Appledore Key West Sail

 Jack & Carol 

On my last blog, I wrote about the “When and If”. I was actually, at the time, doing a recon, dry run, to find the “Appledore Jeff” , the ticket guy, and a place to park and secure the bikes. This was in preparation for our sailing trip around Key West. Jeff was right in front of the windjammer “Appledore II” .
Who brought us to the “Appledore II” ? Jack and Carol! They are the guru organizers, not only on this sail, but they seem to be putting together some function of this sort or another all the time. From the Key West Half Marathon Volunteers, to pre and post marathon parties. They are a great asset to the military retirees and to Key West.

Our Gang!

I have to give a little more history on the Appledore II taken from “Wikipedia"

Dolphins Port Side! 

Launched on August 22, 1978, Appledore II is the largest of her four sister ships, Appledore I, III, IV, and V. Appledore II was the last schooner custom built by the Harvey Gamage Shipyard in South Bristol, Maine, which had previously built the tall ships Mary Day, Harvey Gamage, Shenandoah, Bowdoin and Spirit of Massachusetts, among others. Designed by Bud McIntosh, she was structured to endure heavy weather and the open ocean.[1]Appledore II is gaff rigged on both her masts, with a hull speed of 10.5 knots and a length of 86 feet (26 m) overall.[2]
Her maiden voyage was an 18-month circumnavigation, which commenced in November 1978 from Portsmouth, New Hampshire and concluded there after the Appledore II visited many ports of call around the world. This voyage has bee chronicled in two books, Dreams of Natural Places, A New England Schooner Odyssey and Sailing Three Oceans, both authored by Herbert Smith.
Since that time, Appledore II has sailed extensively throughout the Caribbean, conducting educational and private tourism. For a number of years she served as the Semester At Sea vessel for marine biology majors from Southampton College of LIU. For the past 20 years she has been offering day sails from her home ports of Camden, Maine and Key West, Florida. Twice a year, Appledore II makes a 2,000-mile (3,200 km) offshore voyage between these destinations. As a prime example of a historical wooden schooner, the Appledore II is regularly featured in books, movies, advertisements, and post cards evoking traditional coastal Maine sailing. The Appledore II regularly participates in the Key West Wrecker's Cup Race (a regatta she has won on numerous occasions) and is a mainstay of the annual 'Windjammer Weekend' in Camden, Maine.

Appledore II

United StatesName: Appledore IIOwner: John P. McKean, S.E.A., Ltd.Builder: Linwood Gamage, Gamage ShipyardLaunched: August 22, 1978Homeport: Camden, MaineGeneral characteristicsType: SchoonerDisplacement: 52 tonsLength: 86 ft (26 m) overall, 65 ft (20 m) on deckBeam: 18 ft 9 in (5.72 m)Draft: 10 ft (3.0 m)Propulsion: Sail, auxiliary engineSail plan: Gaff-rigged, two-masted topsail schoonerSpeed: 10.5-knot (19.4 km/h) hull speedComplement: 49 passengers, 4 crew

Our sail began promptly at 1:30pm with Captain Chris giving the commands to untie and push off from the dock. It was fascinating to watch the crew turn this mighty big sailing ship around the bay area with millions or billions of dollar boats and ships in close proximity. The Appledore II cleared the jetty and headed for open water. What we saw next was totally unexpected. I counted at least six sail boats underwater on the jetty and other nearby islands. I know last month was rough and windy weather wise, but I didn’t think it tossed sailboats enough to free them from their mourings and or anchors. The Captain said the State would most likely cover the salvage cost and settle with the insurance companies in the end.

Calm Sea!

The wind and ocean was so calm that we didn’t do much sailing until we cleared the point at Fort Zachary Taylor. That didn’t deter us admiring the shore line and a cruise ship tied up at one of the larger docks. As soon as the Appledore cleared the point, Captain Chris hollered, “Dolphins port side”! Several were feeding in a large circle around the Appledore. I didn’t have my large Nikon to capture the moment, but I did my best with my little Nikon point and shoot. No, I didn’t get a good Dolphin photo. With 49 people on board, about half were spouses, who prepared enough munchies to feed 98! Shrimp, fruit, sandwiches not mention deserts were enjoyed by us and smiles were coming from the crew also.
A few of us, who were at the stern of the sail ship, even got a chance at the helm. It turned out to be an exciting afternoon in the waters around Key West!

