get cold in Key West, FL. Well, what I meant was that we’d have to temporarily set up at Sigbee’s campground with full hookups!
Thats what we saw and did!

After Action Review

Cooler than Key West, but still Sunny and still pleasant

We’ve been home now for nearly a week. It always seems to take this long to settle down into a sense of normalcy. From unloading the 5th wheel camper, to mental reminders about little improvements that I wanted to tackle once home. The real good mind settling fact is that the weather is certainly cooperating! Sure, the nights are cool or even cold, but the sun has been shining and warming up just nicely. The afternoons are in the low 70’s degrees. This is perfect for outside work, play or just sitting by the outside fireplace and staring blankly at the brook, forest and wildlife.
It seems like it was ages ago that we were walking the beach, in Jacksonville, and thinking all of this was coming to an end. Our time, in Key West, was certainly a blessing this past winter. Our countless friends that we’ve met and continue to communicate with help from electronic devices keep the memories alive. Sally and her black Lab “Angel” took us to another level of friendship.

How's the Fishing?

All of this friendship, I attribute to our being banded together by our location on a military RV campground. With 172 sites and a potential of 344 spouses, we were exposed to a lot of same age military background people. This type of exposer has a different twist from being in the active military. Yes, I’m talking of spouses who play into the social mix of things. They are the organizers, doers who make things happen. Credit must be given to them!

Blue Angel "Our Protectors"

I can’t forget the active military, who train in Key West, FL. One does not see large groups of soldiers, airmen and sailors, but I can assure you there are many in the area or just off shore. Did I forget to mention the Marines? They are also here along with a healthy presence of Coast Guardsmen and Woman. My hat goes off to all and I salute you.
Along with the above, is the Border Patrol and the Joint Force Command, comprising of several nations from Central America. One of their big missions is drug interdiction in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Key West, FL is military! When one walks the streets here, you can’t help but notice most of the manhole covers have large 10 inch letters embossed with “US NAVY”. They have been here from the beginning. They own large portions of Key West. They have given a lot away, including a good portion of the docking areas.
The ride home was as expected. Slow to start, visiting places and relatives. Once we were not that far north and the weather decreased in temperature, it was a no brainer to continue driving north to our warm home in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

That is what we saw and did!

The Last Full Week!

Reflections

1,000 mile mark ~ 500 this season 500 last season

Yes, as I sit here composing my words, on Easter Sunday, I can’t help thinking how short of a time we have here in Key West. My mind is racing of things we’ve done and things I wanted to do, but just couldn’t find a minute in the so called “Island Time” schedule. My biggest “to do” is to complete my bike odometer reading of 1000 miles. That’s actually 500 hundred bike miles here in Key West this season and 500 miles last season.

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Happy Biker ~ 1000 miles in Key West

The last two days, I’ve been pushing hard on the bike. I’ve covered 50 plus miles in roughly four hours. I’m running out of time! The wind picked up late this afternoon. This is not the ideal biking weather. The wind did wonders to cool things down, but as for biking, well it would be great going in one direction, but not so in the other. If the wind is blowing at 20mph and I’m pedaling at 10mph that’s a 30 mph head wind.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Another early run on the bike. Started at 6:45am after breakfast. Goal for today another 50 miles which I completed by 9:15am. I can now see the finish line! The weather looks promising, at least in the wind forecast. By Friday, I should be up to and over my 1000 mile goal.
This workout is doing the trick, because after the 50 mile jaunt, I tackled some of the pre-packing chores without any lost of stamina. I took everything out of the truck, installed my homemade tondo cover, packed away the BBQ grill, stored a half dozen folding chairs, dismantled an old radio and many other little to do things on the check list. I was careful not to dehydrate and drank plenty of water. This afternoon, we went over to Truman Annex (Navy side) and walked the beach. The ocean water is getting perfectly warm to the touch! My kind of water to swim in. I collected more coral sample to bring home. Oh, on the way to the beach, Helen stopped in to Kino’s and finally got a red pair of sandals. She had gone there three times, but her size was always out. For those of you that don’t know about Kino’s, they make leather sandals right there in the store.

April 2, 2016

Air Show at Boca Chica NAS! Great air show, got interesting photos! On the down side, it was boiling hot! In the 90’s with a humidity to match. The skies were hazy white, not the best for a Blue Angle background. A crowd estimated at 36,000 endured the heat and watch the show. Besides the Blue Angles, several outstanding stunt planes performed unbelievable maneuvers in the sky above. My face got sunburned, even though I was wearing a large bream hat, but it was worth it.

Sunday April 3, 2016

Went to mass this morning and spent the rest of the day picking up odds and ends around the 5th wheel. Still recovering from sun exposure, but not in any discomfort. Went for a long walk in late afternoon around the permanent military housing area here at Trumbo Point. Watched videos on You Tube Sunday evening. Also watched our local, back home, TV stations on the internet. Time is really winding down.

