The Pier House - Key West
intention of viewing the sailfish tournament tent and all the goodies inside. Turned out the entire area is off limits to peons like us. We wandered Duval for awhile and soon needed a break, maybe a drink and late lunch. Found a little tiny bar and restaurant back in an alley, squeezed between two buildings in the 100 block of Duval called the Jungle Café & Bar. As most places in KW, this used to be something else but who remembers. Cozy bar and casual but the best part was 2 for 1 happy hour and the server/bartender who made the most authentic Rum Runner I’ve had in 25 years. There are so many shops selling pretty much the same things. We passed a shop called, Emanuel. An outfit in the window shouted for me to ‘come in’. Great clothes-hand made with my name on them. I can’t tell you how long ago it’s been since I bought something new, I managed to shell out for two new tops, very unique and stylish. Now this is exciting stuff!
TV still going in and out - loosing the satellite -and it usually goes out when the show is on and returns for the commercials! The ads for the rotating satellite say you can watch TV as you drive down the road. Yea…right! We were on anchor and not moving. Go figure. Saturday, April 17 Wayne' replacing some of the worn stays & he went twice to the Cuban’s marine store on Eaton St. (I swear he owns ½ the store) Even though the winds were still gusty, we pulled anchor at 10:30am on our way to Niles channel.
What a crappy ride but, once again, the booms were down, the fish were deep in the water and the bulbous bow was working overtime which gave us a bit smoother ride. The boat is covered with salt again after we had just scrubbed it down.
Anchored in Niles channel about 5:30pm. It usually doesn’t take this long, but Wayne went outside the reef to empty our tanks; Guess what? Now the macerator pump isn’t working. I suppose the ‘shake down’ hasn’t shaken us enough.
Wayne went to the house to get the mail – he brought some stuff back but forgot the mail. (men – ya gotta love em) Sunday, April 18 Rained a bit last night but now beautiful . All in all the weather’s been great for sleeping. Winds down to 8k – E-SE; sunny, 80 degrees. Hair cut and face trim for Wayne and I got a trim too. Back to the house to get the mail.
I made Banana, nut, raisin, rum bread (gotta have the rum ...it’s the Keys mon!); Wayne put teak oil on the fly bridge deck; I vacuumed the rugs. It’s one of those days when you can’t get away from the mundane even if you are retired and on a boat. The wind started clocking to the south – something’s brewing out there. Lots of angry looking clouds around us but the wind dropped to 2knots and seas laid down by dinner. This begging goes on every day anytime
you
Juanita, anchored in Key West (I love this boat)
living in a marina in Palmetto, FL. He invited us to a party on Saturday, April 24th celebrating his birthday, their 3 year anniversary and starting their new tour boat business.(we were at their wedding in 2007 in Key West aboard their boat, Junita) – only 5 days away. Could we make it? Depends on how things go at the boat yard.
We Arrived and tied up at Keys Boat works at 3pm. The two inverters had been delivered 30 minutes before our arrival; OMG!!! Something went right for a change. It was Christmas Day for Wayne with 4 boxes to open, manuals to read and figure out how to put it all together. Each weighs a ton (I swear) and he’ll need help removing the old one and locate the new ones. Walked to the Fisheries on the bayside. You place your order with ‘Shorty’- no doubt about her name as it’s tattooed on her neck; give her the name of your favorite song – ours is Unforgettable – that’s how they call you when your order is ready. It sure was fun listening to all the different song titles and we all started singing the words. I heard Sweet Caroline several times. Next time our song will be – Let’s Get Drunk and Screw. We had after dinner 
drinks on their upper deck just in time for a beautiful sunset.
Tuesday, April 20 The guy from the boat yard just happened to mention (in a ‘ho hum’ kinda way) that he 
drinks on their upper deck just in time for a beautiful sunset. 
doubted he had the thru hull part- what? When was he going to mention that bit of news?! Wayne raced out of the boat to catch the bus to Summerland; he got the car; drove to KW marine hardware (yes, the Cuban's store) to get a thru hull. He returned at 1:10pm in time for my doctor’s visit. The boat was hauled; the leak fixed all before I returned from the MDs and food shopping. Wayne took the car home, caught the bus and was home by 7pm.The sun came out, wind died down we made a quick decision to be spontaneous (for a change) and go to the party but it meant leaving right now and cruise all night. I called Tom to tell him the good news but not to tell Susan. Good news, he moved the party to Sunday… Cruising at night is not my favorite thing to do. It’s dark for one thing (duh) spooky and can be terrifying. Nothing is as it appears. You may see a blip on the radar-do a visual and see lights and you’d swear the damn thing is right next to you but, in reality, it’s 4 miles away! I took the first shift at 8pm it was cold and damp; long pants; tee shirt; sweat shirt; socks and a hat (honest, it was cold). The trip began with calm seas, clear night and moon shining brightly on the water like diamonds on the sea. Now this was more like it. I was able to read my book using an LED head light as well as watching the radar, charts and doing visuals. But…be afraid, be very afraid cuz the Gulf can change in a millisecond…and it did. Sometime around 11pm I started rocking more in my chair, the air was colder, damper, & the moon was gone behind dense clouds. I knew it, I just knew it. I woke up Wayne at 1:30am because the fish, which he left at the top of the booms, were clanging hard against the booms – scary for me. So, there we were, in the middle of the gulf, pure darkness trying to bring down these 90lb missiles! Mission accomplished…Wayne took “the con” and I crawled into my nice, cozy, warm bed with the girls.
Boca Grande Pass Lighthouse
Wayne wanted to continue, on the outside, all the way to Bradenton while the weather cooperated. I wanted to turn and go into the Boca Grande Pass and anchor for the night in Pelican Bay which is on the North end of Cayo Costa. I WON! He finally admitted that he was happy for the respite – I think he went to bed around 7:30pm. It’s been many years since our last visit here and it is still as pristine as ever.
Thursday, April 22 Cayo Costa is a State park and it is beautiful. We saw some additions such as docks for small boats, expanded ranger station and understand there is now a tram taking the fat and lazy to the beach on the gulf side. Heaven forbid people should be made to walk the mile or so thru the woods to the beach where they can enjoy the natural, quiet beauty that surrounds them! We didn’t go to that beach because now they don’t allow dogs- even on a leash. Hey! I thought this was our park? – WE THE PEOPLE !
We spent a glorious day at the beach, actually a rather large sand bar on the bay side which wraps
around the northern tip of the island. Good fishing here for trout, snook, reds etc, unfortunately, I didn’t catch any bait – again! No bait, no fishy. Molly and Scupper love the beach and visit every one just in case there might be a scrap of food or shade the people will share– and they usually do with them because the girls put on their ‘show’ of sitting up in unison and everyone says, “Oh…look how cute they are when they sit up”. I didn’t raise no stooopid dogs.I think people in the harbor actually watched and waited for us to get back to the boat because we were inundated with visitors arriving in their dinghies wanting to know all there is to know about our unusual boat. Wayne, of course, was in his glory and very proud of his accomplishments – and rightly so…
It was so quiet, water lightly lapping the sides of the boat. You could even hear the sound of the current as it passed around & under the hull. I finished reading Split Second by David Baldacci, one of my favorite authors. Turns out, after re-reading my 2001 Bahamas Log, I read the same book on that trip! Oh well, it was just as good the second time around.
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