Sailing "No Keys": Hello From The Florida Keys!!!! January 10, 2011

Chris and I at Schooner's Top Level

Time is just flying by. The weather is great and the people awesome! Chris and I just celebrated our 5^th Wedding Anniversary! We took the shuttle bus to Key West. Key West is about 50 miles from where we are now in Marathon. The ride is about an hour and a half. There are lots of little islands and lots of bridges that connect along the way. With a contact name given to us here in the harbour, we got a great deal on a Bed and Breakfast. The place was just beautiful.

Relaxing in the 1 of many pools at the B&B

We got to walk the main streets of Duval. There are lots of unique bars and restaurants as well. In Key West almost anything goes. It is a great place just to people watch! You could hear so many languages spoken. Chris and I walked the docks and stopped for a refreshment at the infamous Schooners Raw Grill and Saloon. There you can go for Sunset Sails on Tall Ships or hire a Fishing Charter. We have never sailed there yet but we will soon, so our mission was to check out the area and get local knowledge. We met a fascinating women from New Zealand, they are on their last leg of sailing around the world. They are into their 7^th year and heading now back to New Zealand via the Panama Canal. She had lots of wonderful information to share!

Chris in the Pool and the Where We Stayed

As you can see from some of the pictures, the bars have some pretty interesting décor. From license plates to ladies bras to business cards and such! As we were staying for Friday night it gave us the opportunity to visit a couple of night clubs and listen to the local talent. We even got to go dancing and was tipped $1.00 for doing such a great job! It was a lot of fun!

The Finest

The weather was great and we got to go swimming (heated pool). There were 4 pools in our bed and breakfast and they served a wonderful breakfast! After we checked out we continued to walk about. There is the Key West Lighthouse, Mile 0, Ernest Hemmingway’s home and the most southern point of the USA. There you are only 90 miles away from Cuba.

Official Flag of The Keys

We are looking into getting as much information as we can as we would like to go to Cuba! There are flags and charts to get both paper and electronic and read up on everything you can. Americans cannot go to Cuba but Canadians can. There are lots of rules. Some of the information in print is already 10 years old. So one must do your homework and do the research. We are also looking for a buddy boat to share the adventure.