That is what we did and saw!

When & If ~ Cuba??

The "When and If"

This blog update starts off from the next upcoming blog! Confused? A few days ago, we did a dry run to the dock area to find the Appledore and Jeff. Jeff sold the tickets for our sail around Key West. I struck up a conversation with Jeff about going to Cuba. It was on my bucket list. What developed from the conversation proved to be very interesting. His son, Seth, is Captain on the schooner “When & If”, which is going to Cuba in late March. They will be taking six passengers along with a crew of four. Jeff gave us his son’s business card and location of the “When & If” over at the Stock Island Marina. We biked back over to Trumbo Point for lunch and you know the conversation was on a sailing trip to Cuba.
After lunch, our curiosity got the best of us and off we went in search of the schooner. I drove into the marina and parked the truck. The marina has hundreds of sail boats, but, to our luck, right there along the main dock was the “When & If”. A young male person walked by us and jumped onto When & If! I asked, “Are you Seth”? “No”, he said, but “He’s onboard”. I mentioned the Cuba trip and soon we were talking to the young Captain Seth. He explained the details of the trip, from the legality of the trip to accommodations.
A little about the “When & If”: Built in 1939 for General George Patton to sail around the world “When the War is over, and If I survive”.

Anchored at Stock Island Marina

When and If has just undergone a two-year restoration and is open to the public for the first time this summer.
Designer: John G. Alden
Year: 1939
Length On Deck: 63ft
Length Overall: 80ft
Beam: 15ft
Draft: 9ft
Sail Area 1,700 sq. ft

"When the war is over and If I survive"

Just walking on the “When and If" was inspiring. I would have not, in my entire life, thought or dreamt that I would have walked the same deck as the famous WWII General. He didn’t get to sail around the world with his wife Bee, but did sail on the “When and If" before the war. For those of you who did not know, General George Patton was killed in a vehicle accident in Germany, after the war.
Captain Seth told us that we should change our American dollars into either Euros or Canadian dollars. American dollars are exchanged in Cuba at 13%. We have our passports and a Visa is available as we enter Cuba. Until recently, when Americans entered the country, the Cuban Customs would give Americans a paper stating that they entered Cuba legally. Today, with relaxed regulations, Americans can get their passport stamped without a problem coming back into the United States. It is still not 100% travel free restriction.
The trip down there would be a ten day trip, give or take, depending on the weather. At the end of March, the winds change from Northeast to the Easterlies, favorable for a good fast return to Key West, Fl. On the other hand, if the winds are still northeast the return trip would be slower. Normally going down to Cuba is about an 18 hour sail. On a return trip, the last time they made a nearly record 8 hour return trip.

At The Helm

Now comes the not so positive aspect of the trip. The cost and even worse…”The Obama Visit”. Yes, President Obama plans to visit Cuba on March 20th and the 21st. We would be leaving on the 28th. Knowing Obama, he will screw something up and could possibly effect our entry into Cuba or for that matter our return.
The cost per person for the sail is $2,200 per person. We could stay on board the “When and If" while there, but there is no A/C onboard and it could get buggy at times. Capt. Seth said that we could get a hotel room for $100 a night or rent a house for $300 a night. We could easily run up a $6,000 bill for just wanting to cross off a check mark on my bucket list!

The trip is not dead yet! I will keep options open and see if the “When and If" has its six passengers before sailing. Things will work out one way or another. As I always say, “We are in a canoe going down a river without paddles. Let’s see where it brings us”!

Captain Seth also mentioned that we would be going into three or four other ports in Cuba including Hemingway’s port of call.

That is what we saw and did!

Presidential Families

Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016

My dear wife Helen said, “Why don’t we go over to the ‘Little Truman White House’ and see the ‘Presidential Families Symposium’…Harry & Ike: The Partnership that Transformed the World!” I said, “Sounds pretty interesting and the cost was reasonable.

