Saturday, February 12, 2022
Boat life is hard…. Blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast, followed by lounge time. By the time we headed to shore to check out a couple museums, it was later afternoon and well beyond lunchtime, so we stopped at a Conch Republic Seafoods right on the water for lunch and cocktails. It was busy and service was a bit delayed (as it is everywhere these days). By the time we left there and ambled to the Hemingway House, it was around 4:30 and they closed at 5, so they denied us entry, stating that they want people to have time to really enjoy the experience. We started to head to the other museum, the Atocha Mel Fischer museum, but a quick google search showed they also closed at 5:00 p.m.
We consoled ourselves with homemade ice cream from Gladiators, located at 407 Front Street in Key West. From there. we wandered over to Hogs Breath Pub to see if there was any live entertainment, but nothing was happening there, so we ended up strolling back down Duvall Street, where Paul restocked his Twizzler Nib supply.
Right around that time, Paul received an SOS from friends in distress. Their transport dinghy broke down and they desperately needed to get to land in order to catch a ferry, so we hurried back to the marina to head out to their boat to pick them up. At the dinghy dock, a young couple offered to pay Paul if he would ferry them to Christmas Island so they could camp. but Paul indicated were on a tight timeline and going to help some stranded friends.
Just as Paul was ready to head out of the dock to pick up his friends, we learned they had secured transport and were well on their way. Paul graciously agreed to take the young couple across to the neighboring island, which was about a 15–20 minute boat ride. We helped them load up all their gear in the dinghy and headed out.
The couple, Star & Brad, were from Ottawa, Canada and had been in the states since November 2021. They said they were traveling around in a packed to the gills Toyota Rav4. Star indicated she was in the US for some surgical procedures and had already undergone three surgeries to address issues with her mouth and jaws. She said that prior to the surgeries, she was so sensitive to radiation that she was mostly isolated and couldn’t be around cell phones and similar devices. They were a lovely couple, and we dropped them off on the island, warning them of the incoming storm (which they were completely unaware of) and cautioning them to be careful.
Dusk was close, so we headed back to the Kya Anne and settled in the for the night, playing some Bananagrams, eating Lindor Chocolates and enjoying a glass of red wine.
Our leisure time flew by, and before I knew it, it was time to button up the boat for the night and head to bed. Yeah, boat life has been really hard so far (kidding, of course). We’re planning to try to hit the museums tomorrow before the blow (squall) that the weather service predicted comes in Sunday night.