Monday April 4th, 2016

Last Happy Hour at Thai Restaurant ~ Garrison Bight, KW

Programed our RV GPS for our trip home. This time I divided the trip into segments to better adjust more stops and options, in case we want to divert from our planned route. I’m still experimenting with the software.
We might be joining up with our camping friend Sally in Jacksonville and convoy North together for a ways up I-95. We might also divert to Columbia, SC to visit Helen’s aunt Simone and cousins Chris and Sandy. Ironically, we might visit with another KW camping friend, Joannah, who lives a mile and a quarter from Chris and Sandy. It’s not that we are not anxious to head home to New England, but as I type this blog update, the forecast for New Hampshire is 4 inches of predicted snow. No rush to get into shoveling!

Tuesday April 5th, 2016 (3:30am)

As I had planned a few days ago, we would be leaving mighty early and we did at 3:30am. The plan was to drive up through the Florida Keys before the invasion and exodus of hundreds of cars that come and go into and out of paradise everyday. I also wanted to make it all the way to Mayport Naval Station. Our friend, Sally, said she would be there and we could link up and possibly convoy home for part of the way.
The trip was 513 miles and took, give or take 12 hours. Upon arriving at the Naval Station, at Pelican Roost, we discovered that they were booked solid with no sites available. I asked what we could do and the office girl said that Walmart was available or we could drive out the main gate and take a left to the “Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park Campground” (City Park) next door. We did and were surprised at the 420 acre campground. Full hookups and needless to say happy campers tonight.
Sally, who was at her cousin’s home, 20 minutes away, drove over the next day and we got sites next to each other. That evening we ate at Singleton Seafood Shack down on the waterfront. The next morning, we headed out together for Fort McAllister State Park on the South side of Savannah, GA. The campground was well laid out with large, tall pine trees and live oaks trees. A large visitor center, with a historical museum was at the entrance to the Fort. This Fort was strategically placed along the Ogeechee River. From this location, the river bends back and forth three times in front of Ft McAllister. Its cannons could engage enemy ships three times before reaching Savannah.
The guided tour was long and a major drawback was the no-see-ams that attacked us tourist who were wearing shorts. We finally retreated to our campsites. After going to dinner and coming back to the campground, we all did some exploring down at the river, walked the many loops of the campground and finally hit the sack.

That is what we saw and did!

Waning Days in Key West

Waning Days of Key West

Lunch at Salute Restaurant with L-R Me, Helen, Georgio, Paul, Sharon, Jan & Rich

It seems that over night Key West has changed, at least in the weather department. The wind is now out of East and very steady and strong, I mean a good 20 miles per hour with gust to 30 mph. This isn’t totally bad because the temperature now climbs to the upper 80’s and the strong wind keeps us cool. Because we are located on the easterly side of the campground, next to the paved tarmac, we don’t experience the slight dusting of Coral dust that blows off the gravel streets downwind from us.
I have mentioned, in a previous blog, that our friends are leaving daily for their homes, in the southern parts of the US. I believe that about half of the park is now vacant. It is sad to see them leave! I know that leaving early would be a mistake because even thought it was a mild winter in New England, winter isn’t over until the middle of April. Maybe April will be wet in New England?

Night Riders

Now that the weather is hotter during the day, it is a perfect time to bike in town at night. People are out and exploring the inner city neighborhoods and this gives one a completely different perspective of the homes and landscaping. Many have landscape lighting that is very cool. Some have stained glass front doors that pop with Key West colors. Most of these back or interior streets have little or no traffic. Our bikes are well lit front and rear. We set all of our LED lights to a blinking pattern. If they can’t see us, it is because they are blind!
Tonight, we biked across town over to the end of White Street to the Bocce courts. At night, the pros gather for intense games. Unlike our leisurely morning games these are serious and cut-throat. Sharon & Georgio play on Thursday nights. I was amazed to see how many teams and people playing. I counted over a hundred players. After watching for a short period of time, we headed towards our campground. Helen’s headlight unclipped from the handlebar at an intersection, I was able to pick up the pieces before any vehicles destroyed the five pieces on the roadway. I couldn’t get it to work, so I had Helen follow me closely. Her red blinking rear light along with mine kept us safe. Back at the ranch, I was able to reassemble the light and got it to work perfectly.

The William Trump

Our Tour Guide

I had heard from the camp host that one could setup a tour of one of the Coast Guard Cutters. Well, I went over to the Coast Guard Headquarters and the tour was setup for last Friday at 11 am. I had three couples going on the tour. Friday morning was hectic! Before the tour, I moved our 5th wheel to a new site closer to the internet repeater. I did manage to be ready for the 11am tour. One couple backed out, but four of us showed up. Our Coast Guard guide started by explaining what their mission was down here in Key West, the Gulf and even on the Atlantic side. He then started at the bow of the ship and explained all of the surface compartments and functions. Entering the ship, I was sort of surprised that most of the interior was air conditioned. As we continued the tour, I was also surprised to see what powered this “Intercepter Cutter”…two four thousand horse power turbos with each having twin turbo chargers. On the electrical end, the William Trump can produce enough electrical power to power three sister ships at once. We were allowed to take some photos, but on the bridge, which is pretty sophisticated, we could only look and gawk! Impressive, I would say best describes the bridge.