Clifton Truman Daniels, Mary Lou Pfieffer and
Mary Jean Eisenhower

Mary Jean Eisenhower and Clifton Truman Daniel spoke about their grandparents. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but to my surprise it was truly informative and interesting. Their grandfather’s roots as farm children growing up in the 1880s, the desire to serve in the military, their common views on rebuilding Europe following the war, multiple offers of Truman’s support for Ike as a presidential candidate and the feud during the 1952 election and the eventual reunion as close friends.

Mary Jean Eisenhower with the grey sweater
looks a lot like her grandfather Ike!

Professor Mary Lou Pfieffer, of Florida University, was the moderator. The information that was presented was too numerous to detail here in this blog, but I can tell you we listened to some neat stories about their grandparents! Mary Lou did a marvelous job as a moderator.

What I found the most fascinating was Mary Jean and Clifton’s recollections of meeting the grand children of famous world leaders: Nikita Kruschef (sp), President of Russia, Charles DeGault, President of France and Stalin’s grandson.

General McArthur’s putdown answer when asked what he thought of General Eisenhower running for president. His answer was. “He was a great clerk”!

When fishing was GOOD!

Mary Jean recounted that when McArthur was asked by the president of the Philippines to help buildup the Philippines Armed Forces, before WWII, he said, “If am going to act like a president, I should have better living accommodations. She said she visited his super luxurious living quarters at the best hotel in Manila. She couldn’t believe how much luxury he had swallowed up for himself.

JFK On tour after the Cuban Missile Crisis

Clifton recalled how Ike’s son was serving in the military in Korea during the conflict and he (the son) didn’t want to leave his post when his father was sworn in as president. Both Ike and his son didn’t want him to come, but Harry Truman said, “As president I ordered him to come”. That started a rift between Ike and Harry that lasted a long time. Eventually, both men became friends again. During the Eisenhower era, the Interstate Highway system was built. As one section from Harry Truman’s home state of Missouri to Eisenhower’s home state of Maryland was built, the name on the Truman end was called “The Truman and Eisenhower Interstate Highway”. On the Eisenhower end it was “Eisenhower and Truman Interstate Highway”. One wonders if this was still a tiny part of the rift between the two presidents?

The symposium atmosphere was very casual. I felt like both Clifton and Mary Jean were sitting in my living room having a quiet evening chat. Of course, my living room doesn’t hold 100 people, but the hundred were quiet as church mice.

President Jimmy Carter

One has to stop and think of how many world leaders have sat in this very garden. How treaties and world problems were discussed and resolved and some not.

The Little White House was built by the U. S. Navy in 1890 as the home, on the waterfront, to house the base commander and paymaster. Truman used the house for 175 days as both a retreat and functioning White House. He did this when the Big White House in Washington was being totally rebuilt.

Secretary of State Colin Powell

I discovered why John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower and Colin Powell visited and why the Little White House became a working Presidential Office where new policies and the Department of Defense came into being.

In March of 1918, Thomas Edison resided at the “Little White House” at the time known as Quarters A&B, while donating his services to the Navy. In 1912, President William Howard Taft visited the Naval Station on route to inspect the Panama Canal. There aren’t many dignitaries that haven’t been or stayed at this historic building (now a museum).

In summing up, we were impressed!

That is what we saw and did!

The first two top pictures are mine, the rest were taken from "The Little White House" publication

Band of Brothers & Sisters!

Biking our way to Fitness!

It just amazing to be here at a military campground and meet so many interesting people, all with different stories, but nearly all related to the military directly or indirectly through marriage. From enlisted ranks to officers, they all have a unique story. The common ground here is that we are all on the same playing field now that we are retired. Some, like Captain Troy, still have a direct active roll in the military. He is the Captain of a support ship (US Navy) here in Key West. He his not in the Navy at present, but under contract until July as the ship’s Captain. His ship goes out in the Gulf and does support work with Navy Seals. Can’t say what they do because I don’t know, but I think submarines are involved! Another guy is an instructor at the US Army Underwater Diving and Survival School, right next door on Fleming Key. Those are some of the active stories that I know of. I am curious to hear what Janet (One of the two camp host) story is. I’m told she was a Gunny Sergeant in the Marine Corps. It just fascinates me to meet these people and listen to their stories and of their careers.
John, a former helicopter pilot, flew Hueys in Vietnam. Dustoff (Medical evacuation helo.) Ironically he was stationed in place Fubuy, Vietnam (SP) in 1969. A buddy of mine, Dick, was wounded in Fubuy (SP) and could have been airlifted out, maybe by John?
Sally was a Navy (Operating Room) nurse and served in the Middle East. What great people we have met here in Key West! Their stories and accomplishments are of the unsung heroes of our great Nation!

