It’s been a busy few weeks. We left Ft Lauderdale on December 20th and anchored for a couple nights in Biscayne Bay across from Miami. The skyline at night was beautiful and reminded me of Shanghai or Hong Kong. It was also finally warm enough to jump in the water. Finally!
We picked up family on the 22nd and leisurely headed to Key West. Along the way we swam and snorkled. The devastation from Irma was sobering. Big Pine Key doesn’t have trees any more, just sticks. Lots of buildings are boarded up and there are signs of cleanup still underway everywhere. Key West seems to have the least amount of damage and things are fairly normal. The cruise ships still come in and there are people everywhere.
Key West is a unique place and if you’ve never been there I highly recommend it. The people are friendly, the amenities plentiful and entertainment is 24/7. I mean where else can you find a live pirate dropped from a sailing mast at midnight NYE and a few streets over a drag queen descend in a huge red evening pump? No not wearing it, sitting inside the shoe. We were told the crowds were not as big as in years past attributed to the aftermath of Irma but it was still impressive.
A 9 foot manatee kept visiting us at the marina dock where we were tied up. Gary was standing on the swim plarform one day when the manatee decided to swim out from under our boat. Let’s just say Gary was a wee bit surprised and leave it at that.
Several friends flew into Key West to visit for NYE. Unfortunately they brought the cold with them and after two weeks of glorious warm weather it got downright chilly. This morning it was 57 degrees and we decided enough was enough. We’re enroute back to Ft Lauderdale for the final fix on our stabilizer fin (they had to order parts) and then we’re headed for the Bahamas. There has to be warmer weather there!