Ready to launch!

Our tour ended on the aft deck. This happened to be at the exact time of a launch of their well boat from the interior of the ship. The rear gate opened and the powerful fast water craft moved out into the water. I was allowed to video this part of the tour. Hopefully, I will be able to insert the link to this launch in this blog.

That is what we saw and did!

US Coast Guard ~ "The Boarding"

US Coast Guard ~ Boarding

US Coast Guard ~Safety Inspection

Pano View of Key West

Last Friday, after our Bocce game, we were invited by Sharon and Georgio, our local Bocce leaders/organizers, to an outing on their pontoon boat “The Captain Groovy” . Eight of us were onboard as we left the Stock Island Marina. A quick note about the Marina; The docking area is somewhat limited, but through clever design, it accommodates many vessels of different types. A giant forklift wheels around and picks your boat from large enclosed buildings. It then brings your boat to the water’s edge and lowers it down some ten feet into the water. It is a neat operation!
Leaving the Marina, I got my bearings as to where it is located in relation to Key West and Boca Chica, to the North. Georgio headed along the Easterly side towards Key West. This gave us a good view of the beaches along Atlantic Boulevard. By now the munchies were out along with drinks, which we all brought. The ocean was relatively calm and as things settled down we could appreciate the clear water below. I asked Georgio how deep the water below us was and he looked at his depth gauge, he said, “17 feet". We could see the bottom like it was only two feet deep!

My mind was racing with these thoughts

Looking around, one could also see several types of boats on the water… jet skis, fishing boats, sailboats and a little further out, a Coast Guard patrol boat. It was apparent that the patrol boat was also eyeing us. It was quickly closing in on our pontoon boat. US Coast Guard safety check came over the loud speaker. Georgio shutoff our 75 horsepower motor. The Coast Guard idled their 900 horsepower three outboard motors. A Coast Guard crew member hollered out. “Any weapons on board”, “No” replied Georgio. What followed was a routine Coast Guard Safety Check, but my mind was racing with all kinds of scenarios! Would they send us back to Cuba like the refugees that don’t make land? Helen asked if we could take pictures of the safety check. They said, “yes, no problem”! That was my cue to start taking pictures. The pictures that I took were of a serious nature at the time, but as I started to look at them later my mind exploded with all kinds of bullet statements!
In all seriousness, the US Coast Guard crew were very professional and did an outstanding job of keeping us safe with all of the requirement papers and safety devices!

Key West ~ From the Gulf to Atlantic

After the boarding and a good safety check experience, it was time to get back to exploring the rest of Key West, from the water side. When one rounds the point, by Fort Zachary Taylor, where the two bodies of water meet, it became a little choppy for about three or four minutes. At this time, we, who were sitting towards the bow of the pontoon got a few splashing waves. I’m glad I had left my wallet back in the truck! My iPhone was secured in a plastic baggy.
Two cruise ships were docked down by Mallory Square and made for a nice panorama picture. We continued to Sunset Key across from Mallory Square. Sunset Key is where the rich and famous live. A restricted ferry is the only access to this Key. There are roads, but no vehicles allowed. There is a restaurant which you can make reservations for, but if you’re not on the restaurant reservation list, you not going on the ferry. It’s easy to lay down $100 for lunch! I’ll stick to “Five Guys”.

Doesn't Paul remind you of the
movie "African Queen"

The next closest Key is Christmas Island. Ironically, this is inhabited by vagrants. Go figure! From the richest to the poorest, nearly within shouting distance.

"Angel" come on in!

Sunset Key to the right!

Angel the retriever! 

From the tour around the westerly tip of Key West, we headed back towards Stock Island, but with another destination. Georgio took us to a sand bar. Unfortunately, the tide was higher and about two feet of water was over the sand bar. This didn’t deter our sand bar adventure. Paul took charge and jumped in. He grabbed the anchor and pulled us in closer and set the anchor into the sand. A few of us got off the pontoon boat and walked and explored this “island in the sea”. Angel, the Lab, was pacing back and forth and finally took the plunge and joined into the fun. Sally had brought a ball catapult and Angel had a “ball” retrieving. Reed, Ginny, Sharon, Helen and I stayed on board to take pictures. We weren’t the only ones on the sand bar. A bunch of jet skis were on the far side and were also frolicking in the knee deep water. I’m told that when the tide is at the low point, one can actually have a picnic on the pure sand bar. It’s ironic that Key West doesn’t really have any sand beaches. The sand is brought in, I’m told, but just off shore there is plenty of this commodity. Go figure!

That what we saw and did!