Fitness

Needless to say, I have been lagging behind my expected exercise. Mainly, the cause is the unfavorable weather conditions. Wind and rain were the culprits. Nearly a month has expired with the weather not being in our favor. This morning was sunny, but cold. I showered early at the campground restroom and headed back to the camper. Helen followed a little after. I made a decision to up the ante a little with the bike portion of our exercise routing.
Instead of going around the island and having to stop for traffic lights, pedestrians and stop signs in our ten mile loop, we would instead cross the bridge over to Fleming Key and exercise with the Special Forces! Well, not exactly with them, but exercise on the same road that they jog on in the early morning. From the bridge, at the campground, to the gated compound on the far end of Fleming Key is a mere two miles. Going to and from four miles, times three would give us 12 nonstop hard pumping miles! Helen did the first round, but the incredible wind encountered put the muscles to the test.
Since I’ve started this routine I now feel I’m getting my duly needed exercise and finally starting to notice a little weight lost.
A little insight into Fleming Key route. Starting on the bridge that sits high above the channel that lets many charter fishing boats out into the Gulf, one can get a view of dozens of sail boats anchored just off shore. This view is on both sides of the bridge. Descending on the Fleming Key, the road takes a right and sharp left following the ocean. On the left, stands a barbed wire fence with an old ammunition dump with its bunkers separated by hundreds of feet between bunkers. Further down, the ammo dump appears to be still active. The road is paved and straight for the next mile and a half.

SGM Jerry Patton

About a mile down the road, sitting on top of an old telephone pole, lies a very large bird nest. It is a Hawk, who owns the nest and she is feeding her young. To the right, is a Navy materials testing laboratory. From this point forward, the trees narrow to the road for about a quarter mile. The next field of vision is the beginning of the United States Army Special Forces Underwater Training School. The road does an “S” curve and here on the straight-away is the memorial to a great soldier. SGM Jerry Patton! As I pedal by, I hand him a salute and say, “ Good morning Jerry”. My only wish was to have met him in person. Take a minute and read his memorial on the accompanying photo.
The locked gate is just ahead…the turn around point for me. The return ride is another two miles back to the starting point. On the return run, I often get to see six Hawks soaring thirty feet above me. If I wear a black hoody with the hood on, the Hawks will check me out a little closer. They will soar within 25 feet, with their heads definitely looking down on me. They give out a distinct chirp and move on, “no food here” is what they are saying to the others.

That is what we saw and did!

Cold Days in Key West!

Why blog about the weather! You can’t do anything about it but move south! Well, if we move further south, we will have to swim! Last night was cold for Key West. It dropped to 63 degrees here at Trumbo Point campground. At the airport, I’m told, it was a mere 56 degrees. The problem with this is the constant wind. The same wind that makes us comfortable when it’s 87 degrees, also makes us feel cold at 63 degrees. This morning at 5 am, I got up and fired up the furnace for the first time. It worked flawlessly. I had it set to 67 degrees and that was just enough to take the chill out of the camper. I got breakfast going and with the water on for coffee and a frying pan going for grilled toast it was toasty!
Offshore the weather was even worse. Twenty to twenty-five knot wind, with three to five foot waves inside the reef. On the Gulf side of the reef, the waves ranged from eight to ten feet. Not a pleasant place to be. The Coast Guard rescued two guys on a sailboat way offshore in 20 foot swells. The two had to jump off the sailboat into the water and swam to the Coast Guardsman tethered to the helicopter. A commercial salvage company is going to recover the sailboat.

