Express Keys Tour

My daughter Kim arrived on Thursday, February 18th at 3:20 in the afternoon after driving from Miami in her snappy little rental. 

The sun was shining and the temperature was in the mid 60s.  We loaded her luggage in the dingy and motored out to "Passage".  Sue made a wonderful Mahi Mahi dinner, and we spent the evening visiting on board.

Friday brought cloudy, cool, breezy weather.  After breakfast Kim and I motored to shore with  the propane tank.  Kim drove us across the Seven Mile Bridge in her rented Toyota to a camp ground, and we refilled the tank.  This task was followed by a water run.  We filled water jugs and dingied our 21 gallons of water back to the boat.  After lunch on board, we dingied around the harbor and down Sister's Creek to the Atlantic Ocean.

Undeterred by the cold, cloudy weather, we completed our tour of the harbour and headed for the dingy dock.  We hopped into the rental car, and Kim drove us to Sombrero Beach.  Kim picked up a few shells as we strolled on the ocean's edge.  Kim was then able to experience the thrill of showering in Boot Key Harbour City Marina's new shower building.  Fortunately we had warm water.  As Kim said, the fun part was not dropping anything on the wet floor of the little shower room!  That evening we ate at Dockside so that Kim could experience our favorite keys restaurant and enjoy the music of John Bartus.  Fortunately, we were able to get a table under a propane heater.  As usual the food was great.  On the way back to "Passage" in the dark, we watched the Florida Marine Patrol ticketing boats who failed to display an anchor light.

Saturday we awoke to clear skies and warming temperatures, perfect for our day in Key West.  We hopped into the Toyota and Kim drove to Key West.  Our first stop was the marker for the southernmost point in the US.

We had to stroll on the southermost beach in the US too.  The day was perfect: sunny and warm with a nice breeze.

Then it was on to Dante's for lunch.  Kim was able to sample some stone crab claws and a huge burger.

We were forced to wait for the entertainment since Brian Roberts was late due to an accident on US 1.

Brian performed with his band, the Prime Movers.  They were pretty good.  One of us seemed to enjoy the show more than the others.

After lunch we spent the afternoon strolling down Duval Street and doing a little shopping.  We viewed the city from the top of the La Concha Hotel.  Then we went to Mallory Square to see some entertainment.  Kim was able to enjoy the zany entertainment of the Key West Cat man.

While the Cat Man performed, Sue's photos show Kim in the audience wondering if his behavior is an act or if he really is bonkers.  I think the jury may be out on that one.

Of course there was the sunset to enjoy too.

All in all, it was a nearly perfect day in Key West, and a great time was had by all.

After the sun set, we enjoyed a dinner at Turtle Kraals in the Key West Bight and then drove back to Marathon.  We discovered that if one showers at 10:30 p.m., one has really hot water.   That is a rarity in a harbour with 14 showers and 225 mooring balls.

Kim left Sunday morning at 8:00 a.m.  Although it was way too short, we had a great visit and will miss her until we get home in April.