In town at Key West

We took so much flack last night from the other members of our little flotilla, that we had to set 10:00 as a gathering time for today. Brunelle's crew headed in to the heads/showers at 9:30 while Dan headed to the local Shell station to fill gas cans and the propane tank. He headed back out to Brunelle to install the propane tank and turn off the generator while the girls gathered to walk around town a bit. We had made arrangements to meet at the Conch Republic Seafood Co. for lunch. The gathering included our flotilla (minus Pete who was bringing home the bacon back on Pekabu III), Jay and Pegg, and Walt and Sue Dennison. Walt and Sue (longtime members of CCYC) have wintered down here for 16 years and brought each of us a "bundle" of information of what to see and do while here in Key West. It was good to catch up with them and hear a bit of local gossip.

After lunch Glen and Dan went to survey the Sevilla situation over at Robbie's Boat Yard, a few miles north of Key West, while Jay and John wandered the streets looking for Race Week stuff and the girls headed off in Jay and Pegg's wheels to SHOP! We hoped to also find a place for Maureen and me to get a hair cut, but no such luck. We basically ended up heading for Publix! We're like homing pigeons whenever there is a set of wheels! We re-convened at the dinghy dock around 4:00 and decided we would need more dinghy space to get everything back to the three boats, so Pete was enlisted to come in and help taxi our provisions out to the boats. Glen and Maureen had already headed back to their new headquarters on the Navy base while we all faced a rainy trip out to the mooring field.

Pekabu III felt it was their turn to cook, but asked Andiamo to host as 8 on a Catalina 350 gets a little cozy and the weather was still questionable. Once again we ate like kings and were ready for the sack early! Pegg and Jay head back to St. Augustine in the morning and the three boats plan to take slips at the Conch Harbor Marina, here in Key West, for a few days. ~~~_/)~~~M&D

We watched the Coast Guard ATON (Aids to Navigation) team replace a light bulb yesterday on our way in from the race course. Both Pekabu III and Brunelle have sons who have plenty of experience in that field!

OK, Dan refused to see the humor in this, (but he's already asleep) and when I walked into the bathroom/shower at Key West City Marina yesterday, my immediate reaction was, "A tin toilet in Alaska is an old joke, but in Key West, it's a reality!" I hope I'm not the only one who remembers the old one liners: "It's as funny as...!"

My camera lay dormant all day today, but Pegg caught us all as we prepared to ferry our goods out just as the rain stopped.