Action in the sky

This morning I was outside when I noticed another one of those C130J Super Hercules flying over the water near Fleming Key. A sure sign that they were going to parachute into the water. Four safety boats were spread across a broad area and a Coast Guard rubber rescue craft with several crew members came up the channel from the other direction. Oh yeah, a sure sign for a drop zone off shore. The pattern is nearly always the same. They do several dry run flybys. You’ve got to be patient, if you want a really good photo. After several passes and 45 minutes of waiting, I zoomed in towards the rear of the C130J and spotted five or six objects coming out and straight down into the water. Maybe sandbags or something similar to see how the wind was blowing. Another half-hour and no jumpers out of the plane. Ok, I’ve had it and leave, so did the C130J.
The WiFi Repeater Test

We left the campground and headed for my new antenna/repeater wifi system test. We would do the test first by login into my new personal network (Travelnet1). Than do a site survey and select a WiFi free hotspot such as McDonald, Wendy’s or in this case Publix’s Supermarket. My login went flawlessly. Now comes Helen’s iPad which at 400 feet would not be able to access the hotspot. My repeater was set to WPS which enabled Helen’s iPad to sync in quickly. One more login with my iPhone and now we were ready for the ultimate test. I went on line and went to YouTube and streamed a video. Helen did her thing and put the phone through its paces. Success! We continued for a good half-hour with no drop in speed. I’m happy! We’ll be able to access free WiFi hotspots easily in the truck camper as we head out to the West Coast next summer.
Traveling back to the campground, what do you think I spotted floating down from the sky? Yeah, six parachutes and the plane banking to the left. No camera in the truck! Oh well, maybe next time I’ll be lucky.

That is what we saw and did!

Winter in the Keys!

Storm Clouds over Key West

Amazing how connected we are in this small world! I just finished texting two old friends, Rod and Jerry. Actually, they texted me. We haven’t connected in a long time for reasons of just being busy in our own little worlds. We certainly have had some good times being in the military and also in civilian life! The above, is just the moment’s thoughts, as I sat down to start the next blog. Another good reason for wintering in Key West…The ability to stop and reflect ones ideas!

Seaweed making a slippery mess

The one really good thing about Key West is our commitment not to watch TV. We do have a TV in the camper, but no satellite which makes it easy. I’m able to write my blog, take time to read books, which never happens back home and do so many more healthy activities. Maybe this state is setup for retirees! Don’t get me wrong, when we do need to see what is happening around the world, we just “walk” about a quarter mile to the Fly Navy Lodge building and sit in the lobby and tune in to the news. Where else can you sit in an easy chair and talk to Navy pilots, in their off duty hours about world affairs! They all come here at one time or another for training.

Key West Half Marathon 13.12 miles

This afternoon we did a recon of where we will be standing giving out water to the runners. Now let me explain that this past week, the weather here in the Keys has been raining, with extra strong winds. This has pushed seawater and sea weed over the sea walls. The running surface is covered with three to four inches of sea weed along with hundreds of jelly fish. I’m sure the city will have to deploy their sweepers to clean and pickup this mess! This is also the same bikeway, walkway, that we use, when we do our tour around KW ride every other day.

Marathon Update Jan. 17th

I had set the alarm for 5:30am. We had been told to be on our dedicated water station for 6:30am to setup tables, four of them 200 feet or so apart and wait for the first fast runners in about an hour or so. So much for plans!

Toni's Selfie during the race!

The winds started picking up during the night. The 5th wheel camper which weighs 13,000 lbs., or 6-1/2 tons, was wiggling from the gust. It was predicted that we would get wind and thunder storms during the night and day. At 5am, we both had enough tossing and turning and got up. After morning duties and breakfast, we decided to head to our assigned station and wait. We brought reading materials. As we walked out the door, our neighbor Toni came out and asked if we could give her a ride to the starting line. She is an Army veteran and not retired but AGR.
We got into the truck and Helen’s phone rang. Carol, our water station leader, informed us that the race was to be delayed one hour because of a severe storm coming our way. I started the truck and we decided, all three of us, that we were up and going to our individual points would be better than hanging around the camper. I dropped off Toni at the Half Shell start point and headed to the other side of the Island to our station.
This is where it gets interesting! After a few turns, I was on South Roosevelt Ave. Wow, even before getting there, down at the famous Buoy, the ocean waves were hitting the sea wall and spraying the houses across the street some 75 feet away! Back on S. Roosevelt, the highway had orange cones every 50 feet to keep the runners and cars separated. The cones were flying all over the place. We came across two Porto Potties that had slid across the highway. One had flipped over. The seaweed covered much of the runners’ lane. This was all on the windward side of the Island. Our station was on the leeward side, with little wind. I found a spot to park the truck and settled in, for what I thought a long wait. Jack and Carol, our team leaders showed up soon and we were quickly setting up four stations with water and Gator Aid. The race started about an hour after the scheduled start time.

Here She Comes...Halfway Home!

They run rain or shine. Luckily, the heavy rain fell in that one hour delay. I was shocked to see the first runner coming towards us! No one else was even in site. No water for him! He was on a mission. The halfway turn around point was just a short distance up the road. The runners have their numbers and a special digital tag that registers as they go by different check points. No cheating here!
Jack warned us that it would get very busy when the bulk of runners started to show up. He was so very right! Four thousand runners is a lot of water cups to fill and give out. They didn’t all take water, but most did and surprisingly many stopped for a potty break.
How many gallons does it take for that many runners? Well, I didn’t count, but a U-Haul truck was filled with milk style crates. I’m going to guess around 250 gallons. Thousand of cups and dozens of trash bags!
Our neighbor, Toni, came through and was gracious enough to stop for a selfie with us! Go Toni!! The real nice thing about the Key West “Military” campground is the nice people you get to meet!
Once the 99% of runners came by, we still had a few chores to handle. Remember those thousand of cups? Well, 99% of them were on the ground. My exercise for today was thousands of “squats” for those “bend and reach” to those cups. Surprisingly, it didn’t take that long for the cleanup.

Our Volunteer Team at the
New York Pasta Garden

Jack and Carol said, “You’ve got to come to breakfast”. This was at New York Pasta Garden. Arrangement were previously made and the restaurant was waiting for our team to arrive. Around thirty-six of us were on hand. Drinks were on the house, well we are not big drinkers especially in mid morning, but a Bloody Mary did go well with the breakfast. We spent some time chatting about everything from the race to hurricanes. Jack invited us to go sailing on sailing ship, which for the life of me, I can’t remember the name.
This was a memorable day for our “first official" Half Marathon volunteering day!

That is what we saw and did!

Holidays Behind Us..2016 Head

Friday, Jan. 1st 2016

Usually, New Year’s Day for me is a quiet day sitting at home, maybe watching a parade, a football game or visiting relatives. What we did here, was to go to our Bocce court for a game. This was pre-planned from the week before. Sharon, Georgio’s wife's sister was coming to town. Sharon and Georgio are locals who run the Bocce games for us “rv-ers”. Sharon wanted to have her sister see and play Bocce, so Bocce was scheduled for this day. We had a good turnout and both Helen and I won each a game. Helen, scored the winning point for her game.

Lunch with the Bocce Gang at Salute

The game started at ten and ended around twelve. The time frame makes for two games. Eight of us decided to have lunch at Salute Restaurante. We should have broken the group into fours’ as it took a long time to get a large table. In any event, we had another good time chatting not to mentioned a tasty lunch. Oh, I forgot to mention that Sally had her dog with her and “Angel” was quiet as a mouse. (Black Lab) Angel is being trained as a service dog and is doing very well in learning commands. I’ve mentioned before that there are many dogs at Trumbo Point campground. 99% are super good! We have one guy “Jose” who used to be a military dog trainer specializing in bomb sniffing dogs. He is retired now and has a dog (part German Shepherd and something else) that is amazing to watch, as he walks around the camp on a leash. I’m getting off track on our activities of the day. After lunch, we headed back to the ranch and I spent some time trying to get my new WiFi antenna up and running.

Technology…Great or Not So Great!

The antenna problem! I have a Mac Air laptop with no CD disk drive and Mac OS X version 10.10.5 What this means is I would have to download from the Internet the driver to enable the Mac to use the antenna. I’m still working on it! For the fun of it, I installed the driver on Sally’s laptop (Windows OS) and it works flawlessly. She can stream Net Flicks without any buffering problems. The antenna works up to 1500 feet away (over a quarter mile away from the camp repeater). I know I’ll get it up and running, but I’ll just have to go through the hassle of getting a “Certificate of Authenticity” in order for Apple to let me install the driver. Amen!

Update January 6th

The antenna problem will not go away. My update... Mac software
is so new that the drivers for the antenna haven’t been created and will not be for some to time to come. I sold the antenna and the 32 foot extension. I have found a solution to the dilemma. Another manufacture makes an antenna which will also not work on my Mac, but here is the best solution I could have ever come up with. They sell the same antenna with a repeating router at the end. No drivers are needed and with this set up we’ll be able to get to Wifi with all our devices. This will be a great benefit when on the road with access to free wifi such as McDonald, Dunking Donuts and such. The antenna will reach a mile away providing it is in line of site. We will be able to be parked a good distance from the WiFi location and get on line easily. Here in Key West, we will be in our fifth wheel camper and not have to be sitting outside facing the GoWIFi antenna. Of course, all of this comes at a price, but in the long run we will save on phone data usage. This unit will also work in our truck camper. Pacific Coast Highway, next summer, here we come!

Update on Technology; 15 January 2016!

Patiently waiting for my wonder “Super USB WiFi” antenna and repeater to arrive by Fed X, from California, I’ve busy doing other projects such as selling antennas and installing them on RV’s here in the campground. No, I haven’t started a new business, but just selling my first antenna and also selling another guy’s antenna, who also had the same problem with the new Mac OS X 10.10.5 upgrade software. Well, to make a long story a little shorter, I received the antenna a couple of days ago and set it up. The antenna and repeater works fine except for one little problem. It doesn’t work here at the campground because the Navy “GoWiFi” does allow more than one Mac ID. I needed one for the Mac, one for the antenna and one for the repeater . I called GoWiFi Tech support and they will not budge on giving me more than one Mac ID. So I have a choice of keeping the antenna/router, or returning it to CCrane which will take it back. I did spend over an hour with them on the phone and they were very helpful in determining that everything was working correctly on their end. I will take the unit into town this afternoon and see how it works login in at a McDonalds. If it does work, I might keep it for the truck camper.

Weather Crimping our Style?

Wounded Warrior taking a break for lunch

Two days of clouds and showers…I’ll take that back, it’s been now nearly a week of overcast with rain off and on. Can you believe the temperature has gone down to 64 degrees at night! I know all of you (non) snow birds up north are laughing hysterically! It’s no laughing matter here in Key West when one has to wear long pants and a hoody!
When you are in a camping mode down here, most of your activities are outside based! So what does one do if the weather is inclement? For starters, we down load books from our public library both from Berlin, NH and from the Navy’s online library system. Next, we gather up some of our cabin fever friends and skip over to Truman Annex to the Beach Patio Recreation and fitness center to select and watch a movie in their large comfortable recliners. Our latest movie view was “Steve Jobs” Apple computer story.

Lunch Break

In between the rain showers, we went and cheered the “Wounded Warriors Marathon”and got to talk to some very courageous warriors. One girl, with a leg missing, didn’t look older than 19 years old. It just makes you think of their sacrifice they endured for us.

Each Has a Story

We volunteered for the Key West Half Marathon coming up this Sunday. We will be giving out water at the half way point. To our surprise, we went to a pre-marathon gathering at Viva’s Bar on Duval Street. Drink tickets, meal and a very nice commemorative tee shirt was included. We were told that there will be an after marathon party at some pizza restaurant on Sunday afternoon. The marathon is rain or shine. We’ll be ready either way.
Rapping up this “what are we up to blog” well, I’m here typing in our comfortable camper watching large flocks of birds enjoying the strong breeze, soaring nearly still in a distance. The warm front has brought back warm temperatures (75 degrees) at 10:50 this Friday morning.

That is what we saw and did!